Chapter 237: The previous Sect Master of the Taiqingmen is actually still alive (6k)

As Zhou Qing's twin claws fiercely hooked onto the edge of the coffin, he began to exert force.

The coffin, which had previously remained motionless, actually began to move slowly, emitting a dull, grinding sound.

"It's much easier than last time!" Zhou Qing's expression brightened; he gritted his teeth and continued to increase his strength.

The gap in the coffin gradually widened, and a gloomy, ancient aura continuously permeated from within.

In just a short moment, an opening as thick as an arm finally appeared before his eyes.

For the longest time, this was the first time he had successfully opened the coffin relying on his own strength.

Zhou Qing could no longer hold back and let out a burst of hearty, satisfied laughter.

He then leaned in to look inside, only to see that the interior of the coffin was pitch black, faintly flickering with an eerie light.

Meanwhile, in the darkness across the blood river, a corpse-wax crow stepped out.

But Zhou Qing did not choose to jump down; instead, he made a prompt decision, turned around, and ran toward the ancient tree behind the coffin.

His golden claws hurriedly dug deep into the ground beneath it.

The moment the corpse-wax crow jumped behind him, Zhou Qing looked at the pale golden soil before him with eyes full of excitement, his gaze revealing unbelievable surprise.

"Spirit soil, it's actually spirit soil!" Zhou Qing was so excited he became incoherent, his voice even trembling.

But the next moment, he was headshot, and his entire body transformed back into a ball of light.

"I guessed right; there really is spirit soil under that ancient tree!" Zhou Qing was overjoyed.

Now, only the Flame Spirit Flower, which grows in the land of extreme Yang, is missing.

Seizing the moment, Zhou Qing once again jumped across the blood river with practiced ease, heading straight for the third coffin.

There were no surprises; he pushed it open with all his might again, and then leaped down.

At this moment, he felt his body falling rapidly, the wind whistling in his ears, much like the situation when Er Daye brought him last time.

The pungent odor was nauseating, and looking around, the scene below remained a scorching purgatory.

Magma surged, volcanoes erupted, and there was even an incomparably huge crow skeleton lying quietly on the earth.

After Zhou Qing landed, he hurriedly transformed into his Jin Peng true form, spreading his huge wings, and began to search carefully in this land of extreme Yang.

About half an hour later, Zhou Qing's eyes lit up, and he immediately landed on a dead volcano.

He saw that on the crater here, there were actually three strange flowers growing.

"Fire-red, with faint golden flame patterns on the edges—it's the Flame Spirit Flower!" After Zhou Qing observed them carefully, an indescribable joy welled up in his heart.

With this, all the materials to grow the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree finally had clues.

However—

Soon, Zhou Qing's brows furrowed.

Looking around, there were at least eight hundred craters here, and there were definitely more than just this one producing Flame Spirit Flowers.

But how should he bring them out?

He is currently only in the early Divine Transformation realm; even if he were given ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare come here alone. It seems he can only ask Er Daye to accompany him.

The next moment, he suddenly felt a sense of horror strike from behind.

Turning his head, he saw a huge Flame Fire Crocodile stretching a pair of wings, eyes full of excitement, opening its giant mouth and biting toward him.

"A familiar... taste!" the Flame Fire Crocodile King said in a low voice.

Zhou Qing shook his head and did not resist.

How could it not be familiar? Last time, you chased me and Er Daye. If it weren't for the Jin Wu Fan, they really wouldn't have been able to escape.

Moreover, the Jin Wu blood you refined from that giant crow's body was swallowed by me, and I successfully cultivated the "Jin Wu Burning Sky Canon."

Just for a moment, Zhou Qing's consciousness returned to darkness, and when he opened his eyes again, he transformed back into a red ball of light.

"It's difficult!" Zhou Qing sighed heavily.

Seeing that there was only one last chance left, he hurriedly dived into the scene.

【Ignore point +1】

Just after entering his own main body, the system's notification sound rang in his mind, and Zhou Qing's depressed mood improved slightly.

After confirming that no one was paying attention, he swam across the blood river again, laboriously pushed open the first coffin, and dived in headfirst.

Following that was a rich, cold aura rushing toward his face.

