Was it you that night?
Chapter 199 - 197: Exploding to Death!

Chapter 199: Chapter 197: Exploding to Death!

"It’s too strange," Shen Qinghe murmured silently.

In the past, wherever she was, whatever issue she faced, she could always consult Dongfang Wuya. But now, in this solitary competition, time was money, and she did not have much time to ponder.

She focused and calmed her mind, trying to sense the spiritual energy, but felt that although the mountains were very quiet, there was an abundance of spiritual energy.

When she spread her arms and lightly crooked her fingers, she could almost feel the spiritual energy dancing at her fingertips.

She happily played for a while before remembering she was still in a competition.

"Black and White Rope, do you think we’ve entered an Illusory Realm or some kind of Formation?" Unable to find someone to ask, Shen Qinghe started negotiating with the Black and White Rope.

The Black and White Rope scratched her palm, as if to comfort her.

"Last time, you were able to break Qu Nian’s Illusory Realm, so can you break this one too?" Shen Qinghe asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.

This time, the Black and White Rope did not react, lying on her wrist, playing dead.

Recalling that the Black and White Rope always seemed particularly impressive when threatened, Shen Qinghe twisted it in her hand and coaxed gently, "If you can’t figure out a way to break this situation, I won’t be able to participate in the next Black River Secret Realm trials, and my cultivation base won’t be able to rise more quickly. There are many immortal fates there. If I could enter the Black River Secret Realm and gain an immortal fate, I will be on the path to become an immortal in the future, and you will be very formidable and awe-inspiring. We wouldn’t need to be afraid of Mr. Wuya anymore..."

No sooner had her words fallen than the stimulated Black and White Rope suddenly flew out, transforming into a gigantic black and white staff, stretching upwards as if it were trying to pierce the sky.

Shen Qinghe, experiencing a moment of inspiration, took out the Shadow Capturing Talisman to record the scene of the Black and White Rope’s display of power.

As her life-bound magic treasure revealed its power, spiritual energy surged in the air. With a slight beckon from Shen Qinghe, all the spiritual energy gathered around her, enveloping her within it.

Meanwhile, the Black and White Rope continued to swell, turning into a huge black and white staff.

When it had grown large enough, it began to spin at high speed, and soon, the once-peaceful mountainside was churning with wind and cloud.

The person who set up the Formation had never expected that his Immortal Slaying Formation Method would be counteracted by Shen Qinghe and her life-bound magic treasure. Indeed, as its name suggested, any cultivator who entered the Immortal Slaying Formation was doomed to die.

This was because the Formation could absorb the spiritual energy of a cultivator, which ultimately fed back to him for his own use. He became stronger and stronger, while the trapped cultivator became weaker and weaker.

Yet, after initial confusion, Shen Qinghe managed to draw on the spiritual energy within the Formation. Since the Formation’s spiritual energy was his own and dispersed between heaven and earth, Shen Qinghe was constantly draining his spiritual energy.

Even as a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator, he could not withstand Shen Qinghe siphoning his spiritual energy. Coupled with the mischief of Shen Qinghe’s life-bound magic treasure, he sensed lethal danger and tried to dismantle the Formation, only to find it useless.

After struggling for a while, nearly all his spiritual energy was drained by Shen Qinghe, leaving him with hardly any. At last, unable to hold on any longer, he succumbed to the powerful backlash of spiritual power from Shen Qinghe and the Black and White Rope.

No, that’s not right!

This, this is clearly Immortal Qi.

His eyes bloodshot, nearly bursting from their sockets under the relentless assault of the immortal power, he exploded and died, his body and primordial soul dispersing like smoke and clouds...

Meanwhile, Nan Sheng, filled with ecstasy upon almost reaching the mountain’s peak, was about to rush to her destination when a figure flashed past her like lightning, seizing the flag atop the mountain—none other than Shen Qinghe.

