Chapter 97: Ashen Region

A distance of fifty to sixty zhang could be crossed in an instant by Li Weiyi with his current cultivation.

However, within this dimly lit, cobweb-laden, and perilous underground spider cave, the distance felt incredibly profound, as if he were stepping by step into a bizarre, dark underworld.

His mind was highly tense, his five senses fully engaged, wary of the ground beneath him and his surroundings.

After walking over forty zhang towards the purple cistanche, getting closer and closer, Li Weiyi stopped and looked back.

Ten zhang away, Yin Ershisi's slender, slight figure was slightly blurred, but her cold, beautiful face was visible. Further away, Yao Yin by the blood river was reduced to the size of a fingertip, almost completely merged with the darkness.

It was already very far.

Further ahead lay an unknown area shrouded in purple mist.

The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were incredibly powerful, yet after entering, they vanished without a trace and had not yet returned. As their master, Li Weiyi had lost his connection with them.

At the center of the purple mist, the cistanche plant stood over a meter tall, emitting a crystalline glow and shimmering with vibrant colors. However, its alluring appearance and the medicinal fragrance it released no longer held any temptation for Li Weiyi; instead, he felt it resembled a seductive, venomous beauty, stripped bare and flaunting her charms, exceedingly dangerous.

Yin Ershisi tightened the spider rope and nodded to him.

With a Five-Seas Realm expert backing him, Li Weiyi felt a bit more confident. Gripping his Yellow Dragon Sword, he secretly channeled his magical energy to activate the soft corpse-armor he wore close to his body, then stepped into the purple mist area.

"Whoosh!"

It was as if he had stepped into the eye of a storm; his body became unstable, lifted from the ground, and everything in his vision disappeared.

Inside the purple mist area, it was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface, instead filled with chaotic power.

Li Weiyi was horrified. As he shouted "Pull me back," he struggled to steady himself, landed his feet, and stumbled out of the purple mist area, then froze completely.

He was no longer in the spider cave.

"Where is this...?"

Beneath his feet was incredibly fine black sand, as fine as dust.

In his view, the space stretched vast and wide, with strange, rugged earth mounds resembling yardangs, covered in wind-eroded grooves.

It was the light from the purple cistanche that illuminated this place.

One hundred zhang away, the edge of the purple light blurred into darkness. But Li Weiyi believed there was an even vaster region within that darkness.

The spider rope around his waist had somehow broken, and he turned sharply to look. The purple mist still enveloped the area, swirling in the wind and sand, transforming into various shapes.

"Li... Weiyi..."

A blurred, distant voice sounded.

Moments later, Yin Ershisi drifted through the purple mist like a weightless leaf, then suddenly fell sideways.

Li Weiyi waved his hand, sending out a wisp of magical energy. She quickly found her balance and floated down to the ground.

As her feet touched the ground, she immediately noticed something was wrong with the surface; it was softer than desert sand, her legs sinking half a chi deep.

She released magical energy.

Her body became light, and her legs slowly pulled free.

After observing her surroundings, Yin Ershisi's eyes widened with increasing shock: "How can there be such a bizarre place beneath the Nine-Li Insect Valley? This doesn't seem like the nest of the Flying-Winged White Spiders."

"Why didn't you pull me back?" Li Weiyi asked.

Yin Ershisi glared at him, her large, round eyes showing her annoyance: "I pulled with all my might, but the spider rope snapped. I couldn't hold on to you at all."

Li Weiyi realized the gravity of the situation. While remaining vigilant, he walked towards the purple mist and said, "You shouldn't have come in! You should have taken Yao Yin and left immediately to seek help from Lord Yin. I feel this pla...ce..."

The moment Li Weiyi stepped into the purple mist, he instantly lost his balance, was swept back by an incredibly chaotic and powerful force, and thrown several zhang away.

Yin Ershisi exhaled, transforming into a gentle breeze that enveloped him.

Of course, she knew Li Weiyi's words outlined the most correct strategy, but she retorted stubbornly, "I am a Five-Seas Realm expert. I have the responsibility and duty to bring you back safely."

After landing and steadying himself, Li Weiyi's eyes showed apprehension. He pointed towards the purple mist, as if saying, "You're a Five-Seas Realm expert, so you try."

Yin Ershisi possessed the demeanor of a powerful expert. She released potent magical energy into her palms and strode towards the purple mist, intending to forcefully tear open a path with her hands.

However, the magical energy in her palms dissipated into nothingness the moment it touched the purple mist.

