Chapter 50: The Northern Ridge’s Hidden Terror

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Northern Ridge’s Hidden Terror

Ye Xuan extended his hand, allowing Qingyu to slither across his palm and shoulder before coiling around his neck.

After they had prepared themselves, he decided to fly toward the place where the voice had come from.

Qingyu had guided him there, but she would also lead him to Northern Ridge. Whatever happened, Ye Xuan had already considered the possible consequences.

From a distance, he spotted three cultivators standing at the forest entrance.

He summoned his lightning sword and unleashed a slash toward them.

"Blazing Flame Sword!"

A slash of fire and crimson lightning surged toward the three cultivators.

The middle-aged man responded by thrusting his hand forward, summoning a qi barrier that was more than enough to withstand Ye Xuan’s attack.

Just as I thought... A Golden Core cultivator.

"Relying on nothing but a Mortal-Stage technique won’t be enough to defeat me," the man replied.

He casually waved his hand to the side before placing it behind his back.

"You’d better surrender, Ye Xuan."

"Every sect in the Dao Sword Sect Alliance has come here. We already know what you’ve done!" he declared firmly.

Ye Xuan was startled and briefly glanced at Qingyu. His concern had come true.

The Dao Sword Sect was beginning to hunt him down because of the red sword he had taken the previous day.

They might have suspected that Ye Xuan had some connection to the Thunder Crimson Python Clan.

That was why they had immediately announced a hunt for him.

[I’m sorry for dragging you into this trouble.]

Why are you apologizing? I’ve never regretted meeting you.

Knowing the consequences, I’d rather fight alongside you than betray you.

Qingyu fell silent for a moment, deeply touched by Ye Xuan’s words.

With a soft hiss, she told him how fortunate and happy she was to have a partner like him, and that she would never regret it for the rest of her life.

"If you want to stay alive, hand over the Crimson Python Blood Sword and your white snake. I’ll do my best to negotiate with the Dao Sword Sect Master and get you released from your punishment."

"You have no right to decide that. I’ll free myself from your punishment!" Ye Xuan declared.

Before long, he saw numerous cultivators arriving at Scarlet Moon Forest. They gathered in formation near the sect elder.

Using the Myriad Eye Technique, Ye Xuan counted a total of thirty-five cultivators.

Ten of them were sect elders, while the rest were Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Even if I manage to kill every single one of them, those sects won’t let me go free.

[Don’t worry. I’ll help you through this difficult time, Ye Xuan.]

"Capture him!" one of the elders from another sect shouted.

The disciples behind him immediately rushed into the forest, weaving between the trees as they pursued Ye Xuan.

Seeing that they had finally dared to enter the forest, Ye Xuan tapped his bag of holding and tossed out a pouch containing monster cores.

He extended his hand and activated the spiritual qi inside the pouch.

An explosion erupted, destroying both the pouch and its contents.

A cloud of red smoke spread across the area, creating the perfect bait to attract nearby monsters.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ye Xuan flew north at full speed, following Qingyu’s directions.

Behind him, he saw the cultivators struggling as monsters began surrounding them.

The dust released from the monster cores was effective at attracting other monsters.

Ye Xuan was using it to slow down their pursuit.

"He’s flying north!" one of the elders’ disciples shouted.

The elders began ordering their disciples to pursue Ye Xuan again.

They obeyed, despite being somewhat afraid of Scarlet Moon Forest’s dangerous ecosystem and its notorious reputation among cultivators.

Ye Xuan, however, had no such concerns.

Qingyu used her bloodline to intimidate every monster they encountered, preventing them from attacking him and turning their attention toward the other cultivators instead.

Although the monsters kept most of their pursuers occupied, a few managed to break through.

One cultivator summoned his sword and launched dozens of white sword strikes toward Ye Xuan.

Seeing the incoming attacks, Ye Xuan realized that dodging would be useless.

He formed a hand seal and pointed his finger forward.

"Mystic Flame Finger!"

A moderately sized flame finger shot out from a magical rune, heading straight toward the sword strikes.

The swords failed to stop Ye Xuan’s attack.

However, the man still had another trick up his sleeve.

He summoned a turtle-shell defensive barrier and successfully blocked Ye Xuan’s flames.

The resulting explosion sent Ye Xuan flying backward.

He was injured after his attack failed to harm the man. Nevertheless, he continued flying toward Northern Ridge at full speed.

But from his left and right, he spotted two different attacks approaching. One was a water spear, while the other was a qi palm.

"Ninefold Lightning Scripture!"

"Silver Lightning Armor Transformation!"

Thunder rumbled as dark clouds gathered above the forest. The deafening sounds of thunder echoed through the night, accompanied by silver lightning strikes around Ye Xuan.

From the center of the storm, a pillar of silver lightning struck Ye Xuan’s body, unleashing a powerful burst of qi that instantly destroyed both incoming attacks.

The two cultivators were sent flying backward. They fell to their knees on their swords and spat out blood.

More cultivators soon arrived and witnessed the scene.

The lightning qi transformed into armor, covering Ye Xuan’s body and granting him the highest level of physical defense.

