"That's a Bronze Serpent Construct, one of the masterpieces in the construct arts left by the senior who established this dwelling."
Long Yiran explained in surprise, even as she pulled Wang Yu along, continuing to flee forward. This action genuinely startled him—he almost unleashed his Soul-Shattering Finger!!
They were still in the previous bronze passage, as if they had jumped from one passage to another. Essentially, they were still within the Soul-Confounding Layout.
Only now, there was an additional giant bronze serpent chasing them from behind.
The serpent construct's speed wasn't overly fast. With a slight boost of true essence, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's flight speed could surpass it. This showed the core challenge remained breaking the Soul-Confounding Layout.
The rumbling commotion merely added some pressure.
Wang Yu freed his hand from Long Yiran's grasp and said softly, "Please, Fellow Daoist Long, refrain from touching others casually. In Scarlet Kite, that can be fatal."
Long Yiran was taken aback. "...U-understood."
Clearly.
This one was also from the Tai Lake region. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so 'earnest.' He didn't dislike dealing with earnest people.
Long Yiran probably hadn't been in Scarlet Kite for too long, and had spent most of that time in such remote, uninhabited places. A dozen or twenty years at most.
Wang Yu estimated her status was inferior to that Tai Lake noble lady. She was likely just a wandering cultivator from that region, also here to complete her legacy. Along the way, she probably had some dealings with the Ruan family of Venom Scorpion City.
After all, her temperament, habits, and reactions in moments of urgency...
Were inherently different from native Scarlet Kite cultivators.
At times like these, Wang Yu couldn't help but think: if, back when he returned to Stone Lake City, he had encountered a cultivator with such a temperament, he might not have returned to Scarlet Kite. That possibility was quite high.
Unfortunately, he had encountered Changxi and Lan Boting.
"Brother Wang, this should be a multi-layered Soul-Confounding Layout, with up to three layers superimposed. We've already broken through the first and are currently in the second. Give me a little time."
"Easy enough."
The broad bronze passage was almost entirely occupied by the giant serpent chasing from behind. Wang Yu waved his hand, and vast sheets of ice crystals formed within the passage.
Quickly, they coalesced into an ice wall, and with a small expenditure of true essence, numerous sharp, hardened ice spikes grew from it.
When the Bronze Serpent Construct caught up, its fierce momentum directly shattered the ice wall, but its speed inevitably slowed significantly.
Continuing to slide forward, it became stuck on a large number of blackened ice spikes.
After crashing through the foremost obstruction, its forward momentum nearly ground to a halt.
The darker the color of the ice crystals, the more true essence Wang Yu had infused, and the harder and denser the ice became. This was a newly developed technique for utilizing true essence after undergoing the dual tempering of Netherworld Spring power and the Profound Ice Bed.
It perfectly leveraged the extreme cold nature of his true essence. Integrating it into offensive arts would cause their power to soar dramatically.
The same art, in his hands, was simply more powerful than in others'. This was a difference in fundamental quality, a reflection of the refinement and density of his true essence.
*Crack, crack, crack—*
After this obstruction, mechanical shifting sounds came from within the Bronze Serpent Construct. A rune glowed on its head, and its body segments began to rotate.
Its adaptability was not to be underestimated.
"Found it!"
At that moment, Long Yiran suddenly shouted. She rushed over, about to grab Wang Yu's wrist, but hesitated, remembering their earlier conversation.
Wang Yu quickly said, "I'll follow you."
Long Yiran breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Walk the Seven Stars Steps due north, stop at the Opening Yang star. Then walk the Eight Trigrams Steps southwest, second from Li, fifth from Xun. The One Origin begins anew. Open!"
Wang Yu felt a bit dizzy listening, but he could follow along. With the total steps not being excessive, it wasn't too difficult.
Just as the Bronze Serpent Construct broke free from the black ice blockade, the two happened to break through the second layer of the Soul-Confounding Layout, crashing into the wall and disappearing.
The third layer was no longer an endless bronze passage.
It was a square bronze plaza, like a box. On all four walls hung statue-like giant bronze serpents.
"This place... those four aren't also serpent constructs, are they?"
Long Yiran hurriedly manipulated the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches disc in her hand, speaking rapidly, "Ten breaths! Just ten breaths!"
Mysterious, arcane characters spread out, imprinting a larger orientation disc beneath their feet on the ground. The pointer formed from true essence rotated swiftly.
Wang Yu held his breath. The eyes of the serpent constructs on all four walls had already lit up with red light, and with a *rumble*, they came crushing over. From stillness to activation took only two breaths.
*Screech, screech—*
Black ice spread out from Wang Yu as the center. He swallowed a top-grade Spirit Restoration Pill, channeling his Extreme Cold True Essence into the Ice Coffin Curse. Five massive black ice walls abruptly closed in around them.
It was like a cage, protecting the two within.
Three breaths ended. The four Bronze Serpent Constructs slammed into the ice cage simultaneously. Their brute force was nearly at the third-tier level. Cracks immediately appeared on the black ice cage.
It only held until the sixth breath began. With tail strikes from the serpent constructs, all four sides of the ice wall buckled inward, eventually collapsing completely.
They didn't shatter, but the load-bearing structure seemed problematic.
He should have formed them into triangular sloping surfaces, not the square shape of the Ice Coffin Curse...
In the critical moment, Wang Yu held the Ghost-Weeping Flute and activated its Ghost Domain ability. As black ripples spread out, hundreds of Soul-Devouring Crows transformed from human and demon souls flew out, cawing.
The vast majority possessed second-tier auras. Seeing this, Wang Yu also channeled his own divine sense power into the magic treasure.
