Chapter 44: Chapter 43: Battle support.

Two days later, while the group ate the breakfast that Liang Chen and Zhu Chun made, Yan Ying sat down on a log next to Liang Chen, handing him a waterskin that was filled with water that contained a large amount of Qi.

"Alright, Little Chen, we'll arrive at one of our destinations in a few hours. We are likely to encounter some enemies there, so you need to be careful, just focus on supporting us with arrows from a distance."

Yan Ying had noticed that Liang Chen was often pretty low on Qi, and since he did not know about the existence of the Lightning Seed that constantly drained his Qi, he assumed that he had to use a lot of his Qi to protect his body from the pressure.

Liang Chen accepted the waterskin and sipped some of its contents. He was quickly amazed at the results, as a single mouthful filled his entire body to the brim with Qi. He quickly stored the waterskin into his bracelet, giving Yan Ying a quick bow.

"Understood, I'll make sure not to be a hindrance."

He wasn't sure what cultivation Yan Ying and the others had, but he could tell that it was far above him. In a fight between people like that, what sort of help could he possibly give them? The best he could do was stay out of the way and do his best not to drag them down. Yan Ying understood Liang Chen's thoughts so he gave him a quick pat on the shoulder, giving him a calm smile.

"No need to worry about that, just focus on keeping yourself alive."

Yan Ying was of the same opinion as his men. Liang Chen was just a child, he shouldn't bother with worrying about things, he should just play around and be merry. After patting Liang Chen on the shoulder, Yan Ying stood up and returned to his carriage, returning to the work he had to finish before they reached their destination.

A few hours later, Liang Chen got to see what their destination was. The place they had arrived at was a strange hill. Liang Chen could still see the warped claws of ice that stretched out of the ground, some of them growing of the large barren hill. But the ones that grew out of the hill were all shattered and broken, so it seemed like the hill had suddenly appeared on top of them, shattering them and resulting in them turning even more twisted. But how could a hill like this, which was a few hundred meters in height and width, suddenly just appear?

Yan Ying stopped the carriages a fair distance away from the hill, making sure that the scaled horses didn't get dragged into the fight that would certainly take place soon. Everyone drew their weapons and started to walk closer to the hill, stopping a short distance away from it. Yan Ying scrunched his nose in disgust, shouting at the hill.

"You can try to hide all you want, but there is no way you can hide that putrid scent you give off."

Liang Chen was rather curious about who Yan Ying shouted at, as even when he used his lightning to try and check the surroundings, he was unable to sense anyone. And because he was unable to sense anyone, he was quite shocked when he heard a loud snort coming from the other side of the hill.

"Heh, of course the mangy mutts have a good sense of smell, should have known."

Shortly after the snort sounded out, a group of people came over the hill, standing at the top and looking down at Yan Ying and the others. The people in the group were clad in black robes and shared features that reminded Liang Chen of Zhao Daiyun, who he had seen as they fought for the Elemental Lotus. They had slightly pale skin, strangely white eyes, and ashen gray hair.

The man who stood at the front of this group had hair that hung down to his waist, and it wasn't solely gray, it had strands of black mixed into it. Once the group appeared, it was Yan Ying's time to let out a snort, pointing his sword at the hill.

"So it's Li Delan. Should have known that a ghoul like you would come here. Fuck off and return to your little tomb, we will be taking this Earthen Heart."

Despite the two of them having a rather similar status in their respective sects, Yan Ying didn't give Li Delan any face. Nor did any of Yan Ying's men, sneering at Li Delan with obvious contempt. Li Delan's eyes narrowed into slits, a crimson flag appearing in his hand. The flag looked like it was made of silk, a strange symbol that looked like a human silhouette embroidered into the flag. Holding the flag, Li Delan's lips curled into a challenging smirk as he spoke up.

"Aren't you greedy? Do you really think we'll let you just take the Earthen Heart for free?"

The men behind Li Delan also pulled out various weapons, holding them at the ready and smirking at Yan Ying and his men. But despite their strong front, Yan Ying only responded with a mocking laughter.

"Oh, you want to fight us here? Do you think I don't know about your recent attempt to capture the Nethersky Wyrm Queen? Tell me, how did that go for you?"

Li Delan's face immediately turned gloomy, his knuckles turning white from how strongly he grasped the flag. He had no idea how Yan Ying had gotten information about that operation, but even if he knew, Li Delan had to at least put up a fight, otherwise, he would be dragging the face of the Ghost Soul sect into the dirt.

