As if it had noticed that the two of them were trying to escape, the snake-like monster became angry.
It had been sleeping in the spiritual jade vein for a hundred years, preparing for its final transformation, absorbing the spiritual energy of the spiritual jade and transforming from a snake into a dragon.
Unexpectedly, when it was about to succeed, the spiritual jade disappeared, and it was forced to wake up, and the transformation was interrupted.
The monster raised its head and hit the hole again.
“Boom!”
A loud noise echoed in the deep spiritual jade vein, and the crack was opened by this brutal force. Then the monster's head pounced forward, it opened its bloody mouth, and the scarlet snake tongue hissed, biting towards Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge.
The Long Yin sword hummed softly.
Yan Jiuge gripped the hilt tightly, and his spiritual power instantly tempered the edge of the Long Yin Sword. The edge of the sword flashed with a cold light, and the sword intent was self-contained and unstoppable.
"!"
Cut it down with one sword.
The next moment, a sword flashed in the dark tunnel.
This sword was filled with murderous intent, and it was no less ferocious than the monster. The flying rocks and sand along its path turned into dust, and it chopped straight at the monster's head.
“Bang!”
It was like a sword striking a hard rock, creating a heavy echo.
The monster was unable to dodge, and the three incomplete horns on its head were cut off. Without the horns, the monster looked like a snake.
“Hiss!”
Unexpectedly, even though the monster's horns were cut off, it did not show any fear. Instead, it twisted its huge body as if it had gone mad and began to rampage in the narrow tunnel.
The snake's pupils were already scarlet, filled with endless hatred.
Yan Jiuge was not interested in fighting, he had already cut off the snake's horn spines, destroying its possibility of transforming into a dragon. When the dragon energy in the monster's body was exhausted, its strength would be greatly weakened.
As he raised his hand, three more sword energies fell.
This time, Yan Jiuge chopped towards the spiritual jade mine in the tunnel.
Violent cracking sounds continued to be heard. The Lingyu mine had already been shattered a lot due to the collision with the monsters. Now that Yan Jiuge had made the final move, the entire vein collapsed like a spider web.
The collapsed ore fell in front of the monster, blocking its way.
Although he couldn't stop them for long, this period of time was enough for Yan Jiuge to escape.
Holding a sword in one hand and Chu Qi's waist with the other, Yan Jiuge stepped on the fallen ore in the tunnel and used the force to rush out.
The two of them were slightly out of danger, and Chu Qi's tense heart relaxed.
After he was no longer so nervous, Chu Qi realized belatedly that he was being held in Yan Jiuge's arms, and their postures were very intimate.
Even though they had never hugged like this before.
The strong wind that passed by their ears picked up their hair and entangled them closely along the wind direction.
Even the breath is the other person's scent.
Chu Qi's emotions, which had just calmed down for a short while, became agitated again. He hugged Yan Jiuge and silently said in his heart that it was an emergency and he had no choice but to do so.
The tunnel was too narrow and he couldn't dodge to the side. It was safest to stay next to Yan Jiuge at that time.
He is a medical practitioner and cannot wield a sword.
It's just a hug, there's nothing to be embarrassed about.
Chu Qi was muttering to himself.
"Aqi."
A familiar voice fell into Chu Qi's ears, making all the excuses Chu Qi had been thinking about for a long time useless.
The crimson color spread to the tip of Chu Qi's ears, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, "What, what happened?"
"Don't be afraid. The snake has failed to transform into a dragon. It will lose its strength after struggling for two more hours at most."
Yan Jiuge was very close to Chu Qi, so he naturally noticed Chu Qi's tense mood and spoke out to comfort him.
“…Jiao?” Chu Qi’s thoughts were pulled back to his previous memory. He remembered the appearance of that monster, which looked like a snake but was not a snake.
"Well, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, monsters can try to return to their ancestral bloodline. Snakes are the degeneration of dragons. The snake just now was probably preparing to transform into a dragon. It had been around the spiritual jade for a long time, and its body was stained with the breath of the spiritual jade. It was also sleeping, so we didn't notice it."
Otherwise, Yan Jiuge would kill it before anything happened.
