Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Battle Against the Demonic Cultivators 2

The Golden Core demonic cultivator had put away his carelessness, but he was still wary of a Lightning-Spirit-Root Cultivator. He wanted a quick fight, so the curved blade instantly grew larger and easily caught the second staff strike.

Yun Xi’s Doom Staff, wrapped in lightning spiritual power, slammed into the curved blade again. Because the gap in strength was too great, the shockwave from the two forces blasted her away once more, and this time she crashed directly into the cave wall.

With a loud crack, the defensive bracelet she always wore on her wrist shattered. Uncle Feng had given it to her before she entered the sect. This defensive artifact could only block attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it could not withstand the power of a Golden Core cultivator, so it finally completed its duty and broke.

As soon as Yun Xi hit the ground, she rolled and sprang back up. She wiped the blood at the corner of her mouth, then raised a hand and activated the white magnolia hairpin in her bun. This was a treasure that could withstand attacks from the Nascent Soul Stage.

In the next instant, the demonic cultivator’s curved blade attack arrived in a flash, aimed straight at Yun Xi’s head, but a layer of defensive light shield blocked it.

The Golden Core demonic cultivator narrowed his eyes. He was even more certain Yun Xi was a big fish. Just a random treasure on her could block an attack from a late Golden Core cultivator.

Greed flashed in his eyes. Since she was a big fish, she surely had plenty of good things on her. Cultivators always carried their whole fortune with them, so it seemed his hope of reaching the Nascent Soul Stage had arrived.

Meanwhile, Dian Dian had already left the battlefield. It had taken advantage of the moment its master rolled up to dart out of the boot. To avoid catching the attention of the Golden Core demonic cultivator, it stuck a Breath-Concealing Talisman on itself, a Third Rank talisman its master had just drawn.

Following the route Yun Xi provided, Dian Dian had already made it to the place where the cultivators were imprisoned, but it was filled with restrictions.

More than thirty cultivators were being held there, men and women alike, and their cultivation was almost all at the Foundation Establishment Stage. There were even a few Qi Refining cultivators, but it was clear their talent was good.

When Dian Dian moved around outside the restrictions, the cultivators trapped inside noticed it. A female cultivator’s eyes lit up, and she immediately asked, “Whose spirit pet is that? Hurry and send it out to report, and find someone to come save us!”

Everyone stared at the black-eared little mouse sniffing around outside the restriction and exchanged questioning looks.

Suddenly, a surprised voice reached everyone’s ears. “That looks like Dian Dian, Yun Xi little sister’s spirit pet.”

“Junior Sister, are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Last time in Wan Ruo City, we managed to get out thanks to Yun Xi little sister’s spirit pet’s keen nose. Senior Brother was badly injured then, so he might not have noticed.”

The two speaking were Yu Qing Cheng and Liu Hao Tian from Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Four years ago, they had survived that disaster. After they returned to the sect, the demonic cultivators could only give up, but they had never truly stopped coveting the two of them for their looks and cultivation.

A month ago, Yu Qing Cheng accepted a task from Hundred Flowers Pavilion and came to Xia Fei Valley to look for butterfly eggs, preparing for Hundred Flowers Pavilion’s Hundred Flowers Festival. Perhaps it was a cultivator’s sixth sense, but she invited Liu Hao Tian to come with her.

Liu Hao Tian still owed his junior sister a life-saving debt, so he naturally did not refuse. The two rode a flying ship and arrived at Xia Fei Valley.

They were also drawn in by the rumored Third Rank Fei Xia Butterfly eggs. After finding some first- and second-rank eggs, they relied on their higher cultivation and went deeper into the rear valley.

After entering the rear valley, they stayed extremely vigilant and did not team up with other cultivators. Even when cultivators approached them and tried to form a party, they politely declined.

After running into three groups of other cultivators, they sensed something was wrong. But by then it was already too late to leave. They were captured by Xue Ao.

The other side did not cripple their cultivation because he wanted to sell them for a higher price. However, they were force-fed Spirit-Sealing Pills, lost their ability to fight, and were locked up here to wait to be taken away.

Among the cultivators imprisoned with them, a small portion had been captured directly. Others had been betrayed by teammates and fell into the hands of demonic cultivators, like Xia You. Some had been tricked and had their spiritual power sealed completely, leaving them with no ability to resist before becoming helpless prey.

Everyone understood that once the demonic cultivators caught enough people, they would take them away, so they were all secretly pushing against the Spirit-Sealing Pill’s effect, trying to save themselves.

Unfortunately, the demonic cultivators not only locked them up here, but also fed them another Spirit-Sealing Pill every other day, leaving them no chance to run.

As cultivators, they knew that without spiritual power, even if they broke the restriction, they would not get far. Worse, their storage bags had been confiscated. Despair spread through the entire cave until Dian Dian appeared.

After Dian Dian confirmed it had reached its destination, it patted the storage bag hanging from its neck. Its master had prepared this specifically for this mission.

In the next instant, a formation plate appeared in front of Dian Dian. It was the Fourth Rank formation plate City Lord Li had compensated Yun Xi with.

Since Yun Xi knew many cultivators were held here, the demonic cultivators would never let them escape easily. She was responsible for killing the lower-level demonic cultivators and holding back the Golden Core demonic cultivator, while Dian Dian was responsible for rescuing the imprisoned cultivators.

However, Dian Dian’s killing power was limited, so Yun Xi had given the Fourth Rank formation plate to Dian Dian, along with a stack of talismans, to be used depending on the situation.

After Dian Dian confirmed the restriction in front of it could not be broken by talismans, it took out the formation plate, adjusted it into a killing formation, then threw it at the restriction and quickly hid far away.

“Everyone, step back!” Liu Hao Tian warned.

They could see what was happening outside but could not hear it. All the cultivators saw Dian Dian’s wild move, and since there was a chance to escape, no one wanted to hold the others back. They immediately retreated to the farthest point from the restriction.

When the formation plate struck the restriction, the impact shook the entire cave, and broken stones kept falling from above.

Everyone stared tensely at the flickering restriction, and no one cared about the falling rocks. A moment later, the restriction vanished under the formation plate’s grinding kill. As the formation plate floated down, Dian Dian sprang up and collected it back into the storage bag.

Dian Dian watched the cultivators pour out of the cave. Its nose twitched. Originally, its master had told it to find the betrayed Xia You and give her the antidote to the Spirit-Sealing Pill, and then its task would be done.

But now, among the cultivators who appeared, there was actually a familiar scent. Dian Dian decisively chose to seek out someone it knew.

So before Yu Qing Cheng could even steady herself, Dian Dian had already grabbed her robe and scampered up to her shoulder. When Liu Hao Tian reflexively reached out, Dian Dian threw a bottle of pills at him.

Then it looked annoyed as it blew its whiskers and glared at Liu Hao Tian. “Dian Dian came to save you, and you still don’t recognize a good rat’s heart!”

Unfortunately, neither of them understood what Dian Dian’s “squeak squeak” meant, but they could tell it was definitely scolding them.

Yu Qing Cheng’s mouth twitched. “You’re Yun Xi junior sister’s spirit pet. You should be here to help us.” She said it like a certainty.

Only then did Dian Dian nod its little head. It pointed at the pill bottle with its paw, then leapt off Yu Qing Cheng’s shoulder and disappeared into a stone tunnel.

“Senior Brother Liu, what is that?” someone asked.

“The antidote to the Spirit-Sealing Pill,” Liu Hao Tian answered.

Someone immediately cried out in delight, “We’re saved!”

“Quick, take the antidote, and let’s go help Yun Xi little sister!”