Li Yan withdrew his Divine Sense. He had to act now. At Wang Lang's group's current pace, they would reach the ten-li mark after passing through just two more gates.
A trace of shock still lingered in his heart. He couldn't believe the Supreme Mystery Teachings and the other two sects had been secretly plotting against the Malevolent Spirit Sect for centuries. Moreover, it was astounding that someone with a Five Elements Miscellaneous Spirit Root could, without a special cultivation manual, not only succeed in Foundation Establishment but also cultivate all the way to the late stage of the Golden Core realm. From Quan Jiuxing's words, it seemed this Golden Core senior from the Supreme Mystery Teachings, the one who discovered the secret of the blue rhomboid crystal, had ultimately failed in their attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
'I wonder what kind of medicinal pill that Supreme Mystery Teachings Golden Core cultivator took to allow a Miscellaneous Spirit Root to cultivate at such a heaven-defying level. If I had a pill like that, my cultivation speed would surely increase several times over,' Li Yan thought, unconsciously licking his lips.
He then shook his head with a self-deprecating smile and slipped out of the membrane of light.
Li Yan immersed his Divine Sense into the blue rhomboid crystal. The second-to-last gate was now brightly lit from the bottom to the middle, and the top half of the semicircular archway was emitting an orange glow—a precursor to it lighting up completely. Seeing this, Li Yan took a single step forward, arriving at the final dark gate in the blink of an eye.
With a slap of his hand, a new Ghost-Chariot Talisman materialized around him; the previous one had dissipated on its own after he emerged. Fortunately, Gong Chenying had given him her three talismans, leaving him with a total of six. For the time being, it was enough.
Li Yan's figure swiftly passed through the dark gate and onto the iron-chain bridge. He unleashed his movement technique, rapidly patrolling a ten-zhang radius around his position before ducking back into the membrane of light at top speed. It had been an extremely risky move. Though he had moved at his fastest, a monstrous black vulture had still appeared behind him just as he was about to enter the light, its long, sharp beak jabbing viciously at his back. Li Yan felt an ill wind at his back but dared not turn around. With a flash of green light from the rhomboid crystal in his hand, he slammed with all his might into the non-existent, invisible gate. The moment he entered the band of light, a muffled thud sounded from behind. Li Yan could feel the tough membrane tremble slightly, and a cold sweat broke out across his body.
"Hm? There's movement up ahead," said Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing in unison, both over a li away. The two of them hurriedly extended their Divine Sense, sweeping it outwards. A moment later, expressions of doubt appeared on their faces.
"Strange. Brother Wang, did you find anything?"
"Why was there a monstrous black vulture? Brother Quan, shouldn't that only appear when we reach that area? Could something have gone wrong?" Wang Lang was also mystified. Based on their prior experience clearing the trials, nothing should happen in a section of the path until the team arrived. To conserve energy, they had kept their Divine Sense focused on their current position and the massive dark shadow in the sky behind them, not extending it too far ahead.
"Could it be that the trial's difficulty has increased, and some of the rules have changed along with it?" Quan Jiuxing said, his brow furrowed in a tight knot. Deep down, however, a sense of unease was growing.
Wang Lang remained silent. He slowed his attacks and scanned the area with his Divine Sense several more times. Discovering that even the monstrous black vulture from a moment ago had vanished without a trace, a foreboding feeling began to sprout in his heart.
"Brother Quan, this matter is strange. We must be careful. There is still over a li to go; we must remain on full alert," he said, his expression grave. Faced with such an unknown situation, they had no choice but to proceed with the utmost caution.
Inside the membrane of light a li away, Li Yan clutched the blue rhomboid crystal, maintaining a constant stream of green light. 'They still noticed something was amiss,' he mused. 'It seems I'll have to find a set of immortal movement techniques after I get back. It actually took me one full breath to make a ten-zhang circle. Otherwise, I wouldn't have triggered the restriction here at all.'
Two breaths later, he cautiously aimed the blue rhomboid crystal and shot out a thin ray of green light, opening a tiny crack in the still-dark semicircular archway. He slowly released a wisp of his Divine Sense. A moment later, Li Yan let out a soft sigh of relief. The monstrous black vulture had vanished. Outside, apart from the churning river water and the distant sound of exploding immortal arts, it had fallen quiet.
A dozen or so breaths later, Wang Lang's group arrived within the final li. Their pace was not fast, and they had reinforced their personal defenses to be extremely tight. This provoked incessant, sharp screeches from the monstrous black vultures in the air, while below, the golden thread snakes emerged endlessly, shooting up like a dense rain of arrows. The wooden planks beneath their feet were struck until they shattered, the fragments scattering into the river below, leaving only a few bare, long iron chains leading to the other shore.
This threw the Qi Condensation cultivators into a flurry of chaos. Some floated precariously in the air, swaying unsteadily. Others planted their feet one in front of the other in a straight line on the iron chains, their bodies rocking with the bridge. But Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing up ahead seemed not to notice. They floated forward, their expressions grim, showing no intention of speeding through this section. For a time, the Qi Condensation cultivators at the rear were battered into a miserable state by the increasingly dense attacks from above and below.
Several monstrous black vultures, carrying the momentum of wind and thunder, dove down from the sky. The friction between their long, sharp beaks and the air actually produced arcs of light. A Sword Cultivator from the Ten-Pace Courtyard stood with his feet firmly suctioned to a long iron chain. He carried a massive Sword Case on his back, and with a mere wave of his hand, dozens of flying swords whistled out from it. The swords danced up and down, protecting him within their perimeter. Whether it was the vultures from the sky or the golden thread snakes from the river, they were all diced apart, sending black feathers flying or golden corpses tumbling in sections into the river. He was truly invincible. One of the diving monstrous black vultures spotted him, and its eyes immediately gleamed with a vicious light as it charged straight for this Ten-Pace Courtyard Sword Cultivator.
