Chapter 119: Capsizing In The Gutter, Watching From The Wall
Sword qi swept through like a force destroying the withered and decaying, overflowing in all directions, shattering the two skeletons carrying the sedan chair into fragments.
The paper figure on the sedan chair naturally turned into a burst of paper ash.
But amid the splashing paper ash, another figure appeared on the street. Judging by its appearance, it was clearly the same guy who had been riding on the sedan chair just now.
This person was frowning tightly, staring straight across the street.
A woman dressed in white robes with a silver crown on her head was flicking her sword, slowly walking out and standing at the crossroads.
She gazed coldly at the paper figure immortal cultivator and spoke:
“Poor Daoist Zong Qingxue has been waiting here for fellow Daoist of Ku Gu Guan for a long time.”
The immortal cultivator of Ku Gu Guan had a grim expression, realizing that his ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain had been seen through by this woman.
However, he glanced around and saw only Zong Qingxue had come out, chuckling mockingly with a voice like a hissing snake:
“Ridiculous! Just you alone? You dare to ambush this poor Daoist.”
Crack crack!
As soon as the words fell, from the marketplace entrance and all directions, a bunch of white bone skeletons staggered out.
In an instant, yin energy and corpse energy rose steaming at the scene.
Seeing himself blocked, the immortal cultivator of Ku Gu Guan showed no panic at all and simply prepared to clash directly with the woman of the Zong Family.
Moreover, he leisurely said: “Fellow Daoist Zong, if you don’t hurry, this marketplace is about to be broken into by the rioters.”
“What does it have to do with me!”
With a whoosh.
The sword once again sliced through the air, like a flood dragon, pouncing to kill toward the opponent.
………………
On the other side.
In the Qian Shan Mine, after the dojo masters withdrew, a crowd of examinees remained.
The two immortal sect envoys had already simply explained the rules:
“Zombie skeletons, also known as Unmelted Bones, often have bone structure at the throat position far superior to other parts, extremely sturdy, with yin energy that does not dissipate for a hundred years.
You all shall hunt these walking corpses here, using Unmelted Bones as markers, and afterward rank by quantity and quality, taking the top eighteen up the mountain.”
After speaking, the two immortal sect envoys calmly sat cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the crowd and not mentioning any time limits or such.
Whoosh whoosh.
Fang Shu and the others’ faces flickered; some examinees rushed toward the dried corpse skeletons in the mine at the very moment the rules were announced.
Fang Shu landed among the crowd, neither fast nor slow.
He removed the Long Tongue Sword from his mouth, leaped to a dried corpse, and in three to five moves shattered its limbs and head, testing its power, then groped around its neck area.
These dried corpses were indeed different from living people; their blood was congealed, organs no longer vital points—only the head and neck were, and they also carried “corpse poison” on their bodies.
Unfortunately, he did not find the so-called Unmelted Bone in the dried corpse’s neck.
Realizing something, he immediately switched targets, picking another dried corpse in the arena with heavy yin energy, pouncing on it and swiftly finishing it off.
At this time, he finally picked out a section of gray-black bone from the dried corpse’s throat position, dense with yin energy, as sturdy as steel.
Fang Shu looked around again and saw that more or less, other examinees had also obtained Unmelted Bones and were examining them closely.
“It seems this Unmelted Bone isn’t present in every dried corpse.”
“Brother Zhao, how about you and I team up? Two people killing corpses is better than one going solo.”
There were still murmurs of discussion in the arena, with many faces showing intent to move.
Fang Shu heard it, but he merely shifted his gaze and chose to immediately plunge into the depths of the mine, hunting zombie skeletons alone.
His forehead had its own Natal Gu Embryo, which could detect yin energy; additionally, he had Follower Bug and Breath-Holding Insect to help him track zombie skeletons, conceal his human qi and blood, and he had no need to team up with others.
On the contrary, teaming up would require him to spare extra vigilance for his back.
In the arena, people choosing like Fang Shu were not few.
