Chapter 75: Perilous Encounters on the Journey

Jiang Qingshuo nodded and said, "This is a long story. A hundred years ago, a younger member of my clan discovered the ruins of a powerful pre-Heavenly Court cultivator in a certain location. We intended to explore it, hoping to find some treasures. Unexpectedly, the place was heavily protected by arrays. Despite exhausting all our efforts, we could not gain entry. With no other choice, we sought help from friendly families. Alas, the matter was inadvertently leaked and soon became known to all the sects. Flowing Cloud Manor is not a selfish establishment—once the secret was out, we shared the location with all sects, hoping that by pooling our talents, we could achieve our goal. However, all the experts were stumped by the arrays and eventually gave up.

"Recently, I heard of your profound expertise in array formations and, well, the idea resurfaced. Would you be willing to join us in exploring these ruins?"

Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief at these words—not here to recover stolen goods, that was a relief. Though he no longer needed items to boost his cultivation, auxiliary spirit herbs could still be quite profitable if sold for spirit stones. This was certainly worth a look—and learning from someone else's array techniques was no bad thing. However, doing all the work for nothing seemed a bit unfair.

He asked, "If we do find something valuable, how will it be handled?"

Jiang Qingshuo stroked his long beard and smiled. "Worry not, my young friend. Since the ruins have been shared with all sects, whoever finds a treasure shall have a share. Treasures discovered individually belong to the finder; those found together will be divided equally among those present."

Luo Yu was gratified—how upright were the ancients! Truly a land of propriety.

"Very well!" Luo Yu replied. "I'm on break at the moment... but I’d like to bring someone with me, if that’s allowed."

Jiang Qingshuo beamed. "That’s perfectly fine—just no more than five companions."

"Agreed," Luo Yu responded without hesitation.

The two of them found Qin Yue, and after setting a time and place, Jiang Qingshuo took his leave in high spirits.

On the third morning, Luo Yu and Qin Yue set out.

Their destination was on the southwestern border of Guizhou, an unremarkable place, its spiritual energy much like that near ancient grand arrays—an area that cultivators would usually overlook.

With Qin Yue leading the way, they quickly found their destination. Descending into a valley, they saw that over a hundred people had already gathered there. Luo Yu looked around: impressive! There were even ten monks. Five sat together, looking benevolent and approachable; the other five stood nearby, resembling Arhats with their golden, bare-shouldered garb, displaying their robust, muscular physiques—likely monks from different sects. The Bamboo Courtyard sect was present as well, though Uncle-Master Su was not among them.

Most of those present were at the Golden Core stage, with some at the peak of Foundation Establishment, but no Nascent Soul elders. Luo Yu wondered: did Nascent Soul cultivators disdain whatever was hidden inside? In the cultivation world, to be called a 'great power' required at least reaching the Soul Formation stage—were those elders all too busy meditating to attend? Someone like Huang Xuan seemed to have plenty of free time but hadn't come to join the excitement.

At this moment, Jiang Qingshuo greeted them, exchanged pleasantries, and introduced, "This is Young Friend Luo, and beside him is his Dao companion, Fellow Daoist Qin."

The others, upon sensing Qin Yue's cultivation, showed a look of understanding, as if a puzzle had finally been solved.

After greetings, a kindly monk stepped forward, nodded to them, and said, "This humble monk is Xuanzhen, a Chan master from the Pu Shan Monastery of the Huì Líng Peak. I have long heard of your esteemed selves, but fate delayed our meeting until today. We have been waiting here for some time—would you kindly assist us in breaking the array and fulfilling our long-held wish?"

Facing so many expectant gazes, Luo Yu felt the pressure: if this array proved as difficult as the ancient grand array, he would be thoroughly embarrassed.

He gave an awkward smile. "Perhaps you should let me inspect the array first, Master... I'll do my best."

Xuanzhen quickly replied, "Of course, let it be as fate decrees." With that, he stepped aside, giving Luo Yu room to examine the array.

Luo Yu produced some array disks and other tools, thoroughly testing the formation. It was not a truly ancient array, but a complex cluster of smaller arrays left by a predecessor. Nothing was malfunctioning, but somehow it had been seen through. Previous attempts had already broken a small portion of the outer illusion array, revealing a barrier within, through which one could glimpse the interior. The array designer was highly skilled, but his methods lacked variety—many transitions could have been made more cleverly, but for lack of inspiration, he stuck to familiar techniques, leaving exploitable gaps. It was like building a house of blocks: you can make round or square shapes, big or small, but if you only change the shape and not the size, the house ends up with protruding corners and is never quite stable—one strong gust and it might collapse.

So Luo Yu searched for weaknesses at the junctions between arrays. In just two days, he managed to break through one cluster, opening a passage that revealed a mountain ridge, from which spiritual energy immediately surged forth.

The onlookers were instantly excited, craning their necks to peer inside, their faces alight with anticipation. Xuanzhen joyfully called out, "Fellow Daoists, please be patient—let us enter together!"

Luo Yu, Qin Yue, and the rest entered the array, finding themselves in a green forest beside a small grassland. In the distance rose a tall mountain, with the faint silhouette of a palace atop it. Before they could take in the whole scene, someone cried out in delight, "Swiftwind Spirit Grass!" A figure darted toward the edge of the forest.