After landing steadily on the ground, Zhou Qing immediately entered a state of alert, scanning his surroundings vigilantly.

Just like when he entered last time, the surrounding mist was thick, and from time to time, wisps of ghostly green light flickered through the mist.

Before Zhou Qing could breathe a sigh of relief, the mist behind him suddenly rolled violently.

Immediately after, dozens of semi-transparent, distorted-faced wandering souls rushed out from the gray mist, and after letting out sharp screams, they rushed straight forward.

During this time, they didn't even glance at Zhou Qing.

Soon, intense sounds of fighting and screams of agony came from the front.

Zhou Qing's expression brightened; it seems 【Lower Presence】 is working.

Afterward, he hurriedly followed the sounds and walked forward.

Soon, he saw hundreds of wandering souls attacking more than a dozen Soul Formation realm cultivators.

Those cultivators who had lost their ability to fight lay on the ground, struggling helplessly, while a group of wandering souls were crazily tearing at their bodies; the scene was extremely bloody and terrifying.

Even when their Nascent Souls fled in panic, they were caught and torn apart by the wandering souls, which was hair-raising.

Fortunately, Zhou Qing and they were in different dimensions, so these people could not see him.

To prevent being discovered, Zhou Qing quietly left.

Until he followed his memory and finally arrived at the location of the Red Pagoda Mountain.

Here, only Su Lishan was fully focused on breaking the spirit patterns on the pagoda, while Lingyun Mansion Master Lord Xiao Ji and Qingming Mansion Master Ren Kun were killing wandering souls lightly on the periphery.

He couldn't do anything now; he could only understand the situation first to prevent the situation from becoming more serious.

After a short stay, Zhou Qing went to other places; along the way, everywhere was filled with sounds of fighting and looting.

Until Zhou Qing stopped his steps, watching more than a dozen wandering souls suck a corpse's essence blood dry, a wisp of red light actually appeared in their bodies.

Suddenly, the one with the brightest light in its body fiercely began to bite one of the surrounding ones.

In three or two moves, it swallowed it, and then bared its fangs and brandished its claws, pouncing toward the other few.

In just a short time, only the strongest one remained here.

And its aura also rose directly from the late Jin Dan realm to the Jin Dan realm perfection.

Watching this scene, Zhou Qing felt a bit alarmed.

"This is a feast deliberately created by a Ghost Emperor!" Zhou Qing muttered to himself.

Suddenly, two Soul Formation realm wandering souls emerged from the mist and fiercely rushed toward Zhou Qing.

Thunder flickered in Zhou Qing's hand, directly striking them into fly ash.

"Still need to be a bit careful!" Zhou Qing stood up.

Although 【Lower Presence】 has a 90% probability of ignoring him, there is still a 10% chance of being discovered; he cannot take it lightly.

After doing all this, that Jin Dan realm wandering soul belonging to a different dimension, with an unsatisfied look, rushed toward the other side.

But the next moment, a Divine Transformation realm wandering soul emerged from the mist; its figure was larger, its aura terrifying, and it swallowed the other one in one bite.

"Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp; this is a transformation!" The ominous feeling in Zhou Qing's heart grew stronger.

He didn't know how long he had walked; the ground was full of fresh white bones, and essence blood and the like were sucked away by the wandering souls without a drop left; the entire space was filled with a strong bloody smell.

In a trance, he seemed to have come to the former Spirit Skull Mountain again.

"Delicious!"

Suddenly, a hair-raising voice rang out in this ghost realm, making one's whole body tremble.

Before Zhou Qing could react, he saw Wu Tiangang rush out from the mist in front in a panic, his face full of fear.

Immediately after, it was Haomiao Mansion Master Ke Zhenxiong and Xinghan Mansion Master Shen Yanshun, both covered in blood, their eyes even carrying despair.

They couldn't care about Wu Tiangang at all, directly whistling over Zhou Qing's head, as if fleeing from something terrifying.

Zhou Qing stared blankly ahead, only to see a tall figure slowly walking out of the hazy mist, seemingly holding two human heads in his hands.

And the aura emitted by that figure made Zhou Qing feel a chill, as if all the blood in his body had been frozen.

