#576 - Finding a ray of hope in desperate situations

Tian Ming did not believe that a Saint Realm cultivator who had just survived a tribulation and was severely injured by him could escape his pursuit.

But he truly could no longer sense Jun Wuxie's aura!

He scanned the area, finding it somewhat strange, permeated with baleful energy, and the swampy mud even had a faint bloody smell.

This place had existed for countless ages, and judging by the scenery, very few living beings had come here since the beginning of time, yet the soil here actually smelled of blood.

"Damn it, the special aura here is masking that kid's aura, my tracking has been cut off here!"

His face was incredibly gloomy. This was the best opportunity to kill Jun Wuxie, how could he let it slip away like this?

This Dragon Ridge Mountain Range had too many special areas.

Although he was mentally prepared, it still exceeded his expectations.

"Three friends, I've lost him!"

While searching everywhere, he transmitted his voice to the three middle-stage Half-Saints from the Ancient Phoenix Sect, Soul Hunting Hall, and Golden Ancient City.

"What? You actually lost him?!"

The three Half-Saints were already guarding outside the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range, blocking the road to the Great Zhou Imperial City.

The three were far apart, but their spiritual senses covered the entire area, in order to prevent Jun Wuxie from returning to the Immortal Slaying Sword Sect. Otherwise, with the Xuanyuan Clan and the Immortal Slaying Sword Saint, killing him would come at a great cost.

But at this moment, upon receiving Tian Ming's message that he had lost him, it meant that Tian Ming had not suppressed Jun Wuxie at the first moment, and had allowed him to escape after he finished the tribulation.

"Fellow Daoist Tian Ming! You were so confident before, how could you make such a mistake!"

The face of the middle-stage Half-Saint from the Ancient Phoenix Sect was ashen. He took a step across the vast sky, like a blazing phoenix soaring through the air, instantly disappearing into the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range, plunging into its depths.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Yin!"

The Half-Saints from the Golden Ancient City and the Soul Hunting Hall called out, but the other party had already gone far away.

"What should we do?"

Jin Luo, the middle-stage Half-Saint from the Golden Ancient City, looked at Hun You, the middle-stage Half-Saint from the Soul Hunting Hall.

"Immediately notify the early-stage Half-Saints to come and replace us in sealing off this area, to prevent that kid Jun from sneaking back to the Great Zhou Imperial City! Since things have come to this, we can only take action ourselves, we must not let that kid live!"

"Good! I agree with your view! Fellow Daoist Tian Ming has already taken action, and the Military Saint has not appeared. Since that's the case, what else do we have to worry about!"

"That's right!"

Hun You nodded, but still felt somewhat uneasy in his heart.

What they feared most was not the Military Saint taking action against them, but the Military Saint's anger being directed at their Golden Ancient City and Soul Hunting Hall. At that time, they didn't know how many Half-Saints would die, and there might even be late-stage Half-Saints or higher being killed. If that happened, their foundations would be damaged and their vitality greatly weakened.

The two flashed and disappeared from the border area of the Dragon Ridge Mountain Range.

They quickly arrived at the location where Tian Ming and Gu Yin were.

It was the swampy area where Jun Wuxie was hiding.

At this moment, Tian Ming and Gu Yin were searching in this swampy area and its surroundings.

"Two friends, what exactly is going on? Why did you lose him?"

Jin Luo and Hun You looked gloomy, standing in the sky above the swamp, scanning the area a few times.

"That kid has a very strange pet. I was hit by that pet's secret technique and lost all six senses within two seconds, as if falling into a dark abyss. He took the opportunity to escape, but both he and that pet were severely injured by me at the time. But after escaping to this place, his aura suddenly disappeared!"

Gu Yin looked over from a distance, taking over Tian Ming's words, and said to Jin Luo and Hun You: "The aura in this area is special, it should have masked his aura, but there is no trace of his aura left around this swamp. I guess is it possible that the kid is hiding here?"

"You mean, he's hiding in this swamp mud?"

Hun You narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the swamp.

"That's right! Because there's no aura left by him around the swamp!" Gu Yin's face was full of coldness. As soon as he finished speaking, he spread out his palm, and crimson true energy surged into the sky, evolving into a huge palm, covering the entire swamp within a thousand miles.

Tian Ming, Jin Luo, and Hun You retreated backward, leaving the area covered by his palm.

The next moment, with a loud bang, Gu Yin's crimson palm slammed down fiercely.

Countless muds exploded from the swamp within a thousand miles, and the small mountains in the swamp shook violently. A mysterious field of energy flowed, instantly deflecting Gu Yin's crimson palm.

"This damn field of energy!"

The muscles on Gu Yin's face twitched. There was a powerful and mysterious field of energy protecting this place.

His attack only caused the swamp mud to sink by more than a hundred meters. When the palm was deflected by the field of energy, the swamp instantly returned to its original state.

He had no way to forcefully dissipate the entire swamp with force.

"If that kid Jun is hiding here, he probably suffered enough from that palm just now!"

