Chapter 1606: Hell's Yellow Water

The three walked slowly forward. As expected, the path the others had taken no longer presented much danger.

When these youths abducted Zhao Ya and the others, they left no trace, presumably destroying them intentionally. However, upon reaching this place, where dangers abound, they might have relaxed their vigilance, perhaps believing no one could follow. Although the traces were not very obvious, they were successfully found under the illumination of the Eye of Insight.

"These four are indeed powerful..." Zhang Xuan's expression was grave.

If it weren't for the Eye of Insight's ability, which strengthened with his cultivation, even he would have found it difficult to discern such faint traces! To achieve this with minimal concealment, how strong were they truly? They might not be as strong as Master Yang, but they were not far behind. If the four of them joined forces, Master Yang would undoubtedly be defeated! With such cultivation, facing opponents who were unprepared, it was no wonder Zhao Ya, Wei Ruyan, and the others found it difficult to escape.

"They are probably not ordinary individuals among the Spirit Clan!" His eyes narrowed.

Although the Spirit Clan, due to their different physiques, are inherently stronger and live longer than humans, there wouldn't be too many among them capable of reaching this level of strength. Otherwise, humanity would not have been able to defend the continent and keep them out. If all of them were killed, it would likely be a severe blow to the Spirit Clan.

"There are signs of a battle ahead..." After walking for a while, the young boy Wu Chen went ahead.

Zhang Xuan quickly followed. Before them, everywhere were traces left by surging *zhenqi*, and the ground was uneven, as if a fierce battle had taken place.

"No!" With doubt in his eyes, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but say, "The traces here look like a battle, but the *zhenqi* originates from the same source. That means... it's one person's power! There are no traces left by an opponent!" The Eye of Insight excelled at observing details. Although the place appeared chaotic, it was actually formed by one person's *zhenqi* release; there was no trace of a second party.

"Could it be..." Luo Ruoxi's delicate eyebrows rose as she looked over, "An illusion?"

If someone frantically released their power without an opponent, there was only one possibility: they had encountered an illusion and were trapped within it, unable to escape. It was the same back in Qiuwu Palace. As soon as they entered, they fell into an illusion. If Zhang Xuan hadn't found and destroyed the formation core, everyone would have remained trapped until death, unable to leave.

"Exactly!" The young boy Wu Chen nodded, bowed, and clasped his fists, "Such illusions can be disorienting and make it difficult to distinguish reality, which is very dangerous... So, Miss, Master Zhang, please wait here. I will try to find the formation core and destroy the formation, then we can continue our journey!"

"Be careful. This formation can trap them and make them unable to distinguish reality, which indicates its power!" Luo Ruoxi instructed.

"Understood!" Nodding, Wu Chen gritted his teeth and took a solemn step forward. He had only taken two steps when he saw Zhang Xuan, with whom he had just been speaking, suddenly appear in front of him. Zhang Xuan stomped his foot hard on the ground. The surroundings trembled as a whole, and it seemed as if something had vanished.

Zhang Xuan clapped his hands, turned his head, and said, "Alright, the illusion formation has been lifted..."

"..." Wu Chen's scalp tingled. He quickly took a few steps forward and let his spiritual sense spread out for a long while before confirming that the formation had indeed been destroyed and there was no longer any danger!

"You..." He quickly turned to look at the young man not far away, completely exasperated.

His comprehension of space was superior to his own, which he could tolerate! His eyesight was better than his own, which he could also tolerate! But his mastery of formations was also so formidable that Wu Chen hadn't even found the formation while Zhang Xuan had already dismantled it. This... this was simply intolerable! Is there anything you can't do? Why are you so unbelievably skilled? Why does it feel like he's a small-town bumpkin, while the other person is a well-traveled, super-powerful expert?

"Miss..." He quickly looked at his young miss, wanting to see her reaction, but saw that she seemed to have already known this young man possessed such abilities. A faint smile graced her face, showing no surprise whatsoever.

Seeing that his young miss said nothing, although he was bursting with frustration, Wu Chen refrained from saying more and continued to follow behind them.

They hadn't walked much further when a river appeared before them.

The river water was yellowish and not clear, nor did it flow much. From a distance, it appeared unusually calm.

After a glance, Wu Chen flicked his wrist, took out a high-grade Saint artifact, and casually threw it into the water.

*Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!* A surge of mist boiled, and the Saint artifact quickly vanished into the river, completely corroded, leaving nothing behind.

Immediately after, he took out a pinnacle-grade Saint artifact and placed it in the water. In less than ten breaths, when he retrieved it, dark marks had appeared on it, as if a layer had been peeled off, and they could not be cleaned away.

"This is Infernal Yellow Water, possessing extremely strong corrosive properties. High-grade Saint artifacts, once they fall into it, will be instantly corroded away. Even pinnacle-grade Saint artifacts won't last long. It also inflicts severe damage to a person's cultivation and *zhenqi*. Should one fall in, even their soul will be eroded, causing irreparable harm!" After confirming this, Wu Chen's expression turned grave.

"Infernal Yellow Water?" Zhang Xuan's face showed confusion.

Although he had read many books, he had never heard of this substance.

"Yes, it's a naturally formed substance, also called Yellow Spring Water. Even Great Saint cultivators wouldn't dare to easily touch it. If we want to proceed, we must cross this river, but the air above it is also corroded, making flight impossible, unless..."

Wu Chen paused, "Unless we can build a Spirit Passage Bridge!"

"Spirit Passage Bridge?" Zhang Xuan looked bewildered.

Building a bridge now would be too much trouble. How did those four people get across?

"To pass through this infernal passage without falling, one must have something similar. The four of them were able to cross, likely because they knew about this place beforehand and were better prepared than us, probably utilizing treasures like Netherworld Boats!"

Wu Chen explained, "Netherworld Boats, like Spirit Passage Bridges, can also traverse the Infernal Yellow Water without sinking. However, the method for making them has long been lost!"

"This yellow water can corrode even pinnacle-grade Saint artifacts, yet you say Netherworld Boats can pass over it. Could they be Great Saint level treasures?" Zhang Xuan was curious.

The journey to the Luo Clan was extremely difficult. Through detailed conversations with Sword Saint Xing and Master Yang, he had learned quite a bit.

Saint artifacts are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and pinnacle-grade. Above that are Great Saint level treasures! These Saint treasures do not have sub-grades like low-grade; there is only one level, but due to different refiners and techniques, there is still a significant difference. However, he had not encountered many such weapons so far, so he couldn't offer a proper evaluation.

Since Wu Chen said Netherworld Boats could cross the Infernal Yellow Water, could they actually be treasures of this level? Otherwise, how could they withstand the corrosion of this substance?

"You might not believe it if I tell you, but it's not a Great Saint level treasure; it's..." Wu Chen shook his head and let out a wry laugh, "Paper! A Netherworld Boat is a paper boat!"