Encountering Obstacles at Jue Sha Ridge

Leaving the Black Desert, the malevolent energy in the world seemed to have thinned slightly, but the desolation and danger remained.

Li Su and Zhiwei traveled together, one speeding along the ground with his bamboo roots, starlight faintly visible; the other, a dim streak of escape light, her rabbit ears alertly perked. Neither dared to be careless, their divine senses constantly scanning their surroundings.

Following the direction indicated by the resonance between the "Bedrock Rune" and the Moon Essence Stone Core, they headed northwest.

Along the way, they occasionally encountered scattered fierce beasts, all quickly dealt with by Li Su's thunderous methods, either with the Soul-Devouring Dark Light or the Stellar Evil Energy bamboo leaf blades, without causing much of a stir.

Although Zhiwei's strength was slightly weaker, her earth-遁 (earth-遁) technique was exquisite. She would sometimes burrow underground to scout ahead, and other times set up simple warning restrictions, proving to be quite helpful.

Several days later, a majestic, towering mountain range, entirely dark red, blocked their path.

The mountain range stretched for an unknown number of miles, its peaks piercing the dim clouds. Not a blade of grass grew on its body, only rugged rocks and flowing, dark red streams emanating a dense, malevolent energy.

The entire mountain range was permeated with a suffocating sense of deathly stillness and extinction.

"Such terrifying malevolent energy..." Zhiwei's face turned pale. Staring at the mountain range, she felt an instinctive fear.

"Fellow Daoist Mo Xing, the concentration of malevolent energy here far surpasses anything we've seen before. I fear this is an extremely perilous place."

Li Su's bamboo body swayed slightly as his divine sense carefully scanned the mountain range. This mountain's malevolent energy was not only dense but also carried a characteristic of "extinction," capable of eroding vitality and wearing down spiritual essence. It was indeed no small matter.

The direction indicated by the "Bedrock Rune" was to traverse this mountain range.

"Although this mountain is dangerous, since it's the only way, we must brave it."

Li Su said in a deep voice, "Follow me closely, conceal your aura, and we'll find a pass where the malevolent energy is relatively sparse to get through."

The two cautiously searched along the foot of the mountain, finally choosing a recessed area between two peaks. Here, the flow of malevolent energy was relatively calm, and its concentration was slightly lower.

However, just as they were preparing to pass through, two figures suddenly emerged from behind the rocks ahead, blocking their path.

They were two cultivators dressed in dark red daoist robes, with sinister expressions. One was tall, the other short. Their auras blended seamlessly with this Jue Sha Ridge, and both were at the late Earth Immortal stage.

Their eyes greedily swept over Li Su and Zhiwei, lingering for a moment particularly on Li Su's ink bamboo body, which shimmered with starlight, and Zhiwei's storage bag, which concealed the Moon Essence Stone Core.

"Halt!" the tall cultivator shouted coldly. "This is the territory of Jue Sha Ridge. To pass this way, you must leave behind tribute!"

The short cultivator licked his lips and sneered, "Tsk tsk, a Star-Patterned Black Bamboo that has achieved sentience, and a rabbit demon, tender and delicate... quite rare goods.

The bamboo can be used to refine banner poles, and the rabbit demon for alchemy or as a cauldron. Both are excellent."

Zhiwei's face turned deathly pale with fright, and she instinctively hid behind Li Su.

Li Su's bamboo body remained still, his divine sense calmly sweeping over the two. "Fellow Daoists, stopping us here, aren't you afraid of provoking someone you shouldn't?"

"Hahaha!" the tall cultivator roared. "In this Jue Sha Ridge, our Fiend Blood Sect is heaven!

Seeing that your cultivation is only at the mid-Earth Immortal stage, mere rogue cultivators, what background could you possibly have?

If you know what's good for you, obediently hand over all your treasures, and perhaps we'll leave you with a whole corpse!"

Fiend Blood Sect? Li Su noted the name in his heart. It seemed to be an evil sect lurking around Jue Sha Ridge, specializing in this kind of robbery and murder.

"Since that's the case, there's nothing more to say." Li Su transmitted his voice to Zhiwei, "Prepare to fight, and let's finish this quickly!"

Before his words had even fallen, Li Su's bamboo body suddenly trembled!

The "Secluded Bamboo Trapping Array" he had secretly set up with his bamboo roots instantly activated!

Countless bamboo root phantoms, shimmering with dark light, pierced out from the ground, entangling the two Fiend Blood Sect cultivators! Simultaneously, several Soul-Devouring Dark Lights silently shot towards their foreheads!

"Hmph! Petty tricks!" the tall cultivator snorted coldly. Seemingly prepared, the dark red daoist robe on his body lit up with blood-red light, repelling and corroding the entangling bamboo root phantoms.

