Chapter 96

Xiao Yun searched through the ruins of the legacy mansion but found no more magical artifacts.

This place was almost a wasteland, with many things no longer existing.

"There's nothing left here," Xiao Yun said after a thorough search, almost unable to sense any treasures in the ruins. Although he felt somewhat disappointed, his frown eased when he looked at the treasure spear in his hand, which was emitting a fiery glow.

At least he had obtained a spiritual artifact.

"I wonder how to activate this spiritual artifact," Xiao Yun murmured.

"Generally, a spiritual artifact can be bonded with a drop of blood during its creation," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said. "Your spiritual artifact is extraordinary, likely made from the bones of a spirit beast. It carries the bloodline aura of a spirit beast. If you rashly use your blood, it might backfire."

"Then what should I do?" Xiao Yun asked, not knowing much about spiritual artifacts.

"Try to seep your soul power into it and see if there is any residual spirit consciousness of the spirit beast within. If there is, you must subdue this consciousness and imprint your soul power on it. Then you can control the spiritual artifact with ease," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow explained.

"Seep my soul power in?" Xiao Yun's brow arched. "That shouldn't be a problem."

"However, be careful. If the spirit consciousness is strong, it might devour your soul power," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow warned.

"Understood." Xiao Yun nodded and tried to seep his soul power into the spiritual artifact.

As his soul power seeped in, a rune on the red spear suddenly glowed, as if something had been triggered. Then, his mind trembled as if he had entered a vast world, everything before him turning a deep red.

"Where am I?" Xiao Yun's mind stirred, immediately sensing an extremely powerful aura surging.

"Such a strong aura," Xiao Yun's mind was surprised. "Is this the aura of a bloodline?"

He vaguely felt the aura and the redness, which seemed to be the residual bloodline of the spirit spear.

This residual bloodline aura was no less powerful than that of a Core Formation realm cultivator.

Roar!

Just as Xiao Yun was amazed by the bloodline aura within the spirit spear, the redness suddenly surged, as if an ancient fierce beast was awakening. A powerful and fierce aura, like a tidal wave, swept towards Xiao Yun's mind.

"Too strong," Xiao Yun's brow furrowed, his mind feeling wary. The aura inside was far stronger than his soul power.

Withdraw!

Xiao Yun's mind moved, and his soul power quickly withdrew from the treasure spear.

"What happened?" Seeing Xiao Yun's solemn and relieved expression, the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow quickly asked.

"The spirit consciousness inside is too strong. With my current soul power, I can't suppress it," Xiao Yun shook his head and said.

"So strong?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow murmured. "It seems this spirit spear is not of a low grade."

"I can only wait for my soul power to break through," Xiao Yun sighed.

If he didn't reach the second level of the Soul Annihilation Technique, he almost couldn't control this spiritual artifact.

"I wonder if there are any more secrets here?" Xiao Yun shook his head, his eyes scanning the surroundings, sensing the distance.

"There seems to be a powerful aura emanating from there," Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed, saying.

"Someone is in battle," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow also sensed the aura.

Eya!

The white little beast chirped, seemingly saying it knew the place.

"Shall we go and see?" Xiao Yun looked at the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow.

"Sure," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyes narrowed.

Xiao Yun followed the aura, and suddenly, he was stunned by the scene before him.

This place was riddled with ravines and fire veins, as if he had arrived at the convergence point of the earth's core fire veins.

In the center, there was a hundred-meter-high altar, with iron chains hanging from above, connecting to the major fire veins. Runes flickered, drawing the essence from the fire veins and converging at the center of the altar.

At the center of the altar was a treasure tripod, currently gathering boundless fire essence.

"Is this the forbidden area of the ancient sect?" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow gazed into the distance, murmuring.

"Such a grand array!" Xiao Yun was surprised. Using a grand array to draw the essence of the fire veins was truly astonishing!

No wonder it was an ancient sect.

However, at the foot of the altar, a few people were engaged in a fierce battle.

"It's Qiu Xuanfeng," Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed, recognizing one of the figures as the person who had once oppressed him with his aura.

Thinking of how this person had forced him to explore the path, Xiao Yun's teeth clenched.

If not for Xiao Yun's powerful soul power, which allowed him to see the restrictions, he would have perished on that iron bridge long ago.

"This guy is not weak!" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow murmured.

Xiao Yun also sighed, stopping in his tracks, with no intention of intervening.

The Core Formation realm cultivators were too strong, far beyond his current capabilities. Even with various trump cards, Xiao Yun would be like a chicken or a dog in the hands of a Core Formation realm cultivator, unable to withstand a single blow. So, even if he hated this person, he could only endure it.

Boom!

In front of him, a loud explosion shook the sky, and a powerful aura swept out. Even from a thousand meters away, Xiao Yun could feel the terrifying aura, which could completely crush cultivators below the Core Formation realm.

"Huh, what's that?" Suddenly, Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed.

