The weak sunlight was not what the Qilian disciples’ expected and was not able to get rid of their irritation. Instead, it was like a few drops of oil that were added into glue, causing a greater mess, making it repulsive.
The bamboo whistle shattered into countless pieces with a ‘pa’. However, the strange noise in the surrounding, which got faster and then slower, became even more cheerful.
Little Chi Maojiu opened his eyes with a great force, caught all the fragments of the bamboo whistle in front of him and thrust the fragments into the vital fire that was dancing enchantingly. The golden vital fire was like a venomous snake, which was stabbed by a steel awl. It released a sharp howl, which resonated deep within everyone’s eardrums. It then jumped up forcefully, turned into a thick blood-red flame and crashed into the stone forest!
At the same time, little Chi Maojiu shrieked miserably, “Run for your lives! The Prohibition Spell is activated!” He stood up, turned around and made a running pose.
Wen Leyang and his companions all had terror written on their faces but their bodies were moving in a peculiar fashion. Taking the opportunity of the Qilian Immortals’ disciples being stunned, they retreated into the stone forest.
‘Run for your lives’ was the signal that they had decided upon. When they hear these four words, it meant that the Prohibition Spell is broken. They immediately rushed into the stone forest. ‘The Prohibition Spell is activated’ was an improvisation of little Chi Maojiu. Even though he was only a temporary actor, he always considered himself a star actor.
The dwarf Taoist priest was the first one to notice. He gave a strange furious cry. The hovering greatsword and the red-colored sword formation howled angrily as they slashed downwards.
At the same time, the weak sunlight was completely shattered by a thunderclap. Ten thousand light arcs shone brightly, like countless divine blades, emanating majestic divine light while mercilessly charging towards the blazing Molten Iron Fire Bell.
The Prohibition Spell on the stone forest was broken by little Chi Maojiu’s Red Mark and turned into normal stone columns. Before the Prohibition Spell was restored, it could not possibly withstand the powerful treasured weapons. Within this window, it was for Wen Leyang and Wen Xiaoyi to hold the Qilian Immortals back.
Wen Leyang stood at the edge of the stone forest, the Poison of Utmost Metal Stream surged in a frenzy in front of him. The dark-copper colored wave was like a hunting giant serpent, precisely and agilely meeting the red-colored sword formation.
Wen Xiaoyi stood behind him. She had just fired one shot and was hastily reloading. At the same time, she swore in her heart mercilessly. She would not be so nice with her second shot. She would aim it towards the priests.
Bushuo, Buzuo and the others were powerless to help. They retreated to a deeper part of the stone forest. Wen Buzuo did not have the luxury of appreciating the view of his surroundings. He urged without stopping, “Big Dragon’s Root, hurry!”
Little Chi Maojiu sat on the ground. Waving the two witch needles in his grip gracefully in the air, he commanded his vital fire, which was rolling endlessly. He was sweating profusely from his forehead.
At the edge of the stone forest, the resounding thunderclap, the roar of the great sword, mixed with the rubbing sound of the Poison of Utmost Metal Stream and the sharp howl of the red-colored sword formation shattered the peaceful majesty of dawn.
The Thunder’s Heart Sand conjured ten thousand lightning bolts, like the God of Thunder unleashed his fury upon the earth.
The greatsword Molten Metal Fire Bell was on the vanguard, it blew up in angry flames with a fierce boom and rushed towards the lightning bolts.
The two powers made a sound that would be able to shake heaven and earth and make the mountains wail. Wen Leyang and the Qilian disciples held their breaths subconsciously, gritted their teeth and waited for the moment when the two forces collide, anticipating the shattering of heaven and earth.
However, when the burning and heaven-shattering Molten Metal Fire Bell met the first unbelievably tiny lightning bolt, which can only be compared to the tassels of maize, the Molten Metal Fire Bell gave a fierce wail and jumped once like an electrocuted bighead fish and crashed clumsily towards the ground.
A great sword, when faced with the Thunder’s Heart Sand, was like a chicken, in fact, a hen facing a divine dragon, unable to withstand even a single blow.
The thunder continued to roll in the sky. It crashed entirely on the red-colored sword formation, which was locked in combat with the Poison of Utmost Metal Stream. The thunder struck in the middle of the formation and the formation snapped in two with a ‘huala’. The flying sword was destroyed and a big number of Qilian disciples wailed and fell.
