Chapter 58: Double Formation! (Please subscribe! Please monthly vote!)

Boom!!!

At the broken stone pillar, large chunks of rock collapsed down.

At the same time.

"Roar!!!"

In the distance, an angry roar surged forward, riding the water.

Yunhe's expression suddenly tightened.

He hurriedly put the Gathering Spirit Pearl and that strand of unknown liquid into his storage bag, then, carrying the Linghenclam, he turned and ran.

He suddenly dove headfirst into the earth layer, fleeing in the direction he came from while digging deeper.

At the same time, the fear-filled Linghenclam told him that behind them on the riverbed, a very powerful demon beast was chasing them and had already released its demon sense!

Actually, no reminder from the Linghenclam was needed; Yunhe had already felt that violent demon sense sweep over him and then lock onto him tightly.

"At least it's a second-stage demon beast!"

However, it seemed the beast was chasing him only because the noise from the cavern collapse just now had attracted its attention.

Even if the Gathering Spirit Pearl were taken, the spiritual energy concentration nearby wouldn't dissipate that quickly; it could still last for several years.

It was even less likely to be because of that strand of unknown liquid.

If the beast knew of the existence of that underground cavern, that strand of liquid and the Gathering Spirit Pearl would surely have been taken long ago.

Thinking this, Yunhe slightly relaxed his breath.

"As long as it's not a fight to the death."

Without such a deep grudge, as long as he kept digging deeper into the earth, the beast would certainly not pursue him relentlessly.

Furthermore, he had another plan prepared.

That was the other second-stage demon beast they had encountered when they first came here.

So Yunhe reminded the Linghenclam to retract its demon sense while heading toward the area where the other second-stage demon beast was more active.

He took out four Swift Travel Talismans from his storage bag and stuck them respectively on his feet.

Although this didn't add much to his Earth Escape Technique, it still increased his escape speed a little, even if just a bit.

Then Yunhe took out a Converge Qi Talisman and slapped it onto the Linghenclam.

He held his breath and operated the Turtle Breath Body Forging Technique.

Bang!!!

On the riverbed, a violent collision sound suddenly rang out, followed by a demon power collision that Yunhe could clearly feel even deep in the earth layer.

"Looks like we've run into it."

Feeling the demon sense locking onto him gradually recede, Yunhe's spirits lifted at once, and he drove forth his flying sword to hover before him.

The flying sword cleared the path ahead, reducing obstacles, while he himself earth-escaped from behind.

I don't know how long he ran, but under the double boost, the noise behind seemed to grow farther and farther.

But.

Before Yunhe could fully relax his mind,

He suddenly tensed his whole body instinctively; the faint black skin on his chin that had merely been exposed split open, and several black scales, finer than a fingernail, made a soft 'shasha' sound.

It gave him no chance to make any extra move; Yunhe's head, limbs, and tail almost simultaneously shrank into his shell.

Bang!!

He saw a dark brown, viscous thing like a tentacle, seemingly unhindered by any soil, slamming hard onto his body.

Thud!!

A muffled sound issued from his turtle shell.

"Ugh!!"

Yunhe let out a muffled groan.

It felt as if he had been struck hard with a blunt club; his qi and blood surged, and his internal organs trembled.

If it weren't for his keen danger awareness and his timely retreat into his shell, that blow just now would have been much worse.

He directed his gaze.

He saw a demon beast as thick as a python, its body densely covered with fine hairs like an earthworm.

"Qian Xu Yin!"

Such demon beasts live year-round in deep, moist soil and have an extremely keen perception of changes in the earth layer.

Seeing this, Yunhe's heart jolted.

"Another second-stage demon beast."

He had only been watching the water demon beast, forgetting that the earth layer also harbored all sorts of demon beasts.

Previously, not escaping deep enough was fine, but this time, to evade the water demon beast's demon sense perception, he had indeed gone somewhat deeper.

The Qian Xu Yin had no eyes, but Yunhe could clearly feel the 'gazing',

This was the demon sense locking onto him.