"Kill them."

Li Delan's men immediately charged at Yan Ying and the others after the order was given. Whenever they swung their weapons, ghostly shrieks would fill the air, faint silhouettes flying out alongside the attacks. The worst were the silhouettes coming from the flag that Li Delan was holding. Every time he swung the flag, thousands of these humanoid silhouettes, human souls, would fly out and shriek as they charged at Yan Ying and the others.

Yan Ying and his men were not to be outdone, valiantly charging forward with their weapons drawn. Li Delan had the advantage in numbers, having three more people, but Yan Ying had the advantage in quality, his group slightly stronger on average.

Liang Chen quickly distanced himself from the fight, which was far above his level. Every attack that Yan Ying or any of his men sent out would alter the area around them, the earth turning to ice, the wind raging, tall spikes of ice shooting up from beneath the snow. Compared to them, the power that Liang Chen could produce was like a firefly in front of the bright moon.

But he still refused to just stand back and do nothing, so he did the only thing he could do. He pulled out his bow, he loaded an arrow, and he shot it straight. No fancy tricks, no special techniques, he simply loaded arrow after arrow and shot them perfectly straight, aiming for the people from the Ghost Soul sect.

Both the bow and the arrows he had been given were able to hold a fairly large amount of Qi, so he could charge them with both poison and lightning. But even then, the poison and the golden lightning he could draw from his little Ascended Tower was unable to produce any result. Most of the time, the people he shot at could simply ignore the arrows, they would just bounce off their bodies when they were hit by them.

And that's when he heard that faint whisper, murmuring at the side of his ear. It was different from the usual whispering or screaming that his instincts did, it felt more real, like there was really someone at his side, gently whispering into his ear, gently guiding him.

After his 13th arrow proved ineffective, he decided to try what the whisper was suggesting, as the idea itself didn't sound too harmful. Instead of drawing lightning from his Ascended Tower, he tapped into his Lightning Seed, trying to draw out some lightning from within it.

The moment his mind touched upon the Lightning Seed, a horrid scorching pain filled his entire chest, blood quickly moving up his throat and leaking out from the corners of his mouth. But it worked, a tiny arc of faintly crimson lightning seeping out from the Lightning Seed. The arc followed his veins, quickly reaching his arm and sinking into the arrow he had loaded. He charged the arrow, he took aim, he fired.

The arrow flew far faster than before, vanishing from sight and only leaving a thin crimson line in the air. The disciple of the Ghost Soul sect noticed the arrow close in on her shoulder, but she simply ignored it as she had before, focusing on the hammer that Zhu Chun was swinging at her. And that was where she made her mistake.

The arrow struck her shoulder, the head piercing into her shoulder and only stopping when it reached the bone. The sudden and unexpected pain and force behind the arrow caused the disciple to lose her focus and balance, her saber tilting slightly, giving Zhu Chun the perfect chance. His hammer was surrounded by a deep brown light, its weight increasing massively as it slammed down on the woman's head. A sickening crunching sound rang out, the female disciple crushed into paste against the ground.

The sudden death caught not only the Ghost Soul sect off guard, but even Zhu Chun and the others were also caught off guard, surprised that Liang Chen had been able to wound the disciple. But Liang Chen paid no mind to their surprised faces, loading up another arrow and charging it, more blood spilling out from the corners of his mouth, some even dripping out from his eyes. Despite the pain that filled his body because of the lightning, he felt strangely good, strangely comfortable.

He took aim, he fired the arrow. The arrow vanished from sight once more, heading for the thigh of a Ghost Soul Disciple. The disciple quickly reacted, human souls flying out from his sword and moving to block the arrow. But lightning was the nemesis of souls and ghosts, so the moment they came into contact with the arrows they released awful screeches and were torn to shreds.

The disciple jumped back, but the arrow still hit him in the foot, piercing it clean through and leaving a bloody hole. With the hole in his foot, his battle efficiency would drop by quite a bit. Realizing this, Li Delan's face twisted slightly as he spat out a few unwilling words.

"Tch, consider yourself vicious. We'll let you hold onto that Earthen Heart for now, but we'll come to take it eventually!"

