The situation in this underground river was even more complex than in Wuyou Valley. In Wuyou Valley, the Three Qi were dispersed; even when mixed together, they were distinct, like the Three Qi lights in the stone forest. But the Three Qi in the river were blended into a peculiar state, as if they had transformed into something else—something akin to Death Qi, yet more intricate, filled with a dark and eerie aura that sent shivers down one's spine.
Without Stone, the six of them could still cross the river, but they would inevitably be entangled by this bizarre aura. Now, with Stone pushing the ice floe, any Three Qi that tried to cling to them would be swatted away first by him. The six humans and one beast advanced steadily and safely.
The river was wide and deep, with occasional gusts of Yin wind blowing in, making one's hair stand on end. Stone waded through the water, splashing noisily as he pushed the ice floe, ferrying them toward the opposite bank.
Before long, the ice floe reached the other shore, and the group disembarked.
Stone also climbed ashore after wading through the water. His height and physique made him fearless of the eerie atmosphere here.
The party pressed forward once more. After the underground river, the ground was littered with pools of black water. They weaved their way through, as if walking along a riverbank.
After walking for quite a while, just as this stretch of path seemed to be coming to an end, Feifei suddenly said, "There are Ghost Cultivators ahead. Get ready for a fight."
"Hmm?" Mo Tiange was taken aback. "Ghost Cultivators?"
Feifei gave an affirmative hum and explained, "This place seems to be a mass grave, with many corpses buried here, which led to the emergence of Ghost Cultivators. Probably influenced by the chaotic qi here, these Ghost Cultivators have no intelligence and are purely driven to kill. Stone and I aren't affected, but you all will be."
As he spoke, they all began to sense the presence of the Ghost Cultivators.
Qin Xi frowned. "No wonder Death Qi dominates this place. So, it's because of Ghost Cultivators."
"How strong are they?" Ling Yunhe asked, always focused on the most practical matters.
"... Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth rank... probably," Feifei said irresponsibly. "The important thing isn't their strength, but their numbers. There are many, a whole lot."
If their strength isn't high, then numbers shouldn't matter... right? Thinking this, the six of them had already arrived before a fissure canyon.
"This..." It took Mo Tiange a good while to utter a single word. "So many?"
"I already said there were many," Feifei said leisurely, sitting on Stone's shoulder and swishing his tail, which made the others grit their teeth in annoyance.
This fissure canyon before them stretched as far as the eye could see. Inside the canyon were Ghost Cultivators, moving like mindless zombies, drifting about like specters. Their strength distribution was quite even, ranging from low to high ranks. At a glance, there were at least several dozen at the Nascent Soul level or above.
"Fight our way through?" Mo Tiange suggested.
"That's the only way," Qin Xi said. As soon as the words left his mouth, a red sword light shot from his sleeve, instantly transforming into a crimson radiance that enveloped him. Then, the red light shot toward the opposite bank with lightning speed.
Upon entering the fissure canyon's range, the Ghost Cultivators wandering below seemed to catch a scent like cats to fish, abruptly surging upward.
These Ghost Cultivators had dull eyes but agile movements. Regardless of their cultivation level, all who sensed Qin Xi's presence rushed toward him. For a moment, ghostly shadows danced wildly, and Yin winds howled.
The sword light of the Three Yang True Fire Sword advanced relentlessly. Any ghostly shadow that came near was shredded by the Flames of the Vermilion Bird.
Jing Xingzhi exclaimed in admiration, "This guy's strength has improved again. I need to step up my game, or I still won't be able to beat him."
Mo Tiange shook her head. "Fellow Daoist Jing, you should set a more realistic goal."
"... You look down on me?" Jing Xingzhi said indignantly.
"Not bad, you caught on," Mo Tiange laughed. With a flick of her sleeve, she also transformed into a streak of white light, swiftly darting toward the opposite bank.
Her appearance threw the Ghost Cultivators in the canyon into chaos. Some, sensing her aura, changed direction and drifted toward her. Others remained tightly fixated on Qin Xi, while still others drifted left and right, seemingly unsure which to choose.
