Chapter 97

Like a leaf, a drop of a tear, Yu Yao fell into the sea of decaying leaves.

The earth dragon crawled toward the direction where Yu Yao had fallen. The decaying leaves surged rapidly, turning a dark red with blood, the intense pain driving it mad. It craved the broken limbs, fresh flesh, and warm organs. It had to eat that woman to slightly alleviate the hatred in its heart.

But it dared not turn to face Deng Yuantong and Song Yun. The symbol of the Big Dipper, that dazzling light, made it sense the aura of death.

Song Yun rode the flying sickle and pursued swiftly, muttering a spell in a low voice. She raised her right hand and made a grabbing motion, then threw it toward the earth dragon’s position. Spreading her fingers, she pressed her palm down, and a bolt of lightning like a coiling dragon struck, covering a range of several yards. The decaying leaves and dead branches turned to powder, revealing a large, charred pit. At the bottom of the pit lay an earth dragon, resembling both a crocodile and a lizard.

Song Yun used all her strength, employing her most powerful technique, the Five Thunders.

The earth dragon’s scales stood on end, and silver lightning wrapped around its body, crackling and suppressing its every movement. Deng Yuantong took the opportunity to rush forward, casting another Big Dipper symbol, aiming for its head.

He had his eye on the earth dragon’s spirit. If he could capture it and absorb it into the Green Bee Sword, its power would not be inferior to that of the Green Iron Bee King.

The earth dragon, in a dire situation, rolled its emerald eyes and let out a muffled groan, spitting out a pitch-black demon core that firmly held the Big Dipper symbol. The light of the symbol was absorbed into the demon core, like darkness endlessly swallowing light.

Song Yun had already reached her limit with the Five Thunders, unable to continue. She left the earth dragon behind and rode the flying sickle over the sea of decaying leaves, bending down and extending her arm to pull Yu Yao up. Seeing that she was unconscious but still tightly gripping the gold-inlaid phoenix sickle, Song Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The master’s most precious disciple, the most precious flying sickle—losing either would be a problem. However, even the master of the Hook Sickle Sect could not help Yu Yao much. Some things she had to bear alone. Thinking of this, Song Yun couldn’t help but sigh.

The power of the Five Thunders finally dissipated. The earth dragon, using its demon core, pushed away the Big Dipper symbol and disappeared into the sea of decaying leaves. Deng Yuantong retracted the symbol, feeling somewhat regretful. Missing such a good opportunity, there would be no second chance.

“Is Yu Yao alright?” he asked casually.

“She’s injured, but it’s not serious. Let’s go, we need to leave here first.” Song Yun didn’t want to talk more and urged the flying sickle, shooting like an arrow toward the miasma forest.

The two returned to where Yao Jiang had fallen. Wei Shiqi was indeed guarding the spot faithfully, not moving an inch. Deng Yuantong felt a bit smug; his senior brother Xun’s only disciple was at his command, which felt quite good.

“Is Yu Yao injured?” Wei Shiqi noticed Yu Yao, who looked like a sleeping beauty, nestled in Song Yun’s arms with her long legs dangling on the ground, like a little sister hugging a big sister, which made him chuckle.

“This cursed place!” Song Yun muttered, gently placing Yu Yao down and letting her lean against a tree trunk. She fed her a calming pill. The earth dragon’s tail strike was incredibly powerful, and although it was blocked by the gold-inlaid phoenix sickle, it still shook her internal organs, causing some injuries. Fortunately, Yu Yao had practiced the Moon Howling Technique in her childhood, making her body stronger than an average person, so there was no serious problem.

Deng Yuantong and Song Yun discussed for a moment and felt that there was nothing they could do. Although the earth dragon had lost a limb, its strength was unimpaired. It could resist the Big Dipper symbol with its demon core and had the advantage of the sea of decaying leaves. Despite their best efforts, they could not kill it and had to retreat to Kunlun to make other plans.

Fortunately, they had found Yao Jiang’s remains and the Green Rust Sword, so the trip wasn’t entirely in vain.

Deng Yuantong still felt a bit regretful. The power of the Green Bee Sword depended entirely on the spirit absorbed into it, and a powerful spirit was hard to come by. He couldn’t resist suggesting, “The Five Ma Powder is quite effective against the earth dragon. Why don’t we return to the Town Pass and ask General Xu to gather the ingredients to re-create the Five Ma Powder...”

“To synthesize the Five Ma Powder, we need five main ingredients: Red Pillar Gum, Red Vine, Marrow Yellow, Nine Yin Grass, and Catfish Dragon Whisker. The last one, Catfish Dragon Whisker, is produced in very small quantities each year. The Town Pass’s stock has already been exhausted by Junior Brother Yao. This path is long and arduous, and it won’t work.” Song Yun shook her head slightly, suddenly remembering something. “If we had the Soul Calming Incense, it would be even more effective than the Five Ma Powder.”

This was the second time she mentioned the Soul Calming Incense. Wei Shiqi remained calm, considering various possible responses.

“I heard that Qi Du of the Pingyuan Sect has a piece of Soul Calming Incense. However, Xian Du and Pingyuan have always been at odds. Do you have any way, Senior Sister Song?”

“Qi Du is from Kunlun and is senior to me. He has a peculiar temperament, and I can’t persuade him.” Song Yun showed no respect for Qi Du, calling him by his name.

Wei Shiqi seized the opportunity to interject, “Last year, during the winter hunt at Jietian Ridge, I met Sun Ergou of the Pingyuan Sect. He mentioned that he had a piece of Soul Calming Incense.”

Deng Yuantong’s eyes lit up, and he asked, “What happened?”

Wei Shiqi recounted how Sun Ergou had tried to use the Soul Calming Incense to knock out a white snake spirit and steal its eggs.

Song Yun snorted, “This master and disciple are truly bold, daring to target a demon king!”

Deng Yuantong asked, “Did you agree?”

“I firmly refused and scolded him away.”

Deng Yuantong said, “Scolded him away? That doesn’t seem like your style.”

Wei Shiqi smiled awkwardly, “At the time, I felt a vague sense of unease, as if someone was watching from nearby. I was worried it might be the white snake spirit, so I sternly refused Sun Ergou.”

Song Yun laughed, “So stern! Junior Brother Deng, your disciple is... quite interesting!”

Deng Yuantong coughed, “What happened next?”

“I angrily called Sun Ergou a ‘rascal’ and left alone, not knowing if the white snake spirit was really watching. A few months later, near the white snake spirit’s cave, I met Sun Ergou again. He was still determined and teamed up with another Pingyuan Sect disciple, Shang Jianan, to light the Soul Calming Incense and sneak into the cave to steal the eggs. I went to watch, but accidentally alarmed the human-faced dove guarding the entrance. We fought, and I killed the human-faced dove.”

Being able to kill a human-faced dove alone, Song Yun’s opinion of him rose even higher.

“I accidentally ruined their plan, and Sun Ergou scolded me a few times, worried about alarming the white snake spirit. He and Shang Jianan fled. As I was about to leave, someone threw a pearl out of the white snake spirit’s cave, saying that the Soul Calming Incense was very valuable and rare in all of Kunlun Mountain. It would be a waste to let it go to waste, so they gave it to me. The voice was a woman’s, very pleasant.”

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything, just picked up the pearl and left.” Wei Shiqi took out the Soul Calming Pearl from his pocket and held it in his palm. The pearl was a pure blue, with smoke swirling and constantly changing shape.

Song Yun picked up the pearl, examined it closely, and smiled, “You didn’t even