Chapter 131: Revisiting the Secret Abode (Seeking Subscriptions)

Pu Yu'an had never imagined that Lu Qian would be this powerful. A single strike had been enough to freeze and shatter the right arm of his Yin spirit.

"It can't be. It was pure luck, that's all," Pu Yu'an insisted, desperately clinging to his pride. He told himself it was only because he had been too careless previously. He hadn't taken his opponent seriously at the start, which was why he had been caught off guard.

"Master Jing, I wish to go and refine my Gang energy before I return to deal with this man," Pu Yu'an declared, having made up his mind.

"Refining Gang energy? Have you thought this through? It is a trial where nine out of ten die; without proper preparation, it is best not to be reckless."

The most perilous hurdle in the Spirit Nurturing stage was not the condensation of Sha energy, but the refinement of Gang energy. Gang energy was ethereal and possessed immense lethality, its nature far purer than that of Sha energy. A cultivator had to pay a staggering price to subdue it. The vast majority of Spirit Nurturing cultivators perished accidentally during this very process.

"I have decided," Pu Yu'an replied. He could not afford to remain complacent; this incident had served as a wake-up call.

"Very well, you may go." Miao Ming glanced at the waterfall, feeling that something was amiss, though he could not quite put his finger on it.

The group searched the area for a while, but finding nothing, they soon departed. After all, the Water Eye world was vast, and the Tongyou Temple had its own secret realms to develop. They could not afford to fixate all their focus on Lu Qian.

***

Meanwhile, in a dark and eerie forest, Lu Qian’s figure suddenly appeared. His Yin spirit hovered amidst the tree canopy, the Profound Frost Yin Sha exuding a biting chill that froze the birds in the branches, causing their corpses to plummet to the ground.

Having reached the Ning Sha realm of the mid-Spirit Nurturing stage, Lu Qian could now be considered a formidable expert. After all, those at the Dao Foundation level did not emerge lightly. However, his aura of Sha was far too conspicuous. Lu Qian suppressed it, leaving only a faint trace of coldness.

"Fellow Daoist Lu Qian, ah, so this is where you are! I have been searching for you for quite some time."

A familiar voice rang out in his ear. Lu Qian turned to see a pair of pitch-black eyes fixed upon him. Behind the speaker stood a red-skinned demon—the stall owner—and beside him was a petite Smoke Maiden. The figure in the middle, with entirely black eyes, was none other than Shen Zeng, whom he had not seen for many days.

"Fellow Daoist, how did you know I was here?" Lu Qian’s heart tightened, though he maintained a smile on his face.

"Hehe, there is nowhere I cannot find if I truly wish to," Shen Zeng chuckled wickedly. In truth, when Lu Qian had been battling the members of the Tongyou Temple above the Water Eye, his aura had been sensed by Shen Zeng. As he descended, the intermittent traces had allowed him to narrow down the general location.

"I see." Lu Qian’s smile did not reach his eyes. This fellow was as detestable as ever. He was almost certainly the "World-Confusing Demon Fetus" that Qu Jianxian had warned him about. Perhaps it was a preconceived notion, but combined with that title, Lu Qian felt an increasing sense of malice from him—especially since he had actively tracked him down.

"If you have nothing better to do, why not join us?" the stall owner suggested.

"Yes, you really have no choice but to join us," Shen Zeng added, his gaze flickering as he spoke this sudden, disjointed sentence.

BOOM!

A deafening roar shattered the canopy of the sky. In the sapphire-clear heavens, a pitch-black fissure suddenly tore open. From within the crack, a ghostly green, translucent serpent’s head emerged, its vertical pupils glowing with crimson light as it scanned the earth below.

"Little beast, where are you hiding? Heh-heh-heh..."

The voice was hoarse and grating, a demonic sound that pierced the ears, causing birds and beasts to drop dead from the sky. The moment the crimson light swept over the group, Shen Zeng flicked his hand, releasing a shroud of black mist. The mist enveloped them, plunging everything around them into chaos. The crimson light passed straight over them, detecting nothing unusual.

After an unknown amount of time, the chaos dissipated.

"Good, it has finally left. Come along with us, fellow Daoist. You carry my scent now, and I cannot guarantee you won't be caught by that person," Shen Zeng said with a smile, turning to look at Lu Qian. "Oh, by the way, that person is Xiangliu, ranked first on the bounty list. I have had my share of conflicts with him."

