Chapter 161: Remnants of the Fourth Layer, Strange Flute Sounds!

Everyone remained silent and followed Wuling straight to the mountain gate.

"Fang Xu, you..."

"Actually, I can go by myself."

Looking at Fang Xu beside her, Yun Wan spoke up.

Fang Xu tilted his head to look at her, realizing Yun Wan must have misunderstood his meaning.

He had once told Yun Wan that he would find an opportunity to visit Ti Lan Mountain to help her find Yun Qing's whereabouts.

But now, Old Yuan is in seclusion, and Fang Xu isn't in a hurry to do this.

Yun Qing's strength is not weak; as long as he doesn't enter the deep parts of Ti Lan, he won't face too much danger.

After all, the one currently searching for Yun Qing is Sha Tianrui, who has no intention of exterminating him completely and has never really put effort into the search.

Let the misunderstanding be a misunderstanding; Fang Xu felt a bit guilty for a moment and didn't want to explain this matter anymore.

The taste of the Creation Immortal Elixir!

At the moment of entering the fourth layer, amidst the mist spreading before him, Fang Xu caught a faint, elusive scent of the Creation Immortal Elixir.

When Wuling led the group of inner disciples to arrive, the ruins' gate remained as bustling as ever.

However, the first three layers of Ti Lan Mountain's ruins have basically been completely scavenged by people, leaving nothing of value; these people gathered here are merely waiting for news.

Fang Xu followed the crowd, lifting his head to observe everything around him.

The crowd moved slowly forward, and the mist ahead gradually thinned.

Ti Lan Mountain Ruins.

Everyone said they hadn't heard any flute sound.

"It's fine; I've been in seclusion this whole time—now it's about time to go out and move around."

At the instant of passing through the entrance, Fang Xu suddenly froze.

"I didn't hear it either!"

Wuling furrowed his brow, approached this disciple, and asked: "Are you sure you heard the flute sound?"

At the entrance, Wuling turned to face everyone and said: "With the suppression of the restriction in place, no one should be overconfident—inside here, you are not exalted Martial Sovereigns."

Waiting for someone to find a way to survive in the fourth layer.

Everyone nodded.

"Everyone, if you encounter danger, do your best to help those beside you; if you encounter opportunity, whoever gets it first keeps it—I don't want to see disciples of my Ascension Immortal Sect fighting each other over minor chances!"

If it weren't for him having personally used the Creation Immortal Elixir and felt this primordial energy's taste in his own aperture space, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference at all.

Suddenly, the disciple walking ahead of Fang Xu quickly spoke up.

Because within this hazy mist before them, the amount of Creation Immortal Elixir contained is too little.

The elders of the Ascension Immortal Sect leading a group of disciples here undoubtedly gave these people a glimmer of hope.

Yun Wan nodded: "Fang Xu, thank you."

The group slowly walked into the entrance, and Fang Xu and Yun Wan followed them inside.

"How come I didn't hear it?"

"Elder, there's flute sound!"

"Alright, say it."

Giving Yun Wan a vague answer, Fang Xu quickly changed the subject: "If we don't find it this time, I'll bring Tong Tong along next time—she has beast-taming abilities, which should make things easier."

Ordinary martial artists, including Wuling, at most just feel that these mists smell refreshing and invigorating.

That disciple's face looked somewhat unnatural as he said: "Sure… sure there's flute sound!"

Seeing this, Wuling scanned his surroundings.

Fang Xu lowered his head and vaguely saw some martial artists' corpses scattered haphazardly on the ground.

"No?"

Upon hearing this, the team immediately stopped, and everyone perked up their ears.

As soon as Wuling's words ended, he directly headed toward the entrance of the fourth layer.

"Where is the flute sound?"

Before Wuling could speak, these martial artists automatically made way, watching as Wuling led the crowd into the ruins.

Seeing this, Wuling added: "Don't stray too far from me, don't act on your own—otherwise, if something happens, don't blame others."

"It's becoming clearer."

……

"Let's go."

Obviously, these are all martial artists who previously came to explore the fourth layer; they don't know what they encountered, but they died strangely here.

First layer, second layer, third layer—they didn't stop at any, and the group directly arrived at the entrance of the fourth layer.

This entrance was discovered by him and Gu Qiu together; back then, the two wandered around the third layer for many days, and finally, Gu Qiu calculated using the Five Elements Secret Method, confirming the entrance was just below this cliff.

He also didn't hear any flute sound, but he believes this disciple wouldn't lie at this moment.

And aside from the light mist around, there's basically nothing else.

Fang Xu also looked around.

Although he didn't hear the flute sound, he could sense a strange aura approaching.

The mist around his body swirled with the wind, waves of cold mist spreading outward, and Fang Xu suddenly frowned.

Just a moment ago, he seemed to see a humanoid figure parting the surrounding mist and walking toward the inner disciple who claimed to hear the flute sound.

But when he focused his gaze, he saw nothing at all.

"Keep moving forward!" Wuling confirmed three times that there was nothing around, then decided to continue walking.

"So noisy!"

"The flute sound is right by my ear!"

The inner sect disciple who had just taken a few steps forward suddenly clutched his ears, his face full of terror as he shouted loudly.

"Junior Brother Zhang!"

"Junior Brother!"

The two disciples beside him quickly supported him, while the other disciples also hastily drew their weapons, cautiously guarding their surroundings.

