The roar of the Ghost Beasts, imbued with Illusionary Power that could make Demons tremble, did not affect Yu Ci in the slightest. The shockwave, however, pierced his eardrums, causing him great discomfort.
Simultaneously, the information Elder Chu had mentioned was conveyed in a very peculiar manner. Yu Ci felt a slight disturbance in his Divine Soul. Remembering Elder Chu's words, he absorbed this external force. Upon examination, it was a vast amount of information, purely written with Divine Sense, bundled into a cluster.
To be able to bundle Divine Sense over a mountain peak and deliver it accurately, the old man's proficiency in the way of the Divine Soul was indeed unfathomable!
Yu Ci was amazed, but he simply did not have the time to study the information. His current situation consumed most of his mental energy.
At the moment, he was on the back of a Ghost Beast!
There was a saying in the world, "It's hard to get off a tiger once you've mounted it." Yu Ci felt that riding a Ghost Beast was a hundred times worse.
Yu Ci was not ignorant of the danger on the back of a Ghost Beast, nor did he not want to distance himself. However, when he flew several feet into the air and wanted to exert more force, he felt hollow inside, as if his strength had been exhausted. The Ghost Beast's body swelled suddenly, breaking the rock he was standing on, and threw him up directly.
"Signs of exhaustion... I've overdone it!"
This was the consequence of Yu Ci forcibly using the "Light Extinguishing Escape Method" to perform Earth Escape. The Five Elements Escape Technique was easy to learn but hard to master, especially the Earth Escape which was the most comprehensive. The Earth Escape was refined and all five escapes were refined. This was because the earth carries all things with its virtue, and the Qi of the five elements is manifested in the earth. To travel through it, the other four Escape Techniques must be explored. Therefore, Earth Escape was the most difficult to learn, the most energy-consuming, and the most dangerous when learned to a deep level.
Ordinary Nature-Connecting Upper Stage Cultivators often start with Water Escape or Wood Escape when learning the Five Elements Escape Technique, then practice Fire Escape, Metal Escape, etc., and finally practice Earth Escape, progressing step by step to minimize the risk.
Even so, a Cultivator in the Nature-Connecting Realm, even if they are proficient in Earth Escape, it is already very impressive to travel more than ten miles underground in one breath. If they go any further, they will become weak and if they encounter a change in the Qi of the Five Elements, they may break their Escape Technique and be suffocated alive in the soil. It is said that the true power of Earth Escape, which allows one to travel freely across the four poles and eight wildernesses without hindrance, only appears after forming a Golden Elixir.
Yu Ci was still a distance away from the Golden Elixir Stage, and his mastery of the Five Elements Escape Technique was quite rudimentary. He relied entirely on the "Light Extinguishing Escape Method" to move unobstructed through the soil and rocks. Not to mention, he also had to compress his internal organs and accumulate Sha energy, making the process particularly exhausting. He had almost drained himself after less than a mile, leading to his current predicament.
"To jump now... would be seeking death, wouldn't it?"
The thought had barely formed when Yu Ci immediately dismissed it. He had witnessed the speed of the Ghost Beasts before. In the past, he could dive into the rock layers to temporarily evade them, but now the Ghost Beasts had somehow conjured a strange flame-like form, moving through the earth and stone. Their speed was even more fluid than his "Light Extinguishing Escape Method" induced Earth Escape. In this situation, jumping would be truly suicidal!
Currently, he was on the back of a Ghost Beast. Although its thick fur was as sharp as needles and its body was engulfed in smoke and fire, there was one saving grace. The Ghost Beast's long tail had somehow been severed by a powerful foe. Without its tail, the Ghost Beast couldn't use its powerful "tail segment" that could slice off the heads of Golden Elixir Stage demons on him.
Before he could finish his thought, the massive body of the Ghost Beast leapt into the air.
