Chapter 557: Falling into a Trap

The reason there were so many spiritual herbs in this canyon was that a Spirit-Gathering Formation had been set up here. Although this place was not difficult to find, every time the Heaven-Reaching Tower opened, people would come here.

However, three hundred years had passed since the last opening, which was enough time for most of the spiritual herbs inside to mature. Song Qingming and his group happened to arrive a step earlier this time, which was why they were able to pick up this bargain.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, shall we head directly to the third level next, or stay on the second level to search for spiritual items first?" After distributing these spiritual herbs, the still-excited True Person Qingluo asked another question.

"Hehe, those who have entered the second level now must all be experts at the late-stage Jin Dan or Nascent Soul stages. I reckon they don't have their eyes on the spiritual items on this level and are already trying to find ways to reach the third level. This is a great opportunity for us to hunt for treasures here." Just as True Person Qingluo finished speaking, Jin Ziyuan immediately laughed and voiced his own thoughts.

Regarding Jin Ziyuan's suggestion, Zhao Menglian also nodded and said, "Junior Brother Jin's words are very true. There are relatively few teleportation arrays from the second level to the third. If we go looking for one now, I'm afraid we might run head-on into those experts who are in a rush to reach the third level. Let's wait two days before going up."

"Besides, everyone just saw that third-tier spiritual items can be found on this second level, so why should we abandon what is near to seek what is far and rush to the third level?"

Having seen two third-tier spiritual items with their own eyes, the group naturally agreed with Zhao Menglian's suggestion and immediately nodded in consensus.

Although Song Qingming was eager to head to the third level immediately, Zhao Menglian was also right. At this time, some Nascent Soul old monsters were likely still on their way to the third level; rushing to find a teleportation array was truly too dangerous. It would be safer to wait a little while.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower remained open for at least a month each time. For Song Qingming, there was no need to rush for a day or two. The main reason he came to the "Heaven-Reaching Tower" this time was to see if he could find some useful spiritual items and opportunities. Naturally, he did not want to lose his life here; regardless of anything else, being cautious was always for the best.

After the group reached an agreement, they set off directly, following the original path out of this Spirit-Gathering land rich in spiritual herbs, and then flew upward from the canyon, wanting to search for spiritual items in other places.

After this gust of yin wind surrounded Song Qingming and the others, its power increased by a few points, directly blowing the group slowly toward the pitch-black area on the other side of the canyon.

At this point, the group in the yin wind also felt that something was wrong. This strange yin wind that had suddenly appeared seemed to be controlled by someone, wanting to sweep them all into that patch of darkness.

Seeing this, the others immediately released defensive barriers, wanting to block the suction of this eerie yin wind.

"Fellow Daoists, we are all cultivators from the Xiaoyao Sect of Song Guo. We have no grievances with you; there is no need to come here and cause trouble for us over a few second-tier spiritual herbs!"

Just as the six of them had reached mid-air, a gust of cold, fierce wind suddenly struck from both sides of the canyon, catching the group off guard and making it difficult for them to stand steady.

Just as the six were preparing to charge out of this yin wind, several bursts of wild laughter suddenly came from above. Following that, four Jin Dan cultivators wrapped in black robes jumped down from above, blocking the path of the group who were trying to escape.

Although she knew that the other party had gone to such great lengths to set a trap here, they were clearly not coming with good intentions, but Zhao Menglian still spoke with a calm face, bringing up their identity as members of the Xiaoyao Sect to see if she could negotiate a truce.

However, apart from Zhao Menglian, Yun Xinxue, and Jin Ziyuan, whose higher cultivation bases allowed them to handle it with relative ease, True Person Qingluo and Zhang Tieyang, the two early-stage Jin Dan cultivators, clearly lacked a bit in magic power and could only release a defensive magic treasure to stop their backward retreat.

"Not good! This wind is not right; it seems someone has set up a formation here. Everyone, quickly find a way to charge out! If we get sucked in, we'll be in trouble!"

Seeing these four mysterious black-robed figures, Zhao Menglian and the others were suddenly shocked. It seemed they had been discovered while breaking the restrictions below, and the other party had specifically set a trap here waiting for them to come up.

"Haha, you must have obtained quite a few good things down there just now. We arrived a step late; I wonder if we can have a share of the spoils now?"

Although Song Qingming was also at the third layer of the Jin Dan stage, he performed slightly better than the other two. After deploying the Profound Light Armor he had cultivated for many years, along with a Five Elements Shield spell he obtained after switching to the "Five Elements Profound Gang Art," he did not feel too much pressure.

After feeling the power of this yin wind, Zhao Menglian released a magic power barrier to stabilize her figure and hurriedly issued a warning to everyone.

The four black-robed figures before them had three who were at the mid-stage Jin Dan, and the remaining one was an early-stage Jin Dan cultivator. Their strength did not actually look very strong.