Wuling walked slowly up to this disciple, about to ask him a question, when he saw the disciple's eyes suddenly widen, his body stiffen, and then gradually lose his breath.

The two Ascension Society disciples supporting him, seeing this, were all frightened and hastily threw him down, dodging a few steps away.

Both of their eyes were filled with terror!

Just now, these two were the ones closest to this disciple, but they felt nothing at all, and had no idea why a Martial Venerable Realm cultivator would inexplicably die like this!

Wuling solemnly bent down to examine the corpse of the disciple who had already died.

"There is not a single wound on his body, nor any sign of poisoning..."

"Elder Wuling, could it be... a soul attack?" Beside him, Fang Xu glanced at the disciple's corpse, suddenly recalling how, on the way to the Star Palace, Chu Ren had demonstrated to him a method of attacking the soul with killing intent.

Wuling listened and was slightly startled.

After Fang Xu's reminder, he really felt it was possible that a soul attack was the cause.

But that doesn't make sense!

He was not far from this disciple just now, and felt absolutely no attack fluctuations.

If this disciple was truly killed by a soul attack, then such an attack that could evade his perception would be too terrifying!

Wuling felt that no cultivator could possibly possess such a method.

"Danger is evident to all; if anyone wishes to withdraw now, they may directly proceed to the third level and wait there."

Having just entered the fourth level less than a hundred meters in, they lost a disciple, causing Wuling to grow somewhat anxious.

The disciples he brought this time are all elites from the various halls of the Ascension Society; if these disciples all perish in the fourth level, the Ascension Society's Yu Kingdom branch will surely suffer a severe blow to its vitality.

"Elder, I withdraw."

"I withdraw too!"

"Me!"

As soon as Wuling's words fell, four or five disciples immediately chose to withdraw.

They came to the Blue Mountain ruins originally just to try their luck, seeking some opportunity to enhance their strength.

But now, a fellow sect member has died silently before their eyes, and they didn't even see the enemy's form, nor do they know how he was killed.

This strange manner of death makes them dare not continue forward.

"Alright, you few will carry his corpse to the entrance first."

"The rest of you, if you wish to continue forward, follow closely behind me."

Watching as a few people carried away that disciple's corpse, Wuling led the remaining disciples onward.

"You should withdraw." In the crowd, Fang Xu looked toward Yun Wan.

Meeting Fang Xu's concerned gaze, Yun Wan firmly shook her head.

Seeing her expression, Fang Xu understood that Yun Wan now urgently wishes to enhance her strength.

"Then stay by my side, be careful." Fang Xu spoke again.

In this ruin, he naturally possesses a certain advantage, and at critical moments should be able to protect her.

The crowd continued forward, Fang Xu carefully observing his surroundings.

Suddenly, he noticed a clear dividing line appear on the ground beneath his feet.

Looking in the direction the dividing line extended, Fang Xu noticed a blurry figure.

"Elder, there's something over there!"

Fang Xu shouted loudly!

Hearing his voice, everyone drew their weapons and stared warily in the direction Fang Xu indicated!

A breeze blew by, the surrounding mist swirling, making that blurry figure somewhat clearer.

"It's a person!"

"It's a person wearing armor!"

Someone saw the general appearance of the figure and shouted loudly.

Everyone instantly felt as if facing a great enemy!

Wuling also saw that blurry figure and asked in a deep voice: "Who is there?"

That figure paid no heed.

Wuling coldly snorted: "Playing tricks!"

Bang!

He directly kicked the long blade lying nearby—unknown whose it was—toward it!

The long blade pierced through the thin mist and accurately struck that figure.

Beside Wuling, an inner sect disciple whose cultivation had reached the third level of Martial Venerable, seeing the black shadow still unresponsive, gathered his courage and walked over.

"Elder, it's a corpse."

Hearing his shout, everyone gathered around.

Before them stood a corpse clad in ancient armor, holding a stone long spear in hand, its flesh and blood already rotted into a skeleton, standing silently.

The long blade Wuling kicked over was embedded in the chest of this corpse.

"Judging by this appearance, it's been dead for who knows how many years?"

"Scared me to death, turns out it's just a corpse."

"Dead for so many years, the armor on its body hasn't rotted at all — must be a treasure."

Some disciples pulled off the armor and such from the corpse, but they quickly found that although these items were treasures, due to erosion over time, they were basically equivalent to scrap iron.

Taking them back would just be to exchange a few contribution points at the Divine Armaments Hall — basically useless.

"This stone spear isn't bad."

Someone noticed the stone long spear in the corpse's hand and directly wrenched it off with bare hands.

Fang Xu immediately saw that this stone spear was the same as the one he had obtained earlier, except this one clearly had cracks and probably wouldn't be harder than ordinary stone.

"Let me try!"

Another disciple, seeing this, raised the sword in his hand and chopped hard at the stone spear!

Clang!

The stone spear was directly chopped into two pieces.

"How annoying, this thing really is just made of stone, huh?"

Throwing the two pieces of the stone spear on the ground, seeing nothing else around, everyone continued forward.

After the group had walked just over ten meters, a disciple in the team suddenly changed expression.

"What's wrong?"

The disciple walking beside him noticed his abnormality and quickly asked.

"Flute... flute sound!"

"I... I also heard the flute sound!"

The disciple who had just said he heard the flute sound died not long after.

Now he also heard a faint flute sound, and naturally felt extremely fearful in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Wuling hurried to his side and grabbed his arm.

