Chapter 76: Revisiting Black Wind Ridge

The man in green robes gave a cold snort, having no desire to waste more breath on Xu Chen.

They had come this time to deliver a congratulatory letter of visit in accordance with the orders of the Yuqing Hall Elder Council, so they certainly dared not kill someone from the Taiyuan Sect lightly; furthermore, this matter had actually already been settled by the upper echelons of Yuqing Hall, and they would no longer pursue it, as they could no longer afford to.

Danchenzi's Spirit Transformation speed was too fast, and besides, the original justification was insufficient.

Moreover, Danchenzi had personally visited Yuqing Hall not long ago to explain the sequence of events in detail to the three True Monarchs, which could be considered as having resolved this grudge.

Yuqing Hall was a large organization with many internal factions, and the faction of Yulong Zhenren could not completely suppress the others; even Yuyang Zhenjun found it difficult to trouble the Taiyuan Sect, and the man in green robes did not belong to Yulong Zhenren's faction, but rather to the faction of the Supreme Great Elder Chixia Zhenjun, which possessed the greatest strength.

This time, the Elder Council dispatched disciples to pay a visit to the mountain, and arranging for him, a fourth-generation disciple of the strongest faction, to come with Lan You, a disciple of Yulong Zhenren, to deliver the letter of visit, expressed both the respect of Yuqing Hall and their dissatisfaction at the same time.

Lan You would certainly stir up trouble, but as long as they kept a close eye on her to ensure she didn't go too far and no one died, in the end, there would be no issues between the two sects.

The several True Monarchs in the upper echelons would drink tea as they should and discuss the Dao as they should, without damaging the harmony in the slightest.

However, this proposal from Xu Chen solved two problems for Yuqing Hall at once.

The first was a fair duel, where life and death would depend on one's own ability; although they were not entirely clear about the Evil Land of Black Wind Ridge, they had heard of it and were not completely ignorant, so they were confident that once inside, they would have countless times more advantages than Xu Chen, who had just reached the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, and if they killed Xu Chen inside, then Yuqing Hall's face would be considered regained.

The second was the Soul Bead; regardless of whether it was true or false, they had to make a trip, and if there were truly Soul Beasts inside as Xu Chen claimed, and they could obtain a large number of Soul Beads, then relying on the heritage of Yuqing Hall, they would have nearly a seventy percent chance of waking Yulong Zhenren.

For these two reasons, there was no way Yuqing Hall could refuse.

The man in green robes and the woman in black, senior brother and junior sister, spent the time it takes to brew a cup of tea on Divine Sense Transmission, and once their discussion was roughly finished, Xu Chen naturally finished discussing the aftermath with Zhao Xuan as well.

The man in green robes spoke up: "In that case, we shall depart now; we will arrive around noon, and by noon tomorrow as the deadline, life or death will depend on one's own ability."

Xu Chen nodded and said: "Good, but to show fairness, it would be best if we invite Valley Master Song of Wild Wolf Valley and the three Daoist Friends from the Taihua Sect to go along and bear witness together."

The man in green robes gave a cold snort and said: "That would be even better."

After speaking, the man in green robes waved his hand, and four Jade Bottles flew in front of Song Qingshi, Ma Xiuping, and the other two people with the highest cultivation, saying arrogantly: "Since it is for witnessing, this bottle of Great Origin Pill shall serve as remuneration."

Xu Chen's face instantly turned black.

Song Qingshi and Ma Xiuping and the other two were both surprised and delighted.

A bottle of Great Origin Pill was of great value, but it was extremely hot to the touch.

Not to mention that they could not afford to offend the Taiyuan Sect, they could afford to offend the conduct of Yuqing Hall even less.

Especially that woman in black, who even dared to kill people from the Taiyuan Sect; perhaps when they came out, she might kill them all in a fit of rage.

However, they could not afford to ignore the face of the Taiyuan Sect and Yuqing Hall.

Moreover, such a good, lively gambling duel—if they didn't go to see it, they would surely regret it for the rest of their lives.

