Chapter 149: The Beginning of Breaking the Deadlock and Escaping Trouble

Chen Qing gritted his teeth. The back of one of the hands holding his sword had a wound so deep his bone was visible, and it was bleeding continuously, clearly having damaged his meridians. If he could not repair the meridians and stop the bleeding soon, it would likely affect his future swordsmanship, especially since his opponent was wielding a two-handed sword.

"I thought you had turned over a new leaf today; it seems I underestimated you."

After saying this, Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, casually swung his heavy sword, and moved along with it. Zhou Ni’s reaction was a beat too slow, and the person standing in the direction of the swing was torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.

A faint, invisible ripple flashed through the air, and Chen Qing rode his sword away along that ripple.

"I admit defeat today, but if I run into you again, Zhou Ni, I will make my Blood Demon Sword drink your fill of blood!"

Before Zhou Ni could react, a subordinate rushed over to report, "Boss, word from Zhao San's side is that someone noticed the commotion here and is preparing to intercept us."

"Bah! A pack of wolf pups that smell blood; sooner or later, I'll harvest every last one of them," Zhou Ni spat. "Go! Release the blood bees. No matter what, we cannot let the cooked duck fly today. Everyone, follow me!"

As if vanishing into thin air, the men brought by Zhou Ni disappeared from the scene one by one, causing Ji Yao to frown.

"Junior Sister, are we currently hidden in some independent space?" Mu Baiyun looked at the deep crater in the projection, deep in thought.

Ji Yao stared absentmindedly in the direction Chen Qing had left, replying casually, "It should be."

"Junior Sister, we probably cannot stay here for long. Whether intentional or accidental, when those two struck, they directed their energy right at the spot where we disappeared. Consequently, this place is now a giant sinkhole.

Moreover, look at the stones in this pit; they are likely no ordinary objects. Once we go out, we will likely face the ferocious and violent energy concentrated within this pit head-on."

Only then did Ji Yao shift her gaze to the spot Mu Baiyun pointed out. Vaguely visible within the pit were a few protruding giant boulders. It was precisely these boulders that gathered the surrounding residual combat energy, causing various energies to converge inside the deep pit.

This highlighted the difference in their perspectives: Mu Baiyun focused on the combat itself and its aftermath, while Ji Yao paid attention to the unusual surroundings, such as the ripple through which Chen Qing had escaped.

Ji Yao shook her head helplessly. "Senior Brother Yun, what you mentioned is only one aspect. What I want to say is that we might be trapped here."

Starting from the location where Chen Qing had flashed away, she traced a rough circle with her finger before explaining.

"When they were fighting, Zhou Ni's subordinates set up a formation of this scale. The original intention was to trap Chen Qing, but a subordinate made a mistake, giving Chen Qing the opening to find a gap and escape."

He was able to escape because he possessed the cultivation of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, but the two of them likely lacked the strength to do so yet.

"When Zhou Ni and the others left, this formation was not dismantled. The only option we can try right now is that very gap."

Therefore, Ji Yao turned her gaze toward Mu Baiyun, full of hope.

"Have you ever tried forming lightning spiritual power into a sphere to wrap around a person?" Ji Yao felt that asking a pure sword cultivator about a skill belonging to spell cultivators was somewhat blasphemous to a sword cultivator.

However, the safest method she could think of at the moment was precisely this. Otherwise, ensuring their own safety the moment they stepped out would be a major problem.

Mu Baiyun had not paid special attention to his own changes; he had only just understood his own heart, feeling a brief surge of pleasant emotion and reacting accordingly.

Yet this girl was overwhelmingly carefree; the moment he finished speaking, her attention might be diverted elsewhere. This matter required careful deliberation.

The most important task right now was bringing his junior sister back safely. Mu Baiyun reined in his emotions, acting as if nothing had just happened, and said, "Junior Sister is talking nonsense again. Do you remember that we are currently being hunted down?"

"Oh, oh, right!" Her hand having been released, Ji Yao slapped her own head and pulled Mu Baiyun under the Dixiu tree in the courtyard. "Senior Brother, quickly meditate here to recover. We probably have a fierce battle ahead of us shortly."

Only then did Mu Baiyun have time to examine the area in his field of vision. It was quite similar to the bamboo house in the Sword-Sharpening Forest of Tianlv Peak; Junior Sister should like it very much!

He did not ask Ji Yao where this place specifically was, but submissively followed her arrangement, sitting cross-legged beneath the Dixiu tree and circulating his cultivation technique. Within moments, he noticed the difference.

Naturally, he also understood Ji Yao's intention in not calling him into the house and deliberately pulling him here to recover. Meditating here made it much easier to enter a state of deep concentration, and the calm of mind made the effects twice as effective with half the effort.

Most likely, the tree beside him was also no ordinary item.

Recovering here was indeed much faster than outside. When Mu Baiyun fully recovered and opened his eyes, he saw that Ji Yao had placed a spirit-gathering array disc made of top-grade spiritual jade in front of her, yet she had still not ended her meditation.

He observed that after the spirit-gathering array disc was deployed, the spiritual energy within the space converged at a speed visible to the naked eye, rapidly absorbed by Ji Yao. Yet it was still like pouring water into a bottomless pit, showing no signs of slowing down.

No wonder Junior Sister, with her early Foundation Establishment cultivation, could make that Star-Turning Plate artifact display its proper effect; it was likely related to her spiritual energy reserves!

After another three quarters of an hour, Ji Yao slowly ended her meditation and opened her eyes to find herself once again the object of special attention from her handsome senior brother.

Especially since he had now tidied himself up, looking just as he had the day Ji Yao first met him, except his expression was vastly different—he no longer looked like a paralyzed person, and a slight upward curve hung at the corners of his lips.

Indeed, it was not her imagination; beauty could ruin a nation, and that probably referred to this kind of thing! Looking at that face, Ji Yao didn't even want to think about their current predicament.

Sighing, Ji Yao put away the array disc, glanced one last time at Mu Baiyun's face, and then stood up, walking over to the edge of the small Mirror Lake in front of the courtyard. She called out, "Senior Brother Yun, are you ready? Let me tell you about the current situation!"

The origin of the name Mirror Lake was simply something Ji Yao had felt inspired to name the pond herself.

That escape talisman earlier was merely meant to divert the attention of the mid-Nascent Soul stage demon cultivator who arrived later. Ji Yao did not believe that her meager talisman-crafting skills could produce a talisman capable of escaping the other's pursuit.

Of course, they were still lingering in the exact same spot right now; the things spirited away by the escape talisman were merely two sets of clothes. Even though the Nascent Soul of a demon cultivator was present at the time, Ji Yao was not worried about being discovered.

One must know that this Sumeru Ring was an immortal artifact specially refined by the Patriarch of the Lingyun Sect for his master. Once bound to its owner, how could it be detected by people of the lower realm?

The small Mirror Lake within the space had recorded everything that happened after the mid-Nascent Soul cultivator arrived.

The projection showed that after the man arrived, he first snatched up the corpse and Nascent Soul of the previous person, then identified the residual aura of the escape talisman in the air and gave chase in a certain direction.

Not long after he left, another team of demon cultivators arrived, ransacking the place thoroughly. Finding nothing, they could only wait for the mid-Nascent Soul cultivator to return.

"Chen Qing, Old Ghost notified us to come and help. Where is he right now?"