Chapter 617: Chapter 617: Heading to the Third Layer of the Devil’s Cave Together
After taking the elixir from Zhu Liang, Ye Qingchen quickly awoke. Seeing the deep concern on Zhu Liang’s face, he instantly understood it was his Senior Brother who had saved him. A warmth spread through his heart, and he said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Brother. If you hadn’t arrived in time, I’m afraid I would have died here!"
Ye Qingchen looked down at Wang Ziping, who was now nothing but ashes, his expression tense. This battle had nearly cost him his life. Wang Ziping was at the Eighth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, a mere pawn for the Saint Heir. Even after playing all his cards and mobilizing the Mingyuan Refining Heart Array that was nourished by his own meridians, he couldn’t gain the slightest advantage. In the face of absolute power, the gap in cultivation level rendered any number of trump cards useless. He needed to increase his strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, how could he ever protect the people he wanted to protect?
Although his meridians were preserved this time, they still required deep regulation and recuperation. The Water-Attribute Energy that Wang Ziping had unleashed had completely invaded his body during the fierce battle. For the time being, he would be unable to mobilize any Fire-Attribute Energy, which meant he couldn’t use his Fire Spirit Charm Shadow for a while. He could not act rashly, at least not until he resolved this lingering Water-Attribute Energy. Otherwise, breaking through to the next realm in the future would be tremendously difficult.
With this in mind, Ye Qingchen quickly circulated the remaining traces of Wood-Attribute Energy in his body, infusing it into his blood vessels.
The already tumultuous nature’s spiritual energy sensed his presence. Like a cat that had caught the scent of meat, it crazily converged upon his body. The Willow Wood Martial Soul activated on its own. Countless willow vines extended from behind Ye Qingchen, springing forth on contact. They continuously circled around him, firmly binding him within a small space of about two to three square meters.
Countless green specks of light scattered within the tight enclosure. Any that touched Ye Qingchen at the center were instantly absorbed into his body. As these green dots reached his meridians, gradually nurturing and moisturizing them, the spreading pain began to fade. Even his ruptured meridians were slowly being bridged and reformed.
In just a quarter of an hour, his previously exhausted body had already recovered seventy to eighty percent. Even his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, stirred by this influx of nature’s spiritual energy, began to operate on its own.
Xiao Xiao’s small face was set in a tight-lipped expression. Standing to the side, she watched Ye Qingchen heal, then bent down to pick up Wang Ziping’s fallen jade token. Her slender fingers clutched it tightly, as if venting her anger.
Damned Wang Ziping! He hurt my Young Master so badly. Dying like this lets him off too easily!
Xiao Xiao muttered incessantly in her heart. Disturbed by the noise, Ye Qingchen opened his eyes and looked at her.
Xiao Xiao instantly suppressed her annoyance and reluctantly handed the jade token to Zhu Liang.
Since he’s the Young Master’s Senior Brother, he must be one of us. You can’t take advantage of your own people! she silently recited. But... the Young Master nearly died for this!
"Senior Brother, about the points on this jade token..."
Although the Young Master didn’t win, he still gave it his all. Surely his Senior Brother wouldn’t take all the points for himself, right?!
"It all goes to Junior Brother. I have enough points on my own token!" Zhu Liang said magnanimously, not noticing Xiao Xiao’s slight hesitation to let go of the token.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xiao beamed. She excitedly took out Ye Qingchen’s Points Jade Plaque and stacked the two tokens together. In an instant, the points on Ye Qingchen’s Points Jade Plaque surpassed fifty thousand. Seeing this, Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but grin, her eyes narrowing with delight.
Ye Qingchen pretended not to hear Xiao Xiao’s inner mumblings. Seeing that his injuries were mostly healed, he quickly dispersed the nature’s spiritual energy he had gathered around himself. Although his Senior Brother’s presence on the second layer meant there was little to fear, such dense spiritual energy could attract many powerful True Demons.
When Zhu Liang saw his Junior Brother open his eyes, he hastily withdrew his hand. Ye Qingchen saw Zhu Liang looking at him with a benevolent smile, reminiscent of a Maitreya Buddha, and couldn’t help but ask, "Senior Brother, how did you suddenly appear?"
"You can thank your own good luck, kid," Zhu Liang said. "I happened to be in Eternal City purchasing supplies. I had just finished my business when I received an urgent message from Junior Sister Nian’er. I knew right away you were in trouble. I came looking for you and happened to find that good-for-nothing attacking you!
"You’re my Junior Brother. No one gets to bully you except us. Next time you run into someone like that, you tell me first, and I’ll take care of it for you."
Ye Qingchen’s heart warmed. His Senior Brothers and Sisters had always treated him with exceptional kindness. Whenever they were around, they would always shield him.
Xiao Xiao stepped forward and handed Ye Qingchen his Points Jade Plaque. "Young Master, you have over fifty thousand points now." The implication was that they could now proceed to the third layer of the battlefield.
Zhu Liang’s eyes narrowed. Before either of them could speak, he raised a hand. All three of their tokens floated into the air, and a teleportation array materialized before them. It was the passage to the third layer of the battlefield.
Ye Qingchen looked at Zhu Liang in surprise. "Senior Brother, are you coming with us? Won’t it interfere with your tasks?"
"It won’t. My purchasing is mostly done," Zhu Liang said. "Besides, your Junior Sister Nian’er and Third Senior Brother are still on the third layer. The message they sent out earlier implied they were in trouble, which is why I couldn’t get to you sooner. I’ll go with you all. That way, if something happens, I can help you escape.
"More importantly, I can’t rest easy with you going in alone. That good-for-nothing left his Water-Attribute Energy in you, and it hasn’t dissipated. It’s a disaster waiting to happen. Until that’s resolved, you’re not leaving my sight."
Without giving Ye Qingchen a chance to refuse, Zhu Liang waved his hand, and the three of them entered the teleportation array.
A wave of dizziness washed over him. When Ye Qingchen opened his eyes, he was met with such intense atmospheric pressure that it took his breath away. He gasped for a moment before the feeling subsided.
Zhu Liang stood steadily on the ground, seemingly unaffected. Xiao Xiao had the same reaction as Ye Qingchen; once she had adapted, she began to seriously survey the third layer of the Demon Clan’s battlefield.
The nature’s spiritual energy in the air was exceptionally pure; a careless person could easily be overwhelmed by its force. At the same time, the unique bloody aura of the Demon Clan was also extraordinarily dense. The mixture of these two energies made both humans and demons here incredibly vigorous.
The three of them appeared in a corner, concealed by a large brown rock. Peering around the edge, they could clearly see True Demons flapping their wings as they flew about. These True Demons moved in flocks with remarkable organization and discipline. At the very front was a True Demon with particularly narrow wings, clad in thick armor that radiated a dense Demonic Qi.
In the distance, several dozen powerful teams were fighting amidst the swarm of True Demons. They were felling one with every strike, and it appeared that even the weakest among them had reached the Eighth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. Even so, having been thrown into this horde of True Demons, their bodies were covered in countless wounds. They were a bloody, mangled, and miserable sight.
It was clear that the third layer was countless times more difficult than the second.
