CHAPTER 152: CHAPTER 150: ESCAPE TO SAFETY! SOUL BURIAL FOREST_1

He couldn’t even block a single Bizarre Blood Axe, let alone more than ten of them. This was not a force he could withstand!

What to do? There’s no escape... Wait! The Black Blood Bizarre’s unusual behavior... could it mean the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat is about to exit the extreme range of its influence? The hope for survival is close at hand! Whether I can escape to safety depends on this!

The Illusionary Demon Moth exerted all its strength, creating eight illusory images of the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat in one breath to attract the Bizarre Blood Axes’ attention.

"Hold tight!"

Jia Ren maneuvered one of the Flowing Fire Flying Boxes supporting the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat to the vessel’s rear. The Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat, trailing twin crimson flame tails, shot diagonally into the distance at an astonishing speed.

With one less Flowing Fire Flying Box for support, the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat’s altitude dropped, rapidly exiting the Gangfeng Strong Current Layer.

Evil Warding Talisman.

Leaving the Gangfeng Strong Current Layer meant he was about to face the eerie power of the Black Blood Bizarre. Based on his understanding of the Black Blood Bizarre, the farther away one was, the weaker its influence became. His first encounter served as the best proof: the creature had only attacked after drawing near. Jia Ren took out an Evil Warding Talisman in advance, mentally preparing himself.

The moment the Flying Boat descended into the Gangfeng Weak Current Layer, the eerie power struck. The residual purple halo flickered uncertainly under the bizarre attack. The Extraordinary Saint Level Evil Warding Talisman’s power against Bizarre Demons was enhanced; it was no longer as fragile as before.

More than ten Bizarre Blood Axes pursued relentlessly, their speed a notch faster than the fully accelerated Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat.

CRACK!

Misfortunes never come singly. The Flowing Fire Flying Box supporting the Flying Boat was overloaded, bearing the pressure meant for four such boxes. At this moment, it had reached its limit. Powerless to withstand the strain, the Flowing Fire Flying Box exploded with a bang. Fragments of the Magic Artifact collided with the golden light barrier formed by the Solid as Golden Soup Formation. They also struck the Yunling Miasma and Icy Fog Veil that reinforced the boat’s body. It did not harm the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat, but it hastened its destruction.

Faint tearing sounds emanated from the vessel’s hull; even the Magic Artifact’s reinforcement couldn’t save it. The Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat wouldn’t last much longer.

Having lost the support of the Flowing Fire Flying Box, the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat plummeted at a stunning speed. The eerie power closed in; the purple halo dimmed but didn’t shatter. Two hundred Evil Warding Talismans activated, strengthening their protection.

The attack’s intensity has decreased?! Am I about to escape?

The Black Blood Bizarre’s area of influence wasn’t endless. Jia Ren had steered the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat hundreds of miles away; escape was not far off. At any other time, with one Flowing Fire Flying Box at the rear and another beneath the Flying Boat, relying on his Evil Warding Talismans, he would have been able to depart safely. Unfortunately, the Bizarre Blood Axes were hot on their heels, and the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat continued to plummet at breakneck speed.

The light of hope was in sight, yet the final step seemed as vast as a chasm.

Am I going to die here? What to do?

The more critical the moment, the faster his brain worked.

I have an idea! Could the Bizarre Blood Axes be detonated prematurely? Ordinary attacks might be useless against them, but what about attacks imbued with Evil Warding Talismans? The Bizarre Blood Axes aren’t physical objects; they’re special products aggregated by Bizarre Demons through unique means. They should operate on a similar principle to the Bizarre Corpse.

Jia Ren had once used an Extraordinary Saint Level Evil Warding Talisman to burn away the power of a Bizarre Corpse, eradicating it.

Could the same method work on the Bizarre Blood Axes? I don’t need to completely destroy their bizarre power. I just need to disrupt the stability of the Bizarre Blood Axes to stop their pursuit!

An Evil Warding Talisman was a Talisman designed to protect life from Bizarre Demons, activating only when a lifeform carrying it encountered a Bizarre Demon. Throwing an Evil Warding Talisman without meeting the trigger condition was useless. Pairing a Spirit Insect with an Evil Warding Talisman was like equipping the Spirit Insect with the Talisman’s protection, just as he had protected the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat by pairing Spirit Insects with Evil Warding Talismans.

