Chapter 204: Borrowing Some Experience

Yun Jiao was taken aback. Following the direction Tang Chen was pointing, she looked over—and saw a burst of five-colored light flash across her vision, accompanied by crackling, sizzling sounds.

Not far ahead, several thin, serpentine strands coiled across the stone wall. They looked neither like lightning nor vines—something between the two—and they writhed as if alive, tangling and slamming repeatedly upward against the formation barrier, only to be forced back down each time, releasing bursts of strange noises and multicolored glows.

From that direction, a violent, indescribable aura of rage surged endlessly outward.

“This is…”

“Spiritual veins,” Night Abyss said suddenly.

Not just Yun Jiao—even the three soul bodies were completely stunned. Those glowing, twisting tendrils were actually spiritual veins?! No wonder the spiritual energy here was so thick and why the area teemed with spiritual plants. Judging by the number of those glowing strands, there were at least four or five veins trapped here!

That flood dragon was far too greedy—it had actually bound four or five spiritual veins in one place!

Spiritual veins weren’t things that appeared easily. It could take tens of thousands—if not millions—of years for one to form, and buried deep underground, they released a steady stream of spiritual energy. Most mystical sects built their temples directly above them so their disciples could cultivate twice as effectively with half the effort.

Almost no one ever tried to dig out and consume spiritual veins. First, their energy was too pure and overwhelming; second, the act itself was utterly wasteful. Only someone completely deranged would attempt it. Yet here, four or five had been trapped.

“Let’s get your souls back into your bodies first—you don’t have much life force left!” Yun Jiao said gravely after giving the glowing veins a thoughtful glance.

“Oh, oh!” The old man snapped back to his senses and turned toward the other two. “Old Zhou, Tang Chen—let me help you return your souls.” He immediately summoned the Yama Token within him and pointed at their foreheads.

In the next instant, the two souls shot straight back into their bodies. The old man’s own spirit turned into a wisp of smoke and dove into his as well. Within moments, all three bodies stirred, their eyes fluttering open—before they promptly coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

“Pfft—ouch, ouch, ouch… my old bones!” The old man groaned in agony. He’d almost forgotten that they’d fallen from a cliff earlier. Even cultivators couldn’t withstand such a height unscathed. Now that his soul was back, every ache and fracture hit him all at once. His entire body screamed in protest, every bone feeling like it had been rearranged, his organs as if they’d been shaken out of place.

“Girl—quick! Stick a few needles in me!” he gasped. “You have Rejuvenation Pills, don’t you? Hurry… or my soul’s about to leave again!”

Old Zhou and Tang Chen weren’t doing much better. Though Tang Chen was younger and fared slightly less severely, he had already been injured fighting the flood dragon before falling; now, he was barely hanging on.

While the old man was groaning endlessly, he noticed Yun Jiao hadn’t answered. She had walked past them, scanning the surroundings intently, as if searching for something.

“Girl?”

Yun Jiao finally turned back to them, her expression darkening. “Are you certain that you were pushed off this cliff by the flood dragon?”

“Yes!” the old man nodded firmly. “That beast used its dying strength to drag Tang Chen down with it, and we jumped in after him to save him.” Why was she asking that?

“Even so…” Yun Jiao’s face grew grimmer. She looked over all three men and said quietly, “Your bodies are here. Then… where is the dragon?”

The old man: “…”

Old Zhou: “…”

Tang Chen: “…”

(⊙_⊙)

ROAR—

Before anyone could react, a thunderous roar shook the entire chasm. The once-still surroundings erupted into chaos as the ground trembled violently.

Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.

Crap!

Rocks came crashing down like rain. Yun Jiao immediately pulled out several Defense Talismans, activating them to form a transparent barrier that shielded the three men on the ground.

But the shaking only intensified. The ground itself split open, inch by inch, heaving upward. Spirit plants toppled and tumbled away, revealing beneath them a thick layer of white—

When they looked closer, their blood ran cold. The white beneath the soil wasn’t stone—it was bone. Countless human bones. The entire bottom of the cliff was filled with pale skeletons.

They all gasped sharply, fury and horror surging within. How many had died here to leave behind such a mountain of bones?

ROAR—!

The roar came again, shaking even the surrounding cliff walls. A moment later, a series of cracks split across the stone, followed by a deafening boom as the entire rock face burst open.

From within the collapsing cliff, a massive creature lunged out.

It was enormous—serpentine—at least seven or eight meters wide and hundreds of meters long. Its body filled the entire chasm, covered in scales the same color as stone, with a horse’s head, serpent’s body, fish tail, and eagle claws.

A… dragon?!

The creature had clearly already noticed them. With another ear-splitting roar, it opened its massive maw and lunged straight toward them.

“T-that’s the flood dragon!” the three who had just regained consciousness shouted in disbelief. “It—it’s transformed! A rock dragon!”

The beast’s gaping jaws descended upon them, ready to swallow them whole—

“It’s still a little short,” Night Abyss said mildly.

He lifted his hand with casual grace. A massive spiritual sigil formed in the air and slammed downward.

BOOM!

With one tremendous crash, the furious dragon dropped straight to the ground like a stone, smashing deep into the earth. The impact carved a crater several meters deep. The creature twitched once—and then went completely still.

Yun Jiao: “…”

The old man: “…”

Old Zhou: “…”

Tang Chen: “…”

(⊙_⊙)

Their jaws, already hanging open from shock at the beast’s appearance, now simply stayed that way as they collapsed in a heap.

What… just happened?

Who were they?

Where were they?

This… this was the ultimate freeload! The purest “borrowed experience” victory ever!

The old man, who had plenty of freeloading experience, was the first to recover. He turned to the others. “Old Zhou, you two… alright?”

“…Huh?” Both men blinked blankly. “What? Who? What happened?”

(￣△￣；)

Yun Jiao, meanwhile, stepped forward and examined the fallen beast. It had been smashed so hard into the earth that it was almost impossible to dig out. Looking closely, she saw two bulging bumps on its head—no dragon horns yet.

No wonder the Grandmaster had said “still a little short.” It hadn’t fully transformed, which was why it carried no trace of celestial aura. She glanced upward at the stone wall where the spiritual veins coiled. The glowing strands remained stable and undisturbed despite the dragon’s fall, continuing to pulse upward, striking the formation barrier again and again.

Wait—

The formation?

Her heart sank. The flood dragon was dead, yet the formation remained completely intact?

Could it be… that someone else had set this array?

(End of chapter)