Chapter 91: Escape

"Oh no!"

Xu Chen suddenly snapped back to his senses, hurriedly sat cross-legged, sank his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness, and once again exerted the Demon Refining Art with all his might.

Accompanied by blue starlight erupting from his body, streaks of blue light and shadow on the ground began to howl and fluctuate once more. Deep beneath the ground, the sky-filling five-colored lightning fell again upon the roiling black mist and the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus. White light soared into the sky once more, piercing through the clouds and merging into Xu Chen's body.

Xu Chen's Divine Sense began to skyrocket again. His skin, flesh, tendons, bones, internal organs, meridians, and dantian all began to rapidly grow and collapse under the impact of the powerful white light, then grow again, then collapse again...

At a certain moment, after Xu Chen could no longer hold on, he once again channeled the white light into Lan You's body, and the two of them shared the agonizing torment of constant tearing, collapse, and regrowth from their Souls down to their physical bodies.

This pain was completely indescribable.

It was even more intense than the Soul backlash caused by attacking an opponent with the Blue Light Jade Bead earlier.

Because the greatest consequence of a Soul backlash was unconsciousness.

And after falling unconscious, a person would not know what pain was at all.

But right now, both of their consciousnesses remained in a clear state. They could clearly perceive the excruciating pain of their Souls swelling to the point of bursting, while simultaneously feeling the intense pain brought about by their tendons, bones, flesh, meridians, and dantian constantly collapsing, repairing, tearing, and shattering.

It was as if their entire beings were being torn into pieces by a violent aura, then glued back together, only to be torn apart again, enduring this hellish torment and torture over and over.

But since the two of them had already endured one round, their tolerance was much stronger this time. Or perhaps it was because their bodies, having been strengthened by a massive amount of white light, had become more powerful. Thus, the two of them held on for a full cup of tea's time before their bodies began to shatter on a large scale.

At this moment, the giant beast had already broken free from the third chain. Its aura was even more powerful, and half of the stone platform had almost collapsed.

The aura of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle also became more formidable with the operation of Xu Chen's Demon Refining Art. The nebula howled and rotated, forcibly dragging the giant beast into the vortex bit by bit like a celestial millstone.

When nearly half of the giant beast's body had been swallowed by the vortex, Xu Chen and Lan You at the bottom of the bottle were at the end of their rope. Their bones and flesh were shattered, and their Souls were swollen to the point where they could no longer hold on, so Xu Chen had to stop the operation of the Demon Refining Art.

Soon, the aura of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle also began to weaken, and the vortex collapsed in large swathes under the giant beast's struggle.

This time, the vortex could no longer trap the giant beast. Amidst earth-shattering roars, the giant beast released a violent aura, and after tearing apart two more chains, the vortex collapsed completely.

The Blue Light Treasure Bottle seemed to know that it was powerless, so it began to retract the starlight and mist enveloping the entire stone platform, slowly withdrawing the bottle body.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Without the tearing and binding of the vortex, the giant beast, having gained greater freedom, finally violently tore apart the remaining few chains. Its sky-filling tentacles rolled and unfurled as it hovered in the Void like an ancient demon god, emitting a roar that shook the heavens and earth at the Blue Light Treasure Bottle.

Just as it was waving its sky-filling tentacles, preparing to pounce and entangle the Blue Light Treasure Bottle, its body suddenly froze, then it spun rapidly and crashed into the surrounding churning red light, disappearing from sight.

The world shook violently, and red light exploded across the sky. Suddenly, the Void shook again, and a cyan glare appeared at the edge of the shattered stone platform. A human figure appeared within the cyan light, quickly condensing and manifesting.

The Blue Light Jade Bottle suddenly shrank and entered Xu Chen's body. Caught off guard, the two of them fell from a height of a hundred zhang like meteors, slamming onto the stone platform.

And when Xu Chen, dizzy and nauseated, climbed up from the stone platform to look at the surrounding situation, he was instantly dumbfounded.

Because he discovered that the giant stone platform he had seen from inside the treasure bottle was like a vast continent when landed upon; he could not see the edges when looking around.

Moreover, huge Ancient Rune light and shadows could be seen rising into the sky everywhere, covering the sky and connecting to the earth like flames rising into the air.

Accompanying the flickering and extinguishing of every blood-colored Ancient Rune, one could see massive mountain ranges and rivers emerging within the light and shadows, like another completely different world presented by Immortal arts.

Lan You's situation was even worse than Xu Chen's; she stood nearby, looking around blankly, her face pale and dull.

Appearing in the cyan light was a middle-aged man wearing a cyan robe. His face was quite handsome, a cyan-skinned gourd hung from his waist, his hair was tied in a Daoist bun, and his beard was messy and slightly slovenly. He looked ordinary to the point of being unreal.

The moment the cyan-robed man appeared, his expression changed upon seeing the empty and shattered stone platform, but then he saw Xu Chen and Lan You, and was even more astonished. He raised his eyes to look around, stepped in front of the two of them, and after looking them up and down, said with an extremely strange expression: "You two little mortal cultivators, how did you appear here?"

Xu Chen and Lan You were currently in rags, covered in bloodstains, looking like two withered blood gourds.

But this was clearly a human, and he appeared to have no danger at all, so Xu Chen hurriedly bowed and saluted: "Senior, the two of us were training in the Soul Beast Cave, but we did not expect to be attacked by two ferocious Soul Beasts and fall into a red light vortex. We woke up here, but do not know why?"

