Chapter 87

Qin Lie, Tu Ze, Na Nuo, and others were all secretly alarmed by Gao Yu's words and looked in the direction he pointed.

At this moment, Liang Zhong suddenly spoke, "You're called Gao Yu, right? Yes, you can go with Qin Lie and are also allowed to enter the depths of the stone forest to assist our operation."

Gao Yu's face was grim, "What operation?"

"You will know in due time," Liang Zhong frowned, "You are from the Star Cloud Pavilion, so you must follow our orders. You and Qin Lie will come with me, and the rest are not allowed to enter. Yes, the things you are curious about will become clear to you once you get there. You will know what those black clouds are."

After saying this, Liang Zhong headed towards the depths of the stone forest, gesturing for Qin Lie and Gao Yu to follow.

"Qin Lie, what's going on?" Tu Ze asked in surprise.

Zhuo Qian, Na Nuo, and others also looked at him, hoping he would reveal some information to dispel their doubts.

"I'm not quite sure either," Qin Lie shook his head. Seeing Liang Zhong's impatient face, he couldn't say much more. He just informed Gao Yu, and the two followed Liang Zhong's Xuanming Beast into the depths of the stone forest.

"Tu Ze, is he from your Star Cloud Pavilion? I haven't heard of him before. What's his background?" After Qin Lie and Gao Yu left, Na Nuo's eyes flickered as she looked at Zhuo Qian and asked with a smile, "Is he also sent down from the Senluo Hall to your Star Cloud Pavilion for training? Who is he, the son of some important figure?"

A young girl from the Shuiyue Sect also came over, chattering away with questions.

Qin Lie's arrival had turned the tide of their defeat, successfully repaired the spirit weapons that Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian had refined to failure, and he was also following Xie Jingxuan, seemingly having a significant connection to the Senluo Hall...

They naturally assumed that Qin Lie, like Zhuo Qian, was of noble birth. They even thought his status might be even higher.

"It's none of your business," Zhuo Qian huffed before Tu Ze could answer, then frowned, "Hurry up and distribute the spirit materials. We need to find a place to treat our injuries. We can't waste time here."

Na Nuo's face turned slightly cold, "The spirit beast corpses are here. The Ice Rock Manor has already cut some parts. The rest, you'll have to do yourselves."

"Chu Peng, Kang Zhi!" Zhuo Qian ordered, "You two take care of the rest. We'll leave here soon, don't waste time."

Kang Zhi, Han Feng, and others originally wanted to chat with the Shuiyue Sect girls, but seeing Zhuo Qian's words, they could only reluctantly get to work.

Tu Ze sat down, swallowing a few pills to recover from his injuries.

Na Nuo stared at this side for a while, finding it uninteresting, and didn't say much more. She and a group of girls waited quietly on the side.

...

Qin Lie and Gao Yu followed Liang Zhong's Xuanming Beast through a cluster of towering stone peaks, arriving at a place where the rocks stood like a forest of swords.

In this area, the rocks were as straight as swords, their tips piercing the sky, resembling a forest of giant swords at first glance.

The surroundings were filled with a chilling aura, making one feel uncomfortable. However, the spiritual energy here was quite dense, much better than in other parts of the stone forest.

Under a sharp, sword-like rock, Xie Jingxuan was still sitting on the Xuanming Beast, listening to Ban Hong's report.

Many martial artists from the Senluo Hall were scattered around, all respectful, but with obvious worry in their brows, as if troubled by something.

Seeing Liang Zhong bring Qin Lie and Gao Yu, Xie Jingxuan was slightly surprised. She stopped Ban Hong's report, asked him to step aside, and then gestured for Liang Zhong to come over.

Liang Zhong rode the Xuanming Beast closer, knowing what she wanted to ask, and explained first, "That kid is called Gao Yu. He has been tracking the soul fragment of the Soul Devouring Beast from the outskirts of Ice Rock City all the way here. He says he can sense the existence of the soul fragment. Just now, outside, he pointed out the area we should focus on, saying there are more soul fragments over there..."

Xie Jingxuan's eyes brightened, looking far at Gao Yu's position, "He is so sensitive to soul bodies?"

"Yes, that kid practices a unique spirit technique, one that... seems to be able to control vengeful spirits," Liang Zhong lowered his voice, "This kind of spirit technique is extremely rare, difficult to cultivate, and hard to achieve great success. Even in the Senluo Hall, few people specialize in such dark and bizarre techniques. I think he might be useful, so I brought him along."

Xie Jingxuan nodded slightly.

"Miss, I checked carefully just now and found that the spirit array diagrams on the spirit weapons in Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian's hands... were made by the same person as those in the Spirit Gathering Plaques," Liang Zhong said in a low voice.

"Hmm?" Xie Jingxuan was puzzled.

"It's like this," Liang Zhong explained, "Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian's spirit weapons were refined by Master Lu, but there was a problem in the middle. It seems the spirit array diagrams conflicted, and in the end, Master Lu failed to refine both spirit weapons, making them defective. Qin Lie took the two defective spirit weapons, saying he would have someone help complete the spirit array diagrams. On this trip, he returned the two spirit weapons to Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian..."

Liang Zhong paused, then continued, "As you can see, the two spirit weapons perfectly match Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian's spirit techniques, as if they were made for them, like they could become part of their bodies."

Xie Jingxuan's eyes brightened, "You mean?"

