Chapter 352

Seeing Mu Ya Zi step out, the priestly elder leaned slightly forward, his black cane gripped in his hand, his body also leaning forward.

Human cultivator, you're quite bold.

What he used was an ancient human language.

But for an old Nascent Soul monster like Mu Ya Zi, these languages are naturally extremely familiar.

He smoothed his white beard, and vitality blossomed on his rather ruddy face as he shouted:

I am Mu Ya Zi of the Wood Spirit Sect, old and frail; I don't know if you Abyssal cultivators dare to fight?

Don't bother saying it.

Although Mu Ya Zi is known among Yunhe's human cultivators as someone who can survive, live well, and cherish life—a person who values his life greatly—when facing the Abyssal clan, his aura does not fall short.

Hearing this, the priest was momentarily startled, then couldn't help bursting into laughter.

And the Abyssal cultivators behind him also burst into laughter.

This caused Mu Ya Zi's expression to darken slightly.

He turned his wrist, a green glow appearing in his hand, and he raised it to smash the laughing Abyssal priest.

Seeing this, the Abyssal priest wiped the smile from his face and swung his cane.

Bang!!!

For a moment, the green light scattered like fireworks, turning into specks of crystal that drifted down.

Even an old coot with one foot in the grave dares to show off, Ao Yi!

The Abyssal priest seemed somewhat angered by this and shouted:

Priest Sir!

Then a figure flashed forward to stand before the priest, bowing respectfully.

The Abyssal priest pointed his cane at Mu Ya Zi and shouted angrily:

Seize him!

Yes!

The Abyssal cultivator named Ao Yi, without hesitation, instantly surged with a mighty black mist, as if wings had sprouted on his back, and shot toward Mu Ya Zi at great speed.

Feeling the opponent's aura comparable to that of an early Nascent Soul cultivator—a fourth-tier energy—Mu Ya Zi dared not slacken, fiercely tapping his dantian to unleash his natal treasure.

It turned out to be a stalk of seemingly ordinary spiritual grass.

Held in his palm, it emitted faint undulations of wood-attribute spiritual power.

Go!

Mu Ya Zi formed a hand seal, turned his finger into a sword, light flashing at the tip, and the spiritual grass-shaped treasure shot straight toward the Abyssal cultivator named Ao Yi.

What is this?

Seeing this treasure, Ao Yi instinctively felt no danger at all, but considering his opponent was a human Nascent Soul cultivator, how could he possibly wield such a trivial artifact?

Therefore, out of caution, he slowed his flight.

At the same time, with a sweep of his wide black robe, a lifelike bird formed entirely of black mist flew out.

Cry!!

With a long cry, it lunged at the spiritual grass.

Seeing that the Abyssal cultivator was so cautious and not falling for it, Mu Ya Zi felt a slight disappointment.

He no longer bothered to conceal it.

Instantly, his eyes narrowed, he clapped his hands, and surging wood-attribute spiritual power burst forth.

At the same time.

The seemingly ordinary stalk of spiritual grass visibly swelled and grew, instantly transforming into a massive vine-like spiritual plant.

Countless leaves of various sizes spread out like octopus tentacles, and the bird Ao Yi had released collapsed under a single strike of the plant's leaves.

It is Fellow Daoist Mu Ya Zi's Soul-devouring Grass!

Witnessing this, Ji Liuyun's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but speak.

This is Fellow Daoist Mu Ya Zi's natal treasure, which can devour spiritual energy and convert mana into nourishment for itself; it is an exceptional combined binding, attack, and defense artifact. Fellow Daoist Mu Ya Zi hasn't left the Wood Spirit Sect in over three hundred years, and seeing this treasure again, it has grown far beyond a mere trifle.

The Hundred Flowers Valley and the Wood Spirit Sect are the two major Nascent Soul sects of Mu State; although Mu Ya Zi has lived a long time, in terms of seniority he far surpasses Elder Lianhua, yet it is clear she has seen this treasure before.

