Shearing Senior Sister's Wool

That day, after she slaughtered the Ghost-Faced Crab, she had accidentally discovered that the mire was extremely special.

Within it was a powerful medicinal nature, one that was not even inferior to a grade-two spirit plant.

So she had collected the mire. Later, when she passed by Cangwu Mountain, she had unexpectedly discovered the Spirit River Phantom!

Even more miraculous was that she had verified it: the Spirit River Phantom seemed to be visible only to her.

She knew Cangwu Mountain had to be hiding a great secret!

Thus, she searched through all kinds of ancient texts and finally found some secret accounts.

It was said that the reason the Fire Kingdom had been able to establish itself back then was inextricably linked, by countless threads, to the spirit beasts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

To repay the spirit beasts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the emperor of the Fire Kingdom had once set up altars in the Hundred Thousand Mountains to enshrine them.

It was precisely because of this that she had secretly come to Cangwu Mountain, her goal being to investigate whether that Spirit River Phantom that had suddenly appeared was connected to an Innate Spirit Beast.

"The bloodline power of an Innate Spirit Beast is incomparably strong. Any one that can reach adulthood will inevitably become a grade-five demon beast!"

Yao Yuzhi's eyes shone brilliantly. If she could obtain an Innate Spirit Beast, who in the Azure Cloud Sect would still be able to suppress her?

"Take me in. If you perform well, there will naturally be a reward." Yao Yuzhi put away her long halberd and gestured for Li Jun to lead the way.

"Yes, Senior Sister Yao."

Li Jun took a deep breath and brought Yao Yuzhi into the Ancient Tomb.

"Hm? I didn't expect there to be a place like this here."

Yao Yuzhi looked at the palace before her. It was indeed just as Li Jun had said.

Carved railings and jade steps, auspicious beasts and lucky clouds—at just one glance, it fully displayed royal grandeur. This place was definitely connected to the Fire Kingdom's imperial clan.

Seeing her reaction, Li Jun let out a long breath.

Just as he had guessed, without innate fire, she could not see the Ancient Tomb's original appearance.

And that also meant Yao Yuzhi could likewise see those black shadows.

Thinking of this, Li Jun already had an idea in his heart.

"Senior Sister Yao, this is that palace. In addition, around the central altar, there is also a mural that is extremely peculiar."

Yao Yuzhi nodded, signaling for him to lead the way ahead.

Li Jun brought Yao Yuzhi to the center of the Ancient Tomb. In his eyes, what stood before them was nothing more than a high platform piled from white bones.

But in Yao Yuzhi's eyes, this white-bone stone platform was an altar, exactly as he had seen it when he first arrived here.

"This mural is a little interesting. Could the thing up there really be an Innate Spirit Beast?"

She looked at the mural before her and did not feel there was anything particularly rare about it. The ancient texts had not recorded it either.

Instead, it was the silkworm cocoon on the altar that made her heart stir restlessly.

"That cocoon has dense vitality emerging from it. This time, I've really run into treasure!"

Yao Yuzhi took a deep breath, then leapt up and landed directly on the altar.

"Who's there!"

Suddenly, she let out a fierce shout. There was actually a black shadow on this altar.

The latter looked at her, revealing a deathly pale smile, and immediately charged at her to kill.

"Now!"

Li Jun broke into a wild run, turning around and fleeing at once.

"You little brat! You really do have a problem!"

Yao Yuzhi's gaze was vicious. Holding her long halberd, she was about to nail Li Jun dead right here.

However, the moment she turned her head, Li Jun's figure had actually disappeared.

After that, she saw a densely packed swarm of black shadows charging over to kill her!

On the other side, Li Jun watched Yao Yuzhi continuously swing her long halberd inside the Ancient Tomb.

In truth, there were no black shadows here at all. From his perspective, Yao Yuzhi was merely fighting the air, and yet the battle was still going back and forth.

"This place is damn strange. Yao Yuzhi is actually being forced into mortal danger by herself?"

Li Jun watched her. Just moments ago, she had actually sent herself flying backward and crashed hard into the wall.

Not long after, Yao Yuzhi spat several mouthfuls of fresh blood in succession, her aura immediately wilting.

"She was already injured to begin with. At this rate, she probably won't be able to hold on for long."

