Chapter 549: Rescue...?
Continuing to run with all her remaining strength, Zhu Lian could not help cursing to herself when she watched the abyss she had left after finding out about the bug that had been placed on her and used to track her location appear in front of her.
Turning to the side a moving towards the location of the demonic cultivators to use them as a distraction like she had done just a few minutes earlier was not an option, as she doubted that she would be able to reach them before the centipedes caught up to her. Not to mention the massive hundred-meter-long centipede that was the leader of the group of centipedes!
In front of such a powerful demon beast, even the three demonic cultivators she had struggled trying to escape from were nothing more than a bunch of sheep waiting to be slaughtered!
With that in mind, Zhu Lian understood that she had no way out of her current situation. Even if she jumped into the abyss, she very well understood that she would just be delaying the inevitable, as even if the centipedes did not kill her, the pure yin qi would.
After all, with her current strength, there was no way for her to resist the yin qi inside the abyss for more than half an hour. Maybe a little more than an hour if she was lucky and found a place to hide where the yin qi was a bit less pure.
However, there was no way she would just give up and allow the centipedes to catch up to her!
Whoosh!
For this reason, Zhu Lian did not hesitate in the slightest when she reached the abyss. Directly jumping into it just in time to dodge one of the massive centipedes that had launched itself towards her with its mouth wide open.
Swish~
Bang!
The centipede flew directly over her before crashing into the rocky walls of the abyss on the other side. However, this was not the end of the flying centipede-
Ptsh!
As it was unfortunate enough to fall down into dozens of large spiky rocks covered in some sort of liquid.
Roar-
Barely letting out a single roar, the centipede soon stopped moving.
However, the centipede that had just died was not on Zhu Lian's mind as she continued falling downwards towards the bottom of the abyss. Trying her absolute best to stop the increasingly strong yin qi from freezing up her body and soul.
Thump!
"Ah-!"
Landing on the bottom of the abyss after falling for at least two minutes straight, Zhu Lian could not help letting out a scream of pain, as she felt like all the bones inside her body had been broken from the fall. The fact that her physical body had even manged to survive was a miracle!
After all, if she had to fly around with her nascent soul in her current environment, it was easy to imagine how things would play up, as the surrounding yin qi would instantly invade her nascent soul before freezing it up and killing it. Not something she wanted to happen…
Well… Nobody would really want their soul to freeze up and die…
Rumble~
"They are still chasing me!?" Suddenly hearing a loud rumbling sound from above, Zhu Lian could not help narrowing her eyes in shock upon realising that the massive centipedes were still following after her.
Looking around herself, Zhu Lian quickly realized that there was no path of escape. The abyss was in the end just a very large hole in ground, with no way out outside of climbing back out again, something she had no way to do with her current strength and that was not to mention the massive centipedes currently heading down towards her from above. Blocking any chance, she would have of escaping from the abyss!
…
[Time Limit: 1.8 hours]
Looking at the time left, Xuan Hao remained hidden just beside Zhu Lian with his domain before glancing up at the massive centipedes that would reach her in less than a minute.
How on earth is she going to survive this…?
Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao truly could not see how Zhu Lian would be able to escape alive from her current situation.
The abyss itself was also quite disappointing, as it was literally just a hole in the ground. No secret yin related treasure or anything was hidden at the bottom of it.𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
Seeing Zhu Lian growing increasingly desperate as she looked for a way out of her current situation just a few meters away from him, Xuan Hao could not help frowning upon noticing that the yin qi was slowly starting to infiltrate her body and in turn her nascent soul.
If things continued for any longer, her soul would most likely be permanently damaged by the yin qi!
Even if he was curious about how she would be able to get out of her current situation, there was no way he would risk Zhu Lian permanently damaging her soul due to this.
"Zhu Lian…." For this reason, he decided to call out to Zhu Lian before revealing himself.
"E-elder Xuan?!"
To say Zhu Lian was surprised upon seeing him would be an understatement, as she froze on the spot. Not knowing how Xuan Hao had suddenly appeared beside her when she was about to die.
"Yes, it is me, I came looking for you since you didn't show up and seemed to be in some sort of trouble… From the looks of it, I arrived just in time!" Not sharing the fact that he had been secretly following her from the time she jumped into the abyss, Xuan Hao just said this as he walked over to Zhu Lian before using his domain to keep the surrounding yin qi at bay. Preventing it from further damaging her already half dead physical body.
"…" Looking at just how badly damaged her physical body was, Xuan Hao could not help feeling bad about not saving her the moment he saw her.
Although the physical body would be relatively easy to fix with a few rare spiritual herbs and potions, it was still something that would take time to do.
At the very least I have to help her out when it comes to reconstructing her body…
Handing over a few spirit stones for her to at least recover enough to be able to move properly, Xuan Hao glanced towards the massive centipedes that had already made their way down into the abyss.
"Just recover your strength enough to move for now, I will deal with these centipedes."
Seeing Zhu Lian mindlessly nod her head as she accepted the spirit stones handed over to her, Xuan Hao focused his attention on to the massive centipedes. Keeping most of his attention on the hundred-meter-long centipede among them.
Normally, dealing with the hundred-meter-long centipede would not be too difficult for him given his current strength… But things were different in his current situation, as he was currently inside a rather confined space filled with yin qi and also had to make sure to keep Zhu Lian safe at the same time.
In such a situation, it would be better to avoid fighting with the group of massive centipedes and from the fact that the massive centipedes had not attacked yet, it looked like their leader had also decided that it would be best for them to not fight.
Rooooar!
Rumble~
Staring at each other for close to a minute like this without moving, the hundred-meter-long centipede finally let out a loud roar as it burrowed into the ground together with the other centipedes. Disappearing from sight.
"Hah…" Letting out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding, Xuan Hao could not help looking back at Zhu Lian absorbing the spirit stones he had handed over to her without paying any attention to what was happening around her.
Whoosh~
Using his domain, Xuan Hao caused Zhu Lian to levitate off the ground before he took her and moved both of them out of the abyss before anything happened. After all, even if he could use his domain to resist the surrounding yin qi, it was still rather draining for him to protect both himself and Zhu Lian at the bottom of the abyss.
The yin qi at the bottom of the abyss was simply way too strong, to the point that a Nascent Soul Realm Expert like Zhu Lian would not be able to survive for more than a minute or two without the yin qi permanently damaging their nascent soul!
Looking back down towards the bottom of the abyss after he reached the top, Xuan Hao could not help wondering just how Zhu Lian would survive for so long at the bottom of the abyss without his help…
[Time Limit: 1.7 hours]
Why has the time limit not changed yet!? Is it perhaps because we are still inside the crack…?
Suddenly realizing that the quest had not been completed even after he had rescued Zhu Lian and helped her recover her strength, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that something bad was about to happen…
Whoosh~
As if to answer his worries, the massive natural formation that covered the crack suddenly began moving, as all the yin qi inside of it began rapidly gathering towards the abyss he and Zhu Lian had just left.