In front of him, the person battling Qiu Xuanfeng was a man with fish scales covering his face.

This man's figure was elusive, like a cloud of mist, seemingly about to dissipate at any moment. However, every time he attacked, it caused a tremendous shock, forcing Qiu Xuanfeng to retreat step by step, unable to match him, clearly at a disadvantage and on the verge of defeat.

"It's a spirit beast!" the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyes lit up. "This spirit beast is very powerful!"

"Spirit beast?" Xiao Yun was slightly stunned. "Is he a transformed beast?"

"He is a spirit beast, but he has lost his physical body, becoming a spirit beast," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow's eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of excitement, as if he had some ulterior motive.

The spirit beast held a fiery red spear, charging towards Qiu Xuanfeng.

"Damn, there's actually a spirit beast with the strength of a Nascent Soul realm," Qiu Xuanfeng's brow furrowed. He held a long sword, which glowed and emitted a murky aura, clearly a low-grade spiritual artifact. However, it was almost powerless against the spirit beast's attacks, and even the runes on his spiritual artifact were about to be worn away.

If this continued, he would have no more resistance.

At the edge of the altar, two other men from the Qiu family were already on the verge of death.

"Qiu Xuanfeng is in trouble," Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed, a smile appearing on his lips. If Qiu Xuanfeng was killed, he wouldn't need to take action, and the Qiu family would suffer a significant blow.

Losing a Core Formation realm cultivator, even if the Qiu family attacked the Xiao family, there would be no need to worry too much.

Boom!

The spirit beast's long arm trembled, and the spear in his hand transformed into a fiery python, charging towards Qiu Xuanfeng. The powerful aura made the air tremble, and the iron chains near the altar clanged. A crisp sound echoed, and Qiu Xuanfeng's body trembled. The spiritual artifact in his hand shattered, turning into a broken weapon that fell to the ground.

"Hehe, this old villain's time has come," Xiao Yun couldn't help but laugh. Without his spiritual artifact, how could he fight?

"This Qiu old ghost is too weak," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow shook its head, sighing. "The cultivators here lack depth."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yun was confused. Wasn't Qiu Xuanfeng's death a good thing?

"If they could both be severely injured, it would be better," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said.

"Both severely injured?" Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed, suddenly saying, "Not good, if Qiu Xuanfeng dies, the spirit beast will likely target me. We need to retreat quickly."

"Let's watch for a bit," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said. "If Qiu Xuanfeng can hold on a bit longer, we might benefit."

"Benefit?" Xiao Yun rolled his eyes. "Don't let us become the fish in someone else's mouth."

"Just trust me this once," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow said.

However, at the foot of the altar, a sudden change occurred.

Qiu Xuanfeng, after being defeated, quickly retreated, attempting to escape.

"Want to run? Leave your life behind," the spirit beast said, its voice hoarse and ethereal. "Hehe, after waiting so long, this day has finally come. The body of a Core Formation realm cultivator is extraordinary. With this, I can quickly recover to the Nascent Soul realm."

The spirit beast's hand moved, and the spear flew out, transforming into a giant python, charging towards Qiu Xuanfeng.

In a hurry, Qiu Xuanfeng swept his hand, picking up the two clan members on the ground and charging towards the fiery python.

"No!" The two True Essence realm cultivators were terrified, screaming in agony.

Boom!

The fiery python struck, directly exploding the two men and then charging towards the retreating Qiu Xuanfeng.

Puff!

Qiu Xuanfeng was rapidly retreating, trying to escape, but the fiery python struck, sending him flying a hundred meters away.

"Damn," the Swallowing Heaven Sparrow couldn't help but scold from a distance. It had thought Qiu Xuanfeng would fight to the death, but he lacked the courage and only thought of fleeing, giving the spirit beast the best opportunity to strike.

If he had fought to the death, with his Core Formation realm cultivation, he could have dragged the spirit beast down even if he died.

The Swallowing Heaven Sparrow knew the spirit beast's weakness. Even if it looked strong, it was at the end of its strength and couldn't sustain a prolonged battle.

If Qiu Xuanfeng had held on a bit longer, the spirit beast's aura would have weakened.

Unfortunately, Qiu Xuanfeng, fearing for his life, fled, and was instead severely injured.

After being injured, Qiu Xuanfeng immediately leaped up, crossing a wide path between the fire veins.

"Since you came, don't run," the spirit beast coldly laughed, its body transforming into a fiery light, flying through the air. If one looked closely, the fiery light was a giant fiery python, glowing with flames.

"Damn," Qiu Xuanfeng frowned, stepping into the air and fleeing.

However, the fiery python pursued relentlessly, continuously attacking.

Boom!

Another fiery light charged, like a spear piercing towards Qiu Xuanfeng's back.

Qiu Xuanfeng turned and struck with his palm, but he couldn't resist the spear, and his shoulder was pierced, causing intense pain.

The powerful aura swept out, and Xiao Yun frowned, wanting to