CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 53: THE PURPLE BAMBOO YOUNG MASTER

The rebel army marched along the road, snow continued to fall between heaven and earth.

However, for the many members of the rebel army, they did not feel cold.

Lin Qianxuan made the game character look up at the sky; the screen showed a dark sky.

Murk covered the sky, resembling a layer of dark clouds; even the blazing sun struggled to shine through.

Moreover, this condition continued to worsen at an extremely rapid pace.

Lin Qianxuan still remembered the scene when he first crossed over; at that time, the sky’s murk wasn’t as exaggerated as now.

How long has it been since then?

Merely twelve days have passed, and the sky has darkened further.

Lin Qianxuan progressed the timeline; as they moved forward, murky spirits started appearing occasionally around.

Most were wild beasts or insects which were easily dealt with, as the rebel army was experienced.

There were also plants affected by the murk contamination.

Once contaminated, these plants also exhibited certain aggressiveness.

Yet, their movements were sluggish; perhaps an ordinary person could die if struck, but for the skilled rebel members, a casual slash or stab was enough to cut them down.

Speaking of plants, there’s actually nothing that can be planted over in Zhang City lately.

Less than twenty species, all cultivated by the Divine Machine.

Without sunlight overhead, they couldn’t naturally cultivate crops.

Soon, the group arrived at the front of a massive purple mountain.

This mountain wasn’t naturally purple; it appeared so due to the ubiquitous purple bamboo covering its surface.

Around this mountain, dark gray mist drifted everywhere.

All this was murk gathering in concentration.

[Gongsun Ying (raising hand): Everyone, we’re about to enter Purple Bamboo Mountain, check your breathing masks.]

Though they were skilled, if one inhaled too much murk, failing to counteract it with Divine Energy, they’d be corrupted.

Thus, breathing masks were needed to block part of the murk invasion into the body.

These masks too were Divine Machines.

The function is very singular, simply blocking murk.

Though, it couldn’t completely block murk because it infiltrated not only through the breath but could directly contaminate through the skin.

In other words, everything would become corrupted.

Even fully armored, staying long in the murk was quite difficult.

The denser the murk environment, the more pronounced this condition became.

With a somewhat profound Refining God Cultivation, one could resist a bit longer; without reaching the Divine Manifestation Realm in Refining God Cultivation, entering murk was akin to seeking death.

This was why the rebel army members were all at least Divine Manifestation Realm; below this realm, one would only hold back the group.

Lin Qianxuan progressed the plot, and soon everyone wore their masks.

The game character wore one too; he clearly didn’t want to be corrupted.

Immediately, they entered Purple Bamboo Mountain.

Lin Qianxuan began cautiously progressing the timeline.

Purple Bamboo Mountain itself was vast, and on both sides of the path grew towering purple bamboo, almost large enough for a person to wrap their arms around; these stood everywhere, seemingly already corrupted with murk, sometimes whipping their bamboo whips towards the group, trying to entangle and devour them to turn them into nourishment.

But they were quickly cleared by the rebel army members.

Halfway through, pavilions and towers emerged in the murk, exquisite structures hidden among the purple bamboo and mist, giving off a somewhat ethereal aura.

Yet, the somewhat dilapidated appearance turned that ethereal aura into something eerie.

Lin Qianxuan had the game character find Gongsun Yue.

[Lin Qianxuan: Did someone live here before?]

[Gongsun Yue (nodding, cautiously examining surroundings): Master, this used to be the residence of the Purple Bamboo Sect, whose disciples have all been corrupted. Although last time we came, we cleared some murky spirits, there should be some left untouched. You must be cautious, Master.]

[Lin Qianxuan (nodding): I understand.]

Continuing to progress the time, the group arrived among the buildings.

Suddenly, the screen changed.

Some individuals in ragged clothing and sinister expressions rushed towards them.

Their clothes faintly bore purple bamboo patterns, presumably the disciples of Purple Bamboo Mountain.

The game character seemed to have anticipated this issue in advance, and with a hand motion, Water Bullets shot forth, shattering all their heads.

Actually, these murky spirits were not like zombies in movies; a hit to the heart or similar locations could swiftly kill them, and they didn’t hold out like enduring dozens of attacks while still forcefully attempting to bite as if nothing happened.

However, Lin Qianxuan was clearly overly influenced by films, resulting in a lack of security unless he struck the heads.

[You were ambushed by murky spirits but detected them early and warned others, quickly attacking together and effortlessly vanquishing these murky spirits.]

(Continuing to advance with the group.)

[You continued forward, again encountering some murky spirits, which were effortlessly slain. You were gradually closing in on the core of the Purple Bamboo Sect.]

[After battling numerous murky spirits along the way, you finally reached the core residence of the Purple Bamboo Sect.]

A grand hall appeared before the game character, with the three majestic characters "Purple Bamboo Hall" towering at the entrance.

The crowd’s expressions were extremely cautious and serious at this time.

[Gongsun Ying (cautious): Everyone be careful, the Muddy Spirit King of Purple Bamboo Mountain is inside.]

The Muddy Spirit King refers to the strongest muddy spirit in a certain area.

The muddy spirits also follow their nature.

Weaker muddy spirits instinctively rely on stronger ones and band together.

Lin Qianxuan advanced the timeline.

The scene suddenly changed.

The game characters and Gongsun Ying and others arrived at the front of the great hall.

In the middle of the hall, a handsome man dressed in a clean purple robe, holding a folding fan with a Bamboo Crane design, was looking at the crowd.