"I see... Wait! Xiao Jin doesn't seem to come out!" After listening to Yan Jiuge's explanation, Chu Qi suddenly remembered that the gold-devouring beast did not come out with them.
"It will be fine." Yan Jiuge was not worried about the gold-eating beast's situation at all. "If the snake is willing to bite it, it will be the snake's turn to break its teeth."
When facing danger, gold-eating beasts will solidify their bodies into hard metal. How hard it can be depends on the quality of the ore they have previously swallowed.
This gold-eating beast has even gnawed on the spiritual jade, so it is estimated that there are still a lot of good things hidden in its stomach.
During the brief conversation, Yan Jiuge brought Chu Qi out from underground.
The long-lost sunlight fell on the two of them, making the red spot on Chu Qi's ear tip more obvious.
Yan Jiuge glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and couldn't take his eyes away.
The hand around Aqi's waist should be released.
But Yan Jiuge's thoughts were completely occupied by him and Chu Qi's embrace. He had been busy getting on with his journey, but now he realized that it was not only Qi's voice that was soft, but also his waist.
When Chu Qi saw that they had reached the ground, he prepared to let go of the arms that were around Yan Jiuge and wanted to withdraw from this tight hug to ease his emotions.
At this time—
"Boom!" A muffled sound came from underground.
The ground beneath their feet was shaking.
With a bad premonition, Chu Qi stopped his movements and looked a little hesitant. "Could that monster be catching up from underground?"
Yan Jiuge raised his eyebrows and temporarily put aside his other thoughts, "It is very likely that we should leave this mountain first."
The monster would never let go of any grudge. Yan Jiuge had not yet removed the restrictions on his body, and the strength he displayed was not enough to scare it. There was a high possibility that he would chase him from underground.
Little did they know that the reason for the monster's frenzy was not just the two of them - there was also a small gold-eating beast.
The gold-eating beast held the horn thorn in its mouth. Yes, it was the horn thorn that Yan Jiuge had cut off from the monster's head with a sword. It ran wildly in the direction of its master with its short legs.
Behind the gold-devouring beast, a demon beast that sensed the dragon's aura on its horn thorns was chasing it angrily.
The anger from failing to transform into a dragon had caused the monster to lose its mind, and it chased after the "person" who had taken away its most important thing almost instinctively.
Caused such a big commotion.
The vein collapsed more thoroughly, and a dull sound spread from underground to the surface, alarming the spiritual beasts living in the mountains, causing them to flee in panic towards the outside of the forest.
In mid-air, Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi flew with their swords. Because they had to wait for the gold-devouring beast to come out, their flying speed was not very fast.
"This monster seems particularly angry, but why didn't it come out from the ground, but instead chased us all the way underground?"
Chu Qi was a little confused.
The underground is full of mineral veins, which provide a lot of resistance. Even if the monster has thick skin and flesh, it will still suffer damage if it charges recklessly like this.
"… "
Yan Jiuge pondered for a moment, this situation might be...
“Lulu!!”
At this moment, a golden round object suddenly jumped out from the ground, accompanied by Chu Qi's familiar cry, and flew towards him and Yan Jiuge.
"Xiao Jin!"
The long-awaited spiritual pet finally came back.
Chu Qi subconsciously stretched out his hand, intending to catch the gold-eating beast.
After catching it, Chu Qi discovered that what he caught was not only the gold-eating beast, but also a large piece of the monster's horn that was bitten and dragged by the gold-eating beast.
“Lulululul.”
The gold-eating beast made vague noises from its mouth, signaling its owner to put away the goodies in its mouth.
Chu Qi: “…”
No wonder the monster chased us all the way underground. It turned out that this little guy was running in front of us, dragging its horns.
Under the urging gaze of the gold-devouring beast, Chu Qi put the monster's horn thorn into his Qiankun bag without saying a word.
Then, the ground beneath their feet shook violently, and the monster followed the last breath, broke out of the ground, and stood there menacingly.
Only then did Chu Qi have the opportunity to see the entire appearance of the monster.
