A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

The thunderstorms in Thunder Valley continued to roar across the heavens and earth even after they left.

As Ye Shuli grabbed Jiang Ye's wrist and leaped over the last cliff, the golden divine pattern under her damp sleeves had shrunk to the size of a walnut, like a solidified amber embedded in the center of her collarbone.

&34; Miasma Forest. &34; Jiang Ye used his sword sheath to push aside the thorns blocking his path, and the black slime on the leaves suddenly exploded into a spider web.

He quickly pulled Ye Shuli back half a step, watching the corrosive liquid sizzle and smoke on the bluestone slab. "The temple's location choice is truly unique."

Ye Shuli's fingertips traced the peeling patterns on the stone wall: "This isn't naturally formed miasma." Suddenly, she kicked away a pebble at her feet. The pebble struck a vine three zhang away, and the thorns that had been entwined around the ancient tree suddenly sprang up, their poisonous thorns drawing dark purple trails in the air.

Jiang Ye gasped: "Soul-Devouring Vine?"

&34; Improved version. &34; Ye Shuli pulled out half a branch of lightning-struck wood from her storage bracelet. Where the lightning swept across, blood-red runes hidden in the thorn bushes appeared, &34; A soul-locking array drawn with the blood of vengeful spirits. Once triggered, it will refine the intruder into nourishment for the array's core—it seems someone arranged a welcoming ceremony in advance. &34;

Jiang Ye stroked his chin, examining the distorted runes: "This drawing technique is so sloppy, even uglier than the doggerel I wrote on the outhouse wall last year."

34; Southwest corner. 34; Ye Shuli suddenly grabbed him and rushed forward to the right. The lightning-struck wood cleaved through the oncoming vines. 34; These runes need to absorb moonlight to maintain their operation. The time when the miasma is weakest at noon... is now! 34;

The two dodged and weaved through the swirling thorns when Jiang Ye suddenly threw out three ice-blue talismans.

The talisman spun along the ground, freezing the gap in the array that was about to close.

As they broke out of the miasma, they heard a cracking sound from behind as the formation backfired, and the entire thorn forest instantly turned to ashes.

"That ice-sealing talisman just now..." Ye Shuli suddenly turned her head.

Jiang Ye smugly waved his finger: "Last time you said I was ripped off by the Xuanbing Talisman I bought, but actually I secretly improved the triggering method." Before he finished speaking, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and ancient stone steps spiraled up from beneath their feet, leading straight to a bronze gate that was faintly visible in the sky.

The moment the bronze gate burst open, a halberd shrouded in black mist pierced through the air.

As Ye Shuli rolled into the shadow of the stone pillar, she saw that the temple guardian's empty eye sockets were filled with asphalt-like liquid, and his right hand, which should have been holding the holy sword, was now wrapped in thorny chains.

"Step back!" Jiang Ye swung his sword to block the second wave of attacks, the blade colliding with the halberd and sparks flying.

The blood that seeped from his split tiger's mouth condensed into golden threads in mid-air, scorching the guardian's chest.

Ye Shuli took the opportunity to throw out the broken branches of the Thunderstruck Wood.

The electric arcs reflected strange patterns on the bronze door, and she suddenly noticed a jet-black jade slip embedded in the back of the guardian's neck—the very soul-controlling artifact mentioned by the wise man of the Divine Temple.

"Attack the jade slip!" Before she could finish speaking, the guardian suddenly let out an inhuman roar.

The black mist condensed into a giant hand and slammed towards the two of them. Jiang Ye dragged her through the stained glass window and they fell into the inner hall.

Amidst the rain of broken glass, Ye Shuli caught a glimpse of a goddess holding a vase on the ceiling mural and suddenly remembered the wise man's last piece of advice.

Jiang Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "This old guy is even more troublesome than the mountain-guarding beast that went berserk last month."

&34；他的攻击模式有规律。&34；叶书璃盯着守护者铠甲缝隙游走的黑气，&34；每七次劈砍后会停顿三息——那是控魂法器反噬宿主的时间。&34；她将最后三张雷符拍在江烨剑上，&34；等下我引他使出第七招......&34；

Before the words were even finished, the guardians had already broken through the palace walls.

Ye Shuli leaped up to meet the halberd and, amidst Jiang Ye's exclamation, grabbed the blade with her bare hands.

The golden light erupting from the divine runes clashed violently with the black mist. Taking advantage of the moment, she inserted the remaining branch of the Thunderstruck Wood into the crack in her armor: "Now!"

The sword energy, wrapped in golden threads, struck the jade slip precisely.

Amidst the ear-piercing cracking sound, the guardian suddenly froze, and the black mist in its eye sockets began to churn violently.

Just as Ye Shuli was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw that the dissipated dark energy had not dissipated, but instead condensed into a hideous ghost face that lunged at Jiang Ye.

