Chapter 300: The Eerie Nether Valley
Below, hundreds of experts from the Man Di nation remained silent, each summoning their spirit weapons. In an instant, hundreds of gleaming blade pellets rose into the air, and countless streaks of saber light surged like waves toward the nostrils of the bat god statues.
When cultivators joined forces in formation, the sheer increase in their combined power was truly astonishing!
Back then, when Sacrificial Wine Overseer Ba Shan had single-handedly resisted the eight-hundred-strong prairie army on the grasslands, his divine ability, Absolute Wall Heavenly Barrier, had been broken through several times. However, that was because the army included several prairie experts who had reached the Heavenly Human Realm and the Life and Death Realm.
This time, although the military experts brought by Ban Gong Cuo were all cultivators, the strongest among them were still the four Witch Kings who had cultivated to the Heavenly Human Realm and the Life and Death Realm. These four Witch Kings had not yet made a move, so despite the grand spectacle, it still fell short of the battle against Sacrificial Wine Overseer Ba Shan.
From the nostrils of the two bat god statues, the two white bats swiftly flew out. Each opened its mouth, and circular sound waves cascaded down from above. The divine ability they employed was a sound wave technique, but strangely, when these sound waves reached the ears, they were inaudible.
The countless curved blades in the sky were struck by the sound waves and clattered down. Meanwhile, the hundreds of military experts below were hit by the silent sound waves, causing men and horses to tumble in chaos.
Suddenly, the head of a Man Di soldier began to swell, and then burst with a loud bang. Following that, a series of bangs rang out incessantly as the heads of soldiers inflated and exploded one after another, blood and gore splattering everywhere—a truly horrifying sight.
The two white bats descended from above, charging toward the army while continuously emitting sound waves from their mouths.
Suddenly, one of the Witch Kings let out a cold snort, produced a white banner, and shook it at the two white bats. Instantly, the bats' souls wavered, and they fell from the air, crashing into the army.
The other soldiers felt the pressure in their minds suddenly vanish. Hastily, they manipulated their blade pellets, and countless curved blades slashed down at the spot where the two white bats had fallen. The clanging sounds of metal striking metal rang out endlessly!
After a wave of blade rain, everyone withdrew their curved blades. The blade pellets in the air spun rapidly, and the blades flew back swiftly, disappearing into the pellets.
At the spot where the two white bats had fallen, the countless curved blades had carved out a large pit, even grinding the stones into powder.
Two Man Di cultivators stepped forward to check if the white bats were dead. Suddenly, dust and smoke billowed from the pit. The two white bats flew out from the haze, their fleshy wings flapping, and in a flash, they were above the heads of the two cultivators. Their speed was so fast that no one could react in time. They snatched the two cultivators and flew off.
Another Witch King, seeing this, quickly shook his shoulders. A brilliant golden light burst from his back, dazzling and bright, forming two golden wings. He flapped them and rose into the air, chasing after the two white bats.
This Witch King transformed into a being with a bird's head and a human body, possessing six arms. He wielded a vajra scepter, which he smashed toward the two white bats with a thunderous roar. The white bats, carrying the two cultivators, had their speed greatly reduced and were caught up by him. They had no choice but to drop the two cultivators. Their speed then increased dramatically, allowing them to shake off the Witch King.
The Witch King's primordial energy formed a giant hand to catch the two cultivators, but he saw that they had already been drained of all their blood and had died.
The two white bats, now free, each perched on a large tree. They opened their mouths wide, and once again, silent sound waves emanated, sending the pursuing troops into disarray.
One Witch King raised a mirror into the air, suspending it in the sky. The mirror's light shone on the two white bats, and they immediately fell from the tree.
Whoosh—
Blade light rained down like a storm, slashing at the spot where the two white bats had fallen. One of the Witch Kings shook his body, transforming into a golden giant with an elephant's head and a human body. He lifted a boulder the size of a small hill and smashed it down with a thunderous crash onto the spot where the two white bats had fallen.
Another Witch King manifested his primordial spirit behind him. His primordial energy formed a giant hand, which stamped down like a seal, shattering the boulder into pieces. The earth trembled violently, and trees all around were sent flying!
