Chapter 89: Xuling Cave Heaven, Five Ghosts Seizing the Soul
Kunlun Mountains.
At the entrance of Kunlun Cave Heaven, several figures walked out from behind the Kunlun Mountain Gate.
An old man released a luxurious spirit boat. Li Yu and three other disciples who were at the ninth level of Qi Refining stepped onto the spirit boat. The spirit boat quickly rose into the air and disappeared into the sky.
A moment later, Li Yu stood on the spirit boat, which was moving quickly and steadily, with thick clouds below.
This mission is quite important, so the sect sent a powerful Jindan-stage expert to escort them all the way.
This was his second time riding on a spirit boat. Compared to a flying boat, the spirit boat was much more comfortable. As long as you adjusted the direction, it could fly by itself. If you didn't go at full speed, you didn't have to consume any mana.
The spirit boat is inlaid with spirit-gathering materials, which can gather spiritual energy on its own. Unless the spiritual energy is consumed during the flight, there is no need for cultivators to control it.
Flying boats are different. Not only do you have to use your magic power to control them, but you also have to endure rain and wind.
Comparing the two, one is a pedal bicycle, and the other is a dream car that can refuel itself, have adaptive cruise control, and has the speed of a sports car and the comfort of a sedan.
Li Yu has already made up his mind. Since the spirit coins are just sitting there anyway, he will buy a spirit boat when he returns to the sect this time. This will save him a lot of time on the road in the future and will also make it convenient to take Zhou Zixuan back to her parents' home. The important thing is that the spirit boat does not need to be controlled and he can do whatever he wants in the cabin, such as drinking tea, playing chess, etc., and he will not feel bored.
This time their destination was the State of Chen.
The entrance to Xuling Cave Heaven is located somewhere in the State of Chen.
Speaking of which, it was Li Yu’s first time to enter this kind of secret cave to carry out a mission.
The world they are in now is a big world, and outside this big world, there are countless small worlds, such as Kunlun Cave Heaven, Emei Cave Heaven, Tiandao Secret Realm, and Xuling Cave Heaven, all of which belong to such small worlds.
Among these small worlds, those with abundant spiritual energy, such as Kunlun Cave Heaven and Tiandao Secret Realm, have long been occupied by major sects, which have established their own schools. Those with thin spiritual energy are not completely useless. The minerals and spiritual medicines in them can be used to refine weapons and elixirs. Regardless of whether they are from the righteous or evil path, there are disciples stationed in them, continuously supplying resources to the big world.
Thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, the resources of the Great World were extremely rich. At that time, the immortal cultivation world was full of gods and void-breaking people. Every few hundred years, someone would achieve celestial being and ascend to heaven on the spot...
Unfortunately, resources are not infinite. With the consumption of generations of immortal cultivators, the resources of the big world have become extremely scarce. In the past, the pregnancy pill, which was not considered a top-level elixir, could no longer be refined because the main ingredients were extinct. The number of strong people in the spirit transformation and void breaking realms is also decreasing...
There are not many resources to fight for in the big world, and various forces have set their sights on those secret caves and heavens that still have value in mining. Many foundation-building masters of the sect, including the former Elder Sun, spend their days in these secret caves and heavens, fighting for their lives with people from other forces, competing for resources for the sect while exchanging them for what they need for their own practice.
Xu Ling Cave Heaven is actually a small cave heaven with very poor resources. The spiritual energy is so thin that the space can only withstand the magic power of the Qi Refining Stage. The Foundation Establishment Stage cannot penetrate the space barrier. If someone establishes a foundation in Xu Ling Cave Heaven, the space will immediately collapse and they will be buried in the space turbulence.
Although Li Yu's magic power is profound, it is only in quantity and has not undergone any qualitative change, so he can safely enter Xu Ling Cave Heaven .
Kunlun is unwilling to give up even this small cave, which shows how scarce the resources in the big world are.
Li Yu had just learned that there were rich reserves of low-level mineral veins in Xu Ling Cave Heaven, which could be used to refine some low-level magical instruments and were therefore of some value. Therefore, the sect had disciples mining there all year round, and then transporting them out via space magic tools.
