The two stood before the stone forest.
"This is the place! Not far past the stone forest lies the Secluded Valley."
After observing for a moment, Ning Wuhui set off into the stone forest and signaled for Qin Sang to follow.
Yin winds blew through the forest in gusts. Though powerless to stir the petrified stone trees, the wind produced grating, eerie noises as it threaded through the woods—at times shrill, at times a foul, mournful wail.
"Ferocious beasts dwell within the stone forest, so please be cautious, Fellow Daoist Qin. The stone trees are too dense, which will restrict escape arts," Ning Wuhui warned via voice transmission.
Qin Sang nodded, covertly awakening the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to keep watch.
Slowing their pace, they traveled noiselessly through the woods. Fortunately, they encountered no danger all the way into the depths of the stone forest.
Gradually, the stone trees showed signs of thinning out.
After advancing a bit further, Qin Sang suddenly heard an eerie, whimpering sound, as though someone was weeping bitterly up ahead.
At first, the sound was faint. Having walked through the stone forest for so long, they were already accustomed to strange noises, assuming it was merely the yin wind whistling through the tree crowns.
Yet as they walked on, the weeping did not fade; instead, it grew increasingly distinct. In a place like this, it sounded no different from the wailing of a ghost, making one's hair stand on end.
They exchanged a look, realizing something was terribly wrong with the noise, both feeling a creeping chill.
The weeping came from directly ahead. Blocked by the stone forest in the dim light, they could see nothing, yet neither dared to recklessly unleash their divine consciousness to investigate.
"Could there be a ghost on the level of a ghost king in the Inner Hall?" Qin Sang asked, his heart tightening.
Ning Wuhui shook his head. "I have never heard such rumors. Many Nascent Soul cultivators have fallen in the Inner Hall, but none survived by turning into ghosts. The only living things here are various ferocious beasts, and at most, one might uncover guardian puppets or similar entities when unsealing certain hidden secret realms... Let us take a detour!"
Decisive as always, Ning Wuhui preferred to steer clear rather than take unnecessary risks.
Unexpectedly, right at that moment, the ghostly wailing grew louder, actively closing in on them.
Their expressions changed drastically, and they immediately dashed toward another direction to evade the unknown entity.
*Rumble!*
A massive crash of collapsing rock suddenly erupted from ahead. The creature had already discovered them and accelerated, heedlessly snapping stone trees as it charged in a mad dash.
Stone trees crashed down one after another in utter chaos.
At the same time, they finally sensed a trace of the creature's aura.
"A top-tier ferocious beast!" Qin Sang gasped in shock.
The Heavenly Eye Butterfly's gaze pierced the dust and debris, catching sight of a dark figure. It was a ferocious beast resembling a night owl, colossal in size and radiating a terrifying aura.
The night owl fixed its vicious gaze on them, its eyes flashing with cruel, bloodthirsty ferocity.
"This kind of beast should dwell in the depths of the Secluded Valley! Why would it appear here?" Ning Wuhui blurted out in dismay.
Through the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang had already spotted something amiss with the night owl. "Look at its wounds! This night owl might have fled all the way here after being gravely injured by someone!"
The night owl looked intact on the outside, but on its chest, a small patch of feathers was broken, revealing a sword wound that had pierced clean through its body.
"To pierce through the flesh of a top-tier ferocious beast with a single sword strike, terrifying it into fleeing all the way here... The one who attacked it is definitely no ordinary Nascent Soul Patriarch!" Ning Wuhui's expression turned grave. "I don't know what happened inside the Secluded Valley. Fellow Daoist Qin, you go first. I will lure it away, and we can regroup once we exit the stone forest."
The night owl forcefully snapped countless stone trees as it rapidly closed in on them.
The ghostly weeping grew increasingly ear-splitting, feeling as though it could bore into one's skull and disrupt the primordial spirit.
With the situation dire, Ning Wuhui quickly made arrangements, intending to personally draw off the night owl while letting Qin Sang escape first.
Qin Sang was thoroughly taken aback. Even if the night owl was injured, it remained an entity comparable to the Nascent Soul stage. Joining forces to fight it would still be exceedingly perilous; could Ning Wuhui possess some hidden reliance?