"Surely they're dead now?"
Before the crowd could breathe a sigh of relief, the army charged toward that spot. But before they could even reach it, they saw the two white bats rise again, wobbling as they flew into the forest—still alive.
A Witch King shook the white banner once more. The souls of the two white bats were impacted, and they fell again. Then another rain of blades fell, followed by countless attacks.
After this wave of attacks, the two white bats flew up again. Though unsteady, they were still alive.
"Quite remarkable."
Ban Gong Cuo was astonished. These two white bats were incredibly tough. Even the most renowned spirit weapons of the prairie, the blade pellets, couldn't harm them. The only ones who had managed to injure them were the Witch Kings of the Loulan Golden Palace.
The white bats had withstood the attacks of several Witch Kings and still hadn't died, which was beyond his expectations.
"Fatty Dragon, do you still think you can match these two white bats?" Qin Mu, who had already walked deep into the forest, asked the Dragon Qilin with a smile.
The Dragon Qilin snorted. "They're strong, but aren't they still getting their teeth kicked in?"
The soldiers of the Man Di nation had already charged into the mountain forest of the Nether Valley, chasing after the two white bats. The bats were heavily injured, sometimes flying up and sometimes falling back into the woods.
The cultivators of the Man Di nation spread out, searching the area. Just then, a rustling sound came from the forest. One cultivator, on high alert, activated his blade pellet. The pellet spun rapidly, and tiny curved blades flew out, orbiting around it, expanding and shrinking.
The rustling suddenly stopped. The cultivator remained cautious, moving forward carefully. The tiny blades multiplied, their light flickering.
He entered a grove of fruit trees, laden with fruits—red apples the size of fists.
The cultivator stepped cautiously into the grove. Then he heard the rustling sound again from behind him. He quickly turned around but saw nothing. Yet the rustling came from in front of him.
He whipped his head forward again, still seeing nothing, but the sound came from behind him once more.
Being alert, he remained still. A curved blade quietly appeared in front of him, gradually enlarging. The blade's surface was as bright as a mirror, reflecting the scene behind him.
Behind him, the apples on the trees were slowly turning their "heads." On the backs of the apples were faces—with noses, eyes, and mouths—staring at him with eerie smiles.
The cultivator's hair stood on end. All the blades from his pellet flew out, slashing at the apples in every direction!
Rustle—
The red apples suddenly flew off the trees, leaves scattering everywhere. Countless apples rushed toward him. The cultivator was indeed formidable; his blade light fell like a torrential downpour, cleaving countless apples in half. In an instant, the ground was covered with split apples, their fruity fragrance filling the air.
But one apple rolled in from the ground, evading the blade light, and latched onto his leg, biting.
The Man Di cultivator felt his leg go numb, then lose all sensation. The numbness spread to half his body. He tried to slash the apple off his leg, but his head also went numb, and all his blades clattered to the ground.
The other apples flew back up, hanging on the trees. They turned their heads to look at the fallen cultivator, their smiles eerie.
The cultivator couldn't move. His heart pounded violently. He felt an intense itch on his face, and then he saw another face growing out of his own.
That face squeezed out from his skin, complete with a nose and mouth. It opened its mouth wide, panting, and laughed: "Got you! Got you!"
The face twisted and grew outward. After a moment, it formed another head, connected to his neck. Then an upper body grew out, crawling forward.
The cultivator felt a tearing pain. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The being that had grown from the apple was crawling outward with its two hands, dragging his body along at an incredible speed. More of its body emerged from within him.
Finally, the two separated completely. The being that had grown from him looked exactly like him, but was completely naked. It picked up a curved blade from the ground and stabbed it into his chest. Then it stripped off his clothes and put them on.
"Hehe, freedom!"
The apple person grabbed the blade pellet and bounded away, hopping and skipping. The other apples slowly twisted their faces, watching him with envious expressions.
Eerie screams echoed through the forest. The Man Di cultivators who had entered the Nether Valley forest encountered all sorts of bizarre and unimaginable dangers.
