38: Cave Killing Scheme
Following the map's guidance, he traveled for another half day.
The Spiritual Qi in the air grew increasingly chaotic, carrying an Aura of decay and antiquity.
Finally, Ye Chen stopped before a cliff face obscured by vines and scattered rocks.
The cliff face looked ordinary, but under his Luminous Sword Heart, Ye Chen could clearly perceive the extremely subtle spatial fluctuations hidden behind it, along with a heart-palpitating, cold, and deathly silence.
This was the entrance to the ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave.
He did not step forward immediately; his Divine Sense, like the finest comb, meticulously swept over every inch of soil and every rock around the entrance.
Sure enough, beneath the ground three zhang in front of the entrance, as well as in the cracks of the rocks on both sides, he discovered several extremely hidden spiritual power nodes.
Connected to each other, they formed a bizarre Formation covering the entrance area.
The Formation's energy was cold and malicious, possessing the properties of corroding spiritual power and confusing the mind—it was exactly the "Bone-Eroding Soul-Confusing Formation" that the Shadow Snake had revealed before its death!
This Formation was quite ingenious; had Ye Chen not possessed a powerful Divine Soul and the Luminous Sword Heart Realm, it would have been extremely difficult to detect.
Once stepped into rashly, the Formation would be triggered immediately, unleashing bone-eroding poisonous gas and Soul-confusing illusions.
Even a Cultivator at the sixth or seventh level of the Kaiyuan Realm would suffer a great loss if caught off guard.
"Quite a good scheme," Ye Chen said, his eyes cold.
Lin Hong had placed this Formation at the entrance, clearly intending for him to fall into a trap here even if he managed to dodge the interception of the Shadow Fiends.
He did not attempt to break the Formation by force.
This Formation was connected to the earth's meridians; breaking it forcefully would cause too much commotion and could lead to unpredictable consequences.
After pondering for a moment, Ye Chen took out the Formation Flags and Spirit Stones he had exchanged for earlier.
Although he was not proficient in Formations, his Luminous Sword Heart granted him sharp insight into the flow of energy.
He carefully set up a few simple interference and guidance Formation bases around the perimeter of the Formation.
Subsequently, he took a deep breath, suppressing his own Aura to the extreme, as if merging with the surrounding environment.
His footwork was profound; instead of moving in a straight line, he followed the relatively weak gaps where the Formation's energy circulated.
Like a butterfly flitting through flowers, his figure flickered a few times, and he silently crossed the dangerous Formation area, arriving before the entrance obscured by vines.
The entire process was smooth and flowing, without triggering the Formation in the slightest.
Pushing aside the thick vines, a deep entrance that only allowed one person to pass through and whose destination was unknown was revealed.
A cold wind, even more concentrated and mixed with the scent of dust and ancient years, blew from within the cave, making one's hair stand on end.
Ye Chen did not hesitate; he gripped his qingfeng sword and stepped inside.
The cave entrance was initially very narrow, allowing only one person to pass.
After walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up.
Before him was a wide, downward-sloping bluestone corridor.
On the stone walls on both sides of the corridor, some night-luminescent pearls that had long lost their luster were embedded, barely providing illumination.
A faint stench of decay permeated the air.
On the ground and walls, one could see some long-dried, blackened bloodstains, as well as scattered bones—it was unclear if they belonged to humans or Yao Beasts—silently telling of the danger that had once existed here.
Ye Chen's Divine Sense was highly focused as he walked slowly forward.
The corridor was terrifyingly silent, with only his own footsteps echoing in the emptiness.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he reached the end of the corridor, where a huge stone gate appeared before him.
The stone gate was half-open, with some long-blurred runes carved upon it.
Inside the gate, it was pitch black, as if it were a giant mouth waiting to devour people.
And before the stone gate, three corpses were lying there!
Judging by their attire, they were the very Disciples of Tianfeng Academy who had gone missing after accepting the mission!
They had died in a miserable state, their flesh and blood shriveled, as if they had been drained of their life essence, with expressions of terror and pain still lingering on their faces.
Ye Chen's eyes narrowed as he crouched down to examine them carefully.
The wounds were not caused by a Sharp Weapon, but rather seemed as if they had been forcibly drained of their life essence by something.
Moreover, a trace of an extremely faint Aura remained on the corpses—an Aura originating from the same source as the Formation outside the cave, yet even colder and more evil.
"There is indeed something strange here."
Ye Chen stood up, his gaze looking sharply toward the half-open stone gate.
His qingfeng sword emitted a slight tremor in his hand—not out of fear, but a kind of excitement at encountering a peer, or perhaps… prey?
He adjusted his breathing, bringing his state to its peak, and stepped into the stone gate.
Behind the door was a huge circular cavern.
Faint skylight shone down through cracks in the ceiling, barely allowing for visibility.
In the center of the cavern was a dry pool, the bottom of which was covered with thick layers of white bones.
Scattered around were some rotten wooden shelves and broken Pill Furnaces, indicating that this place had once been a place for Cultivate.
And in the deepest part of the cavern, sitting cross-legged with its back to the entrance, was a figure!
The figure wore ancient clothing, its back straight, motionless, as if it had existed there since time immemorial.
But Ye Chen's hair instantly stood on end!
Because from that figure, he felt a cold Death Qi like ten-thousand-year black ice, as well as a… terrifying Aura that far exceeded the Kaiyuan Realm!
Linghai Realm?!
No, it seemed somewhat different, more like a bizarre state between life and death!
Seeming to sense the Aura of a living person, the figure with its back turned slowly, with an extremely rigid and slow motion, turned its head bit by bit.
It was a face without any color, the shriveled skin clinging tightly to the bone.
In the eye sockets, there were no eyeballs, only two clusters of faintly burning, ice-blue Soul fire!