Li Delan brought the rest of his men and quickly retreated, not willing to lose more strength, they still had to prepare to carry out their main plan. With Li Delan pulling back, there was nothing to prevent Yan Ying and the others from claiming their rewards. Yan Ying had Zhu Chun quickly dig into the hill to pick up the Earthen Heart. While Zhu Chun did that, Yan Ying walked over to Liang Chen, who was already surrounded by Xiao Yong and the others. He pat Liang Chen on the shoulder, a smile on his face.

"You didn't do bad, Little Chen. Your arrows packed more of a punch than I thought."

Liang Chen nodded his head, wiping away the blood that had dripped out from his eyes and the corners of his eyes. Seeing him bleeding like that, Teng Yimu pushed a small blue pill into his hands, forcing him to swallow it. When the pill entered his throat, it turned into a stream of energy that coursed through his body, covering the wounds that had appeared because of the crimson lightning. While the pill was taking effect, Liang Chen decided to ask a question he was curious about.

"What's a Nethersky Wyrm Queen?"

For it to be strong enough to seemingly wound Li Delan, it was clear that this wyrm was a very powerful Demonic beast. If it was this strong, how could the guide he had bought from Luo Shui'er, the woman from the Eternal Dragon Pavilion that he had met in the forest, not mention anything about it? Yan Ying merely shrugged his shoulders, giving a quick explanation.

"It's one of the Nethersky Wyrm's possible evolutions. A Nethersky Wyrm Queen resides within the main death zone in the forest you see right after entering the hidden realm. Those ghouls from the Ghost Soul sect wanted to capture it and use it to further refine their souls. But they underestimated it, so they got beaten pretty badly. It's not something you need to worry about, just focus on what's ahead. In five day's we'll reach our next destination and meet up with some of our hidden scouts, make sure to keep yourself safe then."

A Nethersky Wyrm was a Demonic beast that was a bit stronger than a common Demonic beast, but it could not evolve forever. It would meet a limit, it would never be as strong as a Divine beast or other truly earth-shaking Demonic beasts, Once it reached the Primordial Immortal realm and became a Nethersky Wyrm Emperor, it would forever stagnate. With his explanation, Liang Chen was reminded of the land of death he had read about and seen inside the forest, the place where not even the ever-present snow was able to remain. Was this where the Nethersky Wyrm Queen lived?

Zhu Chun quickly retrieved the Earthen Heart, an item that looked like a heart made out of brown stone, it even pulsated faintly, releasing a rumbling sound. He didn't hand it to Yan Ying but rather stored it into his own interspatial ring. No one said anything about it, so Liang Chen guessed that it had been considered Zhu Chun's from the very start.

The group returned to the distant carriages and continued with their journey. But there was a slight difference now, now it was only Liang Chen who made breakfast and dinner, Zhu Chun holed up in his carriage with the Earthen Heart.

Their journey continued for five days before the scenery changed around them, the group entering a small forest. The trees were still several hundred meters tall, but the forest itself was only a few thousand meters in each direction, far smaller than the one Liang Chen had entered right after entering the hidden realm.

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At the center of this forest was a circular clearing, a small mountain of dead beasts and trees gathered at the center of the clearing. And growing atop this small mountain of death, was a single light green tulip, a light breeze constantly blowing around it. The moment Yan Ying's group neared the clearing, they pulled out their weapons and slowed down. Once they accidentally entered the clearing, a sweet voice rang out from behind the mountain of dead beast and trees.

"There you are, I was wondering when you would arrive."

The expressions of Yan Ying and the others instantly turned solemn upon hearing this voice. Lu Ruogang took a few steps closer to Liang Chen, waving her hand and pointing at a spot behind her.

"Little Snack, hide behind me. This battle is going to be tougher than the previous one."

Just like Teng Yimu had said, Lu Ruogang had a fondness for young men like Liang Chen, so she had taken to calling him Little Snack, rather than Little Chen. Liang Chen did not try to act brave, taking up position behind Lu Ruogang. While a group of people walked out from their hiding spot behind the mountain of corpses, Yan Ying spat out his words.

"Hoh, so the lizard worshippers actually sent out the Rainbow Slut? It seems like you are rather determined this time around. But what a shame, this Gale Tulip is ours."

The group that stepped out from behind the mountain outnumbered Yan Ying''s group, containing a little over twice as many people, 17 people in total. They were all clad in silver robes embroidered with the image of a white dragon coiling around the moon, the robes of the Moon Dragon sect that Liang Chen saw Shentu Jun wear once.

