Chapter 608: Leaving the Cave Abode, The Roadblock (Combined Chapter)

Song Qingyu had absolutely no time to react to this sudden turn of events before she immediately felt as if something had suddenly appeared in her mind.

Before she could even let out a cry, a wave of dizziness washed over her, causing her to collapse directly onto the ground.

Just as Song Qingyu fell, a white streak of light flew to her side; it was Xia Mo, who had been the first to notice that something was wrong here.

"Qingyu!"

Not far away, Song Qingming and He Mengxin, who were busy collecting "Ice Crystal Jade Liquid," heard the sound of Song Qingyu falling. They immediately sensed that something was wrong, stood up, and ran over.

The two arrived at Song Qingyu's side with anxious expressions, only to see that Xia Mo had already placed her hand on Song Qingyu's forehead, her eyes closed as she focused on using her spiritual sense to probe the situation inside her body.

Seeing this, although Song Qingming and He Mengxin were extremely worried, they dared not disturb Xia Mo. They could only stand to the side and examine the area around Song Qingyu, trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

After scanning the surroundings, aside from a seemingly ordinary, semi-finished flying sword that had appeared by Song Qingyu's hand, there was nothing else.

Song Qingming did not find any mechanisms, traps, or forbidden arrays nearby, so he could be certain that Song Qingyu hadn't triggered a trap or been attacked, causing her to faint.

Sighing, Song Qingming picked up the flying sword by her side and examined it carefully, but he found nothing unusual about it.

However, He Mengxin soon discovered a hole in the mountain wall behind the stone shelf that had been pushed aside. After the two tested it, they immediately realized that the flying sword by Song Qingyu's side was exactly what she had just retrieved from inside.

"It seems that Qingyu met with trouble after getting this flying sword. Could it be that something was originally hidden inside this sword?"

He Mengxin looked at the flying sword in Song Qingming's hand, seemingly thinking of something, and couldn't help but turn to look at the still-unconscious Song Qingyu.

Like He Mengxin, Song Qingming had also been harboring some suspicions: could Song Qingyu be like Song Changze in the past, encountering an old monster who wanted to seize her body?

However, since Song Qingyu's specific condition was still unclear, Song Qingming dared not jump to that conclusion. While feeling anxious, he also felt a slight sense of regret.

This time, when exploring this cave abode, Song Qingming and the others were all Jin Dan cultivators who could handle ordinary dangers themselves. Song Qingyu, after all, was still only a Foundation Establishment cultivator; coming to such a place was indeed too dangerous.

Previously, in the stone cave above, when they were attacked by that gray rat demon king, if Song Qingming hadn't been close by and prepared, Song Qingyu would likely have been injured then, and it would have been hard to say if she could have saved her life.

After coming down, because they hadn't found any danger inside and had continuously found many high-tier spiritual items, Song Qingming had been happy and gradually relaxed his guard, forgetting to keep an eye on Song Qingyu beside him.

It wasn't just Song Qingming; He Mengxin, standing to the side, also showed a look of regret on her face.

Her relationship with Song Qingyu was like that of sisters, and since she had been the one to suggest bringing Song Qingyu along, seeing Song Qingyu in danger now left He Mengxin, who could only stand by helplessly and nervously, feeling secretly heartbroken.

"Daoist Song, I feel that Qingyu doesn't seem to have encountered a possession. The situation just now didn't look like someone's primordial spirit had left their body, and we haven't found the corpse of that senior here either."

"Moreover, primordial spirit possession is not that simple or easy. Without a special array arranged in advance to help imprison the cultivator's primordial spirit, it is very difficult for the possessor's primordial spirit to enter someone else's body and succeed."

Hearing He Mengxin's analysis, although Song Qingming knew in his heart that what she said made sense, his mind was currently filled with worry for Song Qingyu, and for a moment, he was in no mood to respond to her.

After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Xia Mo slowly withdrew her jade hand and opened her tightly closed eyes.

"Senior Sister Xia, how is Qingyu? She didn't encounter someone trying to possess her, did she?" Seeing Xia Mo finally withdraw her spiritual sense from Song Qingyu's body, He Mengxin hurriedly asked.

Xia Mo shook her head slightly and said, "I just checked, and I didn't find any signs of another cultivator's primordial spirit invading her body. This point can be ruled out."

"However, what is strange is that Qingyu hasn't suffered any injuries inside her body, and even her soul is intact. I don't know why she suddenly fainted."

Hearing Xia Mo say this, Song Qingming felt relieved, but at the same time, he became even more puzzled. He hurriedly stepped forward, placed his hand on Song Qingyu's head again, and used his spiritual sense to thoroughly examine her body.

After a careful examination, the result was just as Xia Mo had said: aside from being a bit weak, there were no major abnormalities in Song Qingyu's body.