"That's hard to say. We don't know how deep this swamp is. There is a field of energy inside, which can greatly wear away the power acting on the swamp. I'm afraid it's difficult for that palm to reach the depths of the swamp!"

"If he's not hiding here, wouldn't we be wasting our time in vain, letting him escape even further?"

"No! The probability of him hiding here is at least 80%!" Gu Yin said coldly: "Now that we have lost his aura, instead of aimlessly trying our luck with that 20% chance, it's better to lock onto this swamp! No matter how deep he hides, even if he turns into a loach, I have to drag him out!"

"Who of you will stay outside and guard, we will enter the swamp to search, we must find that kid no matter what!"

Tian Ming's face was dark. The person ran away from right in front of him, which made him both embarrassed and angry.

"Fellow Daoist Jin Luo, you stay outside and guard, we'll go down!"

Hun You said, he still intended to hunt Jun Wuxie's soul and origin.

If he didn't follow down, once Tian Ming and Gu Yin found Jun Wuxie, it was very likely that they would directly kill him until his body and soul were destroyed, and then he would get nothing.

"If that's the case, then I'll wait here for the three fellow Daoists to bring out that kid's corpse!"

Jin Luo naturally had no objection. This swamp mud was filled with a bloody smell, which made people imagine what terrible things had happened here in some period of endless years ago.

These muds must have been soaked in endless blood back then.

He felt disgusted just thinking about it, and naturally preferred to stay outside and guard.

Tian Ming, Gu Yin, and Hun You supported their true energy shields, each chose a location, and plunged into the swamp mud, searching different areas separately.

......

At this time, in the depths of the swamp mud, Jun Wuxie remained motionless.

He didn't dare to support a golden blood energy shield to separate the mud, as that would create blood energy fluctuations. Although the spiritual sense perception range of a Half-Saint was only a few dozen miles here, doing so would still increase the chance of exposure.

He must now eliminate any possibility of exposure.

Otherwise, once exposed, he would have no chance of surviving except for wasting the opportunity to summon the Xuanyuan Godslaying Sword.

However, the Xuanyuan Godslaying Sword must not be summoned lightly.

This great era was full of too many uncertainties, and he had to reserve the opportunity for future unforeseen needs.

Now, although it seemed like a desperate situation, he felt that he still had a glimmer of hope for survival.

He would rather be cruel to himself and firmly grasp that glimmer of hope than waste the number of times he could summon the Xuanyuan Godslaying Sword.

The bloody smell of the mud kept entering his body, making him almost want to vomit.

These muds released baleful energy, corroding his wounds, causing him to feel excruciating pain.

At the waist, half of it was cut off, and there was still the power of a Half-Saint remaining inside, destroying his vitality.

He didn't dare to actively refine resources to heal his injuries, he had to eliminate any energy fluctuations, and could only rely on his own vitality to passively repair them.

It was just that the injuries in other parts could still slowly self-repair, but not at the waist.

There, he had wrapped layers upon layers of clothing around it, forcibly wrapping the wound to prevent the internal organs from flowing out.

His consciousness was somewhat drowsy, and he really wanted to just sleep.

"How comfortable it would be if I could lie on a soft bed at this moment and sleep soundly for a few days and nights..."

Thinking like this, he was mentally exhausted, and he had never been so tired at any time in his life, so wanting to have a good sleep and rest peacefully.

Having just survived the Nine Heavens Tribulation, fighting fiercely with the nine humanoid tribulation thunders that were copies of himself, he barely survived. After surviving the great tribulation, he didn't even have time to catch his breath before being chased by a middle-stage Half-Saint.

"I can't sleep, I can't think about resting! I have to cheer myself up, get out of this predicament, and then find a safe place to have a good sleep!"

He shivered and forcibly suppressed the lazy thoughts of wanting to rest in his mind.

He knew that it was the body's desire to escape that was derived from enduring pressure beyond its limits.

This thought must be extinguished, otherwise it would be fatal!

He could feel that his tattered body, even with the squeezing of the mud from all directions, was still constantly oozing blood outside.

Originally, when he was fleeing, he frantically refined resources to repair his injured body, and except for the wound on his waist and abdomen, the bleeding had stopped in other places.

But just now, when Gu Yin slammed a palm at the swamp, it shook his body almost to disintegrate.

At that time, he had to endure the serious injuries and continue to drill into the depths of the mud, otherwise, if he took a few more palms like that, he would surely die.

At this time, his powerful spiritual sense sensed someone approaching.

It was Gu Yin's aura!

Jun Wuxie restrained his aura, dragged his broken body, and quietly moved away.

He knew that the perception of a middle-stage Half-Saint was only about twenty or thirty miles here, even if they had the soul strength of a late-stage realm, it would be no more than fifty or sixty miles at most.

His perception could reach more than a hundred miles!

When he was moving, he found that there were people approaching from behind.

It was Tian Ming's aura!

Before long, Hun You's aura was also approaching.

He carefully moved away from them, playing hide-and-seek with them below.

