Chapter 143: Deep Within the Pangshan Mountain Range

The Zouwu beast's speed was extraordinary, far surpassing that of an average Five Seas Realm martial artist. The aberrant elder, who was swooping down, had only managed to catch up by utilizing his flight ability. The mystic energy emanating from his body was incredibly pure, several times stronger than Li Weiyi's, indicating he was at the third tier of the Five Seas Realm.

Even before his body reached them, a cloud of mystic energy had already descended upon Li Weiyi and Li Ling, feeling like countless threads coiling around them. Li Weiyi, facing a formidable opponent, gripped the Yellow Dragon Sword tightly. His internal mystic energy surged wildly through a hundred and twenty golden conduits, channeling into his arm, and breaking through the oppressive mystic energy cloud. The instant the aberrant elder came within four zhang, Li Weiyi seized the opportunity, unleashing a long, dragon-patterned sword light that resembled a flowing yellow river of swords.

The aberrant elder, seasoned by countless battles, recognized the Yellow Dragon Sword's extraordinary nature. He abruptly halted in mid-air and spat out a three-inch, crimson flying sword from his mouth, which then clashed with the approaching dragon-patterned sword light.

Boom!

The crimson flying sword, cultivated within his lung's vital energy sea, glowed with a blinding intensity like a ball of fire, moving with the speed of light and possessing tremendous power. However, after piercing through the dragon-patterned sword light, its speed rapidly diminished, and Li Weiyi swiftly struck it away with his horizontal sword. Struck by the residual force of the dragon-patterned sword light, the aberrant elder plummeted onto the treetops. The Zouwu beast, meanwhile, instantly widened the distance by dozens of zhang.

"He's at the third stage of the Five Seas Realm!" Li Weiyi, clutching his sword, intensely watched the aberrant elder as he once again began to close the distance.

Further away in the darkness, several aberrant figures flew through the air; judging by their speed, all were at the Five Seas Realm. On the ground, powerful auras were also drawing closer, with several of them significantly stronger than the aberrant elder.

"The Zouwu is too conspicuous," Li Weiyi thought. "Five Seas Realm aberrants flying in the air can spot us from over ten li away. This approach won't work; we'll never escape."

Li Weiyi's heart was heavy as he asked, "How long will it take for Zen Sea Mist to recover its power?"

Li Ling couldn't give him an exact answer. After a moment of thought, she replied, "I have a way to conceal the Zouwu."

Li Weiyi said, "In that case, once the aberrant elder catches up again, we'll combine our strength to swiftly eliminate him, then use invisibility to change our location and escape. The other Three Chen Palace Ironclad Army experts are still far off and will surely lose track of us. Do you possess an invisibility technique?"

"I am a Grand Mind Master of the Skyfire Realm; I naturally have means of concealment," Li Ling stated.

The power of a Grand Mind Master in the Skyfire Realm is comparable to a martial artist at the third stage of the Five Seas Realm. Those with deep mastery and diverse techniques can even overpower martial artists at the fourth stage of the Five Seas Realm. Since Li Ling had only recently achieved the Skyfire Realm, she naturally did not yet possess the latter level of power.

Rumbling!

The Zouwu beast galloped wildly through the forest, causing the ground to shake and mountains to tremble, shattering every tree in its path.

After running another seven or eight li, the aberrant elder caught up again. He moved through the trees like a giant black bat, maintaining a distance of at least ten zhang, using his mystic energy to control the flying sword and harass them. He was well aware that, given his cultivation, he could not kill the two individuals riding the Zouwu beast. A forceful interception would be extremely perilous. However, if he could merely delay them until the main force of the Ironclad Army experts arrived, the two would have no means of escape.

"We cannot maintain this stalemate any longer. We must act now."

Li Weiyi patted his insect tube, and seven Phoenix-wing Moth Emperors immediately flew out, fanning out in seven different directions to encircle the aberrant elder in the night, cutting off his escape route. Immediately afterward, he leaped, dismounting the Zouwu and lunging toward the aberrant elder, who was still ten zhang away, to intercept and attack him.

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar echoed, and a yellow dragon shadow appeared beneath his feet. He moved as if riding a dragon, his heroic stance appearing both divine and otherworldly.

