Chapter 242: Threefold Maze, Black Sky Cordyceps

"That's a Bronze Serpent Puppet, one of the masterpieces of puppetry from the senior who created this cave dwelling," Long Yiran explained, still in surprise.

He pulled Wang Yu, continuing to dash forward. This action truly startled Wang Yu; he was just moments away from unleashing his Soul-Shattering Finger!

They were still in the bronze passage, as if they had jumped from one section to another. Essentially, they remained trapped within the illusion array.

The only difference was that a giant bronze serpent was now chasing them from behind.

The serpent puppet wasn't very fast; a Foundation Establishment cultivator could outpace it with just a slight boost of true essence. This indicated that the core challenge was still to break through the illusion array.

The rumbling sound merely added a bit of pressure.

Wang Yu gently freed himself from Long Yiran’s grasp and softly said, “Please, Fellow Daoist Long, do not casually touch others. That can be a serious matter in Chiyuan.”

Long Yiran paused, then replied, "...I... I understand."

Clearly, this person was also a cultivator from Taihu. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so 'earnest'. Wang Yu didn't mind dealing with sincere people.

Long Yiran likely hadn't spent much time in Chiyuan, having mostly frequented desolate places for at most ten or twenty years.

Wang Yu speculated that her status was not as high as that Taihu noblewoman; she was likely just a rogue cultivator from Taihu who came to complete her inheritance. Perhaps something had happened between her and the Ruan family from Scorpion City along the way.

After all, her temperament, habits, and reactions in urgent situations were naturally distinct from those of native Chiyuan cultivators.

Whenever this happened, Wang Yu couldn't help but think that if he had met a cultivator with such a disposition when he returned to Stone Lake City back then, he might not have come back to Chiyuan. That was a strong possibility.

Unfortunately, he had encountered Chang Xi and Lan Boting instead.

"Brother Wang, this appears to be a multi-layered illusion array, stacking up to three times. We've already passed the first layer and are now in the second. Just give me a little time."

"No problem."

The wide bronze passage was almost entirely filled by the giant serpent chasing them from behind. With a wave of Wang Yu's hand, large patches of ice crystals generated within the passage, quickly forming an ice wall. He expended a small amount of true essence to create tough, icy spikes on it.

When the bronze serpent puppet caught up, it shattered the ice wall with unmatched ferocity, but its speed was significantly reduced.

As it continued to slide forward, it became stuck among numerous blackened ice spikes.

After breaking through the foremost obstruction, its forward momentum nearly ceased.

The darker the ice crystals, the more true essence Wang Yu had injected, and the tougher the ice. This was a newly developed true essence application technique, a result of the dual baptism of Netherworld Power and the Profound Ice Bed. It perfectly utilized the extreme cold properties of his true essence, greatly amplifying the power of any offensive spell it was integrated into. The same spell, when cast by him, was inherently more potent than when cast by others—a fundamental difference and a clear manifestation of the refined quality of his true essence.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

After this obstruction, the bronze serpent puppet emitted a sound of internal mechanical rotation. A rune appeared on its head, and its body sections began to rotate.

Its adaptive capabilities were not to be underestimated.

"Found it!" Long Yiran suddenly exclaimed. She rushed over, intending to grab Wang Yu's wrist, but then hesitated for a moment, remembering their previous conversation.

Wang Yu quickly said, "I'll follow you."

Long Yiran sighed in relief. "Alright, Seven-Star Step to the north, stop at Kaiyang. Eight Trigrams Step to the southwest, Li-2, Xun-5. One Yuan's true beginning—open!"

Wang Yu felt a bit dizzy listening to the instructions, but he could follow them. As long as the total number of steps wasn't too great, it posed no real difficulty.

Just as the bronze serpent puppet broke through the black ice blockade, the two coincidentally breached the second layer of the illusion array, vanishing into the wall.

The third layer was no longer an endless bronze passage.

It was a square bronze plaza, resembling a secret chamber or a box. On all four walls hung statue-like bronze serpents.

"Here... those four aren't also serpent puppets, are they?"

Long Yiran quickly manipulated the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches Compass in her hand and swiftly declared, "Ten breaths! I only need ten breaths!"

Mystical characters spread out, imprinting a larger directional plate beneath their feet as the true essence-formed pointer rapidly spun.

Wang Yu held his breath. The eyes of the serpent puppets on all four walls had already lit up with red light, and they rumbled as they began to crush forward. It took them only two breaths to go from stillness to full revival.

*Creak, creak—*

Black ice spread out from Wang Yu as its center. He swallowed a supreme-grade Spirit Recovery Pill, applying his extreme-cold true essence to the Ice Coffin Spell. Five immense walls of black ice suddenly converged, forming a cage that protected them both.

After three breaths, the four bronze serpent puppets crashed into the cage simultaneously. Their brute force, nearly reaching the third tier, caused cracks to immediately appear in the black ice enclosure.

It only held until the beginning of the sixth breath. With further tail strikes from the serpent puppets, all four sides of the ice wall tilted inward and eventually collapsed.

The ice didn't shatter, but its structural integrity seemed flawed. He should have formed it into a triangular slope rather than the square shape of the Ice Coffin Spell...

At this critical juncture, Wang Yu held the Ghost Cry Flute and activated its ghostly domain power. The moment black ripples spread out, hundreds of Soul-Devouring Crows, transformed from human and demonic souls, cawed as they flew out. Most of them possessed a second-tier aura. Seeing this, Wang Yu also injected his spiritual power into the artifact. Together with his true essence and the hundreds of Soul-Devouring Crows, he formed an incredibly exaggerated Crying Heart-Severing Blade. If anyone were observing the battle, they would likely feel profound sorrow and be unable to stop their tears at just a glance.

