Innumerable blood-ink sword rays wreaked havoc across the colossal spherical cavern, throwing the thick, near-tangible crimson Inter-Abyss into an instant, boiling frenzy beneath the sword technique.
Wherever the sword light reached, thousands of grotesque, hardened flesh tendrils were sliced apart like soft clay. The wall of flesh adhering to the cavern's interior was cleaved by the sword Qi, deep sword gouges carved into the stone walls.
Wave after wave of sword strikes persisted for several breaths,
and in merely those few breaths,
the flesh that had blanketed the entire cavern had been entirely minced into paste by the sword Qi, trickling down the inner walls until the bottom of the vast spherical cavern quickly turned into a pool pooling with minced gore.
Luo Xiran's vessel of tumors had been shaved down by the sword Qi until only a head remained.
Yet she put up no struggle, lying quietly atop the pool of flesh as she watched the blood-robed young man walk toward her step by step.
Cherry blossoms glowing with pink light drifted down continuously. Xu Yuan came to a halt in front of Luo Xiran.
The tip of Qingyu gleamed with a cold light. His gaze was calm as he looked down at her and murmured softly:
"It seems you won't be able to kill either of them."
"Oh? You truly think this seat cannot kill them?"
Contrary to Xu Yuan's expectations, Luo Xiran showed not the slightest sign of weakness after being swept by Falling Cherry Sky Dance.
In fact, compared to her shock earlier, a trace of playful amusement appeared on her exquisitely beautiful head:
"Though you indeed appear somewhat special, you are still no match for this seat."
Xu Yuan pointed the tip of Qingyu at the flesh and blood strewn across the ground around them and murmured:
"If your body were as tough as your mouth, this young master wouldn't have been able to cut you."
"Is that so?"
With a gentle rhetorical question, the glamorous head lying amidst the flesh suddenly beamed a dazzling smile at Xu Yuan.
With the smile curving on her lips, an eerie ripple propagated outward. Immediately, the layer of gore coating the cavern floor began to boil, surging like a tide toward Luo Xiran's head.
Her voice held a laugh:
"Your sword technique is powerful, but it seems unable to harm this seat's origin."
"..."
At this sight, Xu Yuan narrowed his long, slender eyes. Qingyu traced a beautiful arc of silver light in the air as he sheathed it.
In the next instant, the thousands of sword Qi planted moments ago abruptly detonated.
Centered on Luo Xiran's head, blood-ink sword shadows instantly enveloped a radius of ten zhang!
A few breaths later, the sword shadows dispersed. A neatly sheared spherical crater appeared at the bottom of the cavern, and within the cavern there was no longer any trace of Luo Xiran's aura. Yet her coldly alluring, noble laughter echoed in Xu Yuan's ears:
"Xu Changtian, our power shares the same origin. Our fighting will only needlessly deplete the ten thousand years of life origin within the Blood Nest. When the day comes that you truly become this seat's companion, you will understand what a waste this is. This seat eagerly anticipates our next meeting, heh-heh-heh..."
As her voice faded,
the crimson Inter-Abyss began to recede at a visible pace. Aside from the pool of flesh still lingering on the floor and the thousands of sword gouges on the walls telling of the fierce battle just now, everything in the cavern returned to stillness...
"..."
Xu Yuan looked calmly at the scene before him, chuckling as he shook his head.
If this were Cangyuan, he would probably be considered to have cleared Phase One of this boss, right?
As he thought this,
Xu Yuan looked down at his palms, which were covered in eerie markings.
The power of an aberrant ghost...
This power was immense—so immense that it allowed a mere Soul Condensation cultivator like him to speedrun Luo Xiran's first phase without taking a scratch.
But,
what was the price?
In Cangyuan, Xu Yuan could know to the second how long a demon crystal could suppress the aberrant ghost poison.
Turned into reality, however, he had no idea how long the demon crystal of Black Serpent Ji Tian could suppress the instincts of an aberrant ghost.
Ten days? Five days? Or perhaps even shorter?
Furthermore, would the demon crystal's suppression window shorten with his use of power? Would it shorten due to his connection with the Inter-Abyss?
He knew none of this.
At this thought, an indelible shadow flickered across Xu Yuan's scarlet pupils.
"...Young Master?"
As his thoughts drifted, a tentative call came from not far behind him. "Are... are you all right?"
Without needing to turn his head, Xu Yuan could already sense the unease on the two women's faces over there.
The chest-bound princess had a good saying:
a qualified commander could make others turn all their worries into trust the instant they saw him.
Turning his gaze back, Xu Yuan had already tucked away all the unease and gloom in his eyes. Grinning, he walked toward the two women with Qingyu in hand, chuckling nonchalantly:
"What could possibly happen to this young master?"