The aberrant elder let out a soft 'Oh?', recognizing the profound subtlety of Li Weiyi's movement technique, but he did not give it much thought. In their previous exchange, he had already assessed Li Weiyi's true strength. Li Weiyi's mystic energy was merely at the first tier of the Five Seas Realm, and his cultivation at best only nascent in the second stage. It was only by relying on the immensely powerful sword in his hand that he had managed to block the elder's flying sword. A mere novice wielding such a powerful artifact was rarely a good sign; it usually ended with the wielder's demise and the loss of the weapon.

The aberrant elder, unable to decelerate during his rapid flight, spat out his flying sword. In an instant, it clashed with the attacking Li Weiyi.

Bang bang!

The flying sword and the Yellow Dragon Sword clashed repeatedly, over a dozen times. Sparks flew, and sword energy surged outwards. The battle raged from mid-air to the ground. With Li Weiyi's final sword strike, the three-inch crimson flying sword shattered into fragments, utterly destroyed.

"You..." The aberrant elder was so enraged he nearly coughed up blood. That was an incredibly precious mid-grade artifact, and its destruction was a significant loss. The opponent's brass war sword was clearly of a grade far beyond a mere high-grade artifact.

Having lost his flying sword, he became even more hesitant to engage Li Weiyi in close combat. He turned and flew off, intending to put more distance between them.

Bang!

A Phoenix-wing Moth Emperor shot out from behind him, crashing into his body. Clad in his Ironclad War Garment, he chose to brace for the impact. The small moth's strength far surpassed the aberrant elder's estimation, comparable to the full-force punch of a martial artist at the second stage of the Five Seas Realm. The impact instantly threw his body off balance.

Li Ling, cradling the now cat-sized Zouwu, appeared on the ground beneath the aberrant elder. From her brow, dozens of bright, dazzling streaks of light shot forth. They rapidly grew, resembling a luminous plant, expanding to over ten zhang in height. Each blade of this luminous growth was incredibly sharp, burning with flames potent enough to incinerate the flesh of a Five Seas Realm martial artist. They coiled around the aberrant elder, quickly burning through his protective mystic energy.

"Skyfire Realm!"

As the aberrant elder's body plummeted, he channeled his mystic energy into his Ironclad War Garment. Immediately afterward, a zhang-tall manifestation of his combat will appeared, forcing open the burning light streaks. Li Weiyi would not give him a chance to break free; he sent his sword slicing through the air.

Thwack!

The aberrant elder raised his arm to block, but the Yellow Dragon Sword was unstoppable. Both his arm and his brow were pierced through. Li Weiyi withdrew his sword, and the aberrant elder's corpse fell to the ground with a thud.

The Zouwu looked disappointed, waving its claws as if it desperately wanted to have participated.

"Go!"

Li Weiyi had no interest in even bothering to retrieve the Ironclad War Garment from the elder's body. He recalled the seven Phoenix-wing Moth Emperors, immediately activated the invisibility power of his high-grade artifact, the Night-traveling Clothes, and vanished, fleeing toward a different direction in the darkness. Li Ling held the Underworld Lamp; its light shifted from blue to dim, and then she herself seamlessly merged with the night.

They certainly didn't believe this would be enough to completely shake off the Ironclad Army pursuers, as there was no time to erase their tracks on the ground. However, if the pursuers had to slowly search for tracks on the ground to continue their pursuit, how could they possibly keep up?

Two hours later.

Li Weiyi and Li Ling had ventured hundreds of li deep into the Mang Mountain Range, their mystic energy and mental power almost completely depleted. Fortunately, there was no trace of the pursuers behind them, indicating they had temporarily shaken them off. Seizing this opportunity, Li Weiyi released the seven Phoenix-wing Moth Emperors, allowing them to carry the two of them a short distance above the ground, thus breaking their tracks.

They continued their journey.

The peaks in the mountain range grew increasingly majestic and towering, resembling colossal giants, their summits completely enveloped by clouds. Piercing cries occasionally echoed from the sky, as flocks of massive skeletal spirit birds flew overhead. One could easily imagine that even the flying aberrant martial artists, if they ventured this deep, would never dare to fly above the treetops.

The forest floor was steeped in heavy yin energy, and they encountered numerous stone horses, stone tigers, stone effigies, and stone steles. With every short distance they traveled, eerie, hair-raising sounds emanated from the darkness. Sometimes it was the rapid thud of footsteps, other times the laughter of children, or the murmurs of women.

