Chapter 164: Mysterious Heaven Stone

To prevent the demonic miasma from spreading outward, the Alliance set up a barrier in the Western Spirit Continent.

As soon as the escorting light orb docked at the pier, the barrier revealed its form, blocking everyone outside.

Among the group, Immortal Wang Xin, who possessed the highest cultivation level, swallowed a Miasma-Dispelling Pill and took out his identity jade token, pressing it against the barrier.

A flash of white light appeared. Centered on the jade token, an opening roughly one meter in diameter materialized on the barrier.

Immortal Wang Xin swiftly thrust his upper body inside, and the opening immediately vanished.

Following him, Immortal Jinshi and the other two entered one after another.

Hu Li was the last to go in. Feiyi had been left behind on the escorting light orb to support them.

Unlike the fog miasma of the Miasma Sea, the demonic miasma here was grayish and as thin as a cicada's wing. Looking through the miasma, Feng Keer saw a distorted, warped world, as if she had suddenly tumbled into a house of mirrors. It took her a while to get used to it.

"Junior Brother," the female cultivator surnamed Zeng said, pointing to a V-shaped breach to the east. "We will go in from there. Behind the valley is a large river beach, where mutated demonic beasts frequently roam. We will go ahead and lure them away. Follow behind us and act according to circumstances."

传隔着魔障传过来 (Transmitted through the miasma), her voice sounded completely altered, no different from a broken gong.

Hu Li nodded and replied, "Understood. Sister Zeng, please take good care of yourselves." His voice was also extremely hoarse, hardly any better.

Feng Keer frowned. It seemed she had been far too optimistic previously. This demonic miasma was simply incomparable to the fog miasma in the Miasma Sea. It was not poisonous, yet it could provoke inner demons and distort light and sound—it was utterly defying the natural order.

With that thought, she hurriedly retrieved a Demon-Subduing Pill, swallowed it in one gulp, and dissolved it with her spiritual energy.

The medicinal effect was instantaneous. Apart from things still looking somewhat grayish, the world finally returned to normal.

So the purpose of the Miasma-Dispelling Pill was to neutralize the distortion of light and sound caused by the demonic miasma.

By this time, the female cultivator surnamed Zeng and the others had already jumped onto their respective flying magical tools, ready to take action.

Seeing this, Hu Li also summoned his Cloud Boat.

The female cultivator surnamed Zeng pointed at it, looking thoroughly puzzled. "Junior Brother, it seems that isn't the one you usually use."

Hu Li scratched his head in embarrassment. "Sister Zeng, this is my only flying magical tool, so I use it routinely. However... it has the ability to become invisible."

Ahead of them, Immortal Mu Qing frowned in displeasure. "Zeng Yun, are you ready or not? We are about to set off." Inside, he had long been full of endless complaints. He had no idea what kind of madness Zeng Yun was suffering from. Not only did she call a beast her brother for the sake of some legendary spiritual herb, but she had even paid out of her own pocket, spending a fortune to invite the three of them to help this beast with such a ridiculous task. Now look at this—the beast was driving a piece of garbage flying magical tool. Forget about venturing deep into the hinterland to gather herbs; they would probably struggle even to charge past the river beach ahead! Wasn't this just dragging everyone down?

Although the other two remained silent, their expressions were quite grim.

Hu Li awkwardly shrugged at the female cultivator surnamed Zeng and said in a low voice, "Sister Zeng, you just focus on dealing with the mutated demonic beasts. Once this treasure of mine turns invisible, it is extremely fast."

They were all cultivators at the Pseudo-Immortal level, with keen ears and sharp eyes. Standing just a few paces apart, even if he whispered, the others could hear every single word clearly.

Immortal Mu Qing awkwardly clenched his fist, cleared his throat, and took the lead by driving the flying shuttle beneath his feet, charging toward the breach.

"Zeng Yun, hurry up, let's go." Immortal Wang Xin and Immortal Jinshi followed closely behind.

"That's good then." The female cultivator surnamed Zeng had witnessed his flying speed before. Hearing this, she smiled, patted his shoulder, and activated the flying sword beneath her feet, turning into a streak of shooting light to catch up.

Hu Li was not in a hurry. With his hands clasped behind his back, he remained standing in place. Only when fierce sounds of battle drifted over from the breach did he secretly retract the Cloud Boat, employ the Breeze Movement Technique, and fly over.