But before he could see his appearance clearly, Zhou Qing felt something in his heart and immediately exited subconsciously.

At this moment, at the passage, Mo Xingjian was gently shaking him.

"Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing, are you okay?" Mo Xingjian was a bit anxious and was about to use spiritual power to investigate, but Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Mo Xingjian breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me; just now when I turned my head, I found you weren't breathing."

Zhou Qing had to explain with regret: "I'm fine, Master; just now I felt something in my heart, so I cultivated for a while."

"That's good; I just suddenly remembered one thing: did you not see the Second Miss in Haomiao Mansion this time?" Mo Xingjian asked with concern.

Zhou Qing shook his head: "I am also puzzled; after all, when the Second Yuan Shijie left, she said she was going to Haomiao Mansion."

"Could it be that that brat Bai He did something bad?" Mo Xingjian worried.

Zhou Qing couldn't help but smile and said: "Master, with the Second Yuan Shijie's steady nature, I would rather believe that Bai He was sold by her."

Mo Xingjian was still a bit worried; after all, that was his only daughter.

Yan Xiao mentioned to him a few years ago that there seemed to be a mystical realm in Haomiao Mansion, and that Bai He had been trapped in it for many years.

Just when he was in despair, the Second Miss made full preparations to enter, and brought him out along the way.

It was precisely because of this experience that the subsequent pestering of the Second Miss by Bai He occurred.

This time, the Second Miss broke through to Divine Transformation, and this Bai He re-entered that mystical realm and brought out a congratulatory gift.

However, the Second Miss said he lost the most precious thing, which is why he left in a hurry to search for it.

It has been several years, and the Fourth has already reached Divine Transformation, but the two of them haven't returned yet.

To say he isn't worried would be a lie.

Zhou Qing saw this and had to patiently comfort his Master for a while.

Afterward, he leaned slightly toward Mo Xingjian and whispered: "Master, the forbidden area in our cave heaven, which is the scene before us, besides the various uncles and the Supreme Elder, who else knows, or has seen it?"

Mo Xingjian looked at Zhou Qing suspiciously, thought for a moment, and said: "There shouldn't be anyone else; even if the past Sect Masters couldn't explore it, they never invited outsiders; after all, this is a treasure that belongs exclusively to our Taiqingmen."

"Then would the previous Uncle Gao Xuan..." Zhou Qing stopped mid-sentence, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Mo Xingjian frowned and sighed: "It's hard to say; people change, and heaven knows how many secrets he leaked in the past."

Soon, five days passed quietly.

As a notification sound rang out, Zhou Qing's expression instantly lifted, and he hurriedly looked at his personal panel.

【Lower Presence — LV6 (1/100)】

The moment he saw that the talent skill 【Lower Presence】 had broken through to level six, the corners of Zhou Qing's mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

From now on, below the Soul Severance realm, he will really become a "little transparent."

He will be able to easily hide from people's sight without being noticed.

But at the same time, it also means that the subsequent point-grinding will become more and more difficult.

Because the tense and exciting multiplayer environment will become a group of Soul Severance realms, and the difficulty can be imagined.

Sure enough, after waiting for a few more days, Zhou Qing didn't grind out a single point.

Cao Zhengyang suddenly stood up, his eyes full of disbelief, staring tightly at the token in his hand.

"It's over?" Looking at the message sent by He Han on the token, Cao Zhengyang asked about the truth of the matter again.

It turned out that three days ago, many people had scrambled to escape.

Because the number of wandering souls in that mystical realm was too large, it could be called massive.

And as cultivators, their blood and energy were vigorous; no matter how deliberately they hid, they could perceive it at the first moment and launch a siege.

In just a few days, I don't know how many people died inside.

Even the four Mansion Masters who entered came out in a sorry state, suffering heavy injuries.

It is said that the two level-three array masters who were specially invited had an even more tragic encounter; one was left with only half a body, and the other directly lost his lower body.

"There is a Soul Severance realm Ghost Emperor inside; everyone retreat quickly!"

This was the words Lingyun Mansion Master Lord Xiao Ji shouted toward the inside after escaping.

Although he tried his best to warn, more than 50% of the people still didn't manage to escape before the entrance to the mystical realm dissipated.

