362: Weird Black Shadow

"Why do I feel so strange?"

Mu Qi murmured, the confusion in her eyes replaced by silence after a flicker of struggle.

Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden, having just cast the tracking secret technique, was somewhat exhausted; after all, she had just experienced a great battle, and her spiritual energy was severely depleted.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Facing Chen Tianming's concern, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden appeared exceptionally resistant, her gaze burning as she looked at the Azure Jade Divine Beast in Chen Tianming's arms.

There was no other reason.

At this moment, the Azure Jade Divine Beast appeared exceptionally at ease in Chen Tianming's arms, its stretched-out body indicating the extent of its inner joy.

This alone was enough to prove that Chen Tianming's previous words were neither lies nor deceptive rhetoric.

"Xiao Qing really likes you."

Chen Tianming inexplicably felt a hint of jealousy in that sentence.

At this moment, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden seemed to have less divinity and more humanity.

Chen Tianming felt it clearly, and a playful look appeared in his eyes.

Although he had already achieved godhood, the road ahead was long, and the various people he encountered along the way made one want to explore their essence.

Especially a divine maiden like Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden; was she similar to those pure students raised in greenhouses?

Perhaps his gaze was too naked; within moments, Chen Tianming received a glare from Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden, and the Azure Jade Divine Beast in his arms was snatched away.

Chen Tianming helplessly raised his hand, then retracted it.

Having changed owners, the Azure Jade Divine Beast just flapped about, let out a soft cry, and then found a comfortable position to rest in Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden's arms.

Regarding the Azure Jade Divine Beast's easy-going attitude, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden frowned fiercely.

She always felt that it wasn't a good thing for the divine beast to be so close to Chen Tianming.

"This place is truly desolate."

With no intention of fighting Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden for the Azure Jade Divine Beast, Chen Tianming surveyed the surrounding environment.

Following the direction Mu Qi had escaped in, they had traveled at full speed and had long since penetrated deep into the other side of the microcosm.

At Chen Tianming's words, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden also surveyed the surroundings, then frowned in dissatisfaction.

"In such a desolate place, what are the gods here doing!"

"Devastated" was already an understatement; this place was completely and utterly a wasteland.

It wasn't just that there wasn't a single plant; there wasn't even a trace of human habitation nearby.

It was truly too desolate, and the surroundings even exuded a lifeless aura.

"Something is wrong; the aura here is strange."

Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden, who had been lamenting the state of the place, immediately sensed that the surrounding aura was wrong and quickly observed her surroundings.

The wariness in her eyes caused Chen Tianming to circulate the spiritual energy within his body.

The aura around the two of them formed a natural protective shield. Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden paced at the edge of the barrier, seemingly gauging the safety of the surroundings.

Realizing something was wrong, Chen Tianming began to spread out his spiritual sense, but there seemed to be a natural mechanism here that blocked spiritual sense, making it difficult for his to move an inch.

Similar to Chen Tianming, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden was also unable to probe the surrounding environment. Furthermore, because she had consumed too much, the extent to which her divine sense could spread was not even as far as Chen Tianming's.

"Let me do it; you rest for a while."

Seeing Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden's discomfort, Chen Tianming advised.

Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden was his stable combat force, and furthermore, as a Mystical Maiden, her foundation was deep. Who knew how many trump cards she actually had?

Given the Azure Jade Divine Beast, it was unlikely that she would abandon him.

"Alright."

Facing Chen Tianming's good intentions, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden knew that this was the only choice at this moment.

They were alone outside, and there was simply no way to get help from others. This place could be considered a vacuum; it was impossible for those ordinary mortals to enter, so naturally, they couldn't provide any help.

While Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden held her breath and focused on regulating her breathing, Chen Tianming did not have a moment of rest. The Azure Jade Divine Beast seemed to sense something, trembling uneasily, its soft fur standing on end.

"Be good, it's alright."

Chen Tianming held the Azure Jade Divine Beast in his arms and gently stroked its back to soothe it.

Under Chen Tianming's soothing, the Azure Jade Divine Beast was indeed less reactive.

The subtle aura persisted for a long time, but seeing that the erected barrier had not been eroded, Chen Tianming was able to set his mind at ease.

"Fortunately, the barrier is fine; at least we can rest for a bit."

Chen Tianming pursed his lips and leaned against the side to rest for a moment.

Both of them had gone through a great battle, and both had consumed a lot.

...

"Alright, let's set off."

Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden, having finished regulating her breathing, stood up. In truth, her strength had not recovered, but this place gave her an overly ominous feeling; it seemed that if they stayed here, they would be entangled by something.

Evil spirits and ghosts were not easy to deal with, especially when their numbers were so great; even she found them difficult to handle.

The best method was to finish handling matters here as quickly as possible and leave this place of trouble.

"Alright."

Chen Tianming nodded, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes.

He could see that Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden was forcing herself. In just a few minutes, even if she had recovered some strength, how much could she have really recovered?

However, Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden did not want to accept his concern and even stood up directly, wanting to withdraw the barrier and leave.

Chen Tianming reached out to stop her, looked at her with complex eyes, pursed his lips, and said, "Being anxious now won't help."

"I am not anxious; it's just that we cannot stay in this place for long!"

Meeting her flickering gaze, Chen Tianming fell into deep thought.

He was pondering whether or not to trust her, to trust Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden's strength.

"I know you are worried about the state of my power, and I also know you brought me here to serve as a safeguard, so rest assured, I will do my best to protect you."

"Alright."

Chen Tianming nodded steadily, his expression hesitating for a moment before finally choosing to agree.

Just as Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden said, they knew nothing about this place, and delaying too long could easily lead to unforeseen changes.

The moment the barrier was opened, Chen Tianming felt his spiritual acupoints tighten, as if something elusive was obstructing the circulation of their spiritual energy.

This distinct feeling made Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden frown as well, and she turned her head to look behind them.

Chen Tianming, who had turned back, noticed this scene, hurried forward, and spread his spiritual sense to observe behind them.

One look really did reveal a problem; in a place that looked empty to the naked eye, there was actually a huge black shadow there when probed with spiritual sense.

"Something's wrong!"

Chen Tianming grabbed Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden's hand and ran forward, while simultaneously scouting the surroundings with his spiritual sense.

He discovered that such black shadows were not in just one place; to be precise, as they moved in all directions, there was one every ten meters or so.

They were in groups, and it even felt like even if they traveled quite a distance, they couldn't escape their tightly woven spider web.

On the run, although Nine Heavens Mystical Maiden's divine sense was weak, she also detected the dangerous situation around them.