Divine Envoy Kaben knew the power of the Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder, a special move used by Heavenly Halberd Peak to guard the Wild Plains.
The most powerful move of Heavenly Halberd Peak is the Nine-Ring Interlocking Heaven-Smiting Thunder, which even Loose Immortal must avoid, and ordinary cultivators simply cannot withstand. He did not know that Li Qiang had already witnessed this terrifying heavenly thunder and suffered considerable losses.
Before Nashan could roar again, the Heaven-Smiting Thunder struck down, and in an instant, everything froze, as if even the heavens and earth had stopped turning.
A blinding white light flashed, "Crack... Boom!" Nashan and Paben were so shocked that they saw stars and their whole bodies trembled. Nashan gagged and grabbed Paben, his heart almost jumping out of his throat. He wanted to say something, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a single word.
The four interlocking Heaven-Smiting Thunder shattered the Great Soul Refining Formation in one blow, and tattered flags and a large amount of water vapor fluttered in the sky. Strangely, some things that should have appeared had disappeared without a trace. Countless Soul Refiners vanished, and the lake water appeared to be only half its original depth, looking extremely murky.
On a small island in the middle of the lake, a huge altar was revealed. On the altar was a deep hole leading underground, from which wisps of black smoke rose. Only the skeletons of eight spirit masters remained on the altar; everything else had vanished.
Geng Feng cursed, "Coward! All you do is run away! You bastard, you made me happy for nothing!"
Countless corpses lay beside the altar, their fates unknown—whether killed by the spirit master or struck by Heaven-Smiting Thunder. Apart from the eight skeletons on the altar, the rest of the area was littered with bodies, many of which were also found in the lake.
The group of cultivators slowly descended to the lake's surface. Someone remarked, "It escaped again. It seems the Demon -Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand is almost complete. Strange, it appears some cultivators were used by it this time."
Nashan looked around and said, " Old Pa, I feel like the boss is gone. I've never felt this clearly before. Yes, the boss is gone."
A strange feeling swept through Paben's mind. He said, "How strange, I have the same feeling. Master is gone."
Divine Envoy Kaben said, "What are you two talking about? Where did the boss go?"
Hong Qian said, "Stop looking. The boss is gone. I sensed it too."
Divine Envoy Kaben said, "This is terrible, will the boss still come? Luckily, some friends from Heavenly Halberd Peak are here too. I was planning to invite the boss to Heavenly Halberd Peak to discuss matters in the Wild Plains."
Nashan, quick to speak his mind, yelled, "What kind of bird, Heavenly Halberd Peak? All they do is bully the weak with numbers, and they even set a trap, causing our boss to suffer a huge loss..."
Hong Qian hurriedly shouted, " Nashan, shut up!"
Nashan ignored Hong Qian and continued, "The boss said we'll go to Heavenly Halberd Peak to seek justice..."
Hong Qian was extremely anxious, realizing things were in serious trouble. Divine Envoy Kaben shocked his heart nearly stopped, and it took him a long time to recover. Having seen countless people, he knew Li Qiang wasn't an arrogant individual; it was almost certain that someone from Heavenly Halberd Peak had caused the trouble. He inwardly groaned, knowing Li Qiang's background was terrifying. Not only did he have the powerful Chongxuan Sect and Primordial Beginning Sect behind him, but most importantly, he also had a Loose Immortal master, a rare find even in the Cultivation Realm. Kaben had personally witnessed his power; if the old man were to unleash his fury... Kaben dared not think any further.
Hong Qian knew Li Qiang's thoughts because he had spoken with him. Although Li Qiang was very angry, he did not intend to do anything to Heavenly Halberd Peak. He was just very disgusted by Heavenly Halberd Peak's actions and annoyed by their arrogance.
Hong Qian said, "It's not that serious, Uncle-Master was just saying that." He recounted in detail how Li Qiang and Ming Lingzi had become enemies. Divine Envoy Kaben listened with his hands and feet turning cold, and cold sweat broke out on his brow. If the people of Heavenly Halberd Peak had killed Li Qiang, this debt would be impossible to settle.
