The Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's eyes could see through illusions and penetrate the Netherworld. This Yin Evil Formation was not too advanced, so it saw through it easily.
Under Qin Long's command, its eyes shot out two beams of green light, directly targeting the critical point on the altar within the formation.
"Hmm?"
Both Li Tianchou and the Black Robed Taoist were startled, not expecting such a sudden turn of events.
While the two in the formation were still in doubt, Qin Long's voice transmitted in: "Lord Li, where the green light points is the node of the Yin Evil Formation. If you don't break the formation now, when will you?"
Hearing Qin Long's voice, Li Tianchou was immediately overjoyed. He hadn't expected this Foundation Establishment Early Stage Qin Family cultivator to have such means.
Without hesitation, he shouted loudly, "Daluo Magic Sword, Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"
As he formed the sword technique with his fingers, the scattered Sword Qi instantly united, transforming into a ten-zhang Sword Qi, breaking through the ghost item's obstruction in front of him and slashing towards the spot illuminated by the green light.
The Black Robed Taoist also heard Qin Long's words. Naturally, he wouldn't let Li Tianchou break his formation's node and destroy his Yin Evil Formation.
Otherwise, without the array's support, in his current unhealed state, he would not be Li Tianchou's match.
However, when a Sword Cultivator burst out with all their strength, their combat power was terrifyingly strong. Hence, Li Tianchou soon slashed away the Black Robed Taoist's White Bone Heart-Locking Hammer, extinguished several intercepting Foundation Establishment Ghosts, and with a fierce strike, hit the formation's node.
Boom.
The altar immediately collapsed halfway.
The array shattered, and the Yin Evil Qi spilled out. The ghost items within the formation suddenly weakened, no longer as rampant as before.
"Hahaha..."
Li Tianchou rarely laughed out loud a few times, then his face turned cold: "Demon Path devil, you dare set an ambush here, intending to refine my soul into a ghost item?
Hmph, today, I will slay you, so you can't even become a ghost!"
Saying this, Li Tianchou's sword momentum surged, and he struck at the opponent.
The Black Robed Taoist's face was as dark as water, his eyes full of sinister and venomous hatred: "You deserve to die. You dare ruin my big plans. I will flay you and extract your tendons, making you endure the seventy-two types of torture of my White Bone Sect."
He dodged Li Tianchou's sword strike, then fiercely glared at Qin Long in the distance, raising his hand to summon six White Bone Skeletons, intending to have them withstand Li Tianchou's flying sword.
At the same time, he sent three White Bone Heart Execution Needles towards Qin Long.
The old Taoist harbored deep hatred for both, especially Qin Long, who had directed Li Tianchou to break his formation, gnashing his teeth in fury.
However, even if Li Tianchou alone was already enough trouble for him, he still wanted to spare some effort to deal with Qin Long, which was a bit beyond his capability.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
With three crisp sounds, the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's long tail lashed out, directly knocking away the White Bone Heart Execution Needles.
Then, under Qin Long's command, its body twisted and sprang forward, reaching the Black Robed Taoist in an instant. The snake's body coiled and wrapped around two of the White Bone Skeletons, squeezing them into a twisted shape, breaking their tough bones into pieces.
Of course, the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake also suffered a few scratches from the White Bone Skeletons.
Although this spiritual snake had some divine skills, it was only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, with strength equivalent to the White Bone Skeletons. Its victory mainly relied on Qin Long's command.
The White Bone Skeletons were merely undead spirit puppets crafted by the Black Robed Taoist, lacking spiritual intelligence, attacking recklessly, hence easily falling prey to the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake.
Meanwhile, the remaining White Bone Skeletons were mostly slain by Li Tianchou's few sword strikes. Though those that survived were reduced to mere skulls still trying to bite.
Li Tianchou wielded his sword towards the Black Robed Taoist, while the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake turned its gaze towards the ghost items.
Being born a spiritual beast, it possessed innate intelligence superior to ordinary beasts, comparable to five or six-year-old children.
The Green-Eyed Spirit Snake's race had a unique talent, being able to devour Yin Evil Ghost Objects to convert into its demon energy. Thus, it didn't assist Li Tianchou but pounced towards the ghost items.
While Li Tianchou's flying sword was sharp and his sword light radiating, the Black Robed Taoist, being a Foundation Establishment Peak Demon Cultivator, was too formidable for the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake. Qin Long dared not risk it being severely injured by the duel.
The instinct to avoid harm took precedence, and Qin Long didn't command his spiritual beast to assist either.
In such a battle, a Foundation Establishment Early Stage spiritual snake would be of little help.
As for Qin Long himself, he stayed in the background, occasionally casting spells to either ambush the Black Robed Taoist or assist the Green-Eyed Spirit Snake in fighting the ghost items to help his spiritual beast devour their souls.
He would certainly not fight enemies on the front lines.
As a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, it was wiser not to interfere with battles involving Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators. Being already injured, there was no need to further aggravate it.