The woman standing at the front of the group had a tall and buxom figure, the silver robe sticking close to her body. She had delicate and sharp features, silver eyes, and rainbow-colored hair that hung down freely behind her, Guo Huashi. Yan Ying's eyes landed on one of the members in Guo Huashi's group, a youth Liang Chen recognized as Shentu Jun, the middle-aged man with unkempt brown hair that had taught Liang Chen about the six great ruling powers on this planet.

"What's this, you even brought someone like that along? Let me guess, you want to use numbers to charge into the depths? Poor guy, does he not know that you are offering him up as fodder?"

Shentu Jun's expression distorted and paled slightly after hearing Yan Ying's words. He really didn't want to be here, but it had been an order from his sect superior, so he had no choice but to listen. Guo Huashi neither affirmed nor denied Yan Ying's words, letting out a snort and pointing at Liang Chen with her chin, sneering at Yan Ying.

"Are you one to talk? You think I can't see that child you brought along? At least mine is an adult that has left behind children, how old is that kid you are bringing along as fodder?"

Guo Huashi wasn't the kindest of people, but she at least made sure that each of the men she brought along on this mission had left behind children that could carry on their legacy. But this child that Yan Ying had brought along was too young to possibly have left behind children. With his death, his lineage would likely end here in this hidden realm, buried in blood and dirt for someone else's ambition. Facing Guo Huashi's sneer, Yan Ying instantly rejected her words.

"He is not fodder, he is just someone we saved along the way. If we bring him deeper into the hidden realm, we will, of course, protect him."

Yan Ying glanced at Liang Chen, slightly relieved that he didn't seem to have taken Guo Huashi's words to heart. Liang Chen's thoughts on the matter were actually very simple. Yan Ying and the others had saved him and treated him well, meanwhile, he had no idea who this Guo Huanshi was. Because of that, it was clear to him whose words it would be better for him to believe.

On the other hand, even if Yan Ying wanted to drag him along as fodder, what could Liang Chen possibly do to stop them? He could draw out some crimson lightning from the Lightning Seed, but even if he could draw out enough to kill everyone in Yan Ying's group, it would likely leave him so wounded that it would be impossible for him to make it out of this hidden realm. Seemingly surprised at Yan Ying's words, Guo Huashi's mouth curved into a mocking smile, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she laughed.

"What's this, the Bloody King has grown a heart? I am sure your little brother would be very proud if he got to hear about it."

Yan Ying's expression immediately turned so dark it almost became pitch black. He didn't bother wasting any more time on words, drawing out his sword and charging forward, barking out a quick order.

"Kill them all."

Xiao Yong and the others let out a loud roar, dashing after Yan Ying. Lu Ruogang seemed to be furious about something, as she completely forgot about the fact that she was supposed to be protecting Liang Chen.

The battle quickly broke out, and even though Guo Huashi's group outnumbered them, a large part of her group was made out of people like Shentu Jun, people who could not participate in the battle. Had it not been for Guo Huashi stepping forward in time, Shentu Jun and the others would not even have had the time to flee.

Liang Chen distanced himself from the battle again, pulling out his bow. He loaded an arrow, he charged it with red lightning, he swallowed the blood that started pooling in his mouth, he aimed, he shot. Even if it filled him with horrid pain to draw out the red lightning from his Lightning Seed, it was the only way he could fight here, so he had no choice but to endure, something he had gotten very good at.

Yan Ying wildly attacked Guo Huanshi and her right-hand man, each of his attacks causing waves of blood to appear and bear down upon the two enemies. This was one of the elements that Yan Ying cultivated, the element of blood, a gruesome element that was just as frowned upon as the poison element. Both elements were gruesome and could kill people stealthily and inhumanely, so many cultivators feared or looked down on people who used those elements.

With Yan Ying taking on the two strongest, Teng Yimu and the others were free to handle the others. With the arrow support from Liang Chen, they were able to slowly whittle down the enemies, who at first didn't expect Liang Chen's arrows to do anything, catching them off guard. Thanks to that, the battle quickly swung in the favor of Yan Ying's group. In the end, Guo Huanshi was forced to jump back, her pretty face lighting up as she gave a slight bow and a sweet smile.

