CHAPTER 278: NIGHTMARE BEASTS

Just when Shen Xu wanted to say something, a shadow flew past them and attacked Dongfang Jing.

"Look out." He shouted.

Hearing the warning, Chen Yi reacted fast and pushed Dongfang Jing to the side.

Instantaneously, he unsheathed his sword and attacked the shadow.

However, his attack passed through the shadow and fell on the cave wall.

"Why didn’t it work?" He muttered but didn’t waste a breath.

Although he didn’t know why the attack didn’t work, he still swung his sword and attacked again.

Unfortunately, the result was the same and the shadow suffered no injuries.

"It’s a nightmare beast. Use a soul attack." Zhen Yuan shouted.

At the same time, he condensed a soul dart and threw it at the shadow.

Barely a moment later, the nightmare beast dissipated and a black demon core fell to the ground.

"Thank you, Daoist friend Zhen." Chen Yi said, looking at Zhen Yuan with grateful eyes.

"Don’t mention it." Zhen Yuan said and turned to look at the evil-swallowing cauldron.

Dream beasts and nightmare beasts were types of phantom beasts born from heaven and earth.

However, dream beasts were born from ordinary heaven and earth and were innately neutral.

On the other hand, nightmare beasts were born from evil qi and could only weave nightmares.

Seeing a nightmare beast, Zhen Yuan realised why everyone who entered the caverns was so defeated.

Not only were they tainted by evil qi but they were also influenced by nightmare beasts, unable to extricate themselves from misery.

"There are more." Shen Xu said in a solemn voice.

When they heard this, everyone turned about, only to see hundreds of nightmare beasts materialising around them.

"Physical attacks won’t work. Use soul attacks." Zhen Yuan reminded.

At the same time, he released his level eight soul pressure and used it to oppress the surrounding soul beasts.

After all, there were at least three hundred nightmare beasts and all were at the peak of level seven.

Although he was a level eight soul refiner and his group were peak level seven, three hundred nightmare beasts were too many.

If he didn’t weaken them in some way, Shen Xu and the others would expend a lot of effort in defeating just one, let alone hundreds.

"Let’s kill them as quickly as possible." He said.

"Got it." The others agreed and began attacking.

On the side, Dongfang Jing and Chen Yi were at a loss.

As swordsmen, they didn’t especially refine or train their souls.

Because of this, Dongfang Jing’s soul was at the peak of level five while Chen Yi’s was at the peak of level six.

Most importantly, neither had practised soul martial arts and felt a little useless in this situation.

"Use sword intent and sword energy." Zhen Yuan reminded.

"Why didn’t I think of it?!" Chen Yi muttered and began attacking.

To preserve his soul power, Zhen Yuan didn’t attack.

Instead, he maintained the soul pressure, ensuring that Shen Xu and the others could easily deal with the nightmare beasts.

Still, the fight lasted ten days.

On one hand, the nightmare beasts were powerful and on the other, the caverns were full of evil qi.

Because of this, the nightmare beasts had an advantage and could recover from minor injuries within a few breaths.

When the last beast died, Shen Xu heaved a sigh of relief and turned to Zhen Yuan.

"Ayuan, hurry up and close the cauldron." He urged and Zhen Yuan nodded.

He previously tried to seal the cauldron.

However, the nightmare beasts always got in his way and the matter was delayed until the beasts were defeated.

Now, he hastily walked to the cave centre and pushed the lid to completely seal the cauldron.

Instantaneously, the evil swallowing cauldron released a strong suction force and began sucking the surrounding evil qi through the top opening.

"It’s finally over." Yang Shi said, looking a little pale.

As a monster, he was more comfortable using physical or qi attacks than soul attacks.

Although he somehow managed, the last ten days were extremely tiring and he was glad to be done with them.

"Dean, Senior Chen, let’s talk about the cauldron." Shen Xu said without preamble.

Hearing this, Dongfang Jing and Chen Yi tensed.

However, they didn’t lose their composure but waited for Shen Xu to continue.

"The cauldron and cup are a set and can’t be separated. Ayuan and I want them both. However, we are willing to exchange them for other things."

Dongfang Jing and Chen Yi looked at each other when they heard this.

In fact, they didn’t have a strong claim to the treasures.

After all, Shen Xu and the others saved their life.

Also, they only killed a few nightmare beasts and left the bulk to the others.

"We have no problem with that." Dongfang Jing said.

"The cup has close to four thousand drops of golden liquid." Shen Xu said, pointing at the enlightenment cup.

Hearing this, everyone walked closer and looked at the cup.

From a distance, they only saw the water-coloured liquid dripping from the cauldron and into the cup.

However, at close distance, they saw golden liquid at the bottom of the cup.

This liquid was the drops of clarity but Shen Xu didn’t want to specify before they brokered a deal.

"We will take half and you will take the other half." Shen Xu started and without waiting for a reaction, he continued.

"In addition, we will give you three top-grade void refining pills, two peak level six swords, two peak level seven robes, two enlightenment pills, and two soul-nourishing fruits. What do you think?"

Dongfang Jing and Chen Yi were shocked when they heard the terms.

At the same time, they realised the true value of the cauldron and cup.

However, they were smart people.

Since they couldn’t defeat Zhen Yuan and the others, they chose the smart option and immediately agreed to the terms.

After signing a secrecy contract, Shen Xu handed over the agreed items, and contracted the cauldron and cup before sending them to the space.