CHAPTER 224: BLACK MIST MONSTER APPEARS

"I'm only trying to train their critical thinking," Wind Dragon said with an awkward laugh. "Eventually, they'll have to stand on their own and face those young masters from noble clans on equal footing. I can't always be there to explain everything, can I?"

"Then next time you do something like this, at least set up a protective barrier around me. What if an enemy attacks and I lose because I didn't get enough rest?" Red Fox muttered.

She understood that what Wind Dragon mentioned was important for Lu Chen and the others. All she could do was mutter a half-hearted excuse, scold him twice, and then close her eyes to continue sleeping.

Watching her drift off right after cursing him, Wind Dragon gritted his teeth. But since this was only his clone, and he wasn't as strong as her, he had no choice but to endure her temper.

He bared his teeth at Red Fox for a moment before turning to Lu Chen. "Let's keep moving. The area ahead should still be safe. Maybe after we go a bit farther, we'll discover why no one has explored this place yet."

"Alright," Lu Chen said with a smile. Just as he was about to head north, Wind Dragon spoke to him privately through voice transmission. "Wait, Little Lu. There's a faint reaction from within the Heavenly Pool. There might be something nearby that's beneficial to you."

"Really? Let me take a look," Excited, Lu Chen sank his consciousness into the Heavenly Pool but noticed nothing unusual. "I don't see anything. Where did you sense it, Wind Dragon?"

Just then, the stone tablet at the eastern gate of the Eternal Twilight Imperial City flickered with green light. Sensing Lu Chen's probing, it released a beam toward the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

The Green Sovereign Divine Tree shuddered violently, swaying in harmony with the light's rhythm, and a root extended into Lu Chen's hand.

Feeling the disturbance within the Heavenly Pool, Nantian Wan'er looked up. "Lu-gege, what's happening?"

A root from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree appeared in her hand as well, glowing blue and pointing directly north.

"There's a fragment of the Cloud Register of Seven Seals here. Looks like coming down for this trial was the right choice," Lu Chen said, gazing at the red-glowing root in his hand before looking northwest. "Judging by the tree's reaction, there's more than one treasure here. No matter how dangerous it gets, I have to see it for myself."

"Boss, if you're reacting like that... that treasure must be useful to you, am I right?" Nantian Yijian asked.

Lu Chen stared north and nodded. "I'm not sure what it is yet, but it's definitely important. Since we've found a trace to follow, let's change course."

He let out a low snort, and three figures slowly formed behind him. "We'll head north first to locate those two treasures, then cut southwest. Two days should be enough for us to cover everything."

The three avatars scanned the surroundings before bowing respectfully. "Original, we're here." Each of them held a root from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, with the roots pointing straight north.

"The roots in the avatars' hands are reacting too. It seems the treasure there must be powerful. As the saying goes, 'where there's a father, there's a son.' There must be many hidden treasures that come with it."

"Boss, I'm going ahead!" Nantian Yijian shouted excitedly, dashing forward. "The big one's yours, Boss! The rest is fair game for whoever gets it first!"

He drew a flying sword from his guqin sword and raced through the piles of bones toward the decayed, grayish forest to the north. As he advanced, he released bursts of spirit qi every hundred meters, stirring up dust and gravel to search for the hidden treasures Lu Chen had mentioned.

"Hey, Little Jian! Slow down!" Seeing Nantian Yijian's reckless charge, Jun Laoye hefted his Earth-Shattering Spear and chased after him. "The ancestor said there are still hidden Blood Soul Beasts down there! Don't go waking them up!"

"Lu-gege, let's hurry too. This place feels too eerie," Nantian Wan'er said, feeling the chill around them. She held Red Fox firmly in her arms as she moved closer to Lu Chen. "It feels like something's watching us. It's not quite the aura of a high-level beast, but it gives me goosebumps."

Perched atop Lu Chen's head, Wind Dragon spoke calmly, "The corpse qi here has been accumulating for millions of years. It's natural for spirit beasts or entities to have formed. But we're out in the open while they hide in the dark."

He exhaled a breath of spirit qi, forming a protective barrier around them. "Being watched is never good. Let's move quickly. No one knows what might happen next."

Lu Chen summoned the Hunyuan Greatsword and attached the Twin Fish Medallion to the guard. Streams of black and white light surged forth, merging into a single sword qi that enveloped the massive sword.

Seeing this, Nantian Wan'er drew the Dragon-Slaying Sword and ran her hand along the blade. Pale blue energy spread across its surface in response.

