Chapter 434 : A Near Miss
434: A Near Miss
With Grand Achievement cultivation, Zhu Baiyi was matched in power throughout Mount Xuanyin only by the Nine Abyss Sect Leader. So when even she failed to detect another presence, this unexpected intervention truly caught everyone off guard.
Sect Leader Zhu herself was momentarily stunned before anger surged within her, prompting her to immediately launch an attack toward the retreating figure.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had just begun to relax and converse when this sudden development caught them completely by surprise. By the time they turned to look, not only had the pearl thief fled far, but Zhu Baiyi's attack had already been blocked—not by the fleeing figure intercepting it, but by another person who had emerged midway, directly using their body to absorb the attack.
All three present were startled, having never imagined that beyond the pearl thief, other individuals had been lurking nearby. This was truly humiliating—how could three high-level cultivators be ambushed like this?!
Yet that wasn't the most unacceptable part. Most shocking was that the person who had bodily intercepted the attack merely trembled upon impact before continuing as if unaffected... At least they appeared unaffected, pausing only momentarily before launching a counterattack, likely to delay the three and buy escape time for their companion.
This was extraordinarily unexpected, as that had been an enraged strike from a Grand Achievement cultivator—not something easily withstood.
Jiang Mo couldn't suppress her shock and glanced at Sect Leader Zhu, her eyes clearly reflecting surprise and even doubt: Had Sect Leader Zhu held back? Or had these months left her injured and weakened, her attacks lacking their former power?
Sensing the younger generation's blatant questioning gaze, Sect Leader Zhu's expression darkened. As if to prove her capability, she immediately attacked the figure charging toward her—her movements swift as lightning, her techniques particularly fierce. Several streams of spiritual light struck her opponent's vital points before observers could even discern how she had attacked.
Dantian, heart meridian, spirit platform—all crucial weaknesses for cultivators, none spared by Sect Leader Zhu. After landing her strike, she prepared to pursue the pearl thief, yet unexpectedly, the interceptor who had been hit merely trembled briefly before continuing their charge undeterred.
This time, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue witnessed the entire sequence, and their astonishment matched Zhu Baiyi's. Upon closer observation, they noticed something else and exclaimed: "Wait, isn't this one of those black-clothed people who sacrificed themselves for the formation? How is he still alive?!" Glancing at the retreating figure, they recognized the familiar attire there as well.
However, this wasn't the time to dwell on such details. Though shocked, when they saw Sect Leader Zhu impeded, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue also prepared to actively pursue. As for what their opponents had done, conclusions could wait until after capture.
The White Tiger and Swan Goose both possessed remarkable speed; despite their cultivation being a major realm below Sect Leader Zhu's, their pace was hardly inferior.
In less than the blink of an eye, the two vanished from their original positions. Yet before they could catch up to the initial fugitive, seven or eight black figures suddenly appeared before them, blocking their path.
The familiar attire prompted Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue to instinctively glance downward—where the formation had been established now lay a deep crater. The formation had vanished, as had the blood pool, leaving nothing but ruins.
Naturally, the bodies of those who had performed the sacrifice were nowhere to be seen.
A chill crept up Jiang Mo's spine. Looking again at those blocking their path, she found them excessively silent and gloomy. Closer inspection revealed their wooden, dull demeanor, like marionettes on strings... Or from another perspective, they resembled freshly deceased corpses possessed by evil spirits—terrifying from any angle.
"Are they... still human?" Jiang Mo gazed at the figures blocking their path, sensing deep yin energy emanating from them.
The other two, hearing this question, felt their hearts constrict, unable to answer.
In truth, the answer hardly mattered—what mattered was that the cultivation world ultimately respected strength, whether in life or death. Thus, after this exclamation, Jiang Mo was first to attack—though typically stingy, cowardly, and lazy, afraid of both insects and ghosts, with her Senior Sister watching, she couldn't appear too incompetent.
She manifested a layer of protective golden light around her body, illuminating her brilliantly, and this protection bolstered the little tiger's confidence. From a considerable distance, she struck out a palm toward the already fleeing figure, golden light gleaming.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The individuals that had proven insurmountable for Sect Leader Zhu were ultimately dispatched by Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue.
This time, Jiang Mo led the attack, discovering that these black-clothed figures particularly feared her spiritual energy. Wherever her golden light passed, large amounts of black mist dispersed from their bodies, and once this dispersal reached a certain threshold, these seemingly unkillable figures finally perished.
The only regret was that these black-clothed individuals showed absolutely no fear of death. Despite Jiang Mo's spiritual energy countering them, they charged forward recklessly. The strangeness surrounding these people forced Jiang Mo to remain cautious, and this hesitation slowed her movements. By the time the three broke free, the pearl thief had long vanished, and their pursuit proved fruitless.