There are also some things that neither she nor Ji Liuyun have said.

Many suspect that Mu Ya Zi's longevity is due largely to this treasure, the Soul-devouring Grass, playing an extremely important role.

I just don't know how effective this Soul-devouring Grass will be against Abyssal cultivators.

Yunhe kept his eyes fixed on the two dueling cultivators, voicing his inner doubt.

Do Abyssal cultivators use spiritual energy and mana?

But obviously, his worry is somewhat unnecessary.

Although the Abyssal clan differs greatly from human cultivators, in this realm any increase in cultivation or rank is inseparable from spiritual energy.

Even if the Abyssals absorb and use spiritual energy somewhat differently from humans, its essence remains spiritual energy.

Thus, even though Ao Yi continually summons a bird formed solely of black mist, it cannot inflict significant damage on the Soul-devouring Grass.

Even.

Under the continual absorption by the Soul-devouring Grass, its growth becomes ever more ferocious.

But just then, Ao Yi, the Abyssal cultivator dodging and entwined by the grass's leaves in midair, made a hand seal; a layer of murky black mist rose around him, and he opened his mouth, spewing out a fist-sized black light that swelled in the wind, instantly turning into a blazing black flame that engulfed him.

After doing that, he actually stopped dodging the grass's leaves, letting them, like strips of dark green silk, continually strike the black fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The black fire scattered under the leaves' lashing like a sudden storm, yet like an unextinguishable wildfire it quickly returned to its original state.

And Ao Yi, who was in the black fire, crossed his arms; on the pale face beneath the hood, a hint of mockery appeared.

Seeing this, Muyazi's heart gave a slight start as anger welled up; he snorted coldly and readied himself to cast again.

Just that.

Before he could act, a divine sense voice transmission rang in his ear.

"Fellow Daoist Muyazi, that is not spiritual energy or magical power, but divine sense."

This voice and divine sense were naturally recognized by Muyazi; it came from the edge of the formation, from the mouth of Yunhe, whose eyes glowed faintly.

He had no doubt about Yunhe's judgment, for they had earlier learned that Abyssal Clan cultivators seemed quite skilled in divine sense techniques, though he hadn't expected them to be this proficient.

"Divine sense incarnation?" Muyazi shouted through gritted teeth.

Though phrased as a question, he seemed quite certain, and his expression turned grim.

"You do have some insight."

Hearing his own divine sense technique so quickly exposed, Aoyi was also somewhat surprised; he instinctively glanced at Yunhe's position within the formation, having just faintly sensed a ripple of divine sense aura coming from that direction.

But regardless of whether it was seen through, his upcoming actions would not change because of it.

Then his face showed a hint of ferocity, his scarlet pupils glimmering faintly; beneath his billowing black robe, the black flame enveloping him instantly transformed into a three-headed crow, flapping its wings and swooping toward Muyazi at great speed.

Divine sense attack!

The leaves of the Soul-Eating Grass fluttered rapidly, attempting to block.

However, though the divine sense had taken form, it was still without spirit or substance; the Soul-Eating Grass's ability could not impede its advance.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, the cultivators inside the formation were all startled; Feng Qingdan had already seized the formation plate, ready at any moment to open the gate of the Protecting Sect Grand Formation so everyone could be rescued immediately.

And as Muyazi faced the oncoming flapping-wing assault, his heart sank; he knew the Soul-Eating Grass's effect on divine sense was indeed minimal.

But if he simply lost like that, it would unduly boost the Abyssal Clan's arrogance and diminish the prestige of human cultivators.

His thoughts reached this point.

Muyazi, skilled in "life" arts, also knew he could no longer hide his clumsiness, lest his contribution be blamed.

Then or.

Muyazi actually ignored the incoming divine sense three-headed crow, drew a slight breath, and instantly vast roots and vines sprouted from his dark-green robes, wrapping around him in layers.