"Watch out!" She leaped forward and shoved Jiang Ye aside, the ghost mask grazing her right shoulder.

Beneath the corroded fabric, the divine runes suddenly trembled violently, swallowing up all the remaining black energy.

Jiang Ye steadied the staggering Ye Shuli and noticed that the divine markings on the back of her neck had spread to her ears: "We must find the Purification Master."

A chilling laugh suddenly came from outside the hall, and dozens of dark figures emerged from the miasma.

Ye Shuli suppressed the restless divine runes, a cold laugh escaping her lips amidst the approaching pressure: "Looks like someone's in a hurry to deliver purification materials." Her fingertips traced the golden bloodstains on the sword, and lightning exploded into tiny sparks deep within her pupils.

As the setting sun bleeds like blood, two figures break through the temple's barrier.

Behind them, on the collapsed bronze door, some force not belonging to darkness was eroding the fragments of the soul-controlling artifact.

The remains of the bronze door gleamed eerily in the night.

Ye Shuli pulled Jiang Ye across three underground rivers. The burning pain from the divine runes suddenly disappeared on the seventh turn—a thatched hut made of dead wood was suspended behind the waterfall, and an old man in a green robe was using a bamboo tube to collect water droplets formed from moonlight.

&34; The wise man spoke of the Seven-Turn Soul-Returning Array. &34; Jiang Ye stared at the seven stone swords stuck upside down in front of the thatched hut, their hilts carved with lotus flowers of different shapes. &34; Old man, could I borrow some purification dew? &34;

The old man raised his hand and threw the bamboo tube at Ye Shuli.

The liquid erupted into bluish-white flames the moment it touched the divine runes, and the black aura behind her neck emitted a ghostly shriek. "The power of the void can actually contain turbid yin?" The old man's cloudy eyes suddenly flashed with golden light, and a swastika seal appeared in his palm, pressing down on her trembling shoulders. "Little girl, I'll lend you a third of my spiritual power."

Ye Shuli felt a clear spring flowing down her spine.

When she opened her eyes, the dark golden orb floating in her palm was merging with the purifying power released by the old man, tearing a crack in the void.

The summoned temple guardian was enveloped in swirling black mist, and countless maggot-like black lines emerged from the gaps in its armor.

"Press down on his left knee, Soul Fire!" the old man roared.

Jiang Ye's ice talisman precisely froze the guardian's joints, while Ye Shuli manipulated a ball of light to strike the opponent's heart.

The black mist and the power of purification collided, creating dazzling sparks. The guardian's right eye suddenly regained its clarity, and it roared as it tore off the thorny chains binding its neck.

The sound of tiles shattering came from the treetops a hundred meters away.

Twelve dark figures descended from the sky, stepping on a blood-red array. The purple-robed leader shattered the defensive talismans Jiang Ye had set up with a flick of his finger. "Truly touching," he said, his voice beneath the mask like sandpaper rubbing against iron. "Leave behind your divine essence and the head of the Purifying Old Ghost, and I'll reward you with a complete corpse."

Ye Shuli spun around and cleaved away the two wind blades that were attacking the old man. The golden threads extending from the divine runes wove a lightning net in the air.

Jiang Ye suddenly screamed and fell to his knees—the messenger of dark power had somehow crept up behind him and inserted his five fingers into his shoulder blades to extract spiritual power.

"Let go!" Ye Shuli's sword energy severed half of the messenger's arm, but when she caught Jiang Ye, the purple mist invaded her nasal cavity.

The smell of blood suddenly turned into a sweet, cloying incense scent. She saw Jiang Ye transform into a knife-wielding demon and pounce on her, his divine runes uncontrollably coalescing into a deadly attack.

"Shu Li, look at me!" Jiang Ye took a blow from her palm, the sound of breaking ribs mixed with blood spraying onto her neck.

His bloodied fingers pressed against the marks on the back of her neck, and he hummed hoarsely the off-key tune he had composed that night in Thunder Valley.

The sensation of warm liquid dripping onto his collarbone caused Ye Shuli's pupils to shrink sharply, and the lightning in his palm stopped abruptly half an inch from his throat.

The purple-robed leader's sinister smile froze on his face.

The golden light that erupted from Ye Shuli's body directly dispersed the miasma, and countless chains wrapped with lightning patterns extended from the void rift.

Her figure leaped up on the chains faster than lightning; the purple-robed man's breastplate melted into molten iron in the thunderstorm, revealing the blood-red crystal embedded in his heart.

&34;How dare you...&34;The moment the leader crushed the life-saving jade talisman, the image of the wise man of the Divine Temple being pierced by iron chains appeared on the surface of the crystal.

Ye Shuli's sword tip was only a hair's breadth away from his throat when the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed—