Chapter 14: Saving People

I do not know how much time had passed, but Xu Chen felt the blinding blue light filling the sky finally dim and gradually fade away. Residual blue flickering spots remained in his vision, eventually turning into starlight that drifted off and vanished.

"Where am I?"

Xu Chen's body jolted as he opened his eyes. His mind was a chaotic, blank void; he could not even feel his own body, nor could he remember what had just happened. Only after struggling to recall for a long time did he slowly remember that he had been fighting a Third-Tier Demon Wolf.

The moment he thought of this, he was instantly startled. Then, as if his soul had returned to his body, he felt his physical form in an instant. At the same time, he was immediately breathless, as if crushed under a thousand-catty boulder. He hurriedly used all his strength to shove the Demon Wolf off his body, then scrambled and crawled to the side to dodge.

Huh, that's not right. How is it that I don't seem to be injured?

Xu Chen moved quickly, but after rolling away, he froze in inexplicable confusion.

He vaguely remembered that he had been slashed open in the chest and abdomen by the Demon Wolf's sharp claws at the very end.

But he looked down and discovered that while his Daoist robe was indeed shredded at the chest, his body was completely unscathed.

Then, he froze again. That's not right, how am I able to see clearly?

This time, Xu Chen was truly completely bewildered.

He stared blankly at his body, then at his own hands, and then suddenly looked up in shock to see the massive Demon Wolf lying motionless on the ground not far in front of him.

Although black mist was still churning, he could indeed see the Demon Wolf with perfect clarity, though he could only see clearly for a distance of about three zhang; everything further away remained pitch black.

Yet at this moment, the Demon Wolf that had caused him such immense harm and terror was completely still. He hurriedly released his Divine Sense to scan it, and a cool blue light immediately illuminated a distance of several dozen zhang, revealing the entire situation of the cave in minute detail within his Divine Sense.

The Demon Wolf was already dead, devoid of any aura.

And Xu Chen was completely stunned.

Because he clearly felt that in the Sea of Consciousness at the center of his brow—the place where he usually activated his Divine Sense—a crystal-clear Blue Jade Bead was suspended. Amidst the boundless pitch-black, it emitted a blue radiance, with light resembling blue stars flickering and extinguishing within it.

How could this be?

How did this poisonous bead end up in my Sea of Consciousness?

And how did I become so powerful?

Xu Chen could not fathom it at all.

The cave, which had been filled with black mist where one could not even see their own fingers just a moment ago, now allowed him to see several zhang with his eyes, and his Divine Sense was even more freakishly clear, reaching a distance of several dozen zhang—almost the strength of a beginner in the Zhenyuan Realm—and it completely ignored the black mist churning through the cave.

He struggled to control his pounding heart and chaotic thoughts, slowly sorting them out, and ultimately felt that his transformation must have been brought about by this inexplicable Jade Bead.

He sat blankly for a full half-stick of incense's time, until a faint, barely audible scream and a thud came from a side cave, and he suddenly snapped back to reality.

Now was not the time to be dazed.

Jiu Shixiong and Thirteenth Senior Sister were both still trapped in danger.

Since the Demon Wolf was already dead, one massive threat had been reduced.

The most important thing right now was to find his senior brother and senior sister as quickly as possible and leave this godforsaken place.

As for Song Qingshi and the other three cultivators, Xu Chen did not take them much to heart; saving people was something one had to do according to one's ability, and besides, he wanted to figure out the changes in his body and why the Demon Wolf had died so suddenly as soon as possible.

A Third-Tier Demon Wolf was an existence capable of rivaling a Danyuan Realm expert. Not to mention moving mountains or filling seas, at the very least, on the edge of the ten-thousand-mile Southern Border, there were not many stronger existences; it was absolutely impossible for it to have died so inexplicably.

Thinking of this, Xu Chen hurriedly stood up, first picking up his dropped Flying Sword. On the ground, there were also a few damaged paper talismans and some miscellaneous trinkets, all things he had collected previously.

After gathering these items, he looked at the Third-Tier Demon Wolf, whose body was rotting and still emitting Black Mist. He activated his Flying Sword, split the Demon Wolf's chest open with one strike, extracted an egg-sized, glowing green demon core, and then casually knocked off two blood-red Fangs, stuffed them into his waist pouch, and hurried off along the complex, fissured cave in the direction the sound had come from.

Now that he could not only see with his eyes but also see further with his Divine Sense, he could search for his companions without any hesitation.

As for danger, he did not consider it too much, because the deeper one went into this rift, the more dangerous it actually became; for Jiu Shixiong and the others, it was far more terrifying than Demon Beasts.

An Immortal who has lost their sight and Divine Sense is actually not much stronger than a mortal expert.

Xu Chen moved quickly through the cave.

Although the dense network of fissures and holes looked exceptionally chaotic and complex, he continuously identified the direction through the sounds that traveled, and at the same time, his powerful Divine Sense, which could penetrate the Black Mist, allowed him to easily scout the route. Thus, in less than half a quarter of an hour, he found one of the missing cultivators.

