Chapter 78: Separation

Once one enters the rift, it is as deep as the sea; from this moment on, enemies become strangers.

Xu Chen had been here once before and was fairly familiar with the situation in the rift. Coupled with the support of his powerful Divine Sense, he worried that the two from Yuqing Hall would catch up to him near the cave entrance and strike prematurely, so he ran straight toward the depths of the rift.

The man in green and the woman in black were only a few zhang behind, but they were immediately bewildered by the complex terrain before them. Sight was completely useless inside, and they could only rely on their Divine Sense to distinguish the path. Less than twenty zhang in, the surroundings immediately became like a maze, filled with crisscrossing fissures and alleyways. Violent Black Wind whistled and rolled in from all directions; they knew not where it came from, nor where it went, as if they had fallen into a web of hemp, completely unable to distinguish north, south, east, or west.

The only thing that gave them peace of mind was that their powerful Zhenyuan Realm cultivation could support a Divine Sense range of several dozen zhang, and since Xu Chen had only entered a few breaths before them, they could still barely see Xu Chen's figure.

Thus, the three of them, one in front and two behind, moved rapidly into the depths of this rift maze. In no more than the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the three had already penetrated over a hundred zhang.

And as they continued to go deeper, everyone felt their Divine Sense range being compressed smaller and smaller.

Ahead, Xu Chen slowly slowed his pace.

The woman in black wanted to catch up quickly, but the man in green raised his hand to pull her back, saying, "Junior Sister, do not be reckless. This place is too strange; caution is paramount!"

The woman in black said anxiously, "Senior Brother, this Xu Chen is only in the middle stage of the Kaiyuan Realm. With both of our Divine Senses suppressed so severely, he must be unable to see the path clearly. It is not too late to catch up and kill him now to avenge Senior Brother Liang Feng, and then slowly search for Soul Beasts."

"Shh, something is coming!"

The man in green suddenly used Divine Sense Transmission and made a gesture for silence. The woman in black immediately gripped her Flying Sword, her expression instantly becoming much more tense.

Sure enough, accompanied by a slight collision sound, it seemed something was rapidly approaching the two.

In no more than a few breaths, the man in green suddenly raised his hand and grabbed at a fissure to the side. A burst of thunder light exploded, and within the rolling Black Mist, a strange monster shaped like an octopus was shattered in the thunder light.

Accompanied by a crackling sound of mud and stone flying, under the clear observation of their Divine Sense, this monster did not leave behind any physical remains, but instead disintegrated and dissipated into strands of Black Mist.

"Huh, there really is something strange!" The man in green was full of surprise.

The woman in black said angrily, "Senior Brother, that Xu Chen must be lying to us. There are no Soul Beads at all inside these so-called Soul Beasts. If he finds a place in the depths of this rift to hide for a day, wouldn't we have made this trip in vain, and also have to admit defeat in the wager?"

The man in green waved his hand and said, "It is too early to say such things now. But no matter where he hides, he will inevitably be found by these so-called Soul Beasts, so hiding is not very likely. Let us continue to follow him and see."

Thus, the two continued to track Xu Chen's blurred trail, continuing to go deeper into the maze-like rift.

The two had not gone far when they suddenly heard a booming vibration from ahead; it must have been Xu Chen and a strange beast beginning a direct confrontation and engaging in battle.

The man in green smiled and said, "Junior Sister, what do you think? The deeper one goes into this rift, the more complex the environment, and perhaps the more of these Soul Beasts there are. Although Xu Chen's cultivation is shallow, he has some courage and is not a hypocrite. I understand that you want to kill him to avenge Junior Brother Liang Feng, but remember, it is best not to kill him yourself. The Taiyuan Sect is not what it used to be."

The woman in black looked annoyed, but she said nothing more, silently following behind the man in green, continuously tracking in Xu Chen's direction.

However, no matter how they chased, they were always a distance of several dozen zhang away from Xu Chen.

If they went faster, Xu Chen would also go faster.

If they went slower, Xu Chen would also go slower.

Moreover, during the journey, various strange-looking black Soul Beasts would appear and attack from time to time. However, the two had profound cultivation and powerful Divine Sense, so they were safe despite the dangers. Furthermore, after killing several Soul Beasts in succession, they indeed found two Soul Beads.

Now the woman in black had nothing more to say, and the man in green's interest increased greatly. Instead, he slowly let go of the matter of hunting down Xu Chen and began to focus on actively searching for and hunting Soul Beasts in the depths of the maze-like rift to obtain Soul Beads.

The Yuqing Hall had been passed down for thousands of years and had a profound foundation; it could not be mentioned in the same breath as a small or medium-sized Immortal Sect like the Taiyuan Sect that had established its sect halfway through.

Although the two had never heard of Soul Beasts and Soul Beads, the records and research on Soul Power in the Yuqing Hall were not scarce. At the very least, when refining Spirit Pills of the fourth grade or higher, many Spirit Medicines and Spirit Grasses rich in Soul Power had to be used. This was also the reason why the two felt immense surprise upon their first contact with a Soul Bead.

The Soul Power contained in this kind of Soul Bead was so strong that even a small one was richer than many third-tier or fourth-rank Spirit Medicines and Spirit Grasses. Therefore, as long as they harvested enough Soul Beads to bring back, it would not only be possible to find a way to awaken Yulong Zhenren, but it would also be of immense benefit to the three Supreme Elders.

Therefore, this Black Wind Ridge rift, in the eyes of the two at this moment, was no longer an Evil Land full of danger, but had instead become a treasure trove for making a fortune.