This time I want to see exactly how the killer murders people!

"Elder, the flute sound is getting closer!"

This disciple shouted in terror, staring ahead.

All the disciples beside him at this moment nervously stared in the direction he was looking.

But in that direction, besides a light mist, there was nothing.

Yunwan nervously gripped her sword tighter, her other hand unconsciously grabbing Fang Xu's clothes.

Too strange!

What's happening before our eyes completely exceeds our understanding!

Fang Xu narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the ever-changing mist ahead, then slowly closed his eyes.

But the moment he closed his eyes, he saw it!

It was a blurry, alluring phantom!

The phantom held a transverse flute, playing it while swaying its waist as it walked toward the crowd.

Seeing this, Fang Xu opened his eyes.

But before him, there was still nothing.

When he closed his eyes again, the alluring phantom had already arrived beside that disciple.

Its slender fingers danced rapidly on the transverse flute.

"So noisy!"

"So noisy!"

That disciple immediately covered his ears and shouted loudly!

In the next moment!

Fang Xu saw the alluring phantom directly extend its palm toward that disciple's head to grab!

Boom!

Fang Xu suddenly threw a punch, blasting toward the phantom's head!

But his fist passed straight through, going through the phantom's skull without affecting it at all.

Watching helplessly, the phantom's slender hand pulled a misty humanoid energy mass from that disciple's mind, which then slowly dissipated.

Fang Xu knew that disciple was dead.

"Dead!!"

"Liu Shidi is dead!!"

Seeing the person before them with eyes wide open and no breath left, the inner disciples around were all frightened.

"Fang Xu, did you see something just now?"

Wuling sighed, glanced at the corpse on the ground, then looked at Fang Xu.

"Yes, Fang Shidi, did you see something?"

"What exactly is that thing?"

Everyone saw that before dying, that disciple had Fang Xu swing a punch toward the direction above his head.

Fang Xu pondered for a moment and said: "It was a blurry phantom, like a woman, holding a transverse flute."

"I saw her directly pluck Liu Shixiong's soul from his body."

"But my attack couldn't harm her at all."

After hearing his words, many disciples' faces instantly turned even paler.

Before, I couldn't see it, so not being able to respond was fine, but now I can see it, and attacks are useless—what should we do?

Are we supposed to just let them slaughter us?

"Elder, I have a guess."

Fang Xu pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

Wuling looked at him and said: "Go on."

Fang Xu glanced around at his fellow senior brothers and said: "I believe that thing's attack is related to the soul."

"The weaker the soul, the more susceptible it is to attack."

His analysis left everyone silent.

"Right!"

"I remember now!"

"The Zhang junior brother who died earlier had a very weak soul!"

An inner sect disciple thought for a moment, then hurriedly spoke.

"How do you know?" Wuling asked.

The disciple hurriedly said: "Reporting to Elder, I and Zhang junior brother went together to the Ascension Immortal Platform when we reached Martial Master Perfection, and he could only climb to the fourth level at that time."

Wuling nodded slightly. Martial Master Perfection yet only able to reach the fourth level—this soul strength is indeed somewhat weak.

"Do any of you still consider your souls weak?" Wuling thought for a moment, then looked at the crowd and said: "If you know your soul is weak, now is still a good time to withdraw."

Everyone exchanged glances, after a round of self-reflection, another three less confident disciples said they wanted to withdraw.

Fang Xu curiously looked at Yunwan: "How is your soul?"

Yunwan tilted her head and gave a faint smile: "Sufficient."

As a disciple of the Ascension Immortal Society, if one has reached Martial Master Perfection, their soul should at least be able to reach the fifth level of the Ascension Immortal Platform to be qualified, and reaching the sixth level is considered excellent.

And for those at the initial stage of Martial Reverence, they must at least have soul strength equivalent to the seventh level of the Ascension Immortal Platform.

Of course, Fang Xu is an exception.

His feat of reaching the eighth level of the Ascension Immortal Platform with the cultivation of Martial Master Second Level has already broken the record set by Jiang Feng back then.

After the three inner sect disciples left, there were still fifteen people remaining in the field.

Among these fifteen, Fang Xu had the lowest cultivation, followed by Yunwan, while the rest were at Martial Reverence Second Level or above.

Wuling looked at Fang Xu, then turned his gaze to Yunwan.

Wuling knew Fang Xu's soul strength clearly, but Yunwan...

"Elder, Yun junior sister has ascended to the seventh level." Someone spoke up.

Wuling nodded, then immediately said nothing more, directly leading the crowd forward.

Afterwards, the group became much quieter, with no one hearing the flute sound again.

After advancing nearly a hundred meters, the mist ahead grew thinner, and everyone could already see things beyond a hundred meters away.

Ruined building clusters, collapsed houses everywhere, scattered bones, weapons, armor, and so on littered the small square.

Wuling looked around and said: "Didn't anyone hear the flute sound?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Wuling gave a slight nod:

"There should be some opportunities among these buildings—go search separately."

"Remember, don't go too far, don't fight over things."

Everyone clasped their hands, then each went their own way.

Fang Xu and Yunwan also each chose a direction. Yunwan was about to leave when Fang Xu called out to her, pulling a black cloth bag from his bosom and handing it to her.

Yunwan asked curiously: "What is this?"

"A Cosmos Bag." Fang Xu said with a light smile.

Cosmos Bag!?

Yunwan was completely stunned!

This is a legendary item!

