Chapter 73

The Guanlei Mountains stretch boundlessly. Although the Yan and Duan families from Zuo Xing City sent many people, finding two individuals amidst the vast, endless forested mountains was like searching for a needle in the sea.

Luo Xiu thought this way, which is why he chose to escape into the Guanlei Mountains.

At dusk, Luo Xiu and Lu Mengyao entered a valley.

The valley was filled with flowers and grass, but it was eerily silent. In Luo Xiu's perception, apart from the life force of the plants, there was no other living being.

"We should leave this place."

The strange atmosphere of the valley made Luo Xiu feel uneasy, and his first reaction was to pull Lu Mengyao and leave.

But at that moment, a black mist suddenly rose at the entrance of the valley, spreading a cold and eerie aura that made Luo Xiu feel a chill all over his body.

Lu Mengyao, standing beside him, shivered uncontrollably, her face turning pale.

"What... What's happening?" Lu Mengyao's eyes showed fear, a fear stemming from the unknown.

Luo Xiu felt the Life-Death Pearl tremble slightly. As soon as the cold and eerie aura approached, it was instantly absorbed by the Life-Death Pearl, and the bone-chilling cold disappeared.

In a short moment, the entire valley was enveloped in black mist, making it impossible to see the entrance or exit. It was like a massive array, trapping Luo Xiu and Lu Mengyao inside.

The cold and eerie aura made Lu Mengyao's lips turn blue, and her body felt icy cold. Even the circulation of true qi could not dispel this cold, which had no effect at all.

Seeing Lu Mengyao about to collapse, Luo Xiu quickly supported her, immediately sensing the cold and eerie aura permeating her body. When they made contact, this cold and eerie aura was absorbed by the Life-Death Pearl in Luo Xiu's body.

Lu Mengyao, who was almost unconscious, regained her senses and clung to Luo Xiu, afraid to let go. "Luo Xiu, what kind of place is this?"

Since the sudden change at Xiaoyao Sect, where her father was severely injured and died in the struggle for the position of sect leader, the experiences she had gone through made her feel anxious and insecure.

Now, the only person she could rely on was Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu held Lu Mengyao close, letting her press against him, so she wouldn't be affected by the cold and eerie aura.

"I think we've accidentally entered the Ghost Yin Valley," Luo Xiu said solemnly.

On the rough map of the Guanlei Mountains he had, the Ghost Yin Valley was marked as a red area, indicating a dangerous place.

"Ghost Yin Valley?" Lu Mengyao's face turned grim.

The Guanlei Mountains, located between Yunlong County and Douhai County, were a place where the most martial artists from the two counties gathered for training.

In the Guanlei Mountains, there were two extremely dangerous areas, and the Ghost Yin Valley was one of them, causing countless martial artists from the two counties to speak of it with fear.

The entire valley was shrouded in black mist, filled with a cold and eerie aura of death.

Based on the Life-Death Pearl's perception, Luo Xiu looked towards the depths of the valley.

"Follow me."

Luo Xiu held Lu Mengyao's hand, and the two carefully walked towards the direction indicated by the Life-Death Pearl.

Since they couldn't find an exit for the time being, Luo Xiu decided to explore the Ghost Yin Valley. The death aura contained in the black mist was a lethal threat to other martial artists, but it had no effect on Luo Xiu, who possessed the Life-Death Pearl.

Seeing Luo Xiu actually leading her deeper into the Ghost Yin Valley, Lu Mengyao shivered, but she also knew they couldn't find an exit, so she had to follow Luo Xiu closely, almost pressing against him.

"Ji ji..."

Suddenly, a sinister and eerie laugh echoed from the depths of the valley. The laugh seemed to come from all directions, and the black mist nearby began to churn violently, the cold and eerie death aura becoming even more intense.

"What's lurking here?" Luo Xiu shouted angrily.

At that moment, the churning mist suddenly formed a huge skull, which opened its mouth and released a powerful suction force.

"Ah..."

Lu Mengyao let out a scream, partly because she was frightened by the huge black skull and partly because the suction force was strong. If she were swallowed by the skull, who knew what would happen.

Luo Xiu pulled out the Shadow Sword and plunged it into the ground, but the powerful suction force continued to pull him, and the Shadow Sword left a furrow in the ground as it continued to move towards the black skull.

If this continued, being swallowed by the skull was just a matter of time.

In Luo Xiu's mind, the first Origin Law Diagram appeared, and the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel in his dantian began to spin rapidly.

"Life-Death Seal!"

Luo Xiu formed a seal with his fingers, and the black and white intertwined Life-Death energy surged out, forming a shadow of the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel in front of his chest.

As Luo Xiu pushed his palm forward, the palm-sized shadow of the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel flew out and struck the huge black skull.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, the huge black skull shattered, and the cold and eerie death aura surged towards Luo Xiu, entering his body.

All of this aura was absorbed by the Life-Death Pearl, which then released Life-Death energy, flowing through his meridians and limbs.

Crack...