They had not lied. Behind the V-shaped breach lay a river beach with lush grass and abundant water. Hu Li felt his vision suddenly brighten, and the scenery opened up before him.

Above the river beach, the female cultivator surnamed Zeng was fighting fiercely against a horde of half-human, half-beast monsters.

Feng Keer glanced over quickly. There were no fewer than two hundred of those monsters. The one with the highest cultivation was merely at the Great Circle of the Fifth Rank, while the lowest was at the Third Layer of the Fourth Rank. Every single one of them was tall, at least two meters in height, with red eyes, flat noses, and bodies covered in a foot-long white coat of fur. Their weapons were uniform: each held a black curved blade in one hand.

Hu Li glanced over hastily at first, then shook his head in disbelief and looked closer. Their cultivation levels were clearly much lower than his, yet he could not see through their true forms! What did this indicate? Their spiritual sense was stronger than his!

A cold sweat broke out in fright, and he hurriedly asked, "Master, can you tell what their true forms are?"

Feng Keer replied, "They are a pack of mutated white-sheep beasts, and the curved blades in their hands are transformed from their pair of horns." Seeing that Hu Li did not respond, she continued, "Do you see the small woods to the east? The old, the weak, the sick, and the wounded among them are hiding in there. Quite a few are young beasts that have not yet taken human form."

Hu Li cast his gaze over. Sure enough, at the edge of the woods, several small sheep covered in white fur were watching this side with pairs of blood-red eyes. Behind them, more than twenty identical monsters were lurking behind tree trunks and rocks.

The monsters possessed immense strength, wielding their pairs of curved blades with formidable momentum. Moreover, their leader was highly strategic. Realizing that the four pseudo-immortals were riding flying magical tools and occupying a high vantage point with a terrain advantage, the leader fighting on the front line immediately let out a loud roar, and his dual blades flew out of his hands like a gust of wind. The female cultivator surnamed Zeng was caught off guard, and the flying sword beneath her feet was actually knocked flying by one of the curved blades. With a stumble, she plummeted from mid-air. Yet she was no pushover either; the moment her toes touched the ground, she immediately brandished her long sword and engaged in close combat with the monsters on the ground.

In mid-air, a gap opened up in the defense of the four individuals.

There is no time to lose. The leader let out a "Aha!" roar and swung both arms simultaneously. The monsters behind him instantly followed suit, and the curved blades in their hands rained down toward that gap.

Amidst a flurry of crisp clashing sounds, the tide of the battle reversed. Immortal Mu Qing was the second to be hit, followed closely by Immortal Jinshi, who also fell down.

Seeing this, Immortal Wang Xin naturally was not foolish enough to act as a live target for the monsters. He immediately leaped down from his golden wheel while shouting at the top of his lungs, "Form the formation! Form the formation!"

Unfortunately, the other three were all tightly surrounded by wave after wave of advancing monsters and could not spare a hand for the moment.

If not leaving now, when else? Hu Li decisively rushed over the heads of the monsters, vaulted past the small woods, and vanished into the towering mountains in the blink of an eye.

After flying for about the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, Hu Li was forced to halt atop a mountain peak. The further inward they went, the fiercer the demonic miasma became, and the Miasma-Dispelling Pill was losing its effectiveness.

Consequently, our fox friend got lost for the very first time in his life!

Flying across several more mountain peaks like a headless fly in mid-air, Feng Keer pointed urgently at the highest mountain peak in the surroundings and told him to stop. If they continued flying like this, Hu Li would exhaust his spiritual energy without ever finding his way back.

Damned demonic miasma! The moment he landed, Hu Li became so furious that he smashed a huge boulder nearby to pieces with a single palm strike.

Feng Keer, however, found amusement in their misery. She crawled out from the spatial ball, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, looked at the surrounding small mountain tops, and joked, "I never imagined my first footprint in the Spirit Realm would be left on this barren, bird-forsaken mountain peak!"

This mountain peak was quite peculiar. Aside from being the highest point in this vicinity, the mountaintop was completely bare, covered in cyan-colored strange rocks of varying sizes.