When the sword formation was broken, the numerous stray flying swords could not hold the angry waves of the Poison of Utmost Metal Stream back. The swords cried in agony and were stuck in the poison stream, unable to break free.
All this happened in a blink. Wen Leyang saw the great sword defeated with one touch. He was initially stunned. He then jumped up forcefully and shouted to Wen Xiaoyi, who was behind him, “Run!”
The Poison of Utmost Metal Stream, which was massacring flying swords in mid-air, followed his will, changed directions abruptly and aimed for the area in front of Wen Xiaoyi.
A roar that could only belong to a great flame!
When the Utmost Poison of Metal Stream surged forth, a ruby dharmamudra the size of a bowl appeared out of thin air. It gave an irascible howl and tangled itself with the poison stream.
The dark bronze poison stream was visibly swiftly burned to ashes, falling to the ground with a rustle. The dharmamudra was also like an evil bird that had fallen into a swamp. It was flailing but could not break free.
The huge Molten Metal Fire Bell was only the dwarf Taoist priest’s cover. It was all bark but no bite. When he cracked a fissure in the ground, it was all his true vitality and had nothing to do with the greatsword. The concealed ruby dharmarudra in the air, the True Fire Bronze Mirror was his actual magic tool.
What the dwarf Taoist feared the most was the ten thousand lightning bolts that appeared out of nowhere from Wen Leyang’s side. He had been using Molten Metal Fire Bell to make an empty show. When Wen Xiaoyi took the bait, he activated True Fire Bronze Mirror without hesitation, wanting to do away with this greatest danger.
Up until now, Wen Leyang did not understand why the great sword hovering in the air was even weaker than a kitchen knife, lurching and falling just like that. However, the Poison of Life and Death was flowing within him and his pores open and closed. His spirit sense kept a close watch on his surroundings. He sensed that something like a bowl was speeding towards Wen Xiaoyi and immediately directed the poison stream to intercept it.
The dwarf Taoist priest bristled with anger. He did not manage to find out how his True Fire Bronze Mirror, which was concealed meticulously with magic and attacked silently, was discovered by Wen Leyang. His short body turned and dashed towards Wen XIaoyi as fast as lightning.
Wen Xiaoyi did not register what happened in front of her eyes. She blinked after firing the Thunder’s Heart Sand, the great sword was blown away. The red formation was destroyed, while the Poison of Utmost Metal Stream had turned in front of her to intercept a big dharmarudra.
She blinked again. The dwarf Taoist priest appeared suddenly, glaring at Wen Leyang beside her. He howled sternly, “Go die, you scum!” He spread his fingers and clawed downwards. Her eyesight went dark.
At that instant, Wen Xiaoyi was neither afraid nor panicked but instinctively wondered, “This time I didn’t blink, why did it become dark?”
Wen Leyang was like a not too stalwart hill. At the instant when the dwarf Taoist priest wanted to tear Wen Xiaoyi to shreds, he appeared between the two of them. After that, the hill fell!
The dwarf Taoist priest exerted all his power and pounced onto Wen Leyang’s chest. The true vitality of the Fire element, which had been refined for more than two hundred years, was like thousands of red, hot steel needles stabbing him mercilessly. Wen Leyang’s Faulty Punch, which had recently absorbed the Poison of Utmost Metal, was also like a storm, landing hundreds of combos in an instant, mercilessly attacking the priest’s frail body.
The poison stream, True Fire Bronze Mirror and the remaining flying swords in the air all rushed towards the duo, wanting to protect their respective masters while attacking their enemy.
Wen Leyang and the dwarf Taoist priest who was locked in combat slipped and rolled on the ground like a pair of ground rollers, bringing Wen Xiaoyi behind them and crashed into the stone forest. At that moment, little Chi Maojiu’s panic-stricken voice was heard, “The Prohibition Spell is set, get back…” He did not finish his sentence. He gave a startled cry and did not make another sound.
The entire stone forest shook. The golden vital fire, which had been burning enchantingly above the stone columns, abruptly vanished.