Li Weiyi and Li Ling slowed their pace, desperately striving to recover their mystic energy and mental power, while also doing their best to suppress their auras. The cat-sized Zouwu hopped and ran by Li Ling's feet, occasionally pausing to bare its teeth and snarl into the darkness, looking quite fierce. The prevalence of skeletal spirits and malevolent fiends in the depths of the Mang Mountain Range was not unusual. With Li Weiyi's current cultivation at the Five Seas Realm, he no longer feared ordinary evil entities; his courage was far greater than before.

Both were largely silent, a stark contrast to their previously carefree and expressive demeanor. It was as if they had broken free from an illusion and returned to reality.

Breaking the silence, Li Weiyi said, "I've heard that every peak in the Mang Mountain Range is an imperial tomb, burying many ancient emperors. Is that truly the case?"

Li Ling, her expression grave and her heart heavy, replied, "There is such a legend! It's said that since ancient times, all emperor-level powerhouses from Yingzhou would choose to be buried in the Mang Mountain Range. This is because the area is close to the Blood Sea and the Spirit Mist Domain, where coffins from other realms converge, making it a world-renowned place of extreme yin. Being buried here, it's believed, might offer a chance to reverse life and death."

"Of course, legends often contain exaggerations; it's impossible for every single peak to be an ancient emperor's tomb. Such tombs are so dangerous that even Eternity Realm powerhouses who attempt to excavate them rashly could face disaster."

"In reality, many peaks in the Mang Mountain Range have been hollowed out by tomb raiders, revealing impressive burial sites, though none have reached the caliber of an ancient emperor's tomb."

Mystic energy pulsed with a shimmering glow around their legs, allowing each step to cover two or three zhang.

They reached an open area midway up the mountain. Li Weiyi stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing in the direction of Yao Pass City. The sky was dim, and a chilling yin mist rose from among the trees.

"Calculating the time, it should be dawn by now. Why is the entire sky covered by dark clouds, with no light visible?"

Li Weiyi was beginning to grasp the terrifying nature of the Mang Mountain Range's depths; the celestial phenomena here were entirely different from the outside world. Being immersed in it, he felt a stifling sense of oppression, desiring only to leave as quickly as possible.

Li Ling pointed behind him. "Look over there!"

Li Weiyi turned to look.

A hundred li away, an incredibly majestic mountain range, resembling a prone giant dragon, stretched from east to west. From the ground to its peak, it appeared to be six or seven thousand meters high, acting like a colossal black barrier at the world's edge, obstructing all vision. The gloomy clouds directly above them still possessed a faint glimmer of light, but the cloud cover above the distant mountain range was an absolute, dead black, like an impenetrable dark shroud.

Li Ling explained, "I've never been to the deepest parts of the Mang Mountain Range. However, that must be the final ridge of the range, the last defensive line from the great war a thousand years ago. Crossing it allows one to leave the Lingxiao Living Realm and enter the boundless Netherworld of the Dead."

"It is said that a thousand years ago, the other side of this mountain range was also a prefecture under the jurisdiction of the Jiuli Tribe, named Yunzhou."

"According to the elders who crossed the mountain range to trade in the Spirit Market, Yunzhou is now completely enveloped in darkness. Its former villages and towns have become desolate ruins. The once-thriving cities, due to the presence of Heavenly Law Earth Springs which allow for the growth of various rare herbs, have been occupied by spirits and fiendish demons, transforming them into ghost cities and demon domains."

"In Yunzhou, humans are extinct. Only cultivators of formidable strength dare to venture deep into the darkness, seeking out former prefectural cities or ruined sects in search of treasures and ancient texts lost for a thousand years."

"This unit of the Three Chen Palace Ironclad Army must have traveled through Yunzhou, circumnavigating the mountain range from the other side to arrive at Yao Pass City. That's why they appeared like divine soldiers, catching us completely off guard."

Li Weiyi, recalling Zhu Qinfeng, the Governor of Yanzhou who had died beneath the Jiuli Worm Valley, asked, "What about Yanzhou, then?"

Li Ling didn't know much about it, replying uncertainly, "Yanzhou appears to be located even further west of Yunzhou."