Chapter 288: Deeper
Although this evil spirit was completely inconspicuous just now and could not even be felt when it was lying on the ground, when this fellow revived, he gained powerful combat strength out of thin air.
Just this one alone had the strength of a second-grade Formation Arrangement Realm expert.
No wonder those humans outside did not dare to enter. However, Li Yuanqing could not understand why these powerful fellows would appear here.
He held the black sword in his hand. After sensing those evil spirits, the Demon Slayer Sword seemed to be a little excited. Its entire body slowly trembled. This excitement was vaguely transmitted to Li Yuanqing.
The skeleton did not know this. Ever since he was revived, his eyes had never left Li Yuanqing’s body. At this moment, he was holding the equally dilapidated long saber in his hand high and had already arrived in front of Li Yuanqing.
His saber was about to land on Li Yuanqing’s head, but Li Yuanqing still did not dodge. It was as if he was not afraid of his powerful attack at all and planned to take it head-on.
The red light in the skeleton’s eyes intensified. Without hesitation, he slashed down, determined to kill this outsider.
Li Yuanqing, who had been motionless, suddenly pulled the sword in his hand in front of him. He only slashed it gently before putting it away.
However, the aggressive skeleton just now was suddenly silent. The skeleton seemed to have lost his ability to move and suddenly stood rooted to the ground.
Li Yuanqing ignored it and looked to the side. There were many other skeletons who had already woken up.
After these skeletons woke up, they stared at Li Yuanqing with their scarlet eyes.
They had locked onto their target and approached step by step. They held swords, spears, axes, and all kinds of weapons. These weapons were very old-fashioned and looked like weapons used by warriors a long time ago.
Moreover, most of these skeletons were covered in heavy armor. After so many years, the armor was already tattered and could not be seen clearly. However, one could still vaguely feel the heroic spirit of the past.
These dead people must have been prominent figures in the past.
Li Yuanqing thought to himself, but he did not let down his guard at all. These skeletons did not have any feelings and would not say so much to him. They only wanted to expel this foreign thing or kill it and absorb all the spiritual energy on its body.
This was such a good nourishment.
The flowers and plants under Li Yuanqing’s feet were already cheering excitedly. They were cheering and swaying their bodies. Even when the old skeleton died, the flowers and plants below were very active and absorbed the little nutrients left in the skeleton. As for the powerful strength that this skeleton originally possessed, it seemed to have completely returned to this valley and disappeared.
Li Yuanqing was surprised by the changes here. However, he did not know how this valley was formed. It was so unfathomable and untraceable. More importantly, every aura that seeped out of it had the same feeling.
It was as if everything in the valley was one.
When Li Yuanqing was observing the situation beside him, the few resurrected skeletons also entangled him like ghosts. Their bodies kept colliding as they moved, emitting creaking sounds that made one’s ears tingle.
They were like seriously ill patients who had to endure immense pain to take a step, but they had already completely lost their sense of pain.
That pain was completely rooted in one’s heart. It was as if they would be suppressed by this intense pain before they could come into contact with knowledge.
“Ah…”
A very strange sound came from the bodies of these skeletons.
One of the strongest skeletons relied on his strength and took a step forward to stand in front of Li Yuanqing. This fellow’s speed was also outstanding among the skeletons. He could even pose as if he was measuring his body and silently sized up Li Yuanqing.
Just as Li Yuanqing was guessing what it was going to do next, this fellow suddenly disappeared.
More importantly, a thick fog filled the entire valley a second before it was about to attack. This thick fog completely covered its entire figure and isolated Li Yuanqing’s divine sense.
Originally, Li Yuanqing could still guard this fellow tightly. However, after it disappeared, it was actually very difficult for him to find its body in the fog.
It did not disappear for no reason. Instead, it was preparing for the next very violent attack. At this moment, a huge black skeleton hand silently stretched out from Li Yuanqing’s side and grabbed his head.
With Li Yuanqing’s strength, such a concealment method could not completely deceive him.
Just as the black hand thought that it was going to succeed, a sharp blade suddenly appeared out of nowhere and cut through its wrist, cutting off its entire hand.
Li Yuanqing grabbed the huge black hand that was falling from the sky. This hand had been cut off from its body too suddenly. Before it could escape, it was caught by Li Yuanqing. Even after it reached Li Yuanqing’s hand, it was still struggling.
After the skeleton’s first attack failed, not only did it not retreat, but it also launched a surprise attack from behind Li Yuanqing.
This time, a rusty long saber emerged from the black fog.
The saber was extremely fast. It cut through the black fog almost instantly and arrived at Li Yuanqing’s back.
Originally, there was a solid spiritual energy barrier around Li Yuanqing’s body, but the black saber completely ignored this spiritual energy barrier. It cut through the spiritual energy barrier like cutting tofu and reached only a centimeter behind Li Yuanqing.
As expected, the long saber struck Li Yuanqing. However, there was a clang as if it had hit an iron plate, immediately suppressing the long saber.
