Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Five-Element Spirit Veins, Part Two

No one came to block their way, but that did not mean no one followed them inside. Not long after the figures of Geng Xiao and Bai Ze vanished at the far end of the winding path, four more people entered from outside. If Ji Mo and the others were still here, they would surely have recognized them, for these four had once crossed swords with Bai Ze and Geng Xiao several months earlier.

After entering, the four swept their divine sense around the area, and, like the others, did not head into the main hall. Instead, they took the same direction Bai Ze and Geng Xiao had gone. Seeing this, among the rest who were still locked in life-and-death combat, desperate to force their way into the main hall first, a few had their eyes flicker, and then, abandoning their own opponents, they trailed behind the four.

Bai Ze and the others did not notice this, or rather, if they did, they could not be bothered. The reason they had chosen this direction was because they had clearly sensed that the reason the fivefold spiritual energy here was so much denser than outside was that a steady stream of it was seeping in from this very way. Though subtle, it could not escape their divine sense.

Naturally, this abnormality was not sensed only by Geng Xiao and Bai Ze. Most of those who entered could perceive it as well, but they were not particularly interested. If it were a large fivefold spiritual vein, with their present abilities they could never seize it anyway; if it were only a small one, they would disdain to fight for it. After all, among those who had entered this place, there was not a single cultivator who trained in all five elements. For them, a fivefold spiritual vein was of little use.

Yet some cultivators who had not cared much about this strange phenomenon became somewhat suspicious after seeing Bai Ze and Geng Xiao act. Then, when the four newcomers behind them followed without hesitation, their suspicion deepened. In no time at all, of the more than twenty people who had entered the palace, nearly half had followed after them.

After entering the winding path, Ji Mo and the others walked for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, turning five corners in all, when a pool like a fountain suddenly appeared ahead. The pool was about five zhang across, and the fivefold spiritual energy around the fountain was abruptly more than ten times denser than outside. Bai Ze’s eyes lit up, and he said with obvious delight, "It looks like there’s a small spiritual vein beneath this fountain."

"Mm. Let’s go down and take a look." Geng Xiao nodded, clearly agreeing. After saying this, he turned and looked at Ji Mo, suddenly feeling a little troubled. If he left Ji Mo outside, he feared others entering from outside might harm her. But if he took her in, then wherever there was a fivefold spiritual vein, fivefold spirit beasts were certain to be present, and once fighting broke out, they would have no spare attention for her.

"I’ll go down with you," Ji Mo said, seeing his hesitation and taking the initiative. Geng Xiao and Bai Ze exchanged a glance and nodded, taking her with them. At least this way she remained within their sight; if danger arose, they could still rescue her. If she were left outside alone and something happened, it would be too far to reach in time.

Just then, as the two were about to seize Ji Mo and leap into the fountain, the water suddenly erupted in a violent surge. At the same time, a sense of threat rose sharply in both their hearts. Geng Xiao and Bai Ze were startled, and with Ji Mo in tow, they retreated swiftly. Only after they had withdrawn several zhang from the fountain did they see a five-headed beast emerge from the center of the pool.

"Damn it, it’s a fivefold spirit beast at the peak of the Nascent Transformation stage!" Bai Ze cried out in shock upon seeing its appearance. A fivefold spirit beast at the peak of Nascent Transformation already possessed power comparable to a Deity Transformation cultivator. No matter how formidable Bai Ze and Geng Xiao might be, they were still only at the peak of Core Formation. Against ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, they would not only have no fear, but killing them would be no great difficulty. But against Deity Transformation cultivators, even ordinary ones, they would have no chance of victory even if they joined forces.

At this moment, the people who had followed behind them also arrived here. On seeing the scene and then the fivefold spirit beast coiled in the center of the fountain, they quietly withdrew again.

Where there was a fivefold spirit beast, there was naturally a fivefold spiritual vein. Geng Xiao and Bai Ze had clearly come for that vein. But for people like them, a fivefold spiritual vein was of little use, and the peak Nascent Transformation spirit beast was far from easy to handle. No one wished to risk their life for a spiritual vein that offered them so little benefit.

After the fivefold spirit beast appeared, its gaze did not immediately fall on Geng Xiao and Bai Ze. Instead, it stared fixedly at Ji Mo. After several breaths, greed flared brilliantly in its eyes, and it spoke in human language while staring at Ji Mo: "Huh? To think a fivefold body carrying the bloodline of a demon king has come to me? Heaven truly helps me!" Bai Ze and Geng Xiao were utterly ignored.

Bai Ze and Geng Xiao were stunned for a moment, then their gazes instinctively fell on Ji Mo. Shock could not be concealed in their eyes. Clearly, they had both been startled by the beast’s words. They had long known that Ji Mo cultivated all five elements, but they had never imagined that she was actually a fivefold spiritual body. A fivefold spiritual body—such a constitution, in any cultivation world, was a peerless genius seen only once in ten thousand years. In the cultivation world where Geng Xiao and Bai Ze lived, not a single sect had been said to produce a fivefold spiritual body for at least ten thousand years.

"Little Ji Mo, you hid this from us so well," Bai Ze said, looking at her with complicated emotion.

