Chapter 143: Nascent Soul Battle
Fang Hao hid behind a stone pillar, not daring to even breathe, his heart pounding like a drum.
He wished he could turn into a stone so those two ancestors wouldn’t discover him.
One Nascent Soul Grand Princess was already deadly enough, but now a more sinister black-robed Nascent Soul had appeared; what kind of luck was this!
In the great hall, the atmosphere was so tense it could be wrung out like water.
That "Seven-Colored Spirit-Nurturing Flower" slowly rotated in mid-air, shimmering with brilliant light and emitting a fragrant scent that made one’s heart itch, but it also exuded a deadly dangerous aura.
Grand Princess Mu Yijing’s face was cold as frost, her body surrounded by a chilling aura that made the very air seem ready to freeze.
The Black-robed Elder, "Fellow Daoist Black Evil," was covered in Yin Qi, his shadow squirming like a living thing, looking truly wicked.
"Black Evil, do you truly intend to make an enemy of my Mingling Empire?" Mu Yijing’s voice was cold enough to chip.
"Hehe, Grand Princess, you speak too heavily. In relic treasure hunting, everyone relies on their own ability; why bring up the Empire or anything else?" The Black-robed Elder smiled without mirth. "This Spirit-Nurturing Flower, this old man is determined to obtain!"
Since it had come to this, what else was there to talk about?
Almost simultaneously, both of them moved!
Mu Yijing waved her jade hand, and a condensed, extreme ice-blue Sword Qi, as if formed from the Nine Heavens Mysterious Ice, carried a chill that could freeze the Soul, silently slashing toward the Black-robed Elder!
Wherever it passed, even the space itself rippled with fine ice crystals!
The Black-robed Elder let out a strange laugh, neither dodging nor evading.
He flicked his sleeves, and a thick, ink-like black Qi sprayed out, transforming into a hideous ghost claw that met the ice-blue Sword Qi!
The ghost claw was entwined with vengeful spirits, emitting shrill shrieks that disturbed one’s heart and mind!
Boom!
The ice sword and the ghost claw collided. There was no earth-shattering roar, only a teeth-grinding sound of erosion and grinding!
Blue light and black Qi crazily intertwined and annihilated each other, the escaping energy shockwaves spreading out like water ripples!
Hum!
The entire great hall shook violently!
Fang Hao, hiding behind the stone pillar, felt as if he had been struck in the chest by a giant hammer, a sweetness rising in his throat as he nearly vomited blood!
He hurriedly hugged the stone pillar tightly, circulating all his Spiritual Qi to resist this terrifying pressure.
For Nascent Soul Cultivators to fight, the mere aftermath was enough to nearly take his life!
After one strike, both figures blurred simultaneously, and the next moment they appeared in the middle of the hall, engaging in an even more intense battle!
Mu Yijing’s movement technique was elegant, like an ice-and-snow spirit.
Ice lotuses bloomed from her fingertips, each one containing terrifying freezing power, enveloping the Black-robed Elder.
At the same time, a crystal-clear ice sword appeared in her hand out of nowhere, its light flashing and cold air overflowing, slicing white marks into space itself!
The Black-robed Elder’s movements were mysterious, like a ghost, weaving through the ice lotuses, his body churning with black Qi that transformed into various hideous Devil Heads and ghost creatures, pouncing toward Mu Yijing.
He formed seals with both hands, chanting incantations, and chains of black Evil Qi rose from the ground, winding toward Mu Yijing’s feet like poisonous snakes!
The two fought from the ground to the sky, and from the sky to the top of the hall, their speed so fast the naked eye couldn’t see them, only seeing two beams of blue and black light constantly colliding and crossing!
Spells blasted back and forth, Sword Qi crisscrossed, and ghosts wailed!
The entire hall was like a storm, stone pillars cracked, the ground collapsed, and the remaining murals and sculptures were instantly crushed into powder by the escaping energy!
Fang Hao huddled tightly behind the stone pillar, feeling like a small boat in a storm, ready to be torn apart at any moment.
He desperately circulated the Ethereal Art and the Chaos Derivation Art, condensing his own aura to the extreme, while pushing his Five Elements Spirit Shield to the maximum, struggling to hold on.
"Too terrifying... Is this the Nascent Soul Level battle?" He was terrified, yet also felt a trace of longing.
This kind of power was truly heaven-overturning and sea-churning!
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, a sudden change occurred!
That floating "Seven-Colored Spirit-Nurturing Flower" seemed triggered by the massive energy overflowing from the two’s battle, its seven-colored light suddenly surging!
A strange suction force emanated from the flower, beginning to frantically draw in the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, and even... including the pure Spiritual Qi leaking from the two Nascent Soul Cultivators!