"Hehe, the owner of Li's Shop must be an extraordinary alchemist," Liang Zhong's face showed respect, "Master Lu failed to refine the spirit weapons, but he could bring them back to life. This person's alchemy skills are definitely a level higher than Master Lu!"

"Is it him?" Xie Jingxuan murmured to herself.

"It must be him," Liang Zhong was very sure, "I have long suspected that the Spirit Gathering Plaques were made by Li Mu. Such unique items are not found in the Equipment Pavilion, and we haven't seen them elsewhere. Where does Li Mu get his supplies? Now, the spirit array diagrams inside the two spirit weapons are exactly the same as those in the Spirit Gathering Plaques. Can this not explain the issue?"

Xie Jingxuan thought for a moment and nodded lightly, "It seems so."

"Next time we go to Li's Shop, we need to be more careful. Such a highly skilled alchemist must have a significant background," Liang Zhong's expression was solemn, "I will also have someone investigate and find out Li Mu's true identity. We need to know his background."

"Yes, if we had more Spirit Gathering Plaques, this trip would be much easier," Xie Jingxuan said.

"Miss, what's the current situation?" Liang Zhong asked.

"Take a look yourself," Xie Jingxuan sighed lightly.

Liang Zhong's face turned serious. He suddenly flew off the Xuanming Beast, like a spirit ape, climbing up the largest stone peak. He quickly stood at the top of the stone peak, looking far into the distance from a height of dozens of meters.

From a high vantage point, he saw a region deep in the stone forest covered by thick black clouds, making it impossible to see the inside.

The black clouds clustered together, moving as if they had a life of their own, releasing a cold and evil aura. Even from such a distance, Liang Zhong could feel the terrifying fluctuations.

On the outer layer of that region, many spirit beasts were gathered in a ring, many of which were second-stage spirit beasts. These spirit beasts were clustered around the black clouds, blocking the path to the inside.

To enter the area with the thick black clouds, they would have to kill the spirit beasts and clear a path.

Liang Zhong's brows furrowed deeply. A rough estimate showed that there were hundreds of first-stage spirit beasts and two to three dozen second-stage spirit beasts. Clearing a path would be a difficult task, not an easy one.

After looking for a while, Liang Zhong came down with a worried expression, saying, "The situation is not optimistic."

"Yes, we didn't bring many people, and we didn't expect so many spirit beasts to gather. Clearing a path to enter might not be easy," Xie Jingxuan thought for a moment and said, "We need to use Tu Ze, Na Nuo, and the others..."

"What do you plan to have them do, Miss?" Liang Zhong asked respectfully.

"Divert part of the spirit beast group, and if possible, kill some to ease our pressure a bit," Xie Jingxuan's face was indifferent, speaking calmly, "We can't waste too much energy on those spirit beasts. The Soul Devouring Beast... is our target and the primary mission of this trip."

"Those young people's realms are too weak. If they truly anger the spirit beast group, the losses will be significant," Liang Zhong was worried.

"On this path, everyone must struggle forward, always facing the challenge of death. I know it's very difficult for them to deal with the spirit beast group, but we have no better way," Xie Jingxuan was somewhat helpless. After thinking for a moment, she added, "When I was ten, I was already fighting alone in the first level of the Netherworld Battlefield. I have hovered at the gates of death many times. Without the baptism of blood, these people cannot stand on their own, and they will never enter the Senluo Hall, never becoming our support."

"Understood," Liang Zhong listened for a while, sighed inwardly, and then nodded lightly, "I will make the arrangements."

Three hours later.

Xiong Ba from the Crimson Flame Association, Na Nuo from the Shuiyue Sect, Yan Ziqian, who had just treated his wounds, and Tu Ze, Zhuo Qian, and others all appeared in this area.

The elites from all sides gathered.

Qin Lie and Gao Yu were also here, both looking surprised at Liang Zhong, who had gathered everyone.

"Originally, we didn't plan to involve you, but the situation is not good now. We need your help to share the pressure from the spirit beasts," Liang Zhong came to the front of the elites, sitting high on the Xuanming Beast, and said, "A Soul Devouring Beast somehow escaped from the Netherworld Battlefield. Taking advantage of the chaos between the spirit beasts and martial artists in the Extreme Cold Mountains, this Soul Devouring Beast has been devouring souls, rapidly evolving and increasing its strength."

"The Soul Devouring Beast is a spirit beast from the Netherworld Battlefield. It has the ability to evolve quickly, becoming stronger the more souls it devours. It can almost evolve indefinitely! A third-stage Soul Devouring Beast can split its soul, with the main soul dividing into dozens of soul fragments, which can leave the body to hunt for more souls."

"The black clouds Gao Yu saw are one of the soul fragments of the Soul Devouring Beast, devouring the souls of the recently deceased to enhance its power."

"Recently, the battles between spirit beasts and martial artists in the Extreme Cold Mountains have been frequent, with many spirit beasts dying and many martial artists sacrificing. This once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity was seized by the Soul Devouring Beast. When it escaped from the Netherworld Battlefield, it was only a first-stage spirit beast, but now it has reached the third stage and is advancing towards the fourth stage. It is becoming increasingly terrifying."

Liang Zhong pointed to the depths of the stone forest, his expression extremely serious, "Now, it is in the depths of the stone forest and will likely break through to the fourth stage soon. If we cannot kill it before it reaches the fourth stage, once it breaks through and gains new abilities, it will be extremely difficult to kill, and it will become an endless threat!"