Although a cultivator's spiritual sense cannot directly enter another person's sea of consciousness, by sensing Song Qingyu's soul, Song Qingming could indirectly judge that her primordial spirit had not suffered any damage. Clearly, it could not be the possession he feared most.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator with a sufficiently powerful primordial spirit, wanting to possess an ordinary Qi Condensation cultivator, must first devour and destroy the other party's primordial spirit after entering their body to successfully seize the physical body.

Song Qingming had once witnessed Feng He's attempt to possess a body to recultivate, so he was naturally very clear about possession.

Song Qingming, unable to figure out the specific situation, was just about to withdraw his spiritual sense when Song Qingyu, who had been unconscious for a while, moved her fingers slightly and slowly regained consciousness.

Seeing this, Song Qingming felt a surge of joy and hurriedly withdrew his spiritual sense, taking his large hand off Song Qingyu's forehead.

After a moment, under the expectant gazes of the three, Song Qingyu slowly opened her eyes and woke up.

"Qingyu, are you alright!"

Song Qingyu, having just opened her eyes, was slightly stunned to see the three of them beside her. Still a bit weak, she slowly sat up from the ground and said:

"I seem to have fainted just now. Seventh Brother, did something happen?"

He Mengxin, hearing Song Qingyu say this, hurriedly smiled and said, "Qingyu, you were here alone just now and suddenly fainted. Senior Sister Xia helped check your condition and said you have no injuries."

"Qingyu, think carefully about what you did just now. How exactly did you faint? Do you have any impression of it?"

Song Qingyu, upon hearing this, pondered for a moment, then shook her head at the three and said:

"I don't remember anything wrong. I was just looking for spiritual items here when I saw a magic tool stuck in the wall. I used my magic power to forcibly pull it out. Later, when I wanted to put the flying sword away, I suddenly felt dizzy in my head, and it seems that's how I fainted."

"I don't know what happened afterward, and I have no impression of it in my mind now. When I woke up, I saw you all directly."

Hearing Song Qingyu's description, a trace of doubt appeared in the eyes of Xia Mo and Song Qingming. But seeing Song Qingyu's appearance, it really seemed like nothing was wrong, and for a moment, they couldn't figure out what had happened.

He Mengxin, hearing Song Qingyu say this, smiled and explained for her, "If I'm not mistaken, it might be that your magic power hadn't fully recovered, and you were in a hurry to use magic, causing your magic power to drain too quickly, which is why you fainted."

"Qingyu, take this elixir first and meditate to recover. It will be of great help in restoring your magic power." After saying this, He Mengxin took out a purple elixir and placed it in Song Qingyu's hand.

Song Qingyu nodded obediently, not standing on ceremony, took the elixir He Mengxin handed over, swallowed it in one gulp, and then sat cross-legged to begin recovering her magic power.

Seeing that Song Qingyu was indeed unharmed, Song Qingming slowly relaxed and sat to the side to guard her, fearing that some danger might suddenly emerge nearby.

The group waited for about half an incense stick of time. Song Qingyu slowly refined the elixir in her body, and the color on her face gradually returned to normal, looking much better than before.

"Alright! There are no more spiritual items here. Let's leave quickly. We've had a good harvest this trip; we can distribute them slowly after we go back!" Seeing that Song Qingyu was fine, Xia Mo hurriedly urged the group.

Song Qingming also nodded and said, "That's right, let's leave quickly, lest some other trouble arises if we stay too long."

After the group finished speaking, they prepared to leave the cave abode and return to the one above.

Walking to the bluestone where they had first come down, Xia Mo and He Mengxin quickly turned into streaks of light, one after the other, leaving the cave abode and flying upward first.

Just as Song Qingming was about to follow, Song Qingyu suddenly pulled him and said, "Seventh Brother, can you return the flying sword I found just now to me? This is a spiritual item I obtained with great difficulty; you all are not allowed to snatch it from me."

Hearing Song Qingyu mention the semi-finished flying sword she had obtained, Song Qingming was stunned for a moment, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

When Song Qingyu was unconscious just now, this flying sword had already been put away by Song Qingming. Seeing that this magic tool was only a semi-finished product and not a precious spiritual item, Song Qingming had simply thrown it into his storage magic tool later.

Although he was a bit puzzled as to why Song Qingyu mentioned this flying sword, now was not the time to discuss such trivial matters.

In order to catch up with Xia Mo and the other who had left first, Song Qingming thought for a moment, didn't say anything more, and directly took out the flying sword and handed it to Song Qingyu.

Seeing the flying sword she had just found back in her hands, a look of joy appeared on Song Qingyu's face, and she hurriedly put it directly into the storage bag at her waist.

After putting the flying sword away, Song Qingyu immediately set up her flying sword and flew upward first. Song Qingming followed behind her, and soon, after a flash of spiritual light, the figures of the group arrived at the cave abode above.

