"This is …" Ling Yunfei was shocked when he saw the crack at the mouth of the valley. He looked at Ling Yunhe and asked, "Second Brother, how do we get through this?"
This crack was extremely wide and occupied the entire narrow entrance of the valley. Moreover, it looked very deep. At first glance, it seemed bottomless.
Most importantly, the black aura inside was surging, and the smell of filth was especially strong.
Mo Tiange looked up and saw cliffs on both sides of the mouth of the valley. The cliffs at the top were joined together, making the entire mouth of the valley look like an arch.
It was really difficult to fly over. The filthy aura had a great effect on cultivators. The filthy aura that was emitted after the death of the lynx had already forced them to retreat. The filthy aura in this crack was more than ten times denser than before.
If they tried to fly over, they would probably consume too much spiritual aura and their strength would decrease.
This was only the mouth of the valley. They didn't know where the Fretless Fruit was, so it was definitely unwise to take such a risk at this time.
Ling Yunhe said, "With the Soul-Restraining Bead, we can restrain the filth. However, we still have to take some risks to cross this crack. What do you think?"
Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei didn't say anything. Yang Chengji snorted and said, "Fellow Daoist Ling, why do you ask so many questions?
We're already here. What can we do if we don't agree? "
Ling Yunhe smiled. "Sorry, I asked a meaningless question." He paused for a moment then said, "I have a way, but it requires some risks."
"Second Brother, if you have a way, just say it. We have to find a way to cross," Ling Yunfei said eagerly.
Ling Yunhe glanced at him but didn't say anything. He opened the spiritual beast pouch on his waist, and in an instant, a strange aura rushed over.
"This is …" The other five people's expressions changed. They saw a black and shiny vulture flying out of Ling Yunhe's spiritual beast pouch. Judging from its aura, it was already in the fifth rank. Its eyes were fierce, and its claws were sharp.
A vulture spirit beast wasn't a big deal, but this vulture was obviously not an ordinary spirit beast. Its body was filled with a heavy aura of death!
"Fellow Daoists, this is a vulture I found in the western barbarians by accident.
In the Western Barbarians, regardless of whether it was a mortal or a cultivator, they would be given a sky burial after death, and their corpses would be swallowed by vultures.
This vulture might've eaten too many corpses and mutated. It's full of death aura, but it's still able to survive … "
Death aura … Mo Tiange had suffered greatly because of it before.
Several dozen years ago, when she was still in the middle stage of the Foundation Building realm, she accidentally went to the northernmost area of the Celestial Pole and met Jiang Shanghang, who saved her in Yunwu Sect. From there, she got to know a group of Zhengfa Sect cultivators.
That Zhengfa Sect cultivator, Ren Yufeng, obtained a stone tablet from an ancient divine temple. Because of that, she cultivated a strange aura of death, which almost caused her to die in Linhai's Bixuan Court.
There were a lot of strange things about this matter because dead aura could only exist on dead people. Logically speaking, it was difficult for living people to escape death once they were contaminated with dead aura. She and several Bixuan Court cultivators, who were slightly contaminated with dead aura, had to spend a very long time to get rid of it.
She couldn't understand this matter. Later, when she brought that stone tablet back to Xuanqing School, Lord Daoist Jinghe felt it was strange, so he asked for it to study. Later, she forgot to ask him about it.
Now, she saw a vulture with dead aura all over its body. This vulture's situation was different from Ren Yufeng's.
When Ren Yufeng was covered in dead aura, he almost turned into a skeleton — he couldn't be considered a person at all. However, this vulture was living too well. Its fur was glossy and smooth, and it looked vigorous and strong.
"Regarding filthy aura, I once asked my group's Nascent Soul seniors for advice.
This aura can corrode the body and slowly make living things lose their vitality; dead aura is the same.
Therefore, dead aura can also be considered a kind of filthy aura. "
"Fellow Daoist Ling is right."
Yang Chengji suddenly said, "We devil cultivators know more about these things than you do. Filthy aura isn't limited to dead aura, but we consider dead aura to be a kind of filthy aura."
Tian Zhiqian was puzzled. "What does this have to do with the matter at hand?
Brother Ling, do you want to let your spiritual beast fly over?
But that still can't solve our problem. "
Yang Chengji cast a glance at him then said, "I'm guessing Fellow Daoist Ling wants us to hide in the dead aura to muddle our way through, right?"
Ling Yunhe nodded and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Yang is right; that's exactly what I mean."
"Second Brother, this is very dangerous, isn't it?"
Ling Yunfei looked at the vulture with a vigilant expression. "We're trapped in dead aura; what's the difference between being surrounded by filthy aura and being surrounded by dead aura?"
"The difference is that this is my spiritual beast." Ling Yunhe stroked the vulture's head.
When he reached out his hand, the vulture didn't resist at all. It even opened its mouth and let out a cry, rubbing his hand as if it was acting like a spoiled child.
Mo Tiange discovered that the vulture's dead aura seemed to have no effect on Ling Yunhe. When he reached out his hand, the dead aura automatically moved away. Was it because he was the vulture's master?