For a time, it caused an uproar among countless people.

You must know that the people who entered came from eight commanderies and seventy-two mansions, countless sect ancestor-level figures.

They originally wanted to join in the fun of the fall of a Soul Severance realm, but didn't expect to get themselves involved.

After reading the message, Cao Zhengyang stood still, unable to recover for a long time, his heart full of shock and lingering fear.

Afterward, he turned his head fiercely and looked at Zhou Qing, his eyes full of relief.

If it weren't for this child's honest confession, he and the others would probably still be kept in the dark, treating that dangerous place as a gathering place for opportunities.

"I wonder how many people from the other four sects came out?" Cao Zhengyang muttered to himself.

After urgent consultation with the Supreme Elder and others, everyone decided to go out temporarily.

After all, the cave heaven has strict time limits; one can stay for at most one day, after which the key on the millstone will return to its original position.

At that time, any living creature in the cave heaven will be ruthlessly hunted and killed by those three corpse-wax crows.

This can also be considered the second protective mechanism set up by the sect to guard the cave heaven.

These past few days, they have always accurately calculated the time to enter and exit the cave heaven, and then let Lu Yaoyao and Yan Xiao outside reopen it.

Repeatedly, under the tempering of the special environment of the gravity zone, their spiritual power was not only fully tempered but also became increasingly vigorous.

As everyone walked out of the cave heaven, Cao Zhengyang and Mo Xingjian split into two paths.

One went to Spirit Skull Mountain to investigate the specific situation there.

The other went to check whether the various forces, including the Cangyan Dao Palace, were trapped in the mystical realm, so as to take countermeasures in time.

And Gao Xuan reassumed the responsibility of acting Sect Master, sitting in Taiqingmen to deal with various emergencies that might arise.

Others continued to re-enter the cave heaven as usual, guarding the passage.

After all, so many Divine Transformation realms were trapped in the first coffin; if they joined forces to rush out, it would inevitably bring huge trouble to Taiqingmen.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Supreme Elder Duanmu Shu looked at Lu Yaoyao and Yan Xiao with love, generously giving them each a supreme-grade spirit stone to let them recover their spiritual power.

Both were full of surprise and thanked them repeatedly.

Zhou Qing did not intend to go in; he also needed to simulate to further understand the situation in the mystical realm.

Returning to his residence, he simply fed the old hen, waited until night, and after roughly confirming that the Third Senior Brother and the other had re-lifted the forbidden area, he activated the token to enter.

As soon as he entered, intense fighting and screams came from the mist, showing that the people trapped inside were still resisting.

Before walking two steps, Zhou Qing saw a person with a golden label on his head, his hands forming seals at a very fast speed, his spiritual power surging, fighting fiercely with more than a dozen Divine Transformation realm wandering souls.

"Xuanjizi!" Zhou Qing's eyes lit up, and a burst of excitement surged in his heart.

Didn't expect this guy didn't manage to retreat in time; this is really an unexpected joy.

Without a word, Zhou Qing hurriedly followed.

At this moment, Xuanjizi was in a sorry state, his eyes full of regret.

The Taoist robe on his body was already riddled with holes, torn in many places by the sharp claws of the wandering souls.

Just a little bit, just a little bit and he would have gotten out, but he didn't expect the entrance to close so quickly.

At this moment, only deep despair remained for him.

These two days, he didn't know how long he had been running; he couldn't find any other exit at all.

Even wanting to rest became a luxury; the number of wandering souls was too large, and they could always find his hiding place quickly.

Besides them, there were some other eerie things.

Just yesterday, he finally broke into a courtyard, thinking he could find a moment of peace, but if it weren't for the timely warning of the Bagua plate, he would have been trapped to death inside long ago.

After escaping, he realized that the courtyard was actually composed of large, medium, and small coffins stacked on top of each other; thinking of this, Xuanjizi still had lingering fears.

"Can't go on like this!" Xuanjizi quickly took out a supreme-grade spirit stone to replenish his strength and then shouted loudly.

Immediately after, countless incantations burst out and then exploded.