Geng Feng listened intently, his eyes narrowing slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing within them. He was pondering which side he would take if a fight broke out. Suddenly, he laughed and said, " Divine Envoy Kaben, hehe, you'd better handle this matter well, otherwise, hehe, I know Heavenly Melody City will definitely not allow anyone to bully Little Madman. Besides, I, Old Madman, am only helping Heavenly Halberd Peak because of Little Madman. If... hehe, don't blame me for going crazy."
Divine Envoy Kaben immediately at his wits' end. "Everyone, please don't act rashly. I'll take care of this immediately and give the boss a proper explanation, okay?"
Divine Envoy Kaben immediately went to find the cultivators of Heavenly Halberd Peak and discussed the matter with them.
Li Qiang chased after the Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand.
He had only been under the altar for a short while when the heavenly Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder above sounded. Li Qiang knew immediately that the cultivators from Heavenly Halberd Peak had arrived.
He had been struck by the Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder and knew it was extremely powerful, so he quickly dove to the bottom of the lake and released the Star-Absorbing Sword. Normally, one cannot use a flying sword while traveling on land, but his current Star-Absorbing Sword was different; it was a misty, True Illusion Sword Qi, no different from using it in the air.
The Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand did not wait for the final strike of the Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder. It seemed to be quite intelligent and knew that it could not withstand the Heaven-Smiting Thunder, so it immediately burrowed underground and fled. Li Qiang immediately gave chase.
The Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand could burrow underground at an extremely fast speed, trailing a dark tail as it nimbly moved through the ground. Li Qiang's Earth Traversal Technique was clearly inferior to itss, but fortunately, the Star-Absorbing Sword he released had an unexpected effect. He was completely enveloped in Sword Mist, like a giant fish swimming in water.
Li Qiang was puzzled. Hadn't he severed it outside the town? How come he couldn't see it at all now? Moreover, the altar on the lake couldn't have been built in just a few days. Could the Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand have been distracted? He really couldn't figure out the mystery.
Gradually, the speed of the Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand increased, and Li Qiang desperately urged his True Essence Power to chase after it. He didn't know how long he chased it, but just when he was about to lose sight of it, Li Qiang discovered that it had entered a tunnel.
Reaching the edge of the passageway, Li Qiang stopped. He was now very wary of passageways and the like. He released his Divine Sense and discovered that this was a maze of underground palaces, seemingly much larger than the Star Palace where Mo Huaiyuan of the Heavenly Court Star resided. After hesitating for a moment, Li Qiang decided to ascend to the surface and see where he was before making a decision.
The ascent started quickly, but things took a turn for the worse as they approached the ground. A powerful, sticky force gripped him, making Li Qiang feel as if he were sinking into quicksand, unable to struggle. He reacted quickly and immediately began to sink, knowing it was because the ground had become impenetrable. In fact, above him was the Wild Plains Wild Plains, and Li Qiang had unknowingly reached its heart.
To Li Qiang's horror, he seemed to be stuck. He couldn't help but smile bitterly; if he couldn't get out, he'd be buried alive, and he'd brought this upon himself. At this moment, the True Illusion Sword Qi came into play, and Li Qiang was like a sharp awl, spinning rapidly downwards. The True Illusion Sword Qi surrounded him, slicing through everything around him. Just as Li Qiang was spinning until he was dizzy, he finally broke free from this terrifying sticky force and fell into a tunnel.
Li Qiang grumbled angrily, "They're in again. Sigh! I guess I'm destined to be Ground Rat for life. I always end up in their holes. What a miserable life." Although he was a little annoyed, he was always easygoing. Calming himself down, he carefully examined the small passageway.
The passageway was only about one person high, with a circular cross-section and a slight downward slope. The air inside was murky and gloomy, without a trace of light.
