Chapter 270: Xu Jiayin's Sacrificial Self-Detonation
Yu Qingtan reconstituted her body at the previous Spirit Stone vein.
She took out the scale of Bachahei she had obtained earlier and began to cast the Purification Spell. There had been no time to purify it just then because everything was too rushed.
However, just at that moment, from an inconspicuous scale, a tremendous force of soul stormed into Yu Qingtan's Sea of Consciousness.
It was Bachahei's residual soul.
Bachahei, naturally unwilling to perish in a self-explosion, had chosen to self-destruct only when it had no other options, which significantly reduced the power of the blast.
If it had self-destructed immediately, at least half of the Divinity Transformation cultivators from the Extreme Path Demon Sect would have been gravely injured, instead of the minor injuries they now suffered.
Even so, Bachahei had left a contingent plan, hiding a part of its residual soul inside this piece of scale.
Realizing it had been taken far away from the eight Divinity Transformation cultivators by a Nascent Soul Cultivator, it brazenly launched an attack, intent on eradicating this person, temporarily occupying their body, and then returning to seek out serpent Demonic Beasts to attempt a possession.
"Extreme Path Demon Sect, once I have recovered my strength, I will ensure you pay the price!"
Bachahei's residual soul thought bitterly, surging into Yu Qingtan's Sea of Consciousness, ready to devour this person's soul.
Although it was only a residual soul, a camel starved to death was still larger than a horse; dealing with a mere Nascent Soul Cultivator was still an easy task.
Unfortunately, it had encountered Yu Qingtan.
As soon as it entered her Sea of Consciousness, a mysterious fluctuation emanated from its depths, wiping out Bachahei's residual soul and leaving behind only a clump of pure soul force.
"What a good Demon, knowing it hasn't claimed much for itself, yet it delivers right to my doorstep!"
Yu Qingtan murmured to herself, feeling that her luck had improved a lot recently, perhaps due to Wan Ning.
She diverted a fraction of her consciousness to absorb and digest that clump of soul force.
Yu Qingtan continued to disguise herself as Xu Jiayin, surfaced from the ground, avoiding the direction of the viper forest and prepared to circle around towards the deeper part of Yunhua Mountain Range.
…
At the outer fringes of Yunhua Mountain Range, on a mountain peak where there was a flat grassland, flowers bloomed profusely and bees and butterflies flittered about.
A magnificent carriage drawn by a pure white pegasus with wings was parked there, surrounded by a Third-Grade Alert Defense Formation.
Inside the carriage were a young, handsome man with deep green eyes and a woman with skin white as jade and tear mole under her eye; they were Ye Rujun and Feng Huan.
"Huan'er, I've missed you so much!" the man's magnetic voice resonated.
"Ye Brother, I've missed you too!" Feng Huan nestled in Ye Rujun's embrace, shyly responding.
"Huan'er, since you've also reached Core Formation, why don't we cultivate the Dynamic and Static Union Secret Technique?"
"Ye Brother, but we haven't held the grand ceremony yet!"
"Huan'er, I just... can't wait."
"Ying~"
…
"Ah~ Ye Brother, you liar!"
…
The breeze atop the peak caused the carriage to sway non-stop.
An hour later, a terrifying shockwave emanated from afar, interrupting the couple's cultivation.
But because the distance was so great, it didn't cause any harm.
"Ye Brother, what's happening in the inner ranges of Yunhua Mountain Range?"
"I don't know, but we're on the periphery, we should be fine. Let's continue our cultivation."
However, not long after, intense shaking occurred, their Alert Defense Formation was under attack.
The two were startled and quickly used their Divine Sense to investigate.
"What happened, how could a Fourth-Grade Demon King come to this place?" Ye Rujun said in disbelief.
The one attacking the formation outside was an early Fourth-Grade viper Demon King.
"We must retreat quickly, this third-grade mid-tier formation won't hold for long."
Feng Qiao also spoke hastily, just after the viper used its giant tail, wrapped in earthy yellow armor, to smash the formation once again, the formation seemed on the verge of collapse.
"Snap~"
The third strike from the Fourth-Grade viper Demon King directly shattered the formation's shield.
In that instant of shattering, two figures swiftly soared out.
