The deeper they went into the Black Wind Mountain Range, the more viscous and heavy the demonic energy in the air became, like undiluted ink, wrapping every inch of grass, trees, rocks, and stones.
All around was terrifyingly quiet.
Even the usual insects, birds, and animal sounds completely disappeared.
Only the occasional withered branch crushed underfoot made a soft crack, which sounded especially harsh in this dead silence.
Tang Xiaoqi held his breath.
His internal Spring Evergreen Technique secretly operated.
A trace of barely perceptible vitality-essence spiritual energy circulated through his body, resisting the demonic energy is omnipresent erosion.
The jade pendant on his chest continuously emitted a warm coolness, like a lighthouse in the darkness, guiding his direction.
That sense grew clearer and more intense, pointing straight ahead into the valley depths.
Third Senior Sister Liu Yun followed closely beside him.
Her face was taut, her hand on her sword hilt, her knuckles white from tension.
Although she was already at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivation, in such a dense demonic energy environment, the operation of her spiritual energy was inevitably sluggish.
She relied entirely on a sharp sword intent to forcefully cut open the oppression ahead.
Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng walked at the very front.
His steps were still steady, but the solemn aura he emitted showed his inner vigilance had risen to the highest level.
Even Second Senior Brother Luo Feng, usually the most lively, at this moment tightly closed his mouth.
His hand held several talismans flickering with hidden spiritual light.
His small eyes darted about, observing every trace of movement around them.
The rabbit spirit curled in Xiaoqi is embrace, its fluffy body trembling slightly.
Its red ruby-like eyes were full of fear, yet stared fixedly at what lay ahead.
It is just ahead.
Xiaoqi lowered his voice, breaking the suffocating silence.
Everyone followed his gaze.
At the end of the valley, the terrain suddenly opened up.
In the center of a relatively flat open ground, a pitch-black stone tablet about three people tall stood prominently.
On the tablet were carved twisted and squirming dark red runes.
Those runes seemed to possess life, greedily drawing in from the ground the wisps of black energy, transforming them into more refined, more violent demonic power, injecting into the constantly rotating dark vortex at the tablet is base that was the formation is core eye.
However, guarding in front of the formation eye was not an imagined ignorant demon.
An elderly man in dark purple robes embroidered with golden snakes sat cross-legged with eyes closed directly in front of the formation eye.
His face was withered, wrinkles deep like cut by knives.
Yet his aura was profound and immense, unmistakably at the peak of Foundation Establishment Late Stage, just one step away from condensing a Golden Core.
Simply sitting there, the spiritual pressure he emitted made the surrounding air seem to solidify.
Behind him, eight disciples also dressed in Shadow Snake Pavilion attire stood solemnly on both sides.
These disciples all had sharp eyes and, with the lowest cultivation also at Qi Refining Pinnacle, and three even reaching Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
At the moment of meeting, the purple-robed elder slowly opened his eyes.
Those were eyes without any human emotion, ice-cold and turbid, with a cruelty and mockery reminiscent of a snake eyeing its prey.
Heh Qingxu Temple is little mice have quite sharp noses.
The elder is voice was hoarse and dry, like sandpaper rubbing.
Unfortunately, sniffing where you should not sniff means seeking your own death.
Before the words finished, a majestic and mountainous spiritual pressure bore down like a collapsed mountain.
Mu Qingfeng, who was, gave a muffled groan.
The ground beneath his feet cracked in an inch.
But his waist and back remained straight.
He shouted: Form formation.
Liu Yun is sword moved with her body.
A clear sword light, like autumn water, bloomed, trying to tear this intangible oppression.
Luo Feng let out a strange cry.
His hands scattered talismans like they cost nothing, fireballs, wind blades, ice spikes crashing down on the elder and his disciples.
However, the purple-robed elder merely.
His sleeve casually waved.
A wave of icy cold demonic elemental force surged out, like a black tide, easily annihilating and dispersing those low-level talisman techniques.
The sword light that could chop through gold and,, merely, then could no longer advance.
Ants shaking a tree.
A mocking appeared at the corner of the elder is mouth.
The eight Shadow Snake Pavilion disciples behind him moved simultaneously.
Two by two, with tacit cooperation, like four leaving their sheaths, respectively engaging Mu Qingfeng, Liu Yun, Luo Feng, and Tang Xiaoqi.
Those attacking Xiaoqi were precisely the two at Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
One wielded a pair of poison-coated short daggers, with eerie footwork, specializing in attacking the lower body, their poison light flickering, carrying a.
The other waved a white bone banner.
When shaken, there came mournful ghostly shrieks directly assaulting the soul, along with gray-black vengeful ghost shadows pouncing.
Xiaoqi is heart tightened.
This was the first time he faced attacks from two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The huge realm gap brought a.
Yet he did not panic.
His feetShadow Dragon Nine Turns technique moved instinctively, he narrowly avoided the dagger is sneak attack.
Simultaneously, he drew the black iron wok from his back.
Clang.
A.
The wok and white bone banner hard collided.
Xiaoqi felt a.
His entire arm instantly became numb and sore.
His, he retreated several steps before.
The banner-wielding disciple also, clearly not expecting this seemingly to be so, able to hard block his magical artifact is strike.
The other poison dagger disciple had already like a shadow.
The Xiaoqi is.
At the critical moment, Xiaoqi could even smell the on the dagger.
He, the wok swinging back at an extremely, bang dagger is side, deflecting it.
But the opponent changed moves extremely quickly.
The other poison dagger was already like a poisonous snake leaving its hole, stabbing toward his throat.
Xiaoqi is pupils contracted.
The shadow of death instantly.
He felt the huge crisis like, making him cold from head to toe.
Facing this Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator is full-force attack, all his reliance footwork, the wok, even the purification power he had not fully mastered all seemed so at this moment.
The shadow of death had never been as clear and imminent as at this moment.