"Wrap a Spirit Mosquito with ten Evil Warding Talismans. I have a great use for it."

A large amount of White Spirit Clay was thrown out from his Storage Bag. It was a common artifact refining material, often used to repair Magic Artifacts. This substance would wrap the Spirit Insect and Evil Warding Talismans, forming a protective layer. Outside, Gangfeng raged. Sound Seizing Demon Mosquitoes couldn’t fly at such high altitudes, so their only option was to use this method to create a protective shell.

Jia Ren deactivated the two Flowing Fire Flying Boxes at the rear and maneuvered them underneath to arrest the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat’s fall. The two Flowing Fire Flying Boxes powered up, finally halting the descent.

Having lost the thrust from these Flowing Fire Flying Boxes, the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat slowed, powered only by its Ride the Wind Inscription. The Bizarre Blood Axes continued their pursuit unabated, the aura of death drawing ever closer.

Success or failure hinges on this!

Jia Ren grabbed a fist-sized ball of White Spirit Clay. His right arm glowed golden and swelled slightly before he hurled it toward an approaching Bizarre Blood Axe. Once solidified, the White Spirit Clay ball left the protection of the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat, swiftly tearing apart under the Gangfeng. Just then, the Bizarre Blood Axe chopped towards the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat. The two rushed towards each other.

A purple light burst forth suddenly, and a purple flame ignited the Bizarre Blood Axe.

BOOM!

The two collided, and the purple halo visibly dimmed. The peculiar balance of the Bizarre Blood Axe was disrupted by the purple flame. Before it could fall onto the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat, it exploded prematurely into a sky full of black blood.

It worked!

Jia Ren clutched balls of White Spirit Clay, repeatedly smashing them down onto the approaching Bizarre Blood Axes. Eerie blood-red blossoms bloomed one after another in the sky as each Bizarre Blood Axe detonated before it could reach the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat.

Finally... resolved. Even so, Jia Ren dared not relax in the slightest. He continued to control the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat, moving it further away. His journey was fraught with tension, but surprisingly, no new attacks came. It was unclear whether they had escaped the Black Blood Bizarre’s range of influence or if the Bizarre Blood Axes had failed to kill the four escapees, prompting the Black Blood Bizarre to give up.

After flying dozens of more miles, grating sounds continuously emanated from the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat and the two Flowing Fire Flying Boxes. Cracks spread, and the inscriptions grew increasingly dim. The Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat and the Flowing Fire Flying Boxes were on the verge of disintegrating. None of the four wanted to experience a high-speed fall from the sky, so they were forced to make an abrupt landing.

"Haha, we survived!" The joy of having narrowly escaped death was etched on everyone’s faces. Out of hundreds of Cultivators besieged by the Black Blood Bizarre in the Great Wilderness Market, only these four had managed to flee to safety.

Jia Ren examined the Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat and the Flowing Fire Flying Boxes; both were riddled with cracks and completely unsalvageable. Fortunately, in their final moments, they had fulfilled their purpose, carrying him away from the Great Wilderness.

"Where are we?" one of them asked.

Before them stretched an endless black forest, the ground soft and yielding. Farther off, they could see many scattered bones emitting a sinister aura. These were not human bones but the bones of Magical Beasts. The Magical Beasts hadn’t died long ago; their bones still bore remnants of black-red flesh. With no marks of being gnawed by other beasts, it was a mystery what could have killed them.

Jia Ren took out a map to identify their whereabouts. The direction had to be precise; they couldn’t afford to walk right into the Black Blood Bizarre’s clutches again after just escaping.

"This is the Black Demon Forest," he concluded gravely.

"Our luck is terrible," someone muttered.

"This place has even more Bizarre Demons than the Great Wilderness..." another added.

What?! Out of the frying pan and into the fire? What kind of luck is this? Escaping the Black Blood Bizarre’s encirclement in the Great Wilderness had exhausted their already meager good fortune.

"The closest point from the Black Demon Forest is the Black Desert Marketplace of the Utensil Sect, at least six hundred miles away," Jia Ren informed the group. "To the southeast is the Jade Cauldron Market of the Yuding Sect, roughly nine hundred miles from here."

