Chapter 71

This is a mountain range shrouded in mist, where it is almost impossible to see the things within the forest.

At this moment, in the midst of the mountain range, a young man, like a lemur, was pulling out a spiritual herb from the cliff.

"This Soul-Condensing Herb is finally in my hands." The young man's eyes gleamed with joy as he planted the purple, radiant spiritual herb.

This young man was none other than Xiao Yun.

It has been a month since he left Ziyun County.

During this month, Xiao Yun crossed mountains and rivers, traveling thousands of miles, traversing through the mountains.

The distance from Ziyun County to the capital is far, but there is still some time before the Tianyuan Sect's assessment for the selected geniuses. Therefore, Xiao Yun planned to train more on his journey to improve his various abilities.

In the mountain range, he camped out in the open and fought with beast monsters, gradually gaining insights. Not only did he advance to the late stage of the innate realm, but his soul power also gradually increased, making it less strenuous to control the God-Slaying Spear.

However, to wield the God-Slaying Spear with ease, it was clear that Xiao Yun did not yet have the strength.

If calculated, his current God-Slaying Technique was at the perfected stage of the first level.

The God-Slaying Technique has nine levels, and each level is divided into early, middle, late, and perfected stages.

When he first entered the early stage of the first level, his soul power gradually increased. By the middle stage, he could influence people's minds, catching enemies off guard. By the late stage of the first level, Xiao Yun could already condense his soul power into threads, penetrating people's minds to injure them.

At the perfected stage, Xiao Yun could barely break through the seal on the first floor of the Swallowing Heaven Tower to obtain the God-Slaying Spear, but he still could not freely control this spiritual weapon. To truly master it, he needed to reach the second level of the God-Slaying Technique.

However, advancing further was far from simple.

This required not only accumulated cultivation but also a large amount of soul essence to supplement.

The Soul-Condensing Herb was clearly the best spiritual material for Xiao Yun to enhance his God-Slaying Technique.

"With this Soul-Condensing Herb, the only materials missing for refining the Soul Heaven Pill are the Soul Essence and the Purple Orchid Soul Marrow." Seeing Xiao Yun pick the Soul-Condensing Herb, the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow was quite pleased. This pill was extremely important to it.

"Just wait a bit longer," Xiao Yun said, giving the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow a sidelong glance.

His God-Slaying Technique had not yet broken through.

"You're too stingy," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said, speechless.

"Can't you absorb the essence of all things to restore your strength?" Xiao Yun said with disdain. "How about I give you some Qi-Condensing Pills?"

"What use are Qi-Condensing Pills?" The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow rolled its eyes. "Even ten thousand Qi-Condensing Pills can't match one Soul Heaven Pill. I am in a soul state, making it difficult to store much essence. However, since my lineage is fire-based, if you find some fire-attribute spiritual fruits and a few fire veins for me, I can quickly enhance my strength."

"Fire veins?" Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed. This seemed to be something he needed as well!

Xiao Yun had now fused with the Purple Flame Martial Soul, and to further advance his Martial Soul, he needed to continuously absorb fire essence.

If his Martial Soul reached a certain level, he could even fight beyond his rank.

In this world, some fire flames are celestial spiritual objects. Just a small cluster can incinerate everything and make the heavens tremble.

However, these fire flames are very difficult to cultivate.

After obtaining the Soul-Condensing Herb, Xiao Yun did not rush to consume it. At his current level of the God-Slaying Technique, simply consuming a spiritual herb was unlikely to bring a breakthrough. Only by refining it into a pill would there be a chance to advance to a higher realm.

Subsequently, Xiao Yun continued forward, hoping to find more celestial spiritual materials here.

After walking for a while, Xiao Yun frowned.

The mist ahead was hazy, and there was also a miasma swirling around. His soul power would be affected when released.

"This mountain range is quite special!" Xiao Yun frowned, taking out his map to check.

"Is this the Illusionary Mist Forest?" Suddenly, Xiao Yun shook his head.

The Illusionary Mist Forest is shrouded in mist all year round and is a forbidden area in this mountain range. Strangers who enter will find it difficult to leave, as there is a plant called the Illusionary Grass that emits a hallucinogenic gas, affecting people's minds.

Xiao Yun would not have come here, but because he had been searching for spiritual herbs, he deviated from his original route.

"This mountain range is shrouded in mist; I don't know where the exit is." After wandering in the forest for two days, Xiao Yun still hadn't found a way out and had even encountered some Illusionary Beasts that could spray a hallucinogenic mist.

If an ordinary person encountered these beasts, they would surely become the beasts' prey due to the mist affecting their minds.

However, Xiao Yun's soul power was relatively strong, far surpassing these beasts.

During one confrontation, he used the Fire Cloud Palm to immediately repel the numerous beasts.

These Illusionary Beasts seemed to fear fire greatly. After Xiao Yun killed many of them, they finally avoided the crisis.