With a thunderous crash, the Ghost Beast slammed heavily into the cliff wall, its spine almost entirely embedded into the rock. However, Yu Ci managed to avoid the impact by performing an acrobatic move, gripping the long fur on the side of the Ghost Beast's neck, suspending his body in mid-air. The moment the Ghost Beast separated from the cliff wall, he swung back onto its back.
Yu Ci settled on a relatively flat area behind the Ghost Beast's neck, his face not looking too good. The move he had just made wasn't difficult, but the skin and fur of the Ghost Beast weren't easy to grip. At this moment, his palms were scorched and blistered by the smoke, enduring the pain purely through willpower.
Frustrated by its failed attack, the Ghost Beast was about to make another move when, for some unknown reason, it raised its head to look at the sky. The next moment, it leapt violently into the air, its limbs flexing, and smoke billowing beneath its feet. It seemed as if it had a foothold in the void. With a few leaps, it had ascended a hundred feet into the sky, surpassing the top of the valley, and was still rising, its speed increasing.
The Ghost Beast... was flying!
Of course, Yu Ci knew that Ghost Beasts could fly, but such a massive creature stepping into the void always brought a special shock. The Ghost Beast's ascending speed was too fast, and Yu Ci had to lower his body to resist the sudden wind pressure.
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However, he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Even if the Ghost Beast was safe, he himself couldn't fly. If they really reached a height of a thousand feet, his situation would be awkward. Compared to being chased by the Ghost Beast on the ground, he could at least think of other solutions!
Therefore, without any hesitation, Yu Ci drew a Godspeed Talisman, hoping to use this symbol's ability to cross the void in a short time and return to solid ground.
As soon as the symbol was completed, Yu Ci glanced down and saw that there was already a distance from the top of the valley, but the Ghost Beast was still ascending. Cursing under his breath, he was about to let go and jump down when a sharp scream suddenly rose in the air. Before he could understand what was happening, a massive shockwave accompanied by the roar of the Ghost Beast hit him.
The tremor coursed through his body in an instant, and Yu Ci grunted, his hand that was about to let go abruptly clenched tighter, gripping the fur of the Ghost Beasts unyieldingly, regardless of the smoke and fire swirling above, he would not let go.
The strong wind in the air brought clear information: Demons! And they were formidable opponents.
The speed of both sides was too fast, and Yu Ci was jostled on the back of the Ghost Beasts, his vision blurred, only feeling the Ghost Beasts streaking through the air like lightning, tumbling and maneuvering in the sky, colliding dozens of times with another shadow that vaguely resembled a human figure. A series of explosive sounds echoed in the atmosphere, deep and thunderous, forming a continuous roar, accompanied by the howling of the wild wind, slicing against the face like a blade.
Thanks to Yu Ci's quick response, he managed to stay on the back of the Ghost Beasts, otherwise, the overflowing turbulence alone would have been enough to kill him. Unlike now, the smoke and fire rose from the Ghost Beasts, protecting itself and inadvertently, him as well... Of course, if the Ghost Beasts were to react, the consequences wouldn't be too good.
At this moment, the Ghost Beasts showed its divine power, slapping the shadowy figure flying several miles away with one paw. The shadow was obviously injured and unwilling to fight any longer, it turned tail and ran. It was then that Yu Ci saw clearly, it was a creature of a black and gray color, similar in appearance to a human, but with a row of sharp spikes along its spine, quite conspicuous.
The Ghost Beasts roared and chased for several miles, almost catching up, when the dark clouds in the sky split open, and two more flying Demons burst out, entangling with it. These two Demons were obviously weaker, and after receiving two heavy blows from the furious Ghost Beasts, they were smashed to pieces and fell straight down. But by then, the black and gray creature had disappeared without a trace.
"Roar!"
The Ghost Beasts howled to the sky, the sweeping sound waves tearing even the dark clouds above. This contained a strange power that attacked the Divine Soul. Wherever the sound waves reached, chaos arose in the dark clouds, and seven or eight strange figures could no longer hide, either swooping down or escaping, causing quite a commotion.
