Soul Separation
The eerie winds blowing from the Nine Nether Cave continued as before. Yue Qianchou had been inside for almost half a month without any reaction. The group of people waiting outside the cave were growing increasingly disheartened, almost all of them having a bad feeling, but they still held on outside, clinging to a sliver of hope.
A clanging sound faintly came from inside the cave. The ten ghost generals guarding the cave entrance were the first to hear it and all turned around sharply. Although the people on the opposite cliff top were not as close as them and did not hear the sound, they were all attracted by their unusual behavior.
Could it be that Yue Qianchou has returned? The same thought flashed through everyone's minds, and they all stared at the cave entrance.
The guards at the cave entrance didn't see anyone emerge, but they did see some dark stones tumbling weakly one after another until they stopped not far from the cave entrance. The wind at the entrance must have weakened, unable to blow the stones any further. Two ghost generals slipped inside, picked up a few stones, and were immediately astonished. They nodded, then shot out of the cave and flew to Yu Ji's side on the opposite cliff top.
"Madam, look, this is Nether Iron. Not far from the cave entrance, a lot of it was blown out by the wind, and there are faint sword marks from digging on it," a ghost general said, handing over the Nether Iron.
Yu Ji took the Nether Iron, her eyes brightening again, and instructed, "You two quickly go and collect all the Nether Iron you can find at the cave entrance."
The two generals obeyed, and soon they had piled up a large amount of Nether Iron on the cliff top. A group of people gathered to watch. After examining it, Zhang Ling stood up and said to Yu Ji, "Madam, Nether Iron is impervious to Yin Wind and Black Fiend Wind Blade. Ordinary Law Artifact are useless against it. Each piece of Nether Iron bears sword marks, clearly indicating it was dug out with a sword. It seems that you, sir, possess an extremely powerful sword capable of easily digging through Nether Iron. This action is very likely because you are digging for Nether Iron to resist the Black Fiend Wind Blade." His judgment was correct; this Nether Iron was indeed blown out by the wind when Yue Qianchou first started digging the tunnel.
"Not bad." Yu Ji smiled easily and said, "Sir, you are a disciple of the Punishment Envoy. It's not surprising that you have one or two extremely powerful treasures."
Everyone nodded in agreement. If Yue Qianchou had heard this, he would have simply retorted, "Pah! What a load of rubbish!"
The woman in Ziyi frowned and said, "Madam, Yue Qianchou went in with that old Yan Tuo. Yan Tuo's cultivation is much higher than Yue Qianchou's. Why are you so sure that these things were made by Yue Qianchou and not by that old Yan Tuo?"
Yu Ji glanced at the smiling crowd, then looked at the Nine Nether Cave and laughed, "The Nine Nether Cave is a passage from the human world to the underworld. How can an ordinary person pass through it? The closest place with Nether Iron is at the end of the second bend of the passage. Not to mention the deeper parts, even that place is rarely reached by anyone other than Yan Tuo, except for ghost cultivators at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage of late Ghost King stage, and even human experts at the early Tribulation stage Yan Tuo. So, Yan Tuo is doomed if he can't even get there."
"Yue Qianchou's cultivation level is even lower, so it's even less likely that he could have gone there." Ziyi reaffirmed her skepticism.
Seeing that she still hadn't figured it out, Yu Ji patiently explained, "Logically speaking, with your cultivation level, it would be difficult for you to stay at the cave entrance for long. Did you see the blue flames that ignited on your body before you entered the cave? That must have been your reliance for entering. Also, did you notice that Yan Tuo empty-handed before entering the cave? We couldn't have allowed him to carry anything that could threaten your safety, so the Xuan Iron that came out earlier couldn't have been brought in by Yan Tuo, and it's even less likely that he had any treasures to dig up the Nether Iron in front of us. Moreover, although your cultivation level isn't high, your Law Power is profound. I personally witnessed him kill a Demon King at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage Transcending Realm with a wave of his hand. Yan Tuo, who is early Tribulation stage Realm, would naturally be no problem for you to deal with."
The Demon King she mentioned who was killed was none other than You Fengjiao, but this was clearly the first time everyone had heard her talk about it, and they were all secretly surprised.
Ziyi's expression changed. She suddenly remembered what her master had told her: if there was danger, she should run first, as that kid was perfectly capable of protecting himself. Now it seemed that what her master said was true. Yue Qianchou could even destroy Demon King at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage, so he was indeed capable of protecting himself.
Once she made up her mind, she reneged on her decision at a crucial moment, leaving Yue Qianchou amused and exasperated, almost calling her "Grandma." But that's a story for later; let's return to Yue Qianchou.
In the critical situation, Yue Qianchou gradually fell into a coma and finally collapsed to the ground. The green flames on his body had all been withdrawn into his body. Fortunately, the black evil energy was flowing into the cave from the top of the cave, otherwise it would have been disastrous.
In a daze, Yue Qianchou suddenly opened his eyes and woke up, finding himself lying on the ground. He quickly got up. Just as he was relieved that he was alright, he suddenly saw someone lying at his feet and was startled. He thought to himself, "Could someone have also broken in and fainted like me?"
When Yue Qianchou bent down and saw the person's appearance clearly, he was struck dumb and took several steps back... If he wasn't mistaken, the person looked exactly like him, and the person's clothes and accessories were clearly his own.
Filled with doubt and unease, Yue Qianchou squatted down, intending to turn the man around for a thorough examination to dispel his suspicions. However, when his hand touched the man, it seemed to pass right through his body, leaving him unsure whether the man on the ground was an illusion or himself.
How could this be? Could it be... could it be...? A chilling possibility occurred to him: he might already be dead, or his soul might have left his body.
Startled, he numbly shook his head and stepped back, unable to accept this outcome. Unexpectedly, after moving a short distance from the person lying on the ground, he suddenly floated up, and a powerful suction force emanated from the red-glowing end of the passage, dragging him away.
"No! I haven't lived enough yet, I don't want to die!" Yue Qianchou struggled desperately in the air, but to no avail. The Unseen force was irresistible to him.
Just then, a burst of golden light suddenly emanated from the person lying on the ground, followed by a silver beam of light as brilliant as a galaxy, which directly enveloped Yue Qianchou, who was struggling in the air, severing the power from the Unseen and slowly pulling him back...
The scenery before Yue Qianchou suddenly changed, and he found himself in the vast and magnificent universe. The universe was boundless, with brilliant stars and nebulae composed of countless stars, eternal, lonely, desolate, ancient, and beautiful. He was floating in the endless universe.
"Damn it! Am I dreaming?" Yue Qianchou was stunned, not understanding what was going on, when suddenly everything went black and he fainted again.
After a long while, Yue Qianchou, who was lying on the ground, opened his eyes again and jumped up abruptly. He looked around anxiously, but didn't see the person he had seen in his dream. He then patted his body all over, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He patted his chest and said with relief, "Thank goodness, thank goodness! No wonder I ended up in space again. There aren't any sci-fi blockbusters to watch now! It was just a dream. It almost scared the hell out of me..."
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