A crowd quickly chased after, surrounding the lucky finder. Moments later, one person emerged from the throng, holding a vibrant blue-green spirit grass and grinning from ear to ear. Luo Yu recognized it as a five-hundred-year-old auxiliary herb that increased agility and reflexes—usable at any level, though its effectiveness varied.

Since there was only one such plant, it went to the one who found it.

Everyone grew restless. After a brief discussion, they agreed to search the forest freely—whoever found a spirit herb could keep it. As soon as the decision was made, everyone scattered into the woods. Luo Yu and Qin Yue were not to be outdone and joined in the search.

The forest wasn’t large; after an hour, it had been thoroughly scoured, every spirit herb devoured like a plague of locusts. Those with luck found three to five stalks; the unlucky ones got nothing.

Luo Yu found two and, feeling pleased, whispered to Qin Yue, "I found two—how about you?"

Qin Yue replied coolly, "Twelve."

Luo Yu seethed with envy—he needed to reach the Golden Core stage as soon as possible!

Once everyone had regrouped, the company moved toward the tall mountain. Those who hadn’t found any herbs lingered at the rear, still searching, and a few even got lucky.

At the mountain’s base, they discovered the whole mountain was shrouded in arrays. Circling the foot, they found the path upward: behind the mountain gate was a flight of white jade steps, winding with tree-shaded curves all the way to the top. An impatient elder mounted his flying treasure and shot upward, only to tumble headlong onto the steps—a most embarrassing display. He scrambled up, dusted himself off, and cursed, "There’s a flight-restriction array! How inconsiderate of the owner—what kind of hospitality is this? Did every visitor have to walk?"

Grumbling aside, everyone resigned themselves to walking. Breaking the array would take at least half an hour—by then, they could have climbed to the summit on foot.

Qin Yue held Luo Yu’s hand as they made their way in the middle of the group, ascending slowly.

After a while, Luo Yu suddenly slipped, nearly falling. Qin Yue glanced back coldly, so he straightened up and hurried after, holding tightly to her hand.

After a bit more climbing, Luo Yu sensed something was wrong—a faint, fishy scent at his nose. Just as he was about to warn Qin Yue, a savage beast’s roar thundered down from the mountain, echoing through the forest. The crowd instantly went on alert, assuming defensive stances.

The roar grew ever closer, its sonic waves making Luo Yu’s head spin—what sort of monster was this? So powerful! This was a true menace.

As the thought crossed his mind, the ancient trees beside the path began shaking violently, leaves flying as if a hurricane had suddenly struck.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to do, when a monstrous, four- or five-zhang-tall, one-legged beast, shaped like a giant bull, leapt out and, jaws agape, bit off half the body of the leading Golden Core cultivator.

Qin Yue instantly spat out Pure Yang Truefire, which formed a golden net in the air and fell toward the beast. The creature sprang aside on its single leg and, turning toward the net, unleashed a furious bellow: "Moo-aww—!" A wave of invisible force rippled from its mouth, pushing the golden net back several meters.

The others finally reacted, unleashing their treasures in a blaze of light at the beast. With another roar, the creature shook the treasures violently, then with a swipe of its horn, impaled one treasure, shattering it instantly. Its owner screamed in agony and fell, only to be stomped into a pulp by the beast.

Luo Yu was horrified—this thing used sonic attacks! Not even Pure Yang Truefire could reach it—what now?

The beast continued its rampage, with Golden Core cultivators faring no better than paper before it; several more were killed in moments. Chaos erupted as everyone began to retreat.

Seeing things take a turn for the worse, Luo Yu grabbed Qin Yue and ran. The beast seemed to remember Qin Yue and pursued them directly. As it drew close, Luo Yu launched a "Soul-Piercing Spike" at it; the beast staggered, its movements slowing just enough for the pair to escape to the foot of the mountain. But the creature was relentless—another deafening roar left Luo Yu reeling, nearly unable to stand. It then leapt ahead, blocking their escape.

Qin Yue stepped in front of Luo Yu. "You go first."

"No," Luo Yu protested urgently, "it's too strong for you alone—I'll help."

Qin Yue nodded, summoned the Crimson Abyss sword, and charged. Luo Yu watched, realizing the beast was impervious to all harm; even Crimson Abyss left no mark, and Qin Yue was soon in danger.

Desperate, Luo Yu transformed into a golden phoenix, spread his wings, and swooped at the beast, pecking at its eyes and clawing its nose. But its hide was rubbery; his claws just dented the surface before springing back, leaving no injury.

Frustrated, Luo Yu thought, What is this monster? How do we defeat it? Does it have a weakness? Only soul attacks seem to work...

He struck again with a Soul-Piercing Spike. The beast howled in pain, enraged, and with a flick of its horn, sent Crimson Abyss flying from Qin Yue's grasp.

Luo Yu was about to warn Qin Yue when the beast, without hesitation, leapt up and kicked her in the head. She spat blood and fell backward.

Shocked, Luo Yu dove at the beast’s head, flapping furiously, but the creature tossed him into the air, then drove its horn straight through Qin Yue’s chest, piercing her heart.

The tale of Comrades on the Immortal Path, Chapter 75: A Perilous Encounter, ends here!