Qinghe Immortal Clan.

The blue light that suddenly appeared in the pool had already taken down two of their late-stage Nascent Soul experts in just a short time.

Song Qingming had never seen such bizarre supernatural abilities in all his years of cultivation.

Upon hearing what Wang Zhixing said, it seemed that he recognized the object in the pool. While concentrating on casting spells and controlling the magical artifact, Song Qingming immediately asked him a question.

He saw that both Song Qingming and Yang Kaishan were looking at him with puzzled expressions.

Wang Zhixing immediately explained, "Fellow Daoists, I saw its figure when it attacked Fellow Daoist Han."

If I'm not mistaken, this should be the ancient, extinct spirit insect, the Mystic Ice Jade Silkworm.

"Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm!"

"Fellow Daoist, are you referring to the Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm, which is said to be able to freeze time and space in ancient legends?"

In the ancient times of the cultivation world, there existed many spiritual insects with extremely powerful supernatural abilities, and the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" was one of the most bizarre among them.

Legend has it that the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" is a rare species left behind by a true spirit, and it is born with extremely strong spatial attribute talent and supernatural power.

Once it reaches maturity, the "Mystic Ice Jade Silkworm" can easily freeze everything around it.

Some can even forcibly freeze time, remaining dormant for ten thousand years without any change.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators would find it extremely troublesome to deal with a mature "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm".

In ancient times, spiritual insects like the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," which possessed true spiritual bloodlines, would freeze tens of thousands of miles of space at will, annihilating all living beings within, and their destructive power over the cultivation world was extremely strong.

Later, several Nascent Soul cultivators of the human race joined forces with experts of the demon race to besiege and eliminate all the mature "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworms" from this world.

Some of the remaining young "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworms" managed to escape.

But without protection, they also became spiritual medicines and resources for many cultivators.

The "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" has been completely extinct for tens of thousands of years, existing only in ancient legends and illustrations.

Upon hearing that the blue light in the pool was actually the legendary ancient spirit insect "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," both Song Qingming and Yang Kaishan wore expressions of disbelief.

"Fellow Daoists, please do not panic. Although this Xuanbing Jade Silkworm has strange and unpredictable abilities, it does not seem to have reached maturity yet."

Otherwise, with our abilities, we would probably have been trapped by it just now, and there would have been no way we could have avoided the attack of the Mystic Ice Jade Silkworm.

"What Fellow Daoist Wang said is correct. The Xuanbing Jade Silkworm is an ice-attribute spirit insect, which is countered by earth-attribute divine abilities. If the three of us join forces, we may not be without the power to fight."

As soon as Yang Kaishan finished speaking, the blue light in the pool not far away flickered again.

The next moment, several beams of blue light shot towards Song Qingming and his group again.

Faced with the incoming spiritual light again, Song Qingming raised his hand and summoned the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," which also emitted a golden spiritual light.

Meanwhile, Yang Kaishan, who was standing to the side, had already formed a hand seal and activated an earthen-yellow "Mountain Opening Seal" magic weapon, which descended from the sky and blocked the way for everyone.

Wang Zhixing cast a spell to summon a golden flying knife, which transformed into several golden beams that slashed into the pool.

Although Song Qingming and the others did not primarily cultivate earth-attribute techniques, they had all practiced divine abilities and magical treasures of the same attribute.

With the three of them working together to control their magical artifact, the blue light failed to freeze them this time, and their supernatural powers were blocked by their combined efforts.

Before the three could even breathe a sigh of relief, a blue ball of light leaped out of the water once more.

A burst of blue and white energy suddenly rose from the ball of light and then headed straight for their location.

In the blink of an eye, Song Qingming felt the temperature around him drop rapidly, as if the entire space was about to be frozen by the blue light in front of him.

Seeing this, Song Qingming's magic power surged rapidly, and a faint green spiritual light emerged, quickly covering the magic weapon in front of him.

The next moment, a layer of green light appeared above the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror", and its power increased significantly.