The stronger the force she exerted, the stronger the backlash.

"Thump!"

Yin Ershisi was thrown back, falling heavily to the ground. Li Weiyi didn't even have time to catch her.

Her slender body was almost completely swallowed by the black sand. After a long moment, she crawled out again, looking utterly disheveled, her face covered in dust, her hair bun loose, and her waist-length hair falling in disarray.

Yin Ershisi quickly adjusted her demeanor, regaining her cold and proud expert aura: "Be careful of the black sand on the ground. If you don't use magical energy to support your feet and body, you might be buried and sink deep underground, suffocating to death."

Li Weiyi had already noticed this. He channeled magical energy to his eyes, gazing into the distance, and said, "This place doesn't seem naturally formed, and it might hold unforeseen dangers. I just hope Yao Yin is smart enough to return to the Hidden Sect for help immediately."

"Whoosh!"

The purple mist surged and churned once more.

Yao Yin, clad in a white cloud-silk robe, fell out from within.

Li Weiyi closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Yin Ershisi immediately stepped forward, saying with a tone of exasperation, "What are you doing in here? With both of us trapped, you should have left the spider cave at once to seek help from Lord Yin."

Ignoring the two women behind him, Li Weiyi searched around and found the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors.

The seven of them were flying around a six to seven-meter-tall wind-eroded pillar, excitedly and cheerfully gnawing on the sand and dirt on it. Li Weiyi was puzzled and used his psychic power to communicate with them, but received a horrifying response that sent chills down his spine.

They said they were eating the precious cistanche medicinal herb.

But the purple cistanche was clearly dozens of zhang away...

What they were eating was clearly the sand and dirt on the wind-eroded pillar.

Li Weiyi's scalp tingled, and cold sweat ran down his back. He quickly used his psychic power to tell them the truth, but it was useless. The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors firmly believed they were eating a precious medicinal herb.

"This isn't good... Ah, this place holds great danger!"

Li Weiyi's voice trembled. He wanted to rush over and bring the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors back, but the moment he took a step forward, he immediately pulled his foot back, afraid of following in their footsteps.

So, he activated his psychic power, inscribed insect runes, and forcibly commanded them to return.

The insect runes within the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors flickered. Unable to resist Li Weiyi, whose psychic power had reached the "Square Inch Bright Flame" realm, they flapped their wings and flew back. But as soon as they reached Li Weiyi's side, they dropped to the ground, their bellies distended like round balls and hard to the touch.

Yin Ershisi and Yao Yin had already come to stand behind Li Weiyi and naturally noticed the strange situation earlier. They were thoroughly frightened and only wanted to escape immediately.

"Let's go!"

Li Weiyi put the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors into an insect tube, then rushed towards the purple mist, activated his Yellow Dragon Sword, and swung it forward.

Yin Ershisi and Yao Yin also used their respective abilities to unleash attacks.

Unfortunately, not only did they fail to open a path, but the area enveloped by the purple mist, after being attacked, grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.

"What happened?"

Li Weiyi rushed forward, first swinging his sword, then waving his hand. There was nothing where the purple mist had been, just emptiness. His expression was extremely grim: "Now we're completely trapped!"

Yao Yin crouched down, examining the fine, dusty black sand on the ground: "Sister, do you think this could be an Ash Realm?"

Yin Ershisi had already noticed. She said gravely, "Perhaps, but how is that possible? This is underground. Books record that the smallest Ash Realm is hundreds of li wide."

"What's an Ash Realm?" Li Weiyi asked.

Yao Yin explained, "I haven't seen one myself, but books describe six or seven such mysterious places within the Lingxiao Living Realm. Life is extinct in these mysterious places, and they are full of dangers, which is why each Ash Realm is also called an Ash Hell."

"According to records, the largest and most dangerous Ash Realm is located west of Xijing Yuzhou, spanning tens of thousands of li, impossible for humans to traverse. Legend has it that it's a remnant left by an ancient immortal who incinerated a living realm."

"Look at the sand and dirt on the ground; doesn't it resemble ash from burnt vegetation? It's too soft. If we don't use magical energy to support our bodies, we'll slowly sink deep underground."

Li Weiyi didn't have much concept of an Ash Realm, but he clearly understood how dangerous their current predicament was. He said, "With our cultivation levels, I'm afraid we can't continuously release magical energy. We must find a way out as quickly as possible."

