Volume 2: The Appearance of the Nine Provinces Map, Entering the Divine Void Chapter 142: Struggling for Survival

The strength of the five blood-red fierce ghosts was far beyond that of the previous apparitions. With a single sway of their forms, two of them blocked the exit, completely cutting off the trio's escape route.

"Get lost..." Xiao Xiang snarled with a ferocious expression, throwing a punch forward.

However, the two fierce ghosts did not dodge at all. They let out a piercing screech, and a massive wave of overwhelming resentment and malevolent aura surged toward him. Horrific illusions instantly flooded Xiao Xiang's vision, shattering his sanity in an instant.

Slap... The two ghosts batted Xiao Xiang away, sending him crashing heavily onto the ground.

Both Chen Yu and Liu Yue'er were startled, but they now had no other choice. Without a word of hesitation, they charged forward to engage the two fierce ghosts.

From the very first exchange, their expressions turned immensely grave. Before they could break through the obstruction of the two blood-red ghosts, the remaining five ghosts from behind joined the onslaught. Under the pincer attack from front and rear, Chen Yu and Liu Yue'er were quickly defeated.

Chen Yu had already expended a vast amount of energy, so how could he possibly hold out much longer? He could not help but spew a mouthful of blood. A trace of regret welled up inside him; he should not have been so reckless and plunged himself into such a desperate predicament.

Meanwhile, a chilling glint flickered through Liu Yue'er's eyes as several more yellow talismans materialized in her hand. With a snap of her fingers, the talismans activated, throwing the battlefield into disarray. Liu Yue'er had indeed used a Soul-Capturing Talisman to control one of the blood-red ghosts, forcing it to turn against the other four.

"Hmph, do you really think mere Soul-Capturing Talismans can turn the tide?" Daoist Master Xuyang sneered disdainfully. With a swift hand seal, the aura of the Profound Yang Inverted Array spread out, shattering Liu Yue'er's spell in an instant. Yet at the same time, he could not suppress his own backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Kill them..." Before Daoist Master Xuyang could finish his sentence, Liu Yue'er's figure had already vanished. Suddenly realizing what had happened, he cursed under his breath, "An Invisibility Talisman? Damn it... I never expected that little wench from the Wuya Sword Sect to possess such tricks. It seems I cannot stay here for long. But there is still time; as long as the Profound Yin Inverted Array remains, let's see just where you can hide!"

His expression flickered between shade and light as he seemed to weigh a momentous decision. Soon, Daoist Master Xuyang fixed a cold, crazed gaze on Chen Yu and Xiao Xiang, issuing a ruthless command: "Throw them into the Yin Pool. I want to use their resentment to aid me in achieving the supreme Dao."

Critically injured and physically weak, Chen Yu and Xiao Xiang possessed no ability to resist whatsoever. They were hoisted up by the five fierce ghosts. As Daoist Master Xuyang formed another hand seal, the ground cracked open directly beneath them, revealing a Yin Pool churning with bloody malevolent energy. It bore an uncanny resemblance to the one belonging to the Ghost Nether Sect Master on that day, only far more terrifying.

White bones were stacked around the perimeter of the Yin Pool, and countless innocent, grieving spirits seemed to shriek in agony, trying to drag anyone unfortunate enough to fall down there into the depths.

Xiao Xiang had long since been frightened out of his wits; his pale face distorted, he passed out cold on the spot.

Chen Yu refused to resign himself to this fate, desperately racking his brain for a way out. But now that he was restrained and his internal spiritual power completely exhausted, what possible method remained?

At that moment, Chen Yu and Xiao Xiang were cast straight into the Yin Pool. The moment he entered the pool, Chen Yu felt a wave of freezing malevolent energy rush into every pore of his body, eroding his spiritual power, gnawing at his soul, and shredding his flesh as if attempting to tear his entire being apart. The excruciating pain wrung a raw, involuntary scream from his throat. Only then did he realize that this so-called Yin Pool was essentially a dense mist condensed from pure Yin malevolent qi.

The unconscious Xiao Xiang fared even worse than Chen Yu. He struggled in agonizing torment, his fingers clawing bloody gasps across his face, and in less than half a quarter of an hour, his life was snuffed out amidst a sky-high wave of consuming hatred.