Li Qiang sighed and walked down. He no longer needed light to clearly see everything around him, after all, he was now a Leaving the Body Realm stage expert, and his courage was many times greater than before. However, he still put on the Billowing Essence Battle Armor and wore the Radiant Sun Ring. Since leaving Earth, he had seen too many incredible things, and being cautious about everything was his principle.
A faint golden-blue light radiated from the armor, illuminating the uneven cave walls. Li Qiang had completely lost sight of the Overwhelming Annihilation Devil Wand and could not sense its presence. The surroundings were extremely quiet, with only the occasional sound of water droplets falling from the cave walls, the "drip-drip" sound making the cave seem even more eerily silent.
As Li Qiang descended the passageway, his Divine Sense probed along the narrow cave wall. Turning a corner, Li Qiang spotted a figure and was startled, as his Divine Sense had failed to detect the person's presence. He immediately unleashed his Star-Absorbing Sword, strange Sword Mist swirling around him.
He slowly approached and discovered that it was a kneeling skeleton, its flesh long since decayed, leaving only an empty skeleton, with fragments of armor scattered on the ground.
Li Qiang immediately determined that this was the remains of a cultivator, because there was a fist-sized hole in the skull, which was the exit that had been created when the Nascent Soul left the body. Li Qiang retracted the Star-Absorbing Sword back into his body.
"Crackling... whoosh!"
The skeleton suddenly collapsed, scattering bones all over the ground, revealing a storage belt.
Li Qiang reached out and picked it up. After a brief examination, he discovered that there were some other things inside the belt. He didn't have time to look at them closely, so he put the storage belt into his bracelet and continued forward. Not far away, a bright flash on the cave wall caught Li Qiang's attention. When he got closer, he found that it was a flying sword stuck in the wall, with only the tip of the sword showing.
Li Qiang drew his flying sword, glanced back at the skeleton, and knew that the flying sword must be his.
The flying sword was shaped like a willow leaf, with sharp blades at both ends, and was larger than ordinary flying swords. Li Qiang was now considered a master of weapon crafting, and he could tell at a glance that the flying sword was poorly made. The only thing that interested him was the material of the flying sword, which was a metal he had never seen before and seemed very special. He casually put it into his bracelet, not having time to study it for the time being.
The passageway narrowed, forcing Li Qiang to keep his head down. Suddenly, the Blue Light on the little Sea Demon flickered, and it let out a low cry before flying ahead.
Li Qiang was somewhat surprised and said, "What did you find? Little guy, come back. You'll get lost if you keep flying around here."
The little Sea Demon seemed a bit aggrieved. It let out two "coo-coo" sounds, flew back to Li Qiang's shoulder, and shook its little head. The long feathers on its head brushed against Li Qiang's cheek, making Li Qiang laugh and say, "You little rascal, don't move around, it tickles!"
They soon reached the end, where a blue brick wall blocked their path. Li Qiang knocked on it, but the sound was hollow, indicating that there was nothing behind it. The Star-Absorbing Sword suddenly surged forth, its Sword Mist silently penetrating the wall before swiftly retracting. The blue brick wall collapsed as if built of sand, revealing a dark, gaping hole. A chilling wind blew into the passageway, and behind the wall lay a large space.
Li Qiang leaned out and found that there was nothing below. He stepped out of the cave and was suspended in mid-air.
Under the faint glow of the Billowing Essence Battle Armor, he could see clearly that this was a super square hall with countless square blue brick pillars standing tall. The pillars varied in height, some reaching the ceiling and others only as tall as a person. Each half-height pillar had a statue on it, depicting an unknown monster. The carving was so realistic that at first glance, one might mistake them for living creatures.
Along the side were stone steps leading to a corridor, and many stone doors could be vaguely seen, all closed, their destinations unknown. All the walls were made of stacked blue bricks, each a foot square, arranged in an alternating pattern, appearing very neat.