"This... this item is too precious..." Yunwan said, lowering her head.

Giving such a precious item, Yunwan naturally could feel Fang Xu's intentions.

After getting along for so long, she naturally also had good feelings toward Fang Xu.

But she currently bears the burden of family grudges and blood hatred, and does not want to involve Fang Xu.

"I still have one—take it and use it."

Fang Xu gave a slight smile and walked straight ahead.

Yunwan held the Cosmos Bag in her hand, gazed at Fang Xu's back, revealed a hint of a faint smile, then tied the Cosmos Bag to her waist.

The buildings before them appeared extremely ancient, and there should have been many cultivators living there previously.

But they suffered some kind of attack, and everyone died in battle.

Fang Xu kicked open the tightly closed door in front of him, and what met his eyes was a room that had not been destroyed.

On the wall opposite the door hung a painting that made him feel somewhat familiar.

After examining it carefully for a while, he realized he had indeed seen this painting before.

On the plaza of the first layer of the ruins, there are seven statues, and according to Gu Qiu, those seven statues correspond to the Seven Luminaries Gods.

The painting before him is entirely tinged with blue, and beneath the figure's feet in the painting is a blue ocean—it should be the Water of the Five Elements.

The Water of the Five Elements corresponds to the Chenxing True Sovereign Lord, whose name is...

Fang Xu thought for a while, but still could not recall what the name of the Chenxing True Sovereign Lord is.

Moving his gaze away from the portrait, Fang Xu searched around the room.

The room's layout was very simple, most of the things were ordinary household items used by common folk—bed, table and chairs, documents.

On the documents lay a delicate wooden box, beside which was a stack of books.

Fang Xu walked over slowly, opened the wooden box to take a look, and instantly a hint of curiosity appeared on his face.

Inside the wooden box lay a silver miniature sword over an inch long, and beside it were six empty recesses; it seemed the box originally held seven swords of different shapes.

The miniature sword flashed with streaks of cold light, looking extremely sharp.

"This thing... a flying sword?"

Gazing at the miniature sword in the wooden box, Fang Xu couldn't help but recall the xianxia dramas he had watched in his previous life.

In the drama, some so-called sword immortals seemed able to manipulate such miniature swords to grow large or small, beheading people from a thousand miles away.

But I don't even know how to use this thing myself.

After closing the wooden box and putting it into his Qiankun bag, Fang Xu then turned his gaze to the stack of books beside it.

He reached out and flipped through them, discovering the text on the books was completely incomprehensible to him.

Without studying them in detail, he put the books into his Qiankun bag as well, Fang Xu looked around and seemed to find nothing else.

Just as he was preparing to leave, his gaze once again fell upon the portrait on the wall.

This portrait appeared to be made of some kind of beast skin, having endured who knows how many years, yet the colors on it remained vivid and bright.

"Should be somewhat interesting."

Muttering to himself, Fang Xu immediately prepared to take down the portrait on the wall.

Eh!?

At the moment the portrait was taken down, he suddenly discovered there was actually a hidden compartment behind it!

Not bad luck!

If I hadn't spontaneously decided to take the portrait with me, I really wouldn't have discovered this hidden compartment.

Carefully rolling up the portrait and storing it in his Qiankun bag, Fang Xu was about to reach out to open the hidden compartment when his heart suddenly jumped.

He immediately withdrew his hand, then picked up a wooden stool from beside him and smashed it toward the hidden compartment!

Boom!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

As the wall of the hidden compartment was smashed apart, several sharp crossbow bolts shot out from within instantly, piercing straight through the room's door and vanishing into the distance.

Such powerful force!

Fang Xu silently thought to himself, How dangerous!

After cultivating the Qitianshu, his perception of danger became much sharper; had it been before, he would very likely have already been hit.

After the sharp crossbow bolts disappeared, only a large dark-red wooden box remained inside the hidden compartment.

Fang Xu took out the wooden box, forcefully twisted and broke the delicate lock on it, and opened the wooden box.

Inside were three pieces of purple ore.

The ore emitted a strange energy, looking unlike ordinary items.

Not knowing much about such things, he casually put the ore into his Qiankun bag and left the room.

At this time, the other disciples of the Ascension Immortal Assembly had also searched their surroundings thoroughly; seeing everyone carrying bundles and smiling on their faces, Fang Xu knew everyone's gains were not bad.

"Fang Xu, this is for you."

Yun Wan walked over slowly, holding in her hand a pitch-black iron rod that looked somewhat strenuous to carry.

The iron rod was about five feet long, slightly longer than the strange wooden stick Lu Zhiyuan had given him earlier, but it looked even uglier.

This iron rod looked like it was formed by randomly solidifying molten iron, and gripping it would probably hurt the hands.

But Fang Xu noticed Yun Wan seemed to be straining while carrying this iron rod.

He quickly walked over and took the iron rod into his hand.

Good fellow!

Really heavy!

Hefting the iron rod, Fang Xu could feel it weighed at least several hundred jin!

Holding it in his hand, a sense of substantial solidity came over him, which Fang Xu greatly liked.

Coincidentally, the strange wooden stick had turned into a small tree, and he currently truly lacked a handy weapon.

Moreover, Fang Xu felt this iron rod had a great chance of being cultivated as a life-bound artifact.

With his strength increasing, he currently lacked many life-bound artifacts.

"How's the harvest?" Holding the iron rod in his hand, Fang Xu casually said.