The "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" is made from the spiritual energy of the five elements, and it also contains a lot of earth-attribute spiritual energy.

Under Song Qingming's control, the five elements of spiritual light in the mirror quickly formed a protective shield in front of everyone, preventing the opponent from succeeding in their attack.

Although the blue orb was strange, when Song Qingming fought it just now, he felt that it was not as troublesome as he had imagined.

The reason it was able to successfully attack Han Yu and "Xu Gu Zi" in succession was simply because it was a sneak attack, taking advantage of the two's carelessness and lack of understanding of its supernatural abilities.

If it were a direct confrontation, even if "Xu Gu Zi" couldn't defeat his opponent, he wouldn't let him succeed so easily, given his supernatural abilities.

Seeing that Song Qingming was able to block the opponent's attack all by himself, Yang Kaishan's face lit up with joy.

The "Mountain-Opening Seal" in front of him transformed into a giant golden mountain once again, pressing down directly on the blue light cluster not far away.

Faced with such a wide-ranging attack, the blue orb of light had no way to avoid it and could only temporarily abandon its spellcasting and hide in the pool of water again.

In an instant, the entire pool was once again encased in blue light and ice.

"Where to go!"

Seeing his opponent hide in the pool, Yang Kaishan immediately slammed the "Mountain-Opening Seal" in his hand onto the surface of the pool.
A deafening roar resounded, and the battlefield was instantly ablaze with light.

But once the spiritual light dissipated, the "Mountain-Opening Seal" was frozen on the water's surface, while the entire pool remained shrouded in blue light, without any change whatsoever.

Despite his fierce attack, he not only failed to break the ice, but his magical artifact was also frozen solid by the opponent.

Yang Kaishan, who tried to retrieve the magic weapon but failed, couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Goodness, that's really tough!"

"Fellow Daoists, this fellow's supernatural powers are very effective against magic treasures, so we should not approach rashly."

I also possess a high-level earth-attribute magic array. With its help, we should be able to force it out of the pool and rescue Fellow Daoist Han and his companion.”

"Oh! Then it's up to Fellow Daoist Wang."

Seeing the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" hide in the pool, Wang Zhixing raised his hand and took out a magic array, intending to set up the array to force it out.

Upon hearing that Wang Zhixing possessed a high-level earth-attribute magic array, Song Qingming and Yang Kaishan immediately nodded in agreement with his suggestion.

Although both of them possessed considerable supernatural abilities, they found it difficult to unleash their full power against the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," a cunning supernatural ability that could easily freeze even high-level magic treasures.

As a fourth-level high-grade array master, Wang Zhixing's array, once set up, would certainly be quite powerful.

If they can use the formation to force the opponent out and rescue the two trapped in the pool, "Xu Gu Zi" and his companion, their chances of defeating their opponent will increase significantly.

"Fellow Daoist, please set up the formation; leave the rest to us!"

Seeing Wang Zhixing begin to set up the formation, Song Qingming and Yang Kaishan immediately stepped forward to cover their teammates, preventing the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" from emerging from the pool to launch another sneak attack.

Just as Wang Zhixing was casting a spell and setting up an array, the array plate in his hand suddenly revealed a strange spiritual light, and even the array flags that had just been planted shook and flew back automatically.

"This is.?"

"Oh no! Could someone have already set up a magic array here? How is that possible!"

"Haha, you're only realizing this now? It's a bit too late."

Just as Wang Zhixing was looking on in surprise, a strange laugh suddenly came from below, and then a white mist rose up from nowhere around the entire pool.

Upon seeing this, Song Qingming and the other two changed their expressions and immediately used magic to teleport away from the spot.

But before they could break out of the white mist, a transparent light shield appeared out of thin air in front of them, sealing them directly above the pool.

At the same time, the blue light reappeared in the pool below.

A chilling aura instantly froze the entire area above the pool.