However, this also attracted two True Essence Realm Illusionary Beasts, nearly costing him his life.

In the end, Xiao Yun used the God-Slaying Spear to kill one True Essence Realm Illusionary Beast and barely broke through the encirclement, looking quite disheveled.

"It seems the Illusionary Mist Forest is very dangerous; I must leave as soon as possible." Xiao Yun quickly moved forward.

This place was too dangerous. Ordinary True Essence Realm beasts were manageable with the God-Slaying Spear, but after using it once, his soul power was greatly depleted, making it difficult to continue fighting. Therefore, he could not stay long and had to leave.

"I must quickly restore my strength." In the evening, Xiao Yun chose to meditate in a cave within a valley to recover his mental energy.

The next morning, in the misty mountain forest, occasional rays of sunlight penetrated through, illuminating the forest.

"We should rest here for now." A voice from a convoy suddenly echoed in the valley.

"The Third Miss's injuries are severe; she should not travel further. We need to rest for a while," a group of cultivators stopped and murmured.

This was a convoy of about thirty people, all wearing the same attire, clearly from a certain faction.

"Alas, we don't have any detoxifying pills here." Some elders sighed, looking at the central carriage with concern. "If we had a Cloud Detoxifying Pill, the Third Miss's poison could be cured, and we could quickly return to Beilan City."

"Hmph, the Qi family is too despicable, setting up an ambush to try to seize the Heavenly Flame Token. It's sheer delusion," some men said coldly, their eyes filled with hatred for the Qi family.

"Do not speak more." The leading elder's eyes narrowed as he spoke.

This elder was about fifty years old but still had a robust and powerful build. His eyes sparkled with sharpness, and a remarkable aura emanated from his brows, clearly a True Essence Realm expert. After he spoke, everyone around him stopped talking.

After everyone stopped, they immediately set up camp in an orderly manner.

"Let's rest here for a day. Everyone should rest well; the Qi family will not give up easily," a middle-aged man said solemnly nearby. This man was also at the perfected stage of the innate realm, his voice like thunder, exuding a powerful aura.

"Second Master, the Third Miss is in critical condition," a voice came from a tent.

A green-clad girl walked out, her face filled with worry.

"Has Rong'er's poison flared up?" The True Essence Realm elder frowned and quickly entered the tent.

"Alas, the Qi family is too despicable, not only setting up an ambush but also using poison."

"If the Third Miss cannot endure this, her life will be in danger."

"What a pity, the first beauty of Beilan City has come to this." Near some tents, a few young men gathered, their eyes narrowing as they looked at the central tent, all filled with regret.

It would be a great loss if such a beautiful woman were to perish.

Even the middle-aged man patrolling outside looked worried.

"Someone." At this moment, everyone's eyes flickered, suddenly looking at a nearby spot.

There, a young man was slowly approaching.

"When did this boy appear?" Everyone was startled, and some who were squatting on the ground suddenly stood up, weapons in hand, ready to attack. This reaction made the approaching young man frown slightly.

This young man was naturally Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun had been cultivating in a nearby cave. After recovering his soul power, he tried to break through to the second level of the God-Slaying Technique but failed. At this moment, he sensed the sudden appearance of a group of people in the valley. From their words and actions, it was clear they were familiar with this place.

Therefore, Xiao Yun decided to follow them to leave this cursed Illusionary Mist Forest.

Seeing everyone's wary expressions, Xiao Yun was slightly taken aback but did not stop. Instead, he released his soul power, sensing the tents, having vaguely heard a girl's cry earlier.

"Poisoned, I see." After releasing his soul power, Xiao Yun understood the situation of the convoy.

"Who are you?" Seeing Xiao Yun still approaching, the men outside the tents glared at him, shouting.

The innate realm cultivator stepped forward, blocking the way, ready to stop Xiao Yun from advancing.

"I was passing by and got lost in the forest," Xiao Yun stopped and smiled. "Can you help me leave?"

"Lost?" The innate realm man's eyes narrowed. After looking at the young man in front of him, his vigilance slightly relaxed. The nearby men also became less tense. At this close distance, they could see Xiao Yun's face through the mist.

Just a teenager of sixteen or seventeen, nothing to worry about.

Although they felt a bit contemptuous, the innate realm man did not let Xiao Yun approach.

"Where are you from?" The man asked sternly, with a hint of questioning.

Their situation was not good, and it would be troublesome if someone with ill intentions mixed in.

"I come from Ziyun County, thousands of miles away," Xiao Yun said.

"Ziyun County?" The man raised an eyebrow, carefully examining Xiao Yun. "Your accent doesn't sound like you're from around here, but we don't have the time to entertain you. You should leave and find your own way out."

Seeing their attitude, Xiao Yun frowned.

"What happened?" At this moment, an elder walked out of a tent, his eyes sharp as he scanned the area.