"""
Besides, he was from the Beast Taming Sect. The greatest feature of the Beast Taming Sect's disciples in battle was to let their spiritual beasts fight first. If they could win, they fought; if they couldn't, it was best to stay far away.
Qin Long felt that his own spiritual beast was far from being a match for that Black Robed Evil Cultivator, so it was best not to approach.
Li Tianchou and that Taoist fought fiercely, and their spells shattered the altar.
In the end, the Black Robed Taoist couldn't prevail and forcefully cast a few powerful spells to repel Li Tianchou, then turned to escape.
But how could Li Tianchou let him leave alive? He gave chase, and the two fought continuously in the mountain forest, startling the birds and causing the beasts to flee in all directions.
Qin Feng and his companion saw that the Black Robed Taoist and Li Tianchou were fighting farther and farther away, only then did they relax and walk towards the array.
On the way, they saw Chen Hu and the others.
At first, they thought Chen Hu and his group had perished, but after Qin Yang checked, he found that they were not dead, just unconscious due to the Yin Evil Qi entering their bodies.
Upon careful thought, it seemed reasonable. After all, Chen Hu and his companions were merely Acquired Martial Artists; in the eyes of cultivators, they were mere mortals. There was no need to use powerful spells against them.
Perhaps the Black Robed Taoist had intended to send these men into the Yin Evil Formation and refine their souls into ghost items.
Qin Yang tried. With his cultivation near the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he could barely help these men expel the evil qi from their bodies, but it would also deplete his own spiritual power completely.
After some thought, he decided not to act directly.
After all, the battle was not yet over. What if the Black Robed Taoist returned to kill them? It was better to preserve his strength for now. After all, Chen Hu and the others were not going to die anytime soon. They could attend to their rescue once news from Li Tianchou's side arrived.
Qin Feng and his companion arrived at the remnants of the Yin Evil Formation and immediately felt that the atmosphere here was several times colder than other places.
This was because most of the Yin Evil Qi had already dispersed. If the array had not been broken, it would surely be even colder. The white frost on the plants and leaves, formed by condensed moisture, was evidence of this.
"Father, what about these people?"
Qin Feng saw his father beside Zhao Jinglei and the others and quickly asked.
"Yin Evil Qi has entered their bodies, and ghost items have possessed them."
Qin Long shook his head and sighed, "As a disciple from the Outer Sect of the Beast Taming Sect, I know how to deal with demon beasts. But these ghost items are not my forte.
I cast a spell to temporarily suppress the fierce ghosts in their bodies so that the Yin Evil Ghost Qi wouldn't take their lives. But as for the specific ghost-expelling methods, we'll have to wait for Lord Li to return."
Qin Feng nodded understandingly and glanced at Zhao Jinglei. He noticed that the Zhao Family disciple's attire and accessories were all extremely exquisite and valuable.
Not to mention, the small item beside him glowed with spirit light, appearing extraordinary.
Unfortunately, their Qin Family was just a small clan. Even with Zhao Jinglei unconscious, they wouldn't dare to covet his treasures.
Bored, Qin Feng wandered around the group, catching sight of the destroyed altar in the distance. He walked over to take a look and suddenly his eyes lit up as he picked up a few jet-black stones from the rubble.
From behind, Qin Long walked over, glanced at them, and said, "These are Netherworld Stones used by the Evil Cultivator to set up the Yin Evil Formation. Aside from Demon Cultivators, only a few other cultivators would use these things.
If you want them, keep them. You might find use for them if you join a sect in the future. Some disciples of the Beast Taming Sect have spiritual beasts of the Yin Evil type. You could trade these for spirit stones if you encounter them."
Hearing that these black stones could be exchanged for spirit stones, Qin Feng instantly felt delighted and couldn't help but continue searching the ruins for more Netherworld Stones.
Qin Long shook his head without concern and handed him a palm-sized pouch, saying, "This is a storage bag. The space isn't large, but you can use it for now. I'll get you a better one later."
"Thank you, Dad."
Qin Feng happily took the palm-sized bag, feeling its soft texture, apparently made from some kind of beast skin.
He poured a bit of his spiritual power into the storage bag, performed a simple ritual to refine it, and then extended his newly cultivated divine sense inside, leaving a trace of divine sense imprint.
At the same time, he discovered that the storage bag really was as his father had said, with only about ten feet of space inside.
This was considered the lowest level among storage bags.
However, for Qin Feng, who possessed such a magical artifact for the first time, it was already beyond surprising.
He placed the Netherworld Stones into the storage bag, then took them out again to feel them. It was alright; the spiritual power consumed when taking out or putting in items was not too much.
Qin Long saw his son's excitement and just smiled indulgently, then turned his gaze towards the direction where the fighting still emanated.
He wondered if Li Tianchou could kill that Evil Cultivator.
If not, there might be more trouble in the future.
Qin Feng was still immersed in the joy of treasure hunting, searching through the ruins of the altar. Indeed, he found several materials containing Yin Evil Qi used for arranging arrays, which he collected.
Just as he was about to search another area, he suddenly felt something underfoot. Clearing away two broken stones, he found an ancient copper pot.
"""