The entrance to Xuling Cave Heaven is within Kunlun's sphere of influence, which is naturally a good thing for Kunlun. A small cave heaven with poor resources, a sect like Tiandao Sect would not bother to compete with Kunlun.
However, this kind of connection between the small world and the big world usually has more than one entrance. The other entrance to Xu Ling Dong Tian happens to be in the sphere of influence of the Soul Refining Sect. Over the years, the Qi Refining disciples of the two sects have had many fights over the ownership of the mineral veins.
By now, the two factions' disciples had developed a certain tacit understanding.
That is to only fight for the mines, not kill people, and at most capture the enemy's disciples and then blackmail the other party's sect.
After all, the low-level disciples of the two factions are all workers of the sect. There is no need to risk their lives for a few low-level resources.
The Kunlun sect is famous for its alchemy in the righteous way, and the alchemy of the Soul Refining Sect also dominates the magic way. The Soul Refining Sect wants the Kunlun sect's Tongmai Dan, and the Kunlun sect wants the Soul Refining Sect's Yanghun Dan. Over the years, the two sects have been extorting money from each other, and none of the disciples have been injured or killed, but a lot of elixirs have been exchanged...
The Soul Refining Sect has ten hostages this time, including two core disciples who have cultivated dual spiritual veins. They asked Kunlun Lion for two hundred Tongmai Pills, which the sect certainly cannot give them. Li Yu's mission is to rescue these ten Kunlun disciples. If he can capture the Soul Refining Sect's people and turn the tables, that would be even better.
In the mountains of Chen State, Xizhou, there are a few stone houses scattered around.
The spirit boat was suspended above the stone house, and Li Yu and three Qi Refining disciples jumped off the spirit boat.
This is the stronghold that Kunlun established outside Xu Ling Dong Tian. Since Xu Ling Dong Tian has been almost abandoned, there is only an elder in the early stage of foundation building and several disciples in the Qi Refining stage in charge. As soon as the spirit boat appeared, several figures walked out of the stone house.
The four Qi Refining disciples looked young, and their cultivation was at the first level of Qi Refining. They should be new disciples who had just entered the sect and were assigned here. They looked at Li Yu and the three Qi Refining disciples with envy.
On a cliff behind the stone house, the space felt unreal. The foundation-building elder guarding this place explained to Li Yu and others: "This is the entrance to Xu Ling Dong Tian. Cross this cliff and you will reach Xu Ling Dong Tian."
Before entering Xu Ling Dong Tian, the Jin Dan stage elder warned Li Yu and the other three: "Be careful in there, and remember not to use high-level talismans, otherwise, your lives will be in danger..."
He had mentioned these precautions to Li Yu and the other three on the way here.
Li Yu and three other Kunlun disciples came to the cliff, took a step forward, and felt a flash before their eyes, and soon they appeared in a gray space.
Unlike the vibrant Kunlun Cave Heaven, this place is desolate. The whole world seems covered with a layer of gray. Even the clouds in the sky appear a dull gray-black tone.
The soil on the ground had long been dry and cracked, with huge cracks extending deep into the earth's core. As far as the eye could see, there was no life, no birds or animals, no trees or flowers. The whole world was filled with deathly silence and desolation.
The spiritual energy here is so thin that Li Yu can hardly feel it. Not to mention compared with the immortal paradise like Kunlun Cave Heaven, it is even inferior to the mundane life of mortals in the big world.
This means that after their mana is consumed, they cannot replenish it from the surrounding areas and can only recover with recovery pills.
Li Yu and others were located in front of a cliff. Not far ahead, there were also several simple stone chambers. Li Yu noticed that there was an invisible barrier around them that protected this place. It should be the defensive formation of this stronghold.
This is the connecting point between the two spaces. People coming in from outside will land here.
If there were no protection from the formation, the disciples of Kunlun would probably find themselves waiting for the evildoers as soon as they arrived.
There were also three Qi Refining disciples left behind in this stronghold in Xuling Cave Heaven. Li Yu got the map of Xuling Cave Heaven from them. This was a small cave heaven with a radius of only a hundred miles. There were two entrances, located on the north and south sides respectively, one belonging to Kunlun and the other to the Soul Refining Sect.
A large star iron mine, located in the center of the cave, was mined separately by Kunlun and the Soul Refining Sect.
