NFBE Chapter 61 The Secret Realm Trial of Haoyue Manor 4
Chapter 61 The Secret Realm Trial of Haoyue Manor 4
Everyone collapsed to the ground, their clothes tattered and their spiritual energy nearly depleted. Before they could even catch their breath, a strange blue light emanated from the ground beneath their feet. The blue light spread rapidly like water, turning the ground into quicksand and causing it to sink wherever it touched.
"Oh no, danger!" Xu Xiaoxiao cried out in alarm, her eyes wide. She frantically grabbed at the sand around her, trying to steady herself, but only sank faster.
Yuan Mengyao gritted her teeth and swung the spirit whip fiercely at a thick ancient tree in the distance. Using the momentum, she leaped up and shouted to her junior brothers and sisters, "Grab the spirit whip! Don't panic!"
The group frantically pulled at the spirit whip, using it to break free of the quicksand zone.
As soon as they got away, a fierce wind howled all around, and amidst the flying sand and stones, several dark figures could be vaguely seen moving about.
"What's hiding in this wind? I can't even open my eyes!" A junior brother raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sandstorm, his voice trembling and broken.
Immediately afterwards, a group of strange beasts resembling cheetahs, their bodies shrouded in sand and dust, roared and pounced, their sharp claws gleaming coldly as they tore through the air.
Yang Qingfeng quickly summoned the sect's bronze mirror, which shone brightly and barely managed to withstand the beast's attack. He hurriedly shouted, "Form a sword formation! Don't lose your composure!"
The group acted as instructed, and the sword formation was barely complete when the strange beast was already upon them.
Xu Xiaoxiao seized the opportunity, her flying sword imbued with spiritual power, and thrust straight at the throat of the leading beast, only to be dodged by the side. She couldn't help but shout in frustration, "This beast is quite clever!"
Yuan Mengyao flicked her whip, wrapping it around the beast's hind leg and pulling hard, causing it to lose its balance. She shouted, "Coordinate the attack! Hit its joints!"
After a fierce battle, with everyone covered in wounds, they finally managed to defeat the strange beast.
At this moment, the sandstorm subsided, and an ancient stone gate suddenly appeared before us, its runes shimmering and exuding a mysterious aura.
"Could this be an ancient ruin?" Xu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up as she stepped forward to touch the stone door.
Yuan Mengyao grabbed her arm and frowned, saying, "Don't be reckless, what if there are traps or mechanisms?"
Yang Qingfeng stepped forward to examine the runes carefully, and after a moment, his hands quickly formed hand seals in an attempt to break the rune.
With a creaking sound, the stone door slowly opened, revealing a surge of light inside, as if it contained endless treasures.
As everyone stepped in with anticipation, they saw numerous fireballs hovering in the air, crashing down like meteors.
"Watch out, it's the Fire Meteor Formation!" a senior sister exclaimed, her hands rapidly changing hand seals to raise a spiritual energy shield.
Everyone followed suit, and the fireball slammed into the shield, making everyone's arms go numb.
Xu Xiaoxiao had a sudden inspiration. She made her flying sword circle rapidly in the air, scattering several fireballs, and shouted, "We can't just take the hits, let's fight back!"
After struggling through the fiery meteor array, what came into view was a pool of black water, the surface of which was calm but emitted a foul stench.
"This water doesn't look right," Yuan Mengyao said warily.
As soon as he finished speaking, the black water surged, and several giant leeches emerged, their suckers wide open, lunging at the group.
One of the senior brothers' expressions changed drastically. He unleashed a wind blade of spiritual energy, shouting as he slashed, "They're very troublesome! Don't let them get close!"
Despite everyone's efforts, the leeches continued to appear.
Yang Qingfeng's eyes flashed, and he summoned his sect's magic weapon. A beam of golden light shot out, freezing the leeches.
Having dealt with the leeches, the group continued onward and finally came to a stone platform at the end. Floating on the platform was an ancient bamboo scroll, its light shimmering, seemingly a crucial clue.
Xu Xiaoxiao blushed with excitement: "It's been months! We've finally found a clue!" She said, and was about to grab it.
Suddenly, the bamboo slips shone brightly, transforming into a light barrier that blocked everyone's path.
Yuan Mengyao was extremely anxious: "There must be another restriction, how do we break it?"
Yang Qingfeng closed his eyes and concentrated, then opened them after a moment and said, "Let's connect our spiritual power and pour it into my body. Let's try to break through together!"
Everyone stared at the light barrier blocking their path, filled with anxiety but helpless.
Xu Xiaoxiao stamped her feet anxiously and said, "We're just one step away from success. We've worked so hard for months, and this is the last step we need to take."
Yuan Mengyao gripped the spirit whip tightly, her brows furrowed, and echoed, "That's right. The clues are right in front of us, but we're blocked by this restriction. Should we go back and find some help?"
After saying that, she turned to look at Yang Qingfeng, "Is it really possible to connect spiritual energy? Our cultivation levels are different, what if something goes wrong?"
