In the mountains and forests, wherever the terrain was low, there would be snow pits. The lower the terrain, the deeper the pit.
This snow pit was very deep. The snow inside reached up to Qian Duoduo's waist.
Qian Duoduo shivered in despair, looking up at He Louzhan outside the pit.
"Kill," Qian Duoduo roared again. His voice was much lower than before.
He Louzhan showed a disdainful expression, throwing his Dharma Wheel to cut at Qian Duoduo's neck.
Qian Duoduo tightly gripped the Golden Rooster Sword with both hands, parrying the Dharma Wheel, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood, and sitting down on the snow with a thud.
"Come," Qian Duoduo beckoned to him with his left hand, his mouth moving as he swallowed several times.
The Dharma Wheel flew over, and the Golden Rooster Sword blocked it back. Qian Duoduo flailed left and right in the snow pit, always narrowly dodging the attacks.
In the end, Qian Duoduo was sitting on the snowy ground, all the Qi Return Pills in his mouth completely digested.
He Louzhan's aura had already returned to the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation Great Perfection. He stood on the edge of the snow pit, guarding against Qian Duoduo escaping.
One Dharma Wheel after another, he consumed Qian Duoduo from a distance of two or three zhang, more patiently than Qian Duoduo.
The blood-colored Dharma Wheel spun rapidly, and with a "clang," it struck the Golden Rooster Sword.
Whoosh, Qian Duoduo could no longer hold it, and the Golden Rooster Sword flew out, landing on the edge of the snow pit.
Qian Duoduo collapsed to the ground, pointing at He Louzhan, "The Refining Spirit Sect will surely destroy your entire He Lou Family!"
"Destroy my entire Family?" He Louzhan sneered, "Or should I destroy you first?"
The Dharma Wheel flew over, Qian Duoduo tried hard to dodge, and a piece of flesh was cut off his right leg.
Qian Duoduo's fingers trembled, wanting to recall the Golden Rooster Sword that had fallen on the edge of the snow pit.
He Louzhan stepped on the Golden Rooster Sword, "Come, let it self-destruct."
Just as he was about to throw out another Dharma Wheel, his brow suddenly furrowed. He took out a Jade Slip, and exclaimed in a low voice, "Hmm? How is this possible?"
He Louzhan received a voice transmission from the He Lou Old Ancestor: The Refining Spirit Sect has begun to investigate the information of these Outer Sect Disciples. Act quickly.
Putting away the Jade Slip, he kicked the Golden Rooster Sword, sending it flying to who knows where. He roared sternly, "It's time to end this!" With that, he gripped the Dharma Wheel and leaped into the snow pit, striking down at Qian Duoduo's head.
Qian Duoduo moved back a few times, his mouth half-open, staring intently at He Louzhan as if He Louzhan had locked onto him.
"Boom," when He Louzhan was still three feet away from Qian Duoduo, a loud bang erupted beside the two of them.
When He Louzhan jumped into the snow pit, the Cold Flame Pure Snow Spear, which Qian Duoduo had secretly hidden in the snow earlier, self-destructed!
After entering the pit, all of Qian Duoduo's actions—resisting, feigning weakness, provoking, and even the Golden Rooster Sword being parried by He Louzhan—were all for this moment.
Qian Duoduo firmly believed that the self-destruction of a Dan artifact, especially at close range, would be enough to take out this He Louzhan.
As the explosion sounded, He Louzhan's confident and cruel face suddenly turned ashen. Before the blast tore him to shreds, his eyes showed an incredible curiosity as he looked towards the direction of the explosion. He was still guessing which Refining Spirit Sect Xiong Jun had made a move.
In the explosion, Qian Duoduo, who was in the snow pit, was like an ant under a giant's foot, stomped hard by immense force.
Before losing consciousness, Qian Duoduo looked at Jin Buhuan and Liu Boli inside the Golden Toad, and softly said in his heart, "Bu Huan, my little prodigy, I'm here to accompany you. Master Liu Boli, see you in the next life."
...
After an unknown amount of time, Qian Duoduo opened his eyes. Everything before him was pitch black, without a trace of light.
"Am I dead? Is this the legendary Underworld, the Realm of the Netherworld?"
Qian Duoduo rolled his eyes, turned his head, and felt beneath him. It felt like soil.
"No doubt, this is underground. I'm dead."
Sigh, Qian Duoduo sighed. He couldn't go back to the Refining Spirit Sect, he couldn't see Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu, and he couldn't see Wang Meiruo and Huang Guiren either...
"Awake?" A familiar voice sounded in his ear, followed by a faint but bright ball of light appearing.
Qian Duoduo focused his gaze—it was Liu Boli.
He was smiling as he looked at Qian Duoduo, his withered yellow hand slowly stroking the gray and white beard on his dark, gaunt face.