Two of the Divine Transformation realm wandering souls were directly killed in return; for a time, the remaining wandering souls couldn't help but turn red-eyed, scrambling to snatch the energy remaining after their companions died; the scene was chaotic.

Taking this opportunity, Xuanjizi suddenly accelerated his speed, wanting to escape.

But the next moment, an aura powerful enough to be suffocating slowly permeated from the mist ahead.

Zhou Qing, who had just caught up, changed his expression, alarm bells ringing in his heart, suddenly recalling the terrifying scene of the two Mansion Masters being hunted down that day.

At this moment, Xuanjizi was also shocked in his heart, subconsciously looking up.

He saw in front, an old man in a black robe slowly walking out of the mist.

Every step he took seemed to be stepping on the void, without making any sound.

But the surrounding air rippled with eerie ripples due to his appearance.

The old man's face was withered, his skin like dried tree bark, his eyes sunken, emitting a blood-red light.

His whole body emitted rich ghost energy; besides that, the blood-colored big knife in his hand was continuously dripping with thick blood.

"Ghost Emperor!" Xuanjizi exclaimed in his heart.

But soon, when he saw the clothing on the Ghost Emperor and that big knife, Xuanjizi suddenly thought of something, his face full of disbelief.

"True Person Canglong? Impossible, how could you still be alive!"

Hearing Xuanjizi's scream, Zhou Qing was also stunned, his face horrified, and he immediately looked at the Ghost Emperor before him, especially the clothing on his body.

True Person Canglong, the previous Sect Master of Taiqingmen.

At the same time, he was also the Master of his Master and the others.

Recalling the last portrait in the Ancestor Hall, the clothes depicted were almost exactly the same as what the person before him was wearing.

Didn't he die of old age without breaking through to the Divine Transformation realm perfection?

How could he appear in the first coffin and even become a Soul Severance realm Demon Emperor?

Zhou Qing only felt his heart beating wildly.

It was excitement, it was fear, and even more so, it was fear of the unknown.

At this moment, the Ghost Emperor, the ghost energy around his body burning like black flames, did not answer Xuanjizi's scream.

He just slowly raised his hand, his withered fingers waving gently.

And the dozen or so Divine Transformation realm wandering souls that had surrounded him again, as if seeing an emperor, retreated to the side one after another, standing respectfully, their eyes full of awe.

Xuanjizi was trembling all over; in a panic, he hurriedly took out his sect's Tianji Sword, holding the hilt tightly with both hands, his voice carrying pleading.

"Uncle Canglong, it's me; my Master, True Person Qiansuan, even brought me to visit you many times; this Tianji Sword uses the minerals treasured by Taiqingmen..."

Whoosh!

Before Xuanjizi could finish speaking, the Ghost Emperor arrived in front of him instantly, his speed so fast that Xuanjizi couldn't make any reaction at all.

That hand, like withered wood, grabbed Xuanjizi's head.

In an instant, Xuanjizi only felt his whole body tightly imprisoned, and his scalp felt a piercing pain.

"No—"

Xuanjizi roared in despair; he struggled desperately, wanting to break free from the Ghost Emperor's control.

But a late Divine Transformation realm whose combat power was not strong to begin with was like an ant shaking a tree in front of a Soul Severance realm, useless.

As a black flame drifted out from the Ghost Emperor's palm, directly wrapping Xuanjizi in it.

Xuanjizi screamed repeatedly.

The essence blood of his whole body was like being pulled by an invisible hand, crazily pouring into the Ghost Emperor's five fingers.

In the blink of an eye, Xuanjizi's body quickly withered, and his skin began to sag.

His originally spirited eyes also gradually lost their luster, becoming hollow and dull.

In just a short moment, he became a dried corpse, thrown aside by the Ghost Emperor casually.

Kicking up a small cloud of dust, he became yet another inconspicuous remnant in this place.

Zhou Qing, who witnessed this scene from beginning to end, only felt his throat dry, couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, and didn't even know when the Ghost Emperor left.

Even the Sect Master who didn't fall after the Five Sect War now died so miserably here.

For a long time, he recovered, walked to Xuanjizi, and watched the entry 【Threat that needs to be eliminated early】 on his head slowly shatter until it disappeared.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 238 =====