Li Qiang was amazed; how much manpower and resources must have been needed to build something of this scale.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and it was unclear how long this place had been sealed off. Li Qiang landed gracefully and stood below, looking up at the gray expanse. The ceiling was at least tens of meters above the ground, making the entire hall appear very majestic and magnificent. He walked towards a strangely shaped stone table not far away, and as soon as he stepped on it, a soft "rustling" sound came from under his feet, as if he were walking on a beach.
Li Qiang squatted down and brushed away the thick layer of dust on the ground. To his surprise, he discovered that beneath the dust was a layer of gold sand a centimeter thick. He grabbed a handful, blew away the dust, and found that the gold sand was the size of rice grains, shimmering with a golden light under the glow of his armor.
Although money held no appeal for him, Li Qiang was still quite astonished to see the ground covered in gold dust. Having come from Earth, he knew how Earthlings felt about gold, and thought, "If this were discovered on Earth, wow! It would cause a sensation!"
He tossed the gold dust aside, dusted off his hands, and muttered to himself, "What a pity, it's useless to me."
The stone table was empty. Li Qiang noticed a slightly raised patch of dust on the table, easily overlooked if one wasn't paying attention. He reached out and brushed away the dust, revealing a thin, rectangular gold plate, about a foot long and half a foot wide. After wiping it clean, he discovered it was covered with incomprehensible characters, the lines of which were filled with different colors.
Li Qiang pondered for a moment, unable to understand its meaning, and casually put it into the bracelet.
Removing the gold plate revealed a fist-sized, red, star-shaped button on the stone table. Li Qiang pressed it out of curiosity, and the button retracted into the stone table. The surroundings remained silent, as if nothing had happened. Li Qiang was very puzzled. He had carefully explored the area with his Divine Sense and found no traps or ambushes, nor any formations commonly found in the Cultivation Realm. It seemed to be just an ordinary underground stone fortress.
The little Sea Demon suddenly took flight again, hovering above Li Qiang's head. A black phantom flashed past in front of it, and in an instant, the little Sea Demon's fur stood on end, and its body emitted a dazzling Blue Light, illuminating the entire Qing Shi Fortress.
Li Qiang suddenly heard a plea for mercy. "Spare me! Spare me! Don't come any closer! Waaah... Waaah!" It was a child's voice.
Li Qiang immediately stopped the little Sea Demon and shouted, "Who is it? Show yourself!"
All that could be heard was the child's voice. "Please, put away the Soul-Devouring Demon! I can't withstand its Blue Light. Please spare me!"
Li Qiang didn't know if it was Nascent Soul or a spirit. Remembering Mo Huaiyuan's appearance back then, his heart softened, and he said, "Come out, it won't hurt you."
The little Sea Demon was completely tamed. It chirped softly, flew back to Li Qiang's shoulder, closed its eyes, and the Blue Light on its body dimmed.
A moment later, a cold wind stirred up the dust on the ground, and a faint black shadow materialized in front of Li Qiang. Gradually, the shadow revealed its true form, which turned out to be a young girl, and she was naked. She had long black hair that moved without wind, vaguely covering her body, but her body was still faintly visible.
Li Qiang was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected to encounter a beautiful female ghost. Li Qiang tossed her a robe and said, "Put this on first." He then turned his head away.
The female ghost said timidly, "My lord, my cultivation is insufficient; I cannot wear clothes, nor can I conjure them. Please, my lord, spare me."
Li Qiang was both amused and exasperated, and said, "Then you don't need to reveal your true form. What's your name?"
The female ghost seemed to sense that Li Qiang meant no harm. She felt a peaceful State of Mind from this cultivator and couldn't help but secretly pray that he wouldn't take a liking to her, a mere Spirit Body.
She knew very well that if a spirit- Ghost Body like hers, formed from a Nascent Soul, were imprisoned by a cultivator, it would be an extremely tragic situation. She was forced to abandon her physical body at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, and if she hadn't found the extremely rare Form-Transforming Mushroom in this ancient castle, her Nascent Soul would have dissipated long ago.