Faced with Ghost Cultivators blocking her path, a sword also appeared before Mo Tiange. This sword had an ancient, simple design and an aura of tranquility—it was the Fusheng Sword. She pointed a finger, and a golden lightning bolt shot out, quickly coiling around the Fusheng Sword. With a crackle, the golden lightning was instantly absorbed by the sword, and the Fusheng Sword's aura changed dramatically, erupting with overwhelming killing intent.
The Fusheng Sword, covered in golden lightning, was unstoppable. Any Ghost Cultivator that came near turned to ashes under the heavenly tribulation lightning.
The others watched in astonishment. Jing Xingzhi widened his eyes and said, "Are you kidding me? Not only can't I match Qin Shoujing, but I can't even match his wife now?"
"Look on the bright side," Nie Wushang patted his shoulder. "Life is full of disappointments, eight or nine out of ten times." As she spoke, she transformed into a black cloud and drifted out leisurely.
Jing Xingzhi called after her, "Hey, what's with that sympathetic tone?"
No one answered him. After Nie Wushang, Ling Yunhe, Yang Chengji, and Xiaofeng all darted toward the opposite bank. Even Stone, swaying slightly, carried Feifei forward. Left with no choice, Jing Xingzhi leaped onto his sword and flew out as well.
Nie Wushang's black cloud was completely different from Songfeng Shangren's. Songfeng Shangren's was violent and filled with dark energy, while hers was peaceful yet possessed even stronger corrosive power. Any Ghost Cultivator that chased after her was enveloped by her black cloud and slowly corroded into nothingness, not even leaving ashes behind.
Yang Chengji, also practicing the Origin Demon Great Art, presented a different scene. With a wave of his Ghost Face Banner, a surging demonic qi swirled around him, brushing off any Ghost Cultivators that came near. Above his head floated an exquisite pagoda, emitting a dark yet domineering aura. Under this aura, even Nascent Soul-level Ghost Cultivators were suppressed and found it difficult to move. The Heavenly Demon Tower truly lived up to its reputation as a supreme treasure left by the most powerful demonic cultivator in Yunzhong's history, revered as a Demon Lord.
Following closely was Ling Yunhe. In this place, facing so many Ghost Cultivators, Ling Yunhe dared not hold back any longer. Moonlight radiance showered down with a clear glow, and any Ghost Cultivator within the moonlight's range screamed and vanished. Compared to the Heavenly Demon Tower, the God-Restricting Bead was much more restrained. After Ling Yunhe summoned it, it simply floated before him, releasing a warm, stabilizing light. Under this light's illumination, Death Qi could not invade, allowing Ling Yunhe to remain calm and composed.
Behind Ling Yunhe, Xiaofeng let out a clear cry and revealed her true form. Her body, wreathed in flames, and her long, magnificent tail feathers were dazzlingly brilliant. Any Ghost Cultivator that came near was completely incinerated by the Flames of the Vermilion Bird on her body.
Jing Xingzhi, not far from her, exclaimed in awe, "A divine phoenix bird? Could this be an opportunity gained from the Vermilion Bird Sacrificial Temple? How does Qin Shoujing have such good luck?"
As Ghost Cultivators swarmed toward him, Jing Xingzhi's aura changed dramatically in an instant. Countless light swords swirled around him, some real, some illusory, their sword lights flickering with sharp, imposing force. As Ghost Cultivators charged at him, the light swords rose from the ground with overwhelming momentum, slashing toward them. With several hissing sounds—much quieter compared to their imposing aura—the light swords effortlessly cleaved through these Ghost Cultivators.
Meanwhile, Stone and Feifei, far from the others, were utterly at ease. No Ghost Cultivators bothered them. Stone, originally a monster born from the intertwining of Three Qi, was like a fish in water here. Feifei, however, was uniquely blessed; these Ghost Cultivators instinctively regarded him as harmless.
