Chapter 1258: Nine Nether Sect Deputy Sect Leader Lei Yiming

A red light suddenly illuminated above their heads. A small pagoda, shimmering with red light, abruptly appeared, with a lifelike red flood dragon coiled around its body.

An earth-shattering dragon roar echoed as the small red pagoda rapidly expanded, transforming into a colossal red tower over a hundred zhang tall. The red flood dragon slithered restlessly around its structure.

The base of the red giant pagoda spewed out a stream of red light, precisely enveloping Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

Their bodies visibly shrank and flew towards the red giant pagoda.

If trapped by an enemy's magical artifact, they would be almost unable to escape with their current abilities.

At this critical moment, an extremely angry beast roar rang out. The golden bell encasing the Sea-Suppressing Ape developed tiny cracks, covered with countless fist marks.

Spirit-Suppressing Roar!

The red light beam suddenly stopped, and Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan also snapped back to their senses. Their eyes were filled with terror. This was the first time they had encountered such a dangerous situation since becoming Nascent Soul cultivators; if the Sea-Suppressing Ape hadn't intervened, they would have been drawn into the giant pagoda.

A fierce glint flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes. He flipped his hand, revealing an aura-filled blue short blade that emitted wisps of chilling aura.

It was the spirit treasure, Cold Moon Blade. Wang Changsheng and Fairy Ziyue had jointly refined it, incorporating a small piece of ten-thousand-year profound jade, which enhanced its power.

Holding the Cold Light Blade, he gently waved it towards the red giant pagoda above. A flash of white light, and hundreds of white light blades, each a zhang long, flew out, tearing apart the red light beam. The two of them fell to the ground.

The two of them quickly separated. Wang Ruyan flew to the side of Jin Yue's corpse and retrieved the Soul-Locking Bead.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the golden giant bell erupted with a large expanse of blue electric arcs, shattering into pieces. The Sea-Suppressing Ape broke free.

Blood oozed from the Sea-Suppressing Ape's mouth and nose. Its body was charred black, and most of its fur had been burned away, leaving it looking somewhat dishevelled.

"Sea-Suppressing Ape! What is your relationship with the Sea-Suppressing Sect of the South Sea?!"

A surprised male voice suddenly came from the distant sky.

Few knew of the guardian spirit beasts of minor sects. However, the Sea-Suppressing Sect was once one of the top ten sects in the South Sea, so its guardian spirit beast, the Sea-Suppressing Ape, was naturally well-known, at least among high-level cultivators from prestigious sects.

An ordinary fourth-tier ape spirit beast would not have so easily destroyed a magical artifact.

Wang Changsheng put away his magical artifact, intending to flee the area immediately.

The golden giant bear, however, refused to comply. A fierce glint flashed in its eyes, and it pounced towards Wang Changsheng.

The Sea-Suppressing Ape quickly blocked the golden giant bear, preventing it from attacking Wang Changsheng.

A black light appeared in the distant sky, flying swiftly towards them, its speed remarkable.

Countless white runes emerged from the Cold Light Blade in Wang Changsheng's hand, radiating an astonishing chill. The ground around Wang Changsheng froze, covered in a layer of frost.

A flash of white light, and hundreds of white light blades flew out, forming a single white light blade over a hundred zhang long, which struck towards the black light.

A fierce whistling sound erupted, and countless golden grains of sand flew out, transforming into dense golden arrows which shot towards the black light.

The red long silk sash in Wang Ruyan's hand glowed brightly, and dozens of giant fireballs appeared around her, which she hurled towards the black light.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A clear, melodious chime resonated, and ripples of black sound waves flew out, meeting the attacks. The white light blades, golden arrows, and giant fireballs disintegrated completely upon contact with the black sound waves.

Seizing this opportunity, Wang Changsheng moved both fists, and countless golden fist shadows flew out, striking the golden giant bear and sending it flying backwards.

With a thought from Wang Changsheng, the Sea-Suppressing Ape unleashed its Spirit-Suppressing Roar, roaring towards the sky, then transformed into a blue light and returned to the spirit beast bead string on his hand.

They transformed into two streaks of escape light and shot through the air, covering a hundred zhang in an instant, their speed remarkably fast.