"Not bad, I'll show you when we get back." Yun Wan said softly.

It seemed, at this moment, she had already tacitly accepted her identity.

"About the same, right?" Not far away, Wuling saw everyone had returned here and directly said: "About the same, let's continue onward."

The crowd passed through this building complex and continued walking forward.

During this time, they again encountered some scattered building clusters.

Under Wuling's mediation, even though there weren't enough rooms, no one engaged in any争抢 behavior.

Just as everyone was feeling happy about the gains of this journey, the fog ahead suddenly became much denser.

Yet everyone in the team did not regard this strange phenomenon as anything significant, and even Wuling seemed to think it quite normal.

Fang Xu, walking at the rear of the team, frowned upon seeing this.

Seeing this, Yun Wan looked curiously at him: "What's wrong?"

Fang Xu shook his head: "I feel something is off."

Yun Wan understood that Fang Xu was not one to let people go without cause, and immediately became slightly alert as well.

As the group walked, two people in the line suddenly froze in place.

Their faces turned extremely pale, and then they abruptly turned around and ran backward!

"Xu Junior Brother, Kong Junior Brother, where are you going!?"

"Elder!"

"Xu Junior Brother, don't run around!"

"You two, stop right there!"

Regarding the two people's strange behavior, everyone was puzzled and shouted loudly.

"Flute sound!"

"I heard the flute sound!"

"I heard it too!"

The two shouted loudly while running.

But in the next moment, the two suddenly froze in fear in place.

Because in his world, that eerie flute sound suddenly came from ahead.

Fang Xu slightly closed his eyes, then his body trembled slightly!

Illusion!

In the surrounding mist, at least dozens of alluring illusions had already slowly surrounded them.

"Martial Elder..."

Fang Xu looked at Wuling, his face solemn: "We are surrounded."

Surrounded?

The inner sect disciples seemed not to understand what being surrounded meant.

Only Wuling had an ugly expression: "How many?"

Fang Xu did not answer, only reminding: "Elder can close your eyes and observe with your soul power."

Upon hearing this, Wuling immediately closed his eyes and extended his soul power.

Upon looking, he suddenly widened his eyes!

Some disciples with stronger soul power followed suit, closing their eyes to observe with soul power.

But in the next moment, they were all frightened pale!

"So many!"

"Dozens!"

"We're done for!"

"No, I clearly didn't hear the flute sound!"

"I didn't hear it either!"

Facing this strange enemy, these former heavenly favorites instantly lost their composure, panicking and looking around.

Watching the illusions draw closer, Fang Xu's brow twitched a few times, then he pulled Yun Wan behind him and directly mobilized his soul power with his will.

In the next moment, the world before his eyes became clearer!

Those alluring figures also revealed their true forms.

Through soul perception, Fang Xu clearly saw that these alluring figures were actually monsters with human bodies and fish faces!

They were naked, their bodies covered densely with scales, appearing both real and illusory.

At this moment, two fish-faced monsters had already approached the two inner sect disciples who had heard the flute sound.

Fang Xu felt his sea of consciousness tremble, and the Star Forging Diagram in his body lit up spontaneously; in the next moment, a miniature cauldron appeared in his sea of consciousness.

Hmm?

Attempting to offer the small cauldron with his soul power.

In the next moment, in Yun Wan's eyes, a huge bronze cauldron suddenly appeared behind Fang Xu!

At the moment the cauldron appeared, the surrounding mist began to violently churn!

Immediately, the mist and the fish-faced monsters hidden within it were all sucked into the cauldron.

Everyone could even hear the mournful wails coming from nearby.

The mist disappeared, and the fish-faced monsters around also vanished.

The two inner sect disciples who had heard the flute sound now slowly stood up, noticing that the flute sound lingering near their ears had disappeared.

"Gone!"

"Those monsters are all gone!"

"Fang Junior Brother is amazing!"

"Is that Star Diagram Fang Junior Brother's?"

Everyone gathered around Fang Xu, flattering him obsequiously.

This time, they escaped disaster entirely thanks to Fang Xu.

Otherwise, no one could deal with such monsters.

Wuling also looked relieved at Fang Xu: "Not bad. After returning, I will personally request merit for you."

He could tell that the Star Diagram Fang Xu used was not from the Star Palace, meaning Fang Xu had his own opportunity.

However, such opportunities are not something he can easily inquire about.

Anyway, with Fang Xu here, everyone no longer needs to fear those elusive things.

I suggest that from now on, whenever we encounter a building, Junior Brother Fang doesn't need to queue with us; he can simply choose one for himself each time!

Agreed!

Yes!

Junior Brother Fang saved everyone, so this is only fitting!

……

Amid the crowd's voices, Wuling looked toward Fang Xu and said: "Since everyone says so, then from now on, when we encounter a building complex, we'll do it this way."

Fang Xu clasped his hands: "Thank you, senior brothers."

You must know, their group still has fifteen people; previously, when they encountered building complexes, the rooms were too few, so Wuling established the rule that everyone would take turns.

Now, because he saved everyone, he can ignore the rule and no longer needs to queue or take turns.

This means that whenever an opportunity arises, he will definitely have a share.

Even if it's just a single house, it will be his.

The survivors, having escaped death, set out once again.

With a means to deal with such monsters, everyone relaxed their vigilance and began expanding their search range considerably.

No one knows how much time passed, but just as everyone was reaping abundant rewards, the thin mist before them completely dissipated, revealing a colossal divine temple before their eyes!

