Chapter 29: The Inevitable Battle
Luo Xue’s plan was simple.
She wanted to use the detonation of the Xuanyin Puppet Refining Formation to catch Daoist Ziyang off guard, and while he was busy dealing with the Yin Breath Poison, she would take Su Yiyao and flee to the depths.
Ultimately, she hoped to find a way to leave Mount Fengyin in the innermost courtyard.
Her earlier questioning had confirmed that Daoist Ziyang had never ventured deep into Mount Fengyin and was unaware of the secrets within.
In other words, Daoist Ziyang was relying solely on his cultivation to resist the Yin Breath Poison, and his cultivation wasn’t enough to withstand the poison in the depths of Mount Fengyin.
At this point, things became very simple.
But before Luo Xue could push the coffin deeper, she noticed something was wrong.
“The concentration of Yin Breath Poison around here… why is it still increasing?”
Using the concentration within the Xuanyin Puppet Refining Formation as a baseline, the initial concentration outside was 0.1. After Luo Xue detonated the formation, it rose to around 0.3.
She had expected it to stabilize around 0.5, as even in the depths of Mount Fengyin, the concentration was only between 1 and 1.2.
But now, the concentration of Yin Breath Poison had exceeded 0.5 and showed no signs of stopping.
“You wretched girl! By doing this, you’ve completely disrupted the cycle of Yin Poison on Mount Fengyin. How… how dare you!”
Daoist Ziyang roared hysterically. His protective spiritual energy was already struggling to withstand the 0.5 concentration of Yin Breath Poison.
Spots of decay appeared on his body, and his face was riddled with holes, looking terrifying.
“Madman… You’re the madman! By doing this, you’re planning to kill everyone here!”
At this moment, fear appeared in Daoist Ziyang’s eyes.
He no longer pursued Luo Xue but stumbled and ran frantically outwards.
Everything Daoist Ziyang had done, the grand scheme he had laid out, was for the sake of survival.
When his life was threatened, he abandoned everything without hesitation, trying to escape this disaster.
But at that moment, the surging Yin Breath Poison also disrupted the unstable formation used to refine the Xuanyin Gu Seed, and a heaven-shaking explosion erupted.
Luo Xue looked up, seeing countless fragments of the courtyard thrown high into the air, the ground trembling for a long time.
This explosion also affected the depths of Mount Fengyin, causing an even more intense surge of Yin Breath Poison, leaving no place untouched.
“Damn it!”
Luo Xue was startled. She hadn’t expected this outcome.
She seemed to have… made a huge mess.
If they stayed any longer, the concentration would likely reach 1 or higher.
Luo Xue knew her limit was around 1.5. Any higher, and she would instantly turn into a dried corpse.
Adding points to poison resistance wasn’t omnipotent. Reaching a concentration of 1.5 was akin to bathing in Yin Poison, a constant, all-encompassing, inescapable bath.
She had to change her plan.
There was no way… they could continue deeper into Mount Fengyin now.
“Escape Mount Fengyin immediately!”
Luo Xue made a swift decision, pushing the coffin and running towards the sea as fast as she could, following the route she had memorized.
The illusion that had enveloped Mount Fengyin was now almost completely eroded by the Yin Breath Poison, revealing a terrifying corner of the mountain.
The residual fluctuations from the explosion of the refining formation hadn’t ended. Unstable formation fragments appeared from time to time, detonating under the catalysis of the Yin Breath Poison.
Not many, but enough to make Luo Xue’s escape extremely difficult.
She also saw the dismembered limbs of Huang Xinya and Yu Yiling.
The two girls, barely past childhood, died with their eyes wide open, their expressions filled with confusion and fear, just like Li Zining before them.
They had already died before the formation exploded, but the explosion had denied them a complete corpse.
Mount Fengyin now resembled the apocalypse.
“And I haven’t even reached the Innate Realm…”
Luo Xue was suffering.
Although she was constantly coughing up blood, she didn’t stop running.
Su Yiyao, inside the coffin, was worried and tried to lift the lid to check on the situation, but Luo Xue stopped her.
“Xiao Yao, wait a bit. With the current concentration of Yin Poison, you might be in danger…”
Luo Xue’s voice was weak. She wasn’t afraid of the Yin Poison.
But the shockwaves from the explosions and extreme exhaustion were taking their toll.
Fortunately, Luo Xue’s willpower was strong. After an unknown amount of time, she finally reached the shore.
The illusion of Mount Fengyin had already been destroyed. One step forward was the foul swamp filled with poisonous creatures and terrifying beasts.
The encroaching swamp had submerged the small raft that Luo Xue had spent so much effort building.
The entire raft was pitted and corroded by the swamp water. One could imagine the horrific outcome if Luo Xue had risked leaving on the raft.
However, Luo Xue no longer needed the raft.
She had the coffin.
This coffin, which had been soaked in a concentration of 1 Yin Breath Poison for an unknown number of years without being destroyed, was definitely made of top-quality material. A mere foul swamp was nothing to it.
“Xiao Yao… come out.”
Luo Xue slumped beside the coffin. Xiao Yao quickly emerged and helped her up.
“Ah Chou, you…”
Su Yiyao was at a loss, but Luo Xue waved her hand and said,
“I’m fine, just tired.”
And injured by the aftershocks of the explosions.
Luo Xue briefly sensed her surroundings. The concentration of Yin Poison was around 0.2, which Su Yiyao’s constitution could still withstand.
However, the concentration was still rising.
And… the previously escaped Daoist Ziyang was still nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s go, get on the coffin.”
Luo Xue composed herself and looked at her remaining survival points.
“Only 20 points left…”
Luo Xue didn’t hesitate and used them to improve her survival status.
But this time, it didn’t cost 10 points, but 15.
Because Luo Xue’s cultivation had increased, the cost of improvement had also increased.
“…Is this considered a scam?”
Luo Xue muttered weakly.
Scam or not, the survival points had to be spent.
They couldn’t afford to delay any longer. Luo Xue and Su Yiyao immediately pushed the coffin into the swamp and planned to use the coffin lid as a paddle.
But before they could get on the coffin, a terrifying aura came from behind.
“Daoist Ziyang…”
Luo Xue’s heart tightened, and she looked back.
In the Yin Poison-filled Mount Fengyin, a gaunt figure stumbled towards them.
Soon, Daoist Ziyang appeared.
But… he had become a skeleton.
Dry skin clung tightly to his bones, his beating heart pushing his ribs apart, and his eye sockets were pitch black.
There was no trace of spiritual power on him. All his Foundation Establishment cultivation had been eroded by the Yin Breath Poison, leaving only a withered, dying body.
The skeleton locked its aura onto Luo Xue, stumbling towards her with a single-minded determination.
“It’s you… it’s all you…”
A hoarse voice, barely recognizable, came from his throat, filled with deep-seated hatred.
“Why… did you have to ruin my grand plan…”
“Why!!!”
Luo Xue knew that if she didn’t deal with Daoist Ziyang, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Moreover, if Daoist Ziyang deliberately damaged the coffin, it would be a real dead end.
“…There’s an inevitable battle.”
Luo Xue sighed, took out her short sword, and stepped off the coffin.
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