He did not recognize this person, but judging by the attire, they should be a Disciple of the Five Thunder Sect. However, the person looked miserable: their Daoist robe was tattered, their hair was disheveled, they were covered in wounds, and one leg was lame. They were groping along the stone wall like a blind person, their expression extremely tense.

Hearing footsteps, the cultivator was so frightened that they curled up on the ground, not daring to move.

Although Xu Chen saw them through his Divine Sense, there was still a hole too narrow to pass through between the two of them, and they were separated by a distance of over ten zhang.

"Daoist Friend, do not panic. I am Xu Chen, a Disciple of the Taiyuan Sect, here specifically to rescue you. What is your current situation?"

Xu Chen's voice echoed in the cave, immediately causing the fissures in all directions to resonate, emitting a buzzing sound.

The terrified Five Thunder Sect Disciple froze, then said excitedly with a crying tone: "That's wonderful! Daoist Friend Xu, please take me out, I will definitely reward you heavily!"

Xu Chen replied: "No need for courtesy. However, there is still a narrow fissure between us, and I cannot get through right now, but you can walk according to my instructions. I believe we will meet very soon!"

The cultivator said excitedly: "Good, good, I will follow all of Daoist Friend Xu's instructions!"

Thus, Xu Chen directed the cultivator to move forward based on the terrain scouted by his Divine Sense, while he himself also continuously passed through gaps and fissures that resembled a maze. The two communicated verbally, and half a stick of incense later, they finally met in a relatively spacious cave.

The Five Thunder Sect Disciple was moved to tears, grabbing Xu Chen's hand and shaking it vigorously, choking out: "If Daoist Friend Xu hadn't come today, my life would have been lost!"

Xu Chen comforted them: "We are not out of danger yet. Furthermore, I have two senior siblings and the Valley Master Song who also came in to rescue us, and now they are all scattered and I don't know where they are. We must find them all together before we can leave. You should hold onto my robe and walk with me; we will leave together once everyone has gathered."

The Five Thunder Sect Disciple agreed repeatedly, then grabbed tightly onto Xu Chen's tattered Daoist robe, and the two proceeded one after the other along the complex cave.

As they walked, Xu Chen also asked about the situation they had encountered after entering the rift.

It was actually much the same as what Song Qingshi had said: the four of them entered together, walking deeper and deeper, and their Divine Sense grew weaker. By the time the four of them realized something was wrong and prepared to retreat, they discovered that the range of their Divine Sense was no longer enough for them to identify the correct direction. The four of them then ran around inside like headless flies searching for a way out, only to sink deeper and deeper. In the end, their Divine Sense was completely obscured by the Black Mist, and coupled with attacks from unknown Demon Beasts, the four of them were eventually completely separated.

Before Xu Chen met this Five Thunder Sect Disciple named Zhou Ding, he had been wandering blindly inside for over two hours. He had no idea where he was or how deep he had gone; it was like being trapped in a ghost-wall maze. He could only grope forward with his hands like a blind man, and he had to constantly guard against attacks from Demon Beasts along the way.

During this time, he had fought Demon Beasts twice. Now, not only was his vital energy exhausted, but his medicinal pills were also gone, and his Magic Treasure had been lost.

He had been almost completely desperate; if Xu Chen had not appeared in time, even if he hadn't been killed by Demon Beasts, he would definitely have been trapped to death.

But fortunately, the heavens were watching, and Xu Chen had actually found him.

So, after following Xu Chen and talking as they walked, his mood gradually calmed down. However, the further they walked, the stranger he felt, and he couldn't help but ask: "Daoist Friend Xu, can you actually see the path?"

Xu Chen smiled: "I can indeed see more than ten zhang."

"More than ten zhang?" Zhou Ding exclaimed.

He couldn't help but be excited. His cultivation was at the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, and his normal Divine Sense outside would only be about twenty-some zhang. Deep in this Black Wind Rift, it was compressed to a distance of barely two or three feet. For a cultivator accustomed to using Divine Sense, this was no different from being completely blind.

Both times he was attacked, he only reacted when the Demon Beasts were almost upon him. These unknown Demon Beasts were not particularly powerful, but they could move freely in this complex rift environment, which made it impossible to resist; each time, he could only fight with all his might and then flee in a sorry state.

In this godforsaken place, not to mention seeing ten-some zhang, even if he could see three or five zhang, he would definitely be able to easily deal with these Demon Beasts and successfully get out.

What he did not know was that, in order to avoid arousing too much suspicion, Xu Chen had already downplayed his data by more than half; his current Divine Sense range was nearly thirty zhang.

As for after going out, he estimated it should be no less than one hundred zhang, almost comparable to a Zhenyuan Realm cultivator.

"Daoist Friend Zhou, no need to be surprised. This is actually not because my strength is so great, but simply because I used a Magic Treasure from my sect."

Once Xu Chen said this, Zhou Ding felt slightly more at ease and sighed, "To think there is such a Magic Treasure. The Taiyuan Sect has a profound foundation; it is truly not something our small sect, the Five Thunder Sect, can compare with."