Relying on the effects of the Form-Transforming Mushroom, she began to cultivate Spirit Body. With her unpredictable Spirit Body, she escaped several great calamities. However, this time she encountered Soul-Devouring Demon. She knew that she could not escape it no matter what, because the Soul-Devouring Demon was the natural enemy of souls Spirit Body. This particular Soul-Devouring Demon was especially powerful, as the Soul-Stabilizing Blue Light emanating from its body made her unable to move.
She said tremblingly, "My lord, my name is Gu Mei'er. You can just call me Mei'er."
Seeing that only her charming face was visible, with the rest of her body shrouded in blurry shadows, Li Qiang nodded and smiled, " Mei'er... that's an interesting name. How long have you been here? How did you get here?"
Gu Mei'er looked at the little Sea Demon with fear and said in a sweet voice, "My lord, I've been here for a long time. Mei'er don't know exactly how long I've lived here. I escaped from the Buddha Sect ruins above. Because I was poisoned by the Withering-Dispersal Poison Mist, I was forced to tear my own spirit in the passageway above, barely managing to escape my nascent Nascent Soul body. Later, I discovered this ancient castle and hid here to cultivate. Alas, but my Nascent Soul is too weak, so I had to switch to cultivating Spirit Body."
Li Qiang took out a storage belt he had picked up in the passageway and asked, "Is this yours?"
Mei'er was completely stunned. After a long while, her voice finally broke into a sob. "This is my storage belt... Waaah, it's mine! For so long... for so long..." Her voice grew softer and softer. If Ghost Body could cry, she would have cried her heart out, but she had no tears left to shed, only sobbing softly, feeling extremely desolate.
After a while, Gu Mei'er mustered up her courage and asked, "Can I touch it?"
Li Qiang laughed and said, "This is yours, here you go." He reached out and handed over the storage belt.
Mei'er shook her head and said, "I can't take it, because I haven't cultivated to the point of condensing oneness yet." She reached out and gently stroked her storage belt, her face showing a heartbroken expression.
After a while, she slowly floated back and whispered her thanks, "Thank you, sir."
Li Qiang sighed deeply, thinking, "The fate of cultivators who lose their physical bodies is so tragic. From Mo Huaiyuan to this little girl in front of me, it's all the same. No matter how powerful they were in life, it's all useless." He couldn't help but recall Old Man Kabaji's words, pondering, "If only I could help her." He said softly, " Mei'er, do you want to continue cultivating here, or come with me? This place is too gloomy and not fun."
Mei'er was terrified, her Spirit Body constantly gathering and dispersing. She trembled as she said, "My lord... my lord, please spare me! I... I'm just a small Spirit Body. Mei'er will never go out to harm anyone, and I've never devoured any other souls. I... I..." She dared not escape, for with the Soul-Devouring Demon nearby, she could not escape. She could only keep pleading desperately.
Li Qiang suddenly felt a pang of heartache. He took a step back and gently comforted her, " Mei'er, don't be afraid. I didn't force you to come with me, and I won't hurt you." He unconsciously used the Heavenly Melody City Han Sound Enchantment, his voice filled with strong sympathy.
Gu Mei'er slowly stopped trembling. She sensed Li Qiang's sincerity, but she was still very afraid. Stealing a glance at Li Qiang, she whispered, "My lord, Mei'er will stay here to cultivate. Mei'er dares not go out."
Li Qiang knew she was scared, so after thinking for a moment he said, " Mei'er, don't be afraid. Since you want to stay here, I won't force you. How about this, I'll build a defensive array for you. If there's any danger, you can hide inside the array. It should be able to block most cultivators, but it won't be able to stop powerful cultivators. Is that okay?"
Mei'er couldn't believe it. She had never seen a cultivator like this before. She asked in confusion, "Why? Why are you helping me like this? Mei'er doesn't understand." She really didn't understand. Even if Li Qiang had let her go, he wouldn't have needed to do anything for her. He could have simply left.
A sudden surge of intense regret overwhelmed her.