Gazing at the immense divine temple, everyone was stunned!

"Gulong!"

"Gulong!"

Several sounds of swallowing saliva echoed from the crowd, and everyone stared in shock at what lay before them.

Fang Xu's pupils also slightly contracted as he gazed at the divine temple before him, cleaved in two.

What shocked them was precisely this strike that split the divine temple down the middle!

"This..."

"What kind of existence could unleash such a terrifying blade!?"

"Endless to the eye—this depth must be nearly a hundred meters, right?"

"Too terrifying!"

……

This strike that split the divine temple clearly originated from not far ahead of them!

Standing in place, Fang Xu seemed to see the scene from that time.

A figure with overwhelming aura stood ahead, slowly raising the long blade in hand, and slashed downward at the divine temple before him with a blade light of ten thousand zhang!

This blade caused heaven and earth to lose color, sun and moon to lose light; the blade light piercing heaven and earth directly cleaved the divine temple before them, along with the earth itself!

His expression flickered, the vision before him vanished, and Fang Xu couldn't help but recall the cliff at the fourth layer's entrance, resembling a heavenly chasm.

It seemed...

That too was cleaved by a single strike!

What kind of enemy has this world encountered?

"Elder, should we go inspect the divine temple?"

Someone snapped back from shock, hurriedly turning to Wuling and asking.

Wuling said nothing, simply turning his gaze toward Fang Xu.

Logically speaking, this divine temple belongs to a building, but it is so vast that it seems inappropriate to count it as a single building.

"Let's all go in together." Fang Xu said with a light smile.

The divine temple is too large; I have no need to trade favors for revenge, nor to do something that would offend others.

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy.

"Junior Brother Fang is impressive!"

"Thank you, Junior Brother Fang!"

"Junior Brother, if you encounter anything within the sect, we will surely lend our utmost aid!"

"Exactly!"

At this moment, more than ten people present held Fang Xu in the highest esteem.

Everyone carefully followed the chasm cleaved by the strike to approach the divine temple.

Through the scattered rubble, they could faintly make out the scene within.

Fang Xu was the first to step inside; the others, in tacit understanding, did not choose to walk with him, each picking a direction to prepare for thorough exploration.

"Fang Xu, look at that!"

Following behind Fang Xu, Yun Wan entered the divine temple and immediately saw a colossal statue cleaved in two.

"Chenxing True Imperial Lord." Seeing the statue's appearance, Fang Xu immediately recognized it; this divine temple should enshrine the Chenxing True Imperial Lord.

"Do you know it?" Yun Wan asked, somewhat curious.

Fang Xu nodded: "The seven statues corresponding to the Seven Luminaries Gods in the Chilan Mountain Relics—this layer is Northern Water, Chenxing True Imperial Lord... I think his name is Qiji!"

At this moment, Fang Xu recalled the name of the Chenxing True Imperial Lord.

And just as he uttered the name "Qiji," the chest of the standing half of the statue emitted a faint glow.

The two arrived before the statue of Qiji, cleaved in two, preparing to search for items, when Fang Xu suddenly caught sight of the faint glow emanating from within the statue.

"Wait a moment."

Fang Xu said, leaping a few times to reach the collapsed half of Qiji's statue, and finally saw clearly what was emitting the glow inside the other half still standing.

It was a bead the size of a bowl.

It looked like a night pearl, but its light was not as bright as that of a night pearl.

Fang Xu furrowed his brow.

The stone statue was split open by that unknown great power with a single slash, the cut surface extremely radiant, and directly below it was a hundred-meter-deep abyss carved out by the blade's radiance, suppressed by a restriction; for him to take that thing down seemed somewhat difficult.

"Fang Xu, be careful."

Yun Wan also saw the height at which that thing was located, fearing Fang Xu might accidentally fall down.

You must know, they currently cannot use abilities above the Martial Master level; once they fall, even if they don't die, they will suffer serious injury.

Staring at the object emitting a faint glow, Fang Xu estimated slightly, his body subtly crouching.

The next moment, Kui Niu Power activated!

His figure leapt high into the air like a shell fired from a cannon!

In midair—

Dragon Roam!

Just as a faint dragon's roar sounded, Fang Xu's body immediately made a ninety-degree turn, flying straight toward the night pearl emitting a faint glow!

As his figure approached the night pearl, Fang Xu immediately opened his palm and grasped that thing in his hand.

Kui Niu Power activated again, using the radiant statue as a leverage point; he directly flew horizontally across the heavenly chasm and then landed steadily on the ground.

"Got it?" Yun Wan ran over, looking at the thing in Fang Xu's hand curiously: "What is this?"

Fang Xu examined it for a moment and said: "A demon core."

Indeed, what he held in his hand was precisely a demon core!

This demon core was noticeably larger than the one he and Gu Qiu had obtained together from the Crimson Flame Winged Snake previously, but perhaps because too much time had passed, the energy within the demon core had dissipated by more than half.

After storing the demon core, the two continued searching within the temple.

"Fang Xu, look!"

Just as the two were wondering if their luck was bad, Yun Wan suddenly discovered something.

Fang Xu walked over and saw behind a pile of rubble what seemed to be a secret chamber.

After lifting the large rocks in front of them one by one, what appeared before the two was indeed a secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber was also a statue of Qi Qi, except this statue was entirely carved from white jade and very likely a one-to-one replica of Qi Qi's true form.