"Everyone, rest assured. I can control this dead aura at will and make it form a circle around us without harming us. As long as you're a bit more careful, you can pass through it easily."
Ling Yunhe's voice trailed off, but no one responded.
A middle stage Core Formation cultivator with a fifth rank spiritual beast could be considered a great help. In a fight of magical powers, the spiritual beast could suppress cultivators in the same realm as him.
However, this spiritual beast also had a unique dead aura, so everyone couldn't help but be afraid.
Mo Tiange finally realized that Ling Yunhe boldly invited the three of them because he had something to rely on.
In terms of strength, she, Tian Can, and Yang Chengji were naturally stronger than Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei. However, with the help of Tian Zhiqian's Invisible Formation and this dead aura spiritual beast, Ling Yunhe's strength was far beyond their imagination.
Mo Tiange sighed inwardly. This Ling Yunhe was famous. He was one of the genius disciples of Jiuyan Sect, the number one sect in Yunzhong. His status in the sect was so high that he shouldn't be inferior to Qin Xi's. How could a cultivator like him be weak?
Tian Can and Yang Chengji naturally also thought of what she could think of, but they were more afraid of the method Ling Yunhe proposed.
The spiritual beast belonged to Ling Yunhe alone. If they agreed, they would be surrounded by the dead aura. At that time, their lives would be in Ling Yunhe's hands.
Cultivators cherished their lives. How could they put their lives in someone else's hands?
Whether it was Mo Tiange, Tiancan, or Yang Chengji, none of them were willing.
Tian Zhiqian and Ling Yunfei didn't say anything.
Tian Zhiqian looked a bit hesitant. Ling Yunhe was his good friend, so he trusted him to a certain extent. However, this was an extraordinary matter, so he couldn't make a decision immediately.
As for Ling Yunfei, he still looked a bit confused. He looked at Ling Yunhe then looked at the others.
The six of them were in a deadlock for a while.
Ling Yunhe stared at them, patiently waiting for their answer.
After a while, Tian Can spoke. His voice was sharp and his tone was even worse. "Fellow Daoist Ling, why didn't you tell us about this before you left?
Could it be that Your Excellency is waiting for us to enter Carefree Valley and have no choice but to agree? "
Ling Yunhe said calmly, "If I told you, would Fellow Daoist Tian Can agree to come?"
"Of course not!"
Tian Can's tone was resolute. "If that was the case, I wouldn't agree no matter what condition Fellow Daoist Ling proposed!"
"That's right."
Ling Yunhe said faintly, "I was indeed worried you wouldn't agree, so I didn't tell you beforehand.
This matter is very important to me. Time is too tight. If any of you are unwilling to come, I'm afraid our trip to Carefree Valley will be in vain. "
"Hmph!" Yang Chengji said coldly, "We can also turn hostile now!
Does Fellow Daoist Ling think you can force us to participate?! "
Facing Yang Chengji's fierce attitude, Ling Yunhe sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist Yang, you're overthinking it. What I did wasn't honorable, but I didn't mean to offend you.
Fellow Daoist Qin is fine, but Fellow Daoist Yang, Fellow Daoist Tian Can, I've already paid a spiritual treasure for your help. If I wasn't sincere, why would I do this? "
"But you did this …"
"Everyone!"
Ling Yunhe interrupted Yang Chengji and said, "The reason why I did this is because I hope you'll reconsider.
If I told you beforehand, you most likely wouldn't consider it and would've decided to withdraw. In that case, time would be too tight, and it would be difficult for me to find more people.
Now that we're already in Carefree Valley, it'll be difficult for us to go back. I hope you'll reconsider. I've already paid the price. Is it necessary to hurt you at this time? "
"…" Still, no one spoke.
What Ling Yunhe said wasn't unreasonable, but the three of them still looked unsightly.
Taking risks was one thing, but being schemed against was another. They weren't afraid of risks; they were angry at being schemed against.
It wasn't that Ling Yunhe couldn't be trusted, but Core Formation cultivators all had their own pride.
"Brother Ling, you …" Tian Zhiqian also sighed. "If you told me beforehand, based on our many years of friendship, how could I not agree?
Why did you hide it from me? "
Ling Yunhe was stunned. He turned to look at Tian Zhiqian and said apologetically, "Brother Tian, I didn't mean to hide it from you, but … I didn't mean to harm you."
"Of course I know that …" Tian Zhiqian paused for a while and said, "No matter what, I'll go in with you."
Ling Yunhe smiled. "I knew you …"
"Second Brother, I don't need to say anything," Ling Yunfei said, "I've always listened to you, and I'll do the same today."
"En."
Ling Yunhe nodded, but he still turned to the three of them. He thought for a while and said, "How about this? We're not in a hurry, so we can rest for half a day at the entrance of the valley. How about you use this time to think about it?
As long as you continue to help me enter the inner valley, I'll give each of you a bottle of Vital Peace Pills in addition to the conditions I promised before as repayment.
Even if you don't agree, you can leave the valley on your own. I won't stop you, and I won't ask for the spiritual treasure I gave you before. "