Chapter 741: Chapter 176: Those Green-Skinned Monsters! (Third Update)
Lingering souls!
Those God and Demon lingering souls that wait for someone to walk into the Divine Demon Ancient Battlefield, and then possess them to be reborn!
"Such bad luck!" Ji Yaohua couldn’t help but curse.
Under such gravity, they could hardly lift their hands, and yet they encountered these lingering souls. How could they possibly resist?
"Look, they don’t seem to be affected by this space!" Xi Qianxue suddenly noticed and alerted everyone.
Mu Qingge remained silent. In her heart, she thought, ’The gravity affects physical bodies, so it naturally has no effect on these lingering souls. Indeed, as Ji Yaohua said, quite unlucky.’
"They’re coming!" Ying Ze’s voice was low as he spoke.
The lingering souls rushed toward them rapidly, as if they had smelled the aura of the living here, and charged wildly.
"Ah—!" Suddenly, Ji Yaohua let out a furious roar.
Mu Qingge and the others turned their gaze to him, seeing his neck and temple veins bulge, his handsome face flushed red. He gritted his teeth, exerting effort to lift his hand, took out his fan, and barely opened it, preparing for battle.
At the same time, he sternly spoke to Ying Ze and Xi Qianxue, "Your attacks are useless against these lingering souls, stay behind Qingge and me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the lingering souls were already upon them.
This time, the lingering souls were of a lower level, just like the ones Xi Qianxue first spotted, amorphous black shadows. However, their numbers were overwhelming, like a dark cloud, roughly estimated in the thousands.
Mu Qingge’s eyes darkened, and with a flick of her right index finger, she softly commanded, "Linglong Spear!"
The Finger Cover transformed into the Linglong Spear, automatically flying into the air to slaughter the lingering souls.
Meanwhile, Ji Yaohua’s fan also flew out of his hand, rotating incessantly nearby, blocking the approaching lingering souls.
Already under the pressure of gravity, the attack of the lingering souls was simply adding fuel to the fire! At this moment, their ability to channel Spiritual Power was significantly hindered.
Ying Ze and Xi Qianxue were protected in the middle, their attacks were useless against the lingering souls.
Around them, gusts of cold wind seemed to proliferate.
The air was filled with the wailings and howls of ghosts.
The shrill laughter, dense and intertwined, penetrated their minds as if trying to tear apart their souls.
"Watch out!" Ji Yaohua saw a lingering soul stealthily attacking Xi Qianxue. He urgently directed his fan to rescue, leaving his back vulnerable, where a lingering soul bit down, tearing his clothes and ripping away a large chunk of flesh.
The pain made him gasp sharply.
"What do they want? It doesn’t seem like they’re trying to possess us!" Ying Ze noted Ji Yaohua’s back wound and then looked at his own shoulder and arm wounds, speaking in a deep voice.
"They want to consume us to gain strength. At their current level, they can’t possess. They can only take over after growing stronger." Mu Qingge’s eyes were calm and icy.
"Aren’t they supposed to grow stronger by devouring each other? Why eat us?" Xi Qianxue wielded her sword to block.
Mu Qingge replied in a deep voice, "Devouring each other is only one way for them to become strong. Now it seems that consuming fresh flesh can also make them stronger, even..." Her gaze flashed and landed on the lingering soul that had consumed Ji Yaohua’s flesh, her voice growing colder, "Even faster than devouring their kind."
Catching the implicit suggestion in her words, Ji Yaohua and the others looked at the lingering souls.
"Kekeke—!"
The lingering soul let out an arrogant laugh, and its originally chaotic eye sockets gradually turned green.
"It’s breaking through!" Xi Qianxue exclaimed.
Ji Yaohua’s features twisted in rage, grinding his teeth in a curse, "Damn it! How dare you eat my flesh to break through!" He directed his fan towards the lingering soul.
However, as soon as it approached, it was directly knocked back by the now-evolved lingering soul.
This scene changed Ji Yaohua’s expression significantly.
Suddenly, a golden light shot towards the lingering soul. It became extremely terrified, attempting to flee but was enveloped by the golden light, gradually shrinking into a Golden Pill that flew towards them.