The entire statue looked lifelike.

Before the statue stood an offering table carved from a single massive stone, with three items placed upon it.

On the right was a jet-black jade tablet covered in strange characters; in the center stood a large bronze incense burner; on the far left was a gemstone shaped like an eye that looked exceedingly strange.

"Take them first!"

Looking at the three items, they were clearly not ordinary; Fang Xu waved his hand and swept them all into his Cosmos Sack.

"This statue isn't bad either." Yun Wan said, waving her hand and directly placing the statue into her own Cosmos Sack.

The two surveyed the stone chamber, gathering everything they could carry.

After a thorough search, everyone gathered outside the temple.

Wu Ling counted the number of people, and upon confirming everyone was present, he directly said: "Since everyone is here, let's also find the entrance to the fifth level."

"I hereby issue a temporary task: whoever finds the entrance to the fifth level will be rewarded with one hundred thousand contribution points."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy, and they hurriedly left the temple to search for the entrance to the fifth level.

At this moment, Fang Xu suddenly recalled that when Gu Qiu had calculated the entrance to the fourth level, it seemed to have been determined according to the Five Elements directions.

If following this pattern, the fifth level likely corresponds to Metal among the Five Elements, that is, the True Sovereign of the White Brilliance among the Seven Luminaries.

Metal of the Five Elements lies in the west; perhaps he should head west to search.

"Yun Wan, follow me."

Having formed a hypothesis, Fang Xu immediately led Yun Wan in a certain direction.

The two hurried forward, not knowing how far they had gone, when they seemed to suddenly arrive at the edge of this world, before them appearing an endless ocean!

"It seems we took a wrong turn." Yun Wan looked around and spoke.

Fang Xu shook his head: "Look that way."

Following the direction of his finger, Yun Wan noticed on the distant sea surface a strange whirlpool, with endless seawater continuously flowing toward it.

"Is that the entrance to the fifth level?"

Fang Xu nodded; he could be certain that the whirlpool was very likely the entrance to the fifth level.

"I'll go inform Elder Wu Ling."

……

At the edge of the endless sea, everyone gazed at the distant whirlpool, all feeling it was quite miraculous.

"Elder Wu, are we going to the fifth level?" someone asked.

During this time in the fourth level, they had gained abundantly, their greed making them eager to see what good things the fifth level might hold.

Wu Ling shook his head: "Don't let greed blind your eyes; don't forget how those two disciples died."

Even a Martial Sovereign of the Martial Sovereign realm was silently slain in an instant on the fourth level.

Had it not been for Fang Xu's divine Cauldron Forging Star Chart, their group wouldn't have merely failed to reap abundantly—they might not even have made it out alive.

Wu Ling brought them here for training and exploration, not to send them to their deaths.

Everyone's expressions changed; they immediately abandoned the idea of going to the fifth level.

Anyway, it's just placed here; coming back when I'm stronger makes no difference.

From the fourth level onward, this ruin is no longer a place ordinary martial artists can tread.

Just the terrifying monsters on the outskirts of the fourth level—ordinary martial artists entering would be wiped out in minutes.

"Let's go."

"This mission ends here."

Wu Ling spoke, and everyone began to return along the original path.

As they were about to reach the entrance, the monsters in the mist, perhaps fearing Fang Xu, no longer harassed them.

Everyone arrived at the third level, and the few disciples of the Ascension Society waiting at the entrance saw everyone carrying various packages, their eyes showing envy.

At this moment, they truly understood the importance of the soul.

Outside the Ti Lan Mountain ruins.

"Elder Wu, I want to handle some private affairs, so I won't be returning with you," Yun Wan said.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xu understood she was going to find Yun Qing, and immediately said: "I'll accompany Yun Wan."

Wu Ling nodded, then led the remaining people away from Ti Lan Mountain.

Night fell, and Fang Xu accompanied Yun Wan back to Fenglin Town first.

Since Gu Qiu spoke last time, no one has dared to forcibly occupy his small courtyard.

The two returned to the small courtyard, Fang Xu tidied up briefly, then prepared to visit the Wang family.

It's rare to come back once; at least I need to confirm whether she's doing well.

"Rest for a while, I'll go out for a bit." After saying that, Fang Xu went straight to the Wang family's small courtyard.

On the courtyard wall, the black dragon flag with five claws representing the imperial family was gone.

Seeing this, Fang Xu's heart tightened.

He hurriedly pushed the door open and entered.

Inside the courtyard, Wang Shi was washing vegetables by the well. Hearing the movement, she slowly lifted her head, saw it was Fang Xu, and was stunned!

"When did you return?"

Suppressing her surprise, Wang Shi spoke with a trembling voice.

"Just returned." Fang Xu gave a faint smile.

Wang Shi slowly stood up, walked to him, looked him up and down, and said softly: "You've lost some weight."

Fang Xu lowered his head to look at himself, about to say something, but Wang Shi tightly embraced him.

"Ten months and seven days."

Fang Xu was stunned: "What?"

Wang Shi rested her head on his chest, quietly listening to his strong and powerful heartbeat: "Since you last returned, ten months and seven days have passed."

"Has it really been that long?"

"I've been counting all along..."

Gently patting Wang Shi's back, Fang Xu stroked her shoulders and said: "Why is the black dragon flag on the courtyard gone?"

"The prince ordered it taken down. He said he's no longer a prince, fearing the black dragon flag would bring trouble to you."