"Damn it! Don't let me break through to second stage, or today I'll settle scores with everyone!"

Though he cursed and swore, the situation before him was clearly very disadvantageous for him.

Thoughts flashed in his mind like lightning.

"What should we do?"

Bang!!

He was thinking of a solution, but the Qian Xu Yin obviously wouldn't give him time.

Again, a whip-like tail lashed toward him.

This time, from above downward, it was slammed heavily into a deeper soil layer.

Before, it was because it happened too suddenly to react, but this time Yunhe won't just passively take the blows without fighting back.

While being whipped away, a warm water ball formed from the tiny gap in his mouth turned into streams of water that surged toward Qian Xu Yin.

Three Yang Heavy Water!

Sizzle—

Qian Xu Yin's body instantly emitted a 'hissing' corrosive sound; feeling pain, it roared.

Once again it whipped its tail toward Yunhe.

【Boom!!】

But before it could fall.

An inconspicuous glint of silver appeared at Qian Xu Yin's side, and the flying sword exploded outward from within.

A not-insubstantial impact force slightly hindered its movement.

Taking this opportunity.

Yunhe, borrowing the force from being whipped and flung away earlier, endured his internal discomfort and recklessly dug deeper underground.

It wasn't that he didn't want to run upward; rather, Qian Xu Yin seemed to know he wanted to flee into the water, so it slapped him downward.

【Demonic beasts don't know spellcraft; burrowing is their instinct, but when faced with harder rock layers, their movement will inevitably be hindered. If we delay a bit longer, there might be a turning point.】

Unless absolutely necessary, Yunhe didn't want to forcibly clash head-on with a second-tier demonic beast.

The longer the delay, the more the Three Yang Heavy Water clinging to Qian Xu Yin like a bone-attached parasite would inflict greater harm upon it.

Qian Xu Yin's skin-layer defense isn't strong, which is good for Yunhe.

「Sizzle!! 」

Qian Xu Yin's body suddenly rolled in the dirt, trying to shake off the gathered streams of water on its body, but it found that the water not only continuously corroded its flesh but was also extremely heavy, greatly affecting its agility.

As the epidermis corroded, the Three Yang Heavy Water seeped further into the damaged skin, bit by bit.

The piercing pain made Qian Xu Yin's ferocity flare.

But it wasn't stupid either; it knew the strange water flow was controlled by that turtle, so it gritted its teeth and gave chase.

The surrounding rocks grew more numerous, and the soil layers became ever denser.

Yunhe's movements were hindered, but Qian Xu Yin was likewise impeded.

【There's hope!】

If we could keep dangling the opponent without letting it catch up, we might actually have a chance to wear it to death!

Yunhe's spirits lifted.

He hurriedly took a few elixirs from his storage bag and stuffed them all into his mouth.

Instantly, the surging viscera gradually calmed, and threads of demonic power flowed from his abdomen into the meridians.

The elixirs are the capital he and his opponent are consuming!

But just as Yunhe felt he could not only escape but possibly wear the opponent to death, a sudden change occurred, leaving him somewhat dazed.

Thud!!!

As Yunhe fled deeper, his head suddenly struck a hard object.

No, it shouldn't be called a piece; it should be called an entire surface!

Like a piece of glass wiped extremely clean, it would cause an inattentive person to slam straight into it.

Although he clearly still saw soil before him, he felt as if he had hit a wall.

He really was a bit dazed.

He sharply shook his head.

Even though he had prepared various plans, he never expected to encounter such a thing.

【A wall?】

He tried diving at another angle, but it was still the same.

【No! A formation?!】

Because he had stopped moving, Qian Xu Yin had already arrived nearby.

At this moment, Qian Xu Yin's appearance was also somewhat miserable.

Its body was pitted with depressions, from which unknown liquids occasionally seeped, and in some holes, accompanied by a 'hissing' sound.

If Yunhe could keep fleeing, after a while he might actually wear this second-tier demonic beast to death.

