Chapter 325 - Nether Spirits

“This is bad! Everyone, get into formation!”

Of the countless Nether Spirits that came surging forth out of nowhere, many were vicious-looking evil spirits with half a skull, eyeballs hanging from their sockets, and putrefied skin. Qingyu and Liu Feiyan turned pale from fright. Their home was Qingxuan Sect, so how could they have ever seen such terrifying things?

In just seconds, thousands upon thousands of Nether Spirits had all of them surrounded. The wailing of the spirits never stopped, causing their scalps to feel numb. The group held tight onto their Immortal’s Swords and magic treasures but no one dared to make a reckless attack.

The army of Nether Spirits had undergone hundreds and thousands of years of tempering in a place with abundant dark energy. They were incomparable to ordinary Nether Spirits. The consequence of angering them was unimaginable.

“What do we do now?!”

The group stood close together with their back against each other. They came here expecting there to be a Devil’s Carnage object but little did they imagine the sea of Nether Spirits would appear so unexpectedly. They knew how to deal with Devil’s Carnage but were helpless against these vicious spirits.

Suddenly, hundreds of Nether Spirits from the southwest direction threw themselves at the group. Zhiluan was so frightened that he leaped and cast a spell. “Let the nature of heaven and earth expel the impure energy! In the mysterious void in the cavern, let the Great Origin dazzle! The Grand Supreme Lord, execute the law now! Dismantle the evil!” Countless rays of white light emerged at the tail of his sentence. With a loud hissing sound, a dozen or so Nether Spirits were reduced into white smoke in an instant.

Unfortunately, this only made more furious spirits charging at them. Xu Gu immediately cast spells with both hands. “Om, ma, ni, pad, me, hum!” The six-word Supreme Brightness Spell left his mouth and turned into six swastika-shaped golden seals that instantly destroyed several hundreds of Nether Spirits.

Meanwhile, Wan Yanyan lashed out at the Nether Spirits with the True Fire generated from his Fire Manipulation Talisman; Su Zimu turned his Mystic Heaven Fan into thirteen rays of sword radiance; Qi Feng summoned both gale and lightning; Qingluan and Ziyun’er guarded Xiao Chen’s back; Xiaoyue flicked her horsetail whisk and turned hundreds upon thousands of Nether Spirits into dust…

The group tried their best to put up a fight but the army of Nether Spirits appeared to be an inexhaustible and endless force. The moment they killed a wave of these creatures, another wave would arrive in moments. This greatly depleted their True Energy. If this continued, they would likely have to be buried here with the tens of thousands of Nether Spirits.

“Go!”

Xiao Chen made an immediate decision to produce a Barrier of True Energy and enveloped everyone in it. Xu Gu cast a few more seals on the Barrier that had a small effect in warding off the spirits.

Under the protection of the Barrier, the group tried to retrace their steps but the darkness of the night made it impossible for them to distinguish the path they had come in. It was also impossible to fly on their swords here. They finally found a beat-up cave more than an hour later, but the spirits were right on their tail.

The group filed into the cave, finally able to catch their breath. After spending here, they not only failed to learn anything about the source of the Devil Qi, but they even invoked the wrath of so many vicious spirits. Even though the cave was pitch-black, the group must be grim-faced.

“What exactly are those?” Yu Yifeng asked.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath. “If I’m not mistaken, this place is a Mystic Darkness Land.”

“Mystic Darkness Land?”

The Mystic Darkness Land referred to places with extreme dark energy and no sunlight all year round. Insects and beasts alike were eradicated, as were birds. Ordinary Nether Spirits that stayed long enough in places like this would gradually be tempered into powerful and vicious spirits. What the group saw earlier was likely just the lowest level of Nether Spirits.

“We saw so many bones on our way in. I think this must be an ancient battlefield. The armies used to go to war in ancient times. I remember from a journal about a general that buried alive his enemy’s 4,00,000 soldiers. Those soldiers meet their tragic death here.”

The one who spoke was Su Zimu. Qingyu and the rest felt the hair on their skin rise as they listened. Ling Fei said coldly, “Even if this is an ancient battlefield, where did the overwhelming Devil’s Carnage Qi above come from? Did these 4,00,000 soldiers all turn into devils? The way I see it, this place must have something to do with the Valley of God and Devil!”

Xiao Chen said, “Forgive me for my frankness, but I don’t know if you notice an incredibly dense Negative Qi here. However, the Negative Qi didn’t originate from the Mystic Darkness Land here…”

His words cast silence over everyone. In a trembling voice, Qingyu said, “It’s pitch-black in here… Can you guys… not scare me…” She then propped up a ball of white light in her hand and illuminated her surroundings.

She saw everyone looking somewhat dispirited and listless. Xu Gu sat in a corner, quietly reciting scripture to himself. Zhou Li stood up and said, “This place is too dangerous. Why don’t we return as soon as it’s dawn and have the seniors from the Immortals’ League deal with it?”