The Utensil Sect? Jia Ren looked at the marks on the map. The Black Demon Forest was indicated by a prominent skull, signifying danger. The Thousand Threads of Myriad Souls Technique originated from the Utensil Sect, and he still harbored hopes of obtaining its subsequent Soul Refining Techniques. He decided to head to the Black Desert Marketplace to try and obtain the later stages of the Thousand Threads of Myriad Souls Technique, and then proceed to the Jade Cauldron Market from there.

How many Evil Warding Talismans are left? Jia Ren wondered, glancing at the Talismans in his Storage Bag. He counted only thirty-two. Given the unknown number of Bizarre Demons, this is clearly not enough to traverse the Black Demon Forest.

"Do we have any more Rhinoceros Horn Powder?" Jia Ren turned to ask Talisman Master Zhang. Rhinoceros Horn Powder was a crucial ingredient for crafting Evil Warding Talismans, which could replenish their stock.

"I acquired two hundred portions yesterday. The Meng Family also wanted me to craft Master Level Evil Warding Talismans for them," Talisman Master Zhang said, his eyes twinkling with mirth as he handed the Rhinoceros Horn Powder to Jia Ren.

Two hundred portions?! That’s excellent! Without middlemen taking a cut, if all goes well, I can craft two hundred Extraordinary Saint Level Evil Warding Talismans. Such a quantity should be enough to ensure our safe passage, provided we don’t encounter any overwhelmingly powerful Bizarre Demons.

"We need to find a place to set up camp first," Jia Ren declared, activating his Spirit Eye Technique to survey the area and sense for any nearby Bizarre Demons. Luck hadn’t entirely forsaken them; for the moment, there were no signs of Bizarre Demons. A Grandmaster-level Demon-Spotting Talisman revealed no Magical Beasts within several miles, and those five miles out exuded only a harmless white aura.

The four of them found an abandoned bear cave and decided to make it their temporary shelter. Jia Ren set up the Yun Luo Illusion Array and the Mysterious Sword Seven Kills Array at the entrance and used a Cleaning Spell to eliminate the stench inside the cave. His Flying Sword cleared the way, and in a short time, he carved out five stone rooms inside. One was a Talisman Crafting Room, and the other four were for them to rest in.

"What a shame I don’t have the materials to make another Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat," Jia Ren lamented. He would have preferred to cross the Black Demon Forest in a new Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat. Unfortunately, he had only obtained materials to craft one Cloud-Surpassing Flying Boat. As for the Flowing Fire Flying Boxes, he had received four sets of materials, but one attempt at refining had failed, leaving him unable to craft a new Flying Artifact.

Jia Ren entered the Talisman Crafting Room with his ancestral stone table and began crafting Talismans. All two hundred portions of Evil-warding Spirit Ink were successfully made into Evil Warding Talismans. Exhausted, Jia Ren clutched the newly made Talismans and drifted into a deep sleep.

「The next morning」

The four of them woke early. "Time to go!" Jia Ren announced.

Jia Ren had originally wanted to raise his Cultivation Level to the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer, Complete, and ideally break through to Foundation Establishment. However, the proximity to the Black Blood Bizarre made it feel too risky to stay. With the Cultivators of the Great Wilderness wiped out, the Black Blood Bizarre would surely select a new region to pen humans. Jia Ren had no desire to experience such an ordeal a second time. The dark cloud of the Black Blood Bizarre loomed constantly in his mind. If it decided to migrate in the same direction as them, their deaths would be sudden and senseless.

Jia Ren handed ten Evil Warding Talismans each to Talisman Master Zhang and Zhang Peng Peng for self-defense. He gave none to Wang Mingyan. Escorting her from the Market had fulfilled their transaction, and he had no intention of giving away precious Talismans to an outsider for free.

"Daoist Shi, I am willing to trade for Evil Warding Talismans," Wang Mingyan proposed. Without them, she felt no sense of security and couldn’t rely on others for rescue. Trading two drops of Pure Spirit Jade Milk, she received ten Evil Warding Talismans.

A Refining Master, a Rune Dao Grandmaster... She bit her lip so hard in subconscious anxiety that she didn’t even notice when it bled.