His cultivation base temporarily rose to Peak Foundation Establishment.

"He can actually increase his cultivation base?"

"Forget that! His qi aura and physical strength have both increased as well!"

"Who exactly is this man?!"

However, the cultivators didn’t care. Ye Xuan was a threat to the Dao Sword Sect Alliance. To prevent future trouble, they had to kill him now.

"Attack him!"

They surged forward, launching sword attacks at Ye Xuan. He opened his eyes, gripped his lightning sword, and swung it sideways behind him.

"You’re courting death!"

Ye Xuan unleashed a massive crescent-shaped slash of silver lightning toward them.

The cultivators were shocked by the attack.

They immediately summoned their defensive barriers and tried to withstand the silver lightning slash.

"E-Elder Yao... help me!" one of the disciples shouted.

From behind them, a massive white sword attack appeared and collided with Ye Xuan’s silver lightning slash.

BLAST!

An explosion erupted, scattering silver lightning bolts that struck several cultivators.

However, their condition was far better than it would have been had they faced the full force of the silver lightning slash directly.

Ten elders arrived. They came from the sects near Scarlet Moon Forest.

Ye Xuan could see that all of them were Golden Core cultivators.

"Your strength is truly terrifying, little brat!"

"Let me bury you here and claim a great reward from the Dao Sword Sect Master!"

Ye Xuan felt the pressure of their cultivation bases bearing down on him.

It wasn’t particularly overwhelming, but it was enough to restrict his movements.

He watched as the surrounding area turned golden.

When he raised his head, he saw a massive mountain seal descending toward him.

[Give me the Heavenly Lightning Essence, Ye Xuan!]

Ye Xuan followed Qingyu’s request and immediately summoned the lightning essence into his hand.

The elders were instantly shocked.

"Lightning Essence? Heavenly-Stage?!"

He handed it to Qingyu, allowing the snake to absorb the essence completely.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan raised his hand and unleashed Mystic Flame Finger.

"Mystic Flame Finger!"

A flaming finger accompanied by silver lightning shot upward, clashing with one elder’s mountain seal.

Ye Xuan immediately dropped to one knee, struggling against the intimidating pressure exerted by the sect elders.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness from exhaustion, a powerful burst of qi suddenly erupted beside him.

Qingyu transformed by drawing upon the power of the lightning essence she had absorbed.

Her body grew enormous, even larger than Ye Xuan remembered.

Crimson lightning radiated from her body, and her eyes glowed with the same color.

The elders turned toward Qingyu, their faces immediately turning pale.

"T-That... is a spiritual beast from the Thunder Crimson Python Clan?!"

"T-They’re still alive?!"

"Impossible!"

Qingyu raised her head and roared.

She opened her mouth wide and unleashed a blast of crimson lightning at the mountain seal, shattering it into falling chunks of stone.

[Warning! The seal has increased.]

[Seal remaining: 75%]

Ye Xuan watched in confusion. The seal’s remaining strength was 72% yesterday. It was the seal that restrained Qingyu’s true power.

Could Qingyu’s astonishing transformation have affected the seal?

So the seal doesn’t lock away 100% of her original power, but only 75% of it?

If this is only a fraction of her strength, I can’t imagine what she would be capable of if her power weren’t sealed at all.

[I can still hear your thoughts, Ye Xuan.]

[Yes. That’s how my seal works. I can use a quarter of my original strength. It should be enough to hold them off.]

Qingyu turned her head forward and spat crimson lightning from her mouth, attacking the elders and leaving many of them injured.

However, none of them were killed.

Their defensive barriers gradually shattered, and explosions sent them flying backward, wounded by the serpent’s attacks.

[I can’t kill them for now. This transformation consumes too much of my original power.]

Qingyu returned to her original form and coiled around Ye Xuan’s hand.

While the elders were still recovering from their injuries, Ye Xuan seized the opportunity to escape and flew toward Northern Ridge at full speed.

[I’m tired, Ye Xuan. I need to cultivate.]

"Just hold on a little longer. We’ll reach Northern Ridge soon!"

The dense forest gradually gave way to barren land. The towering trees disappeared, replaced by cracked earth and the ruins of ancient buildings.

He looked behind him and saw the elders and their disciples flying after him.

"This is Northern Ridge, but I don’t see anything here except barren land and sect ruins!"

Just as Ye Xuan was about to fly toward another part of Northern Ridge, a powerful gust of black wind suddenly swept toward him from the front.

Its force was so overwhelming that his soul trembled.

He crashed onto the barren black ground, dropping to his knees and coughing up blood.

The wind carried a turbulent qi fluctuation that disturbed his soul and shook his dantian.

The elders arrived shortly afterward and suffered the same fate.

They were knocked to the ground and injured by the intimidating presence of an entity far stronger than themselves.

When Ye Xuan looked ahead, he saw a cultivator shrouded in black shadows, walking forward while dragging a scythe in one hand.

What is that?

[That appearance... I’ve heard my father tell stories about it.]

[But I never expected him to be in Scarlet Moon Forest.]

You know something?

[Quickly activate your teleportation token before it’s too late!]