Though the blood fiend beast situation had been resolved, this new complication left all three feeling heavy-hearted.
Zhu Baiyi, unwilling to accept defeat and feeling irritated, decided to continue searching nearby to try their luck. Jiang Mo, equally disgruntled, couldn't help but curse: "What kind of ghostly things are these, emerging from underground?!"
While grumbling, likely driven by her frustration, she returned to the original site to examine the black-clothed figures' corpses.
Perhaps she might find some clues, as they were still completely bewildered by the night's events.
However, reality proved Jiang Mo's hopes unfounded. Not only did her inspection yield nothing, but she received a terrible shock—though she had witnessed these black-clothed figures setting up the formation, and despite their bodies rapidly withering and shrinking after the blood sacrifice, their height and clothing had remained unchanged. Yet now, lifting the veil covering one's face, she discovered not a human face but a skull stripped of flesh.
Despite having killed before since arriving in the cultivation world, Jiang Mo still feared such sights. Her hand trembled involuntarily, causing the lifted veil to float back onto the skull. She gripped her shaking hand, barely maintaining composure: "How... how did they become bare bones?!"
Yun Qingyue was half-crouching before Jiang Mo, who looked at her pleadingly after speaking: "The ones I fought earlier... they weren't skeletons, were they?"
Jiang Mo was clearly struggling to maintain her composure; though she wasn't stuttering, Yun Qingyue immediately recognized her fear. With a far braver disposition, she patted Jiang Mo's arm reassuringly, saying, "It's alright," but offering nothing more—for inconsequential matters, she preferred not to lie, so she couldn't tell Jiang Mo that those she had just fought were indeed skeletal frames.
After comforting the frightened little tiger, Yun Qingyue returned her attention to the skeletons before them.
Wrapping her hand with spiritual energy, she prepared to lift the veil—though reduced to skeletal remains, these skeletons had been actively blocking their way moments before, obviously controlled by some technique. She wanted to see if she could detect traces of this technique, and if not, she would search their bodies further, perhaps uncovering their true identities.
Before her hand touched the veil, however, Jiang Mo pulled her back, face stricken with lingering fear: "Senior Sister, don't touch it with your hand. What if there's something your spiritual energy can't protect against?"
Without waiting for Yun Qingyue to question, Jiang Mo offered the two tiger fang daggers: "Use these."
That would work as well—the White Tiger dispelled evil influences, naturally countering yin and malevolence.
Yun Qingyue didn't refuse, backing away slightly before controlling the tiger fang daggers to lift the fallen veil. She studied the gleaming white skull for a long time but ultimately could discern no trace of the controlling technique. Finally, with no alternative, she shifted her attention to the black-clothed figure's attire. The dagger sliced through the clothing effortlessly, revealing white bones still stained with dark red blood...
Having seen countless corpses, Yun Qingyue remained unfazed, continuing her search for potential clues. Jiang Mo, however, couldn't stomach the sight. She pressed her lips together to suppress her nausea, quietly shifting backward.
After a few steps, she seemed to step on something. Looking down, she found a fragment of finger bone with a black storage ring.
Jiang Mo froze momentarily before realizing this finger bone fragment was likely severed during their earlier conflict. As for its owner—well, it certainly wasn't one of the three of them.
Facing a finger fragment was far more tolerable than confronting an entire skeleton. Jiang Mo's eyes immediately brightened, and she used her spiritual energy to retrieve both items, then called to Yun Qingyue: "Senior Sister, I found a storage ring. There must be important clues inside."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue halted her search and turned to see a storage ring indeed floating before Jiang Mo. Her feelings were thoroughly mixed—Jiang Mo was right that the storage ring might contain the most valuable clues, but she hadn't found any storage equipment on the skeleton before her. She had thought perhaps it was hidden deeply, yet unexpectedly, Jiang Mo's luck had led her to stumble upon one by chance.
"Well done. Let's see what's inside," Yun Qingyue praised, then suggested.
Jiang Mo nodded, though her peripheral vision still caught the blood-stained skeleton nearby, instantly freezing her expression of joy. She turned slightly sideways, back to the corpse, deciding not to open the storage ring in front of its owner.
Yun Qingyue noticed this small gesture and shook her head helplessly, then discreetly shifted her position to completely block Jiang Mo's view of the remains.
Jiang Mo naturally noticed this, her eyes curving with a smile, her fear immediately dissipating by half, replaced with sweetness.
Opening the ring wasn't difficult. Cultivators branded their storage equipment with soul imprints; while alive, others couldn't access their storage, but once dead with their souls dispersed, the storage equipment lost its protection.
With a "clatter," Jiang Mo emptied the contents of the storage ring completely.