Within this transparent array, the power of the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" was noticeably stronger by 30-40% compared to before, quickly forcing Song Qingming and the other two to a corner of the protective barrier.

Fortunately, Song Qingming had already taken precautions and had pushed the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" to its limit, which barely prevented the three of them from being completely frozen by the opponent.

Looking up, a dark figure suddenly appeared beside the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm".

This person was completely shrouded in a black robe, obscuring his face, and his cultivation level had clearly reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

To find that there was actually a master at the peak of the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm hidden in this pool.

Yang Kaishan and Wang Zhixing were both shocked, staring at the person in front of them in disbelief.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking us?"

"Heh! I'm already here, and you're still asking me why I attacked you? Of course, it's for these things!"

After speaking, the man in black robes turned to look at the remaining Jade Pure Spirit Liquid above the "Azure Jade Tree" to the side.

With a gentle wave of his hand, a golden jade bottle appeared in his hand, containing all the remaining "Jade Purity Elixir" from the tree.

After collecting the spiritual liquid from the tree, the man in black robes turned to look at Song Qingming and the other two trapped in the formation.

"Fellow Daoists, if you don't want to die here like this, hand over all the Jade Purity Spirit Liquid you have on you!"

"Hmph! You are just one person, yet you think you can take things from us with such a casual remark? You are underestimating us too much."

Upon hearing that the other party had their eyes on the "Jade Purity Elixir" in his hand, Wang Zhixing, who had just obtained the item, immediately shook his head with a reluctant expression.

Yang Kaishan, standing to the side, stared intently at the array plate in the other's hand, his face full of doubt.

"We haven't noticed any other cultivators following us along the way, and you don't seem to be a demon cultivator either."

"May I ask who you are and why you have suddenly appeared here? Do you perhaps know us?"

Faced with Yang Kaishan's question, the man in black remained silent for a moment, but instead of answering, he used magic to take out a purple array plate from his body.

"Fellow Daoists, I'll say it again: hand over all the Jade Purity Elixir you have, or you won't leave here alive today."

"I thought I might have suspected the wrong person, but it turns out it really is you."

"I knew it was impossible to obtain the Mystic Ice Jade Silkworm so easily. It turns out you were behind it all. You really went to great lengths to lure us here."

"Hehe! For so many years, I always thought Fellow Daoist Yang had no defenses against me. I didn't expect you to recognize me so quickly. It seems you're not as stupid as I thought?"

Seeing that Yang Kaishan seemed to have seen through his identity, the man in black robes immediately stopped hiding his identity and took off his black robes, revealing a face that everyone was very familiar with.

"How could this be you!"

"Fellow Daoist, you have clearly made a pact with us, so why are you still attacking us? Aren't you afraid that your soul will be shattered and devoured by the Heavenly Dao?!"

Upon seeing the black-robed man before him, who was none other than "Xu Gu Zi" who had been ambushed and fallen into the pool by "Xuanbing Yucan" not long ago, Wang Zhixing's face immediately showed a look of shock.

Yang Kaishan and Song Qingming, standing to the side, looked at each other with some surprise, but they didn't seem too shocked.

Clearly, the two of them had long suspected each other's identities.

Previously, during the battle against the demon race in the valley, "Xu Gu Zi" was able to face the Golden Armored Demon Emperor, who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, alone without being easily defeated.

The supernatural abilities he displayed were definitely among the top-tier among late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and his cultivation level was clearly higher than that of Yang Kaishan, who was also at the ninth level of Nascent Soul.

If we say that Han Yu's cultivation level was only at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage before...

It's understandable that he was successfully ambushed by the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" because his own supernatural abilities were relatively weak and he was somewhat careless.

Even though "Xu Gu Zi" was a top expert in the late Nascent Soul stage, he was still so careless as to be easily trapped by the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" after it had already appeared.

This result is clearly difficult to understand.

It's perfectly normal that Song Qingming and Yang Kaishan would have some doubts about this.