It seemed that some kind of restriction in his body was broken, and Luo Xiu's aura suddenly rose, breaking through to the sixth level of the Qi Sea realm.

"Ah, I see."

Luo Xiu's eyes sparkled. He realized that the black mist in the valley contained death energy, which he could absorb and refine using the Life-Death Pearl to enhance his cultivation.

This method of enhancing cultivation was even more effective than absorbing the elemental energy of heaven and earth. Otherwise, his cultivation wouldn't have broken through to the sixth level of the Qi Sea realm so quickly.

"Life-Death energy? A mere Qi Sea martial artist, yet you can master Life-Death energy?" A voice from the depths of the valley exclaimed in surprise.

"Playing tricks!" Luo Xiu sneered and continued to lead Lu Mengyao deeper into the valley.

The death energy was a supplement to him, and the existence hidden in the Ghost Yin Valley was restrained by him. Luo Xiu had nothing to fear.

The All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel in his dantian spun rapidly, and as he passed, the black mist continuously merged into his body, quickly raising his cultivation from the early sixth level of the Qi Sea realm to the middle sixth level, and it continued to rise.

After a short while, Luo Xiu saw a cave in the depths of the valley, which was the source of the death energy permeating the entire valley.

Luo Xiu did not rush into the cave but sat cross-legged on the ground, fully activating the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel.

The nine Origin Law Diagrams of the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel actually contained the subtleties of martial arts. Luo Xiu had grasped a bit of this subtlety and integrated it with the Pure Yang Technique.

Actually, the Pure Yang Technique should cultivate pure yang true qi, but due to the Life-Death Pearl, the original circulation route of the Pure Yang Technique was modified, and the cultivation resulted in Life-Death true qi.

So, in a sense, the cultivation technique Luo Xiu practiced was no longer the Pure Yang Technique.

As soon as the technique was activated, the black mist in the valley rushed towards Luo Xiu, enveloping him in black mist.

Lu Mengyao, not knowing what was happening, found that she was no longer affected by the cold and eerie aura, realizing that Luo Xiu must have found a way. She stood by his side, guarding him and carefully watching the surroundings.

In a short while, the black mist in the valley became increasingly thin as it was absorbed by Luo Xiu.

Suddenly, a voice reached Luo Xiu's ears, "Stop, don't absorb any more."

Luo Xiu coldly snorted, ignoring the voice. Soon, the black mist in the valley was completely absorbed by him, with most of it being swallowed by the Life-Death Pearl. Although only a small part was converted into Life-Death true qi, it still raised his cultivation to the seventh level of the Qi Sea realm in a short time.

Regardless, Luo Xiu continued to activate the All-Heaven Life-Death Wheel, and a more refined death energy, even purer than the black mist, escaped from the cave and was instantly absorbed by Luo Xiu.

"Young man, don't be too greedy. If you want to leave here, I advise you to stop," the voice from the cave said with a hint of threat. "This valley is sealed by my array. Even if you are a Martial King, without the skill of a sixth-rank array master, you won't be able to leave."

"Why should I believe you? Why would you be so kind to let us leave?" Luo Xiu sneered.

"Hmph, I am Su Jingyun, a Martial Lord, and I disdain to deceive a mere Qi Sea martial artist," the voice from the cave coldly said.

"Martial Lord?" Luo Xiu's eyes narrowed. In the realm of martial cultivation, after Martial King, comes Martial Lord.

The vast land of Yunlong County has no Martial Lord-level strong individuals, and even a dominant force like Xiaoyao Sect is only led by a Martial King.

Douhai County is slightly stronger overall, but according to Luo Xiu's knowledge, the strongest is only at the seventh level of the Martial King realm.

Martial Lord-level strong individuals are said to exist only in the eight provinces of Tianwu Kingdom and the capital of Tianwu Kingdom.

Such a powerful existence could easily destroy major forces like Xiaoyao Sect and Lei Wu Sect.

As for the name Su Jingyun, Luo Xiu had never heard of it.

In the cave, Luo Xiu sensed a cluster of soul energy. It is said that when martial cultivation reaches the Spirit Refinement realm, the martial artist's soul condenses into a spirit. He did not sense any life force, indicating that Su Jingyun no longer had a physical body and only had a spirit.

Luo Xiu had never heard of anyone surviving with just a spirit. Even a Martial Lord, once their physical body is destroyed, their spirit would also dissipate. Generally, only with the help of special treasures can a spirit without a physical body survive.

This Su Jingyun hidden in the cave must be in such a situation.

As Luo Xiu pondered, the powerful soul energy in the depths of the cave suddenly surged out.

"A mere Qi Sea realm can master Life-Death energy, you must have had a great fortune. I, Su Jingyun, will use your body to be reborn!" A cold laugh echoed in Luo Xiu's mind, and a powerful soul force surged into his body.

"Body snatching?"

Luo Xiu's face changed. He had heard that after the Spirit Refinement realm, when a martial artist's physical body is destroyed, they can snatch a body and consume the soul or spirit of another martial artist to take over their body.