He also first clearly understood from the 'Mountain-Leaning Chapter' that Three Yang Heavy Water has the effect of wearing away flesh, blood, essence, and bones, and wondered just how far that effect could extend.

Even the physique of a second-tier demonic beast cannot withstand the corrosion!

「Sizzle!! 」

If Qian Xu Yin had eyes, they would surely be bloodshot and glaring at him right now.

But its voice alone is enough to prove its current mood.

「Roar!!! 」

Yunhe, unwilling to show weakness, let out a roar.

He assumed a posture ready for a fight.

He couldn't figure out what the situation was beneath this soil layer.

But for now, he obviously had to deal with this Qian Xu Yin first.

Gazing at the opponent's battered body, Yunhe silently calculated.

【With the elixirs, I should be able to hold out for a while.】

The storage bag opened, and several Diamond Talismans flew out in succession, layers of protective golden light enveloping his whole body.

That is, the Cultivator Body's "Black Scorpion Shield" couldn't be sent over; otherwise, even if he didn't run, he would surely be able to wear out the Qian Xu Yin.

Hum—

Suddenly.

Yunhe's Diamond Talisman had just protected his body, but the formation under his feet emitted a slight tremor.

The next second.

Boom!!!

A terrifying aura far surpassing a second-tier beast burst forth from the formation.

The mere shockwave of the air blast sent Yunhe flying.

The originally fierce Qian Xu Yin also shuddered violently and was likewise blown away.

'What the hell?'

Shaken to disarray, Yunhe barely managed to turn over, and the hard-won golden light of his body protection shattered completely at this moment.

'Is there a demonic beast inside the formation?'

On the other side, the already miserable Qian Xu Yin seemed to have been frightened.

It didn't even bother with Yunhe, actually turning and fleeing.

As if slowing down would mean death.

Crack—

Even more, it actually directly snapped off nearly half of its own body; while its aura dropped, its speed suddenly surged, and in the blink of an eye it vanished into the soil stratum.

Moreover, by shedding part of its body, the Three Yang Heavy Water was also cast away, dashing Yunhe's thought of pursuit.

The speed of the change was beyond his expectation.

Can it still escape like this?

But thinking about the strong regenerative ability of worm-type demonic beasts, it wasn't really surprising.

However, this would likely greatly reduce the opponent's demonic power.

Boom!!

Movement and sound came again from within the formation.

Yunhe also dared not linger here.

He quickly recalled the Three Yang Heavy Water, stuffed the corpse discarded by the Qian Xu Yin into his storage bag, and fled in a different direction.

At this moment Yunhe realized that this water area was probably not so simple.

First came the decayed array base, plus the Gathering Spirit Pearl and a strange unknown liquid that helps demonic beasts open their spiritual wisdom; deep underground there is another formation, in which seems to be sealed a demonic beast of extraordinarily strong power.

'Wait!'

Yunhe, escaping into the earth, gradually widened his eyes.

'Could it not be a double array? The earlier decayed array base was just the first layer, and this underground one is the second layer.'

'Or perhaps this is not an array but a secret realm?'

'I always feel that I've discovered something tremendous.'

'First go back, go back; for now this is not something I can touch—at least I need second-stage strength, no, perhaps at least third-stage.'

Perhaps because there were too many mishaps earlier, on the way back nothing major happened.

And he, due to his injuries, didn't go looking for trouble with other demonic beasts.

As for the Blue Water Crocodile Group, we can only wait until next time to meet them.

Returning to Huanhu Dao, he handed the Linghenclam over to the Black Fish and the Ni Qiu, then dove headfirst into his cave dwelling.

Without saying more, a single Gathering Spirit Pearl alone is enough to make him feel this adventure was worthwhile.

Moreover, there are also large quantities of spiritual plants and ores, the remains of the second-tier beast Qian Xu Yin, and that strand of dark-red liquid.

However.

Yunhe feels that his greatest gain might still be the discovery of that formation.

(End of chapter)