Once the spider corpses on both sides had piled up like mountains, the remaining Corpse Spiders realized they were no match. They wailed and retreated one after another.
Only then did the Kunlun disciples finally breathe a sigh of relief. Some were drenched in sweat, others had their clothes in disarray, and a few were so mentally exhausted that they simply dropped onto the ground and stared blankly at the spider corpses.
No matter what, this had been the first battle for most of the Kunlun disciples present.
The dark passageway and boundless tide of spiders had left quite a shadow on those who had only just entered the cultivation world.
Meanwhile, Senior Brother Qiu and Senior Sister Xu's formidable strength had also been etched deep into everyone's hearts. That went without saying.
After resting for a while, they continued onward.
Now that Qiu Changtian was leading the way, he had practically become the spiritual pillar of the Kunlun disciples. They all secretly congratulated themselves on having invited their senior brother along; otherwise, they might truly have been wiped out in this pitch-black underground.
[Invincible Persona, synchronization +1.]
Xu Yinglian walked silently beside him, feeling that something was off.
When we slaughtered those Corpse Spiders just now, Senior Brother and I were clearly evenly matched.
Why does it seem like Senior Brother ended up with most of the credit?
After traveling several hundred meters through the passageway, they entered a spacious place that resembled a palace chamber.
The chamber was octagonal, with eight entrances in its walls. They had entered through one of them.
An irregular pit, nearly a hundred square meters wide, lay at the center. Countless stone coffins were scattered about, surrounded by all manner of bones. Phosphorescent lights flickered here and there, and an eerie aura filled the air.
The Kunlun disciples all paled at the sight. This scene was clearly the remains of an ancient heretical sect.
No matter how powerful its treasures might be, disciples of our orthodox sect could not make use of them. We would also have to guard against sinister restrictions. It simply wasn't worth the risk.
Only the Corpse Spider corpses from earlier had some value for cultivating Daoist Magic that vanquished evil spirits. They could be handed over to the sect in exchange for spirit stones.
With that thought, the disciples all began urging their senior brother in unison. The place ahead was so sinister that he absolutely mustn't venture in alone. They might as well turn back now and collect the Corpse Spiders; every little bit would help.
Qiu Changtian took in their expressions and naturally understood what they were thinking. He pretended to ponder for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
Seeing that their senior brother had agreed, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief and began turning around.
"Which fiends are lurking in the shadows?" Qiu Changtian suddenly shouted. He raised the Yuyan Sword slightly, pointing it toward a certain cave ahead.
The Kunlun disciples jolted and hurriedly turned back to take up defensive positions.
From within the dark cave, a group of cultivators slowly emerged.
They were all wrapped in black robes trimmed with silver patterns, their hair bound with ancient hairpins, and bone clasps fastened at their shoulders. Their attire was unmistakably the same as that of the demonic cultivators they had encountered before—all disciples of the Yin Ghost Dao.
At their head stood a beautiful woman, heavily made up and dressed in finery.
She leaned languidly to one side and slowly parted her red lips. Yet the voice that emerged was a deep, resonant man's voice:
"Which fellow Daoists have trespassed upon the former grounds of our Yin Ghost Dao?"
Qiu Changtian watched him warily and said:
"We are disciples of the Kunlun Sect. We came here only to investigate the ley lines and happened to run into you. We mean no harm."
"Just a chance encounter?" The androgynous figure opposite him gave a faint, cold laugh. "You've gathered more than a dozen people and entered our underground palace, yet you claim to mean no harm?"
"If we hadn't arrived in time, those fine ancient corpses and bones in that pit would have been completely defiled by you orthodox disciples, wouldn't they?"
Qiu Changtian replied coldly:
"These ancient corpses and bones don't belong to your Yin Ghost Dao. They're relics of antiquity. We arrived first and have the right to take them. How we handle them is our business. What does it have to do with you?"
"What a joke. This place isn't ownerless. It's the former grounds of the ancient Yin Ghost Dao. How dare you Kunlun disciples trespass here!"
The man narrowed his almond-shaped eyes, then suddenly thrust out two fingers and chanted sharply:
"Chimei Wangliang, bind and slay with vengeful curses!"
"Brocade Cloud Falling Rain, Jade Rainbow Rising Smoke!" Qiu Changtian shouted. He activated the Daoist Magic imbued in the Yuyan Sword, shooting out countless blades of light that transformed in midair into a vast web of luminous strands.
Countless gray-white wraiths suddenly surged from the other man's sleeve and slammed viciously into the light net.
The light shattered and vanished; vengeful spirits shrieked. Qiu Changtian's expression changed as he realized that the other party was a Marrow Cleansing Stage Demonic Cultivator. He immediately warned them:
"Fall back!"
Even if he used his trump cards to wipe out these Yin Ghost Dao disciples, who knew whether that might draw out an even stronger enemy? Besides...
The adorable junior brothers and sisters behind him were all people he had painstakingly brought along on missions these past few days. They could skillfully help him farm synchronization points for his Invincible Persona.
If even one of them died here, he'd be heartbroken for ages!
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Yin Ghost Dao disciples all raised their arms and thrust out two fingers, pointing toward them from afar. They shouted in unison:
"Chimei Wangliang, bind and slay with vengeful curses!"
This sinister attack, whatever it was called—"Chimei Wangliang"—was clearly powerful. A single strike had been enough to shatter the Daoist Magic on Qiu Changtian's sword.
