Qin knew perfectly well that although the man in golden robes was using two magic artifacts to simultaneously block the pincer attack from himself and the yellow-robed cultivator, his mana consumption was extremely fast—at least twice as much as theirs. Once his mana was depleted, even with two decent artifacts, the man in golden robes would not be far from death.
The man in golden robes couldn't be unaware of this. He had only produced a small golden sword at the beginning precisely to avoid exhausting his mana too quickly. If the yellow-robed cultivator hadn't also attacked him, he would never have casually brought out the Soul-Seizing Bell artifact. Using both artifacts at once was certainly powerful, but it caused his mana to drain at an even more astonishing rate.
Now, the man in golden robes couldn't afford such concerns; faced with the threat of death, his eyes turned bloodshot in a frenzy. He poured mana into both the Soul-Seizing Bell and the small golden sword simultaneously. The Soul-Seizing Bell launched a fierce assault on the yellow-robed cultivator, attempting to blast open the cave exit and escape this Poison Corpse Nest cavern to save his life.
The yellow-robed cultivator bit hard on the root of his tongue, fighting to stay conscious, while tightly holding the Profound Earth Shield before him, effectively sealing the cave exit. He was forced to endure wave after wave of soul-seizing attacks from the Soul-Seizing Bell.
Almost every soul-seizing attack plunged him into a fleeting state of confusion and unconsciousness. It took a short while for his mind to clear again.
Fortunately, Ye Qin timed his actions perfectly. Whenever this happened, he would release the Profound Yin Sword just in time, forcing the man in golden robes to turn back and defend, preventing him from finding any opening to press his attack against the yellow-robed cultivator.
The man in golden robes, controlling two artifacts simultaneously, finally ran out of mana after a short while. Although he quickly downed a mouthful of high-grade spiritual wine capable of rapidly restoring mana, it still couldn't compensate for the consumption rate of the two artifacts; the tide could not be turned.
Before entering this cave, the man in golden robes had spent half a year preparing, readying his two artifacts, full of confidence that success was inevitable. Who could have imagined he would end up in this predicament? A cry of furious anguish escaped him:
“Die with me!”
Whatever secret art he enacted, his body began to swell rapidly. His once tall and handsome physique bloated up like a ball, becoming terrifyingly massive. The man in golden robes' face twisted in agony, veins bulging across his skin.
The yellow-robed cultivator had just regained his senses from the shock of the Soul-Seizing Bell when he witnessed the dramatic transformation of the man in golden robes. His expression instantly turned horrified, and he shouted desperately at Ye Qin, “That’s the Self-Detonation Technique! Hurry, kill him! Don’t let him complete the casting, or we’re all finished.”
Although Ye Qin didn't know exactly what the man in golden robes intended, he vaguely sensed danger. He immediately commanded the Profound Yin Sword, which was still accumulating power, to strike toward the man in golden robes. However, as the Profound Yin Sword flew out, it was entangled by that small golden sword, unable to get close to the target. Taking him down in this desperate moment seemed nearly impossible.
If he delayed even a moment longer, the man in golden robes’ spell would likely be complete.
Ye Qin hurriedly searched his storage pouch for anything he could use to attack. Soon, he pulled out a heavy, black cylinder. This was the high-grade Evil Spirit Tool, the "Nine Slaying Soul Nailing Rods," which he had acquired from a disciple of the Great Luo Sect. It was capable of piercing protective shields and was exceptionally vicious. After a slight hesitation, he aimed the black cylinder at the man in golden robes and poured in his mana.
“Puff! Puff!”
Nine thick, black nails, five inches long and shrouded in dark energy, shot out from the cylinder, transforming into nine streaks of fierce black light. The flying sword artifact of the man in golden robes was occupied blocking Ye Qin’s Profound Yin Sword, leaving him no time to defend against the Nine Slaying Soul Nailing Rods.
The nine dark nails struck the fleshy sphere, instantly piercing the man in golden robes’ protective light shield, poking nine small holes into the man, who had already inflated like a ball. The man’s primordial spirit let out a piercing shriek of agony. The giant meatball stopped expanding and began to turn black throughout.
“Boom~”
It exploded, scattering foul, black blood and flesh over several feet of ground, burning black holes into the stone floor. The blast shook loose some rock fragments from the cave ceiling, causing a minor collapse.
Ye Qin hastily retreated several feet to avoid being splattered by the filthy flesh.
The man in golden robes’ Self-Detonation Technique had only just begun and was incomplete; thus, the power of the explosion was relatively weak, only managing to collapse a section of loose rock.
The yellow-robed cultivator had no idea Ye Qin possessed such a "vicious" evil artifact. He had only used the Profound Earth Shield to defend himself and hadn't retreated. Consequently, the shield became coated with some of the foul, blackened flesh smears, causing it to darken slightly. This caused him immense heartache. He immediately poured mana into it to cleanse the contamination, lest his Profound Earth Shield be damaged, muttering curses under his breath.
Deep within the tunnel, a rumbling echoed, accompanied by clouds of dust filling the air.
After a long while, the dust had still not settled.
Ye Qin’s face was deathly pale. The Profound Yin Sword had shrunk back into a three-inch miniature sword in his hand, and more than half of his internal mana was depleted. He surveyed the cave, seeing corpses everywhere, and couldn't help but offer a bitter smile. After a bloody fight to seize these map scrolls, over ten cultivators lay dead in this cavern.
Only he, the yellow-robed cultivator, and five other cultivators from various sects, who were huddled in frightened, stunned silence in the corners of the cave, remained alive.
But at least he and the yellow-robed cultivator had finally eliminated the man in golden robes.
