The second stage was the Yellow Springs Path. To Jiang Yi, this was as easy as the previous stage. The only difference was there were far more Soul Devouring Crocodiles here!
With the Rainbow Soul Spear, Jiang Yi managed to kill the Soul Devouring Crocodiles as they came. These crocodiles were all just spiritual forces, which could strengthen one’s soul. However, the Rainbow Soul Spear no longer became stronger even as Jiang Yi killed the Soul Devouring Crocodiles. Instead, his primordial spirit was the one that was becoming stronger. What was even stranger was that his primordial spirit was becoming bigger, and it was no longer cracking apart.
Tsk! Tsk!
On the pitch-dark Yellow Springs Path, countless black figures charged toward Jiang Yi crazily. Jiang Yi neither ran away nor dodged. Instead, he allowed the black figures to rush through his own spirit, causing Yin Ruobing to jump back in shock.
Jiang Yi, on the other hand, acted like nothing was wrong. He turned back and grinned at Yin Ruobing who was looking at Jiang Yi like he was a monster.
Buzz!
Yin Ruobing pondered for a moment and—at last—decided that she could not let the matter rest. Her body lit up, and a captivating fragrance emanated from it. It caused Jiang Yi’s soul to increase slightly. Jiang Yi stole a sideways glance at Yin Ruobing but did not turn down her help. His primordial spirit was not that strong. As he killed the Soul Devouring Crocodiles, his primordial spirit kept getting strengthened. With the Fragrant Lady Race’s help, his spirit was improving at a much faster pace than before.
Jiang Yi was neither fast nor slow as he moved through the path. Each time he triggered hundreds of Soul Devouring Crocodile, the Soul Devouring Crocodile would shoot through Jiang Yi’s soul and be killed by his Rainbow Soul Spear. Then, their energies would be absorbed by Jiang Yi’s primordial spirit.
“It looks like this Yellow Springs Path is only as hard as the martial artist’s capability. Could She Fei and Zhan Tianlei have met with even more difficult obstacles? Had they passed the second stage yet?”
Just as Jiang Yi was thinking about this, his mind filled with images of the sky splitting open. Buddha beads that were glowing red dropped from the sky and stopped in mid-air. It then disappeared into the crack in the sky. Then, the image in Jiang Yi’s head disappeared.
“Someone passed?”
Jiang Yi’s eyes brightened. He turned to Yin Ruobing and said, “Ruobing, which treasure is this?”
“The Red Zen Beads!”
Yin Ruobing cried out, “This is the sixth treasure. It looks like someone has gotten six points. It’s very likely that either She Fei or Zhan Tianlei has made it through the second level. Either that, or Jian Wuying has passed the third level of the terrible-grade challenge.”
“The sixth treasure?”
Jiang Yi’s expression darkened. The two of them had only just entered not long ago, and the treasures in the first few places have already been taken. If he had arrived several days later, perhaps even the Mystic Divine Palace would have been taken by someone. His eyes twinkled as he shouted, “Quick, we have to hurry! Stay close!”
Jiang Yi wanted to absorb more spiritual energy so that his spirit could advance to the third tier. Yin Ruobing and the others’ spirits were probably all already at tier three. However, Jiang Yi was one tier behind them. Of course, if his soul had not split, perhaps he would have advanced by now as well.
Swish! Swish!
He was traveling at top speed, running through the winding paths as fast as he could. The moment he sped up, everything around them swirled. The Soul Devouring Crocodile flew toward them at a frightening speed as well, like a cluster of locusts.
“Jiang Yi, be careful.” Yin Ruobing became increasingly nervous as she watched the scene in front of her. Even she was finding it difficult to fend off these Soul Devouring Crocodiles. With a weaker soul than hers, could Jiang Yi really handle them on his own?
Jiang Yi did not respond to her. Every Soul Devouring Crocodile that entered his body and spirit came out looking like a pile of soil. Without causing too much of a commotion around this, Yin Ruobing focused on sticking close to Jiang Yi. After being attacked, it would be a while before the Soul Devouring Crocodiles appeared again. She was safe sticking behind Jiang Yi.