If this were a normal time, Zhao Menglian and the others would certainly not fear them, but at the moment, the group had already had a significant amount of magic power restrained by the trap set by the other party. Trying to defeat them head-on might not be as easy as it would be under normal circumstances.

When Jin Ziyuan and the others saw those black-robed figures, although they were extremely angry in their hearts, the situation seemed somewhat unfavorable for their side, so they stood behind Zhao Menglian and could only endure for the time being.

"Hehe! We indeed have no grievances with you, but since we arrived late, we can't go back empty-handed. Fellow Daoists might want to consider handing over the storage bags on your bodies; that way, we can guarantee we won't make things difficult for you anymore!"

"Hmph! Such big words. If you want our storage bags, you'll have to see if you have the ability to take them." Seeing that the other party had no intention of making peace, Zhao Menglian did not hold any more expectations and directly took out her magic treasure, taking the initiative to kill toward the other party.

Jin Ziyuan and the others on the side had also long wanted to have a great battle with them. Without much hesitation, they each took out their magic treasures and charged toward the other party.

Seeing that the other party had torn off their masks so quickly, the four black-robed figures were not surprised at all. After letting out a few light laughs at the group, they each began to take out their own magic treasures to face the enemy.

One of the black-robed figures standing in front took out a pitch-black scroll, cast a spell to summon a black mist, and from within it, summoned a strange creature with the head of an ox and the body of a man, carrying a mass of black flames on its body.

"Everyone be careful, this group are demonic cultivators!" Seeing the magic treasures and moves used by the other party, all of which were somewhat eerie, Zhao Menglian immediately recognized the identity of these black-robed figures.

Hearing that the other party might be demonic cultivators, Song Qingming and the others also showed a hint of surprise. No wonder these people were always wrapped in black robes and dressed so mysteriously; it turned out they were actually of demonic origin.

Although they had long heard that every time the Heaven-Reaching Tower opened, there would be demonic cultivators coming in to fish in troubled waters, Song Qingming and the others did not expect to run into these demonic cultivators so quickly after entering. They couldn't help but have a new understanding of the dangers within the Heaven-Reaching Tower.

Righteous human cultivators and demonic cultivators had always been sworn enemies. Whether they met here or outside, there was no reason to let the other party go. Once they fell into the hands of the other party, the result would inevitably be worse than death. Knowing the identity of the demonic cultivators, Song Qingming and the others completely abandoned any other thoughts; there was only one battle to be fought.

Although the ox-headed monster that appeared on the demonic cultivator's side was only a summoned spiritual body, the pressure on its body was no less than that of an early-stage Jin Dan cultivator. As soon as it was summoned, it fiercely pounced toward Zhang Tieyang, who had the lowest cultivation base, and its strength was not inferior to him.

True Person Qingluo faced the early-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivator with the lowest cultivation base. Although his strength was slightly stronger than the other party's, because of the restrictions of the formation, True Person Qingluo did not immediately gain the upper hand after the two clashed.

Zhao Menglian and Yun Xinxue each faced a mid-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivator with cultivation bases similar to their own. The last remaining sixth-layer Jin Dan demonic cultivator was faced by Song Qingming and Jin Ziyuan together.

After the two sides fought in the canyon for a while, although the demonic cultivator side had gained a slight upper hand overall, Song Qingming and the others did not show signs of defeat.

The demonic cultivator side also knew that dragging things out too long here would be unfavorable to them if they attracted other cultivators.

Seeing that they couldn't take down the other party, the two mid-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivators with the highest cultivation bases looked at each other, each took out a small formation flag, spat a mouthful of essence blood onto it, and joined forces to cast a spell, further strengthening the power of the yin wind formation behind the group.

Another mid-stage Jin Dan demonic cultivator also took out a black scroll similar to the previous one and summoned another tiger-headed monster with strength similar to the previous ox-headed monster, increasing the attack on Zhang Tieyang.

"Junior Brother Song, fighting like this is unfavorable for us. Leave this person to me first. You quickly find a way to go down and destroy the formation they set up, otherwise, I'm afraid none of us will be able to hold on for too long."

Feeling that the yin wind restraining the group had strengthened by a few points, Jin Ziyuan also knew that the situation on all battlefields was starting to look bad, so he decisively sent a sound transmission to Song Qingming, who was beside him, to voice his thoughts.

Song Qingming naturally understood this point as well. After hearing Jin Ziyuan's sound transmission, he immediately changed direction and charged directly toward the dark area in the rear.

After fighting with the other party for so long, Song Qingming had already sensed that the core of this formation was likely located below that dark area. As long as he could get close to that place, he would have a way to break this great formation.

"Brat, where are you going!"

Seeing Song Qingming suddenly leave the battlefield and charge directly toward that side following the suction in the darkness, the demonic cultivator who was entangled with Yun Xinxue also sensed that something was wrong. He immediately controlled the tiger-headed monster he had summoned, which was attacking Zhang Tieyang, and quickly chased after Song Qingming.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 558 =====