The lone hunters took advantage of the many zombie skeletons on the mine surface, swarming like wolves into a flock of sheep, slaughtering freely.
Quickly, in less than half an hour.
The zombie skeletons wandering on the Qian Shan surface had already been cleared out, leaving only shattered corpse bones.
Qian Shan’s zombie skeletons were clearly just for gathering yin energy and attracting the crowd, so against Third Calamity realm examinees, they were nothing at all.
However, after the surface zombie skeletons were cleared, there were even more in the dense mine tunnels beneath the surface.
Moreover, these zombie skeletons deep underground had heavier yin energy, higher probability of Unmelted Bones on their bodies, and greater ferocity.
With the chance to enter the sect right before them, not a single examinee hesitated; all chose to drill into the depths of the mine tunnels, hunting zombie skeletons everywhere.
But once inside the mine tunnels, the environment was dim, the air stifling, with frequent risks of poisonous miasma and cave-ins, making many immortal cultivators unadapted and proceeding with trepidation.
However, for Fang Shu, none of this was a problem.
Inside the mine tunnel, he sometimes followed the Natal Gu Embryo’s guidance, sometimes used the Follower Bug to scout ahead, reaping constant gains.
Quickly.
His shoulder bag was filled; a rough estimate suggested there were thirty to forty Unmelted Bones inside.
Fang Shu simply rummaged a sackcloth bag from the mine tunnel, poured his own Unmelted Bones into it, slung it over one shoulder, and continued walking through the mine.
Because the collected Unmelted Bones increased, yin energy clung to his body unrelentingly, dense and un dispersible, even making the Breath-Holding Insect gradually unable to conceal it.
Every time he approached a zombie skeleton, the yin energy would alert it, even drawing it to proactively pounce from corners.
For Fang Shu, this caused some trouble, but only minor trouble.
What truly counted as trouble was actually not these zombie skeletons.
Suddenly.
A black shadow flashed past Fang Shu’s side, but drawn by the yin energy on Fang Shu, it immediately followed like a dog scenting prey.
Fang Shu noticed this and calmly led it circling in the mine tunnel to a spot not easy for ambushes.
Both sides tacitly stopped.
“Fellow Daoist, your harvest is plentiful. Why not do a good deed, share a bit with me to help me enter the sect?”
The person’s face showed greed as he immediately demanded.
Facing the newcomer, Fang Shu smiled, threw his sackcloth bag on the ground without a word, flicked the Long Tongue Sword, and stabbed toward the opponent.
His figure was ghostly, charging to bombard the newcomer.
“Cut the crap, let’s fight!”
The newcomer’s eyelids twitched sharply; a surge of green spiritual light rose from his body, his two sleeves whooshing out like ribbons to block Fang Shu’s Long Tongue Sword and obscure his vision.
The Tongue Sword and sleeves shook; cloth scraps fell like leaves rustling nonstop.
In seven or eight breaths, a muffled grunt suddenly rang out.
The person said furiously: “Poisonous!? You villain, when did you poison me.”
“Want to run?” Fang Shu seized the moment of his weakened qi and blood, intent on striking while sick to take his life; the Tongue Sword trembled, slashing at the opponent’s waist.
“Take this!”
The person had no choice but to hurl the Unmelted Bone in his hand at Fang Shu.
With a puff, cloth straps shattered, objects scattered.
Fang Shu slowly stopped; the opponent slunk gray-faced into the mine tunnel and fled.
Confirming the opponent had left, Fang Shu exhaled long, his face showing contemplation.
“As expected of a dojo immortal cultivator who could come to the Spring Examination and pass the first two rounds—his qi and blood are so thick, completely different from wilderness immortal cultivators.”
He vigilantly eyed the left and right tunnels, those faint obscure auras, glanced at the Unmelted Bones on the ground, and abandoned a certain idea in his heart.
The examinee who had just shed his tail to survive had fewer Unmelted Bones than a third of what Fang Shu had.
Though he had only encountered this one so far, Fang Shu guessed his harvest was among the top overall, enough to ensure entry into the immortal sect.
