Chapter 365: Death River Spring

Kui Sang's controlled black-purple flames were immensely powerful, not only hot enough to melt metal and stone, but also carried a strong killing aura.

Merely contacting this killing aura caused all plants and trees in the surrounding mountains and forests to wither and die; within tens of li beyond the flame's range, the land became a desolate, terrifying wasteland where no life could survive.

This flame is clearly not formed from divine sense; it is a true exotic fire.

Actually, there are not few cultivators in the world of immortality who are skilled at controlling fire as a means; Yunhe even knows of a sect called the Wanhuo Sect, which is the leader of this path.

And Kui Sang's black-purple flame is called the Subduing Killing Purple Fire; any cultivator below Yuan Ying who touches it dies instantly.

However, within this flame, a surging, earth-colored turbid river flow can resist the flame's burning and invasion, showing it is also extraordinary.

This river appears surging and full of vigorous vitality, yet what it emits is a strong deathly aura.

It seems anything that touches this river will instantly have its lifespan drained.

At this moment, within the river, Wei Haiyuan and Xiao Wuxian are struggling to hold on.

But the problem is, once the spiritual power in the Death River Spring is exhausted, at that point only Wei Haiyuan can be relied upon.

For example, when Yunhe was in Baihua Valley, he lent his Hou Tu Ding to Hua Xin precisely because the Hou Tu Ding is a spiritual treasure; even if Hua Xin hasn't refined it, she can still use it.

This river is itself a spiritual treasure, not even a third‑level one, but a genuine fourth‑level spiritual treasure.

"Understood, Uncle Wei!"

Moreover, it has reached the upper‑grade level of a fourth‑level spiritual treasure!

It is called the "Death River Spring".

While saying this, he continuously changed hand signs with both hands.

"Uncle Wei, I can't hold on much longer." Xiao Wuxian, sweat pouring down his face, his pallid complexion speaking of his exhaustion.

"Hold on a little longer!"

Actually, in terms of cultivation base and strength, Xiao Wuxian cannot control a fourth‑level magic treasure, even a lower‑grade one.

Wei Haiyuan now looks not in good shape either, but not because he is resisting Kui Sang; rather, he is storing spiritual power to prepare a secret technique.

Who would have thought Yunhe wouldn't expect that this river, which blocks the mid‑fourth‑level Abyssal Clan cultivator's exotic fire invasion, actually comes not from early‑Yuan Ying cultivator Wei Haiyuan's hand, but from Xiao Wuxian!

Or rather, it is not solely relying on Wei Haiyuan alone.

However, a spiritual treasure that has given birth to an artifact spirit is different, because possessing an artifact spirit gives it self‑awareness, allowing the treasure itself to decide for whom it will be temporarily used.

Amid the "splash splash splash" of the water's sound, Wei Haiyuan suddenly inhaled deeply, drawing all the surging spiritual power surrounding him back into himself in one breath.

Without a doubt, this is the spiritual treasure bestowed upon Xiao Wuxian by his extremely indulgent late‑Yuan Ying father, Huangquan Old Ancestor.

At this moment, Wei Haiyuan's body exudes a terrifying surge of spiritual power; his expression is resolute, but his eyes reveal an unstoppable sense of pain.

Hearing his arrangement, Xiao Wuxian, standing behind Wei Haiyuan, pressed his eyes and replied heavily.

But even if it hurts terribly, compared to his life he has no choice but to do so.

Moreover, at that time Yunhe had left a strand of his own spiritual power inside the Hou Tu Ding; all Hua Xin needed to do was inject a little spiritual power to activate it.

Likewise, Xiao Wuxian now holds this Death River Spring, which is also a spiritual treasure and contains Huangquan Old Ancestor's spiritual power; therefore, by not exhausting the power all at once but using it in a steady trickle, he can indeed fight Kui Sang to the death.