This was the unique aspect of the Heart-Severing Blade: its ability to trigger one's most sorrowful memories. Unfortunately, it was facing ancient puppets, so he could only rely on its brute force! A terrifying black blade, nearly a thousand meters long, swept out, flinging away the two bronze serpent puppets in front and to the right. Facing the puppets attacking from the rear and left, Wang Yu grinned ferociously.

With a spread of his hands, two incredibly massive Xuan Yin hands attached to the outside of his arms. They simultaneously grabbed the tails of the serpent puppets, and a dragon's roar shook the air! With a burst of Dragon Spine, he actually flung them away.

"Ten breaths... arrived."

"Done!"

Long Yiran flicked out several true essence finger-incantations in quick succession, striking various points on the ground.

Just as the serpent puppets lunged forward, a spatial fluctuation enveloped them both, and their figures vanished instantly.

"This is an ancient Minor Teleportation Array," Long Yiran explained. "Nowadays, due to the scarcity of high-grade spatial spiritual materials, it's very difficult to create new ones. Almost all existing arrays are those left from ancient times."

Where there are Minor Teleportation Arrays, there are naturally Major Teleportation Arrays.

Unfortunately, most Major Teleportation Arrays left from ancient times were destroyed during the Blood Demon Chaos. While some from primeval times still exist, it's difficult to confirm their locations through historical records.

Hearing this, Wang Yu did not reply. Instead, he observed his surroundings. They were still underground, but no longer beneath the "White Serpent Hollow." They must have teleported a considerable distance.

This underground space teemed with vitality, and the air was permeated with spiritual energy.

It seemed that after passing through the three layers of the illusion array, they had entered the reward phase. The owner of the cave dwelling who set up these trials was quite generous, not one of those overly strict individuals.

The ground was covered with rare spiritual herbs. Although most were poisonous, they were still highly valuable and sought-after spiritual items.

At a rough glance, he spotted three types of third-tier spiritual herbs.

Their efforts had definitely been worth it.

Just then—

Long Yiran said, "Brother Wang, the inheritance is within the ancient carvings on that stone wall. One must have my sect's 'scripture guide' to comprehend it. Could we wait to divide these spiritual herbs until I return?"

Wang Yu was slightly surprised. *She's asking me this too?* he thought.

*Believe it or not, once you enter a state of comprehension, you'll be dead.*

Of course, this was just a joke; the two had signed a contract preventing them from harming each other.

However, if he were to hide a few high-grade spiritual herbs, Long Yiran might not necessarily discover it. Thinking of this, Wang Yu couldn't help but ask:

"How long will your comprehension take?"

"From a few months at the shortest, to several years at the longest."

"Tsk—"

"Is Brother Wang finding this troublesome?"

"Naturally. Waiting for you for such a long time isn't ideal. It would be better to divide the spiritual herbs first, then you can go into seclusion to comprehend. I'll go into seclusion elsewhere and wait for you."

Long Yiran seemed troubled. Wang Yu initially didn't understand her hesitation, but then he remembered the terms of their contract. Their cooperation was only to last until they left the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest. If Wang Yu were to leave and return while she was in a state of comprehension, she would be completely unaware, which would be dangerous for her.

It seemed she was still cautious, not as naive as that Taihu noblewoman.

She wanted to delay the distribution of spiritual herbs to ensure that Wang Yu would not leave the area while she was in comprehension.

Because of the Minor Teleportation Array, there was no need to retrace their steps to exit; they could simply use Earth Escape Art to ascend directly.

"Alright."

Having understood this point, Wang Yu agreed to her request, and at the same time, raised a finger and said:

"I won't touch the third-tier spiritual herbs. As for the second-tier ones, I will directly harvest and consume them to advance my cultivation. I'll refine them for as long as your comprehension takes. How does that sound?"

Wang Yu had just taken a look.

This underground herb garden was influenced by the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest, so most of the spiritual herbs were poisonous. Among them were the Black Sky Wormgrass that Wang Yu had been longing for, though there were only five plants.

They were rare spiritual herbs that could increase true essence. Refining them here for a period of time would not be a loss.

As for refining them into pills before consumption, he already possessed supreme-grade Ice Spirit Pills, and an additional type of pill could not be used cumulatively. It would be better to refine the raw power of the spiritual herbs directly, allowing him to remain unaffected by any potential negative interactions.

Long Yiran had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and forming a core was her most important goal. Since the third-tier spiritual materials were key for her, she did not refuse.

A win-win situation was achieved!

Next, Long Yiran went to comprehend beneath the ancient stone carvings. Wang Yu also harvested all five Black Sky Wormgrass plants. This herb was poisonous, but only he could directly consume it using the Pristine Jade Toad. Others would need to use various methods to cleanse the toxins before consuming and refining them.

His first attempt took nearly fifty days. Only then did he successfully digest the first Black Sky Wormgrass, increasing his true essence by eighty drops. The effect was incredibly potent, comparable to several years of his arduous cultivation!

"It really is necessary to seek out more opportunities like this," he muttered to himself. "For overly rare spiritual items, given the quantities sold by Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and Golden Full Tower, I simply can't buy enough."

Muttering to himself, Wang Yu took out the Myriad Spirit Poison Marrow. This spiritual item could be used one last time, and now was the perfect moment. Cultivating here underground for a while wouldn't be a bad idea.