The edge of the stone forest erupted in a loud bang. The Poison of Utmost Metal Stream and the treasured weapons crashed into the stone forest. Although they gave off a chilling sound, they could not even put a scratch on the newly placed Prohibition Spell on the stone forest and were left outside. The dwarf Taoist priest and Wen Leyang rolled for a while, each of them received countless merciless blows from the other. When Wen Xiaoyi let out a cry of agony, the duo broke apart abruptly and simultaneously pounced on Wen Xiaoyi!
There was only one thought in the dwarf Taoist priest’s mind. He had to kill Wen Xiaoyi first no matter what. Wen Leyang would die eight times over before he would let Wen Xiaoyi lose so much as a hair. Wen Xiaoyi was groggy from the fall. She sat up shaking. She blinked her big eyes and saw the two pouncing towards her as swift and fierce as a hawk. She closed her eyes in a hurry.
Shortly, Wen Xiaoyi felt her body tense up. A familiar smell enveloped herself. When she opened her eyes again, Wen Leyang was holding her tightly with one arm.
The dwarf Taoist priest was nowhere to be seen.
Not only the priest, Bushuo, Buzuo, little Chi Maojiu, well-behaved child Luo Wanggen and the zombie have all disappeared.
There was not a single piece of rock in the stone forest. There was no wind, and there were no sun or stars in the sky. Before them was an endless stretch of yellow earth.
Wen Xiaoyi frowned, “Where’s the priest? Where are the others?”
Wen Leyang crouched slightly, like a leopard that smelled danger. He looked around him in alarm, “I don’t know. The priest pounced and disappeared suddenly.”
Wen Xiaoyi was puzzled, “Disappeared? Concealment?”
Wen Leyang shook his head. He took out a carrot from his pocket and said to Wen Xiaoyi, “He disappeared just like this.” He threw the carrot with some strength. The carrot flew five meters and abruptly disappeared.
There was no warning, not even a crunch of a bite. It disappeared suddenly.
Wen Xiaoyi let out an, “Ahh.” Her eyes filled with shocked befuddlement. She also took a carrot out of her pocket, hesitated, broke it in two and toss one side of it.
This time it was stranger. The carrot was flying forwards, but it shook halfway and made a sharp turn, doing a cheery somersault and crashed sideways. It bumped a few times on the ground and stopped at some ten meters away.
Wen Xiaoyi chanced a conclusion, “Things in half…will make a turn?”
Wen Leyang smiled drily and shook his head, “Have another look.” As he was saying this he pointed a finger. The half carrot that was lying on the ground had mysteriously disappeared. Before them was a lifeless stretch of yellow earth connecting the sky.
Wen Xiaoyi felt all the hairs on her body stand up. She loosened her grip and the other half of the carrot dropped to the ground. But the other half dropped down from above and hit Wen Xiaoyi on the head. Even Wen Xiaoyi, who was usually brave, was stunned. She said with a trembling voice, “This place is haunted!” She flipped like an agile fish, one hand firmly holding her blunderbuss while she climbed up with nimble movements onto Wen Leyang’s back. She then let out a startled cry.
She was clearly climbing onto Wen Leyang’s back. This action was so familiar that it was like second nature to her. But she did not expect that after flipping and climbing for a while, she came face to face with Wen Leyang, breast to chest, climbing onto his bosom.
Very strange.
It was just like when you were lying on your bed, you jerked your hands to pull the blanket over your body but the blanket disappeared while under your buttocks an extra layer of mattress appeared…
Wen Xiaoyi’s pair of clear eyes stared hard at Wen Leyang’s face. She was worried that once she blinked, Wen Leyang would turn into the dwarf Taoist priest.
Wen Leyang supported her steadily with one arm, “Bosom or back, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t leave my side. This place is very strange!”
Wen Xiaoyi was like a little octopus, wrapping her arms and legs around Wen Leyang. With her buttocks supported she felt steady. As she placed her chin comfortably on Wen Leyang’s shoulder, she blushed and smiled.
Wen Leyang felt that the small body frame was extraordinarily soft, almost melting into his embrace. His heart was thumping in his chest. Wen Xiaoyi’s long hair softly brushed his face at an angle and it tickled. For a moment, he lost all spirit sense. All he wanted to do was turn his face and plant a kiss on Wen Xiaoyi’s delicate cheek.