The Yellow Springs Path was long. The last time Jiang Yi was here, he took half a month before he reached the end. This time, however, he only took one day. He could see the stone gate in front of him now. Of course, the last time he did this, he was extremely slow. He even paused for a while intermittently. This time, he was sprinting at top speed. It was only natural that he did not take as much time as he did before.
“We didn’t see She Fei or Zhan Tianlei. It looks like they’ve advanced to the third level!” Jiang Yi observed after scanning the surroundings for the two men. It was very likely that either one of them had obtained the red beads. Jiang Yi guessed that they were now at Fengdu City.
Before charging through the stone gates, he stopped and looked into his own soul. He could not help but feel a tinge of regret. If he had gone slower, he definitely would have improved by a lot more. This time, his primordial spirit grew about a hundred times in size. He could only guess how much longer it would take before he could advance to the next tier.
Buzz!
At this very moment, another image appeared in Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing’s minds. The sky split open once again. A box and a long sword dropped from the sky. After the image disappeared, Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing exchanged a knowing look. They were both astonished.
The fifth treasure and the fourth treasure were taken by the same person at the same time. What was for sure was that Zhan Tianlei and She Fei were both at Fengdu City. These two treasures were taken by someone who was doing the terrible-grade challenge. Jiang Yi knew this because each level in the hellish-grade challenge had only three points. If She Fei and the others had already entered Fengdu City, they would have nine points in total. This meant that they had enough to claim the fifth, fourth, and third treasures.
“Was it Jian Wuying or Yi Chan?”
These two people were the first two to enter the terrible-grade challenge. They were both extremely strong, and only both of them were capable enough to pass the levels so quickly. Jiang Yi rested for a second and headed toward the stone gate. The few incredible geniuses were moving through the challenges way too quickly. If he did not try to chase up to them, the Glazed Pagoda might end up in someone else’s hands.
Buzz!
There was a flash of white light. Jiang Yi and Yin Ruobing once again came to a deserted red land. Fengdu City still looked like it did before. The sky was dark, and everything around them was cold. The place reeked of death. It made whoever entered it feel uncomfortable.
Jiang Yi felt Yin Ruobing tremble. He turned and saw that she was frowning and that her face had drained of all color. He reached out and grabbed her little hand, offering some comfort. He smiled and asked, “Are you afraid?”
“I’m not!”
Yin Ruobing held onto Jiang Yi’s hand as she smiled sweetly. “With you around, there’s no need to be afraid wherever I am.”
“Huh!”
Jiang Yi stiffened. Was what she said normally only reserved for couples? What’s wrong with Yin Ruobing these days? Why was she flirting with him? She was so affectionate toward him—could it be that she was ready to risk it all and follow him for the rest of her life?
A woman like her could make any man fall head over heels for her. He enjoyed the way she was treating him so he did not bother to break this paper-thin facade. He smiled faintly and said, “I’ll bring you into the Netherworld!”
“En!”
Yin Ruobing nodded firmly. The affection in her eyes deepened a hundred thousand times as she looked at Jiang Yi. Jiang Yi pulled Yin Ruobing along and started sprinting at top speed once again. The two of them hurried on, but this time, they only traveled about fifty kilometers before they had no choice but to stop.
“What has happened to Fengdu City? Why are there corpses all over on the outside?”
Jiang Yi’s divine senses locked in on a dense army of zombie soldiers heading toward them. His expression hardened immediately. There were no zombie soldiers in Fengdu City the last time. The soldiers were only within the city. This time, there were countless zombie soldiers outside the city.
“Would this stage also differ according to the skill level of the martial artist? Mm… there did seem to be more Soul Devouring Crocodiles on the Yellow Springs Path earlier.”
Jiang Yi readied his Rainbow Soul Spear and shot it out. He managed to find the door of life to pass through this level the last time he was here. To him, this Fengdu City did not pose a challenge. Even if more zombie soldiers came toward him, he was confident that he could wipe them all out. With strong murderous intent in his eyes, he shouted, “Ruobing, take care of yourself. Don’t allow the zombie’s aura to get to you. Kill!”
“Kill!”
Looking at Jiang Yi running toward the army of soldiers like a crazed dragon, Yin Ruobing could not help but smile sweetly. There was nothing but affection in her eyes. A red jade bow appeared in her hand, and she ran toward the army soldiers with her legs. She was ready to tackle them together with Jiang Yi.
