Chapter 510: Heartless Abandonment

A hundred miles away, the Heavenly Sound Bell surrounding Xueyu Immortal and the others dimmed significantly, its pale golden light fading as its energy was largely depleted, leaving it with little power left.

Inside the bell, many cultivators at the Refining Void stage and Tribulation Crossing stage lay on the ground, their faces pale and injuries severe. These were not merely physical wounds but far more serious damage to their spiritual cores.

After reaching the Divine Transformation stage, the spiritual core becomes the most vital aspect of a cultivator, rarely suffering injuries. Yet once damaged, it becomes extremely serious and difficult to recover from in a short time.

If only the physical body was injured and the spiritual core remained intact, even if half of the body was lost, overall combat strength would not be greatly diminished. Conversely, even if the physical body was unharmed, damage to the spiritual core would cause confusion and impair the ability to use various magical techniques.

At this moment, these over forty cultivators lying on the ground, under such special circumstances, could essentially be considered ruined. Saving their lives would become a burden to Xueyu Immortal and other cultivators at the Great Vehicle stage.

There was only one way to save them: Xueyu Immortal and the others had to support them as Su Che did, forcing them to move forward. They absolutely could not put them in their personal magic space, as that would constitute a severe violation of the rules, punishable even for those who tried to rescue them.

“The feet must not leave the ground”—this clearly referred to the earth beneath their feet. Once they entered their personal magic space, could their feet still touch the ground?

As the various sound waves inside the bell gradually weakened, Xueyu Immortal and other Great Vehicle stage cultivators gradually regained consciousness. Having reached the realm just one step away from immortality, they still possessed some resistance to forces beyond the mortal world.

“What an amazing sound wave technique!”

The first thought that crossed these Great Vehicle stage cultivators’ minds as they regained consciousness was one of awe: “That woman by Tian Yu’s side must have an extremely extraordinary background. She might be the reincarnation of some immortal, capable of unleashing such powerful supernatural techniques by activating hidden potential…”

Then…

Finally, the pale golden light of the Heavenly Sound Bell vanished, emitting one last loud sound that shook Xueyu and the others deeply, stirring an inexplicable sense of fear in their hearts.

That final sound, embodying the essence of a “warning tone,” seemed to warn them: “Do not provoke me again!”

After the bell rang, Xueyu Xianzi and the others adjusted their internal energy to quickly recover from various negative states. After a dozen breaths, a Great Perfection-stage powerhouse glanced at the dozens of subordinates lying collapsed on the ground and transmitted a message to the others, asking, “What should we do with them?”
Li Jiu’s expression turned cold as he replied without hesitation, “In this mysterious space, not even we can save ourselves, and the outcome is unpredictable. How can we worry about them?”
Upon hearing this, the other Great Perfection-stage powerhouses nodded in agreement; Xueyu Xianzi also nodded indifferently, though a hint of pity flashed in her eyes.
Li Jiu turned and looked at the straight passage pushed forward by Xiao Hei, then said in a deep voice, “By following this passage, we can soon catch up with Tianyu. They can’t go very fast.”
“Chase them!” several others said in unison.
By now, the cultivators lying collapsed on the ground surely realized they had been abandoned. They had made up their minds to give up on these people completely, so…
“Lord, save me! Please don’t leave me behind!”
“Ancestor, your disciples have followed you for thousands of years, always serving you wholeheartedly without any ulterior motives. You can’t abandon us!”
“Uncle, save me!”
“Uncle, take me with you! Don’t let me die here…”
One after another, they tried to get up, but due to severe damage to their spiritual cores, they had temporarily lost even their basic balance.
In fact, such injuries were not fatal for them. After meditating for a few hours, they could not only use divine movement techniques to continue traveling but also fight without any problem.
However, Li Jiu and the others, determined to capture Su Che alive, were unwilling to stay and wait for hours, let alone carry a burden that would increase their chances of dying in this perilous mysterious space.
Remember, besides capturing Su Che, this was also an extreme race—those who lost would face a tragic end!
Life was the most important, but only one’s own, not someone else’s.
Let’s go!
Xueyu Xianzi and the others completely ignored their pleas and turned to leave without hesitation. The cries of despair behind them soon turned into curses filled with anger.
Because they all knew that as long as the Demon Exorcising Holy Lamp in Xueyu Xianzi’s hands moved more than a thousand feet away, those black tentacles would emerge from the ground again. In their current state, they would merely become piles of meat to be devoured by those tentacles, with no chance of survival.

Indeed, as expected. After just a dozen breaths, thick tentacles sprang up from the ground in this area, moving frantically as if filled with both hunger and excitement, wrapping around the defenseless human cultivators.
Ah…
The screams were extremely brief, followed by the gulping sounds of the black tentacles.
These “prey” were either at the Refining Void stage or the Tribulation Crossing stage. For the Dark Whisker Beast hidden deep underground, this was nothing short of a heavenly feast—extremely nourishing. The more it consumed, the faster its life form would advance.
Perhaps it would become the only Dark Whisker Beast in the entire universe to achieve immortality…
Boom…
Xiao Hei swung his battle axe, cutting through black tentacles and towering trees within a dozen zhang radius. Of course, this also consumed a great deal of his Chaos Energy.
“The consumption rate is too fast!”
Lao Hei didn’t want to add pressure on his master but couldn’t help but warn, “Master, if this continues for another half hour, all the Chaos Energy I’ve accumulated over decades will be exhausted.”
The battle axe given by the Witch God was indeed sharp, but its drawback was that it required too much energy or power to unleash its full power.
Su Che remained silent, continuously releasing various flames from his right hand.
He had already tried hundreds of thousands of spiritual flames earlier, but all of them vanished silently upon touching the black tentacles, just like ordinary sparks that landed on black stone pillars without leaving any trace.
Conversely, if a spiritual flame that could counteract the tentacles existed, even a tiny spark would be enough to ignite them instantly—just like the relationship between a spark and fuel.
“The Chaos Energy I’ve accumulated over decades will only last another half hour. Can I find such a counteracting spiritual flame by then?”
“I’m afraid even the Snow Jade Fairy and her group won’t give me even half an hour.”
At this critical moment, Su Che remained calm, free from any tension or anxiety. Whatever happened, it would just have to be done.
Behind him, dozens of cultivators at the Great Vehicle stage, protected by the Demon Exorcism Holy Lamp, were unimpeded by any tentacles. They pursued along the wide path cut by Xiao Hei, using their space-shortening techniques to their limit, moving several times faster than Su Che and his group.
A distance of over a hundred li could be covered in less than half a minute…