Chapter 904: Dragon Spine Island

If it weren't for these malevolent energies, road building and bridge repairs would have been completed in half a month.

Standing at the end of the hillside, a pleasing sight unfolded before them:

Ahead lay a vast open plain. While not suitable for ten thousand horses to gallop, it could certainly accommodate a thousand. The area was covered only in weeds, with hardly any trees.

Of course, the grass was taller than a person.

Beyond the plain, undulating mountains stretched out, their ends piercing the plain like blades, truly living up to the name "Dragon's Ridge."

Here, it wasn't just a sea of green. In late August, wild flowers still bloomed vibrantly on Dragon's Ridge Island, a riot of colors.

In fact, the island wasn't devoid of life; He Lingchuan at least noticed hummingbirds feeding on nectar in pairs, much larger than their ordinary counterparts. Freshwater exposed to sunlight was purified, posing no threat to these small creatures.

However, they were extremely wary, flying away long before anyone got close.

Just then, gray mist emerged from every nook and cranny of Dragon's Ridge Island, heading straight for He Lingchuan.

They were drawn by the divine bone necklace, but with the sun still in the sky, the moment the mist appeared, it vaporized, leaving no trace.

This method of purification was quite convenient.

At this point, the sun once again slipped behind the clouds.

The hummingbirds sensed danger, immediately dropped their food, and flew skyward, though a few were slow to react. Fortunately, the passing gray mist completely ignored them, focusing solely on He Lingchuan.

This human-shaped black hole, like a whale sucking in water, rapidly drew in all the surrounding malevolent energy. Then, He Lingchuan pointed southwest and declared, "The misty evil emanates from there."

The source of the dense mist was indeed the southwestern corner of the island. Lu Xun had not deceived him.

He had initially worried that the Great Square Jar would stop absorbing once it was full, leaving them stranded in the thick mist. But as it turned out, the Great Square Jar accepted everything that came, taking as much as it could.

What was there to be afraid of now? Let's go and find out.

With this divine artifact on him, He Lingchuan led the group, striding swiftly southwest.

The journey was arduous and rugged, requiring them to cross natural bridges and pass through curtain-like caves. Fortunately, everyone in the team was agile and nimble, traversing mountains and valleys as if on flat ground.

Even so, they walked for over an hour, taking several detours, before finally reaching the southwestern tip of Dragon's Ridge Island.

Compared to forest explorers elsewhere, they enjoyed a particular blessing:

No mosquitoes or flies!

However, there were some strange little insects on the ground—unassuming, wingless, and seemingly uninterested in humans. They also appeared unafraid of the malevolent energy.

The adaptability of living creatures was truly remarkable.

This was a valley within the mountains. From a distance, they saw a large cavernous depression in the dense forest.

Tao Ran murmured, "My goodness, it's that big?"

He Lingchuan recognized at a glance that the huge cavern was the "sinkhole" Lu Xun had mentioned. It even had a specific name:

White Abyss.

The cave entrance was an irregular flattened circle, a hundred zhang in diameter. From where they stood, they could gaze into the jagged, sturdy rock formations inside.

It was like the gaping maw of a monster.

He Lingchuan stood halfway up the slope, about a li (approximately half a kilometer) from the sinkhole, and saw gray mist billowing out from the forest below and the sinkhole itself, rushing towards him, only to vanish into thin air under the sunlight.

Here, the mist was so dense it was almost black.

Moreover, the forest surrounding the sinkhole was probably so dense that little light penetrated, providing ample hiding space for the gray mist.

The gray mist within the sinkhole was exceptionally abundant; it surged out for a quarter of an hour before gradually dissipating.

Just then, strange howls echoed through the forest, like the cawing of crows at night, yet also like the cries of infants, rising and falling.

Qiu Hu also saw the large trees in the forest swaying and rustling without any wind, as if something was rushing towards them.

And there were quite a few of them.

"Are those Yin-Hui?"

Everyone gripped their weapons, ready for battle.

Before long, many flickering figures emerged from the shadows of the trees.

Some were black, some gray, and others had black and white patterns.

He Lingchuan initially thought they were large snakes, but then he looked closer and gasped in surprise!

These creatures were serpent-like in form, legless, slender, and scaled. Even their movement was like that of snakes, writhing and twisting.

But they had four arms!

Moreover, when they moved, their upper bodies stood erect, resembling human torsos, with slightly protruding shoulder blades.

Their necks were round and flattened, like those of cobras.

The smallest of these monsters were about one zhang long, while some reached three zhang, with bodies thicker than water barrels.

They all crowded at the edge of the forest, beneath the shade of the trees, glaring fiercely at He Lingchuan and his group, but refusing to take another step forward.

In front of them was ground bathed in sunlight.

One or two, overly agitated, accidentally brushed an arm against a sunbeam.

With a hiss, everyone watched as smoke rose from their bodies.

These two creatures recoiled rapidly, as if burned.

"These things, like the gray mist, fear sunlight!" Ling Guang realized. "Hui naturally prefer cold, dark places. These Yin-Hui have lived on Dragon's Ridge Island for years and are accustomed to the presence of malevolent energy. When we suddenly drew all that energy away, they became uncomfortable."

However, no matter how uncomfortable they were, these creatures couldn't charge across the open, sun-drenched area to confront He Lingchuan and his group.

The gray mist emerging from the forest grew thinner and thinner, clearly indicating its supply was almost exhausted.

The Yin-Hui huddled under the trees grew increasingly dense, restlessly stirring. Their wailing grew more piercing, reminding He Lingchuan of a teeming school of sardines.

