Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Peril in the Mountains
"Buzz..."
Just as he was speaking, a sudden ripple emerged from ahead.
The Demon Phoenix soared into the sky, then swooped down, its massive body falling like a mighty mountain. Its sharp beak slightly parted, releasing a purple flame that erupted forth, scorching the void as if it were an inexhaustible divine flame.
"Ah!"
The sound of miserable screams arose continuously. Many cultivators ahead had no time to dodge and were directly engulfed by the purple flame, turning into ashes on the spot.
Some people reacted in time, trying to use their own Spiritual Power to extinguish the purple fire.
But the purple fire was extremely peculiar; no matter how they struggled, they couldn’t put it out.
In just under a dozen breaths, dozens perished here, reduced to flying ashes by the terrifying purple flame, with not even a fragment of bone left.
"Run!"
"That’s the legendary fire of the Immortal Domain; touching it spells death, even a Saint would be scarred!"
The scene immediately became incomparably chaotic, everyone retreating quickly, attempting to escape at the first moment.
Even Saints couldn’t withstand the purple fire; for these ordinary cultivators, any inadvertent contact meant certain death!
No one could remain calm; all were fleeing, not daring to linger another moment.
"This way."
Ji Chen, leading Yu Yuanshan, skirted along the flanks, avoiding the sight of the Demon Phoenix, seizing the opportunity to continue deeper into Purple Jing Mountain.
Not just them, many cultivators in the mountain also escaped in the chaos, clearly indicating that while the Demon Phoenix was terrifying, it was nothing compared to the Immortal Treasure within the mountain.
Seeking fortune amidst danger; without even this bit of courage, how could one speak of obtaining opportunities?
All was thrilling but not perilous.
After roughly a quarter of an hour of rapid movement, Ji Chen and Yu Yuanshan slightly slowed their pace, confirming there was no pursuit from the Demon Phoenix.
However, after the encounter just now, the two were noticeably more cautious.
By now, they had ventured at least several hundred miles into the mountain.
At such a depth, the primeval exotic creatures appearing here were evidently not something average people could handle, necessitating extreme caution.
Otherwise, if one were marked by those primeval exotics, it might lead to a deadly disaster.
It’s said that the foremost large force contingents that entered had all descended from the sky, no longer daring to continue Controlling the Sky, to avoid being too conspicuous and attracting the notice of the mountain’s Demon Beasts, thereby inciting unnecessary trouble.
Ji Chen and Yu Yuanshan continued onward.
Everyone’s pace had visibly slowed along the way.
Under ancient trees, beside boulders, signs of excavation could be seen, where Spirit Medicine growing there had been collected.
Additionally, along some creek sides, there were several vacated gravesites that had been unearthed.
These were the resting spots of earlier pioneers who died unexpectedly in the mountain, buried there by their companions.
Now, with a large influx of cultivators, a mixture of all sorts emerged. Seeing such graves, some couldn’t resist digging them up, hoping to find some opportunity within.
But the likelihood of that was exceedingly slim.
After progressing for about half a day more,
before Ji Chen and Yu Yuanshan appeared a Chaotic Stone Forest.
The rocks within varied in shape, some as sharp as blades, others cylindrical or circular.
At that moment, many cultivators who had arrived there were lingering in the Chaotic Stone Forest, appearing to have discovered something.
Ji Chen and Yu Yuanshan could not help their curiosity and stepped inside.
"So many skeletons?"
Upon entering the Chaotic Stone Forest and seeing the scene inside, both couldn’t help their hearts from skipping a beat.
Everywhere lay skeletal remains, individuals who died an unknown number of years ago, leaving only white bones.
Some grasped swords, others held blades, as if they were still desperately fighting when they died.
Someone tried to take the weapons from the bones, only to find that, perhaps due to the passage of too much time, they crumbled at a touch, reduced to dust, with no value remaining.
"Who were these people? All perished here!"
"The weapons in their hands are mostly top-tier Dao Artifacts, with some even imitation Holy Weapons, now all weathered away—perishing at least ten thousand years ago."
In the forest, many pondered, all with furrowed brows, sensing that the place was likely ominous.
An elder from a Sacred Land remarked, "If my guess is correct, they were likely disciples of the Hermit Immortal Palace from twenty thousand years ago, who attacked Purple Jing Mountain and encountered a battle unknown to us here."
"It’s said that at that time, Hermit Immortal Palace used the full strength of their sect to attack Purple Jing Mountain, and not a single one of the ten thousand disciples emerged alive. Unexpectedly, several hundred were lost here, and we might see more of their bones later on our journey."
While discussing, some continued further into the mountain, while others stayed in the Chaotic Stone Forest, hoping to find some worthwhile opportunity.
"A fierce battle once occurred here; there’s likely a rare treasure nearby, let’s search around." Ji Chen squinted, saying this.
Yu Yuanshan nodded, agreeing that it was very possible.
Soon, the two started searching around the vicinity of the Chaotic Stone Forest. After circling, Ji Chen finally discovered tracks of people walking through a patch of weeds on the right side of the forest.
Judging from the traces, they were left not long before they arrived.
"Could those major forces have found something here?" Yu Yuanshan speculated.
"Let’s follow and see." Ji Chen didn’t hesitate, and with those words, he stepped forward, following the traces left on the ground.
After about a quarter of an hour, they quickly sensed something amiss.
Yu Yuanshan couldn’t help but say, "The temperature is much more stifling, and the aura ahead feels unusual; something unexpected might happen."
"There are no signs of fighting, which means at least for now we are safe, as long as we stick to the tracks ahead, there should be no danger." Ji Chen said.
He had a strong feeling that something extraordinary surely existed ahead.
Sure enough, after advancing for about another half an hour, not far from the two, strong personalities from those major forces were gathered around a cliffside, about several dozen in number, and Saintess Qing Ling was present, though Hidden Dragon Saint Heir was not seen.
It seems these major force elites had differing opinions after entering the mountain, each heading in their own direction instead of reaching the end together.
"It’s Profound Yellow Ancestral Qi!"
Yu Yuanshan exclaimed in surprise, gazing at the dim golden light rising below the cliff, intimately resembling the Profound Yellow Ancestral Qi from his knowledge.
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