Seeing that there was no movement around, Song Qingming used magic to activate the stone table nearby, sealing the hole they had just come up from again.

Regardless of whether he would have the opportunity to come here again in the future, none of them wanted the secret below to be easily known by others, so they restored it to its original state, once again concealing the cave dwelling beneath that spot.

After doing all this, the four of them didn't delay any longer and walked out of the cave abode.

Just as they walked out of the concealment array at the entrance of the cave abode, Song Qingming and the others saw a second-tier low-quality demon beast flying rapidly toward the entrance from the air not far away.

Before the demon beast could get close to the group, the flying sword in He Mengxin's hand, who was standing to the side, had already flown out first. Before the others could even make a move, He Mengxin had already killed this unlucky second-tier demon beast with one sword strike.

Seeing the other three's gazes fixed on the corpse of the demon beast that had fallen from the air, Xia Mo, who was standing in place, spoke directly:

"The commotion just now has likely been seen by many nearby demon beasts. Let's hurry and leave this place, lest we attract more trouble later!"

Hearing Xia Mo's reminder, Song Qingming and the others didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement!

Seeing this second-tier demon beast appear near the cave abode, everyone understood that this beast must have been attracted by the heaven and earth anomaly emitted by the "Crystal Lotus" earlier.

The large array inside this cave abode had already been destroyed by the group. Even with the concealment array outside, the rich spiritual energy constantly emerging from within could not be hidden. It wouldn't be long before high-tier demon beasts would come looking for this place.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Xia Mo directly took out the purple flying carriage she had and flew up first.

After the others got on, under the control of Xia Mo's magic power, the purple flying carriage soon turned into a purple light and disappeared from the spot, heading directly back along the path they had come from in the east.

Song Qingming, standing on the flying carriage, glanced at Xia Mo, who was focused on controlling the carriage beside him, and began to calculate the harvest of their trip to explore the cave abode.

Because the owner of the cave abode loved refining tools, the four of them obtained many magic tools and magic treasures from the cave abode on this trip.

Adding the two stone caves above and below, they harvested a total of two third-tier low-quality magic treasure flying swords, more than a dozen second-tier magic tools of varying quality, as well as several unfinished magic treasures and numerous tool-refining materials.

Putting these magic treasures and materials together, it should be enough to exchange for about forty thousand spirit stones.

And the gray rat demon king that had been besieged and died at their hands, the materials on its body should also be worth about fifty thousand spirit stones.

Besides that, the tool-refining furnace collected by Song Qingming and the golden cushion obtained by He Mengxin were both third-tier mid-quality spiritual items with high prices. If taken to an auction, one could likely be exchanged for twenty thousand spirit stones.

In the cave abode below, the group also found a bottle of third-tier spiritual water, which was also a precious spiritual item worth nearly ten thousand spirit stones.

The remaining lower-tier spiritual items, as well as the books and notes brought out by Song Qingming, were not of high value. Only the notes recording the inheritance of a third-tier tool refiner might be exchanged for a few thousand spirit stones.

The total value of these spiritual items found in the cave abode was nearly one hundred thousand spirit stones.

However, even if all these spiritual items were added together, their value was still slightly inferior to the fourth-tier "Crystal Lotus" in Xia Mo's hand.

Although Song Qingming also very much wanted to obtain the fourth-tier spiritual medicine "Crystal Lotus," he also understood that there would be no chance for this item to fall into his hands.

Before coming to look for treasure this time, Song Qingming, Xia Mo, and He Mengxin had already agreed.

Except for the "Green Jade True Water" that Xia Mo had given to Song Qingming earlier, all spiritual items found in the cave abode could be divided by 30% to Song Qingming and the other who came to help.

But Xia Mo, who had found this cave abode first, had the privilege of choosing spiritual items first.

A fourth-tier spiritual medicine of the "Crystal Lotus" level, if taken out, was highly likely to be exchanged for a spiritual item that assists in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. For every Jin Dan cultivator, it was something that could not be missed.

Xia Mo herself was so young, and her cultivation had already reached the late stage of Jin Dan. In the future, she would certainly have the chance to try to break through to the Nascent Soul realm. This item was also a spiritual item she was determined to obtain.

However, the group's trip to explore the cave abode was considered a fruitful harvest. Even knowing that he couldn't get the "Crystal Lotus," Song Qingming was still very satisfied while feeling envious.

If the value of the "Crystal Lotus" was estimated at one hundred thousand spirit stones, then the spiritual items obtained by the four this time already totaled more than two hundred thousand spirit stones.

Calculated as 30%, Song Qingming and Song Qingyu together could at least share about sixty thousand spirit stones worth of spiritual items this time.