"Not good! This flower is devouring our Spiritual Qi!" The Black-robed Elder was the first to notice, his face changing.
Mu Yijing also frowned slightly, her offensive slowing down.
But it was too late to stop!
The Spirit-Nurturing Flower seemed to have activated some instinct, the suction force getting stronger and stronger, forming a small vortex of Spiritual Qi!
The two were at the center of the vortex, feeling their own Spiritual Qi leaking out uncontrollably!
"Must suppress this flower first!" Mu Yijing decided instantly, turning the direction of her ice crystal sword, a sharp Sword Qi slashing toward the flower stem, intending to cut it off!
"Think again!" The Black-robed Elder took the opportunity to attack, a condensed stream of Evil Qi striking directly at Mu Yijing’s back!
He would rather let the flower absorb some Spiritual Qi than fail to severely injure his opponent!
Mu Yijing was forced to turn her sword to defend!
Bang!
The two clashed hard again, both figures swaying!
And just at this moment, the Spirit-Nurturing Flower seemed to have absorbed enough energy, its seven-colored light suddenly shrinking inward, then exploding violently!
Boom!!!
An indescribable, terrifying energy storm mixed with extreme icy cold and sinister Evil Qi exploded violently from the center of the Spirit-Nurturing Flower!
The seven-colored light, mixed with blue and black, swept out in all directions like a tsunami!
Mu Yijing and the Black-robed Elder, bearing the brunt, were both shaken by this sudden explosion, their protective spiritual light flickering violently as they flew backward!
The energy storm did not lose momentum, instantly engulfing the entire hall!
"Damn it!" Fang Hao felt his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!
His location was right at the edge of the storm!
If he were swept in, he would definitely leave no corpse behind!
Escape! Must escape!
He couldn’t care about hiding anymore, his Divine Spirit Steps and Shrinking the Ground to an Inch both exploding to the extreme, throwing himself desperately toward a broken window in the hall!
At the same time, he blocked the empty clarity mirror behind him and pushed the Five Elements Spirit Shield to the limit!
Rumble!
The energy storm slammed fiercely into the empty clarity mirror and the spirit shield!
The mirror light dimmed instantly, and the spirit shield shattered like paper!
Fang Hao felt as if he had been hit by a giant mountain, vomiting a mouthful of blood, and was blown out the window like a broken kite!
Plop!
He fell heavily into a pile of rubble outside the hall, his bones feeling like they were falling apart, his vision blacking out, nearly fainting.
He relied entirely on a surge of willpower to keep from passing out.
He struggled to lift his head and look at the hall.
He saw the entire roof of the hall had been blown off, and inside, blue and black lights were still violently colliding; clearly, the two had not finished fighting.
And that troublesome Spirit-Nurturing Flower, after the explosion, had dimmed quite a bit, but was still floating in mid-air, though its position seemed to have shifted.
"Can’t stay here anymore... I’ll die..." Fang Hao had only one thought in his heart.
Enduring the intense pain, he scrambled up using his hands and feet, not caring about the direction, and ran for his life toward the depths of the ruins, far away from the hall.
He was severely injured now, his internal organs damaged, his Meridians torn, even worse than when he was chased by True Person Chiyang last time.
But he didn’t dare stop, only able to run while stuffing Medicinal Pills into his mouth.
He didn’t know how far he had run; only when he could no longer hear the sounds of fighting behind him did he dare to collapse behind a half-collapsed wall, panting heavily, his whole body soaked in cold sweat and blood.
"Damn... This relic really isn’t a place for people..." Fang Hao felt like crying.
He hadn’t gained many treasures, but had almost lost his life several times.
He had to find an absolutely safe place to heal as soon as possible!
Otherwise, if any Demon Beast or Cultivator came along, he would be finished!
He struggled to get up, scanning the ruins, and suddenly saw, not far away, an entrance to a staircase leading underground, half-covered by vines.
It was pitch black inside and seemed very deep.
"Underground... maybe it’s safer?" Fang Hao hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and walked over.
It was better than waiting for death above.
He pushed aside the vines and carefully walked down the stairs.
The stairs were narrow and deep, leading all the way into the darkness underground.
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he finally reached the bottom.
Below was a small stone room, empty, with only a dust-covered meditation cushion in one corner.
It seemed no one had been here for a long time, the atmosphere stale.
"This will do..." Fang Hao couldn’t hold on anymore.
Not bothering to check for danger, he sat down on the cushion, set up a few simple warning Formations, and immediately began to circulate his cultivation to heal.
He had to recover some strength as soon as possible, otherwise, in this desperate place, he would surely die.
But what he didn’t know was that the moment he stepped into this stone room, the seemingly ordinary meditation cushion beneath him flashed with an extremely obscure light.