Li Qingyan gripped her scarlet saber tightly. Looking at the blood-robed man whose skin was covered in markings and whose eyes had lost their whites, a complicated look showed in her eyes:
"Did you really become an aberrant ghost?"
"Me?"
Xu Yuan pointed a finger at himself, eyeing the chest-bound princess oddly. "Guess?"
"This palace is not joking with you!" Li Qingyan's tone sharpened slightly.
"..."
Xu Yuan smacked his lips, then suddenly kicked off the ground.
Before the flesh on the ground could even splatter, his silhouette was already behind Li Qingyan.
A breeze lifted her long hair. Standing back to back with her, Xu Yuan smiled:
"If I, Xu Changtian, completely turn into an aberrant ghost, Qingyan, would you come keep me company? That Luo Xiran is far too ugly..."
Whoosh—
A blade light trailing fire abruptly traced a beautiful semi-circle within the pitch-black cavern.
Amusement flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes as the sheathed Qingyu in his hand tilted up slightly.
Clang—
With a crisp ringing sound,
the strike was halted. The fiery blade trembled slightly from the clash of forces, but the scabbard in Xu Yuan's hand did not give ground in the slightest.
Xu Yuan applied a bit of force to parry the blade aside, slowly turned around, and asked curiously:
"What are you doing?"
Li Qingyan sheathed her saber and cast a sidelong glance at him, murmuring:
"This palace was wondering earlier."
"Wondering about what?" Xu Yuan asked.
Li Qingyan looked at the thousands of sword gouges on the cavern walls:
"Why you chose to ingest that demon crystal and become an aberrant ghost yourself rather than letting this palace do so. Now it seems you felt your combat prowess would be greater if you took it."
Xu Yuan suddenly fell silent. Lowering his eyes, an artfully complicated expression appeared on his face:
"No. I didn't want you taking the risk. Aberrant ghost transformation is far too volatile."
"..."
Li Qingyan froze, pursing her lips. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
Xu Yuan saw the look on her face, and just as satisfaction began to rise in his heart,
a smile surfaced in Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes. Resting a slender index finger against her chin, she tilted her head and smiled:
"Changtian, this palace might believe your words, but do you believe them yourself?"
"..." Xu Yuan.
Damn it, she saw right through him.
In a life-or-death moment, couldn't this woman just be touched for once?
Just as he was thinking this—
"Thank you."
A soft, rustling voice suddenly came.
Xu Yuan started, reflexively looking up.
The draft stirred, kicking up a cool breeze.
Ruffled by the sudden cool draft, the woman in red's long black hair fluttered in the air.
Seemingly blinded by her own hair, she tilted her head slightly, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear before her beautiful eyes slowly turned to him, the corners of her lips curving into a smile.
A smile that could topple cities—perhaps it was nothing more than this.
She looked at him, gentle warmth like water flowing within her beautiful phoenix eyes:
"Regardless, Changtian, you risked your life. So... thank you."
"..."
Hiss...
Xu Yuan found that his heart actually skipped a beat for an instant. The side effects of aberrant ghost transformation were truly too severe.
Chanting "big block of ice" twice in his mind, Xu Yuan gave a light chuckle and waved his hand:
"Rest assured, everything remains within your commander's control."
Having survived the ordeal against the odds, Li Qingyan seemed to be in a good mood as well, rolling her eyes at him:
"For once you were actually reliable. Don't get careless."
Xu Yuan waved a finger in front of her, warning with a laugh:
"Qingyan, I am much stronger than you right now. Mind your words."
Standing poised and graceful with her hand on her saber hilt, Li Qingyan raised an eyebrow and teased playfully:
"And if I don't, does Lord Commander wish to execute this palace right on the spot?"
"..."
Xu Yuan licked his lips, grabbed Li Qingyan's shoulders, and spun her right around.
Smack!
With a crisp smack, the peach-shaped bottom concealed beneath her red robe rippled into a delightful wave.
Under Li Qingyan's astonished gaze, Xu Yuan withdrew his hand and said nonchalantly:
"Punishment complete. Now we can get down to business."
Bai Muxi glanced at Li Qingyan's expression—seething yet unable to vent her fury—and tried hard to stifle her laughter as she spoke:
"Young Master, so what should we do next?"
Xu Yuan looked back at her. Pausing in thought, he said in a low voice:
"With my current strength, I am still not enough to deal with Luo Xiran."
"What?"
Hearing this, Bai Muxi's eyes widened in surprise. She reflexively glanced at the sword gouges all around and the thick gore carpeting the ground beneath their feet. "But just now, Young Master, you..."
"That wasn't Luo Xiran's true body."
Xu Yuan reached out and rubbed her head, his tone carrying a touch of gravity. "The reason she left was merely because she didn't want to waste the life origin in the Blood Nest fighting me here."
"As long as this so-called life origin isn't exhausted, we can't kill her?" Li Qingyan had composed herself by now, her voice cool. "But Changtian, your current state should be similar to hers, right?"