Yu Ci realized something was wrong. Why did it seem like the Ghost Beasts was inviting a mob to kill it?
The Ghost Beasts exerted its power, and amidst the splattering blood, it scattered several Demons that had swooped down. Then, it soared into the sky, breaking through the low clouds in an instant, reaching a height of thousands of feet, and continuing to rise. There were still Demons below, itching to move, but those who overestimated their abilities and chased after it were torn to pieces by the Ghost Beasts, bringing a temporary silence.
Were those Demons that broke through the barrier targeting it again? Earlier, Yu Ci was puzzled as to why the Ghost Beasts suddenly fell from the sky, but now it seemed that it might have been knocked down by some powerful Demon.
With this thought in mind, Yu Ci looked at the Ghost Beasts again and indeed saw the signs.
The situation was urgent before, and he had overlooked it, but now, looking again, the Ghost Beasts was actually in quite a sorry state. In addition to the half of its tail that had been cut off, the fur of this large creature was also patchy, with countless wounds of varying sizes scattered all over its body, some healed, some still open, obviously accumulated over a long period.
But the most noticeable was the wound on its left shoulder, the size of a bowl. The flesh inside was rotten, pus was flowing, and it was unknown how deep it was. Yu Ci remembered, this was the serious injury caused by Ye Bin's piercing sword, and now it seemed that the wound had not been treated for a long time and had become even more severe.
Perhaps ever since the Passage Between Two Realms was opened, the Ghost Beasts have been engaged in continuous battles, without a moment's respite.
Yu Ci let out a sigh, unsure whether to relish in their misfortune or to admire their tenacity.
The Demons were peculiar, seemingly targeting the Ghost Beasts with a relentless, never-ending pursuit. Even in the depths of the Sky Rift Valley, despite being intimidated by the Ghost Beasts' earth-shattering illusion technique, they would only retreat momentarily before swarming back, forcing the Ghost Beasts to flee. Now, with the Passage Between Two Realms sealed and the number of Demons drastically reduced, this situation has remained unchanged, which was indeed baffling.
As he was contemplating, he suddenly felt something amiss. The howling wind outside was filled with a biting chill, and the Ghost Beasts were still ascending. Judging by the low-hanging clouds below, they must have already reached a height of about ten miles from the ground, nearly two thousand feet?
Yu Ci's expression slightly changed.
The area from ten to about thirty miles high was known as the legendary "Gang Wind Belt". Not only was the air thin and freezing, but the Nine Heavenly Gang Wind also blew fiercely all year round, penetrating through the skin and bones. Apart from high-altitude birds, which naturally had the ability to resist the cold and wind, ordinary Cultivators who had not reached the Golden Elixir Stage and whose Aura had not harmonized completely, would be unable to withstand the onslaught of the Gang Wind. Unknowingly, they would be infiltrated by Gang energy, causing fundamental damage.
Yu Ci, being carried by the Ghost Beasts and flown to this place, couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, regardless of his courage. Moreover, he didn't know if the Ghost Beasts intended to fly even higher — above the Gang Wind Belt was the realm known as the "Blue Sky". That was a place where only Vacuum Walking Cultivators and those who surpassed them, the Thunderbolt Tribulation Cultivators, could freely roam. As for the details within, Yu Ci was unclear. He only knew from rumors that Cultivators who had not reached the Vacuum Walking stage, let alone being able to fly up there, would turn into ashes within moments, with no chance of survival!
Perhaps he was indeed somewhat fortunate, for the Ghost Beasts stopped ascending after reaching a height of about twenty miles. They seemed to have forgotten about the Yu Ci on their back, flying in a certain direction with a shaky flight, clearly indicating their severe injuries.
At first, Yu Ci was still distracted by trying to recognize the direction, but later on, the howling Gang Wind almost swept him off the Ghost Beasts. The strands of Gang energy bred between heaven and earth were resonating in the wind, attempting to penetrate the barrier of his Protective True Evil.
...