Translator: Cinder Translations
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Xuan Ye was quite pleased with the traps he had set.
He had hidden the eight flags of the Blazing Fire Array in the crevices of the rocks. They were difficult to detect without a thorough mental scan.
Song Wen had shown an extraordinarily strong mental ability, surpassing the detection range of the perfected Qi Refining Stage, and could ignore the mental attacks of the dwarf ghost.
Xuan Ye suspected that Song Wen might possess a powerful mental artifact.
This thought made Xuan Ye greedy. He decided to take a risk and set an ambush on Song Wen's likely path.
As long as Song Wen stepped into the array, no matter how strong he was, Xuan Ye could slowly grind him down.
However, Xuan Ye was troubled by how to lure Song Wen into the trap without him being cautious. After observing for several days, Xuan Ye saw that Song Wen was extremely cautious.
Suddenly, Xuan Ye's face brightened with joy.
"He's coming!"
"Hm? Something's not right. Guo Tao seems to be fleeing."
Xuan Ye thought to himself.
He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to stop Song Wen. He worried that the ghost creatures chasing Song Wen might be too strong and might cause trouble for him.
Seeing Song Wen about to enter the array's range, Xuan Ye steeled himself.
Fortune favors the bold!
He immediately activated the array plate, and a red light shield appeared out of nowhere, trapping Song Wen within the array.
Instantly, fierce flames roared within the array, and the temperature rose sharply.
When Xuan Ye noticed Song Wen, Song Wen had also spotted him.
Like Xuan Ye, Song Wen had a look of delight.
He was struggling with how to shake off the dwarf skeleton ghost, and unexpectedly, Xuan Ye came right to him.
Song Wen had anticipated Xuan Ye's intentions.
There were likely ambushes ahead!
Better to face a lesser threat than the dwarf skeleton ghost!
Compared to the dwarf skeleton ghost, Xuan Ye was like a soft target.
"Ha ha, Guo Tao, I want to see where you can run now. Hand over your mental artifact, and I'll make it quick for you," Xuan Ye said with a smug tone as Song Wen plunged into the array.
A golden shield first appeared around Song Wen, followed by a green bronze bell, both protecting him.
With the double protection of the Vajra Talisman and Ten Thousand Poison Body, Song Wen could still withstand the high temperatures within the array.
He looked gratefully at Xuan Ye, who was proudly showing off, and thought to himself.
"Humans! Helping others in times of crisis."
A silver talisman appeared in Song Wen's hand, and a majestic divine power surged from it, but it remained undirected.
"Boom boom boom..."
The dwarf skeleton ghost stomped heavily into view.
Each step it took resonated throughout the cave.
Xuan Ye's expression froze as he looked at the suddenly appearing dwarf skeleton ghost.
"What kind of monster is that?"
The powerful aura of the dwarf skeleton ghost made Xuan Ye feel a chill.
"Damn, the creature chasing Guo Tao is comparable to a Qi Refining Ninth Stage monster!"
The dwarf skeleton ghost also noticed Xuan Ye and the Blazing Fire Array. It mistakenly thought Xuan Ye and Song Wen were in cahoots. After assessing Xuan Ye's strength and the power of the array, it charged straight into the array's shield.
"Rumble!"
A thunderous sound shook the ground.
The cave trembled!
Countless rocks above the cave were shattered and fell down.
The shield of the Blazing Fire Array shattered under the dwarf skeleton ghost's violent impact.
The array was forcefully breached, and the array plate in Xuan Ye's hand instantly cracked into pieces. Xuan Ye was struck as if by lightning, blood pouring from his mouth, and his aura instantly became weak.
The dwarf skeleton ghost also suffered. It was knocked back a few steps, and the intense heat and the celestial Yang energy from the array burned many of its bones black.
Song Wen's eyes lit up.
"Here's my chance!"
"Crack!"
A thunderous sound echoed throughout the cave.
A silver lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere.
Twisting and writhing like a strange serpent, it surged unpredictably.
"Boom!"
The silver serpent struck the dwarf skeleton ghost, enveloping it in a layer of silver.
The immense divine power purified all impurities within!
The ghostly energy on the dwarf skeleton ghost melted away like spring snow.
Its numerous bones quickly turned into piles of dust, swept away by the fierce wind, dispersing in all directions.
When the silver serpent retreated, the dwarf skeleton ghost was left with no bones at all, and its aura plummeted to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
At this point, the dwarf ghost was severely injured, and even its soul body became unstable.
Indeed, a divine thunder spell, with its immense heavenly might, could show its greatest destructive power against evil spirits and demons.
Song Wen, unaware of the dwarf skeleton ghost's injuries, had already fled as soon as the lightning struck.
At this moment, he was already two or three miles away.
The severely wounded dwarf skeleton ghost realized it could no longer catch that damned human. Even if it did catch up, it was doubtful it could kill him in its current state.
Its immediate priority was to quickly heal its wounds, or it would be at risk of falling in this perilous cave, where numerous corpses and vengeful spirits were not to be trifled with.
It turned its gaze to Xuan Ye, who was heavily injured and had not managed to escape, lying beside the destroyed array.
A moment later.
The dwarf skeleton ghost, having devoured Xuan Ye's soul and life force, looked at the direction Song Wen had fled, filled with murderous intent, but also with sorrow and helplessness.
It knew it would probably never have another chance to encounter this person again.
There might never be another opportunity to avenge this blood feud!
...
Unaware of the situation behind him, Song Wen did not dare to stop for a moment. He continuously used Blood Escape and Blood Sacrifice as he dashed through the cave.
When his blood energy ran low, he drank a vial of essence blood.
When he drank the last vial of essence blood, he stopped using Blood Sacrifice and only continued with Blood Escape.
In just three hours, he had covered the journey that had taken him two days to travel in.
The cave's exit was now in sight.
Looking at the faint light at the exit, Song Wen felt it was so bright and welcoming.
He released his flying boat and used his remaining spiritual power to propel it towards the sky.
...
After leaving the underground caves.
More than an hour later, Song Wen successfully exited the ancient battlefield.
On a cliff several dozen miles away from the ancient battlefield, he found a cave and hid inside.
After prolonged battles and escapes, his spiritual power was nearly depleted, and he urgently needed to recover his strength to guard against any unforeseen events.
However, things did not go as hoped.
A quarter of an hour later.
Three figures appeared on the cliff top: one man and two women. The man was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer; one of the women was at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and the other was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
"Just now, someone clearly used a flying boat and came this way. Why can't we detect the person's aura now?" asked the woman at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
The man replied, "They must have used a technique or artifact to conceal their aura and hide."
"Big Brother, what should we do?"
"Second Sister, you and I will use flying talismans to go down and check. Third Sister, you stay on the cliff top, keep watch, and be ready to assist," the man instructed.
The three of them were siblings, scavengers roaming the outskirts of the ancient battlefield.
They generally did not attack those entering the ancient battlefield but waited until they emerged.
Most cultivators who had just exited the ancient battlefield were either injured or had exhausted their spiritual power, making them relatively easy targets.
Moreover, they only targeted those who were alone or had lower cultivation levels.
This cautious strategy had allowed them to ambush dozens of cultivators with few failures.
(End of the Chapter)
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