Among them, some ran into strange insects. Translucent like emeralds, they could fly nimbly through the air. With a zip, they would burrow into people's nostrils, then take up residence in their brains, controlling their bodies to attack others.
There were also leeches on the trees, hiding in the dew on the leaves, incredibly tiny. When a cultivator passed by, a dewdrop fell on him. At first, he felt nothing unusual, only a growing heaviness and dizziness.
On his back, a giant leech was clinging to him, writhing and sucking blood. After a while, the leech grew a face and limbs, still attached to him, looking exactly like him, as if carrying a person on its back.
But this cultivator's blood and essence had been completely drained. He collapsed and died, while the leech person ran off joyfully.
In an instant, the once-peaceful forest was filled with deadly traps. As the Man Di army stormed in, these traps were triggered, causing the intruders to fall one after another!
The Man Di cultivators were indeed powerful, but here, no matter how great their abilities, they were caught off guard!
Qin Mu walked through this forest, extremely vigilant. He used the Bodhi Shakyamuni True Body to protect himself and the Dragon Qilin, and so far, they had traveled safely.
Just then, he saw a monk sitting under a tree. The monk was sitting cross-legged. He had been dead for who knows how long, but his body remained undecayed. The tree behind him was a Bodhi tree, its precious light flowing with dazzling colors, clearly transformed from some rare treasure.
"This monk's Bodhi Shakyamuni True Body is stronger than mine, but he still died. The Tathagata Mahayana Sutra can't counter the dangers here!"
Qin Mu's hair stood on end. He immediately dispersed the Bodhi Shakyamuni True Body, spread his hands flat in front of him, crossed his fingertips, and made a light gesture. One hand pointed to the sky, the other pressed toward the ground!
The First Form of the Dao Sword: One Point Pierces Through the Vast Movement, Within the Two Polarities, Yin and Yang Reverse!
His primordial energy threads transformed into swords. An incredibly complex mathematical calculation unfolded. The sword light formed two Tai Chi diagrams, one above and one below, protecting him and the Dragon Qilin in the center!
The sword light flickered continuously. The Tai Chi diagrams rotated, yin and yang reversing and changing. Then, from the edges of the two diagrams, streaks of sword light hung down!
"Stupid ox, not so stupid after all."
The Bodhi tree rustled. The two white bats hung upside down from the canopy, their bodies covered in wounds. One of them coughed up blood, spitting out a bloody phlegm, and said in a weak voice: "That bald donkey came here over ten years ago, relying on the blessing of Buddhist teachings, thinking he could enter safely. He ended up being killed by tree bugs."
"Tree bugs?" Qin Mu was slightly taken aback.
"It's a kind of tree seed. The seed is a lively little bug that hides underground. When it encounters a person, it burrows in through their anus, and its roots grow into the muscles. The muscles inside this bald donkey have already been eaten away, leaving only skin. The tree bug has already taken root and sprouted inside him."
The other white bat extended its claw and made a cut on the monk's head. Instantly, a vibrant green force burst through the monk's scalp with a pop, emerging as a small canopy of leaves.
"This is the tree bug. But it's already grown into a tree."
The smarter of the two white bats blinked its eyes and said: "Stupid ox, we're injured. If you can protect us, we can guide you and help you avoid the dangers here!"
Qin Mu smiled faintly. "Fellow Daoists, I'm actually a pharmacist, skilled in treating illnesses. How about I heal your wounds, and once you're better, you protect me?"
The two white bats exchanged a glance, landed from the Bodhi tree, and said in surprise: "An ox-headed doctor? You folks from the Yinghuo family actually have doctors? Aren't you all supposed to have your ox noses pointing to the sky, running around setting fires and spitting on people?"
Qin Mu's ox nose pointed to the sky, and he spat out two streams of fire. "What do you think of my proposal?"
"Fine!"
The two white bats agreed readily, thinking to themselves: "Let the ox-headed doctor heal us first. We can turn on him later!"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he thought to himself: "While treating them, I'll poison them. That way, these two will have no choice but to listen to me and protect me!"
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