"Brother Bai, Brother Geng Xiao, I... I didn’t mean to hide it from you..." Ji Mo felt somewhat embarrassed. Her being a fivefold spiritual body was no small matter; even her own master did not know. Though after a year of companionship she had truly acknowledged Geng Xiao and Bai Ze as friends, this was not something she could simply proclaim to the world.

"Don’t ask so much. If you were a fivefold spiritual body, would you tell everyone you met? Get ready to fight. To a fivefold spirit beast, a fivefold spiritual body is an irresistible temptation!" Geng Xiao had also been momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered. His gaze lingered on Ji Mo for only an instant before shifting to the fivefold spirit beast, which had already begun to salivate.

The moment Geng Xiao finished speaking, the fivefold spirit beast let out a low roar and sprang from the center of the pool, charging straight at Ji Mo. Geng Xiao snorted coldly and slashed out with a blade of frosty, inky darkness. Bai Ze also returned to his senses then. With a sharp cry, he leaped into the air, iron staff in hand, and smashed savagely down toward the beast’s body.

Aside from having five heads, the beast’s body was serpent-like, over a meter in diameter and about three zhang long. The instant it leapt from the fountain, its full body followed. Faced with the pincer attack from Geng Xiao and Bai Ze, it did not dodge. One of its five heads met Geng Xiao’s dark blade, while the rest of its body coiled instantly into a massive cudgel to meet Bai Ze’s iron staff head-on.

Bang! The head that met the dark blade was cleanly cleaved in two by Geng Xiao, without suspense. Scarlet blood sprayed everywhere. As for Bai Ze, when his iron staff collided head-on with the beast’s body, he was sent flying directly backward.

Geng Xiao had severed one of the beast’s heads, yet he too was knocked dozens of zhang away. And the fivefold spirit beast, paying the price of losing one head, opened a huge maw on another and, with a fierce inhale, drew Ji Mo toward its mouth from just a few zhang away.

At that moment Geng Xiao and Bai Ze were both dozens of zhang away. Their speed had never matched that of the spirit beast, and by then it was far too late to save her. Seeing this, both cried out in alarm, "Ji Mo!"

Ji Mo was shocked and enraged. Though her strength was meager, she would not sit and allow this savage beast to swallow her without resistance. While still in midair, the White Jade Dragon Flood-Snake Whip appeared in her hand. The instant it manifested, the fivefold spirit beast’s eyes flashed with a trace of suspicion. Though the whip spirit had long since fallen into slumber, the innate pressure contained within the whip itself still made the spirit beast feel an involuntary fear.

But fear did not mean it would let go of a chance already at its lips. Seeing Ji Mo only a few feet from its mouth, it exerted itself once more, and the speed at which she was being drawn in increased again. Geng Xiao and Bai Ze were both shocked and furious. With no time to think, they charged at the fivefold spirit beast with all their might. Yet however fast they were, they could not outpace Ji Mo being sucked into the beast’s mouth.

Just as Ji Mo was about to enter its maw, the silver whip in her hand turned into a bolt of silver lightning and lashed viciously into the beast’s mouth.

Wail! Roar!

The fivefold spirit beast emitted an utterly miserable scream. Its airborne body crashed heavily to the ground.

After striking out with that whip, Ji Mo suddenly felt as though all strength had been drained from her body. Not a trace remained. She fell stiffly to the ground not far from the beast.

The fivefold spirit beast, having hit the ground, stared furiously at Ji Mo as she fell with it. One of its heads rose high, ready to swallow her no matter the cost. But by then Bai Ze and Geng Xiao had already arrived. Geng Xiao freed one hand and casually made a beckoning motion, sending Ji Mo, who lay beside the beast, flying more than ten zhang away. With his other hand, he changed the blade stance and slashed savagely at the raised head.

Bai Ze lifted his iron staff high and smashed fiercely at another head. After that direct clash with the beast, Bai Ze had realized something: its body was extraordinarily hard, and with their current strength, attacking its body would have little effect. By contrast, its heads were relatively much weaker.

Bang! Wail!

With one strike, Geng Xiao severed another of its heads. With one blow, Bai Ze shattered a second. Though the beast suffered these grievous injuries, its body lashed wildly at once, sending Bai Ze and Geng Xiao flying once more.

In just a brief moment, five heads were reduced to two. One of them had even had its jaw split open by Ji Mo’s whip. The pain and destructive force of that lash nearly drove the beast insane. Its gaze toward Ji Mo, Bai Ze, and Geng Xiao was now filled with fear and hatred.

Though Bai Ze and Geng Xiao were formidable, under ordinary circumstances, even joining forces they would have been no match for the fivefold spirit beast. As long as not all five heads were cut down, it could not die. Even the severed heads would grow back before long. What truly dealt it a severe blow was Ji Mo’s whip.

That whip seemed born to restrain it. Once Ji Mo split its jaw open, a terrifying destructive force surged along the wound, entering its nerves and then its heart, causing its life force to drain away bit by bit.

Bai Ze and Geng Xiao were sent flying again, both injured to varying degrees, but after glancing at the fivefold spirit beast—now crawling on the ground and clearly badly hurt—they immediately pounced back. If they could not finish it in one burst of force, then once it recovered, taking the fivefold spiritual vein today would become nearly impossible.