44: A Narrow Path Confronts the Shadow Beast

Qin Yue was puzzled as well. By all reasoning, there was no need for anyone to deceive them—especially since their opponent had even gone easy on them.

Qin Yue gritted his teeth. "We're here now, anyway. Let's look around; if there’s nothing else, we’ll hunt some ghosts to refine different types of fire."

Luo Yu nodded, his expression fierce and determined. "Never empty-handed! Let’s farm monsters first!"

Half an hour later, the two arrived at a mountain valley. Mist shrouded everything; just as Luo Yu was about to step forward, Qin Yue pulled him back. "Something's moving."

Luo Yu’s spiritual sense used to be more formidable than Qin Yue’s, but since encountering this leveling maniac, he wasn’t sure what methods Qin Yue had used to train—now the teacher lagged behind the student. Luo Yu probed for a long time before finally detecting a beast a hundred meters away. The valley’s interference was intense; the overwhelming yin energy made it hard to control his own powers, requiring him to split his spiritual sense to keep control, which greatly weakened his scouting ability. Moreover, this beast seemed far from weak.

Beasts of the underworld were similar to spiritual beasts of the living world, though the energy they absorbed differed. Yin energy wasn’t as miraculous as spiritual energy; it couldn’t allow beasts to take human form, but it did grant them a kind of "undying" quality. Powers fueled by yin energy often carried chilling toxins, harmful to creatures of the living world.

The two carefully concealed their presence, sneaking closer to the beast and hiding behind a large rock. Luo Yu squinted through the dense mist, finally making out the creature: it resembled a wolf crossed with a tiger, nearly three meters long, its fur like icy spikes standing straight up. Its body was mostly transparent, revealing a clear white skeleton within, and a portion of its muscles had been altered by yin energy, making them visible. At a glance, it looked like an animal skeleton with some flesh attached.

The beast was crouched, gnawing at a black, slimy mass that emitted a nauseating stench and waves of yin energy, making Luo Yu nearly retch.

Qin Yue judged it a perfect moment for a sneak attack. Without hesitation, he summoned Chiyuan, formed a spell, and sent it silently circling through the air to approach the beast from behind. Suddenly, blazing flames erupted as Chiyuan slashed fiercely at the beast's neck. The strike was swift as lightning; caught off guard, the beast was hit squarely. It howled in pain, the cry so powerful that Luo Yu’s spiritual sense shook—excellent, very strong! They’d provoked a creature likely as formidable as a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage.

Enraged, the beast leapt up, lowering its front, its blood-red eyes glaring viciously at the airborne Chiyuan, ready to spring. Luo Yu hurriedly checked the effect of the attack: a patch of fur had been sliced off its neck, revealing a wound a foot long and an inch deep, seared by flames. Luo Yu was pleased: this creature wasn’t as hard to handle as a Foundation Establishment cultivator; it fixated on Chiyuan and likely lacked developed intelligence—it didn’t know how to use spiritual power for protection.

At that instant, the beast launched at Chiyuan, its hind legs kicking up a fierce gust of yin wind as it sprang, aiming for the sword’s hilt. Qin Yue quickly formed another spell, Chiyuan dodged sideways, but the beast was quick, swiping at Chiyuan with razor-sharp claws and knocking it off balance. Before Qin Yue could stabilize Chiyuan, the beast’s massive tail swept it aside, sending it flying several meters.

Landing, the beast roared in warning at Chiyuan, then lunged again. Chiyuan spun in the air, like a meteor trailing fire, stabbing straight for the beast’s throat. The beast sensed the danger and rolled aside, dodging. Chiyuan missed, flying several meters before coming to a halt, then turned to face the beast.

The beast, like a cat stalking a mouse, stared intently at Chiyuan, its tail swaying slowly. It didn’t know what the flaming red thing was—it didn’t look edible, but it was clearly an adversary. Deep in thought, it suddenly felt a sharp pain somewhere and yelped in agony, jumping up.

From behind the rock, Luo Yu let out a sly chuckle, seeking Qin Yue’s approval. "How about my ‘Millennium Strike’?"

Qin Yue frowned, seeing the beast turn in fury to bite at the blue flying sword stuck in its rear. "Disgusting! Aren’t you ashamed?" With nimble fingers, he directed Chiyuan to launch a flurry of attacks.