Witnessing this sudden turn of events, the three followed the direction of the Golden Pill only to find Mu Qingge’s eyes glistening with a pure golden light, her entire being exuding an aura transcending the mortal realm, like a deity.
The Golden Pill flew towards her mouth, but she raised her hand to block it, catching it directly in her palm and placing it into a Glazed Bottle.
As the three looked at her, she explained, her tone at odds with the icy apathy in her gaze. "A kind of Spiritual Attack technique, a family inheritance."
Spiritual Attack? Family inheritance?
Though the three still had some questions, they knew now was not the time to ask.
Mu Qingge’s eyes continued to emit golden light, turning those strong lingering souls into Golden Pills which she collected in the Glazed Bottle, while the low-level lingering souls were left to the Linglong Spear and Ji Yaohua’s fan.
Still, despite this, the three were left battered. Only Mu Qingge, whom the lingering souls seemed to consider untouchable, avoided approaching her, as if in retreat.
Finally, the thousands of lingering souls were thoroughly eradicated.
Mu Qingge’s eyes returned to their normal color, directing her gaze at the other three.
They were covered in tattered clothes torn by the lingering souls, with wounds covering their bodies. Ji Yaohua’s face had a blood slit, marring his handsome looks.
Mu Qingge took out three Elixirs and let them take them.
These three Elixirs were a regular item at auctions on the first floor, known as the holy medicine for healing. Once they ingested them, their wounds immediately stopped bleeding and healed completely.
Soon, besides their ragged clothes stained with blood, there was no sign they had been injured.
Though exhausted, Mu Qingge was also not in good shape.
Fighting under gravity was already an extreme challenge.
She said to the three, "We must leave here; if another wave comes, we will all die."
The three nodded heavily.
The four held each other’s hands, supporting and relying on each other, resolved to walk out of this eerie Gravity Space.
...
In the Divine Demon Ancient Battlefield, the chill of death-laden coldness continuously swept across the ground.
This place, desolate and lifeless, was not meant for the living. It belonged to the dead, to spirits, to lingering souls.
Mu Qingge was jolted awake by the cold wind, snapping out of her daze.
Once she regained her consciousness, she discovered that she was lying on the hard, black ground.
With her hands on the ground, she stood up and finally noticed that not far from her, three other people were lying down. However, from their appearance, it seemed they had yet to awaken.
Mu Qingge first walked over to Xi Qianxue, who was closest to her, and shook her gently. She softly called, "Xi Qianxue, Qianxue..."
At the sound of her voice, Xi Qianxue slowly woke up, opening her eyes to see Mu Qingge squatting in front of her.
Seeing her awake, Mu Qingge moved to Ji Yaohua, who was next to Xi Qianxue, and shook him awake.
After waking Ying Ze, the four of them sat together again, observing the surrounding environment.
They only remembered walking to the end of that Gravity Space, entirely relying on willpower, with just one thought in their minds—to walk out of there.
"It seems like the gravity you mentioned is gone," Ying Ze said as he felt around, looking at Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge nodded.
When she awoke, she felt light all over, and the previous gravity had disappeared.
However, that Gravity Space had exceeded her expectations. The gravity they faced towards the end was dozens of times the greatest gravity she experienced during training in a Gravity Room in her past life.
She was surprised she made it out.
But on second thought, the current her was not the same as her past self physically, and being able to withstand such gravity was understandable.
"Ah! Finally out," Ji Yaohua lay on the ground, arms spread out, staring at the gray sky of the Ancient Battlefield.
Looking at them, Mu Qingge lightly coughed to remind them, "Aren’t you planning to change clothes?"
Only with her reminder did the three realize their disheveled state.
Especially Xi Qianxue, who was a Goddess of the Divine Hall, pure and flawless. Now, she stood disheveled in front of ’three men.’
Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly walked to a secluded spot not far away.
Unexpectedly, as she moved, she soared into the air, tracing a long arc before gracefully landing.
Feet on the ground, she exclaimed in surprise, "What’s going on? I didn’t use that much force at all!"
Her words also made Ji Yaohua and Ying Ze stand up, their eyes shining.
Mu Qingge laughed, "This is the benefit we gained after enduring so much to get out of that Gravity Space."