"It's rare for two fellow Daoists from the Sea-Suppressing Sect to visit the Northern Borders," a voice suggested, "why not stay as our guests? We will surely treat you two well."

A seductive female voice suddenly echoed in their ears.

Hearing this voice, Wang Changsheng subconsciously almost said "yes." His eyes widened, and his face showed a terrified expression.

He had almost fallen into some kind of illusion just now. If not for his powerful divine sense, he would have already succumbed to the opponent's trick.

Wang Ruyan's gaze was somewhat dull, and she stopped.

"Wife, danger."

Wang Changsheng's loud shout echoed in Wang Ruyan's Sea of Consciousness.

She suddenly regained consciousness, realizing something that made her break out in a cold sweat.

Just then, a cold snort sounded in their ears. Both their faces immediately turned pale, their features somewhat distorted.

Boom!

A tremendous thunderous roar came from high above. A black thundercloud, over a dozen miles wide, appeared in the sky without warning. After rolling for a moment, black lightning orbs, each the size of a watermelon, flew out, striking Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan like hailstones.

An earth-shattering sound erupted. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were enveloped by a sheet of black lightning, from which their faint screams could be heard.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared as black lightning orbs, as if free for the taking, wildly bombarded Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

A black cloud, several zhang wide, hovered high in the sky. A hawk-faced old man in a black robe and a plump, graceful young woman in a purple dress stood upon it.

Lei Yiming, Deputy Sect Master of the Nine Nether Sect, was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. He possessed a rare lightning spirit root and cultivated the "Treasured Tome of Thunder Control," one of the Nine Nether Sect's three foundational techniques.

Fang Sisi, at the early Nascent Soul stage, cultivated the "Nine Nether Heavenly Illusion Tome." The last few layers of its incantations were held by Shangguan Wei, who would only impart the corresponding incantations when Fang Sisi reached higher realms. If Shangguan Wei died, this cultivation method would be lost, which was why Fang Sisi was utterly obedient to her.

High-level cultivators of the Nine Nether Sect were frequently attacked, yet the sect did not know who the culprits were. If Shangguan Wei emerged from seclusion and learned of this, she would certainly punish them severely, as she despised incompetent subordinates the most.

With two Nascent Soul cultivators missing and the Nine Nether Sect unaware of the perpetrators, Lei Yiming was gravely derelict in his duty. He had to apprehend the culprits before Shangguan Wei emerged from seclusion.

Lei Yiming paid a significant price to invite True Immortal Tianyue to divine and ascertain the possible whereabouts of the culprits. Through divination, they pinpointed three locations and dispatched reinforcements.

Divination arts were profound and mysterious; only a few cultivators could master them. If the divined person's cultivation was too high, the diviner would suffer severe backlash if they forced the deduction. True Immortal Tianyue had only divined that the culprits might appear in resource-rich areas, unable to pinpoint the exact location. Thus, Lei Yiming dispatched five Nascent Soul cultivators to reinforce the three strongholds.

They arrived at the Jinming Mountain Range just as they encountered Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan killing Jin Yue.

"I have also been to the South Sea," Fang Sisi said slowly, her voice filled with temptation. "True Immortal Sun's guardian spirit beast from the Four Seas Sect is said to be a descendant of the Sea-Suppressing Ape. True Immortal Sun said the Sea-Suppressing Ape possesses immense strength, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation. It's rare for two fellow Daoists from the Sea-Suppressing Sect to visit the Northern Borders, so why not stay in the Northern Borders forever!"

She wasn't merely speaking to herself, but had cast a unique spiritual technique from the "Nine Nether Heavenly Illusion Tome," the Heavenly Illusionary Bewitching Sound. Unless one's divine sense was significantly stronger than the caster's or one possessed a special treasure, they would fall into an illusion. This was despite her relatively lower cultivation; if Shangguan Wei cast this technique, even late-Nascent Soul cultivators would fall into an illusion without a special treasure.

Lei Yiming flicked a finger, and an egg-sized black orb flew out. The orb's surface bore several golden spirit patterns, and it vanished into the black lightning in a flash.

Boom!