Chen Yu was still struggling in agony, raising his gaze to look at Daoist Master Xuyang. He saw that the moment Xiao Xiang died, the Daoist closed his eyes and began circulating his technique to absorb the energy emitted by the Half-Moon Purple Lotus. The roots of the Half-Moon Purple Lotus happened to extend directly into the Yin Pool, and Xiao Xiang's vital energy was being absorbed by the lotus.

Yet a lingering question arose in Chen Yu's mind: Why hadn't Daoist Master Xuyang simply consumed the Half-Moon Purple Lotus directly? The lotus was clearly already fully matured.

Enduring the agonizing pain, Chen Yu narrowed his eyes and thought: Could it be that Daoist Master Xuyang was already heavily injured to begin with? Is that why he cannot withstand the medicinal potency of the Half-Moon Lotus?

Recalling the earlier combat, his suspicion grew increasingly certain. But even if that were true, what good would it do? Above the Yin Pool stood five blood-red ghosts, a threat he could no longer handle on his own, let alone now that he had reached the end of his rope. Where could any salvation possibly be found?

Chen Yu cursed bitterly beneath his breath. Yet he simply refused to reconcile himself to perishing here. His mind raced frantically. Suddenly, he thought of the few Malevolence-Refining Pills he carried in his pouch. Perhaps with their aid, he could buy himself a little more time.

Feigning that he could no longer hold on, he sank beneath the surface of the Yin Pool. Once out of the line of sight of Daoist Master Xuyang and the fierce ghosts, he immediately swallowed a Malevolence-Refining Pill.

Just as he had hoped, under the medicinal power of the pill, the Yin malevolent qi invading his body was shockingly refined at a rapid pace, channeling directly into his Dantian and replenishing his depleted spiritual power.

A surge of pleasant surprise washed over Chen Yu, and he thought to himself, "There's a chance—I still have a chance!"

Before long, the Yin malevolent qi within Chen Yu's body was refined into nothingness, and he recovered ten percent of his spiritual power. At that moment, a ruthless determination hardened in Chen Yu's heart. He thought: Since you, Daoist Master Xuyang, want to use Yin malevolent qi to refine me, I will refine this entire pool of Yin malevolent qi instead. Let's see how you recover then!

Naturally, such an action would sooner or later be detected by Daoist Master Xuyang and the five blood-red fierce ghosts. However, he no longer had any other options left.

As time ticked away, relying on the medicinal efficacy of five Malevolence-Refining Pills, the spiritual power within Chen Yu's body was restored to nearly ninety percent. Yet with the pills exhausted, he could no longer absorb the surrounding malevolent qi. His gaze turned grave. What should he do? If he broke out right now, he wasn't even certain he could escape alive from the clutches of those five blood-red ghosts. What other methods were left?

Chen Yu furrowed his brow, suddenly recalling a precious artifact in his possession: "The Dao-Bone Yin Essence? I wonder if this item will be of any use?"

Gritting his teeth, he hesitated no longer.

To his utter astonishment, the moment the Dao-Bone Yin Essence was drawn out, it spontaneously generated a powerful suction force, devouring the Yin malevolent qi in the Yin Pool like a whale swallowing water.

Caught completely off guard, Chen Yu was startled. He knew this would undoubtedly alert Daoist Master Xuyang.

"What is going on?" Daoist Master Xuyang felt the ambient Yin malevolent qi dissipating at a blistering speed, and even the malevolent qi within the Yin Pool was growing visibly thinner. He roared in bitter fury, "It's you? You're not dead yet? What on earth have you done?"

"Kill him... Kill him right now!" Daoist Master Xuyang screamed in rage and anguish. Half of the malevolent qi in that pool had vanished in the blink of an eye; this was enough to make his heart bleed. Yet at the same time, a surge of frantic excitement gripped him: A treasure! This brat must possess an incredible treasure!

Watching the five blood-red fierce ghosts pounce downward, Chen Yu could not help but feel a pang of panic. They were moving far too swiftly; he didn't even have time to recall his own magic tools.

However, to Chen Yu's utter disbelief, the moment the five fierce ghosts drew close to him, they abruptly let out terrified shrieks, as if they had encountered something infinitely more horrifying than death itself.