Qiu Hu looked up at the sky, a worried expression on his face:

"My lord, it will be dark in another hour and a half."

If they remained on the island then, with no sunlight to block their path, these Yin-Hui would almost certainly charge forward and devour them.

The enemy was too numerous, and night would be their domain; their own side would have no advantage whatsoever.

It was one thing for Young Master He's treasure to absorb malevolent energy, but could it absorb the Yin-Hui as well?

Before He Lingchuan could speak, a sharp roar suddenly erupted from the sinkhole.

It was loud and piercing, drowning out the sounds of all the other Yin-Hui.

He Lingchuan waved his hand, saying, "Let's observe a little longer."

The gray mist in the forest had likely dispersed completely, and the sun was holding strong, not slipping back into the clouds. Otherwise, the four of them would have had to turn and flee at that moment.

The Yin-Hui in the shade were agitated; dozens of them thrashed their heads and tails, appearing frantic and in great pain.

Finally, they even leaped out of the woods, charging towards He Lingchuan and his group!

The sunlight from above hit them, causing large amounts of white vapor to hiss and billow, like quicklime reacting with water.

Their formerly smooth scales rapidly peeled off, and the flesh exposed to the sunlight quickly blackened and burned...

In merely seven or eight breaths, the massive crimson Yin-Hui was charred to a crisp, convulsing on the ground for a few moments before falling still.

Sunlight was truly their nemesis.

Yet they continued to charge forward, one after another. Was it because they were driven by the roar from the sinkhole, or simply because their suffering was too great to bear?

"I was wrong," Ling Guang said upon seeing this. "The relationship between the Yin-Hui and the gray mist is likely like that of fish and water. When you draw away all the gray mist, they become like fish out of water, suffering unbearable torment."

Since death was inevitable either way, charging He Lingchuan and his group was preferable to continued torment from suffocation.

But no sooner had he spoken than another long howl echoed from the sinkhole. The Yin-Hui looked up at the sky, stopped their charge, and retreated back into the shadows.

They certainly took orders.

Madam Zhu suddenly said, "A mass of dark clouds is drifting in from the east. We probably don't have an hour and a half left."

It turned out these monsters were waiting for overcast weather. Once the dark clouds obscured the sun, they could pursue the group.

He Lingchuan immediately turned around. "Let's go," he said.

Two fists are no match for four hands, and these creatures were indeed naturally endowed with an extra pair of arms compared to them.

Everyone summoned their true power and turned to flee.

Their agility was superb; they moved through these desolate mountains and wilderness as if on flat ground.

The howls behind them grew more distant. Ling Guang, perched on He Lingchuan's shoulder, asked, "What's inside the sinkhole?"

While everyone else was running for their lives, it was the most relaxed.

He Lingchuan glanced at Madam Zhu upon hearing the question. "Probably the King of the Yin-Hui?"

It would be strange for such gregarious monsters not to have one or two leaders. Madam Zhu herself was proof of that.

Madam Zhu snorted, "Next time, I'll call my sister and her army of spider demons. Then we'll see who has the numerical advantage!"

He Lingchuan asked, surprised, "Why don't you raise an army?"

"Don't like it!" she retorted. "As a single spider, I can move about so freely and cleanly. Unlike my sister, who has to drag her whole family along, causing a huge commotion just to move house."

Tao Ran warned, "The clouds are almost here!"

And they still had half the distance to cover.

Madam Zhu, displeased, said, "You're too slow. Get on my back."

He Lingchuan and the others, already quite agile among cultivators, were nevertheless deemed too slow. They had no choice but to jump onto the giant spider's back, carefully avoiding its sharp spines.

Being pricked by those spines would probably hurt more than a bite from a Yin-Hui, wouldn't it?

"Hold on tight!" Madam Zhu casually instructed, just as they passed a cliff, then leaped with her three passengers—

Possessing the power of a jumping spider, she sprang horizontally over thirty zhang, as if soaring through clouds and mist.

But after all that leaping and soaring, they still had to come down.

Wind whistled past their ears, and Tao Ran and Qiu Hu's faces paled.

Falling freely like this, even with Madam Zhu cushioning their fall, the three of them would hardly escape death.

However, Madam Zhu then swiftly shot out several strands of silk, attaching them to a few large trees.

She swung past, barely skimming the ground.

Leaping and swinging like this, she rushed towards the shore at a speed more than three times that of He Lingchuan and the others!

Wasn't this the very skill Madam Zhu relied on when she helped He Lingchuan escape Mount Xu?

Now, the pursuers were merely Yin-Hui, not deities from the Heavenly Palace, so she felt quite secure.

He Lingchuan used the eyeball spider to contact the sea vessel, which had been circling the island, moving in sync with them. Now, He Lingchuan directed them to stop beneath the cliff at the southwestern tip of Dragon's Ridge Island.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Madam Zhu brought the three of them to the cliff, then executed a high swing jump directly back onto the ship.

"Go!"

Without He Lingchuan needing to give the order, everyone pulled anchor and grabbed their oars, quickly beginning to paddle.

Tao Ran hoisted the sail, and Madam Zhu chanted a wind-summoning incantation.

A strong wind swept in, pulling the boat northward at an incredible speed.

After sailing two hundred zhang away, Ling Guang pointed behind them and said, "The Yin-Hui are entering the water!"

At that moment, dark clouds obscured the sun.

He Lingchuan looked back and saw countless small dark specks jumping into the water from Dragon's Ridge Island's beach.

Needless to say, the pursuers had arrived.

It seemed these Yin-Hui were also skilled swimmers.