Chapter 334: Exotic Fragrance Assails the Nose

Chapter 334: The Overwhelming Fragrance

The team leader’s madness was triggered by the dense, intoxicating aura that emanated from the wound of the ghostly spirit lord’s clone, along with the ethereal aura that permeated its entire body.

This form was not composed of flesh and blood, but rather a spiritual plant transformed into a physical shape.

Though the exact type of spiritual plant remained unknown, its colossal size clearly indicated that the ghostly spirit lord had invested immense essence into it.

This body was a celestial treasure, yet equally fraught with peril.

At this moment, as it descended, the void around it twisted violently, generating terrifying fluctuations, while an overwhelming pressure seeped through the air, merging with the aura to create a devastating impact.

In this invisible assault, all mountains, trees, and even the ground crumbled into ash in an instant, as if being corroded by an unseen force.

One could imagine that approaching it would bring imminent danger to life and death.

Yet none of this could deter the team leader’s burning passion and frenzy.

“What a treasure! What a treasure! This isn’t a flesh-and-blood body—it’s a plant spirit form, a celestial treasure! Where did the ghostly spirit lord obtain such a human-shaped spiritual plant?”

The team leader’s entire figure erupted in excitement, his eyes wide as if seeing a ghost.

She deemed him not mad, but a reckless fool chasing death.

Though the ghostly spirit lord’s clone was formidable, even from a distance she felt her heart race, sensing a grave life-threatening danger, as if every fiber of her body was screaming warnings to flee.

Worse still was the proximity—she could barely bear the invisible waves radiating from the clone, the shattered remnants of the mountains, and the sheer terror of it all, which left her spirit shaken.

Thus, she was about to speak, when she suddenly noticed the expression of Xuying beside her, seeing the same wild glint in his eyes as the team leader’s.

Yan Yan fell silent, then abruptly spoke, “Xuying-gege, shall we go have a taste?”

Xuying’s heart stirred.

Xuying’s madness differed from the team leader’s.

Precisely speaking, Xuying preferred to analyze the level of danger, a trait the team leader also possessed, though often overlooked.

To the team leader, what mattered was the treasure—life was secondary.

He had once dared to seize a piece of the Yueting blood-plant, even if it cost him half his body.

Within the Haisi clan, he would go to devour the ancestral idol’s toe, simply because he found it too unexciting otherwise.

On the Haxing Island, he had even thrown away his last remaining head just to bite the fragrant body of Baili Zhi.

Hence, the team leader’s eyes were now fixed on nothing but the treasure before them—danger and pressure meant nothing; what mattered was that the treasure was right here!

Xuying, however, was different.

He recognized the clone’s extraordinary nature, sensing it was not a flesh-and-blood form but a spiritual plant.

This kind of celestial treasure greatly aided his cultivation, so he felt compelled to act.

Now that the ghostly spirit lord was retreating under attack by three sword-wielders, this was his opportunity.

Thus, he too displayed a wild expression, determined to make his move.

The only consideration was the clone’s immense pressure—even at this distance, Xuying felt his body tremble, sensing the oppressive force that made him instinctively want to retreat.

It was easy to imagine the difficulty of approaching the clone.

So, Xuying looked toward the team leader.

The team leader, in turn, gazed back at him.

Both saw the same burning desire in each other’s eyes.

“We need talismans to resist the pressure!” Xuying quickly spoke.

“I’ve got them!” the team leader gasped, frantically retrieving dozens of talismans from her person, nearly twenty in total.

Xuying was puzzled why the team leader had prepared so many.

“These were the talismans I prepared when we didn’t visit the Huangzhou region, originally meant to steal treasures from the Yinhu old nest, where the pressure would be immense. Unfortunately, we came to meet the Huangzhou instead, so I let the Yinhu go once.”

“Using them here isn’t a waste, but you’ll have to reimburse me—I’m broke.” The team leader quickly handed the talismans to Xuying.

This was too dangerous for Yan Yan’s cultivation level, so after consulting with Xuying, they decided not to involve her.

Soon, after preparing themselves, the two bit their lips and charged forward, their figures disappearing into the distance in Yan Yan’s terrified gaze.

Their speed was so swift that they flew dozens of feet away in an instant.

As they neared, the pressure from the ghostly spirit lord’s clone grew overwhelming.

The void solidified around them, and the aura and invisible impacts surged outward like tidal waves, spreading chaotically in all directions.

Xuying and the team leader, leading the charge, felt the deepest impact; both were pale-faced, spitting blood, their talismans fully activated.

Despite this, the pressure was too great.

It could be seen that the void around the clone twisted further, and due to the overlapping of invisible space, black lightning crackled through the area.

The sight was horrifying, evoking primal fear.

Yet neither Xuying nor the team leader harbored any thought of surrender; they crawled on the ground, moving forward swiftly.

Standing would attract lightning, and the impact area would be larger, so crawling was more convenient.