"Trespasser… of my… slumbering… place… die…"
Dry, hoarse, like the sound of two bones rubbing together, the words came intermittently from the mouth of the "ancient corpse."
It slowly raised a claw that was nothing but bone, surrounded by black Death Qi, and pointed it at Ye Chen.
In an instant, the temperature in the cavern plummeted!
Death Qi, thick as ink, surged toward Ye Chen like a tide, interspersed with the shrill screams of countless vengeful spirits, striking directly at his Divine Soul!
At the same time, the half-open stone gate behind Ye Chen slammed shut!
The entire cavern was instantly enveloped by a pitch-black barrier, isolating the inside from the outside!
A trap!
This was a meticulously laid trap!
Lin Hong had not only set a killing Formation outside, but had also schemed to involve this terrifying ancient corpse that had existed in the depths of this Immortal Cave for who knows how many years!
Faced with this sudden desperate situation, Ye Chen's heart pounded violently, but his eyes instantly turned calm to the extreme.
Luminous Sword Heart, reflecting all things!
He saw it—the ancient corpse was in a bizarre state, not a complete Linghai Realm, but more like a Puppet or corpse Puppet that had been specially refined, relying on the rich Yin-evil Death Qi of this place to maintain its movements.
Its intelligence did not seem high.
He could not fight it head-on!
He had to find its core or weakness!
"Flowing Wind Fleeting Shadow!"
Ye Chen's figure instantly turned into dozens of afterimages, weaving and dodging through the surging tide of Death Qi!
The Death Qi, containing the power of erosion and freezing, made a sizzling sound upon touching his protective Sword Intent, but it was difficult to break through instantly.
The qingfeng sword unleashed streaks of dark gold sword qi, slicing apart the swooping phantom vengeful spirits.
But these vengeful spirits seemed endless; as soon as one batch was destroyed, more poured out from the ancient corpse!
"Immovable Rock Guarding Heart!"
Ye Chen pushed his Immovable Rock Guarding Heart Sword Intent to the limit, guarding his spiritual platform, resisting the pervasive Soul-piercing screams and Death Qi erosion.
While dodging, he carefully observed the ancient corpse.
He discovered that although the ancient corpse's attacks were fierce, its movements were slightly stiff and slow, and at its chest, there seemed to be a cluster of abnormally concentrated ice-blue energy core pulsating slightly!
"That's it!"
A sharp light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes; he no longer just dodged.
He suddenly stopped his movement, and the spiritual power within his body poured into the qingfeng sword at an unprecedented speed!
On the sword's body, dark gold patterns erupted with blinding light, and that trace of "Nirvana" Sword Intent was fully invoked!
He gripped the sword with both hands, his body merging with the sword, turning into a dark gold meteor tearing through the darkness.
Ignoring the surging Death Qi and vengeful spirits around him, with an indomitable and resolute Aura, he thrust straight at the ice-blue core in the ancient corpse's chest!
"Nirvana—Piercing Rainbow!"
This was the strongest strike he could currently unleash after fusing his "Nirvana" Sword Intent with his own understanding of the Dao of the sword!
Concentrating all his power into a single point, pursuing ultimate penetration and destruction!
The ancient corpse seemed to sense the threat of this sword strike, letting out a sharp howl.
The Death Qi around it gathered frantically, condensing into a thick black bone shield in front of its chest!
At the same time, its bone claws, carrying the power to tear space, clawed toward Ye Chen's head!
It was actually intending to trade wounds for his life!
In a flash of lightning!
"Puff—shh!"
The dark gold sword qi and the black bone shield collided violently!
The intense explosion that was expected did not occur; the sword qi, containing the "Nirvana" characteristic, displayed a terrifying power of annihilation!
The thick bone shield, with the tip of the sword as the center, rapidly melted and disintegrated!
The sword qi was like a hot knife through butter, and finally, it pierced with extreme precision into the pulsating ice-blue core!
"Aooo—!!!"
The ancient corpse let out a miserable, inhuman howl!
The ice-blue core in its chest was instantly covered in cracks, and then it exploded with a bang!
The violent Yin-evil Death Qi, like a burst dam, swept out in all directions!
Ye Chen, bearing the brunt of it, was violently thrown away by this immense force, crashing heavily into the cave wall.
His throat tasted sweet, and a mouthful of blood could not help but spray out.
The qingfeng sword also flew out of his hand, embedding itself in the ground not far away, humming incessantly.
As for the ancient corpse, after its core shattered, its massive body trembled violently.
The Death Qi around it quickly dissipated, and the Soul fire in its eyes rapidly dimmed.
It stretched out its bone claws, as if wanting to grasp something, but finally let them drop weakly.
Its massive body collapsed to the ground with a thud, turning into a pile of real withered bones, and there was no more sound.
Inside the cavern, the raging Death Qi and vengeful spirits gradually calmed down.
The black barrier covering the cavern also slowly dissipated along with the demise of the ancient corpse.
Ye Chen struggled to stand up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
His face was pale, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.
He walked to the qingfeng sword, pulled it out, and felt the joy and a trace of satisfaction coming from the sword body, as if it had just had a full meal.
He looked at the pile of withered bones of the ancient corpse, and a black token that had fallen beside the bones—it was neither metal nor wood, and was carved with strange runes.
"Lin Hong… I will remember this 'gift'."
He picked up the token and looked coldly toward the deeper parts of the cavern.
Intuition told him that the secrets of this Immortal Cave were far more than this.
And after the life-and-death battle with this ancient corpse, he felt that his understanding of the "Nirvana" Sword Intent had deepened by another fraction.
The cultivation Bottleneck also showed signs of loosening.
Crisis, too, was accompanied by opportunity.