Chapter 636: Like Purgatory

Lu Ye walked forward, looking down at Song Zhui from above.

Song Zhui spat a mouthful of blood at Lu Ye. "Someday, someone stronger than you will kill you. I'll wait for you on the path to the Underworld!"

Despite all his schemes and deceit, Song Zhui was a man of spirit. Even at the brink of death, he showed no fear, his expression remarkably calm.

Lu Ye pressed his long saber against Song Zhui's chest, his tone calm. "Don't make it sound like I'm committing all sorts of evil. I just wanted to cultivate peacefully in Returning Heaven Valley. You forced me out; all of this is your own doing!"

As he spoke, he suddenly leaned down, put his mouth close to Song Zhui's ear, and whispered, "After I kill you, I'll return to Kyushu, then re-enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield to destroy your Abyssal Rainbow Palace's stronghold. From now on, I'll enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield every two months!"

At the precipice of death, Song Zhui had shown no fear, but when Lu Ye uttered these words, he suddenly became agitated. "You dare..."

The long saber pierced his body, slowly delving deeper, puncturing his heart. Song Zhui's eyes widened, and he grasped the blade with both hands, letting the sharp edge cut his hands, making them bloody.

"Guess if I dare," Lu Ye said, straightening up, his slightly narrowed eyes filled with disdain.

The saber was pulled out, blood gushed from Song Zhui's chest, and his body slumped limply. The light in his eyes quickly dimmed.

Shaking the blood off his Panshan Saber, Lu Ye sheathed it. He then followed the tunnel into the mine, searching it thoroughly. Only after confirming there were no living beings left did he let out a long breath, plop onto the ground, and lie down spread-eagled.

His spirit energy and physical strength were severely depleted; though not completely exhausted, he was close.

When he had decided to leave Mount Taimang earlier, he hadn't anticipated such a turn of events. However, the unexpected discovery of this mine sparked some plans in his mind.

Although the process had its twists, it remained largely under control. Now, the mine was littered with the bodies of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, including seven or eight at the ninth-level, and even a top-tier sect disciple like Song Zhui.

It could be said that Myriad Demon Ridge suffered immense losses this time. If news of this spread, it would undoubtedly shock the entire Cloud River Battlefield, and even Kyushu.

Lu Yiye's name would likely once again draw the attention of the powerful Divine Sea realm cultivators, and he would undoubtedly face even more intense suppression and targeting in the future.

He felt no regret. Even without this incident, Myriad Demon Ridge had always targeted and suppressed him, but they had never succeeded. On the contrary, he had grown rapidly through each act of suppression. One could say that without Myriad Demon Ridge's targeting, his growth might not have been so quick.

In a way, he even had Myriad Demon Ridge to thank for their efforts against him.

Despite his exhaustion, this was no place to linger.

The main reason was the dense poisonous mist in the mine. Although Lu Ye was immune to all poisons, his Talent Tree required fuel to purify and burn off toxins that entered his body.

Therefore, the longer he stayed, the greater his expenditure.

So, even though Lu Ye desperately wanted to lie down and sleep, he quickly got up after resting for less than an incense stick's worth of time.

With so many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators dead, each possessed at least two or three storage bags, as well as various spirit artifacts they carried. This was a tremendous fortune.

Lu Ye moved amidst the blood and numerous corpses, collecting the storage bags and spirit artifacts scattered on the ground.

While he was busy, a message suddenly arrived via his battlefield imprint. Lu Ye quickly checked it and found it was from Yiyi.

Someone was clearing debris from the tunnel on the other side, and the two leaders were none other than Xia Liang and Tan Sheng...

Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh. Those two scoundrels were truly persistent, and incredibly lucky.

If they had charged in with the other two thousand cultivators earlier, they would certainly have died here. But they had clearly arrived late and were now blocked by the collapsed tunnel, which ironically saved their lives.

The cultivators outside the mine had not been affected by the poisonous mist, so their strength was unimpaired. Their efficiency in clearing the tunnel was high. According to Yiyi, it would likely take them less than half an hour to clear the tunnel completely.

With little time left, Lu Ye moved even more swiftly.

In less than half an hour, Lu Ye had collected all the loot he could. Although he was sure some items were missed, there was no longer time for a thorough search.

He flashed into the tunnel, reached the collapsed section, and listened intently. Sure enough, he heard voices and the sounds of debris being cleared from the other side.

Hearing voices meant the cultivators on the other side were indeed not far.

Lu Ye quickly took Amber out of his spirit beast bag. Yiyi appeared at the opportune moment and entered Amber's body. Lu Ye then put Amber back into the spirit beast bag, and carrying a large bundle, returned to the mine.

The anti-air array had already been deactivated by him. He leaped up, soaring towards a section of the cave wall deep within the mine.

A moment later, array patterns flickered on the cave wall, space warped, and Lu Ye's figure vanished.