It was a huge snake, about 20 feet wide and immeasurably long, with most of its body still underground. Because its horn had been cut off, the protruding part of its head made it look even uglier.
At this moment, the monster's snake eyes were fixed on the direction of Chu Qi and the others, and its sharp fangs were filled with deadly poison.
At this point, the feud between the two sides is irreconcilable.
Yan Jiuge's eyes were heavy. He now had two choices. Either to release the restriction and kill the monster, or to continue chasing the monster and wait until it was exhausted and weak, and then kill it.
The former would expose his identity in front of Chu Qi, which Yan Jiuge didn't want to do. But the latter would consume too much energy and time, which was also a troublesome matter.
Just as Yan Jiuge was thinking, a special fluctuation of spatial spiritual power came from the surroundings.
The Yunxi Secret Realm has been open for quite some time, and quite a few cultivators have been teleported in, but one cultivator was unlucky and happened to encounter a mad monster, which is really rare.
A white light flashed below Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge, and twenty cultivators were teleported in from the outside world, all wearing the red and white uniforms of the Beastmaster Sect's disciples.
Coincidentally, among them was an acquaintance of both of them—Yun Jiangmiao.
*
Yun Jiangmiao and the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect had just entered the Yunxi Secret Realm. Before they could figure out where they were, they were shocked by a fierce aura.
The monster that appeared in front of them was huge and tall enough to block out the sky and the sun. Its shadow enveloped all of them, giving them an extremely oppressive feeling.
"It's terrible."
Yun Jiangmiao's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that he would be teleported to where the monster was from the very beginning.
Without too much time to think, Yun Jiangmiao hurriedly summoned the defensive spiritual weapon to protect all his fellow disciples.
“Hiss!”
The monster was already in a violent state, and when it suddenly saw more monks under its nose, it could no longer bear it, so it rolled up its tail, which was still underground, and attacked those monks indiscriminately.
“Crack!”
The huge snake's tail slapped the barrier of the defensive spiritual weapon, and it was smashed to pieces with just one encounter.
“Cough cough cough!”
The gap in strength was huge. Yun Jiangmiao looked at the defensive spiritual weapon that had turned into scrap metal on the ground, and blood flowed from the corner of his lips. As the controller of the spiritual weapon, if the spiritual weapon was invalidated, he would be backfired by the spiritual power, which would not be good.
"Senior Brother Yun!"
Behind Yun Jiangmiao, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect who were originally frightened by the monster were all looking at him worriedly. Their cultivation was only at the foundation-building stage, and the spirit pets they summoned were unable to move against the monster because they were afraid of the pressure from the monster.
Even Yun Jiangmiao, who had the highest level of cultivation, could not survive a single encounter.
They might be dying.
As such thoughts arose in everyone's mind, their faces turned pale.
However, to everyone's surprise, Yun Jiangmiao raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, stand behind me."
Upon hearing this, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect retreated behind Yun Jiangmiao.
In mid-air, Yan Jiuge, who was about to attack, stopped after seeing this scene and whispered to Chu Qi, "Ah Qi, don't treat him yet."
The healing magic that had already taken shape flowed from Chu Qi's hands, "But, with Yun Jiangmiao's strength, he can't defeat this monster, right?"
"He is only in the early stage of Golden Core, so naturally he can't win." He may even be beaten to death by the monster.
Yan Jiuge lowered his eyes, staring at the direction of Yun Jiangmiao with his deep eyes. He seemed to remember something and said to Chu Qi, "But he is a beastmaster. If he comes from a beastmaster family, he may have some hidden cards."
"Let's see what other tricks he has."
"If it doesn't work, we'll try again."
Chu Qi was surprised when he heard this, but he stopped performing his magic and waited and saw for the time being.
He and Yan Jiuge also had a hard time dealing with this monster.
If Yun Jiangmiao and others had not been teleported in, Chu Qi would have planned to leave this place quickly with Yan Jiuge.
*
Under Chu Qi's inquiring gaze.
Yun Jiangmiao stretched out his hands and formed seals. A blood-red curse seal condensed from the palms of his hands, causing the aura around him to suddenly change.