This was the Muddy Spirit King of Purple Bamboo Mountain. Unlike other muddy spirits, his Refining God Cultivation was quite high, and even when tainted by muddy aura, he did not completely lose himself.

Regarding his identity, Lin Qianxuan had indeed inquired earlier with Gongsun Yue.

He was originally the Daoist Zizhu Prince of the Purple Bamboo Sect, whose talent and intellect were unparalleled. Even after being muddied, he retained some intelligence but could not communicate normally.

Zizhu Prince now stubbornly stationed himself here, determined to protect every plant and tree on Purple Bamboo Mountain, not allowing anyone to pass through.

[Zizhu Prince (looking at Gongsun Ying): Intruder, you’re here again.]

Zizhu Prince completely ignored the rest of the crowd, only focusing on Gongsun Ying from beginning to end.

[Gongsun Ying (solemn): Zizhu Prince, we just want to use the Purple Bamboo Sect’s earth track to ride the Divine Speed Chariot to the Celestial Craft Institute, let us pass.]

In response to Gongsun Ying’s words, Zizhu Prince’s expression became somewhat grim.

[Zizhu Prince (angry): The forbidden land of Purple Bamboo Mountain, no one is allowed to enter!!]

In the scene, Zizhu Prince waved his folding fan, causing a sudden gale, forcing everyone to retreat, except for the Gongsun sisters, the game character, and three squad commanders of the rebel army, who remained standing.

[Gongsun Ying (eyes slightly narrowed): Still can’t communicate? Then there’s no other way.]

[Faced with the uncommunicative Zizhu Prince, Gongsun Ying decided to defeat him and bypass him to head to the Purple Bamboo Sect’s earth track location.]

[The battle was imminent, and the two fell into a fierce struggle. The rebel army had difficulty helping and could only stand by the side to support.]

In the scene, Gongsun Ying and Zizhu Prince engaged in combat.

Gongsun Ying drew out the large sword she had been carrying, her feet glowing brightly, as if stepping on a radiant sun, charging towards Zizhu Prince in an instant.

Meanwhile, Zizhu Prince showed no fear, closing his folding fan to block Gongsun Ying’s sword.

With a single clash, waves of energy rolled, and the remnants of divine energy scattered, making the surrounding objects fly everywhere.

Lin Qianxuan, seeing this scene, showed little change in expression, feeling that the combat power was just so.

However, when the scene changed again, he was stunned.

The background scene depicted the entire great hall being destroyed, with Gongsun Ying stepping on a radiant sun, battling Zizhu Prince who was enveloped by the phantom of an enormous White Crane.

Gongsun Ying’s sword emitted a blade Qi of several meters, terrifying to behold.

Meanwhile, Zizhu Prince’s White Crane phantom was equally extraordinary, extremely fast, easily dodging attacks and counterattacking Gongsun Ying. Whether it flapped its wings or pecked with its beak, it possessed strong offensive capabilities, forcing Gongsun Ying not to attack with full force.

Their strengths were too great; the rest of the rebel army couldn’t intervene, so they focused on dealing with minor enemies, reducing Gongsun Ying’s divine energy consumption, as this elite creature was truly hard to handle.

The scene changed again, with Zizhu Prince waving his folding fan at Gongsun Ying, and an endless stream of purple bamboo leaves shot out like sharp swords, covering the sky, almost burying Gongsun Ying.

Gongsun Ying, surrounded by bamboo leaves, glowed, revealing a heroic phantom similar to herself, her True Self Primordial Spirit.

Experts in the Divine Manifestation Realm can manifest their True Self Primordial Spirit in battle.

The Primordial Spirit, when solidified, possesses attack characteristics like a physical entity, yet can ignore most physical attacks. Most importantly, the manifested Primordial Spirit is at least a few meters large.

Big means strength!

With a wide attack range, it can also be used for defense. Combined with the martial artist, combat power is not simply one plus one; it’s directly like having a sympathetic guardian spirit, and it’s said that at the Refining God Peak, one can even split off the Primordial Spirit.

According to records, the Emperor Shenwu could separate his Primordial Spirit from his body. When he left the Great Qian Country to explore the muddy aura, he left a Primordial Spirit avatar to guard the Great Qian; otherwise, if he left, the Great Qian Country would surely have fallen into chaos.

According to Lin Qianxuan’s estimation, Gongsun Ying’s Primordial Spirit was about eight meters.

After manifesting her Primordial Spirit, Gongsun Ying’s combat power was evidently stronger than before.

The Primordial Spirit also wielded a large sword with her, easily sweeping away many purple bamboo leaves.

This scene left Lin Qianxuan momentarily in a daze.

Controlling ocean waves within kilometers in his water territory might be more spectacular than this, but outside his domain, the water he could draw from the air wasn’t that exaggerated. If there were clouds in the sky, he might stir up some commotion, but otherwise, he’d just be left with a strong, purely physical body.

Lin Qianxuan suddenly realized that his Fifth Heaven status might be exaggerated.

It really was exaggerated.

Without water, his combat power diminished by at least seventy to eighty percent!

The environmental limitations were too significant.

He did know some Spirit Arts, but he was currently only at the initial stage of the Condensing Essence Realm, and the intensity of his Spirit Art wasn’t even as strong as his casual Water Bullet attack.

At this moment, the scene froze at Gongsun Ying battling the Zizhu Prince.

Lin Qianxuan realized he had a turn to take action.

Previously, he hadn’t had any turns, possibly because the game character was a bit stunned, unable to find a chance to intervene.

Now was the time.

"What are you waiting for? It’s time to step in and help!"

(Make a move, help in the battle!)