Song Zhui's earlier thought was correct; Lu Ye had indeed set up a teleportation array here in advance. However, it wasn't on the ground, but on the adjacent rock wall.

In his plan to poison the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, while the chance of success was high, he also needed to prepare for any contingency. The pre-arranged teleportation array was his escape route.

If the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill didn't perform as expected, he would immediately use the teleportation array to leave.

As it turned out, the Ten Thousand Poisons Pill's effect was even better than he had anticipated. It could be said that the three pills accounted for seventy percent of the two thousand Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators' deaths; many low-cultivation cultivators were simply poisoned to death.

It's important to note that these were Ten Thousand Poisons Pills refined by Hua Ci while she was still at the Spirit Creek realm. With such power already, it's hard to imagine how terrifyingly potent the Ten Thousand Poisons Pills would become if Hua Ci advanced to the Cloud River realm, and even further to True Lake and Divine Sea realms in the future.

If she truly had the chance to reach the Divine Sea realm in the future, it was likely there would be no one in Kyushu she couldn't poison to death.

Lu Ye had long known that Hua Ci must have acquired an extraordinary inheritance, but it was only after this battle that he realized her inheritance was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

In the mine, Lu Ye's figure vanished as the teleportation array activated. Three breaths later, the pre-activated explosive array unleashed its power, completely obliterating the location where the array had been.

The violent tremors and sounds startled the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who were clearing debris at the other end of the tunnel. Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, who were leading, looked particularly shocked and uncertain.

For about half an hour, the sounds from within the mine had gradually diminished until there was complete silence.

No one knew what the situation was inside the mine, but both Xia Liang and Tan Sheng felt a sense of unease.

After a long while, an exclamation suddenly rang out: "It's cleared!"

Along with the cultivator's cheer, a gap indeed appeared in the blocked tunnel. However, before anyone could celebrate, a vibrant green mist began to surge out of the opening.

Several cultivators near the opening, caught off guard, inhaled some of it and immediately felt dizzy, their bodies turning weak.

"It's poison!" an alarmed voice cried out, and the cultivators quickly retreated.

"Everyone, get back!" Xia Liang bellowed, hacking forward with his saber. A saber aura burst forth, destroying the last layer of obstruction ahead. Debris scattered, and the passage was fully cleared. However, even more poisonous mist surged out with the airflow, forcing the group of cultivators who had come to investigate to continuously retreat, looking disheveled.

Eventually, left with no choice, the cultivators had to circulate their spirit energy to blow the spreading poisonous mist back.

Gradually, some scenes from deep within the mine came into their view.

As their eyes scanned, everyone's expression turned grim.

Deep within the mine, bodies lay scattered, blood flowed across the ground, forming streams, and the floor was stained crimson.

"That's... Senior Brother Song Zhui!" someone exclaimed, their voice trembling, as they spotted Song Zhui leaning against the cave wall.

This person had seen Song Zhui outside Returning Heaven Valley not many days ago, so they recognized him instantly.

Yet, the ninth-level expert who had been so full of vigor outside Returning Heaven Valley was now half-lying there like a lump of mud, eyes wide open in a stare of unacceptance. Even his facial expression still bore traces of dread and unwillingness, as if he had heard something terrifying just before death.

Song Zhui was dead, and many more lay dead not far from him. The mine itself was eerily silent.

A chilling sensation ran through everyone, and an uncontrollable thought surfaced in their minds.

Someone tremblingly called out, "Is anyone still alive in there?"

Only their voice echoed, receiving no reply.

The sound of swallowing saliva was heard, difficult and strained.

"I'll go in and see," Xia Liang said. He sensed something was wrong inside, but he had heard that two thousand Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators had entered this mine; surely, they couldn't all be dead?

"Be careful!" Tan Sheng cautioned.

Xia Liang nodded, activating his spirit energy to protect himself and swallowing an antidote pill before flashing inside.

However, after only a dozen breaths, he rushed back out, his expression unbelievably grave, and a faint green tinge on his face.

"What's the situation?" Tan Sheng asked.

Xia Liang shook his head. "They're all dead!"

Even though he had suspected it, Tan Sheng still found it hard to believe when Xia Liang uttered those words. "All... dead?"

That was two thousand people! Not two thousand pigs. How could they all be dead?

He suddenly thought of something else. "Is Lu Yiye also dead?"

"I don't know," Xia Liang replied, shaking his head.

Although the poisonous mist in the mine was gradually thinning, it was still not safe for anyone to remain there for long. Even as a ninth-level cultivator, Xia Liang couldn't stay inside for an extended period. In those dozen breaths, he had only caught a hurried glimpse, and the scene that met his eyes was like a purgatory!

Although he hadn't investigated thoroughly, he could confirm that all the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who had entered this mine earlier were dead!