Madam, please ascend.

Chapter 29: Battle of the Spring
Yun Yi and Xun Ziyu followed the stream towards its source, exploring deeper into Cuiwei Mountain. They hadn't paid much attention to the mountain stream when they had previously descended, but they hadn't expected changes to occur near the stream.

Due to the contamination of disease, the water quality has been polluted, so the area near the stream is dead, and a large number of fish and shrimp corpses are floating on the water surface.

Even more bizarre was the fact that the two of them hadn't spent much time on their journey, yet the closer they got to the source, the darker it got. Looking up, they saw no clouds, as if some force was enveloping the area, dimming the sunlight.

Xun Ziyu immediately became alert and warned, "Brother Yun, be careful."

Yun Yi naturally sensed the danger, "The water veins in Cuiwei Mountain are completely damaged. I'm afraid someone did this deliberately."

"The problem is that this place is close to the Fuyao Sect. Who would have the courage to touch the tiger's mouth?"

"And what good will destroying the earth veins bring him? Is his only goal to bring disaster to Qingxi Village?"

There were many doubts about this matter, and the two of them talked about it, and soon they finally found the source of the stream.

It was an open-air spring deep in Cuiwei Mountain. Water was gushing out, flowing down the river. The closer one got to it, the stronger the sickly aura Qi Ling'er had described became.

No living creature dared to approach, and all the common flowers, birds, fish and insects died.

Since both of them were at the Qi Refining stage and had made some progress in their cultivation, their bodies had also been cultivated into innate, leak-free bodies, so they were not susceptible to infection from disease.

But even so, Yun Yi still felt a little uncomfortable. He said, "If this disease gets any more serious, even I won't be able to resist it."

Xun Ziyu felt the same way: "Brother Yun, please prepare the antidote pills and take them whenever you encounter danger."

"it is good."

After making all necessary preparations, the two men gradually approached the spring and discovered that the water was dark green and had a faint fishy smell.

"There seems to be something strange at the spring." Xun Ziyu took out the magic pen and drew a talisman in the air. Then a bolt of lightning fell and hit the center of the spring.

Unexpectedly, the spring remained unchanged after being attacked, but the atmosphere around the two of them suddenly became extremely depressing.

And the valley, which had been silent just now, suddenly became filled with the sound of wind.

Yun Yi took off the Fangyuan sword on his back, held the sword in his hand and stood back to back with Xun Ziyu, staring at the barely perceptible auras in the valley.

I saw those monsters slowly reveal their figures, they looked like humans, but their lower bodies were illusory, their facial features were hollow and hideous, and they were unconsciously howling.

"It's a sick spirit, a kind of ghost." Xun Ziyu said, "Brother Yun, please help me clear the formation. I need to prepare a formation to purify the spring."

Yun Yi jokingly said, "I told you in advance that I'm not very good at learning, but I'm not sure how long I can hold on."

"It's okay. I think those ghosts are not very powerful. As long as there are no gods here, I am still confident."

After saying that, Xun Ziyu began to draw talismans around the spring. Seeing this, the sick spirits rushed over with strange cries.

Apparently they wanted to prevent the spring from being purified.

However, whenever the sick spirit was about to reach Xun Ziyu, it would be blocked by a large piece of iron. That thing looked like a sword, but it could hurt intangible ghosts. Once it touched, it would sizzle, as if a piece of fresh flesh was placed on a hot iron plate.

Although Yun Yi hadn't cultivated any mental skills, his training on the Stone Steps had strengthened his body and soul. Furthermore, the Fangyuan Sword had slain countless lives, and its inherent aura of evil made it easy to deal with a mere ghost.

He controlled the square and round sword with the White Ape Sword Technique. Every time he swung it, it brought up a gust of wind, and any sick spirit that came into contact with it would be either dead or crippled.

The only problem is that the number of diseased spirits here has not decreased, but has increased the more they are killed.

Yun Yi also realized that these ghosts were not formed naturally, but were secretly controlled by someone and deliberately left at the spring as guards to prevent anyone from purifying the spring water.

The doubts in his heart grew deeper and deeper. Why did Futian Pavilion want to destroy the earth veins? Were the abnormal movements of the earth veins in various parts of the cultivation world also caused by them?
The earth veins are the foundation of the human world. Once destroyed, no one will suffer. Even the two sides in the battle between good and evil will not deliberately destroy the earth veins. What is the purpose of Futian Pavilion?

It’s a pity that I died too early in my previous life and didn’t get to understand these things.

Yun Yi was struggling with this when Xun Ziyu suddenly said softly, "Okay."

I saw a circle of complex patterns painted around the spring, and golden strokes appeared in the air. Next, as long as Xun Ziyu activated the formation, he could eliminate the pathogenic energy in the spring.

But just as he was holding the magic pen and muttering to himself, Yun Yi suddenly approached and blocked in front of him with a sword.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud "bang" and he fell into Xun Ziyu's arms as if he was seriously injured. The two of them retreated repeatedly.

Xun Ziyu's face was solemn. He saw clearly that the object that had just attacked him was an iron heart. The attacker's methods were ruthless. If it weren't for Yun Yi's protection, he would probably be injured by now.

Yun Yi said softly, "It seems to be a demon cultivator in the late Qi Refining Realm."

