Chapter 54: Many Women Have Gone Mad
Danger is everywhere in this mountain forest. Everyone dared not delay, so they closed their communication talismans and followed Qin Zhi closely.
However, they also dared not stray too far from Qin Zhi, for fear of further agitating her.
Suddenly, Wei Jiao said again, “Actually, in Shuangyu Village, many women have gone mad.”
“The first year I was tricked into coming here, after knowing I couldn’t resist, I pretended to comply to make them let their guard down. A year later, I was able to enter other people’s rooms under their supervision. I saw many women like me there. Some women cursed me, some advised me to give up, and some were like Senior Qin Zhi, mad and babbling nonsense.”
In comparison, Qin Zhi was tormented for more than twenty years before going mad. How could her mental fortitude not be considered strong?
Moreover, her fate was even more tragic than theirs.
Later, she seized an opportunity and escaped the village, but was recaptured.
She didn’t even have time to die before those demons grabbed her by the feet and dragged her back to hell.
This entire village is made up of demons. They collude with each other, they conspire together, they dance wildly like demons, personally creating a purgatory from which no one can escape.
Wei Jiao sighed, unable to stop trembling.
He Qingqing held her hand, transmitting a meager warmth.
They followed Qin Zhi for a long time, until the sky began to show the pale white of dawn, but still hadn’t reached their destination.
However, their expressions grew increasingly solemn—the spiritual beasts they encountered were of increasingly higher levels.
From ordinary grade at the beginning to yellow grade later, and now they had even encountered earth-grade spiritual beasts. The aura of Zhu Yan also began to weaken gradually.
Low-grade earth-tier beasts were still wary of Zhu Yan and let them pass, but if they encountered mid-grade earth-tier beasts, wouldn’t they directly declare war on them?
After all, although Zhu Yan was a heaven-grade spiritual beast, it was still just a cub, and its cultivation had only reached the Golden Core stage.
Ming Zhaoshuang couldn’t help but wonder. They hadn’t even reached the center of the north side of Shuangyu Mountain yet, but there were already low-grade earth-tier spiritual beasts. Could it be that there were heaven-grade spiritual beasts in the center of Shuangyu Mountain?
As she spoke, a sharp pain came from her arm.
The dragon had written the word “Stop” on her palm with its tail.
“We can’t go any further!” Ming Zhaoshuang said. “The spiritual beasts we’re encountering now are all low-grade earth-tier, and their cultivation has reached the Nascent Soul stage. If we go any further, we might not return!”
This mountain, this formation, were truly too sinister.
They couldn’t rashly go forward because of Qin Zhi alone and lose their own lives!
The youngsters were not stubborn, and hearing Ming Zhaoshuang speak like this, they naturally dared not proceed. Only Qin Zhi was still stumbling and crawling forward, stubbornly walking ahead.
“I’ll go stop her!” Ming Zhaoshuang said, and headed towards Qin Zhi.
Ming Zhaoshuang forcefully pressed Qin Zhi’s shoulder and persuaded, “Aunt Qin Zhi, please come back with us. It’s very dangerous ahead.”
Qin Zhi slowly turned her head, her dark eyes looking at her, then she suddenly hunched her neck and giggled.
“I’m not going back! I’m going to find my daughter! She was so big, she was so tiny…”
Qin Zhi stretched out her hand, her only remaining hand, and gestured the size to Ming Zhaoshuang.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, as if she had just realized she was missing a hand. She then yelled madly, “Where’s my hand! Where did my left hand go! It hurts so much… I hurt so much, my cultivation is gone, my child is gone, my hand… is gone too!”
“My hand is gone too…”
There seemed to be the sound of spiritual beasts stirring around. The dragon coiled around her arm tightened, as if reminding her of something.
Ming Zhaoshuang was so anxious that she directly knocked Qin Zhi unconscious with a hand chop.
She picked up Qin Zhi and quickly returned to the team.
Hurry! Hurry!
She didn’t want to fight Nascent Soul stage spiritual beasts, let alone Nascent Soul stage earth-grade spiritual beasts!
Before she had taken a few steps, she felt a chill down her back, and a heavy pressure descended.
It’s over!