Together with his true essence and the hundreds of Yin Soul-Devouring Crows, they formed an utterly exaggerated **Wailing Heart-Severing Blade**. If an observer were present, a single glance might plunge them into sorrow, making them weep uncontrollably.
This was the peculiarity of the Heart-Severing Blade—it could evoke the most painful memories from the depths of one's heart. Unfortunately, they were facing an Archaic Era construct; they could only rely on its brute force!
A terrifying black blade, nearly a thousand meters long, swept horizontally, smashing aside the serpent constructs from the front and right. Facing the constructs attacking from the rear and left, Wang Yu revealed a ferocious grin.
Spreading his hands, two immensely large Grand Yin Hands attached to the outside of his arms. Together, they grabbed the tails of the serpent constructs. The roar of flood dragons shook the ears!
Dragon Spine erupted with power. He actually managed to swing them and hurl them away.
"Ten breaths... are up."
"It's done!"
Long Yiran fired off several true essence finger techniques in rapid succession, striking various positions on the ground.
Just as the serpent constructs were about to pounce, a spatial fluctuation enveloped the two, and their figures vanished in an instant.
"This is an Archaic Era Minor Teleportation Array. Nowadays, due to the lack of high-tier spatial spiritual materials, it's very difficult to create new ones. We're almost all relying on those left over from the past."
This explanation came from Long Yiran.
Since there were Minor Teleportation Arrays, naturally there were also Major Teleportation Arrays.
Unfortunately, most Major Teleportation Arrays left from the Archaic Era were destroyed during the Blood Demon Cataclysm. Some remain from the Ancient Era, but it's very difficult to confirm their locations through historical records.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu didn't reply. Instead, he observed their surroundings. They were still underground, but not beneath the "White Serpent Depression." They had likely been teleported a considerable distance.
This underground space was now brimming with vitality, the air thick with the haze of spiritual energy.
It seemed that after passing the triple Soul-Confounding Layout, they had entered the reward phase. The dwelling's master who set up the trials was relatively lenient, not one of those overly strict types.
The ground here was covered in rare spirit herbs. Though most were toxic, they were still rare spiritual materials, commanding high prices.
With a cursory glance, he spotted three types of third-tier spirit herbs.
The efforts expended were absolutely worth it.
At that moment—
Long Yiran said, "Brother Wang, the legacy is within the ancient carvings on that stone wall over there. One must possess the 'Scripture Guide' of my lineage to comprehend it. Regarding these spirit herbs... could we split them after I return from my comprehension?"
Wang Yu was slightly taken aback. You're asking me?
Don't you know that if you enter a state of comprehension, you might die?
Of course, that was just a joke. They had signed a contract and couldn't harm each other.
But if he hid a few high-tier spirit herbs, Long Yiran might not necessarily notice. Thinking of this, Wang Yu couldn't help but ask.
"How long will your comprehension take?"
"A few months at least, possibly several years."
"Tsk—"
"Does Brother Wang find this troublesome?"
"Naturally. Waiting for you that long... How about we split the spirit herbs first? Then you can enter secluded comprehension, and I, Wang, will go into seclusion elsewhere to wait for you."
Long Yiran seemed troubled. At first, Wang Yu didn't understand her hesitation, but then he recalled the terms of their contract.
Their cooperation would only last until they left the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest. If, during her comprehension, Wang Yu left once and then returned, she would be in the dark, and that would be dangerous.
So she did have some sense of caution, not entirely the naive little flower like that Tai Lake noble lady.
She wanted to delay the distribution of the spirit herbs to ensure Wang Yu wouldn't leave this place casually during her comprehension.
Due to the Minor Teleportation Array, leaving wouldn't require retracing their path. They could simply use an Earth Traveling Art to ascend.
"Fine."
Understanding her reasoning, Wang Yu agreed to her request. At the same time, he raised a finger and said, "I won't touch the third-tier spirit herbs. I'll directly pick and consume those second-tier herbs to enhance my cultivation. I'll refine them for as long as you spend in comprehension. How about that?"
Earlier, Wang Yu had observed.
This underground herb garden was influenced by the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest; most spirit herbs were toxic. Among them were the **[Black Mistsky Buggrass]** that Wang Yu had been longing for. The quantity wasn't large—only five plants.
But they were rare spirit herbs that could genuinely increase true essence. Refining them here for a period wouldn't be a loss.
As for refining them into pills before consumption, he already had top-grade Ice Spirit Pills. Adding another type of pill wouldn't allow for stacking effects. It was better to refine the raw spiritual power of the herbs.
And it wouldn't be affected by other factors.
Long Yiran had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. For her, the most important thing was Core Formation. Those third-tier spiritual materials were the key. Therefore, she didn't refuse.
A win-win situation, achieved!
Next, Long Yiran went to comprehend the ancient carvings on the stone wall. Wang Yu also picked all five Black Mistsky Buggrass plants. These things were toxic, but only he could directly consume them using the Immaculate Jade Toad's ability.
Otherwise, one would need other methods to remove the toxicity before ingestion and refinement.
The first attempt took nearly fifty days.
He finally successfully refined the first Black Mistsky Buggrass, increasing his true essence by eighty droplets. The effect was remarkably potent, equivalent to several years of bitter cultivation for him!
"Indeed, one must seek out more opportunities like this. With the quantity sold by the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and Golden Abundance Pavilion, I simply can't buy such exceedingly rare spiritual materials."
Muttering to himself, Wang Yu took out the Myriad Poison Spirit Marrow.
This spiritual material could still be used one last time. Perfect to use it now.
Cultivating here underground for a while wasn't a bad idea.
**(End of Chapter)**