Xun Ziyu understood what he meant. He had long seen that Yun Yi was only in the early stages of Qi Refining. But that didn't matter. He was also in the late stages, and the two of them might not be a match for that person together.

Although he and Yun Yi had only just met, they had a tacit understanding. He used the magic pen to draw a few talismans on Yun Yi, and the next moment, Yun Yi felt that the sword in his hand had become much lighter, and his own strength and spiritual awareness had increased.

This is the unique feature of the Fuyao Sect. The disciples of the three pavilions each have their own strengths, and once they work together, they each perform their respective duties. The Dan Pavilion is responsible for healing, the Jian Pavilion is responsible for attacking, and the Shu Pavilion is responsible for support. At the same time, the person who secretly attacked also appeared and blocked the spring. He appeared to be a middle-aged man, wearing a black cloak that obscured his face, and he did bear a resemblance to the old tailor.

What attracted people's attention was that he was playing with two iron balls in his hands. These things were magic weapons. Although they looked light, they could be thrown with great force as hidden weapons.

The man said coldly, "Is the person coming here a disciple of Fuyao Sect?"

Yun Yi said, "We are just kind people passing by."

"Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"

"Since you don't believe me, how about we leave now?"

"get out."

Yun Yi gave Xun Ziyu a wink, and the two turned around and left. He knew, of course, that Xun Ziyu's attire was tantamount to revealing his identity, and the man in black would definitely not believe it.

Since that person is guarding the spring, he will definitely not allow the Fuyao Sect disciples to go back and inform the authorities.

So when the man in black threw the iron gall in his hand to attack again, Xun Ziyu, who was well prepared, instantly drew a golden square, which just trapped the iron gall in the air.

Xun Ziyu said coldly: "Prisoner!"

Yun Yi quickly rushed forward with his sword in hand, knocking away another iron gall on the way. His hands holding the sword couldn't help but feel slightly numb.

It is still a bit tricky to use the cultivation level of the early stage of Qi Refining Realm to resist the late stage.

The man in black failed to launch a sneak attack and cursed angrily, "Slippery boy!"

Seeing Yun Yi had already arrived in front of the man in black, he chopped him down with his sword and said with a smile: "No, no, it's your father!"

Fang Yuan's sword struck with such force that it seemed to carry a tremendous amount of force. The man in black didn't dare to take it head-on and could only retreat to avoid it.

However, before he could catch his breath, the next sword came down.

The White Ape Sword Technique was created by the Monkey Sword Immortal after he inherited the legacy from Nangong Feitian. The sword power is endless and inexhaustible, which is similar to the way of "naturalness".

Fangyuan is a heavy sword. Once it is wielded, the sword energy is impenetrable. Yun Yi had noticed this when he was practicing sword before. Based on his experience of practicing in two lifetimes, this set of swordsmanship seems to be top-notch.

It is in no way inferior to Song Xinci's Xisheng Sword!
The man in black did not dare to withstand the attack head-on and could only retreat step by step, while at the same time making hand gestures with his hands, trying to recall the two precious iron galls.

However, he didn't expect that all the magic weapons had been trapped in mid-air by Xun Ziyu using the prison technique and could not move.

He was forced into a desperate situation, gritted his teeth and prepared to use his most powerful trick.

However, Yun Yi shouted lightly at this time: "Be careful, this guy is going to jump off the wall with desperation."

The man in black was furious and quickly detonated two iron balls.

Unfortunately, Yun Yi's warning came first. Although it only took a split second, it was enough time for Xun Ziyu to react. He simply switched the Prisoner Technique to the Shield Technique, and the two iron balls exploded in vain. Although it looked terrifying, it actually caused no damage.

The man in black gnashed his teeth, not understanding why he, who was in the late stage of Qi Refining, was so firmly suppressed by a mere early stage one.

Not only in terms of cultivation, but also in terms of character, it seems that every step he takes is within the other party's expectations.

He didn't understand this principle, but Yun Yi did.

As the first step in cultivating immortality, the Qi Refining Realm doesn't really differ much, unlike the Spirit Transformation Realm, where each stage has a huge gap. Refining Essence into Qi is simply a cumulative process, and the differences between the early, middle, and late stages are merely quantitative, not qualitative.

Yun Yi's spiritual energy was only inferior to that of the man in black, but his ability to manipulate it was at the level of the Return to Void Realm. Furthermore, he was incredibly knowledgeable and had long since discerned that the man in black's cultivation techniques stemmed from the Demonic Sect's Myriad Poisons Cult. Therefore, he was able to see through and dodge all of the insidious spells the man in black had secretly cast.

After all, he was once a powerful cultivator who had reached the Return to Void Realm.

Yun Yi continued his offensive, and took the time to ask, "Why don't we sit down and talk?"

The man in black was busy dodging and didn't say anything.

"Tell me your purpose in destroying the ley lines, and I'll spare your life, how about that?"

"Is this true?"

"Then it depends on your sincerity."

Upon hearing this, the man in black turned into a black wind and quickly retreated, putting some distance between himself and Yun Yi.

Yun Yi did not rush to chase, but quietly made a gesture to Xun Ziyu behind him, indicating him to stay calm.

(End of this chapter)