Ming Zhaoshuang slowly turned her head and saw a spiritual beast, about three zhang tall and two zhang wide, fiercely slapping at her!
Ming Zhaoshuang had no time to react when she saw a long sword appear out of nowhere and fiercely slash at the spiritual beast’s arm, emitting a loud tearing sound.
Immediately after, Shen Liqian shot an arrow, which stably pierced the spiritual beast’s ear. The arrow formed by spiritual flow, rippling with water, caused its ear to be shot off and embedded into the tree trunk behind them.
In this brief moment, the long sword stopped beneath Ming Zhaoshuang’s feet. Holding Qin Zhi, she controlled the sword to fly several meters, thus escaping the spiritual beast’s attack range.
Ming Zhaoshuang exhaled heavily, and the fear of death in her body gradually subsided.
The spirit sword beneath her feet was the divine artifact Fushuang, a reward from the system.
Since obtaining Fushuang, she had never used it. She never expected this sword to have a spirit and to run out on its own to protect her.
Ming Zhaoshuang looked up and finally saw what the spiritual beast before her looked like.
Its body was tall, its fur was earth-yellow, and its entire body of fur looked like that of a wolf, but it was much taller and more ferocious than ordinary wolves, and it had a raccoon-like tail dragging behind it. Its head, however, looked very much like a brown bear’s, with its mouth wide open, revealing exceptionally sharp canine and incisor teeth.
It was currently staring at the speeding Ming Zhaoshuang and Shen Liqian, who had shot an arrow at it.
Killing intent was evident.
He Qingqing said, “This is a Flesh-Tearing Beast, mid-grade earth-tier, Nascent Soul—mid-stage!”
“It is enraged now. Without absolute strength, beast tamers cannot approach it!” He Qingqing cast a few calming spells on the Flesh-Tearing Beast, but to no avail. She could only tell everyone, “Flesh-Tearing Beasts are not good at running and are clumsy in movement. Let’s run!”
As soon as He Qingqing said this, she noticed that all of them had already taken out their spirit swords and ascended into the air.
Are you kidding me!
Although they didn’t recognize the Flesh-Tearing Beast, they knew they couldn’t defeat it!
He Qingqing: “…”
She summoned the Bald Eagle with one hand and placed Wei Jiao on it. With the other hand, she summoned over ten mid-stage Golden Core spiritual beasts and placed them in front of the Flesh-Tearing Beast: “Wei Jiao, you go with them first. I’ll stay behind to cover.”
Saying that, she jumped off Zhu Yan’s shoulder, her spiritual energy condensing, “A’Yan! Take care of him!”
With Zhu Yan leading and dozens of spiritual beasts holding the line, they actually managed to trap the mid-stage Nascent Soul Flesh-Tearing Beast for a while.
After all, although Zhu Yan was only late Golden Core, its high grade made up for it.
Heaven-grade spiritual beasts, there were only a few of them in the entire world!
Seeing He Qingqing summon over ten mid-stage Golden Core spiritual beasts, Fei Changxiu couldn’t help but be surprised, “Junior Sister He, don’t go too hard! You’ve subdued so many spirit beasts that surpass your level!”
He hadn’t forgotten that He Qingqing was only early Golden Core.
He Qingqing snorted coldly, but she hadn’t forgotten that he had sold her out in the beginning.
However, He Qingqing only managed to contain the Flesh-Tearing Beast for fifteen minutes before the mid-stage Golden Core spiritual beasts couldn’t hold on any longer. One by one, they fell to the ground. He Qingqing had to recall them one by one to prevent them from dying there.
Only Zhu Yan was still fighting the Flesh-Tearing Beast.
Its already massive body was tightly gripped by the Flesh-Tearing Beast’s claws, and several pieces of flesh and blood had been bitten off by the Flesh-Tearing Beast, letting out painful cries.
However, it did not retreat. Instead, it fought more bravely and successfully bit off the Flesh-Tearing Beast’s only remaining ear.
The two beasts fought, both savagely and cruelly.
After He Qingqing had traveled several miles on her own using spiritual power, just as she was about to summon the Bald Eagle to take her along, she suddenly discovered that as she was preparing to recall Zhu Yan, the contract between her and Zhu Yan had broken!