Brilliant fox fire flowed out from the curse seal, and then nine fox fires appeared in front of Yun Jiangmiao, and an elegant nine-tailed fox appeared in response to the contract.
"!"
Seeing this scene, Chu Qi's eyes were full of shock.
In the previous life, according to the news that Chu Qi had heard, Yun Jiangmiao became famous in the Yunhua Realm after he contracted a nine-tailed fox from the Yunxi Secret Realm.
But now Yun Jiangmiao was able to summon the nine-tailed fox right after being teleported in! This was completely different from what happened in the previous life.
Could it be that the rumors were wrong? Was there something else going on in the Yunxi Secret Realm?
Chu Qi hesitated.
*
On the ground, after Yun Jiangmiao summoned the nine-tailed fox, he was no longer completely defenseless.
The blood of the nine-tailed fox is higher than that of the snake-shaped monster, and its aura can suppress the opponent. However, the nine-tailed fox's strength is also limited by the contract with the weak cultivator, and it cannot exceed Yun Jiangmiao's cultivation level by one major realm.
Therefore, the combat effectiveness of both sides is comparable.
"My fellow disciples, please leave here quickly. I will cover you." Yun Jiangmiao saw that the battle was getting intense, so he decided to let the other disciples leave first for safety. By then, only he and the nine-tailed fox would be left. Even if they couldn't defeat the monster, it would be easy for them to escape.
The disciples of the Beast Taming Sect knew that they could not help if they stayed, so after hearing Yun Jiangmiao's words, they quickly retreated to the rear.
But no one expected that the monster fighting with the nine-tailed fox was hiding underground and was circling right where they were.
The monster flipped over and the ground cracked instantly, dragging the Beast Taming Sect disciples up there into the broken mud and rocks. The monster's overwhelming momentum pressed past them, and even without a direct attack, it could easily break through their protective spiritual power.
The weakest disciples of the Beast Taming Sect vomited blood and lost their ability to move on the spot. Several of their bones were broken and they looked extremely painful.
"Junior brother!"
Yun Jiangmiao was extremely anxious and rushed over to rescue people, but was blocked outside due to the battle between the monster and the nine-tailed fox.
Without the blessing of the spirit pet, the physical condition of the Beast Tamer was only slightly better than that of a medical practitioner, and those Beast Tamer disciples could not hold on for many more days.
At this time, the nine-tailed fox bit the monster's vital point, but because the monster's scales were hard, the nine-tailed fox did not bite through. Instead, the monster was in danger of death and suddenly struggled violently.
The snake's tail shuttled through the earth, making the situation of those disciples of the Beastmaster Sect who were dragged into the battle circle increasingly difficult.
A huge shadow enveloped them again, and this time it was a snake's tail that fell over their heads.
"Buzz!"
At the critical moment, the sound of the magic sword breaking through the air was heard.
A white sword light pierced through the tip of the snake's tail, forcibly changing its falling direction and pinning it to the direction pointed by the sword energy.
At the same time, a group healing magic spell fell on the heads of the Beast Taming Sect’s disciples, and the gentle spiritual power healed their injuries in an instant.
The situation changed in an instant. After the initial shock, the Beast Taming Sect's disciples came to their senses and quickly fled.
Yun Jiangmiao's anxious expression turned into surprise after he saw a figure suddenly appear in mid-air, "Thank you, fellow Taoist of Tianxuan Sect, for your help!"
The swordsman in black did not answer, but joined the battle with his magic sword in hand.
Behind him, the young man who was also wearing the uniform of a Tianxuan Sect disciple retreated twenty feet, found a suitable safe position, and raised his hand to continue performing spiritual magic.
The spiritual arts of medical practitioners can not only heal wounds, but also enhance conditions.
"… Chu, Fellow Daoist Chu?"
After seeing the young man's appearance clearly, Yun Jiangmiao was stunned for a moment. He had never expected that Fellow Daoist Chu was actually a medical practitioner, and not a swordsman as he had previously guessed!
After hearing Yun Jiangmiao's words, Chu Qi looked up, glanced at him, and gave him a small healing spell.