He spat out a small white bone shield, which spun and blocked the Soul-Devouring Dark Light. Although the bone shield wasn't broken, its spiritual light dimmed, causing him to grunt.

The short cultivator, however, conjured a blood-red saber, slashing apart the bamboo root phantoms, and grinning menacingly as he lunged at Zhiwei. "I'll take you down first, little rabbit!"

Although Zhiwei was scared, she knew this was a matter of life and death. Gritting her teeth, she conjured her twin blades and used her earth-escape technique to parry him. Her movements were agile, and for a time, she didn't fall behind.

Seeing this, Li Su knew that ordinary methods wouldn't quickly subdue these two.

The light on his bamboo body changed again. On his nine-segmented bamboo body, those specks of starlight suddenly lit up!

"Star net spread, trap!"

Using himself as the core of the array, and the cosmic starlight and earth vein malevolent energy as the foundation, he instantly set up a more advanced trapping array recorded in the "Minor Chiliad Array Analysis"—the Minor Star Net Array!

Although it was only a simplified version, and it utilized the environmental malevolent energy of Jue Sha Ridge, its power was already extraordinary!

In an instant, the two Fiend Blood Sect cultivators felt the scene before them change drastically, as if they had fallen into a vast starry sky. Stars spun all around them, above, below, left, and right, making it impossible to discern direction. The pressure on their bodies increased sharply, and their movements suddenly became sluggish!

"An array?

How can he wield such an exquisite array?!" the tall cultivator exclaimed in shock. He had thought the opponent was just an ordinary spirit beast, but he never expected them to instantly set up such a trapping array!

"Senior brother, be careful!" the short cultivator also panicked, wildly slashing his blood saber, but it seemed to strike empty air.

"Now!"

Li Su's divine sense locked onto the short cultivator. A Soul-Devouring Dark Light, condensed with more Stellar Evil Energy, shot out fiercely!

At the same time, several of his bamboo leaves transformed into sharp blades, cooperating with Zhiwei's sneak attack from underground!

Pfft!

The short cultivator, disoriented by the trapping array and reacting a beat too late, with his footing disrupted by Zhiwei's earth-遁 technique, was struck in the back by the Soul-Devouring Dark Light. With a scream, his soul in agony, his movements froze! Immediately after, the bamboo leaf blades and Zhiwei's short blades struck simultaneously!

Blood splattered! The short cultivator was instantly heavily wounded and fell to the ground!

"Junior Brother!" The tall cultivator's eyes were bloodshot, and he frantically urged his magic power, trying to break through the array to rescue him.

But how could Li Su give him a chance? The power of the array suppressed him with full force, while more bamboo leaf blades and Soul-Devouring Dark Light attacked him like a storm!

The tall cultivator struggled to cope. His daoist robe's blood-red light dimmed, and cracks spread across his small bone shield. He was clearly about to collapse.

A flash of fear and ferocity crossed his eyes. He slammed his chest, spitting out a mouthful of vital blood onto the small bone shield!

"Fiend Blood Escape!"

The small shield exploded with a roar. The powerful impact temporarily broke the array's restraint. He transformed into a streak of blood-red light, abandoning his heavily injured fellow disciple, and instantly fled towards the depths of Jue Sha Ridge!

Li Su did not pursue. It was difficult to keep a late-stage Earth Immortal cultivator who was desperately fleeing.

He quickly put away the array. With a sweep of his bamboo roots, he collected the heavily injured and unconscious short cultivator, along with his dropped storage bag and blood saber.

"Let's go! We can't stay here!" Li Su said to Zhiwei.

The Fiend Blood Sect had a presence here, and the commotion just now was significant. Stronger cultivators would likely arrive soon.

Zhiwei nodded, still shaken. The two immediately used their techniques and traversed the mountain pass at top speed, disappearing to the other side of Jue Sha Ridge.

Only after traveling nearly ten thousand miles away from Jue Sha Ridge did they stop to catch their breath.

"That was close... Thank you for saving me again, fellow cultivator," Zhiwei said, her voice filled with lingering fear. She looked at Li Su with even more admiration.

She hadn't expected Li Su to not only be powerful but also proficient in such a formidable array.

Li Su's bamboo body swayed as he examined his spoils. In the short cultivator's storage bag, besides some blood-fiend-type pills, materials, and a few hundred low-grade spirit stones, there was a jade slip recording the Fiend Blood Spirit Refining Art.

It seemed to be a cultivation technique of the Fiend Blood Sect, extremely sinister and useless to him, but perhaps it could offer some insight into controlling fiend energy. His greatest gain, however, was testing the might of his array through actual combat.

"It's nothing. After this battle, we need to be even more careful. These heretical sects are vengeful," Li Su warned.

He looked towards the northwest. The "Bedrock Rune" still resonated clearly.

After resting, the two set off again. However, after the battle at Jue Sha Ridge, their trust and tacit understanding seemed to have deepened.