With only this final leg of the journey left, he certainly did not want Ning Wuhui to meet with disaster here.
The Thunder Command Art could threaten a Nascent Soul.
In addition, to be safe, he had lent the star conch to Bai in advance.
Bai had always lacked a decent defensive magic treasure.
Qin Sang possessed methods like the demonic banners, sword wheel, and Thunder Command Art. Each was exceptionally powerful, but their consumption was equally staggering; when facing a formidable foe, he would hardly have the chance to cycle through all of them one after another. Thus, he had temporarily lent the star conch to Bai for contingencies.
Bai possessed a higher cultivation, so using the star conch would yield greater power than if Qin Sang used it himself.
Unleashing the Thunder Command Art and the star conch simultaneously offered a formidable burst of combat strength, serving as his greatest trump card prepared for this journey.
However, the star conch could only be used once, and Bai bore the heavy responsibility of snatching the Soul-Washing Liquid, so he had held back from using it in the Soul-Bewitching Cave.
Qin Sang parted his lips, just about to speak.
Yet he saw Ning Wuhui sweep a hand over his crown, and a fist-sized figure leaped out. Its facial features were extraordinarily similar to Ning Wuhui's, its expression vivid and lively—a spitting image of a miniature Ning Wuhui.
"A Nascent Soul!"
Qin Sang was rooted to the spot, utterly incredulous.
No wonder he had sensed pressure from Ning Wuhui earlier.
An unreal sensation washed over him. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Ning Wuhui would actually break through to the Nascent Soul stage inside the Trial Realm!
The difficulty of forming a nascent soul was known to all under heaven, not to mention having to face the terrifying Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation.
Even with the protection of the jade Buddha, Qin Sang dared not be the least bit remiss, doing everything possible to prepare thoroughly.
Ning Wuhui had simply taken a stroll through the Trial Realm, found a spirit herb, and formed a nascent soul with apparent ease—let alone facing a near-fatal brush with death, there was not even the slightest trace of him having undergone a tribulation.
In such a short time, it would have been impossible to fully recover, yet he showed no sign of weakness whatsoever.
Since when had forming a nascent soul become so easy?
What was even stranger was why Ning Wuhui would choose to do what cultivators dreaded most—letting his nascent soul leave his physical body—and why the aura of his true body was still clearly at the late Core Formation stage?
Ning Wuhui's nascent soul was delicate and refined, but its expression was just as solemn as the physical body's. Possessing an extraordinary bearing, it directly faced the night owl.
The night owl glared fixedly at the nascent soul, its savage eyes instantly welling with greed.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, go quickly! This is an external Nascent Soul I refined using a secret art, and it carries heavy limitations. It won't be difficult for me to get away on my own, but I cannot protect you during battle."
Qin Sang gave Ning Wuhui a deep look.
This man actually possessed such a secret art. An external Nascent Soul was still a Nascent Soul, which was why Ning Wuhui dared to battle the night owl alone.
Though Qin Sang harbored a hundred questions, he knew this was not the time to pry. Once a major battle erupted, it might attract even more ferocious beasts. It was best to heed the warning so as not to drag Ning Wuhui down.
"Be careful, Fellow Daoist! Remember not to prolong the fight!"
Qin Sang decisively activated his escape art. His body flashed with an escape light, and he dashed in another direction, vanishing into the depths of the stone forest in the blink of an eye.
The night owl was entirely drawn to Ning Wuhui and made no attempt to pursue Qin Sang.
At the final moment, Qin Sang glanced back and caught sight of Ning Wuhui striking.
Ning Wuhui's nascent soul opened its tiny mouth and spat out a petite spirit sword—the very same crimson-gold spirit sword he had used earlier to slay the strange bird.
The same spirit sword, wielded by the same master, yet executed with an entirely different momentum.
The crimson-gold spirit sword swelled as it met the wind, its sword radiance illuminating the stone forest as it shot forward swiftly as a meteor.
The next moment, a shrill, ghostly screech suddenly rang out, laced with pain and fury.
The earth shook.
The stone forest collapsed.
Qin Sang's figure flickered repeatedly as he sped away from the battlefield.
Chapter 1054