However, his physical condition was too poor, and his consciousness remained somewhat hazy.

But he had to keep himself awake. Whenever he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he would grab the wound on his abdomen and pinch it hard.

The piercing, excruciating pain would strike, stimulating him to become much more alert.

"How is it? Have you discovered anything?"

Tian Ming, Gu Yin, and Hun You met under the swampy mire.

Gu Yin shook his head: "No, but I still feel that kid is hiding down here!"

"Continue searching. That kid's injuries are extremely severe. Even if his vitality is strong and his will is firm, he can only hold out for two or three days at most! We'll keep searching until his consciousness fades. At that point, he'll be a dead loach, and we'll find him quickly!"

Tian Ming said this.

"You two, leaving aside that kid's soul, I must have his origin!"

Hun You said.

"Find him first!"

Gu Yin's face was gloomy. He was somewhat annoyed. The Soul Hunting Hall only wanted the soul and origin, while he didn't care about those things. He just wanted to make that kid's body and soul destroyed, never to be reincarnated!

At this moment, Jun Wuxie was a hundred miles away from them, just at the limit of his perception range, so he could monitor their movements at any time.

When the few people separated again, Jun Wuxie thought about it, and realized that continuing like this was not a solution.

He needed to rest, even if he couldn't circulate his life essence to heal his injuries, it would be better than constantly traveling through the miasma-filled mud.

After pondering for a moment, he began to head deeper into the swampy mire.

He kept drilling down, seemingly never reaching the bottom of this swamp.

It was too tiring.

He felt that if he kept moving like this, he really wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.

After resting for a moment, the three people reappeared within his divine sense perception range.

Helplessly, he could only continue to drill down.

Soon, he discovered a mountain body.

This mountain body was hidden beneath the swamp, submerged in mud.

He followed the mountain body downwards, feeling strange energy fluctuations below.

He felt strange in his heart, and followed the energy fluctuations.

When he reached the bottom of the mountain body, this place was very empty for dozens of meters around.

Ahead, there was light from energy, propping open the surrounding mud.

"What is this place?"

He was somewhat surprised. In his hazy state, he dragged his broken body forward and saw a cave.

The energy was emitted from the runes carved on both sides of the cave.

When he came to the cave entrance, a strange and evil aura rushed towards him, like a flood of fierce beasts, causing his mind to shake violently.

"Woo ah—"

"Hehe—"

"Woo woo—"

......

Various strange sounds came from inside the cave, sharp and ear-piercing, making one's scalp tingle, and the hairs on the body stand on end. A sense of fear arose involuntarily in the heart, as if arriving at an endless abyss, as if taking one step forward would lead to eternal darkness!

He shook his head vigorously, forcibly gathering his eyesight, and his blurred vision gradually became clear.

Looking into the cave from the entrance, it was a somewhat dim cavern. In the depths of the cavern, there was a hexagonal stone platform, covered with runes.

Six stone pillars stood around the stone platform, and there were also mysterious runes on the stone pillars.

Each of those stone pillars had a black iron chain, and one end of the chain locked a person's limbs, neck, and body!

That strange and evil aura came from the person chained up.

At the person's heart, there was also an ancient sword inserted, piercing through the entire heart, and an ancient talisman was affixed to the center of his brow.

Just as Jun Wuxie was shocked by the scene he saw in the cave, Tian Ming, Gu Yin, and You Hun reappeared within his perception range.

One of them was coming in his direction.

"I have already reached my limit and need to find a place to stop and slowly repair my injuries. It seems that perhaps only this strange cave will do!"

He gritted his teeth and stumbled in.

Instantly, that strange and evil aura came overwhelmingly.

He felt as if countless evil spirits were pouncing on him.

That kind of evil consciousness frantically drilled into his body, impacting his soul, causing the soul that had sublimated into a nascent soul to feel a tearing pain. Various negative emotions suddenly arose in his heart.

His state of mind suddenly became irritable, and evil thoughts arose, wanting to kill, killing crazily, wanting blood, wanting a lot and a lot of blood.

"Darkest Curse, this is a high-level Darkest Curse power!"

He was horrified in his heart, but at this moment there was no other choice. Forcibly resisting the erosion of the Darkest Curse, he rushed towards the hexagonal stone platform.

The moment he stepped onto the stone platform, the impact of the Darkest Curse became even more violent, almost causing his self-awareness to collapse instantly.

His figure staggered, and he came to the stone pillar as thick as two people could hug, and sat down with a thud, leaning against the stone pillar to pant.

The soul in the sea of consciousness was in severe pain, and the strange screams evolved from the Darkest Curse kept invading his ears, echoing in his mind.

He felt that his will was about to be completely swallowed by the Darkest Curse will, about to lose himself, and be controlled by the Darkest Curse.

At this critical moment, he quickly communicated with the Eternal God Palace, and his soul instantly entered the God Palace.

In that instant, all the Darkest Curses disappeared, and his soul slumped down in the Eternal God Palace, panting continuously.