Li Jun watched everything, and his heart stirred slightly.

Afterward, he circulated the Mortal Concealment Art at full force to hide his aura, then stepped with the Shadow-Folding Wandering Dragon Step and charged straight toward Yao Yuzhi.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Do you know who I am?"

As Yao Yuzhi swung her long halberd, densely packed black shadows charged toward her.

Although she could cleave these things into ash with sheer force, these black shadows were actually undying and indestructible.

How were they supposed to fight this?

"Well, well, Li Youde! Once I get back, I'll flay your skin and pull out your bones! If you still have family, I'll have every last one of them exiled!"

Yao Yuzhi flew into a rage, swinging her halberd again to force back the black shadow before her.

Just then, another black shadow suddenly appeared in front of her, reaching one hand toward her chest.

"Damn it!"

Yao Yuzhi's gaze turned cold. She had just been about to counterattack when a swarm of black shadows appeared once more, surrounding her so tightly that not even water could seep through!

Suddenly, she felt her waist lighten. Her Qiankun Bag had actually been snatched away!

"Impudent! Leave it behind!"

Yao Yuzhi was furious. This was the last straw!

Her eyes flashed like lightning as she unleashed a powerful mid-grade spell, instantly knocking down a vast swath of black shadows.

However, within her field of vision, those black shadows actually formed again and charged toward her!

"Pfft!"

At the entrance to the Ancient Tomb, Li Jun opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Just now, he had been swept by the aftershock of Yao Yuzhi's mid-grade spell. If he had not made a new breakthrough this time, he probably would have been killed on the spot.

"As expected of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fortunately, this time wasn't a loss."

He glanced at the Storage Bag in his hand. This was the Storage Bag of Artifact Peak's chief disciple; surely it had some good things in it, right?

Li Jun took a deep breath, stuffed several Spirit Recovery Pills straight into his mouth, then rushed out of the Ancient Tomb without looking back.

He passed through the tomb passage, waded across a black underground river, and finally, relying on that strand of silkworm thread, evaded the pursuit of a Silkworm-type Monster Beast.

When he reached the surface, his whole body was covered in blood, his appearance utterly wretched.

"What's with this weather? Why is it still snowing?"

Li Jun looked around. After more than a month, he had returned to the surface again, and there was no longer any trace of the Cold Bone Ice Spider nearby.

However, whether it was the east side or the west side of Cangwu Mountain, in this vast black night, there was not the slightest glimmer of light.

Could it be that this entire mine vein had already been destroyed?

"No, I have to hurry and find a place to hide. If that Yao Yuzhi has some way to escape, I'll be in danger."

He took out a Flight Talisman and stuck it onto himself, roughly discerned the direction, and finally flew toward the depths of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

With such a great upheaval at Cangwu Mountain, the Azure Cloud Sect was sure to be in turmoil now.

Before he knew the exact situation, Li Jun planned to keep far away from the Azure Cloud Sect's encampment and fly deeper into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

One day later, Li Jun felt he had already reached his limit.

The winter cold current made his whole body tremble, and the wounds on his body kept splitting open. He could no longer continue flying.

"There's a mountain hollow over there. I'll recover a little first."

Li Jun slipped into a small mountain hollow and hid in the narrow space formed by cracks between the rocks.

He concealed the cave entrance, then took out medicinal powder and scattered it around the entrance to avoid exposing his tracks.

After that, he sat down cross-legged on the spot, stuffed several pills straight into his mouth, and closed his eyes to heal his injuries.

While Li Jun had his eyes closed, healing his injuries, on an unnamed mountain peak not far from him, the assassins of Dark Fragrance Hall were searching everywhere for something.

"Master, we haven't found any trace of Shen Xiyue. Did we perhaps search in the wrong direction?"

A man in black cupped his fists toward a figure.

"Impossible. She was hit by my poison and badly injured besides. She's already an arrow at the end of its flight. Surround the nearby area. I'd like to see how long she can hide."

The man in black accepted the order and withdrew. The latter removed her mask, revealing a cold, pretty face.

If Li Jun were present, he would certainly be extremely shocked, because this person was none other than Shen Xiyue's personal maid, Liu Pan'er, the one who had once schemed to kill him.