Although dodging the rubble wasn't too difficult for Hai Bodong, he could vaguely sense that this was just the prelude to something far more terrifying. Something horrific was about to emerge from beneath the earth, and he couldn't stay on the surface any longer.
In an instant, he leaped, defying the pressure, onto a boulder sliding down the mountainside. Without hesitation, using the boulder as a foothold, he leaped again, landing on even higher rocks. With each leap, Hai Bodong was very close to the top of the mountain.
Although the summit wasn't safe either, it was undoubtedly the best option compared to the soon-to-be-completely-collapsed ground.
However, just as he was about to leap again, approaching the closest boulder to the summit, the entire mountain suddenly collapsed. Countless rubble fragments scattered, and terrifying fragments carrying immense yin energy instantly struck him. Hai Bodong coughed up a mouthful of blood, flying backward, about to fall onto the nearly completely collapsed ground.
Hun Changqing frowned as he watched the scene unfold. He had originally intended to conserve his true energy, but given the current uncertain situation, he couldn't recklessly expend his Taiyin true energy. Therefore, he hadn't brought Hai Bodong onto the water sword. However, the sudden explosion of the mountain had put Hai Bodong in a precarious situation.
Hun Changqing could only sigh and manipulate another water sword to shoot towards Hai Bodong, catching him. If Hai Bodong were to die so hastily, it would be a waste of his two pills.
Hai Bodong felt his rapidly falling body suddenly caught by something, then quickly rising. When he regained his senses, he found himself on Hun Changqing's water sword, and a look of lingering fear washed over him. In that situation, if he had fallen, he would most likely have been torn to shreds by the terrifying energy hidden underground.
He quickly stood up and gratefully said to Hun Changqing,
"Thank you for your help, sir."
Hun Changqing didn't speak, but was manipulating his water sword to leave the area. However, at that moment, the energy underground erupted, and countless huge black vines shot into the sky, blocking their path and frantically attacking them.
Hun Changqing's eyes narrowed sharply, and his body surged with Yin energy. The three water swords that were still floating around him flashed with a cold light, carrying Yin true energy, and slashed at the overwhelming vines at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Three cold sword lights weaved through the vines, and with each flash, several vines were cut down to the ground.
But the vines seemed endless; with each strike, more vines followed closely behind, rushing towards Hun Changqing. The three water swords were already showing signs of being unable to resist.
"Mystic Ice Blades!"
Seeing this, Hai Bodong quickly activated his battle qi, forming a palm seal that gathered cold energy, condensing it into dozens of short ice blades. With a wave of his hand, the ice blades shot through the air, slashing at the black vines.
However, Hai Bodong's ice blades were not very effective against the vines. The black vines also contained terrifying cold energy, and the combined cold energy was only slightly inferior to Hai Bodong's seven-star Dou Huang level cold energy.
It took several strikes to cut the vines, a stark contrast to Hun Changqing's gray-white water sword.
Seeing the situation was not optimistic, Hun Changqing activated the round mirror behind him. Instantly, cracks appeared on the mirror's surface, rapidly spreading until the entire surface was covered.
"Mirror Flower, Water Moon"
—the mirror shattered, countless tiny mirror fragments flying out, each enveloped in terrifying Taiyin True Qi.
This technique has been gradually improved by Hun Changqing. It is no longer only used for illusions, but can also be used to fight enemies, and its power should not be underestimated.
Countless mirrors, like a rain of mirrors, instantly pierced through the vines. As they pierced through, the Taiyin True Qi wrapped in the mirrors instantly corroded the vines, and the coldness within them was also annihilated by the Taiyin True Qi, causing them to wither instantly. The onslaught of the vines slowed temporarily, blocked by the Mirror Rain. However, the three water swords were now somewhat dim, their energy nearly depleted, slowing their speed in cutting down the vines.
Furthermore, due to the large amount of Taiyin True Qi he was currently channeling, Hun Changqing's internal True Qi was beginning to lag behind his combat techniques.
Unable to replenish his True Qi in time, coupled with the relentless chilling pressure surging towards him, he groaned, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.
Knowing he couldn't linger, Hun Changqing immediately threw a bottle of pills into his mouth. He didn't have time to open the bottle and swallow them one by one; he swallowed the bottle and pills together.
Upon entering his body, the Taiyin True Qi shattered the bottle, refining its terrifying medicinal power. In just a moment, Hun Changqing felt his Taiyin True Qi had recovered considerably.
He retrieved the water sword beneath Hai Bodong and held Hai Bodong in his hand, no longer wasting his own energy. Relying on the mirror rain that temporarily blocked the vines,
Hun Changqing directly activated his Taiyin True Qi to its fullest extent. Despite the immense cold pressure, he manipulated the water sword beneath his feet, instantly transforming it into a stream of light and heading towards the center of the valley.
As Hun Changqing departed, the mirrors, no longer supported by Taiyin True Qi, began to slowly disintegrate, turning into silver particles of light that dissipated into the world.
The black vines, having lost their target, also began to slowly retract back into the ground. The ground, as if by miracle, slowly rose, piecing itself back together, until finally, it returned to the state it had been when Hun Changqing and his companion had just passed through.
If Hun Changqing and his companion had witnessed this scene, they would undoubtedly have felt a chill run down their spines.
...
At the summit of a towering cliff, a black stream of light flashed, followed by the slow descent of a man in black robes.
After throwing Hai Bodong to the ground, Hun Changqing could no longer suppress the metallic taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted out. The pressure of flying in this valley was simply too great; the pervasive, chilling pressure was almost suffocating Hun Changqing.
"Damn it, those black vines, though fragile, each one was no less powerful than an ordinary Dou Wang, some even more so, and their numbers seemed endless.
And the invisible pressure between heaven and earth in this valley, the chaotic space—flying through the air requires enduring that terrifying pressure. Even I was struggling to withstand it; my blood surged, and I spat out blood. It's truly a dangerous place.
With Hai Bodong's strength back then, he couldn't possibly have survived this situation. Something must have changed in this valley over the years.
Even the outer perimeter is this dangerous now; this place is definitely not as simple as I imagined. I thought that with Hai Bodong's Dou Wang strength, he could approach the center of the valley, and with my strength, exploring the entire valley shouldn't be too difficult. I never expected such a change to occur here."