The six humans and one beast each employed their own methods, charging into the canyon. For a time, ghostly shadows danced wildly, and Death Qi surged violently.
Gradually, the low-rank Ghost Cultivators were all exterminated, leaving only those at the Nascent Soul level or above.
They hadn't counted carefully earlier, but now, looking again, the number of Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivators in this canyon had actually reached a hundred.
Mo Tiange thought of the Ghost City in the far western Wind Sand City, which also possessed over a hundred Ghost Cultivators and could mobilize dozens at a time. She couldn't help but marvel, "Are Nascent Souls among Ghost Cultivators so cheap? How come they reach Nascent Soul so easily?"
Qin Xi was not far in front of her, battling Ghost Cultivators while replying, "Just look at how many of them there are and how long they've been here. If human cultivators didn't have lifespan limits, Nascent Souls would also be countless."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange couldn't help but nod. On the path to Nascent Soul for human cultivators, countless individuals fell at every stage—due to aptitude, comprehension, temperament, opportunities, and luck. The number of cultivators who fell before each hurdle was incalculable. And before all of that, there was also the constraint of lifespan. Ghost Cultivators and demonic cultivators could use time, many times that of humans, to accumulate and compensate for their shortcomings, while humans were confined by their brief lifespans. Or perhaps it was a matter of gains and losses: humans possessed wisdom that demonic cultivators could hardly match and bodies that Ghost Cultivators could not compare to, which was why they struggled to break through the confines of lifespan. Although Heaven favored humans, it still maintained a certain balance within limits.
Moreover, these Ghost Cultivators before them, for some reason, had not retained their intelligence and instead became existence akin to refined corpses, which was fundamentally incomparable to human cultivators. Their group had magical treasures and secret techniques; each of them could take on multiple opponents.
With their path blocked, each person became entangled in battle. They unanimously chose to gather closer to one another—they weren't here to kill Ghost Cultivators; sticking together and getting through was the main goal.
The fastest was Xiaofeng. As Qin Xi's spirit beast, her top priority was to get close to him. So, taking advantage of the others fighting the Ghost Cultivators and benefiting from their efforts, she reached Qin Xi's side with little difficulty.
"Master, get on," Xiaofeng said.
Qin Xi had just eliminated two Ghost Cultivators. Without much hesitation, he leaped onto Xiaofeng's back. Although he still had strength to spare, flying through the air like this and resisting the invasion of Death Qi would waste a lot of spiritual energy. Xiaofeng, being an avian, had flight as her instinct. Riding on her back was much more convenient.
On Xiaofeng's back, Qin Xi deployed his sword formation again, spreading out like a red sea. Xiaofeng cooperatively spat out Flames of the Vermilion Bird, sweeping forward. Under the combined efforts of the human and beast, the surrounding Death Qi was cleared away.
"Tian Ge!" Qin Xi called out, extending a hand toward her.
Mo Tiange looked up, summoned her Puppet, handed the Fusheng Sword to it, then took Qin Xi's hand and also mounted Xiaofeng's back.
The Fusheng Sword still carried her golden lightning. Although the Puppet had no intelligence, it was the easiest to command. Mo Tiange ordered it to guard Xiaofeng's side, occasionally releasing lightning bolts in coordination with Xiaofeng's Flames of the Vermilion Bird. The surrounding Ghost Cultivators couldn't get close, so they didn't need to lift a finger themselves.
"You two are taking shortcuts!" the others gathered around, with Jing Xingzhi making the accusation. Wasn't everyone else giving their all, fighting enemies with all their might? Yet these two were sitting on a spirit beast's back, letting the spirit beast and Puppet do the fighting, not having to move a muscle themselves.
"Fellow Daoist Jing," Mo Tiange said with a swish as she opened her Heaven and Earth Fan, "the wise use their words, the foolish use their hands. Accept your fate!"
Before Jing Xingzhi could respond, Nie Wushang, who was approaching, narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying we're all fools?"