Yun Jiangmiao had just been attacked by the spiritual weapon and had internal injuries.
A small healing spell was performed and it was quickly healed.
"Let's get rid of the monster first and then reminisce about the past." Chu Qi spoke calmly. He was a little confused about Yun Jiangmiao, but the current timing was not suitable for a conversation.
"good."
Yun Jiangmiao nodded and turned his attention back to the nine-tailed fox he had summoned.
He is a beastmaster, and can use some beast control techniques to bless the combat power of spirit pets. He was injured by the backlash of the spirit weapon just now, and after summoning the nine-tailed fox, he could not do more. Now that his injuries have recovered, he naturally has to bless the beast control technique on the nine-tailed fox.
"Hiss!!" The tip of its tail was injured by the sword energy, and the monster raised its head and immediately let out a cry of pain. It was also somewhat powerless in the battle with the nine-tailed fox.
The nine-tailed fox seized the opportunity and used fox fire to wrap around the monster's vital points.
Just at this critical moment, Yun Jiangmiao's blessing technique also fell on the nine-tailed fox, and it was able to cast nine balls of fox fire in one go to kill the monster.
But suddenly, a cold sword energy passed by its tail and cut towards the monster's vital point.
The moment the sword energy came into contact with the nine-tailed fox, it felt its entire body go cold. It instinctively curled up its tail and quickly retreated to the side.
The narrow fox eyes swept back and were caught off guard by the pair of deep eyes.
“…” Oops.
Why is the heir of the Yan family here?
The nine-tailed fox thought that its contractor was very unlucky because he ran into a powerful monster as soon as he entered the secret realm.
But now it seems that it should be the more unlucky one.
The Yan family is in charge of the precepts.
Since the space barrier was raised between the Yunhua Realm and the Yunyin Realm, cultivators from the two realms are not allowed to travel between them openly. Anyone who violates this will be punished by the Yan family.
If it had known earlier, it should have cast an illusion and reappeared.
The nine-tailed fox felt extremely regretful, but it was too late to turn back. It could only watch Yan Jiuge kill the dying monster with his sword, and then walk towards it with the sword in hand.
[How did you get here?]
As the Nine-Tailed Fox was feeling anxious, a secret voice reached his ears, with a hint of inquiry.
[I once had a spiritual bond with the ancestors of the Yun family. I will use this body to protect the younger generations of the Yun family.]
[really?]
[Absolutely true!]
What the Nine-tailed Fox said was true. It did rely on the fox clan's clone technique to descend into the Yunhua Realm, and its original body was still in the Yunyin Realm.
But not telling lies and not telling the whole truth is the way of survival for the fox clan.
Sure enough, after Yan Jiuge asked through voice transmission, a commandment seal suddenly appeared in the sea of consciousness of the nine-tailed fox clone.
If what it says is not true, this clone will be wiped out by the precepts.
The Yan family's methods are truly unusual. No wonder the cultivators in the Yunyin Realm are frightened when they hear the news.
[Don’t do things you shouldn’t do.]
The words sounded like a warning to the nine-tailed fox. Yan Jiuge withdrew his gaze from it and turned to walk to the back.
The nine-tailed fox looked in the direction he left, and at the end of its sight was a person it was familiar with—a pure body who, according to rumors, was very likely to awaken the sacred tree of the Hidden Cloud Realm.
Originally, the nine-tailed fox wanted to test whether Chu Qi had such a rare ability. Now that he was marked with the commandment curse by the heir of the Yan family, the plan of secretly testing him became more difficult.
However, the illusion skills of their Nine-tailed Fox clan are unmatched, so perhaps they can find an opportunity in the future.
As if he had noticed the nine-tailed fox's gaze, Chu Qi on the other side also raised his eyes. He had just finished performing a spiritual technique, and his eyes were a deep green, looking extremely clear.
Their eyes met briefly, and the nine-tailed fox suddenly lost confidence in his own illusion.
Chu Qi was able to sense something when they were on the street, and he could only hide it if the illusion was not cast on him.
*
Chu Qi took a look at the nine-tailed fox and was sure that this beast had a very high intelligence, otherwise its eyes would not be so emotional.