"However, the Xing family has spoken, and you can still stay in Fenglin Town."

Fang Xu nodded.

The Xing family should have reached some agreement with the imperial family, replacing the Yun family as the master of Huangzhou.

Behind the Xing family is also the imperial family; with them speaking, Wang Shi will not face any danger.

"Have you eaten?"

"I'll go to town to buy some food and drink."

Looking at Fang Xu, Wang Shi suddenly said.

Fang Xu shook his head: "No need for such trouble; just casually prepare something to eat."

"I want to drink some wine with you," Wang Shi said, pulling Fang Xu to the stone table in the courtyard: "Sit first, I'll be back shortly."

Fang Xu smiled and sat by the stone table, quietly waiting for Wang Shi to return with wine and food.

That night, after drinking some wine, Wang Shi became very proactive, as if wanting to vent all the endurance of these ten months, and also as if wanting Fang Xu to remember her.

Finally, not even a martial apprentice, she overestimated her strength and ultimately collapsed in defeat.

The east showed fish-belly white. Gazing at the deeply sleeping Wang Shi beside him, Fang Xu took out some money and a few first- and second-grade Blood Qi Pills from his Qiankun bag, lightly placed them on the table, left a letter for Wang Shi, and then returned to his own small courtyard.

Yun Wan was still cultivating. Fang Xu washed himself briefly in the courtyard, then went to town to buy some food.

When he returned again, Yun Wan was already sitting in the courtyard.

"You didn't come back last night?" Seeing Fang Xu, Yun Wan's face showed some resentment.

Fang Xu felt a bit embarrassed, smiled, then raised the steamed buns and sweet porridge in his hands: "Let's eat something."

Yun Wan didn't continue to ask what he did last night. The two ate something in silence and then left the small courtyard.

In Ti Lan Mountain, the two wandered aimlessly, not knowing where Yun Qing had gone.

"Fang Xu, do you think Yun Qing will..." Looking at the vast mountains before them, Yun Wan's eyes flashed with a hint of worry.

Yun Qing's strength is only at the seventh level of Martial Master. Such cultivation is barely manageable in the outskirts of Ti Lan Mountain, but once he goes deep into the interior, it's estimated he would struggle to survive.

"It won't happen, don't worry," Fang Xu comforted.

Although Yun Qing is rash, he's not a fool. Without outsiders hunting him, he shouldn't recklessly enter the deep parts of Ti Lan Mountain.

The two followed the direction of Ti Lan Mountain, searching all the way toward Huangzhou City.

Time arrived at the third day.

Fang Xu was walking when he suddenly noticed a pile of extinguished campfire traces on the open ground ahead.

The two came to the campfire ashes. Yun Wan examined them and slightly shook her head: "This is the inner periphery of Ti Lan Mountain; nearby hunters also come here, so it's not necessarily left by Yun Qing."

Fang Xu glanced at the obvious meat-roasting wooden stick nearby and said: "Whether it is or not, I'll check first."

He picked up the wooden stick, gripped it in his hand, and immediately activated the Qi Tian Technique.

A strange power circulated around his body. Standing beside him, Yun Wan suddenly noticed Fang Xu's aura had changed!

His entire being seemed to grow increasingly distant and divine from her.

Finally, Yun Wan even felt that Fang Xu before her seemed to have completely changed into a different person, becoming someone she dared not approach.

The power of the Qitian Technique slowly operated, and in Fang Xu's mind, this area seemed to experience a reversal of time.

Sunset and sunrise, light and shadow intertwined.

Finally, he saw that night when the bonfire was burning.

Five red-robed, masked followers of the Yanshen Sect sat around the bonfire, and beside them was a youth covered in bloodstains, looking quite disheveled.

The youth was Yun Qing.

Fang Xu saw one of the Yanshen Sect followers say something to Yun Qing, Yun Qing's expression became somewhat unnatural, then as if he had thought of something, a trace of killing intent flashed across Yun Qing's face, and then he stood up and bowed his hands toward that Yanshen Sect follower.

That Yanshen Sect follower seemed to let out a laugh, then came to Yun Qing's side, lightly patted his shoulder, and then pulled Yun Qing to the bonfire...

Hum!

The Qitian Technique's consumption of soul power was extremely severe, and he had to withdraw without seeing the subsequent scenes.

"Fang Xu, are you alright?" Seeing Fang Xu's strange power recede, his face instantly turned pale, as if he had suffered a serious illness, Yun Wan hurriedly supported him.

Fang Xu waved his hand: "I'm fine."

"This bonfire is indeed related to Yun Qing." After a brief pause, Fang Xu looked at Yun Wan and said.

Yun Wan's face was full of surprise: "Really!?"

Fang Xu nodded, but he hesitated and still did not tell Yun Wan that Yun Wan might have already joined the Yanshen Sect.

The people of the Yanshen Sect were too strange; with Yun Wan's personality, knowing that Yun Qing had joined the Yanshen Sect, she would definitely go to investigate.

Once encountering the Yanshen Sect's followers, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He did not want Yun Wan to become a monster like Yushan Tianyi.

"Although I did not see where Yun Qing went, there is one thing I can be certain of: he is still alive now." Fang Xu spoke.

Yun Wan nodded and murmured: "Being alive is good, being alive is good."

"Let's go back first; as long as he is still alive, we will eventually have a chance to meet again in the future."

The two immediately descended from the mountain and headed toward the Ascension Immortal Assembly.

(End of Chapter)