"You came down too?" Qian Duoduo was a little annoyed. He had played too much with the self-destruction, blowing up the Golden Toad and dragging Liu Boli into the underworld with him. Well, at least he had company.
"Down?" Liu Boli's hand stopped, "Down where?"
"Aren't we both ghosts?" Qian Duoduo sat up and looked at himself. Thankfully, as a ghost, his body was intact, and even his leg didn't hurt anymore.
"You're the ghost, a mischievous little ghost. I'm not." Liu Boli laughed.
Qian Duoduo touched his own body. "Eh, there's a sensation, it's not a soul body."
"Haha, I'm still alive!"
He touched his waist, and the Golden Toad was still there. Looking inside, Jin Buhuan was still there, and all the Spirit Chicken legs he had stored were also there.
Qian Duoduo took one out and bit into it fiercely. So fragrant!
"It's you, you've come out of seclusion?" Qian Duoduo realized.
Liu Boli nodded. He had just come out of seclusion when he saw Qian Duoduo fighting to the death with He Louzhan. Before he could make a move, Qian Duoduo detonated the Dan artifact. If his cultivation hadn't recovered significantly, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the Dan artifact's self-destruction either, and would have only been able to watch Qian Duoduo and He Louzhan perish together.
Qian Duoduo stepped forward and gently touched him. He was still a soul body, but his aura felt much stronger. "What's your cultivation now?"
Before Liu Boli went into seclusion, he was at Golden Core Great Perfection. He said that after absorbing the Five Yin Soul Returning Pill, his cultivation would advance significantly.
How far could this significant advance take him?
Liu Boli happily stroked his beard, saying nothing.
Above Golden Core is the Nascent Soul Stage.
"Nascent Soul Stage?" Qian Duoduo guessed boldly.
Liu Boli's hand didn't stop.
"Late Stage?"
Liu Boli's head didn't nod.
"You wouldn't have entered the Tianren Stage, would you?" Qian Duoduo stood up, bumped his head on something, and sat back down in pain.
In the Refining Spirit Sect, Qian Duoduo had never heard of anyone being in the Tianren Stage. If his Master was in the Tianren Stage, then he could truly lie flat and slack off.
"Heavenly Human Initial Stage," Liu Boli said casually, "It's nothing."
Qian Duoduo's mouth dropped open. He patted his chest and said, "Excessive humility is pride. Heavenly Human Initial Stage is nothing? Who are you trying to provoke?"
"This time, I owe it to you," Liu Boli said solemnly, "Thank you, my mischievous Disciple."
Qian Duoduo smiled and said, "Why be polite, Evil Teacher? By the way, where is this? Why is it so gloomy?"
"According to your Jade Slip, this place should be the Chifeng Mountain Range." Qian Duoduo had both a mission Jade Slip and a record Jade Slip. Through the Jade Slips, Liu Boli understood the course of events.
"Still in the Chifeng Mountain Range?"
"Yes. When I came out of seclusion, you were lying where you were. It's just a few dozen zhang deeper, so no one else can find you."
"How was I then?" Qian Duoduo felt his entire body again. Thankfully, all the equipment on him was intact.
"At that time, you were fine, with half a breath left. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to save you. You're quite fierce, kid, at Condensing Qi Stage Level Seven, daring to self-destruct a Dan artifact to perish with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"My Everlasting Wealth and Nobility Art wasn't practiced in vain. The first layer isn't even complete yet. If it were, I could take down a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."
"Hmm. Your skill and courage have grown considerably in just over ten days. How could you go on an Outer Sect mission without even bringing Medicinal Pills? I had to find Medicinal Pills from that Foundation Establishment Cultivator's Storage Pouch to save you." Liu Boli's words, whether praise or criticism, were hard to tell.
Thinking that he had only been in seclusion for about ten days, and his highly talented Disciple almost lost his life, Liu Boli also felt a surge of lingering fear. A mischievous Disciple is indeed a mischievous Disciple; sometimes he plays too much.
"I brought plenty. I used them all up while being chased," Qian Duoduo stuck out his tongue.
"Seeing your miserable state, I also conveniently set your bones and regulated your meridians. You slept for seven days before waking up."
"What about the Helou Family now?"
"The Helou Family?" Liu Boli asked back.
"The landlords of the Chifeng Mountain Range, living in that castle."
"Oh. They were destroyed by the Refining Spirit Sect. After you fell asleep, many people from the sect came and slaughtered everyone in that castle in no time. The Helou Family wasn't good; they practiced evil arts."
A huge weight was lifted from Qian Duoduo's heart—it was good that they were destroyed, his hatred was appeased.
"What about Yu Yixiang and Wang Longyu? Did they survive?"