Better to continue gathering his own than seizing from others—lower risk, avoiding capsizing in a gutter.
Thus, next.
Fang Shu continued wandering in the Qian Shan Mine, encountering more ambushes or being targeted by groups.
Fortunately, due to his sufficient caution and strong magic power, no one could force him to use his trump cards or shed his tail to survive.
As the zombies in the underground mine veins dwindled, fights among examinees in the tunnels grew fiercer.
Every so often, Fang Shu could sense auras of combat.
He even suspected everyone’s targets had unanimously shifted from hunting zombie skeletons to hunting other examinees.
Especially those teamed-up groups, which began showing disputes and splits.
For instance, at this moment.
Fang Shu was pondering whether to escape the mine vein and return to the surface to turn in.
After all, up to now, he had only seen one person from afar with higher yin energy concentration than his own; his harvest should be enough for sect entry.
“Hmph!”
Dispute voices came from ahead again:
“Daoist Qin, you’re too arrogant. This zombie skeleton was clearly found by me first.”
“Hm? If you found it, it’s yours? Call it and see if it responds.”
“Sister Qin, you have plenty of Unmelted Bones already; why fuss over one or two.”
Hearing this, Fang Shu raised his brow—he had coincidentally run into acquaintances, and they were quarreling.
But with the selection ongoing, he had no mood to watch the show.
But at that moment, a shout exploded from ahead:
“Someone’s there!”
Fang Shu’s heart tightened, thinking he had been spotted.
Qin Min in the group ahead had her attention instantly drawn by her teammates, looking around.
But it turned out that within her team, spiritual light erupted between several people.
With a puff, her gaze disbelievingly looked down at her feet.
An iron tool drilled up from the ground, piercing right through her right foot sole in the instant she was distracted, while a paralyzing sensation rapidly rose from the wound.
Not only that, from three sides beside her, fragrant or cold winds immediately assaulted, aiming to jointly strike her down.
This situation enraged Qin Min; while dodging, she incredulously said:
“It’s just one Unmelted Bone—do you all have to go this far!”
Qi and blood churned, spiritual lights clashed.
After ten breaths, the three allies seemed to have seized the terrain advantage, sealing Qin Min’s retreat, then spoke:
“Hmph! Have to? Who do you think you are!”
“Daoist Qin, you have a spiritual root; even if your score is poor, you have an immortal path. We’re not like you.”
“Fellow Daoist, just give up. If you’re willing to abandon your goods, we’ll spare your life. Otherwise, we already know all your techniques—how could you escape with your life?”
Various sneering or psychological attack words echoed from the darkness.
Fang Shu paused to listen, his expression momentarily odd, realizing he had almost been bluffed too.
Immediately.
He silently mourned for Qin Min for a breath, then seized the golden opportunity created by Daoist Qin, no longer detouring but charging straight through the nearby tunnel.
At this point, Fang Shu had decided to immediately escape this dangerous mine tunnel and return to the surface, lest delay breed change.
The few surrounding Qin Min were startled:
“Who! Really someone?”
But with Qin Min in their net, even sensing the thick yin energy on Fang Shu, they held back, did not pursue, and let Fang Shu swagger past.
Whoosh whoosh!
Immediately after, another burst of air-piercing sounds came, making them unable to care about Fang Shu anymore.
Fang Shu thus departed calmly.
“Want to kill me?”
In the mine tunnel, Qin Min’s qi and blood steamed like fire and smoke, illuminating all around; her figure swelled, turning into a little giant, with ferocious momentum.
The woman’s face twisted in a ferocious grin; she feared no encirclement, acting arrogantly instead, intent on killing the three in one go:
“You sneaky rats! All deserve to die!”
Boom!
Like a small earth dragon turning over, it erupted in the mine tunnel.
………………
Dozens of breaths later.
Qin Min was successfully taken down to the ground.
Three figures stood or leaned, coldly eyeing this woman.
Her eyes widened, body paralyzed, continuously vomiting blood, limbs’ tendons severed, physical body twitching nonstop.