Star iron is a special refining material. After forging, it can hold a certain amount of spiritual energy. It is also the main material for creating low-level magical tools.
Normally, the disciples of the two sects mined at the two ends of this star iron mine, and they kept to themselves, with occasional minor frictions. This time, the Soul Refining Sect suddenly launched an attack, capturing ten Kunlun disciples twice and imprisoning them in the Soul Refining Sect's stronghold...
Li Yu said to the three Kunlun disciples who came in with him: "Senior Brother Song, Senior Brother Cai, Senior Brother Zhao, you wait here first. I will go to the Soul Refining Sect's base to inquire..."
"Junior Brother Li, this is not good..."
Although the three of them did not want to take risks, they still felt embarrassed to let Li Yu go alone to spy on the enemy.
Li Yu smiled and said nonchalantly: "It's okay, I'll go explore the enemy situation first, and then come back to join you after I've found out everything."
He was not trying to show off. He had the ability to hide his energy, so it would be more convenient for him to do this kind of thing alone. If he brought them along, he might alert the enemy.
The three Kunlun disciples did not force him and said, "Then Junior Brother Li, you must be careful..."
When Li Yu left the formation alone, the three of them looked at his disappearing back and couldn't help but sigh.
"Junior Brother Li is so nice."
"Yes, when we carry out missions with other brothers, they always let us take the lead..."
"It would be great if I could meet teammates like Junior Brother Li every time I go on a mission."
…
In Xuling Cave, in a dead silent space, a figure was flying in the air, but no one saw it.
Li Yu pasted an invisibility talisman on his body and used the Qi Invisibility Technique at the same time. Not only did he make it so that there was no fluctuation in magic power, but he could not even be seen by the naked eye.
Soon, Li Yu flew over the Star Iron Mine.
There were nearly a hundred mines of various sizes on the ground, but no one was in them. The Kunlun disciples had been captured, and the Soul Refining Sect disciples had not started work. Li Yu flew over the mines and suddenly stopped.
He looked down at his chest and could feel a faint desire coming from the alchemy furnace in his chest.
Li Yu's figure slowly fell down and stood on the mineral vein, feeling a stronger desire.
This feeling was like having a high-level elixir placed in front of him.
Li Yu quickly realized that there seemed to be something that the alchemy furnace wanted under this mineral vein.
With a thought, ripples appeared on the ground beneath his feet, and Li Yu's body slowly sank into the ground. This was the earth escape technique.
This kind of mine is different from ordinary ground. The iron ore content in it is very high. It is actually very difficult to enter by earth escape alone. However, Li Yu has mastered all five elements, and his escape technique is smooth and fluent, and he did not encounter any obstacles at all.
He dived deeper and deeper, and the deeper he dived, the greater the pressure he felt.
For an average Qi Refiner at the peak of his powers, he probably wouldn’t be able to withstand a dive of about ten feet.
Fortunately, he had strong magic power and the protection of true qi. He felt a little strenuous only after diving to fifty feet. However, he had already sensed that the thing that the alchemy furnace wanted was just ahead.
Li Yu withstood the pressure and dived several more feet. Just when he felt he had reached his limit, he finally found the source of the desire in his heart.
In the mud ahead, there was a fist-sized object. It was different from other iron ores. The ores Li Yu encountered along the way all contained a lot of impurities and needed to be smelted before they could be used to make tools, but that fist-sized object was completely black without a trace of impurities.
Although Li Yu was not good at refining equipment, the equipment refiner Lao Xu once gave him a book called "Introduction to Equipment Refining Materials". He also had some knowledge of the art of refining equipment and soon realized that this was the essence of star iron.
There is a certain probability of producing star iron essence in star iron ore. Star iron is the material for refining low-level magical tools, but star iron essence can be used to refine spiritual tools. Spiritual tools are much more powerful than magical tools.
It can be said that this fist-sized piece of star iron essence is more valuable than the entire star iron ore.
Although the probability of producing star iron essence in star iron ore is very small, generally speaking, if a star iron ore is discovered, the big sects will definitely send strong men to check it. This star iron mine is located in Xu Ling Cave Heaven, and strong men above the foundation building stage cannot enter. The star iron essence is buried so deep that unless the five spirit veins are cultivated to the peak, it cannot sneak here. This is a good opportunity for Li Yu.