"Wuxian, when I say 'release,' you will pour out all the spiritual power the Old Ancestor stored in the Death River Spring; with one strike of the Old Ancestor's magic treasure, even if he is not personally present, it will surely inflict considerable damage on that Abyssal Clan; afterward I will unleash a secret technique to smash him, surely causing severe injury, and even if we remain inferior, we will at least have a chance to escape."

And his complexion flushed to a deep soy‑sauce red at this moment.

The next second.

Wei Haiyuan quickly untied the leather pouch at his waist, opened it, aimed his mouth at the pouch, and spat out a mouthful of bright‑red, scalding essence blood that contained a great deal of spiritual power.

As he spat out that mouthful of essence blood, Wei Haiyuan's whole body visibly weakened, his face turning from deathly pale to a gold‑paper hue, and his breath plummeted.

But it was precisely then.

Wei Haiyuan gave a low shout, "Release!"

Hearing this, Xiao Wuxian hesitated not at all, his expression turning fierce as he unleashed a seal sign.

Immediately after.

Splish‑splash——

The earth‑colored river water enveloping them suddenly became extremely turbulent; the repressed spiritual power now erupted wildly, and the rushing water instantly turned into a sky‑covering wave that broke through the flames' envelope and surged straight toward Kui Sang!

"What!"

Feeling the change in the flames, Kui Sang's expression shifted, and the rising shockwave astonished him greatly.

I never expected these two humans to have such a method.

But at this moment he knows dodging is impossible; he can only hastily gather whatever flames he still controls into a fire shield for defense, while directing spiritual power and divine sense to resist.

Boom!!

The sky‑covering surge howled downward.

What astonished Kui Sang even more was that the river's water was not only unusually turbulent, but the deathly aura it carried possessed extremely strong erosive power, actually annihilating his Subduing Killing Purple Fire, spiritual power, and divine sense entirely!

Such a blow, even though Kui Sang is a mid‑fourth‑level Abyssal Clan cultivator, indeed inflicted a serious injury as Wei Haiyuan had anticipated.

Of course, because of the prior expenditure and because this treasure is not being wielded by its true master, even though it is fearsome, it is not enough to heavily wound Kui Sang, let alone deprive him of combat ability.

Moreover, Kui Sang understands that after this strike, the other side will no longer possess such power.

Filled with rage, he was about to slay the two when he saw a sky‑covering mass of "black mist" rolling in.

"Huh?"

Seeing this "black mist," Kui Sang was startled again, for his divine sense had already detected that these so‑called black mists are formed from accumulations of tiny insects.

Earlier, inside the Listening Fragrance Tower, he had also seen Wei Haiyuan command these spiritual insects.

But he quickly realized that these spiritual insects now differ from those Wei Haiyuan commanded in the Listening Fragrance Tower; they are more violent and ferocious!

This is due to the effect of Wei Haiyuan's secret technique "Blood Rage Technique," which feeds on his own spiritual power, essence blood, and essence qi to unleash the full potential of these spiritual insects.

This endeavor consumes the cultivator performing the secret technique enormously, and once the technique ends, all the insects subjected to it will surely explode and die.

For Wei Haiyuan, a rare cultivator who commands spiritual insects, this is absolutely a massive blow.

Ordinary insect‑taming cultivators are careful when commanding spiritual insects, feeling pain even if a few die; over the years Wei Haiyuan has cultivated, he has managed to amass only this foundation of several thousand "Dead Spirit Insects."

But to save his life, he now has no choice but to do so.

Fortunately, Wei Haiyuan's cultivation of these "Death Spirit Insects" relies on the power of the Old Ancestor of the Yellow Springs of the City of the Dead; as long as he can protect Xiao Wuxian this time, he will surely have more cultivation opportunities and will certainly receive the Old Ancestor's blessing.

However, wanting to cultivate those newborn Spirit Insects again consumes resources and time that cannot be achieved overnight.

But those Spirit Insects infused with the "Blood Rage Technique" truly seized the opportunity; after the Death River Spring, they inflicted a genuine blow upon Wei Sang!

"Go!"