Therefore, the four cultivators finally accepted the pill bottles with trepidation, cupped their hands to express their thanks, and then the group rose into the air on their Flying Swords, turning into eight streaks of light and whistling toward the direction of Black Wind Ridge.

More than an hour later, the group arrived at Black Wind Ridge.

Looking at the black mist that permeated the seven or eight surrounding mountain peaks, Xu Chen was full of astonishment and asked Song Qingshi: "Valley Master Song, this Black Wind seems to have expanded quite a bit!"

Song Qingshi's expression was also slightly fearful as he said: "Indeed, I haven't been back since the last time I came; I didn't expect the scale to have become this large. Given time, I wonder if it will cover Nanyang City."

Although he was unhappy with the Taiyuan Sect, the man in green robes could not help but frown and say: "Was Black Wind Ridge not like this before?"

Xu Chen nodded and said: "Correct, before, this Black Wind was only in the area of that stone mountain in the center, covering no more than ten-odd miles, but now the scale has expanded more than tenfold."

The woman in black immediately snorted coldly: "If you are afraid, you can admit defeat now and let me kill you with one sword to avenge my senior brother, so as to avoid being laughed at."

Xu Chen said speechlessly: "Which eye of yours saw me being afraid? With such a large change in Black Wind Ridge, there will naturally be more variables once we go inside. If you keep considering problems this way, you will eventually die of stupidity."

"You..." The woman in black was furious, and her Flying Sword popped out of the Sword Box again.

The man in green robes waved his hand and said: "Junior sister, enough, why bother with a war of words? Our purpose in coming is to find the Soul Bead; as for other things, they can be set aside for now."

Having said this, the man in green robes turned to look at Xu Chen and said: "No matter what changes have occurred in Black Wind Ridge, this bet will not change. Just as my junior sister said, if you are timid, you can naturally give up, but rest assured, if you admit defeat now, I will not kill you, but you must personally admit to killing Liang Feng at the Spirit Transformation Ceremony of Senior Danchenzi and offer an apology. Out of consideration for Senior Danchenzi, our Yuqing Hall can waive the pursuit of compensation..."

"Haha, you think too much. Since we are already here, let's go in. I hope you have the luck to come out alive. I will say the ugly words first: now that there are four Daoist Friends witnessing, I have already recorded these words on a Jade Slip. When the time comes, regardless of life or death, this matter will be wiped clean. I hope your Yuqing Hall will not go back on its word!"

Xu Chen interrupted the man in green robes, raised his hand to toss a Jade Slip to Zhao Xuan, and then rode his sword into a streak of light, charging into the rolling black mist.

The man in green robes' face twitched a few times, and he and the woman in black followed on their swords, the three streaks of Escape Light disappearing one after another in an instant.

"Whew~"

Song Qingshi and the other three let out a long breath almost at the same time, looking at each other with a feeling of lingering fear, as if they had just survived a disaster.

The strength of Yuqing Hall was too great and their status too high; for them, these rogue cultivators and cultivators of small Immortal Sects, the pressure was immense.

Recalling what Xu Chen and the man in green robes had just said, Song Qingshi could not help but bow to Zhao Xuan and say: "Fairy Zhao, our witnessing today is truly a last resort. As long as the people from Yuqing Hall are not too excessive, we will naturally be impartial."

Zhao Xuan was feeling unsettled at this moment, holding the Xiao Huli and saying softly: "The four Daoist Friends need not be nervous. The grudge between Yuqing Hall and the Taiyuan Sect will not implicate you. As long as this Jade Slip is in hand, they will not dare to make things difficult for you..."

After speaking, Zhao Xuan pressed the Jade Slip to her forehead, and her expression froze instantly, because it was empty and contained nothing. However, after a moment, she understood Xu Chen's purpose, so she feigned composure, put away the Jade Slip, and bowed to Song Qingshi and the others:

"The aura here makes the Spirit Fox slightly uncomfortable. I ask the four Daoist Friends to hold the fort here; I will go find a quiet place nearby to wait!"