At the same moment, the Soul-Eating Grass surged again; unexpectedly, a tough leaf lashed like thunder to bind Aoyi's ankle before he could react.

Seeing this, Aoyi was also startled; from beneath his sleeve, a pallid hand shot up, and black mist condensed into icy blades that slashed straight down.

Crack!!

A clear sound rang out.

This let Aoyi relax slightly as he shot backward.

However, a sudden warning in his ear made his hairs stand on end.

"Aoyi, watch your back!"

Whoosh—

Behind him, numerous thin yet extraordinarily tough branches shot out, some as soft as silk, some as sharp as blades.

"When did this happen?!"

The suddenly appearing vegetation was beyond Aoyi's expectations.

"Cunning human cultivator!"

But the Abyssal Clan priest saw it clearly.

These wooden branches originated from the faint green fluorescence Muyazi first released; though they seemed ordinary, his staff shattered them, yet he never imagined that the scattered fluorescence, under his technique, would turn into wooden branches that became the greatest obstacle to Aoyi's retreat.

A slight obstruction, and Muyazi's Soul-Eating Grass tightly entangled Aoyi.

Soon.

Bound by the Soul-Eating Grass, Aoyi became a wrapped "cicada cocoon," constantly flickering with a dim green glow as it madly drained his spiritual energy and magical power.

However, although Aoyi was bound, it did not hinder his ability to drive his divine sense.

The three-headed black crow formed from his divine sense also attacked Muyazi.

The divine sense attack turned Muyazi's face deathly white, his pupils clouding with chaos, but he quickly regained clarity, gritting his teeth to endure.

For a moment.

The two sides actually ended up in a stalemate.

Muyazi desperately used his divine sense to fend off Aoyi's three-headed black crow, while Aoyi struggled not to be drained dry by the Soul-Eating Grass.

Frankly, this result was something neither side had anticipated.

Yet both sides tacitly refrained from intervening, for it seemed they were merely waiting to see who would first fail to withstand the other's assault.

【9】 On the other hand, Yunhe watched with great interest.

Actually, Yunhe watched it with great relish.

"Divine sense incarnation? Clever. But this kind of cleverness is indeed novel, somewhat interesting."

He had figured it out; Aoyi's divine sense wasn't weak, but it wasn't extraordinarily strong either—at most it matched the gifted human cultivators in divine sense.

However, if every Abyssal Clan cultivator possessed such divine sense and such techniques, it would indeed be a major problem for most cultivators.

"I fear that defensive divine sense treasures will soon become extremely scarce."

This let Yunhe catch a whiff of a "money-making" opportunity.

He reckoned that even a third-level divine sense defensive treasure could fetch a significant premium, exchangeable for fourth-tier tier treasures or spiritual materials.

"However, if I could obtain the Abyssal Clan's divine sense secret technique, it would be greatly beneficial to me."

His divine sense was already strong, but the secret techniques he mastered were only a few moves; the strongest was "Seeking Immortal Divine Grant," which, for him, entailed considerable consumption and rather one-dimensional means.

While he pondered silently, Muyazi and Aoyi both could no longer sustain their techniques, dispersing them and letting each secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

If it continued, it would be more than just a slight loss of fundamental essence.

And thus, under what appeared to be a tacit stalemate, each withdrew.

「Lord Priest」 Ao Yi came to the side of the Abyss tribe's priest, showing a bit of ashamed expression.

"It's fine, killing is good, but not killing is even better!" the priest's dark-red eyes flickered, "Go rest."

"Yes!"

After returning to the formation, Muyazi also exchanged a simple greeting with Yunhe and a few others, then sat down on the ground and began to regulate his breath.

Yunhe then focused more of his attention on Muyazi.

He actually wanted to see how well the medicine sold in that gourd of the Abyss Tribe matched his guess.

(End of Chapter)