The alchemy furnace couldn't wait any longer, and Li Yu didn't hesitate any longer. He touched the star iron essence with his right hand. A suction force came, and the star iron essence shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye until it disappeared.
Li Yu's consciousness sank into the alchemy furnace space. He checked himself and found that a crack half a finger wide and three fingers long on one ear of the alchemy furnace had disappeared.
It seems that this alchemy furnace can not only absorb souls, bodies, and spiritual medicines, but also absorb these high-level minerals.
This time, Li Yu did not gain any benefit from it. It was normal to think about it. The spiritual medicine could help him to impact the acupuncture points, and the soul power could strengthen his soul. These mineral materials were of no use to him...
This alchemy furnace has helped him so many times. It is largely responsible for his current strength, so it is only right to reward it.
However, it took a whole piece of star iron essence to repair it a little bit. How many good things would be needed to completely repair it after it was almost broken? Li Yu didn't even dare to imagine it.
After escaping from the vein, Li Yu continued to fly forward and soon saw several earthen houses appearing on the desolate land. In front of the houses, there were several figures sitting around.
Xu Ling Cave Heaven, the stronghold of the Soul Refining Sect.
Inside the protective formation, six disciples of the Soul Refining Sect sat around a fire, on top of which was a whole lamb being roasted.
Ten Kunlun disciples were tied up and lined up in a row, leaning against the wall of the mud house, their faces all covered in dirt. The ropes used to tie them up were not ordinary straw ropes, but soul-binding ropes. After being tied up, the magic power in their bodies could no longer function.
The five Soul Refining Sect disciples were obviously very respectful to a young man. One of them handed him the roasted lamb leg and asked with a smile, "I didn't expect that Senior Brother Xu would come to a place like this..."
Although the young man in front of them was a disciple of the Soul Refining Sect like them, his status in the sect was incomparable.
As a genius who cultivated dual spiritual veins and had five spirit ghosts comparable to those at the peak of Qi Refining, his strength could rank among the top five, or even the top three, among the Qi Refining disciples of the Soul Refining Sect.
The atmosphere was good at the moment, and a disciple of the Soul Refining Sect asked curiously, "Senior Brother Xu, why did you come to this remote Xuling Cave Heaven?"
Xuling Cave Heaven is the lowest level secret realm, and on ordinary days, these big figures would never appear here.
Xu Yi took a bite of the lamb leg and complained: "Do you think I want to come to this broken place? It's because the sect has recently accepted a few disciples with good talents and is short of Tongmai Pills, so they asked me to come here to capture a few people from Kunlun and exchange them for Tongmai Pills..."
The tied-up Kunlun disciples became furious when they heard this. What did these damn Soul Refining Sect rats think of them?
Originally, the cultivation base of the two sects of Xuling Dongtian was not very high, and even if there were frictions on weekdays, they could be controlled. The Soul Refining Sect suddenly broke the rules and sent such a genius disciple. It was really too bullying...
A disciple from the Soul Refining Sect walked up to several Kunlun disciples and said, "Hey, why haven't your people come yet? Has your sect given up on you?"
As for these Kunlun captives, they simply tied them up with soul-binding ropes and did not torture them.
Apart from the relationship between Kunlun and the Soul Refining Sect, the disciples stationed from the two factions in Xuling Dongtian were relatively harmonious. Although they often fought, they mainly exchanged ideas and never killed each other.
We are all low-level disciples, mining for the sect and receiving fixed remuneration. It doesn't matter to us there is no need to risk our lives for it.
Looking at the smug look on the face of the Soul Refining Sect disciple, a Kunlun disciple sneered and said, "Don't be too complacent too soon, the sect will definitely send someone to rescue us!"
The Soul Refining Sect disciple returned to the fire and said with some concern: "If Kunlun really sends a powerful disciple here, what should we do..."
Another disciple glanced at him and said, "With Senior Brother Xu here, there is nothing to be afraid of. You know the details of Kunlun's disciples. That woman has already formed a pill. Among the current Kunlun disciples in the Qi Refining Stage, who can be a match for Senior Brother Xu..."