Seeing Wei Sang blocked by a swarm of Spirit Insects, Wei Haiyuan and Xiao Wuxian exchanged a glance, instantly sensing a chance, and without hesitation turned and fled.

Despite the enormous cost, the two managed to escape Wei Sang's pursuit.

Although they were heartbroken and exhausted, the outcome was still good.

"Not bad for the son and subordinate of a Yuan Ying Late-stage Cultivator who dominates a region; indeed, their abilities are extraordinary."

Although he didn't witness the whole process, Yunhe also roughly saw Xiao Wuxian and Wei Haiyuan's final Thunderbolt Strike, and couldn't help but sigh in amazement.

Putting himself in Wei Sang's shoes, facing such a counterattack, he would surely find it extremely troublesome.

But now.

After this battle, however, it created an opportunity for him.

"But we also need to be careful; they might still have other tricks hidden."

That was the thought.

Yunhe spread his Ice Phoenix Double Wings with a puff behind him and shot straight after the direction Wei Haiyuan and Xiao Wuxian had fled.

"Thank you, Uncle Wei, for your protection all along; once my father leaves seclusion, I will surely tell him everything without omission!"

During their escape, Xiao Wuxian solemnly promised Wei Haiyuan.

But Wei Haiyuan's complexion still hadn't recovered much; only fellow Insect Cultivators could understand how severe the blow to an Insect Cultivator's strength is when all his spirit insects die.

Moreover, his exhaustive use of the Blood Rage Technique also greatly drained his origin; a full recovery would likely take at least several decades.

Still, Xiao Wuxian's promise was at least some comfort to him.

But he still had one matter he didn't quite understand; after a moment's pondering, he asked in a low voice:

"Wuxian, what exactly do you carry on you that makes the Abyss Clan pursue you so relentlessly?"

If he still couldn't see this by now, he would have wasted being a Yuan Ying Cultivator.

"This"

Hearing this, Xiao Wuxian stared, opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain.

Seeing his appearance, Wei Haiyuan basically confirmed his guess, sighed, and said: "Forget it, I won't ask what exactly it is; you only need to tell me whether this thing will be sensed by Abyss Clan cultivators."

If it can be sensed, even if they give it their all this time, it would be futile, and sooner or later the Abyss Clan would catch up again.

However, Xiao Wuxian's next words made him let out a long sigh of relief.

"Uncle Wei, please rest assured; although Wuxian himself doesn't know its use, it was originally intended as a congratulatory gift for my father's emergence from seclusion, but the Abyss Clan absolutely cannot sense it."

He said this with great conviction.

Otherwise, he could never have escaped the Abyss Clan's encirclement with the Ghost Blade Sect's members, nor would he have awaited rescue by Yunhe and the others.

"That's good." Wei Haiyuan couldn't help but cough a few times, his heart settled, and he praised: "The Old Ancestor is about to emerge from seclusion; your action counts as filial piety, and it's not in vain that the Old Ancestor values you so highly."

The matter of the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor's imminent emergence from seclusion is no secret among the high ranks of the City of the Dead.

Furthermore, given the recent turmoil among foreign tribes, the Yellow Springs Old Ancestor, with his status and cultivation, must emerge even if he doesn't want to.

"Uncle Wei, you overpraise."

Xiao Wuxian narrowed his eyes and said, "But once this is over, I will surely make someone pay the price."

In his mind, an image of Yunhe flashed.

Wei Haiyuan naturally knew what Xiao Wuxian was thinking: it was Yunhe who had played them.

He naturally had no objection to that.

But just as the two, having escaped death, were discussing how to retaliate against the enemy, Wei Haiyuan's expression suddenly changed.

He saw him abruptly swing a golden net behind him.

Puff!!

However.

That golden net was instantly cut in half by a Five Elements Sword leaping with arc light!

Seeing that flying sword, Xiao Wuxian's face also showed shock, and he exclaimed in disbelief:

"Yunhe?!"

(End of Chapter)