Yin Ershisi looked up, then exhaled a wisp of magical energy, forming a mist bridge. With a twist of her slender waist, she leaped up, stepping on the mist bridge to search for the top of this Ash Realm.

After soaring a dozen zhang high, she fell back down and was caught by a burst of magical energy from Li Weiyi.

"How was it?"

She shook her head, her mood heavy: "I can't see the top. This place defies all conventional reasoning."

Li Weiyi pondered for a moment, then took out his Ghost Banner, unfurled it, and placed it on the ground. He sat on it to cushion his body's natural sinking. He closed his eyes and used his psychic power to consult his three masters in the Blood Mud Space.

The three elders were vastly experienced, incomparable to those two fifteen and sixteen-year-old girls.

So-called Five-Seas Realm experts were completely unreliable when faced with true danger.

Master Coffin said, "I don't know much about the Hidden Sect, so I wasn't aware it harbored such a strange place. From your description, it indeed sounds very much like an Ash Realm."

"Ash Realms contain numerous, bizarre dangers. It's hard to guess what the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors encountered earlier. However, it's undoubtedly some mysterious external force interfering with their consciousness."

"You can try using your unique breathing technique to keep your consciousness clear and unaffected by external environments."

Master Spirit Tablet said, "You can also try using psychic power! I'll teach you a psychic technique that allows you to cultivate a spirit eye."

Master Jar said, "Shine your golden mark-veins; they might reveal evil. As long as your Yang energy is sufficiently strong, all evils will be unable to invade you."

Master Jar's mention brought an immediate thought to Li Weiyi's mind: it had been almost four months since the Six Desires Talisman was planted on him. He still hadn't received the antidote pill Lord Yin had promised.

No one knew when the Six Desires Talisman would erupt.

Being stuck in this damned place would be extremely troublesome.

Master Coffin said, "Since you could enter, there must be a way out. The key is to first uncover the layout of this place. I have a feeling this Ash Realm was artificially created."

Li Weiyi's psychic power withdrew from the Blood Mud Space. He glanced at the two women several zhang away who were trying various methods to find a way out. They probably hadn't noticed that the Dao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish had just activated.

"There's some food inside the Evil Camel Bell, but for three people, I'm afraid it won't last more than a few days."

He cleared all distracting thoughts and began cultivating the Spirit Eye psychic technique taught by Master Spirit Tablet.

Approximately three hours later, Yin Ershisi and Yao Yin had exhausted all their methods. Not only did they fail to find a way out, but their internal magical energy was completely depleted. They had no choice but to sit on the Ghost Banner, performing breathing techniques to recover their state.

"Whoosh!"

Li Weiyi formed a hand seal, raised it above his head, then slowly lowered it from his brow.

A spiritual bright flame emanated from his brow, condensing into a golden eye of light.

According to Master Spirit Tablet, this was a unique Daoist technique called "Heavenly Vision Eye," entirely different from the psychic eyes of ordinary Grand Psychic Masters. Even in its initial stage, it could break through illusions, see through veils, and observe subtle traces.

It was her unique secret technique!

With this unique technique, she had once defeated Master Coffin in the art of coffin opening, thereby forming a bond and sealing their fate together.

Li Weiyi used the Heavenly Vision Eye on his brow to peer into the distance, its golden light illuminating the surroundings. He saw that the wind-eroded earth mounds, resembling yardangs, had shifted positions, as if two misaligned worlds were superimposed.

Undoubtedly, one of the two worlds was real, and the other was an illusion.

He immediately stood up and quickly shed his upper robe, revealing his firm and aesthetically pleasing muscle lines.

"Whoosh! Whoosh..."

Golden mark-veins appeared beneath his skin, interlacing like a group of dragons, circulating throughout his body and illuminating the surroundings.

Yin Ershisi was startled. Sitting on the Ghost Banner, she looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment and unspeakable shock. She had always considered herself a top-tier genius, and after reaching the Five-Seas Realm, she looked down on most of the younger generation, with few able to catch her eye.

Yet, Li Weiyi, standing beside her, was only at the Eight-Springs Realm, but the miraculous aura emanating from him was already on par with Five-Seas Realm martial cultivators and Grand Psychic Masters. She suspected that once Li Weiyi broke through to the Nine-Springs Realm, he could contend with her purely on strength.

Yao Yin's beautiful eyes shimmered, openly revealing her admiration and awe. Li Weiyi's body seemed to have been personally sculpted and created by a deity; it was not only aesthetically beautiful but also possessed a masculine charm that could draw one's very soul in.