Speaking of "that woman", the expressions of several Soul Refining Sect disciples, including the young man surnamed Xu, changed slightly.
It was really that woman was too strong. About ten years ago, the Soul Refining Sect had captured several Kunlun disciples and exchanged them for elixirs. The Soul Refining Sect's stationed disciples at that time did not see the elixirs, but did see a little girl of seven or eight years old.
The beautiful little girl looked cute but was extremely powerful. She single-handedly defeated the protective formation here and drove all the disciples of the Soul Refining Sect out of Xu Ling Cave Heaven.
It was not until recent years that the Soul Refining Sect re-entered this place, but the shadow left by that woman still exists.
Fortunately, that scary little girl has now reached the stage of Dan formation and cannot come here. The most powerful Kunlun Seven Sons are all at the foundation building stage. There are not many powerful Kunlun disciples in the current Qi Refining stage. They can't resist Brother Xu's Five Ghosts Soul Capture Formation at all. He can capture as many as he can...
The topic of the few people quickly changed.
"I heard that there is a powerful Qi Refining Stage disciple in the sect named Zhou Tian. The Tiandao Sect offers a reward of fifty Tongmai Pills for his head..."
"What on earth did this guy do? Fifty Tongmai Pills can allow a Qi Refining Level 3 practitioner to reach the peak of Qi Refining. To be honest, I want to take this order..."
At this moment, the few people did not know that outside the formation, there was a figure who was silently watching them.
With the help of the Qigong technique, Li Yu has already figured out the details of these disciples of the Soul Refining Sect.
There are a total of six Soul Refining Sect disciples in this stronghold, five of whom have average strength, between the fourth and sixth levels of Qi Refining, but the last young man is very unusual.
The dual spiritual veins of water and fire have reached the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, and are only one step away from building the foundation.
If he had only this much strength, he certainly wouldn't have received Li Yu's "extraordinary" evaluation, and he wouldn't have been able to capture so many people from Kunlun.
The disciples of the Demonic Soul Refining Sect, like the disciples of the Puppet Sect, only have their own cultivation, which is only a part of their strength. The strength of the ghost spirits and spirit corpses they raise should not be underestimated either.
The young man's cultivation level was only at the eighteenth level of Qi Refining, but Li Yu saw five other powerful auras from him that did not belong to him, and each of them was no weaker than the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining.
Several other disciples of the Soul Refining Sect also had similar auras, but each of them had only one, and they were far less powerful than that young man.
Even through the formation, Li Yu could still feel the desire coming from the alchemy furnace in his chest.
Five ghosts at the ninth level of Qi Refining, a great tonic. If he could absorb all of them, his own soul power would increase so much that it would probably be comparable to the foundation building stage...
As soon as he thought of this, Li Yu took the initiative to show up.
Inside the protective formation, a Soul Refining Sect disciple who was gnawing on a lamb leg shuddered, pointed outside, and suddenly said, "Senior Brother Xu, someone is coming!"
Everyone looked outside and saw a figure walking towards them.
One of the Soul Refining Sect disciples looked at the man and asked in confusion, "This person looks familiar. I seem to have seen him somewhere before... Oh, I remember. I saw him on the "Strange People List" a few months ago. He is a genius alchemist from Kunlun..."
He originally didn't pay much attention to Kunlun's alchemist, but this man was so handsome that he had a deeper impression of him.
Someone laughed and said, "Alchemist, it seems you are here to deliver the elixir..."
Unlike the disciples of the Soul Refining Sect, the feelings of several Kunlun disciples were completely different when they saw Li Yu.
Junior Brother Li is ranked third on the trial list. How could these devilish creatures who mess around with ghosts all day long possibly be a match for the third person in the Qi Refining Stage in Kunlun in the past thousand years? That man has never let anyone down at critical moments.
A Soul Refining Sect disciple walked out of the formation and asked Li Yu, "Where are the pills?"
Li Yu smiled and said, "The elixir is right here. Let's see if you have the ability to take it."
"Boy, you are so arrogant..."
The Soul Refining Sect disciple snorted coldly, and a shadow flew out of his body and pounced towards Li Yufei.
Li Yu stood still, and the shadow sank into his body.
Everything was normal, as if nothing had happened.