"Naturally."
Xu Yuan grinned. A glow appeared at his fingertip as he dragged it across his palm. A shallow bloody gash appeared immediately, but before any blood could flow, the wound had already healed completely. "I can feel that my body right now is no different from an aberrant ghost's, and our power shares the same origin. In other words, a battle between her and me would almost certainly end in a stalemate."
Li Qingyan pondered for a moment before suggesting:
"Then could you engage her in prolonged combat until that life origin is exhausted?"
Xu Yuan chuckled and shook his head:
"Ten thousand years of accumulation—how could it be so easy to drain dry?"
Li Qingyan was somewhat surprised to hear this:
"You can sense it?"
"Of course,"
Xu Yuan answered matter-of-factly.
Though he might not yet compare to a ten-thousand-year aberrant ghost like Luo Xiran, his perception could already stretch very far. He could clearly sense the movements of the black death creep even tens of li away.
Hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes:
"Which means you can directly use this perception to locate that woman's true body and the Blood Nest she resides in?"
"I can't sense her true body, but the Blood Nest..."
Xu Yuan muttered as he closed his eyes to sense carefully for over a dozen breaths. When he opened them again, he grinned. "I can roughly confirm the Blood Nest's direction... Wait."
With that,
Xu Yuan reflexively looked toward the depths of the Blood Nest, his fists abruptly clenching.
The black death creep was the medium through which aberrant ghosts transported life origin, as well as their sensory network for detecting intruders.
As a Transcendent aberrant ghost, the current Xu Yuan could naturally utilize this black death creep as well.
Yet as he utilized the black death creep spread throughout the Silent Crypt to probe deeper toward the Blood Nest's location, a vast swath of the black death creep suddenly went completely blank.
And that empty expanse was still expanding continuously. In almost an instant, several hundred li around vanished from his perception, turning into total void.
Furthermore, in a passage he could still perceive,
a terrifying, hairless giant tiger was hurtling rapidly toward that blanked-out area.
That was one of the Transcendent bosses in the Silent Crypt...
Seeing this, Xu Yuan instantly understood what Luo Xiran was trying to do, and his heart sank straight to rock bottom.
Seeing Xu Yuan's expression, Li Qingyan felt her heart tighten and quickly asked:
"Changtian, what is it?"
Xu Yuan took a deep breath, drew back his gaze, composed his face, and said with a trace of helplessness:
"That Luo Xiran established a quarantine zone around the Blood Nest."
"A quarantine zone?" Li Qingyan was somewhat puzzled.
Xu Yuan pointed at his own scarlet eyes, devoid of any whites:
"As an aberrant ghost, I need the black death creep to find the Blood Nest in this Silent Crypt. But the black death creep near the Blood Nest has already been severed by Luo Xiran."
Li Qingyan's reaction was as sharp as ever, hitting the nail on the head:
"Her doing this... is she trying to stall for time?"
Xu Yuan offered a strained smile:
"Most likely."
None of these bosses were pushovers.
You, Xu Changtian, need the demon crystals of other high-tier aberrant ghosts to extend your life?
Then I, Luo Xiran, will recall all the high-tier aberrant ghosts possessing demon crystals back to the Blood Nest and destroy the black death creep around it—stalling, pure and simple.
Stalling until what remains of Xu Changtian's human intellect is eroded away bit by bit by aberrant ghost instincts.
As for pushing deep into the Blood Nest?
Locating the Blood Nest would take time, and even if they found it, the three of them would have to face two Transcendent aberrant ghosts, the sentient Luo Xiran, and an unknown number of Origin Realm aberrant ghosts...
Among those Origin Realm aberrant ghosts, while there were weak trash mobs like the cat demon earlier, there were also powerful Origin Realm elites.
Faced with such an overwhelming disparity in combat power, even in Cangyuan, veteran gamer Xu Yuan would probably have had no choice but to join the Fengling Yueying Sect.
Locking eyes for an instant,
Xu Yuan and Li Qingyan seemed to have realized the same thing, their expressions turning somber.
Soon, however,
Xu Yuan patted the chest-bound princess's slender waist and said with a laugh:
"Don't worry so much."
"I am not in a hurry." Li Qingyan glared at Xu Yuan, looking at the ghostly markings on his face. "What about you?"
Xu Yuan massaged the space between his brows. Suddenly, he glanced sideways at the four crates of Source Crystal bombs on the ground. A flash of killing intent surfaced in his scarlet eyes as he licked his lips.
Noticing Xu Yuan's gaze, Li Qingyan's pupils shrank:
"Changtian, you can't be thinking of going alone..."
Xu Yuan shrugged casually. Looking down at his mark-covered hand, he grinned:
"Since I've become an aberrant ghost, I naturally have to experience the immortality it possesses, don't I?"
Chapter 296