Ji Yaohua’s eyes lit up, and with a move, he became a gust of wind, so fast one couldn’t catch his trace.
When he reappeared, he exclaimed with great joy, "So fast! I only used one layer of strength, but it’s as fast as when I used three layers before!"
Amazed at his speed increase, Ji Yaohua urged Ying Ze, "Quick, see if your strength has increased?"
Ying Ze closed his eyes, carefully experiencing, before suddenly opening them with surprise, saying, "I can feel the bottleneck of the Golden Realm! Breakthrough is right in front of me!"
Ji Yaohua was waiting for him to throw a punch, but suddenly heard this, stunned for a moment. Then immediately rejoiced, "Really? Congratulations!"
All three of them gained something, and naturally, Mu Qingge was no exception.
However, her body and Spiritual Sense were continuously honed by Divine Strategy, so the improvement wasn’t obvious. But she discovered a big surprise: her Spiritual Power, compressed under the gravity, had become purer. This meant her Spiritual Power was stronger than others at the same Realm, and she could store more.
This unexpected delight lightened the mood for the four of them.
At least, their purpose of entering this Ancient Battlefield was gradually being realized.
Especially Ying Ze; Mu Qingge wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but she seemed to see a faint smile on that icy face.
...
Ji Yaohua was the first to come out after changing clothes, walking up to Mu Qingge with a broad smile.
The bright smile reappeared on his face, his eyes curving, seemingly restoring his image as a friendly young noble.
"Ying Ze feeling breakthrough has relieved a burden from him," he remarked to Mu Qingge.
Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
Ji Yaohua boasted, "That kid thought I couldn’t see through him? Tch~! He always felt like he was dragging us down. He’s very proud, never willing to lose to anyone. But he’s also very rational, knowing when to fight or not, never discouraged, taking one step at a time to today. Entering the Divine Demon Ancient Battlefield was his suggestion, yet he was hit hardest. Now, with a breakthrough near, at least he feels he hasn’t been useless."
"You do care about him," Mu Qingge squinted with a smile.
Ji Yaohua raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course! He was my brother, and he might become my brother-in-law in the future, so naturally I care. Not to mention, for Pianpian, I can’t let anything happen to him."
Mu Qingge laughed, "So every time something happened, you took the initiative to be a shield or scout?"
She wasn’t foolish. These days, Ji Yaohua seemed reckless, yet every time there was an unknown danger, he would scout, and in battles, he took on a protector’s role.
Ji Yaohua sighed regretfully, "I also want to protect you! But you’re too strong, you don’t need my protection! Who would’ve thought the one who needed me to suppress my Realm to spar back then has surpassed me now."
Recalling that, Mu Qingge coldly smiled, "Don’t forget who won in the end."
Embarrassment flickered across Ji Yaohua’s face, before he suddenly said, "Mu Qingge, be honest, after we sparred, someone else challenged me and beat me like a dog. Was that person sent by you for revenge?"
Mu Qingge’s lips curled up; she knew who he meant, but didn’t want to give him the answer.
Giving Ji Yaohua a mysterious look, Mu Qingge moved forward.
"Hey! Tell me!" Ji Yaohua stomped in frustration, muttering gloomily, "The problem is... what the hell did that guy who beat me look like? I can’t remember at all! I seriously suspect he messed with my memory!"
...
After resting, the four continued their exploration.
This time, they didn’t proceed forward, as they weren’t sure how deep they had delved into the Ancient Battlefield, so they decided to change direction and head north, making a loop.
Time gradually passed.
This was their second month and seventh day in the Ancient Battlefield.
More than half the time had passed since their three-month goal.
However, at the exit, Wei Molili was still waiting for them, and they didn’t know the current situation—whether she had awakened or broken out of the Forbidden Technique Mu Qingge set.
"Another battlefield relic," Ji Yaohua said with some regret, scanning the petrified corpses beneath him.
In this time, they had passed through several battlefield relics.
"There’s someone over there!" Xi Qianxue suddenly whispered a reminder.
Mu Qingge raised her eyes, slightly narrowing them. The distant scene immediately became clear. Seeing those ’people,’ Mu Qingge’s eyes locked in surprise: ’Those green-skinned creatures!’
