Chapter 354 - 329 Heading North_1

As energy flooded in, the progress of Star Leg rocketed, drawing closer to the highest level, the seventh.

"Someone’s coming."

Lu Yan grabbed Shen Yinuo, and they darted into a dense forest to hide behind a large tree.

Whoosh!

Two figures whizzed by in the distance, stirring up a terrifying air wave and a horrifying howl.

Their trajectory pointed unmistakably towards the Tongtian Palace.

"Such aura, definitely above the First Transformation of the Primordial Spirit Realm. Could it be that the cultivators from the north have already made their way south?"

Lu Yan’s face turned grave.

Because he recognized one of them, a master from the Fairy Ruins who had previously fled.

Clearly, after this master from the Fairy Ruins had fled, he encountered a powerful cultivator from Fairy Ruins coming from the north, and returned with reinforcements.

Lu Yan was secretly relieved that he had left early. If he were blocked by a cultivator from the Third Transformation of the Primordial Spirit Realm, the consequences would be hard to predict.

He could probably escape at his full strength, but Shen Yinuo and others like Xiang Chongyang wouldn’t stand a chance.

Suppressing their auras, they dared not fly and had to flee along the ground.

If someone could arrive from the north, then others could certainly follow.

Where there is one, there would be two, three...

Half a day later.

Boom!

A thunderous rumble echoed from a range of mountains ahead, with sword lights piercing the sky.

Two figures battled fiercely amongst the trees, their energies overflowing. Wherever they went, mountains exploded and collapsed, the scene was terrifyingly astonishing.

"Third Transformation of the Primordial Spirit Realm. There must have been quite a number of cultivators who have already moved south."

Lu Yan affirmed.

After that, the two were even more careful.

However, after several days, they still couldn’t locate the dragon-shaped mountain range where the treasure of the Dagu Dynasty was hidden.

"Could the dragon-shaped mountain range be to the north?"

Shen Yinuo speculated.

"It’s very likely."

Lu Yan nodded.

They’ve searched all around the south and didn’t see the dragon-shaped mountain range. There could only be one explanation, it wasn’t in the south, but to the north.

"Since the powerful cultivators from the north have come south, the north is now probably less dangerous. We should go north."

Lu Yan suggested.

"But the ravine in the middle is not easy to cross."

Shen Yinuo voiced.

"We’ll see. If we can manage, we’ll cross. If we can’t, we’ll leave."

Lu Yan decided.

Shen Yinuo nodded in agreement.

The pair set off, heading to the north.

A day later, a vast abyss lay before their path.

The abyss, deep and bottomless, was dozens of miles wide and surprisingly thousands of miles long, separating the southern and northern regions of the Tongtian Ruins.

Legend had it that this was carved out by one of the sides during the great war between the Immortal and Demon.

Standing by the abyss, one could distinctly feel an ominous killing intent, like a sharp blade slicing over the skin.

"Is this abyss really slashed out by an Immortal or Demon? How powerful must that Immortal Demon have been?"

Gazing at the endless abyss, Lu Yan was in awe.

Hearing tales is one thing, witnessing it firsthand is another; seeing it with one’s own eyes always brings a more profound shock.

Shen Yinuo was also shocked by the sight, saying, "I don’t know, but I do feel that a cultivator at the Primordial Spirit Realm definitely couldn’t do this."

"Higher than the Primordial Spirit Realm?"

Lu Yan muttered.

In the world of Martial Cultivation, only the Martial Ancestor was rumored to surpass the Primordial Spirit Realm in the long history of over five thousand years.

Saint Yan, Lin Yan, failed at the critical stage of Crossing the Tribulation, missing his golden opportunity by a hair’s breadth.

A tiny step apart, yet a world of difference.

Whoosh!

At that moment, from a nearby cliff, a figure suddenly sprang out, landing on the ground, and with a swift glance, it spotted Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo.

It was an old man, bald and with a full beard, wielding a large hammer.

"Two young ones at the True Body Realm, managed to stay till now without being eliminated. You must have found quite a few treasures in this duration, heh heh, it’ll be an easy gain for me."

The old man chuckled sinisterly, his Spiritual Sense locking onto the two, and quickly approached Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo in a few steps. He grabbed his left hand towards Shen Yinuo’s throat.

Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo’s faces both fell cold.

Lu Yan instantly unleashed his full power, employing the True Dragon Splitting Skill, and aimed for the old man’s throat. His speed and sharp technique scared the old man, who quickly retreated. He abandoned his idea of attacking Shen Yinuo, and swiftly swung the hammer in his right hand towards Lu Yan’s arm.

Lu Yan’s arm vibrated, contorting like a true dragon, and collided with the hammer.

With a bang, the old man staggered backward, while Lu Yan remained unmoved.

"Just the Second Transformation of Primordial Spirit, I thought you were stronger."

Lu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, the old man was incredibly astonished and incredulous.

"I cannot believe that I am unable to defeat a little brat at the True Body Realm."

The old man roared in anger, exploding with all his strength, stirring the Heavenly Earth Power, and swinging his hammer at Lu Yan again.

Wherever the hammer swept through, a terrifying howl erupted. The hammer swiftly enlarged, transmuting into a small mountain in the blink of an eye.

But Lu Yan was even more relaxed.

Because he realized, the old man’s strength was really...average.

Thud!

Lu Yan’s palm sliced out like a blade, colliding with the hammer a second time. This time, the old man’s hammer was flung backwards, nearly slipping from his grip as he staggered backward.

Lu Yan quickly closed in, launching three consecutive attacks in an instant.

With the third strike, he hit the old man’s chest, sending him flying a hundred meters back before crashing heavily onto the ground.