Wen Xiaoyi cried out again, shattering his wandering thoughts in an instant. Wen Leyang turned around abruptly, he felt something zipped past behind him. He could not see what it was with his eyesight. Wen Xiaoyi retracted her head from Wen Leyang’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. Her big eyes were filled with incredulity, “Wen… Wen Buzuo… was right in front of me… What is happening here? What kind of place is this?”
Wen Leyang reached out his other hand and rubbed Wen Xiaoyi’s brows, helping her to relax. “This place… everything is so confusing. North South East West, front back left right are all shifting non-stop. If you slip, you might not fall downwards, if you jump, you might hit your head on the ground.
Wen Xiaoyi’s smile was sweet and clear, “I don’t get it!”
Wen Leyang was in no hurry. He put some strength in his arms to gently put her down. One of his hands was still wrapped around her fingers, the two of them looked each other in the eye.
Wen Leyang said to her, “Try taking a step backwards.” Wen Xiaoyi held his hand and carefully walked backward. She clearly moved back but she ended up plunging herself into Wen Leyang’s chest.
Wen Xiaoyi was startled and puzzled. She had a death grip on Wen Leyang’s arm. She tried taking steps to the front, back, left and right. She understood immediately. The space and sequence here are basically confused. Sometimes if you take a step left, you are really moving backwards. If you pounced forwards, you would mysteriously end up to your right.
Wen Leyang smiled drily as he waited for her to finish playing, then explained, “The directions here are a complete mess. If you make small movements then your directions will be reversed.”
Wen Xiaoyi nodded, half-confused, “What about big movements?”
“The space in here is divided into countless blocks. You can’t see it but maybe this block in front of us was previously behind us. Maybe a few moments later, it will move on top of us. Can you understand?” Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he was saying this. “Take us, for example, if we stand slightly further away from each other and stand face to face. Maybe after a moment, I’ll be behind you, or maybe somewhere far away you can’t see. It’s not me moving, but this small block of space that I’m in whisking me away.”
Wen Xiaoyi finally understood, “They…Bushuo and Buzuo and the priest were all whisked away by the space?”
Wen Leyang’s expression grew solemn. He seemed to not have heard Wen Xiaoyi speaking. He pulled Wen Xiaoyi’s arm and jumped left and right, like selecting a path on moving rock slabs. He rushed a few steps forward, stretched out his hand and grabbed!
Just when Wen Leyang thrust out his hand, the well-behaved child Luo Wanggen suddenly appeared and was grabbed by Wen Leyang by the hand and was pulled out.
Luo Wanggen’s color was that of the ground. When he saw Wen Leyang, he was stunned for a moment before he said in a trembling voice, “This place is haunted! When Chi Maojiu put up the Prohibition Spell, everybody vanished…”
Wen Xiaoyi, however, rejoiced. She looked at her hero with a joyful expression, “You can see it?”
Wen Leyang’s spirit sense was still spread out after he entered the stone forest, relaying his surroundings to him. This time, it was slightly different from the ‘panoramic cinema’. The screen was fragmented to countless fragments dashing around in the cinema in all directions. However, Wen Leyang could still barely distinguish his bearings and could detect his companions who were nearing him.
It was precisely because of this that Wen Leyang could dodge to his left and right to Wen Xiaoyi’s side while the dwarf Taoist priest had plunged into the unknown.
The three of them held hands. Wen Leyang held his breath and focused while he searched silently for the others. The second one to be grabbed by Wen Leyang was Wen Buzuo. Wen Buzuo’s expression was as usual as he told the group, “I saw the dwarf Taoist priest. Darn, I didn’t get to swear at…”
The telegnosis ability of all true cultivators functioned by blending themselves in with nature, borrowing the eyes of creation to observe their surroundings, also known as Heaven’s Eye. But even highly skilled cultivators would only be confused on here. Wen Leyang’s spirit sense was the complete opposite of theirs. His functioned by detaching himself from his surroundings and looked upon the world from a third person’s perspective. Although the space inside the stone forest was fragmented and moving about, he was still able to barely distinguish.
However, the range of his spiritual sense was limited. He could only lead the people he rescued and move about continuously, looking for their lost companions with great effort.