Of course, when he said this, his heart was full of nervousness and apprehension.

Although this person looked ordinary, harmless to humans and animals, and even showed no sign of cultivation, his cultivation was actually extraordinary. Moreover, he referred to them as "two little mortal cultivators" right off the bat, which showed that this person's background was even more terrifying; perhaps he was an unimaginable Void Immortal.

Therefore, if he saw the Blue Light Treasure Bottle hidden on him, he did not know what unpredictable consequences would occur.

However, fortunately, the cyan-robed man did not seem to see that Xu Chen possessed a strange treasure, nor did he delve into their origins, but nodded slightly and said:

"No wonder. This place was originally a rift passage leading to the Underworld. To prevent the Nether Qi from leaking and harming the mortal world, an Ancient Fierce Beast was suppressed here to block the passage of Nether Qi. I suppose too much time has passed, the sealing Array has been damaged, causing the fierce beast to break free from the seal and punch a hole leading to the mortal world, which is why you two fell in. Very well, since the fierce beast has escaped, Nether Qi will soon leak in large quantities, and Nether Beasts will also appear in large numbers. You two must not stay here long; I will send you away from here first!"

Xu Chen was overjoyed upon hearing this and hurriedly bowed to the ground, saying happily: "Many thanks for your life-saving grace, Senior. I do not know how to address you? If there is an opportunity in the future, this junior will certainly repay you."

The middle-aged man smiled slightly: "A mere trifle, not worth mentioning. However, there is an obscure aura on your body that even this poor Daoist cannot see through. That you two can survive until now can be considered having great fortune. Perhaps there will truly be a chance to meet again in the future. This poor Daoist is an Immortal under the sect of Emperor Donghua of Yuxu Palace, and my Daoist name is Wuyazi. If you can break the Void and become an Immortal in the future, you will naturally have a chance to meet. Go!"

Before the words had faded, the cyan-robed man waved his sleeve lightly. Xu Chen only felt a five-colored starlight rushing toward his face, instantly wrapping the two of them together and pushing them into the sky-filling red light.

After a period of rolling and flowing like clouds and light, the starlight tightly wrapped around their bodies exploded and dissipated with a bang. Their vision suddenly went black, and immediately cold wind howled all around. Xu Chen's Divine Sense suddenly expanded to a range of several hundred zhang, and what appeared in his Sea of Consciousness was the familiar environment of a labyrinthine maze filled with cracks and passages.

However, before Xu Chen could speak, a muffled, thunder-like roar suddenly erupted from the ground, followed by the earth shaking and the mountains swaying. The entire cave maze began to tremble violently.

"Oh no, this cave is going to collapse again, run!"

Xu Chen's expression changed drastically, and he grabbed Lan You, who was still in a daze, and plunged into a mad dash.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The terrifying sound became closer and closer from deep underground like an explosion, and a large number of cracked passages began to collapse.

Relying on his powerful Divine Sense, Xu Chen dragged Lan You and fled wildly through the depths of the constantly collapsing cave. Although he did not know where the correct way out was, he knew that as long as he kept running toward higher ground along the sloping terrain, there would surely be a chance to escape.

In the Southern Border during late autumn, although the climate was still quite warm, it was already very cool in the mornings and evenings.

Although the Taiyuan Sect was located on the edge of the Southern Border, it was actually hundreds of miles deep into the Southern Border Mountains. The area within ten thousand miles of the mountain gate was uninhabited. The once lush and vast mountain ridges were now mottled with color, looking full of colorful autumn intent.

The fifteenth of September was the Spirit Transformation Ceremony for the Great Elder of the Taiyuan Sect, Danchenzi.

In the last few days, many small and medium-sized Immortal Sects and some folk rogue cultivators with decent strength had come to pay their respects and offer congratulations. Even the Master of Wild Wolf Valley, Song Qingshi, had received an invitation from the Taiyuan Sect and led two valley masters to come and pay their respects together.

Of course, those who arrived earlier were definitely cultivators with mediocre cultivation and ordinary realms, mostly in the Kaiyuan Realm, and one could not even see a few in the Zhenyuan Realm.

But even so, with one Escape Light after another arriving, the Taiyuan Sect became extremely lively.

A large number of Immortals gathered in the main hall of Zhaoyang Peak, drinking tea, discussing the Dao, exchanging Daoist techniques and Magic Treasures, laughing and making noise, making the atmosphere of the Taiyuan Sect, which had become silent and lonely due to Xu Chen's misfortune, much more cheerful.

Around the hour of Chen, cultivators with powerful auras arrived from the southeast, northwest, and south, either riding swords, flying through the air, or riding Spirit Cranes and Spirit Beasts.

These cultivators who arrived on the day of the congratulatory ceremony were all famous Sect Leaders and Elders of Immortal Sects in the Great Song territory, almost all of whom were cultivators in the Danyuan Realm and the True Essence Late Stage.

With the arrival of these powerhouses, the atmosphere on the mountaintop became even more enthusiastic. A large number of small sects or rogue Immortals rushed forward to pay their respects and greet them, scrambling to curry favor.

However, during this period, the Great Elder Danchenzi only appeared a few times. Apart from welcoming several Danyuan Realm Sect Leaders at the entrance of Taiyuan Hall, he rarely showed his face.

Of course, none of the cultivators who came to offer congratulations had any objections.

After all, Danchenzi is a Spirit Transformation Great Cultivator, and his status and position today are not what they once were.

(End of chapter)