Nan Sheng couldn’t believe what she was seeing as she looked at Shen Qinghe, "Impossible, how is it you?!"

Understanding her reaction, Shen Qinghe said, "It seems you are the one who set up the formation to trap me, but unfortunately, you must be disappointed."

Luckily, she had realized something was amiss in time, and the Black and White Rope had been stimulated, breaking the trap Nan Sheng had set up.

Nan Sheng, the Fated Female Protagonist of the original story, found helpers even in such a major competition. Where on earth did she get such support from?

Enraged, Nan Sheng’s eyes filled with blood as she blurted out, "How could you possibly escape the Immortal Slaying Formation laid out by that person?!"

After all, that was a cultivator at the Divinity Transformation Stage, so how could Shen Qinghe, a Golden Core Mid-stage Cultivator, break through a formation set by a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator, especially since it was the notorious Immortal Slaying Formation, feared by cultivators across The Four Seas and Eight Wilds?

At the mention of the "Immortal Slaying Formation," Shen Qinghe was somewhat taken aback. She hadn’t expected that seemingly calm and non-lethal formation to actually be the Immortal Slaying Formation.

It was said that even Divinity Transformation Stage cultivators would struggle to escape death once inside the Immortal Slaying Formation, which would sap them dry of their Spiritual Energy. Only at the moment of their demise would they turn to ash. Before that happened, they would have to watch as their Spiritual Energy was drawn out bit by bit by the formation—this was truly the most torturous part.

But strangely, she hadn’t felt any loss of Spiritual Energy while inside the Immortal Slaying Formation. Instead, she had absorbed the formation’s Spiritual Energy, and her own became increasingly plentiful. Was it because her method of absorbing Spiritual Energy was different from other cultivators?

Or perhaps it was because she had received the child-like body of Mr. Wuya?

Looking coldly at Nan Sheng, Shen Qinghe asked, "When did you start colluding with the powers of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect?"

Nan Sheng realized she had let something slip and felt like vomiting blood, yet she still tried to remain calm as she said, "Qinghe, you shouldn’t make baseless accusations. Do you think I’d have the opportunity to befriend someone powerful from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect?"

"In my opinion, the person you’re in cahoots with is in a rather precarious state. If a powerful individual from the Thousand Mechanisms Sect is found gravely wounded, that person is likely the one who has been working with you," Shen Qinghe said, and other cultivators arrived on the scene.

Seeing that Shen Qinghe had taken first place, they were not surprised and came forward to congratulate her.

It was at this moment that Nan Sheng suddenly raised her voice, "Although Qinghe and I are both disciples of the Sky Pole Sect, I must expose her—Elder Qiu of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect has been gravely injured by Qinghe!"

Upon her declaration, everyone looked toward Shen Qinghe.

Shen Qinghe raised an eyebrow and replied, "Everyone knows that I was participating in the competition, so how could I have gravely injured Elder Qiu?"

"I didn’t say you injured Elder Qiu now, but rather during the time you disappeared after the first round of the arena competition," Nan Sheng said proudly.

If one plan failed, she’d simply devise another. She was eager to see how Shen Qinghe would escape this time.

After all, it was true that Elder Qiu had been injured by Shen Qinghe, and since he was an elder of the Thousand Mechanisms Sect, his disciples surely wouldn’t let Shen Qinghe off easily. Nan Sheng waited to see how this drama would unfold.

Shen Qinghe, of course, had seen through Nan Sheng’s malicious intentions, but truthfully, there was an alibi for the time she and Dongfang Wuya had disappeared—the witness was Meng Yun.

Meng Yun just needed to testify, so Nan Sheng’s malicious plan was unlikely to succeed.

However, after what had happened that night, it was uncertain whether Meng Yun would disclose everything.

By the time she met Nan Sheng, she had already taken out a Shadow Capturing Talisman to record their conversation, which probably wouldn’t necessitate calling Meng Yun to testify.