The Sword Cultivator was in the heat of battle when he suddenly felt a sharp, murderous intent bearing down on him from above and behind. He hurriedly looked up to see a dark, cloud-like object hurtling toward him. He was greatly alarmed. This vulture was at least twice the size of the others around him and was diving from the sky with truly ferocious momentum. He hastily clapped his hands together, and four large swords instantly appeared above his head. At the point of his finger, the four swords buzzed and merged into a gigantic longsword, three zhang in length. Its blade glinted with a cold, dazzling light as it met the charge head-on. The monstrous vulture did not dodge; instead, it pecked viciously at the greatsword. The next moment, a series of thunderous clangs rang in everyone's ears. "Clang! Clang! Clang!" In a flash, the long, massive beak struck like a woodpecker in a flurry of lightning-fast blows, each one landing on the greatsword's edge. In an instant, several notches appeared on the blade of the seemingly invincible sword.
Below, the face of the Ten-Pace Courtyard Outer Sword Cultivator was flushed red, and his body swayed on the chain. In the next moment, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his expression instantly wilting. As he staggered, one hand instinctively reached for the guardrail chain at his side. At the same time, the giant sword in the sky disintegrated, reverting to four large swords, though their spiritual nature was now lost.
But the monstrous vulture did not stop. Its enormous claws, shaped like the character for "one", flashed with a dark light as they slashed viciously toward the cultivator's neck like a sharp blade. It was too late for the Outer Sword Cultivator to dodge. It seemed his life was about to end then and there. But just at that moment, a cold snort came from beside the Ten-Pace Courtyard disciple. Another cultivator had raised a single hand, his index and middle fingers held together, and pointed forward. A sharp sword traced an unbelievable arc through the sky and appeared beneath the monstrous vulture, slashing fiercely at its claws.
This was an even more powerful Inner Sword Cultivator. The Sword Pellet in his Niwan Palace was far more potent, and his sword's trajectory was erratic and its speed astonishing.
This chain of events seemed to take a long time, but from the Outer Sword Cultivator forming his greatsword to the Inner Sword Cultivator striking to save him, it all happened in the span of a single breath.
A cold glint flashed in the Inner Sword Cultivator's eyes. He had been refining this Sword Pellet for over a dozen years. He was one of the few among this group of Qi Condensation cultivators to have successfully formed one. Although they were all Miscellaneous Spirit Root cultivators, they had been nurtured with the sect's vast resources, and among the hundred-plus disciples, several had actually managed to form a Sword Pellet, which was an extraordinary achievement. With a Sword Pellet, even if they couldn't defeat an ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, they should still have the ability to escape. Their combat strength was formidable.
This Inner Sword Cultivator was confident that his strike would sever the vulture's claws. However, just as the sword transformed from his pellet was about to strike the giant vulture's claws, the vulture abruptly tilted a wing, and its entire body bizarrely vanished from its spot.
As the Inner Sword Cultivator stared in astonishment, the monstrous vulture's figure appeared behind him, its pair of sharp claws slashing directly for his right arm. The Inner Sword Cultivator was horrified. In his haste, he dropped into a sideways crouch, lying flat on an iron chain. The giant vulture's claws grazed past his shoulder sleeve. With a loud "boom," the claws, having missed their target, struck one of the iron chains of the bridge. The entire bridge shook violently, and everyone on it lost their footing. Some grabbed the chains for support, while others quickly floated into the air. After its attack missed, the monstrous vulture slid again and charged once more. The Inner Sword Cultivator had just staggered back to his feet when he caught sight of where the vulture's claws had struck. The incredibly hard iron chains, which had previously been undamaged even by their immortal arts, now bore deep gouges from the vulture's attack. He couldn't help but cry out in his heart.
Seeing the vulture attacking again from such a close distance, it was too late to recall his flying sword. Just then, a sharp shout rang out, and another streak of sword light shot across the sky like a meteor. In a flash of light, it reached the monstrous vulture. The next moment, the massive creature was torn into four or five pieces. Only then did Wang Lang's faint voice drift over from the front, "Insolent beast, you dare act so wantonly!"
The Inner Sword Cultivator and the Outer Sword Cultivator, who had just steadied himself, let out a long sigh of relief and looked gratefully at the handsome, jade-like young man up ahead.
But in the very next instant, both of them felt a wave of dizziness, and a twisting pain, sharp as a knife, erupted in their guts. At the same time, any cultivator who had just touched the iron chains began to fester, starting from their hands. Then, amidst blood-curdling screams, their entire bodies melted into pools of pus, which slowly dripped into the churning river below. Other cultivators turned crimson red, and then thick black smoke billowed from their seven orifices. They wanted to scream in pain, but every time they opened their mouths, more dense smoke poured out. Their faces contorted in agony as they turned to ash. As the pus dripped down, any golden thread snake it touched also instantly melted into pus and fell into the river. And as the ash drifted upwards, some of the monstrous vultures turned into puffs of black smoke and dissipated. In just a few short breaths, whether from the Ten-Pace Courtyard or the Supreme Mystery Teachings, more than twenty cultivators had died. Some had spontaneously succumbed, while others had vanished after being touched by the pus or black smoke from those beside them.