The beast, distracted, opened its jaws and yanked the flying sword from its wound—this sword, named ‘Blue Spirit’, was a newly refined water-elemental treasure that Qin Yue had made for Luo Yu. The beast pinned it with its claws, intending to tear it apart, but Chiyuan stabbed fiercely at its face. Luo Yu exerted all his spiritual power, and with Chiyuan’s help, managed to rescue Blue Spirit.

Now the beast was completely enraged, standing and howling at the sky.

Luo Yu’s heart skipped. Was it calling for allies?

But instead, as the beast howled, the air around it began to swirl, vast amounts of yin energy converging and seeping into its body. Soon, the wounds inflicted by Chiyuan began slowly healing.

Damn! It could heal itself! Luo Yu was shocked; at this rate, they’d never be able to kill it.

Qin Yue grew anxious too. "I’ll lure it—set up the formation!"

Luo Yu nodded, recalled Blue Spirit, and used a concealment spell—vanishing instantly. Qin Yue also recalled his blade, grasped the hilt with both hands and infused it with spiritual power. Chiyuan erupted in flames, this blaze far more intense than before, almost solid, transforming Chiyuan into a transparent blood-colored giant blade. Qin Yue leaped onto a boulder, feet springing lightly—swift as an immortal, with the sound of wind and fire, he launched himself at the beast.

The beast saw Qin Yue appear and roared, meeting him head-on. Man and beast exchanged blows—one fierce as thunder, the other swift as a storm.

While Qin Yue and the beast battled, Luo Yu slipped to the valley entrance, set up the ‘Descent of the Holy Light Goddess’ array, added a ‘Yin Lock Array’, placed spirit stones, and then boldly ran back, using Blue Spirit to harass the beast.

By now, Qin Yue was battered but barely holding his own—thanks to his martial arts training, his reflexes were so sharp he could endure a prolonged fight with the beast. The beast, too, was worse for wear, with two deep wounds showing bone. Yet it could continually absorb yin energy to heal, while Qin Yue could not.

Seeing Luo Yu return, Qin Yue coordinated seamlessly, fighting while retreating, guiding the beast toward the valley entrance.

The beast, frustrated after failing to kill Qin Yue, spotted Luo Yu and instinctively found him easier prey, abandoning Qin Yue to lunge at Luo Yu. Despite being an easier target, Luo Yu’s spiritual sense was acute; he sensed the beast’s move and dashed into the array. The beast chased him, man and beast circling within the formation.

The beast’s claws drew ever closer to Luo Yu, and Qin Yue grew anxious. The formation could only be activated once Luo Yu escaped, otherwise it would trap him as well. But if Luo Yu exited, the beast would follow. Opportunities to trigger the array were rare; if they failed now, the beast would become wary and harder to trap next time. Qin Yue gritted his teeth and shouted, "Run to the center—launch the array when the time is right!"

Luo Yu didn’t ask questions, just shifted direction and headed to the center. Qin Yue channeled power, moved swiftly, and suddenly rushed at Luo Yu. As they were about to collide, Qin Yue wrapped his arms around him, rolling out of the array with momentum.

In the instant they left the array, Luo Yu understood the plan. Outside, he immediately cast a spell—instantly, the array erupted in blinding golden light, illuminating the entire valley as bright as noon, dazzling the two who were used to darkness.

The beast shrieked in terror, blinded by the sudden brightness, unable to see a thing. It was then struck by waves of searing pain, its strength fading rapidly. Before it could comprehend, Luo Yu activated the Yin Lock Array, halting its healing. Beset from within and without, the beast flailed in the array, unable to escape the invisible barrier.

With the beast trapped, the two finally breathed easy. Still tangled on the ground, Qin Yue, his energy spent, simply relaxed and let himself fall, landing atop Luo Yu and pinning him underneath.

Luo Yu said, "Hey, hey, get up first!"

Qin Yue buried his head in Luo Yu’s neck, unwilling to move, enjoying the smooth, tender skin and the soft, comfortable cushion beneath him. He mumbled, "I’ve been wounded by the beast, seems I’m poisoned by yin."