Seeing Wang Zhixing looking at him with surprise, "Xu Gu Zi" smiled and said:

"Fellow Daoist Wang, rest assured. Since I have taken the initiative to attack you, I am naturally not worried about any soul contract."

To tell you the truth, the Xu Gu Zi that you all know passed away a hundred years ago.

Otherwise, how could he have led you here?

Do you all really think that things like Jade Purity Elixir are so easy to obtain?

"So that's how it is. No wonder you broke through to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm in just over a hundred years, and also managed to find the Jade Purity Elixir by such coincidence."

I never imagined that you had already possessed Xu Gu Zi.

It seems that you had already tampered with that soul contract beforehand. Truly a brilliant tactic.

If it weren't for the demon race interfering back then, I probably would have died at your hands long ago!

Yang Kaishan, who was one of the first to follow "Xu Gu Zi" to the Northern Underworld Immortal Continent, was still somewhat surprised to learn that the person in front of him had already been possessed.

Although he and "Xu Gu Zi" only met in the last hundred years or so.

But thinking back to how he hadn't noticed the other person's possessed identity when they were together before, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.

It should be noted that when the two of them came last time, "Xu Gu Zi" almost broke through the outer barrier.

Unfortunately, they were disturbed by powerful demons outside, causing their efforts to fail and forcing them to flee the valley first.

If the two of them had successfully entered this place, Yang Kaishan would have faced "Xu Gu Zi" and the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" in his hand alone.

The result is obvious; they have probably already turned into bones and perished here.

On Song Qingming's side, after confirming that the man in black robes was indeed "Xu Gu Zi", he recalled Xu Yu Liang's mysterious death and dissipation, and understood the situation.

Xu Yuliang was the second person to enter the magic array, following "Xu Gu Zi".

He must have just happened to land next to the other party and was ambushed by Xu Gu Zi's "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," which is why he died inexplicably in the entrance cave.

The reason why "Xu Gu Zi" insisted on searching for the other party was probably to deliberately delay the time so that "Xuan Bing Yu Can" could ambush them here in advance.

Seeing that Yang Kaishan had voiced all his previous doubts, "Xu Gu Zi" revealed a slight smile.

"Fellow Daoist is right. The reason I asked you for help is only for the Jade Purity Elixir here. Naturally, I will not share this with you."

With so much Jade Purity Elixir in your hands, at most it can only help you advance to the Half-Step Nascent Soul realm.

With your abilities, you'll only survive for a few hundred more years, which is a real waste of this item.

But if I were given all of these Jade Purity Elixir, I would have a good chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, and ascension to the Dao in the future would not be impossible.

Only in this way can we truly make the best use of resources.

"Hmph! You, a mere possessor, dare to dream of attaining immortality and ascending to heaven? I think you are just indulging in wishful thinking."

"Hahaha, I thought you had helped me obtain the Jade Purity Elixir, which was a great help, so there was no need to kill you all."

Unexpectedly, even at this point, these fellow Daoists are still so stubborn and unable to see the situation clearly.

This has truly put me in a difficult position.

After saying that, "Xu Gu Zi" quickly spun the array plate in his hand, and a cold wind suddenly swept through the array.

The cold wind, accompanied by the blue light emitted by the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," made the water even colder and more piercing. In an instant, the temperature above the entire pool began to drop rapidly again.

Immediately, the spiritual light on the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" in front of Song Qingming dimmed considerably.

Even within the protective shield formed by the golden bronze mirror, white mist and snowflakes began to fall.

"Fellow Daoists, the Jade Purity Elixir may be useful to you, but compared to your own lives, I think you should be able to tell the difference!"

My patience is limited; I can only give you the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Hand over the Jade Purity Elixir, and I can release you now. After that, we'll go our separate ways and never see each other again.

"If you still refuse to hand over the spirit liquid, then don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

Seeing that Song Qingming was already struggling to activate his magic weapon, and that their own supernatural abilities seemed to be of little help, Yang Kaishan and Wang Zhixing couldn't help but look rather grim.