Now that several disciples were attacking all at once, how could Qiu Changtian block them all with Daoist Magic? He immediately retreated at a run and pointed up at the ceiling:
"Lightning and fire, Jade Pivot Divine Thunder—break!"
This was the Jade Pivot Thunder Qiu Changtian had acquired through cultivating the Divine Firmament Jade Pivot Five Thunder Orthodox Law.
Green light, crimson within—a palm-sized bolt of thunder shot out and exploded against the ceiling of the passageway.
The Yin Ghost Dao disciples felt the ground beneath their feet shake violently. They could barely keep their balance.
Looking ahead, they saw bricks and stones flying everywhere as clouds of dust filled the air, causing the countless gray-white wraiths they had unleashed to miss their mark.
Once everyone had dispersed the dust, they realized the passageway had been blasted shut, completely caved in.
"Senior Brother Wen, what should we do?" the Yin Ghost Dao disciples asked in unison.
The androgynous figure furrowed his delicately painted brows. After a long moment, he finally spat out a single word:
"Pursue!"
Meanwhile, the Kunlun disciples were sprinting back the way they had come. The person who had just exchanged techniques with their senior brother, as well as the Yin Ghost Sect disciples who had attacked afterward, had all been at the Marrow Cleansing Stage.
Their own group was packed with Qi Refining Stage cultivators. If they fought, they would have no chance of winning. All they could do was run as fast as they could, without even bothering about their senior brother, who had fallen behind.
Qiu Changtian brought up the rear to cover the group, while Xu Yinglian stayed beside him to assist. She asked quietly:
"Do you still have strength left?"
"Mm."
"Senior Brother's Lightning Magic is impressive," Xu Yinglian remarked.
The cave-in stretched more than ten meters. Even if she had used her Yujia Sword to blast it open with the Daoist Magic imbued in the blade, it would not have been nearly so easy.
Qiu Changtian didn't answer. Once his True Qi had recovered, he raised a finger toward the ceiling again and released another Jade Pivot Thunder, blasting the passageway behind them shut once more.
The Yin Ghost Sect disciples had unleashed every kind of spell and finally managed to blast the rubble blocking their way aside. But when they chased the Kunlun disciples to this spot, they found another cave-in. They were so furious they nearly spat blood, cursing "Kunlun bitches" as they set about clearing the path all over again.
The Kunlun group ran back to the place where they had fought the Corpse Spiders earlier. Qiu Changtian flicked his sleeve, sending out wisps of jade smoke that wrapped around several Corpse Spider corpses and drew them back into his sleeve.
The blockage he had made would buy them a little more time. They might as well collect a few more Corpse Spiders and recoup their losses.
Seeing their senior brother do this, the Kunlun disciples also released their flying swords.
In an instant, sword light swept through, and the piles of Corpse Spiders disappeared.
Once they had finished collecting them, Qiu Changtian formed another hand seal and unleashed thunder, collapsing the passageway behind them.
They ran and blasted their way along until they finally escaped the cave through the route they had come in by.
They immediately mounted their flying swords and headed toward Kunlun.
Who knew how long it had been before the Yin Ghost Dao disciples finally cleared the rubble blocking their way and saw daylight again.
When they emerged, they discovered that the Kunlun disciples had long since vanished.
"Senior Brother Wen," someone said uneasily. "Should we report this to the sect...?"
"Of course!" Senior Brother Wen narrowed his eyes and said viciously. "The last technique that man released was clearly Lightning Magic!"
"Lightning Magic?" The Yin Ghost Dao disciples exchanged looks, then their expressions changed dramatically.
Lightning Magic was the Five Thunder Orthodox Law. Because it was so dangerous to cultivate, it had become a rare sight in the world.
According to the ancient texts in their sect, thunder carried Killing Intent and naturally countered sinister demonic spells. Thus, Thunder Cultivators had always been the Yin Ghost Dao cultivators' sworn enemies.
If that man's Lightning Magic had struck the Yin Ghost Dao cultivators instead of the walls of the passageway, it would likely have left them sprawled everywhere, dead or dying.
Thinking back on it, the group realized they had just brushed past death. A powerful sense of relief welled up in them.
Yet not the slightest trace of relief showed on Senior Brother Wen's face, so beautiful and not quite male or female.
He knew that the Yin Ghost Dao disciples here surpassed the Kunlun Sect disciples opposite them by a wide margin, both in quality and quantity.
So if that Qi Refining Stage Thunder Cultivator had chosen to stay and fight, there was a good chance both sides would have suffered grievous losses.
Even if their side had taken heavy casualties, they would certainly have focused their attacks on the Thunder Cultivator first, killing him on the spot.
Yet the other party hadn't let the fact that Lightning Magic countered the Yin Ghost Dao tempt him into a reckless advance. Instead, he had retreated without hesitation, which had greatly exceeded Senior Brother Wen's expectations.
According to the ancient texts in the sect, the greatest weakness of Thunder Cultivators was "Killing Intent disrupting the spirit." Beginners often became irritable, hot-tempered, and combative from cultivating Lightning Magic.
In other words, the Thunder Cultivator they had encountered this time had a brain!
If they didn't investigate and eliminate him soon, he might become a grave threat to the sect in the future!
This is a transitional chapter. It may not seem to have much going on, but there are at least three or four foreshadowed plot points...
Before you continue