After the battle, Yan Jiuge returned to Chu Qi's side.
Yun Jiangmiao's mood fluctuated greatly, and he was a little tired. But he did not forget that it was thanks to Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi who rescued him just now, and thanked them again.
"You don't have to be polite, Fellow Daoist Yun. If you hadn't summoned the Nine-Tailed Fox, we wouldn't have been able to defeat the monster."
Chu Qi answered meaningfully.
"The Nine-Tailed Fox was given to me by my father before I left for the Immortal Mountain. It can protect my life in times of crisis."
After Yun Jiangmiao knew that he had summoned the Nine-tailed Fox, this secret could no longer be hidden. However, many disciples from aristocratic families also had such a trump card, so it was not uncommon.
Moreover, in Yun Jiangmiao's opinion, the two Taoist friends from Tianxuan Sect were not the kind of people who maliciously snatched other people's spiritual pets. Otherwise, they would not have rescued him during the battle with the monster, but should have waited until he and the nine-tailed fox were exhausted before snatching them away.
"So that's how it is. No wonder it is so powerful." Chu Qi said calmly, but he became more and more confused in his heart.
According to Yun Jiangmiao, the nine-tailed fox is the Yun family's heirloom, not a spiritual beast in the Yunxi Secret Realm.
Could it be that in his previous life, Yun Jiangmiao also encountered a monster in the Yunxi Secret Realm, so he summoned the nine-tailed fox?
But in the previous life, Chu Qi was not in the Yunxi Secret Realm. The gold-devouring beast would not recognize its master, nor would it take the cultivators to the spiritual jade mines to dig out the thousand-year-old spiritual jade, thus alarming the transformed monster.
After making a contract with the gold-devouring beast, Chu Qi was able to confirm that it was his innate qualities that attracted Xiao Jin, and this was something only he could do.
Without the mad monster, what other danger could force Yun Jiangmiao to summon the nine-tailed fox?
Moreover, in his previous life, Yan Jiuge was also in the Yunxi Secret Realm. Did he encounter any danger?
Chu Qi thought about it carefully.
That year, when the disciples of Tianxuan Sect returned from their training in the Yunxi Secret Realm, Yan Jiuge was in seclusion to strive for the Nascent Soul stage. Everyone thought that he had obtained a great opportunity.
But half a year later, Yan Jiuge came out of seclusion, and his cultivation was still in the late Jindan stage.
It was common for cultivators to fail in their attempts to reach a higher realm, but during the years that Chu Qi had been with Yan Jiuge day and night, he discovered that he had no bottleneck in his cultivation.
Therefore, there is another possibility that Yan Jiuge was in seclusion at that time to recuperate from his injuries.
Chu Qi felt a bitter feeling in his heart and felt a little regretful. If he had cared more about A Yan in his previous life, he wouldn't have been unaware of A Yan's injury.
Thinking of this, Chu Qi looked up at Yan Jiuge who was walking towards him, and looked at him carefully for several times, his eyes full of concern, "Did the monster hurt you just now?"
Yan Jiuge paused when he heard this: "..."
A dying snake certainly had no chance of inflicting any harm on him.
“Woo woo!”
However, before Yan Jiuge could say anything, the gold-eating beast on Chu Qi's shoulder started to whimper first, and raised the tip of its thin tail to point to Chu Qi at the wounds caused by the monster.
There was a little skin breakage on the gold-eating beast's tail. If it didn't make any sound, the wound would heal on its own. If it couldn't catch up with the master's healing skills, it would be a big loss!
The obsidian eyes were full of anticipation, and the gold-eating beast looked at Chu Qi eagerly.
Chu Qi lowered his head and was about to cast a healing spell on Xiao Jin, but he heard a faint voice coming from in front of him.
"My shoulder was scratched by the scales of that monster, but it's not serious."
After Yan Jiuge finished speaking, his gaze met the gold-devouring beast's disbelieving eyes and he snorted in his heart.
It was obviously him that Ah Qi was concerned about just now, but this idiot got there first.
It's just a wound, it makes no difference to everyone.
(End of this chapter)