At the center of the two of them, a very small semicircular golden disc appeared at some point and turned into a solid shield, protecting Li Yuanqing.
The rusty long saber had already reached the end of its lifespan. After being hit like this, it was even more miserable. After a very crisp sound, it broke inch by inch.
The armor behind him, which was originally very arrogant, also shattered into pieces with a clang.
Li Yuanqing directly blew away the portion of black fog behind him. One could see that the originally very arrogant black heavy-armored soldiers were only left with a set of armor. The skeleton that was very arrogant just now had already died under Li Yuanqing’s hands.
These skeletons did not stop at all. After their big brother died, the fellows behind them did not seem to be afraid at all. They still broke out of the black fog.
A very strange sound came from their bodies and surrounded Li Yuanqing from all directions.
Suddenly, countless sharp swords erupted from Li Yuanqing’s body. These small swords emitted endless power and pierced through in all directions without any obstruction.
Those powerful skeletons were instantly shattered into pieces by Li Yuanqing’s sword energy.
After Li Yuanqing destroyed all these skeletons, the black fog that filled the surroundings gradually dissipated. Not long after, the dark night sky finally returned to normal. The originally dark valley regained some light.
This time, Li Yuanqing arrived at the side of the pond without any obstruction and picked up the few Netherworld Flowers that were growing well nearby.
If someone weaker came to pick the Netherworld Flower, they would probably not be able to deal with a single skeleton, let alone so many Ghost Knights.
However, Li Yuanqing was not an ordinary person. His strength had improved greatly and was about to reach the seventh-grade Formation Arrangement Realm, the speed of his advancement was not something ordinary people could imagine.
However, what Li Yuanqing did not notice was that on the cliff of the valley, two deep eyes had opened at some point. They were staring at him coldly, as if they had already noticed this unrestrained outsider.
After Li Yuanqing picked these Netherworld Flowers, he picked some other things. He glanced into the depths of the valley. Even though he was already in the middle, he kept feeling that the danger of standing in the deepest part was much higher than here. If it was in an ordinary situation, he would definitely continue to chase after it to see what was inside.
Unfortunately, he suddenly felt a very dangerous feeling in his heart today, causing him to stop in his tracks. He had already gained enough recently. The materials he had obtained in the first two places were enough to keep him busy for a while.
There was no need to stay here for too long. If he really wanted to figure this place out, it would be a good choice to come again in the future.
As Li Yuanqing thought about it, he vaguely had the intention to retreat. He had already obtained a lot this time. This valley was not big. Compared to the gra.s.sland, it was simply a palm-sized piece of land.
The spiritual energy here was very dense, so these things were very rich. Even though he had only walked such a short distance, he had gained a lot. After bringing the treasures back, he would probably be able to refine many things.
It could even improve his refining skills.
However, just as he was about to leave, the Blood Vine, who had been obedient and motionless in the domain, suddenly crawled out.
The Blood Vine extended a vine and slowly extended into the valley.
“You want to go inside?” Li Yuanqing looked at the vine and asked.
The vine seemed to be able to understand him and wriggled very docilely.
Li Yuanqing hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and deciding to continue walking forward. Although he felt that there was not much of a problem if he retreated now, if the Blood Vine was really so interested in this place, there must be some secret hidden here that could awaken the Blood Vine.
The Blood Vine was very likely a figure left behind from the ancient battlefield. If he could wake up, it would be very helpful for Li Yuanqing to understand the history of the human race here. This was someone who had personally experienced it. His experience was a priceless treasure.
Li Yuanqing hesitated again and again. He thought that he had spent a lot of effort to come here. After all, so many troubles had been resolved. It did not seem to be a big problem to take another step forward.
“Alright, I promise to bring you there.”
Li Yuanqing retracted the Blood Vine and left the pond silently.
As soon as he left, a huge eyeball rose from the pond. It stared at Li Yuanqing’s back intently, as if sizing him up. This big eye was completely black, and the center was as deep as a spring.
Li Yuanqing, who knew nothing, continued to walk slowly into the depths of the valley.
In front of the pool was a bamboo forest. Although the bamboo forest was in a proper shape, the color was very strange.
The bamboo looked dark, and the leaves were black. There was even a very cold light on the leaves, like black daggers.
Li Yuanqing looked up at the black daggers hanging above his head and walked into the bamboo forest.
Although the bamboo forest looked strange, it was about the same if he wanted to circle around to other places. There was a patch of bushes at the side. The bushes were as tall as two people. There were so many that there was no place for anyone to stand. It was extremely difficult to walk over.
Moreover, he had to be on guard against threats that would appear from nowhere. He might as well go through the bamboo forest openly.
This bamboo forest was very quiet. It was unknown how many years it had been since someone came here. Now that there was suddenly such a visitor, the bamboo in the bamboo forest seemed to be nervous.
When Li Yuanqing stepped in, there seemed to be a gust of wind that swayed the bamboo.