Hu Li jumped in fright. "Master, h-how did you come out?" With that, he anxiously looked up at the sky, then glanced around in all directions, his eyelids twitching wildly out of panic—what would happen if heavenly retribution struck? Who chooses a place like this to undergo a thunder tribulation? Weren't you afraid the lightning wouldn't be fierce enough to blast you to ashes?!

Feng Keer, however, curled her lips dismissively and suddenly stepped back several steps. "Compared to the trouble right in front of you, heavenly retribution is a far-off concern!" As she spoke, a blue flash sparked from her right hand, and the Cyan Lotus Sword flashed out of its scabbard, stabbing toward him as fast as lightning.

"Master!" Hu Li's expression changed drastically.

Unexpectedly, the Cyan Lotus Sword veered midway, slanting sharply to the left.

With a "pfft" sound, a line of blood spurted into the air!

What a fast sword!

When Hu Li regained his composure and looked closely, he saw that his master's sword had impaled a red-furred, round-eared, big-tailed phantom fox, looking just like candied haws on a skewer!

Who else could it be if not Feiyi?!

"Feiyi?" He pointed at Feiyi, who had already passed out, and asked in disbelief, "Master, didn't she clearly not enter the barrier? When did she catch up with me?" How depressing. He had practiced his Breeze Movement Technique to perfection, yet he still couldn't run faster than Feiyi!

Feng Keer rolled her eyes at him and tossed Feiyi heavily onto the ground. "Do me a favor and have a little faith in your Breeze Movement Technique, will you? It was clearly that woman surnamed Zeng who 'slapped' her onto your shoulder. All along the way, she transformed into a single strand of hair and stayed stuck inside your sleeve."

If this fellow hadn't remained completely oblivious, how could she have felt the urgent need to reveal herself?

Hu Li rubbed his hands together and chuckled with an awkward laugh, "After going through so much trouble, were they really only after the Mysterious Heaven Stone?"

Feng Keer snorted, "Asking when you already know. Wake her up."

Hu Li retrieved a jade bottle from his storage pouch, pried open Feiyi's mouth, and shoved in a Soul-Returning Pill. The sword strike just now had pierced straight into Feiyi's dantian sea, killing her nascent soul. Therefore, Feiyi could not survive. Yet the Soul-Returning Pill could temporarily stabilize her nascent soul, extending her life by half an hour at most.

Soon, Feiyi groaned and regained consciousness. Doubled over in pain, she still did not forget to bare her teeth at Hu Li.

Feng Keer chuckled lightly. "Little Fox, what did you do to your junior sister? Look at her—even after being beaten back to her original form, she still hates you this much."

Hu Li snorted displeasedly, "She's no junior sister of mine!"

"Y-you are his master?" Feiyi stared with wide, astonished triangular eyes.

Feng Keer nodded honestly. "None other. You went to such painstaking lengths to track us all the way here—surely it wasn't just to catch a glimpse of me, was it?"

Feiyi's gaze fell upon the Cyan Lotus Sword in her hand. A look of resignation washed over her face, and she sighed, "No. My master found out that half a year ago, a reclusive disciple of the Hu family happened to be an exceptional alchemist. Therefore, my master firmly believed the lie fabricated by Fellow Daoist Hu, assuming he was that alchemist's pill-devouring beast. Luring Fellow Daoist Hu here this time was indeed for the Mysterious Heaven Stone."

Hearing this, Feng Keer and Hu Li exchanged glances. Could it be that the two of them had misunderstood this pair of master and servant? Did they actually harbor no malicious intent?

Hu Li frowned. "What is the Mysterious Heaven Stone?"

Feiyi stared at him in astonishment. "You're not a pill-devouring beast?"

Hu Li shot her a sidelong glance. "When did I ever say I was a pill-devouring beast?"

Both of them were demonic beasts, so why was there such a vast difference in their fortunes? Feiyi drooped her head in dejection. "Fellow Daoist Hu, your fortunate encounter is truly extraordinary." Sniffing heavily, she raised her head and continued, "The Mysterious Heaven Stone is actually the heart of a seventh-rank demonic eagle. Seventh-rank demonic eagles are already pitifully rare. It is said that only the nascent spirit of a pill-devouring beast can lure them into appearing..."

"Vicious woman! Monster!"

*Bang*, another massive boulder was smashed into gravel by a certain exasperated fox.