No words were needed—they acted instinctively.

Time passed, the sky continued its carnage, and the mountains below roared with thunderous noise, while Xuying and the team leader’s figures drew ever closer.

Pressure, aura, the roar of impacts, and the burst of lightning could not stop their advance.

As they drew nearer, their talismans began to collapse one by one.

Even the team leader’s preparations were insufficient, especially after entering the thirty-foot radius, where the pressure grew stronger, forming a massive resistance, even a repulsive force.

It felt as if countless invisible hands were pushing them away, trying to expel them from the area.

Xuying and the team leader’s bodies trembled; they then retrieved some cloth strips from the ghostly spirit lord’s palace.

These cloth strips dissipated some of the pressure, though the resistance remained, unyielding.

The closer they got, the greater the resistance and repulsive force became, yet they bit their lips and crawled forward slowly.

After a moment, Xuying’s eyes sharpened, gazing toward another direction.

The team leader sensed the same shift at the same time, her gaze following his.

In an instant, her eyes blazed with the fury of a starving dog, while Xuying’s heart raced with alertness.

Their gaze fell upon a figure on the ground, slowly crawling toward the ghostly spirit lord’s clone.

The woman wore a red robe, her long hair tied into a ponytail, her face veiled by a white mask.

From glimpses of her form, she appeared to be a woman, yet her weapon was absurdly massive—a giant devil’s scythe.

The scythe’s blade was a grotesque devil’s mouth, its teeth gnashing the blade, while the handle was black bone.

This bizarre weapon radiated shocking waves, clearly otherworldly, and it shimmered with light, enveloping the woman’s body to shield her from the area’s pressure.

Xuying and the team leader spotted her, and at that moment, the red-clad woman also noticed them.

Separated by hundreds of feet, both parties crouched on the ground, locking eyes.

“A strange thing, someone came to snatch our loot!” The captain’s gaze was suspicious, Xu Qing said nothing, coldly looking on.

The red-clad woman in the distance now furrowed her elegant eyebrows beneath the mask, swiftly scanning them, especially noticing the bindings on their bodies. At once she understood that the others had already ransacked the cave first, so her eyes turned cold.

After a moment of staring, each withdrew their gaze, yet their movements grew speedier. The captain’s eyes brimmed with ferocious intent, rushing forward; Xu Qing moved just as fast. The woman did the same.

But as they entered the ninety-long corridor, lightning crackled more frequently, and the void twisted more often, the oppressive force remained no less potent. These factors were not the critical obstacles to their speed.

The critical resistance came from the aura of the immortal’s clone within this area, forming a colossal barrier and repulsion.

This repulsion was too overwhelming; if they relaxed for an instant, their bodies would be propelled far away.

This repulsion and resistance resembled a storm blowing fiercely, causing their clothes to flutter, their hair to scatter, and their eyes unable to open fully.

Thus their speed inevitably slowed.

Meanwhile, the woman’s weapon was peculiar, and under its protection, her speed remained unabated. She was now just forty zhang away from touching the immortal’s head.

Seeing this, the captain grew frantic, biting his tongue to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood. In an instant, his pupils flashed with a sleeping face—identical to his own, yet brimming with strangeness.

At that moment, the captain’s aura shifted, growing more icy while his speed surged, suddenly overtaking Xu Qing and closing to less than thirty zhang from the immortal’s clone.

Xu Qing was fifty zhang behind.

He narrowed his eyes, sending out a ripple of shadows that swiftly spread ahead, concealing himself in front of Xu Qing.

To this oppressive force, it held little threat, for in the temple of the fish-like gods replete with such pressures, shadows had once aided Xu Qing in retrieving the lamp. Compared to that place, this was vastly different.

Soon the shadows crossed the ninety zhang, touching the immortal’s massive form, coiling around its ears and yanking sharply toward Xu Qing.

In coordination with his own speed, even under such resistance, Xu Qing was propelled outward, advancing relentlessly toward the immortal’s head.

Forty zhang… thirty zhang… twenty zhang… ten zhang…

Their speed surpassed both the captain and the distant red-clad woman, finally approaching the immortal’s neck.

Upon arrival, Xu Qing hesitated not, nor did he spare effort, reaching out to grab the captain forty zhang ahead.

With his assistance, the captain’s speed surged, rushing forward to join Xu Qing. Their eyes gleamed as they stared at the immortal’s fragile, skin-piercing face.

“The nose—the nose—go absorb the nose! The nose is the highest point, the convergence of its spiritual essence!”

Xu Qing raised his head to gaze at the immortal’s towering nose. Suddenly, he recalled how, in the past, when the Seven-Eyed God had appeared in the Alliance’s transmission, the immortal had smiled at her reflection in the mirror, appearing quite pleased with her nose.

Without hesitation, he charged toward the immortal’s nose.

The captain, at his side, burned with fervor, rushing after him.