No one responded, all of them immersed in the silence and their own thoughts. Xiao Chen shook his hand. “We came here to find the cause of the Devil Qi so the seniors of the league can think of a way to counter it. If we return empty-handed, I suppose not even the seniors would know how to deal with this even if they come here.”

“I agree with Brother Xiao,” Xiaoyue said calmly. She had only ever had one goal in coming here: confirming that this place didn’t have anything to do with the Valley of God and Devil. That way, she would be able to borrow a portion of the power of the Spiritual Meridian when she returned.

Everyone once again fell silent. Moments later, Zhiluan suddenly yelped. “Meow! There’s something over there!”

His sudden cry caused Qingyu and Liu Feiyan to jump. Xiao Chen kicked him aside before turning to look in the direction that he pointed in. There appeared to be a tunnel inside the cave, but it didn’t seem human-made.

The rest turned their attention to the tunnel. They didn’t seem to notice it when they entered the cave. When did it appear?

Everyone began to look nervous. The taciturn Bai Yushu said, “This is a strange place that defies conventional wisdom. The flowers here aren’t flowers; the fog here isn’t fog. There’s more to this tunnel than meets the eye.”

Zhiluan covered his eyes. “You’re right, you’re absolutely right! I didn’t see anything! We must not enter!”

Bai Yushu smiled gently. “Brother Zhi, you misunderstand me. I mean that the tunnel may be a hint from the Immortals, and not something evil.”

No matter how the rest looked at it, however, they couldn’t see the tunnel as a hint from the Immortals. Even so, the cave was anything but safe and they couldn’t even imagine how many vicious spirits and evil creatures had gathered outside. It was now just a little after evening time, but once midnight arrived, that would be the time when dark energy would be at its densest. When the time comes, the ghosts would walk on the earth. The consequences were unimaginable.

Noticing Xiao Chen’s hesitation, Qingluan asked, “Master, do you still remember the hidden palace in the Forest of Illusory Moon?”

Xiao Chen nodded, understanding what she meant. When they accidentally entered the Abyss of the Nether Spirits while pursuing the Leopard Cat Spirit, they spent the night being hounded by the Phantom King. They eventually trespassed into a hidden palace. The palace that appeared to be the most dangerous place turned out to be a place where they could safely spend the night in.

However, this place wasn’t like the Forest of Illusory Moon. His every decision would affect the life and death of the group.

Right then, a high-pitched whistling erupted from outside the cave. It was hair-raising to hear such a thing in the middle of the night, especially when the sound got closer and closer. Qingyu stomped her feet in a panic. “Wh-what do we do? Th-The ghosts are here again!”

Though she was a cultivator, she was ultimately a woman. It was natural for her to be scared of these filthy creatures. She glared at Zhou Li next to her. “It’s all your fault for insisting I should come!”

Zhou Li rubbed his head, not knowing what to do. “Relax! Even if I die, I promise I’ll protect you!”

When their voices faded, all the rest heard was the sound of the ghost creeping closer and closer. There must be over ten thousand spirits outside. Xiao Chen then made his decision. “Follow me!” He became the first to charge into the tunnel. Behind him, Zhiluan cried, “I’d rather be turned into medicine than be eaten by evil spirits!” Then, he followed right after Xiao Chen.

The rest followed suit. The tunnel was spacious enough for three to four people to cross shoulder-to-shoulder. Xiao Chen and Xiaoyue stood in the frontline, opening up a path for the group. Xu Gu and Yu Yifeng held up the rear to stop the never-ending flow of Nether Spirits charging in.

The high-pitched hissing and screeching instantly filled the entire tunnel, causing everyone’s scalp to feel numb. The tens of thousands of Nether Spirits appeared to fear nothing. The moment one wave was eradicated, another wave would surge up in an endless fashion. Perhaps even a Nirvana Realm expert would find this endless supply of vicious spirits difficult to deal with.

The group had been walking for half an hour but, as if headed to the Underworld, the tunnel seemed endless. Behind them, the Nether Spirits were filling the tunnel like a torrent of water. Soon, Xu Gu and the rest weren’t able to keep up the defense anymore. Even with a Dharma at Grand Completion Realm, these vicious spirits nonetheless rendered them helpless.

“The bright heaven, earth, sun, and moon! The Immemorial Taixu’s Seal!”

It wasn’t until Xiao Chen cast a Dao spell enveloped in white glow behind them that Xu Gu was able to barely ward off the next wave of spirits. Right then, the Nether Spirits that came surging in began to retreat like the tide. Meanwhile, the group finally made it out of the tunnel and the space in front of them became a lot more spacious.

“D*mn it! These spirits aren’t chasing us anymore!” Ling Fei was somewhat frustrated exasperated. Being the child of a wealthy and influential family, he had never been reduced into such a pathetic state in his life.

“Wait a minute! What’s that in front…”