Just as their resolve began to waver, a voice suddenly rang in their ears.

"Fellow Daoists, this person is a possessor; there is absolutely nothing credible about what he says."

Since he has trapped us here, he certainly wouldn't leave himself any future trouble. Even if we choose to hand over the spiritual item, he probably won't let us go.

“Fellow Daoist Song is right. This guy has already killed Fellow Daoist Xu, so there is no way he will let us leave.”

Throughout history, those cultivators who grovel and submit have rarely met a good end. Even if we perish here today, we will never let him succeed so easily.

“I have cultivated all my life and have hardly ever said the word ‘fear.’ Since you two fellow Daoists think so, then I have no choice but to fight to the death.”

Hearing Yang Kaishan and Song Qingming's encouraging words, Wang Zhixing produced another yellow talisman and immediately cast a spell to release it.

This yellow talisman is an extremely rare, high-grade fourth-level talisman.

As soon as it appeared, a yellow light shield appeared beside the three of them, which immediately stopped the strong wind brought by the formation and relieved a lot of pressure on Song Qingming.

Seeing this, Xu Gu Zi, who was not far away, increased his magical power and poured it into the array plate in his hand.

Unfortunately, the talisman before them was quite powerful, and despite the great formation's desperate efforts, it was unable to break through the yellow light barrier.

"You won't last long in this formation, why insist on seeking death?"

“Fellow Daoist Song, I don’t think those two have anything to do with you. How about you cooperate with me?”

If you are willing to cooperate, after I kill them, the storage bags and magic treasures on their bodies can all be yours.

I only want the Jade Purity Elixir from them, how about that?

Yang Kaishan and Wang Zhixing's supernatural abilities were relatively ordinary; the one who could truly block the "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm" was actually Song Qingming.

Seeing that Wang Zhixing used a fourth-grade high-level spirit talisman, his own formation was unable to suppress the three people inside in a short period of time.

"Xu Gu Zi" spoke again to Song Qingming, who was trapped inside, and loudly proposed his suggestion of cooperating with him.

Upon hearing this, Yang Kaishan and Wang Zhixing remained calm, but their eyes involuntarily drifted towards Song Qingming not far away.

On Song Qingming's side, he was also well aware of the opponent's intention to sow discord among the three of them.

Undeterred in the slightest, he focused solely on casting spells to resist the blue light that was attacking from a distance.

"Fellow Daoist Song, if you agree, I can give up the Jade Purity Spirit Liquid you have. Surely you'll be satisfied with that condition!"

Despite Song Qingming's complete lack of interest, "Xu Gu Zi" remained undeterred and tried to persuade him again.

Upon hearing this, Song Qingming suddenly responded, "Fellow Daoist is so considerate of me, you are truly thoughtful."

However, my aptitude is mediocre, and I'm afraid this portion of Jade Purity Elixir isn't enough. How about you give me all the elixir you have?"

Upon hearing this, "Xu Gu Zi's" face immediately turned cold.

"Hmph! I never expected that even after things have come to this, you would still dare to be so arrogant. I have truly underestimated you!"
Since you won't take the chance, then I'll have no choice but to send you on your way.

The fourth-grade high-quality spirit talisman in Wang Zhixing's hand was, after all, just a consumable item. At most, it could only help them hold on for a short while, and it was not enough to help Song Qingming and the others escape their predicament.

Even if they couldn't persuade Song Qingming, they could still sow discord among the three of them.

As long as the opponent's talisman's power is exhausted, "Xu Gu Zi" will still have victory in his grasp.

Having said that, he said no more, and once again increased the power of his magic to activate the magic array in front of him.

Just as "Xu Gu Zi" was focused on activating the array plate in his hand, a beam of light suddenly flew from not far behind him.

"who!"

"Xu Gu Zi," who was casting a spell with all his might, had just sensed the danger behind him when he was struck and sent flying by the newcomer.

The array plate in his hand immediately flew into the air. (End of Chapter)