"You are too kind, Daoist Friend, you are being modest!" Just as Xu Chen was hypocritically being polite, a roar suddenly came from the side, followed by a 'Bang!' of impact, and simultaneously a shrill, miserable scream from a woman.

"Thirteenth Senior Sister Zhao!"

"Not good, it's Junior Sister Qing'er!"

Xu Chen and Zhou Ding both exclaimed at the same time, and almost simultaneously stopped in their tracks. Zhou Ding said anxiously, "This is my junior sister, Sikong Qing, not Fairy Zhao of the Taiyuan Sect. I beg Daoist Friend Xu to quickly save her."

Xu Chen also roughly understood at this moment that this was indeed not the voice of Thirteenth Senior Sister Zhao Xuan, so he hurriedly released his full Divine Sense to search the passage from which the scream originated.

This time his luck was good; the two parties were only a few dozen zhang apart, and there was a fissure connecting them, so the two of them soon found Sikong Qing.

However, the woman's condition at this time was extremely poor; she had suffered several heavy wounds on her body, her clothes were torn, she was covered in blood, and she had almost fallen into a semi-comatose state. Most importantly, the Demon Beast that had attacked her had not left, but was still pacing and patrolling back and forth in the complex fissure cavities nearby, ready to launch an attack at any time.

At this moment, Zhou Ding was treating Sikong Qing, massaging her and channeling Qi into her, yet Sikong Qing had not fully regained consciousness.

Xu Chen said somewhat nervously, "Daoist Friend Zhou, this is not a place to stay for long; we must leave quickly."

"Good, then I will trouble Daoist Friend Xu to continue leading the way, while I follow carrying my junior sister." Zhou Ding was not a hesitant person either; he gave up on further rescue attempts, carried his junior sister on his back, grabbed Xu Chen's Daoist robe with one hand, and the three of them continued walking forward together.

However, having walked less than ten zhang forward, just as they were passing through a hole, a gust of Black Wind suddenly darted out from it, and a strange Demon Beast that looked like an octopus pounced toward the three of them, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

If Xu Chen could not see, he might have waited until the Demon Beast was close before noticing, but in reality, his Divine Sense had been paying attention to the movements of this Demon Beast without a single moment of rest. Therefore, the moment it pounced out from the hole, Xu Chen's Flying Sword had already slashed down toward the hole in mid-air.

"Boom~"

A cyan sword Qi like a ribbon of silk lit up in the pitch-black cave. At this moment, even Zhou Ding, who was like a blind man, could see it clearly. He saw a flash of sword light that cut the Demon Beast in half at the waist, and then it fell to the ground with two 'clatter' sounds.

The cave instantly returned to dark silence. The expression on Zhou Ding's face froze, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a large duck egg.

From the moment Xu Chen made his move to killing the Demon Beast, it took no more than two breaths.

But he had not noticed the Demon Beast approaching at all; it was only the moment Xu Chen released his Flying Sword that he came to his senses, but with a flash of cyan light, the Demon Beast had already been split in two.

"Eh, how could it be like this?"

While Zhou Ding was dazed, Xu Chen was also full of surprise at this moment.

Because the Demon Beast he had cut in two withered and collapsed shortly after hitting the ground, and within a few breaths, it turned into Black Mist and vanished.

However, under his keen Divine Sense observation, a pitch-black bead about the size of a finger remained on the ground.

"What is this thing?"

Xu Chen raised his hand in a beckoning motion, and the Black Bead fell into his palm. Immediately, a chill that invaded his Soul made him shiver uncontrollably, but the Blue Jade Bead in his deep sea actually lit up slightly, as if it had absorbed this chill, and thus Xu Chen's discomfort instantly vanished.

Xu Chen did not know what grade of treasure the Jade Bead was, but this Black Bead was certainly not simple either; it could actually make a cultivator like him shiver. Although he could not feel any Spirit Qi, he thought it should be something similar to a demon core, just more bizarre.

However, now was not the time to study this thing, so Xu Chen casually stuffed the Black Bead into his waist pouch.

"Daoist Friend Xu, what happened?" Zhou Ding asked after coming to his senses.

"It is somewhat strange; after this Demon Beast was killed, it actually turned into Black Mist and dissipated," Xu Chen explained, but he did not mention the Black Bead.

Although he had never been down the mountain and lacked social experience and worldly wisdom, he still held the simple, plain concept that good things should be hidden; otherwise, his meager possessions would not be enough for his senior brothers and sisters to swindle on the mountain.

After hearing this, Zhou Ding was also very surprised. He thought for a moment and said, "This fissure is unfathomably deep, and the Black Wind is even more bizarre; it is not strange that it could breed some strange Demon Beasts. Daoist Friend Xu should still find other Daoist Friends to regroup and leave as soon as possible; I am worried my junior sister cannot hold on for too long."

"That is fine, let's go!" Xu Chen then continued to lead the way in front.

Perhaps this area was where the Divine Sense of all Kaiyuan Realm cultivators was compressed to the limit; both groups of people who entered were almost scattered in this area, so before long, Xu Chen found another cultivator, who was actually Ninth Senior Brother Lu Yuan.