Lu Chen raised the vine in his hand. Just as he was about to sense the exact position of the stone tablet, Nantian Yijian's voice rang out from afar. "Ahhh... Boss, help me! There is a whole swarm of monsters here!"

"Wind Dragon, you really jinxed it..." Lu Chen muttered under his breath at the shout, sprinting forward at once.

"Little Jun! Protect me! Monsters are hiding among the bones!" Nantian Yijian's cry barely faded when lightning rumbled to the north. A towering, three-zhang-tall, lightning giant materialized.

"Little Jian, fall back and get Little Lu over here! There's something strange about this black mist. The two of us alone might not be able to handle it!"

The giant clenched its fists and unleashed a flurry of blows, sending waves of force that toppled the rotting trees in every direction.

Lu Chen quickly realized that the monster lurking in the dark had been alarmed by Nantian Yijian's commotion. "Little Jun has summoned the lightning giant... The situation over there must be bad. We need to move faster."

The lightning giant was Jun Laoye's strongest technique. Using it as an opening move meant the threat was far beyond ordinary. For a monster to force Jun Laoye to summon it immediately, it had to be at least at the Qi Condensation Realm. Jun Laoye couldn't handle it alone.

As they advanced, Lu Chen surveyed the terrain. The further north they went, the more corpses littered the ground. By the boundary line, bones covered the earth completely. It marked the heart of an ancient battlefield.

Since this was once a battlefield, there was no way only one monster would be present. If Jun Laoye was tied up with one while more approached, they would be in grave danger.

Lu Chen's mind snapped clear. "There's no time to waste. Wind Dragon, carry us over there! Now!"

He tossed Wind Dragon into the air. "No matter what happens next, protect Little Jian first. Red Fox, watch over Wan'er."

Wind Dragon's body expanded rapidly midair. He turned toward Lu Chen. "Understood. Get moving."

Lu Chen stomped the ground, wrapped his arm around Nantian Wan'er, and leaped onto Wind Dragon's head. Together, they surged toward Nantian Yijian.

The three avatars channeled their spirit qi, flying alongside Wind Dragon while staying alert to their surroundings. With Wind Dragon's speed, they covered over half the distance in an instant.

Lu Chen could already see Nantian Yijian running toward them at full speed. Behind him, Jun Laoye controlled the Earth-Shattering Spear, while the lightning giant wielded the Heavenly Dao Spear, battling fiercely against a mass of black mist.

"Little Lu, get that Nantian brat up here. I'll deal with that thing." Wind Dragon's eyes flashed green as he locked onto the black mist. His enormous jaws opened wide, unleashing a powerful gust. "That's a monster at the second level of the Qi Condensation Realm. It's no wonder the Jun Brat's been fighting it for so long."

As Wind Dragon soared overhead, Nantian Yijian waved his arms and shouted, "Boss! That black mist is the monster! Little Jun and I can't take it down! Hurry and help him!"

Lu Chen glanced at the wind blade Wind Dragon had fired. "Little Jian, I can see it. Get up here first."

He then extended his right hand downward, releasing spirit qi that pulled Nantian Yijian up onto Wind Dragon's head.

The wind blade shot through the black mist without resistance, slicing straight through it. Wind Dragon frowned and let out a low growl, calling the wind blade back. The returning gusts whirled violently, shredding the black mist into pieces.

Nantian Yijian's face lit up. "It's working!"

He pointed at a pile of bones to Jun Laoye's left and shouted, "Lord Wind Dragon! There's another one over there! Finish it too before it comes out!"

Lu Chen pulled Nantian Yijian back behind him, snapping open his Divine Eye. "Quiet, Little Jian."

He frowned at the shredded black mist. "Wind Dragon, that wind blade didn't actually work, did it? I can still sense the monster nearby."

Wind Dragon landed beside Jun Laoye, staring at the scattered remains of the black mist. "Yeah, I see it too. That thing's probably a spirit entity formed of corpse qi."

He exhaled a breath of blue spirit qi, gathering the corpse qi scattered across the ground into a single mass.

The black mist recondensed within a glowing barrier, thrashing wildly inside.

A distorted human face emerged from the mist, glaring at Wind Dragon and roaring in fury at being trapped. The smaller the barrier became, the more frenzied its struggle grew.

After just a few breaths, the barrier shrank to the size of a fist. The black mist's face twisted into a grim, ghastly visage, uttering a series of eerie, gurgling sounds toward Wind Dragon.