With the man in golden robes gone, he felt significantly safer; with only the yellow-robed cultivator left, he no longer needed to worry about being killed next.
Such a massive disturbance would surely draw cultivators from other sects. This place was not safe to linger in.
However, before leaving, the battlefield needed to be tidied up.
The two magic artifacts left behind by the deceased man in golden robes were exceptionally rare treasures. For an ordinary cultivator, obtaining even one of them was next to impossible.
Ye Qin’s gaze, covered by a thin layer of spiritual power, pierced through the thick dust, searching for the location of the two artifacts. Within the settling dust, he could vaguely make out a faint golden glimmer and a dim cyan glow—the faint light emitted by the small golden sword and the Soul-Seizing Bell. Deprived of the control of the man in golden robes' divine sense, their dazzling radiance had dimmed, and they had reverted to their original forms, falling to the ground.
With a swift movement, Ye Qin lunged toward the position of the dim cyan light, located over ten feet away. He observed that the Soul-Seizing Bell seemed slightly more potent than the small golden sword. The Soul-Seizing Bell could temporarily stun an opponent's mind, even causing dizziness—its applications were endless. The small golden sword, relying only on direct attack, was slightly inferior. Naturally, he intended to seize the Soul-Seizing Bell first.
Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of a yellow shadow also darting towards the cyan light, trying to snatch the Soul-Seizing Bell.
Ye Qin immediately shot out his flying sword.
The yellow shadow spotted Ye Qin almost simultaneously and thrust out its flying shield.
Sword met shield with a resounding “Clang!”
Two figures, two magic artifacts, moved and shifted rapidly amidst the swirling dust, igniting another fierce confrontation. This time, they weren't fighting for scrolls, but for the artifacts themselves.
“My Profound Earth Shield can suppress all flying swords. You brat can’t win against me, get lost!”
“You take the golden sword, I get the cyan bell!”
“What right do you have to negotiate with me? You’re no match for me. Move aside, or I’ll deal with you next!” Within the dust, neither face was clear. The yellow-robed cultivator stared grimly at Ye Qin’s blue flying sword, sneering constantly, mocking Ye Qin for overestimating himself. His earth-element artifact, the Profound Earth Shield, perfectly countered the water-element flying sword, rendering the Profound Yin Sword useless. A mere Profound Yin Sword dared to contend with him? Suicidal.
“Is that so? Then let’s test it!”
Ye Qin scoffed dismissively.
The yellow-robed cultivator became enraged and commanded the Profound Earth Shield to press down furiously on Ye Qin, intending to pin the Profound Yin Sword.
Ye Qin suddenly tossed out a red magic artifact, blocking the yellow-robed cultivator’s Profound Earth Shield. Then, the blue sword light flashed rapidly, flanking the yellow-robed cultivator and attacking him from the side.
The yellow-robed cultivator was startled and hastily recalled his shield, retreating several feet to protect himself. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a gourd-shaped artifact. He paused, astonished: “So you weren't using your full strength before; you held something back.”
Ye Qin forced the yellow-robed cultivator back, ignoring his attempts to probe further, and swiftly snatched the Soul-Seizing Bell from the ground. He then retrieved the small golden sword, which was pinned beneath some rubble.
To his surprise, there was a storage pouch on the ground—left behind by the man in golden robes after his body exploded.
This storage pouch seemed to be made of a peculiar material, as it hadn't been destroyed in the blast, only tainted by the vile black blood essence, rendering it unusable. He immediately opened the pouch, swept everything inside into his own storage space, and emptied it in one go.
Afterward, Ye Qin rapidly flew to the exit of the Poison Corpse Cavern. He turned back toward the yellow-robed cultivator and the five other cultivators, saying coolly, “Senior Brother Bell, there are still a few junior brothers from other sects in here. They should have quite a few scrolls on them. You two take your time fighting; I’ll be taking my leave!”
The yellow-robed cultivator glared at Ye Qin with a dark expression, watching Ye Qin completely clear out all of the man in golden robes' possessions. He was furious. While his Profound Earth Shield could suppress the Profound Yin Sword, he had no way to deal with the other gourd artifact; he couldn't stop Ye Qin.
Ye Qin calmly considered that he had to leave the Poison Corpse Cavern as quickly as possible; he had no time to get overly entangled with the yellow-robed cultivator. The previous explosion had caused severe vibrations that would certainly attract many other cultivators to this location. He worried that if cultivators from various sects converged here, he would be surrounded again. This was no small matter; otherwise, the yellow-robed cultivator might also face the fate of utter destruction.
The yellow-robed cultivator frowned, daring not to pursue. He turned back, his gloomy gaze fixed on the remaining five or six cultivators inside the cavern, hesitating whether he should eliminate them too and snatch their scrolls.
The faces of those few cultivators instantly grew tense. They gripped their spiritual artifacts tightly, preparing either to fight desperately or to seize a chance to escape while the yellow-robed cultivator was dealing with others.
After a moment of consideration, the yellow-robed cultivator immediately turned and rushed out of the Poison Corpse Cavern.
The reason was the same as Ye Qin’s: he dared not linger here any longer. It was best to depart quickly. If his path were blocked by other cultivators drawn by the noise, his fate would be no better than the man in golden robes'.
Those few cultivators exchanged glances, relief washing over their horrified faces as they realized they had narrowly escaped death.
They hastily fled with the scrolls they had managed to gather.
However, escaping the Poison Corpse Cavern was easy; escaping the underground mining tunnels of the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge was incredibly difficult. Who knew how many cultivators were lying in ambush along the way? They still had battles and life-or-death struggles ahead of them on this path.
Requesting one guaranteed monthly ticket! (To be continued. For the rest of the story, please log in to wwwidiancomm for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!) First release.