The Soul Refining Sect disciple was stunned and said blankly: "Where is my ghost spirit!"
Just now, this disciple of the Soul Refining Sect felt that the connection between himself and the ghost spirit had completely disappeared. At the same time, there was a cracking sound in his arms, as if something broke.
He took out a broken soul tablet, his eyes widened, his face showing shock and anger.
Spirit ghosts are very important to the disciples of the Soul Refining Sect. They are their strongest helpers. He spent a lot of effort to cultivate this spirit ghost to the fifth level of Qi Refining, but it was gone after just one encounter...
A figure walked in front of him and said, "Back off, you are no match for him."
Xu Yi looked at the handsome man opposite him and could not tell his strength at all. Of course, this did not mean that the man was stronger than him. It could also be because he was wearing fairy clothes.
The immortal robes of the Emei Sect are indeed very useful, but it's a pity that he encountered them.
However, this Kunlun alchemist still has some strength, as he can instantly deal with a ghost spirit at the fifth level of Qi Refining.
Five shadows flashed out from his body. They were the five elements of ghosts he cultivated. The five ghosts were extremely fast and soon spread out, surrounding Li Yu from five directions. Thick yin energy surged out from their souls, gradually forming a pentagon with the five ghosts as the vertices.
At the same time, Li Yu also realized that this space seemed to be blocked by something.
Li Yu had some impression of this formation.
There was a description of this formation in the formation book that Lao Chen left for Li Yu. This formation was called the Five Ghosts Soul-Captivating Formation, and it was the Soul Refining Sect's unique formation. It was controlled by five ghosts at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, with different attributes. It had more than ten variations, and could even trap and kill a cultivator who had just entered the Foundation Establishment stage.
No wonder so many Kunlun disciples were captured by him. The Five Ghosts Soul-Captivating Formation cannot be broken without the foundation-building stage. Even if a practitioner of the five veins who is at the peak of Qi training is trapped, he will die in the formation.
Unless this person is Li Yu.
If the one controlling this formation is not a ghost, he will be in big trouble. Unfortunately, they met the ghost nemesis today.
Facing the disciples of Kunlun, even though the opponent was just an alchemist, Xu Yi of the Soul Refining Sect did not let his guard down and used his strongest means as soon as he made his move.
After releasing the five ghosts, he did not forget to remind them: "Be gentle, don't kill him, otherwise I will have a hard time explaining to the sect."
The sect sent him to Xu Ling Dong Tian to blackmail, not to kill. If he really killed a Kunlun disciple, there would be no end to the fight, and there would be no room for negotiation.
Even though they were very confident in Li Yu, several Kunlun disciples couldn't help but worry about him when they saw the situation outside.
They have all suffered great losses in this formation. Can Junior Brother Li handle such a powerful magic formation?
The five ghosts used their bodies as a formation and trapped Li Yu inside. At this moment, Li Yu saw darkness in front of his eyes and could not see anything. But soon, he felt a flash before his eyes and countless hideous ghosts emerged from the void and attacked him.
But when Li Yu used the art of looking at qi to observe, there was nothing in front of him.
This was obviously an illusion. These five ghost spirits at the peak of Qi Refining were not the wild ghosts he had encountered before that only knew how to possess people. They were able to interfere with his thinking and cause him to have hallucinations.
If it were an ordinary Qi Refining Stage disciple, he would have probably been in a panic to deal with it.
If they are surrounded by fellow disciples and cast spells recklessly, there is a high probability that all of them will suffer. If they are alone, their magic power will be wasted in vain.
Li Yu stood there, motionless. The ghosts that appeared out of thin air passed through his body, and nothing happened.
The next moment, the scene in front of Li Yu changed again.
Those hideous ghosts disappeared, and before his eyes, several scantily clad beauties appeared. They were all wearing transparent gauze clothes, their snow-white skin was faintly visible, and Li Yu could even smell their fragrance...
This fragrance makes people feel soft all over, and their resistance to beautiful women is greatly reduced.
Li Yu took a detoxifying pill and looked at the beauties who were transformed and posing there, his mood remained calm.
Today's Li Yu is no longer the pure little white flower who has never been in love with anyone.
These days, he and Senior Sister Zhou have played all kinds of games. It's really disr
