"Alright! Let's get inside quickly!"
Jiang Feixue nodded, eager and ready, and immediately took the lead, stepping into the Evil Pit.
Su Shi'er followed closely behind. As soon as he entered, he felt a chilling evil aura rushing towards him.
The evil aura invaded, causing his hair to stand on end, leaving him with an extremely uncomfortable feeling.
"Brother Zhu, this evil aura is mixed with a lot of filthy miasma. Once it enters the body, it can corrupt a cultivator's true essence. You should open the Yuanyang Umbrella; it's a treasure of pure yang, perfect for countering this miasma."
As Jiang Feixue's voice rang out, Su Shi'er decisively took out the Yuanyang Umbrella.
Injecting his true essence into it, the umbrella trembled slightly and immediately opened.
A force of pure yang enveloped both him and Jiang Feixue.
Instantly, he felt his body lighten, and a sense of ease washed over him.
"Brother Jiang, let's move on!"
Just as they were about to delve deeper, footsteps echoed from behind.
The two instinctively turned to look.
They saw a group of twenty people hurrying towards them.
All twenty were dressed in white robes, each exuding an extraordinary aura.
Leading them was a middle-aged man with a robust build, bronze skin, and sharply defined features as if carved by a knife.
The man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, his gaze deep and stern. His cultivation was at the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage, as solid as a mountain.
As soon as he stepped into the Evil Pit, he casually tossed out a fiery red circular canopy. It soared into the air, emitting a fiery glow that enveloped the twenty people.
"Which faction are they from, to possess such a top-grade defensive artifact!"
Su Shi'er's eyelid twitched in surprise.
He immediately recognized that the fiery red canopy was an excellent defensive ritual artifact. Even if it wasn't a pseudo-Spiritual Artifact, it was still a top-grade ritual artifact.
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Comparable to his Yuanyang Umbrella, if not slightly superior!
Beside him, Jiang Feixue's body trembled slightly upon seeing these people, a flicker of panic crossing her eyes.
She quickly tugged on Su Shi'er's arm and said urgently, "Brother Zhu, let's go!"
With that, she pulled Su Shi'er along a deserted narrow path.
Behind them, the bronze-skinned middle-aged man also noticed their presence.
His gaze fell on Jiang Feixue's retreating figure, and he frowned slightly.
"Young Master, is there something wrong with those two?" a long-faced cultivator in his fifties or sixties asked the man.
"Nothing. Still no news of Xue'er?" The man shook his head and asked in return.
The long-faced cultivator quickly replied, "According to the people at the market's artifact shop, Miss Xue'er did come by. She said she was going to refine artifacts a few days ago and went out to gather materials, but hasn't returned yet."
"I've already sent people to look for her. There should be news in the next few days! Miss Xue'er is smart and resourceful; she'll be fine."
"Hmph! Once we find her this time, she'll have to answer for it!" The man nodded solemnly, then added, "Let's go. If we can find the Golden Sacred Spirit Spring, we can quickly boost that little girl's strength."
With that, the man led his group deeper into the Evil Pit.
Su Shi'er didn't say much, following Jiang Feixue forward.
They continued until they were alone, where Su Shi'er squinted and turned to Jiang Feixue.
"Brother Jiang, do you know those people?"
"No... I don't. It's just that there are so many of them, and if we want to find the treasure, we need to take a shortcut and get there first!"
Jiang Feixue shrank her neck, shaking her head hurriedly, yet she appeared confident.
"True!" Su Shi'er nodded, not pressing further.
However, he knew in his heart that Jiang Feixue likely had some connection with those people.
The two continued along the narrow path.
Halfway through, they saw several corpses lying haphazardly on the road ahead. Su Shi'er paused and stopped.
"Huh... are those... cultivator corpses?" Jiang Feixue also noticed and stopped with a soft exclamation.
"It seems these people have been dead for some time!" Su Shi'er squinted, activating his Heavenly Eye Technique to examine the scene.
Under the Heavenly Eye Technique, he could clearly see that these corpses contained astonishing amounts of yin-attribute spiritual power, making him instantly alert!
His true essence was quietly accumulating, ready to flee at any moment.
"Strange! Why are there so many dead here in such a remote place? And they don't have any obvious wounds?"
Jiang Feixue was puzzled, moving closer to investigate.
The corpses showed no signs of life, yet no visible fatal wounds, which greatly surprised her.
Holding her chin, her eyes sparkled with bright curiosity.
Just as Jiang Feixue approached one of the corpses, Su Shi'er noticed the yin-attribute spiritual power within it suddenly surge.
"Not good! Brother Jiang, be careful!"
Su Shi'er's expression changed instantly, urgently warning her.
"Hmm?" Jiang Feixue was startled, unable to react in time.
The corpses on the ground suddenly sprang up, spewing black evil aura from their mouths.
The corpse closest to Jiang Feixue clawed at her shoulder with lightning speed, its nails glinting with a dark green light.
"Ugh! Ah..."
With a dull thud, Jiang Feixue's body trembled, her shoulder instantly a bloody mess, a deep wound gushing blood.
She screamed in pain, her face pale as snow, sweat beading on her forehead.
The corpse didn't stop after the claw attack. It bared its fangs, lunging at Jiang Feixue's delicate, snow-white neck.
"Damn it!" Su Shi'er's eyes turned cold. Using the Shadowless Phantom Steps, he swiftly appeared beside Jiang Feixue.
Before the corpse could strike again, he slashed with his Silver Light Sword. A flash of sword light sent the corpse flying.
At the same time, Jiang Feixue's body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Su Shi'er quickly caught her, asking urgently, "Brother Jiang, how do you feel?"
Before Jiang Feixue could respond, the corpse that had fallen not far away sprang up again as if nothing had happened.
Its eyes glowed with a ghostly blue light, charging at Su Shi'er once more.
Behind it, over a dozen similar corpses locked their gaze on Su Shi'er.
"Roar!"
The corpses emitted low growls, baring their fangs and clawing with their fingers.
As they charged, a terrifying yin wind rushed towards him.
Su Shi'er looked serious, clearly feeling the increased consumption of true essence by the Yuanyang Umbrella.
"Brother Zhu, run! These are refined corpses, as powerful as high-level demonic beasts. You're no match for them!"
At this moment, Jiang Feixue suddenly lifted her head, weakly shouting at Su Shi'er.
With that, she slumped completely against Su Shi'er, falling unconscious.
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