It was Ye Rujun and Feng Qiao who had packed up the carriage and activated a third-grade Wind Evasion Talisman.
Seeing this, the Fourth-Grade viper immediately gave chase, its speed just slightly slower than the two.
"Damn it, why such bad luck, do we have to use even more precious life-preserving items?"
As Ye Rujun had this thought, his eyes suddenly brightened, he pulled Feng Qiao, slightly shifted direction, and sped away.
Yu Qingtan, disguised as "Xu Jiayin," thanks to her powerful Divine Sense, had noticed the two people and one beast coming her way well in advance, but she pretended not to know and continued on her way.
Only at the normal Divine Sense detection range of "Xu Jiayin" did she "change her expression" and start to flee.
Ye Rujun and Feng Qiao shared a moment of communication through Divine Sense, then slapped another third-grade Wind Evasion Talisman, boosting their speed by a third.
"Brother Xu, I am Feng Huan, help us hold back that beast behind us. My Feng family will definitely reward you handsomely. If you turn a blind eye, your Xu family will have to brace for my Feng family's wrath."
The voice of Feng Huan the Witch reached "Xu Jiayin's" ears, no longer the gentle and pleasant Wu Nong soft language she had heard from Yu Qingtan in Tianxiang Immortal City, but rather a clear voice with the haughtiness of a young lady.
The old man of Feng Huan the Witch was the sect leader of the Wind Peak of the Extreme Path Demon Sect, the flirtatious Lord Feng Liu Zi, in the Late Stage of Nascent Soul.
Moreover, the Feng family had several Nascent Soul Cultivators, and were not entities the Xu family could afford to provoke.
"Xu Jiayin's" expression changed, he hesitated for a moment, but ultimately slowed down.
"Sister Feng, you go ahead!"
"Xu Jiayin's" aura increased to the limit of Late Stage Golden Core, a earthy yellow protective shield appeared around him, he drew out a long halberd of the same color, and charged at the Fourth-Grade viper.
Xu Jiayin mainly cultivated the Earth Path, and had entered the Earth Peak of the Extreme Path Demon Sect, where the long halberd was his Lifebound Magical Treasure.
"Thank you, Brother Xu!" Seeing the white hairs on "Xu Jiayin" from the use of a Secret Technique that increased his strength, Feng Huan was somewhat moved, and then she and Ye Rujun sped away from the area even faster.
A dense barrage of earthen spikes shot from below towards the softer belly and eyes of the Fourth-Grade Viper, while the long halberd transformed into a thirty-foot giant halberd, slashing at its vital seven-inch area.
The gaze of the viper Demon King turned icy; it had originally targeted the two more delectable prey, not expecting this old codger to interfere. So, it decided to kill him first.
A yellow shield appeared on the viper Demon King, rendering the earth spikes completely ineffective against the shield's defense.
It was also an earth-attribute demonic beast with astonishing defensive power.
Then, its massive tail swept towards "Xu Jiayin," while from its mouth it spit out a great gush of venom that dispersed into a toxic cloud, enveloping "Xu Jiayin."
"Xu Jiayin" reluctantly abandoned his halberd attack and used an Escape Technique to dodge the snake's tail attack.
As for the toxic cloud, he resisted it with an Earth Shield Technique, which, although not completely effective, provided some defense.
After a few rounds like this, Yu Qingtan saw that Feng Huan and Ye Rujun had long since left and the viper Demon King likely couldn't catch up with them.
Then, disguised as "Xu Jiayin," she burrowed into the ground and escaped using the Earth Escape Skill.
The viper Demon King, bitterly hating this old meddler who had spoiled its plans, followed suit and gave chase underground.
A few moments later, just as the viper Demon King was about to catch up, the Xu Jiayin ahead suddenly self-destructed.
This was, of course, the real Xu Jiayin, and even his Lifebound Magical Treasure, the long halberd, was blown towards the viper Demon King by the blast wave.
Caught off guard, the viper Demon King too suffered significant injuries.
"Damn it, why self-destruct!" muttered the viper Demon King, speechless. It wanted to slowly accumulate the venom's toxins within the opponent's body, then suddenly trigger the poison, denying even the chance of self-destruction.