Yang Qingfeng's expression was solemn, but he still spoke calmly: "There's no other good way right now. The spiritual energy fluctuations of this restriction are extremely strong. It's definitely no use for us to rely on just the few of us. Although connecting our spiritual energy is risky, we might be able to tear a hole if we take a chance."
After much hesitation, the group gritted their teeth, formed a circle, palms facing each other, and prepared to transfer their spiritual energy.
But right from the start, the junior brothers and sisters with lower cultivation levels turned pale and had difficulty circulating their spiritual energy. The junior brother in the early stage of Foundation Establishment hissed and said with a bitter face, "It's no good, senior brother. As soon as my spiritual energy enters the circle, it feels like it's been drained, and it's making it hard for me to breathe."
Seeing this, Yuan Mengyao quickly withdrew some of her spiritual energy and comforted her, "Don't push yourself too hard, take it slow and control the amount."
After some effort, everyone pushed the light screen together, but the screen only swayed and didn't break. Instead, it shook them back several steps, causing a backlash of spiritual energy and a sweet taste in their throats.
"It seems it's not going to work out." Yang Qingfeng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face full of dejection.
Xu Xiaoxiao was panting heavily, filled with resentment: "Going back like this? I'm not willing! Who knows, next time I come, I might not even be able to find the entrance to the ruins."
As everyone was locked in a stalemate, suddenly, the ground trembled violently, and countless sharp stone spikes shot out from the ground, heading straight for everyone's vital organs.
"Get out of the way!" Yang Qingfeng shouted, dodging the stone spikes. A flash of light appeared in the bronze mirror in his hand, knocking away several stone spikes that were close at hand.
Yuan Mengyao swung her whip, creating a dense, impenetrable pattern in the air, snapping off all the incoming stone spikes. She shouted, "This place is no place to stay for long. Let's retreat and think of another way."
The group scrambled to dodge, and just as they created some distance, dark clouds gathered overhead, lightning crackled, and then a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck down with a deafening roar.
"Form a defensive formation!" a senior sister shouted. Everyone quickly took their positions, their spiritual energy surging to create a spiritual energy shield.
Lightning crackled and struck the shield, making it teeter on the verge of collapse.
Xu Xiaoxiao had a sudden inspiration. She drove her flying sword into the ground, guiding the spiritual energy into the earth in an attempt to disperse the power of the lightning. She shouted, "Draw the spiritual energy underground to buffer it!"
Having survived the lightning strike, before everyone could even catch their breath, a thick fog began to rise around them, and strange roars could be faintly heard from within the fog.
"What's hidden in this ghostly fog?" A junior sister trembled and moved closer to the middle of the group.
As soon as the words were spoken, several enormous, octopus-like monsters stretched out their tentacles from the mist. They were sticky and slimy, carrying a foul stench, and swept across the area.
Yang Qingfeng formed hand seals, and golden light burst forth from his body, severing several nearby tentacles. He calmly ordered, "Attack its suction cups; that looks like its weak point!"
Everyone poured out their spiritual power and used their various methods, employing flying swords and spiritual whips, to engage in a fierce battle with the demonic beast.
After a fierce battle, everyone was covered in wounds before they finally managed to defeat the monster.
The group, sprawled on the ground, were panting heavily, their morale at rock bottom.
At this moment, Yang Qingfeng slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'm thinking that we can't rush back to find people. There are too many variables going back and forth. Perhaps we failed to break through the barrier just now, or maybe we used the wrong method. Let's take a closer look around. Maybe there are clues to break the barrier, even just a tiny hint."
The group helped each other to their feet, mustered their strength, and began searching inch by inch around the stone platform.
Xu Xiaoxiao muttered, "Please, even if it's just a tiny clue, please show up quickly. We really can't afford any more trouble."
While searching, Yuan Mengyao, with her sharp eyes, spotted several lines of obscure runes at the bottom of the stone platform and excitedly shouted, "Come quick, there's something here!"
The crowd swarmed around Yang Qingfeng, who focused intently on deciphering the runes. After a moment, his face lit up with delight: "I've got a way! These runes say that a specific spiritual array, combined with the circulation of the five elements' spiritual power, is needed to open the light barrier. Although our cultivation is a bit lacking, if we work together, we might be able to succeed."
The group quickly shook off their dejection and took their positions and mobilized their spiritual power according to the rune instructions.
Yang Qingfeng's spiritual root is metal, Yuan Mengyao's is a mutated wood spiritual root, Xu Xiaoxiao's is water spiritual root, and among the other senior brothers and sisters, some have fire and earth attributes.
In an instant, the five colors of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth shone in everyone's hands and slowly poured into the light screen.
The light screen initially trembled violently, as if resisting, but as spiritual energy continued to be input, the light gradually softened, and finally, with a "click," it dissipated.
Xu Xiaoxiao excitedly flew forward and grabbed the ancient bamboo slip. The bamboo slip shone brightly, and a massive amount of information flooded into everyone's minds. It turned out to be a high-level cultivation technique that had been lost for a long time and a complete map of the ruins. After going through so many hardships, they finally got their reward.