At this moment, Little Chi Maojiu suddenly pulled Three-Inch Nail Wen Bushuo and his zombie and jumped in front of Wen Leyang. The six of them immediately held hands and formed a circle. Wen Buzuo stared at little Chi Maojiu with awe, “You can see it too?”
Little Chi Maojiu nodded proudly. He exclaimed in a respectful tone, “Master teacher grandpa was right on point!” In his heart, he had already decided that the person who left behind the Prohibition Spell was master teacher Tuo Xie. As he was saying this he ran to the front of the group. He pulled Wen Leyang’s hand, “Follow me, I can clearly see the way out!” After he said this he started to run. There was clearly nothing before him but Little Chi Maojiu led the group and darted left and right, jumping here and there. The doubt in Wen Leyang’s eyes slowly turned into trust. He relaxed and bravely followed behind him.
Chi Maojiu was leading the way but his mouth was not idle, “There are two layers to the stone forest’s Prohibition Spell. The outer layer is extremely tough and no treasured weapon is powerful enough to break it. Only by casting the Red Mark spell can it be opened! After entering the stone forest, there is another layer of magic, inverting heaven and earth and confusing space. I was originally befuddled and had trouble telling left from right. However, once I cast the Red Mark spell, I could instantly see it clearly!
Wen Buzuo seemed not resigned to let little Chi Maojiu do all the talking. When he heard this, he exclaimed jubilantly, “I get it, the Red Mark is the key to both layers of Prohibition Spell. The expert who originally set this Prohibition Spell was worried that the person with the key would be threatened by the enemy to enter the stone forest.”
By now, everyone understood. They were filled with genuine awe. If Little Chi Maojiu was put at gun’s point to enter the stone forest, he can then easily escape within the second layer of the inverted heaven and earth spell where he alone can clearly see the road.
The awe on Little Chi Maojiu’s face was even more prominent than the others. He sighed with emotion, “Two Prohibition Spells and both of them are witchcraft! When will I be able to refine such a Prohibition Spell!”
Wem Xiaoyi smirked, “With the skill level of master teacher grandpa, you shouldn’t waste your time thinking about it. Where did that dwarf Taoist priest go?”
Little Chi Maojiu laughed, “He’s running around. His face green and pale, shocking, really…”
The group followed Chi Maojiu and walked around, all of them jubilant. The two layers of Prohibition Spell were set for the Red Mark. That. The words spoken by the dwarf Taoist priest made Wen Leyang, Wen Xiaoyi, Chi Maojiu and Luo Wanggen almost see the treasure left behind by master teacher grandpa, shining and beckoning them.
They ran for quite some time before Little Chi Maojiu exclaimed, saying to everyone, “We’re out!” He pulled Wen Leyang and jumped forcefully.
Everyone felt a chilling wind blowing fiercely over their bodies. The endless yellow earth underneath their feet was like young snowflakes, swiftly disintegrating under the wind’s blow. The light before them seemed to be jumping, shining brighter with every shake. After a while, their surroundings completely changed, it became clear and steady.
Under their feet was a surface like ice, shining like a mirror. Around them were thick, towering stone columns, shining with a mild-spiraling glowing jade. The group finally made it out of the confused world of endless yellow earth back into the stone forest.
However, Wen Leyang did not even have time to breathe in the fresh air before pulling Little Chi Maojiu to his back.
In front of them was a thick spotted line of blood. It trailed windingly into the depths of the stone forest.
Wen Buzuo gave it a glance and confidently told the others, “A bloody person crawled through here…”
Wen Xiaoyi suddenly remembered that she had not reloaded her blunderbuss. She loaded the gunpowder and Thunder’s Heart Sand into the blunderbuss with nimble movements. Wen Leyang’s spirit sense spread out like water. He carefully led the group and walked along the line of blood.
They did not have to walk long before reaching the end of the trail. A bloodied, disfigured corpse was lying lifelessly on the ground. A few blood-soaked long silks were scattered beside the corpse.
Wen Leyang frowned and said in a low voice, “Leyang Shoujin!”
His voice barely faded when someone laughed lightly and asked beside his ear, “His name is Leyang Shoujin?”
The voice was heavenly, refreshing and beautiful. The mouth of the inquirer was puffing lightly, tickling Wen Leyang’s ear.