Coming out for a trip, it had been less than half a month. This time, not only did they solve the problem of the Core Formation spiritual items for Song Qingyu and Huang Siyuan, but they also obtained spiritual items worth so many spirit stones. For Song Qingming, it could be considered a nice unexpected joy.

Song Qingyu, sitting on the flying carriage, didn't know if it was because of the dangers she had encountered several times before, but she, who had been relatively active when they came, was now sitting honestly in place, not walking around on the flying carriage.

Seeing that although Song Qingyu's weak state had recovered a lot, she still seemed a bit off, He Mengxin, sitting beside her, also comforted her with concern.

After the group left the cave abode location and traveled about several hundred miles to the east, two streaks of golden light suddenly flew from not far away on the side, blocking the front of the flying carriage controlled by Xia Mo.

"Fellow Daoists, I am Linghu Jie of the Jiuyuan Sect. May I ask where you all came from and where you are going!"

Seeing the flying carriage suddenly stop, Song Qingming, wearing a bamboo hat, immediately looked forward and discovered that the two who came were none other than the two Jin Dan cultivators of the Jiuyuan Sect he had dealt with before.

Seeing the flying carriage controlled by Xia Mo forced to stop, Song Qingming's expression changed and became a bit ugly. He didn't expect that while the journey there was safe and sound, they would still encounter people from the Jiuyuan Sect on the way back.

Linghu Jie was the old man who had competed with Song Qingming for the "Phantom Boat" at the Star Assembly years ago. Because of Song Qingming's refusal to back down, the two had formed a bit of a grudge. Seeing this old man, Song Qingming secretly cursed his bad luck.

As for the other person standing beside Linghu Jie, although Song Qingming didn't know his name, he had seen this person in the previous Great War at Iron Immortal Fort and knew that he was also an Elder in the Jiuyuan Sect.

"We are just passing through this place and have no intention of having any entanglement with your sect. Why do you want to block our path?" Xia Mo, standing at the front of the flying carriage, glanced at Linghu Jie and the other, and responded to the other party with a cold tone.

Linghu Jie ignored what Xia Mo said, looked at He Mengxin and Song Qingming standing behind Xia Mo, and said with an unhappy expression:

"Just passing through? I don't think your purpose for coming here is that simple. We just received a report from our disciples below that a seven-colored glow appeared not far from here. It should have been triggered by you all looking for treasure nearby, right?"

"You came to our Yue State territory to scrape for treasure without even greeting our Jiuyuan Sect. Isn't this a bit too rude?"

Hearing the other party say this, Song Qingming and the others secretly complained in their hearts. They didn't expect that the group had only just left that cave abode, and they were discovered by the Jiuyuan Sect so quickly for the heaven and earth anomaly earlier.

"Your words are a bit strange. We are just passing through this place and have never seen any heaven and earth anomaly you mentioned. Could it be that you have some misunderstanding!"

Seeing that He Mengxin was still pretending not to know, Linghu Jie snorted coldly with unkind eyes: "This heaven and earth anomaly appeared not long ago, and you all were passing through here in a sneaky way. It shouldn't be such a coincidence, right?"

"I think you all should stop playing dumb. To tell you the truth, when we came to track you all just now, we had already sent a message to the sect."

"If you all cooperate honestly and hand over everything you obtained just now, I can let you go without pursuing this matter."

"If you don't know what's good for you and force us to make a move, then when other Elders of our sect arrive later, it won't be so simple if you want to leave."

After Linghu Jie and the other finished speaking, their spiritual light moved, and they each took out their magic treasures, staring fiercely at the flying carriage.

"Hmph! Just relying on the two of you, you want to stop us? That's really a big tone. Since you don't want to make way, then let's see how much ability you really have!"

Seeing that the other party had torn their faces and intended to make a move directly, Xia Mo didn't waste any more words with Linghu Jie and the other. With a wave of her hand, she took out the flower basket magic treasure she had used several times before and directly activated hundreds of petals to shoot fiercely toward the place where the two of the Jiuyuan Sect were.

"Qingyu, you go first. We will catch up with you immediately after we get rid of the opponents!"

Just as Xia Mo made a move, Song Qingming also quickly took out his magic treasure "Ink White Sword." After giving Song Qingyu a word of instruction, he and He Mengxin quickly activated their magic treasures and joined the battlefield ahead.

Since the other party clearly didn't intend to let them leave, they couldn't delay any longer here.

In a battle of Jin Dan level cultivators, with Song Qingyu's Foundation Establishment cultivation, it was simply difficult to intervene. If she stayed here, not to mention not being able to help, she would likely affect Song Qingming and the others by distracting them to protect her.

Just as Song Qingming and He Mengxin left, Song Qingyu immediately stepped on her flying sword and left the spot. Then, she bypassed the battlefield ahead and fled quickly to the east. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 609 =====