Luo Yu, helpless, pouted. "Are you just being spoiled?"

Grumbling, he fished out a pill, lifted Qin Yue’s head enough to find the wound, and stuffed the pill inside. Then he felt something soft and slick sweep across his fingers, followed by a gentle suck. Strange how human nerves worked; Luo Yu’s fingers were licked, but the tickle seemed to radiate to his waist.

He jerked his hand back as if shocked, blushing. "Don’t bite people!"

Qin Yue replied, "Your hand’s so dirty, yet you put it in my mouth."

Luo Yu bristled, "Feeding you medicine and you complain! My hands aren’t dirty—I've got spiritual power protecting me, pure and flawless!"

Qin Yue laughed softly into his neck. "I need another healing pill."

Luo Yu grumbled, "Get up and take it yourself."

Qin Yue said nothing, remaining limp and unmoving.

Luo Yu matched him, refusing to move as well.

The two lay on the ground, testing their endurance, until Luo Yu felt the breath on his neck grow increasingly itchy. If only Qin Yue were a woman—then they could... Actually, maybe it didn’t matter? Cultivators were all open to it—he could, too. But he was a man! Wait, isn’t that the point? If he weren’t a man, would it even count as being together?

Luo Yu’s mind spun in confusion. He turned to look at Qin Yue: long lashes, straight nose... those thin, indifferent lips. And those eyes—when opened, they were seductive, slightly narrow, angled, with pale irises that gave an impression of cold detachment. Sometimes, a glance revealed a glint, like a wolf’s eyes. His features were perfect—not rugged, not delicate, like fine jade polished for millennia, hard yet gentle, with just the right curve. The more Luo Yu looked, the more he wanted to touch.

He stared blankly at his own hand—it had indeed reached out!

Qin Yue opened his eyes, gazing quietly at this idiot, those deep eyes betraying no emotion, just that expressionless face.

Luo Yu’s face burned, and he hurriedly pulled out another pill, stuffing it into Qin Yue’s mouth as if to stop him from speaking.

Qin Yue studied Luo Yu for a long time, making him uneasy, then sneered, "Want to touch more? I’ll let you for one more minute."

Luo Yu blushed. "Who told you to seduce me? Serves you right! Now get up, we have business to attend!"

Qin Yue stopped teasing, obediently climbed off him, and together they began to handle the unfortunate beast.

After being trapped in the light array for so long, the beast’s strength was nearly spent. Luo Yu approached the array, cast several spells, and twelve swords of light emerged from the ground, floating in the array with their tips inward, forming a circle that rotated toward the beast. With a flick of Luo Yu’s finger, the swords sliced into the beast. It resisted fiercely, but the swords, being both tangible and intangible, could not be blocked. After several passes, the beast let out a mournful cry and collapsed, motionless.

Confirming the creature’s death, they dismantled the array and inspected the corpse. The fatal wound was a long gash across its belly—likely suffered when it leapt to dodge a sword and was disemboweled. They quickly dismembered it, collecting its skin and claws, which could be used for crafting tools and talismans. Once finished, they set up a soul-refining array to burn it. Unexpectedly, as with the time they scavenged the remains of Master Fan Xihua, a beast-shaped soul escaped from the corpse’s head. Qin Yue swiftly caught it and tossed it into the box containing Gong Jin Qian’s soul token.

Luo Yu was delighted. "Can this be used to make a soul talisman?"

Qin Yue nodded. "Exactly!"

Luo Yu was excited. "Once we get back, let’s study talisman-making!"

Qin Yue frowned. "We already have too many things to research. Let’s wait until we have more time—better to let the kitten learn talisman-making first."

While refining the beast, Luo Yu returned to where it had been gnawing and discovered a fully formed corpse of a ghost, apparently a native fierce spirit from the mountain, with a terrifying face. Luo Yu gleefully wrapped it in spiritual power and burned it as well. After refining both monsters, their fire seed grew slightly larger. Though only the size of a fingernail, the more concentrated the fire, the greater its destructive power; when released for soul refinement, it could expand into a large mass—though not as powerful as its original form, it was more than sufficient to deal with ordinary undead creatures.

Immortal Friends' Cultivation Chronicles 44—End of Encounter with the Underworld Beast!