Thus, under the temptation of the Soul Beads, the two walked deeper and deeper. Unknowingly, their Divine Sense range became smaller and smaller, shrinking from several dozen zhang to thirty zhang, then twenty zhang, and in the end, they did not even notice when Xu Chen's trail had completely disappeared.

As they continued to go deeper, Soul Beasts appeared more and more frequently. The two fought and hunted continuously, and the number of Soul Beads they harvested grew. When they had accumulated more than ten Soul Beads in their hands, their Divine Sense was actually compressed to a distance of only ten zhang.

And at this time, the two encountered the first relatively powerful Soul Beast attack since entering the rift. The two exerted their full strength but were unable to kill it, only managing to severely injure it.

Accompanied by another burst of booming, thunder-like Magic Spell light, a giant monster resembling a two-headed flying snake lost one of its heads and fled.

The man in green and the woman in black were unwilling to give up, panting as they chased madly through the complex rift.

According to their experience, killing this Soul Beast would surely yield an extremely large Soul Bead, one that might even be more powerful in Soul Power than all the Soul Beads they had harvested so far combined.

In fact, as they obtained more Soul Beads, both of them had discovered that the more powerful the Soul Beast, the greater the chance of obtaining a Soul Bead, and even if the Soul Bead was only a fraction larger, the Soul Power it contained would almost double.

Under the temptation of this giant Soul Bead, the two continued to chase deep into the rift until, at a certain moment, the Soul Beast's trail was lost ahead. The man in green stopped to speak, and upon looking back, he discovered that the Junior Sister who had been following closely behind him was gone.

And at this moment, the man in green suddenly realized with a start that in his pursuit, his Divine Sense range had been compressed by the Black Mist to a mere distance of less than three zhang.

A chill suddenly rose up his back.

Just now, while chasing, he hadn't noticed anything; he only felt that this injured Soul Beast seemed to be running faster and faster, getting further and further away from his Divine Sense, but in reality, his own Divine Sense range had been shrinking rapidly, which had led to this illusion.

And he had put all his energy into hunting the Soul Beast, completely forgetting about his Junior Sister behind him.

"Junior Sister—"

With his Divine Sense restricted at this moment, everything beyond three zhang was pitch black. The man in green had no choice but to use traditional methods to find her.

However, this cave rift was like a spider web, and with the violent Black Wind blowing everywhere, even a voice infused with Yuan Qi would be blown away by the Black Wind before it could travel more than a dozen zhang, eventually turning into a buzzing sound that echoed and vanished in the rift.

Even if such a sound were heard from dozens of zhang away, one would not know if it was a human shout or the roar of a Soul Beast.

At this moment, less than thirty zhang away from the man in green, the woman in black had completely lost her direction.

Her Divine Sense had been compressed to a range of less than one zhang. The dense cave fissures all around made her feel like a lonely night traveler lost in a pitch-black maze. She could only cautiously distinguish the direction, moving slowly along the path she thought was the way out, while also continuously calling out for her Senior Brother with a voice infused with Yuan Qi.

"Ang—"

Just as the woman in black felt she had found the right direction and her Divine Sense perception seemed to be slowly expanding and easing, a huge black shadow suddenly darted out from a fissure. It was not until a hideous, pitch-black snake head entered her Divine Sense range that the woman in black reacted.

In her haste, the woman in black's Flying Sword struck out, but just as the sword light slashed onto the giant black python, the python also opened its hideous mouth and bit down.

"Boom—"

Amidst an earth-shaking explosion, the woman in black's protective Yuan Qi burst open. In the flashing light, the woman in black screamed, spat blood, and flew backward, crashing heavily against the cave wall before rolling down. However, before her body hit the ground, she turned and stumbled to her feet, then turned and fled into an alleyway in terror. A Flying Sword whistled and followed behind her, disappearing in the blink of an eye into the complex rift where the Black Wind raged.

"Junior Sister!"

The man in green was slowly searching his way back and had already reached a place not far from the woman in black. Hearing the scream and the huge commotion of the battle, he hurried to catch up. However, when he arrived at the scene of the battle, he found that apart from the rubble on the ground and some bloodstains scattered on the cave walls, there was no movement at all in the surroundings.

At this moment, the man in green finally felt the severity of the situation; it had already far exceeded his control.

If this rift only restricted Divine Sense, that would be one thing; eventually, one would be able to find a way out.

But at present, countless Soul Beasts were hidden in the darkness. These Soul Beasts varied in strength, and that giant beast like the two-headed black python from just now was incredibly powerful, no worse than a cultivator in the middle stage of the Zhenyuan Realm. Even with the two of them working together, they had not been able to kill it.

And in the depths of this rift, there were likely even more powerful and terrifying Soul Beasts hidden.

The more he thought about it, the paler the man's face became, and a chill ran down his back. At the same time, he began to understand why Xu Chen had lured them here.

As long as this situation continued, perhaps Xu Chen would not even need to launch a sneak attack, and both of them might be buried here today.

At present, the man in green still had a Divine Sense range of three zhang; if he turned around and intended to flee, there certainly would not be too much of a problem.

But he could not just watch his junior sister get lost in the depths of this cavern, which was fraught with crises.

Even if he escaped to seek help, he feared it would already be too late by the time people from their sect arrived.

After thinking it over, the man in green finally gritted his teeth, took out a Gathering Qi Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, then followed a passageway forward with a Protective Array Disk above his head.

(End of this chapter)