"So that's where your confidence came from, you managed to reach the Wandering Immortal stage, congratulation on your breakthrough. Very well, I accept my defeat here."

Liang Chen had read about the Wandering Immortal stage, it was the middle stage of the Soaring Immortal realm, the cultivation level that was just below the Primordial Immortal realm. After reaching the Primordial Immortal realm, one would have to leave this hidden realm, so Yan Ying was very close to that limit. Despite Guo Huanshi bowing out, Yan Ying's face didn't relax, it even grew a bit darker as he quickly called out.

"It's a diversion, watch out!"

Others might be caught off guard, but Yan Ying already had some experience with people like Guo Huanshi, so he was prepared. Or so he thought. He heard a wooshing sound coming from behind him, a dark premotion filling his chest. He turned around just in time to see four people who had hidden in the forest dashing out, charging directly at Liang Chen with their weapons drawn.

"Little Chen!"

Even though he called out, he knew that he wouldn't be able to reach Liang Chen in time. These four people were a bit weaker than the rest of Guo Huanshi's group, having reached the Heaven's Gate stage, but they were still far stronger than Liang Chen. But Liang Chen was not someone who would just watch death come for him.

He jumped back, golden lightning crackling around his body. He wanted to detonate his Lightning Seed like he had done when he first picked the Elemental Lotus, but he heard that gentle whisper again, warning him that doing so would result in his death, all the gathered up lightning bursting his body.

Now was not the time to ignore his instincts, or whatever the gentle whisper was, so he could only use his normal golden lightning. At the same time, he used his Poison Soul technique, numbing his own sense of pain, as well as numbing some of his limbs because he still wasn't able to control the technique properly.

Thanks to his quick reaction, only two of the four attacks landed on his body. One of the attacks was a dagger that pierced through his waist, the other was a spear that stabbed into his leg, going straight through his thigh. He took two attacks, but thanks to his Poison Soul technique, he was able to ignore the pain and launch a retaliation attack.

He quickly loaded and arrow, charged it with crimson lightning, spat out some blood, and shot the arrow at the man who had pierced his waist. Since he was so close, the man only had a split second to dodge out of the way, the arrow missing his heart and piercing through his left lung. He wasn't dead, but heavily wounded. Seeing that Liang Chen had managed to avoid instantly dying, Yan Ying turned towards the forest and called out in a loud voice.

"Ling'er, take him away!"

Shortly after he called out, the sound of rushing wind came from the forest at Liang Chen's left. A breeze brushed past his body, a sweet fragrance tickling his nose. And the next thing he knew, he was thrown into the air, high above the men that had attacked him, an annoyed voice sounding in his ear.

"Tch! I told him that he shouldn't have brought you here, you'll drag him down."

Liang Chen turned his head slightly, seeing that there was now a girl behind him, stepping on the air. No, on closer inspection, he saw that she had hardened the air beneath her feet, as well as used wind to lighten her own body, simulating flight.

The girl looked like she was about 18 years old, had delicate and pretty features, sapphire blue eyes, and cyan hair tied into a single long braid. She was clad in the same cyan robes as Yan Ying and the others, so Liang Chen guessed that she came from the same sect. While he was looking at her, the girl once again grabbed him and threw him, this time tossing him sideways, to a position closer to the four men that had attacked him. Liang Chen was still a bit shocked at suddenly getting thrown around, so he could only gaze at the girl in surprise, trying to get out a sentence.

"You...?"

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl grabbed him for a third time, throwing him higher into the air so that he didn't fall to the ground. As she threw him higher into the air, she glared at him, pointing at the four men beneath them.

"Don't just gawk dumbly! Are you incapable of launching any attacks?!"

Liang Chen quickly managed to gather himself. It was a strange feeling to be tossed around through the air, but from up here, he had perfectly clear shots at the four men. He quickly loaded up an arrow and charged it, shooting it at the man he had already wounded, finishing him off. Once he shot his arrow, the girl once again grabbed onto him and threw him higher up, a bit to the side this time, giving him a better aim at the three other people, who were now fleeing. Seeing the scene, Yan Ying's eyes quickly turned bloodshot as he shouted out, his voice turning a bit hoarse from the volume.

"Ling'er?! I told you to take him away!"

But the only thing that met Yan Ying's hoarse shout was the sound of rumbling thunder and the light laugh of the girl.

"It's fine, we'll manage!"

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