"It seems he’s just an Upper True Body. His strength is about the same as Wu Hao’s."

Lu Yan leapt high, stomped down from above, and landed on the old man’s chest.

The old man’s body bent like a bow. He coughed up a great amount of blood, his face pale and filled with intense fear.

He really couldn’t understand. He had just crossed the gorge and come to the south side, hadn’t even found any treasures yet, and was already severely injured by a person in the True Body Realm.

Are all the True Bodies this terrifying now?

"I’m very curious, how did a primordial spirit at the second transformation with such weak strength manage to come across this gorge?"

Lu Yan looked down at the old man and asked.

According to his experiences from three hundred years ago, this gorge was perpetually filled with murderous intent and frequent energy storms. It was only a few miles wide, yet crossing it midair was nearly impossible, one could only traverse by climbing down the cliff, going through the gorge, and then climbing up the opposite cliff.

Over the years, many terrifying monsters have been bred in the gorge and they are extremely ferocious.

Only those at the third transformation of the Primordial Spirit realm have the chance to cross the gorge, travelling between the south and the north.

It’s very challenging for those at the second transformation of the Primordial Spirit realm to come across.

What’s more, this guy is just a regular primordial spirit at the second transformation.

"Brother, kid, don’t kill me; it was all just a misunderstanding."

The old man was begging for his life.

"Answer."

Lu Yan’s voice grew cold.

"I’ll talk, I’ll talk. Nobody knows why, but there have been abnormalities in the gorge recently. The terrifying murderous intent is slowly fading, just like a light eating a divine being. The strength of the monsters inside is directly proportional to the murderous intent. The stronger the murderous intent, the stronger they are. Now that the murderous intent has weakened, their strengths have decreased significantly as well. So it’s much easier to cross. Not only did I manage to get to the south, but quite a few others at the second transformation came as well."

The old man hastily explained.

"I see."

Instead of feeling shocked, Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo were pleasantly surprised.

If that’s the case, couldn’t they also easily pass through?

"Can you both spare an old man’s life? I’ve been cultivating for so many years, it hasn’t been easy, I have elderly parents and young children..."

The old man begged for mercy once again, nearly bursting into tears.

Lu Yan would be a fool to believe him.

But he was in a great mood, and couldn’t be bothered to quibble with the old man, especially since the latter didn’t know his true identity.

Stretching out a hand, Lu Yan snatched the Sumi Mustard Seed Bag from the old man and waved him away. "Go."

The old man, as if granted a reprieve, scrambled to his feet and ran away, vanishing in a blink of an eye.

The two observed the surroundings of the abyss for a bit, then followed the path upward just like the old man had done.

The further they went down, the more pervasive and shocking the murderous intent became. Also, an invisible energy seemed to envelop them, as if they were being dragged down.

Fortunately, they were climbing down the cliff. If they had tried to fly, they’d surely have been pulled down.

Both of them activated their True Vigor to build a barrier against the murderous intent.

After a while, they finally reached the bottom of the gorge.

Roar, roar, roar...

Upon reaching, they were immediately met with a series of roars.

A mob of monsters covered in black mist, their eyes filled with bloodlust, focused their attention on them, and then raced towards them.

Lu Yan made a slash with his sword.

The flash of his blade split two of the monsters in half.

But the monsters weren’t dead; they recovered in no time amidst the spreading black mist.

"This skill is similar to the Martial Spirit’s."

Lu Yan had an idea.

With screams echoing everywhere, dozens of monsters rushed at Lu Yan.

Teaming up with Shen Yinuo, Lu Yan managed to send these monsters flying and moved forward.

Just as the old man had described, the weakening of the murderous intent resulted in the weakening of the monsters here. They could easily deal with the monsters.

Although they were challenging to kill, the monsters couldn’t hurt them. Therefore they kept advancing, fending off numerous monsters as they moved forward quickly.

In less than half a day, they crossed the gorge, which spanned around a dozen miles, and reached the cliff on the opposite side. Then they leapt upward, quickly climbing up.

Soon, they climbed up the cliff and reached the north side of the Tongtian ruins.

Then they randomly chose a direction and began investigating.

The environment in the north was actually no different from the south.

But they dared not let their guard down. After all, this was a place where those in the Primordial Spirit realm held the upper hand, filled with numerous terrifying beings in the Primordial Spirit realm.

There might even be geniuses like Ji Wuxiu and Wu Hao who had reached the third transformation of the Primordial Spirit realm.

...

Towards the east of the north side of the Tongtian ruins, a huge dragon-shaped mountain range lay horizontally on the ground, spanning hundreds of miles.

In the area where the dragon’s head was.

Four people were cautiously advancing.

Just as they were nearing the location of the dragon’s mouth.

Suddenly, a massive aura spread out, surging towards the four people.

Roar!

A beast, thirty meters tall, rushed towards them.

The beast’s appearance was strange, with a dragon’s head and tail but a crocodile’s body. It had six legs and exuded a dense immortal power. However, its eyes were blood red, filled with violent murderous intent.

"Watch out."

One of the muscular men roared.

All four of them were in the Primordial Spirit realm and reacted extremely quickly. They immediately launched a counterattack. The Heavenly Earth Power they invoked turned into four attacks, striking the beast.

One of them even managed to unleash an attack in the third transformation of the Primordial Spirit realm, bearing a stunning might.

However, the beast merely swiped its claw and smashed all four attacks.

It didn’t matter whether it was a primordial spirit in the first transformation or the third, they were all the same.

Splat!

Then, its massive claw descended, and a strong person in the first transformation of the Primordial Spirit realm exploded, not even his soul managed to escape.