Translator: Cinder Translations
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The corpse puppet had also fully recovered, now possessing the combat strength of the sixth level of Qi Refining.
To deal with the pervasive vengeful spirits and walking corpses in the ancient battlefield, Song Wen also purchased ten each of the Ghost-Slaying Talismans and Corpse-Suppressing Talismans, both of which were mid-grade first-level talismans.
He had one Thunder Talisman left and had wanted to buy more, but after searching the entire market, he couldn't find another.
Against vengeful spirits and walking corpses, thunder-type spells had the greatest deterrent effect.
Additionally, Song Wen prepared many commonly used talismans and pills.
He had talismans like the Haste Talisman, Fireball Talisman, and Flight Talisman, and pills such as Healing Pills, Qi-Replenishing Pills, and Detoxification Pills.
Seeing Song Wen nod, Xuan Ye and Niu Ding had no objections, so the group decided to set off immediately.
Outside the market, Song Wen took out his flying boat.
In an instant, the flying boat expanded to two meters long, hovering in front of the group. With all five of them aboard, it felt a bit crowded.
As the owner and controller of the flying boat, Song Wen chose the safest spot at the stern.
In front of him sat Xuan Ye, followed by Niu Ding and Lao Chun, while Zi Yi, who preferred to keep some distance from the others, sat at the bow.
With five people on board, the boat was somewhat overloaded, and its speed was affected. However, it was still much faster than traveling on foot.
After three hours of flight, night had fallen.
Song Wen found an open space and landed the boat, allowing everyone to rest for the night.
Zi Yi had suggested traveling through the night, noting that the ancient battlefield was over a thousand miles from the Corpse Demon Sect. Even with the flying boat, it would take three days to reach.
Anxious to save her father, she wanted to reach the battlefield as quickly as possible.
However, Song Wen flatly refused. Piloting the flying boat consumed a significant amount of his spiritual and mental energy. For his own safety, he would not agree to Zi Yi's request. He didn't want to face the numerous dangers of the ancient battlefield in an exhausted state.
At the end of the third day.
They finally arrived over the ancient battlefield.
Visiting the ancient battlefield for the first time, Song Wen was deeply shocked by the scene before him.
For thousands of miles, the land was a bright red, as if stained by blood from millennia ago that had never faded.
There was no greenery, only decayed bones scattered everywhere, a few rotten trees sporadically sticking out from the ground, and the remnants of broken human structures.
Desolation, decay, and rot, mixed with a thick atmosphere of ghostly and corpse-like aura, permeated the entire land.
This place didn't seem like part of the human world but more like the legendary scenes of hell.
After a brief moment of shock, Song Wen turned to Xuan Ye.
"Xuan Ye, what should we do now?"
Over the past few days, Song Wen had learned that Xuan Ye had been to the ancient battlefield three times, Niu Ding once, and Lao Chun and Zi Yi, like him, were visiting for the first time.
In an unfamiliar and dangerous place, it was natural to follow the arrangements of those who were familiar with it.
Xuan Ye pointed to a spot in the ancient battlefield and said, "We need to go to a cave in the southwest, about four hundred miles from here. It will take about an hour by flying boat."
"Now the sun is already to the west, and by the time we reach the cave, it will likely be evening."
"And at night, the ghosts and walking corpses in the ancient battlefield become more active and the danger increases greatly. Therefore, I suggest we rest here and set out early tomorrow morning."
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Only Zi Yi was a bit unhappy. She looked at Song Wen with a faint resentment in her eyes. She felt that if Song Wen had been willing to fly a bit longer each day over the past few days, they could have entered the cave this morning and wouldn't have wasted a whole day.
The night passed without incident.
At dawn the next day, everyone boarded the flying boat and set off.
Flying over the desolate ancient battlefield, even with the sun shining brightly, they could still see the occasional wandering corpses and ghostly figures below. Although they disliked the righteousness in the sunlight, the early morning rays seemed to have little effect on them. They still roamed this ancient and vast land, like ravenous beasts searching for food.
Fortunately, the flying boat flew at a considerable height, avoiding the notice of the creatures below. While the wandering corpses couldn't fly and thus couldn't attack the airborne boat, ghostly beings could float. If they were surrounded by a large number of ghosts, Song Wen and his companions would likely face many difficulties.
After flying for over an hour, the boat arrived above the cave.
Below was a massive, bottomless black cavern, with gusts of chilling wind constantly blowing out of the entrance.
The cave resembled a giant beast lying on the ground, its maw open wide as if ready to devour any living being that dared to enter, evoking a sense of fear.
"Let's go."
Xuan Ye took the lead, jumping off the flying boat, followed by the other four.
As soon as Song Wen landed, he felt the eerie atmosphere of the ancient battlefield.
The dense corpse energy seemed to have a life of its own, continuously drilling into his body, making him, already threatened by corpse energy, extremely uncomfortable.
Moreover, the battlefield was filled with numerous lingering spirits. Although their density didn't match that of the Corpse Dissolving Cave, their overall number far exceeded it.
In just a short time, several remnants of spirits had been absorbed by Song Wen's body, entering his sea of consciousness.
For Song Wen, this was somewhat good news; under such conditions, his mental energy recovery rate far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Xuan Ye activated his flying technique and leapt into the cave, gradually descending into its depths.
The remaining four followed suit, entering the cave after Xuan Ye.
After descending over a hundred meters, they finally reached the bottom.
The cave was pitch black, with no light at all.
All five were cultivators and could use their spiritual senses to observe their surroundings. The darkness didn't affect them much; the inability to see was more of a sensory discomfort.
Suddenly, a fist-sized sphere appeared in Xuan Ye's hand, emitting a faint white glow. The sphere floated up, stopping about a meter above Xuan Ye's head, illuminating an area of several dozen meters around them.
This was a luminous stone commonly used by cultivators for lighting. It required only a small amount of spiritual power to glow for a long time.
"Let's go. For this first part, we need to proceed on foot. Later, as our goals differ, we might part ways, but for now, we're all in this together. I hope we can support each other and face the dangers ahead together."
With that, Xuan Ye led the way deeper into the cave.
Song Wen followed closely behind.
Xuan Ye had been trying hard to unite this makeshift team, which gave Song Wen a good impression of him. Moreover, Xuan Ye was familiar with the terrain, making him a good guide to follow.
(End of the Chapter)