*I know that already,* Lu Qian thought to himself. *I also know he is your father and your brother.*

The man was insidious and cunning, and Lu Qian always felt he was hiding something. They likely did not know his true level; his cultivation had increased tenfold since he had gone into seclusion. If the timing was right, he could use that to his advantage.

An idea struck Lu Qian, and he turned to Shen Zeng. "Fellow Daoist, I happen to have a map of the Underworld River. Shall we go and explore it?"

Lu Qian produced an iron tablet engraved with mysterious patterns.

"Is this authentic?" Everyone’s eyes widened. Even Shen Zeng seemed moved.

"True or false, you'll know once you see it. But let us agree: I get first pick of whatever we find."

"Naturally," Shen Zeng laughed.

The group made their way to the waterfall. Following Lu Qian’s instructions, they inverted their Yin spirits.

WHOOSH!

The scenery before them shifted instantly.

"Interesting!" From beneath his hood came a laugh from Shen Zeng, who seemed genuinely intrigued.

"Waa! Waa!"

Another swarm of baby-faced monster fish crawled out from the magma.

"Hiss!"

The Smoke Maiden released her mist, which transformed into a ferocious dragon with jagged horns. The dragon was savage and carried a trace of Sha energy, devouring the baby fish in mere moments. The Smoke Maiden was also close to succeeding in her Ning Sha refinement, though she was still a step behind Lu Qian.

They entered the tunnel. Before the great bronze gate, the giant tree that Lu Qian had shredded earlier had grown back. The One-Legged Ghost shrieked as it flew forward to control it.

BOOM!

The Red Ghost spat out toxic Sha-fire—a scorching flame that seemed to be a form of Sha energy itself. Like maggots on a bone, once it touched, it immediately drained the essence of its target to grow stronger until it burned them to ash. Before long, the giant tree and the flying disc vanished. Lu Qian knew this thing would inevitably grow back again.

"You have been here before, haven't you?" Shen Zeng asked, looking at Lu Qian.

"Not just me. Many others have been here as well," Lu Qian replied with a bitter smile. He then recounted the details of entering, the ghostly hands on the altar, and the tens of thousands of severed flying heads, carefully omitting the powerful presence he had sensed in the sky.

After the group entered, they saw the vast abyss and the heads hanging from the bronze tree on the other side.

"Flying Head Barbarians. An evil art using human heads as raw material. I never expected to see this here."

"The one from earlier was a One-Legged Ghost; it is not a creature of nature, but a creation of a Daoist’s spell. It seems the Daoist here possessed a very high level of cultivation," the stall owner said with a grim expression. A legion of ten thousand Flying Head Barbarians would be a terrifying force, even if they only used sheer numbers to overwhelm their enemies.

"Mr. Shen Zeng, we shall rely on you when the time comes," the Smoke Maiden said.

"No matter!"

The group stepped onto the single-log bridge. Lu Qian remained highly vigilant; the aura he had felt earlier was no longer detectable. Was there a specific trigger, or was there simply insufficient energy? Deep within the crystal dome above, whether due to lack of light or some other reason, Lu Qian always felt that a mass of darkness was slowly brewing.

CLATTER!

As if sensing their arrival, the bronze altar opposite them began to shake violently.

HUM, HUM, HUM!

Ten thousand heads took flight at once. They opened their pitch-black eyes, their mouths filled with jagged fangs. Like an exploding swarm of bees, a dense, dark cloud of them swept down upon the group. Their speed was immense, and dozens of the heads began spewing flames, locking their sights on Lu Qian.

Lu Qian waved his hands. Countless Bone Tribulation Needles formed a chilling wind, brushing gently over the flying heads.

*Tap, tap, tap...*

The heads rapidly withered and fell. The Bone Tribulation Needles were so fine that they appeared to deal no damage to the skulls at all.

*Has he truly refined the Bone Tribulation Needles to such a degree?* The Red Ghost thought in shock. He knew the spell well, for he was the one who had traded it to Lu Qian.

Soon, everyone had dealt with their share of dozens of heads. However, compared to the massive swarm, their efforts seemed like a drop in the ocean.

BOOM!

At that moment, a pair of enormous, pitch-black ghostly hands erupted from the altar.

"Hmph, I have been waiting for you," Shen Zeng said, his eyes opening to reveal pupils swirling like vortexes.