Song Qingshi, Ma Xiuping, and the other two quickly nodded together and said: "That is only right. Fairy Zhao, please feel free. Since we have been entrusted by both sides and have taken the benefits, we will naturally not leave."

Thus, Zhao Xuan did not stay long; she rode her sword and quickly left the Black Wind Ridge area, heading toward the Taiyuan Sect.

Song Qingshi and the other three watched Zhao Xuan's Escape Light disappear, then turned their heads together to look at the stone mountain hidden in the rolling black mist at the deepest part of Black Wind Ridge, suddenly appearing to share a common, immature thought.

That was that it would be best if both people from Yuqing Hall died inside.

A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor; no matter how many or how good the pills from Yuqing Hall were, they were not as good as an old customer like the Taiyuan Sect who valued harmony and wealth.

Moreover, having taken such a large benefit from Yuqing Hall, if Xu Chen were really killed inside, the Taiyuan Sect would inevitably harbor resentment toward them, and they would become people who were not welcome on either side. That kind of torment would become a lifelong shadow that could not be shaken off.

In no more than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Xu Chen and the other two landed in front of the Black Wind Rift.

At present, the range of the Black Wind was constantly expanding, and the black wind blowing out from the rift was naturally even more dense and violent.

Standing before the rift, one could see rolling black smoke spraying out from the rift like thick ink, then turning into a gale that whistled and rolled out for hundreds of feet, reaching a range that even Divine Sense could not reach.

Under the blowing of this violent black wind, ordinary sand and rocks could not remain stable, so this hillside was bare and had nothing. If an ordinary mortal were here, they would inevitably be blown away and fall off the cliff, but for a group of immortal cultivators with Qi protection, this wind was merely a bit more violent, at most fluttering their clothes without affecting their movements in the slightest.

The only thing that was shocking was that this black wind could annihilate Divine Sense. Even with the strength of the man in green robes, which was close to the True Essence Late Stage, he still felt that his Divine Sense could not exceed two hundred feet after entering the range of the Black Wind, and near the rift, it was not even one hundred feet; inside the rift, Divine Sense could barely penetrate twenty feet.

It was pitch black inside, and it was completely impossible to distinguish the terrain.

Even the woman in black, who had always hated Xu Chen to the bone, showed fear and unease on her face at this moment.

Although their cultivation was high, any place defined by the Immortal World as an Evil Land could not be underestimated.

A look of gravity also appeared on the face of the man in green, but in his heart, he believed Xu Chen's words even more.

This Black Wind is strange; it exerts such severe pressure on Divine Sense that it must possess a power that strongly erodes the Soul, and it is indeed very possible for such an Evil Land to give birth to rare treasures like the Soul Bead.

It is a consensus in the Immortal World that the more perilous a place is, the more likely it is to give birth to strange Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

Therefore, the man in green's favorable impression of Xu Chen actually rose quite a bit. After observing the surroundings of the rift, he spoke: "Daoist Friend Xu, this place is indeed unusually perilous. Your cultivation is too low; it would be best not to go in and take risks. I will go in alone to scout it out. If I can truly hunt a Soul Beast and obtain a Soul Bead, this bet will count as your win. How about that?"

Xu Chen smiled slightly, waved his hand, and said: "Since it is a bet, how can we give up halfway? The Taiyuan Sect has no cowards who fear death, nor do we bully the weak and fear the strong. We have already arrived here, so saying these things is meaningless. You two are unfamiliar with the terrain, so I, Xu, will take the lead to clear the path. Remember, the time limit is one day. I hope you two can come out alive. Of course, I also wish you both success in hunting a Soul Beast and obtaining a Soul Bead to save the life of Yulong Zhenren. To tell the truth, Jade Dragon True Monarch being injured does indeed have something to do with me, but it was he who struck first, so I cannot be blamed!"

After Xu Chen finished speaking, his figure moved, turning into a blur as he lunged into the rift.

"So it really was you who harmed my Master!" The woman in black's face was covered in frost as she followed closely behind Xu Chen and rushed into the rift.

"Junior Sister, be careful!" The man in green gave a warning, then his body flickered as he followed them in.

(End of this chapter)