“Good! Good! Although this demonized body is inferior to my true form, to survive a strike from me means you’re no low-level cultivator. I shall use your blood for a sacrifice first!” “Nanlong Hou” said with a sinister tone.
The black aura on his face thickened by three parts, while his pair of silver-white eyes turned icy cold, staring unblinkingly at the old man like a corpse. The old man felt a chill run down his spine.
As soon as “Nanlong Hou” finished speaking, his figure blurred, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he lunged at the old man without further ado.
The old man surnamed Lu was terrified out of his wits. He wanted to escape from the stone wall, but there was no time—his opponent moved too fast, appearing before him almost instantly like a ghost. A claw wreathed in black aura thrust straight toward the old man’s head.
In desperation, the old man gritted his teeth, his body flashing with white light as he channeled all his spiritual power into the fiery-red veil in front of him. Instantly, the red light barrier expanded by half a foot. The black claw, under “Nanlong Hou’s” emotionless gaze, struck down fiercely.
A strange “sizzling” sound echoed as the light barrier flared brilliantly. To the old man’s relief, the ghostly claw stopped after penetrating about a foot into the barrier. The old man exhaled in relief, his face regaining some color. His spiritual light flickered again as he prepared to break free from the stone wall with his protective aura.
Opposite him, “Nanlong Hou” curled his lips slightly in mockery. A loud boom followed as he swung his other arm, smashing it against the red light barrier.
The spiritual light the old man had just released outside his body trembled and inexplicably dispersed by half. Before the old man could grasp his opponent’s intent, “Nanlong Hou” abruptly withdrew his arm from the barrier and struck again with the same lightning speed.
The barrier trembled once more, and the remaining protective aura around the old man shattered completely under the blow. His body sank deeper into the stone wall by several inches.
“Not good!” The old man surnamed Lu paled as realization dawned on him. He hastily shook the white flag in his hand, attempting to activate it.
But “Nanlong Hou” swung both fists, striking one after another without pause, leaving the old man no chance to deploy the flag. Each punch precisely disrupted the spiritual energy the old man had just channeled into the flag halfway, scattering it. The blows grew faster and more forceful, the thunderous impacts unrelenting.
Horrified, the old man tried to cast other secret techniques, but his spiritual power was repeatedly dispersed before he could fully gather it.
Thus, despite possessing immense spiritual power and abilities, Lu Weiying was utterly trapped in the stone wall, unable to act. He could only watch helplessly as the red light barrier before him thinned and faded, his face etched with despair.
The old man’s face turned ghastly pale. Meeting “Nanlong Hou’s” icy silver gaze sent another shiver down his spine. Without a doubt, if this continued, his treasure would shatter, and he would be crushed into pulp.
Gritting his teeth, the old man suddenly let out a fierce shout. White radiance flickered above his head as an infant resembling him appeared at his crown. The infant looked panicked but clutched a small blue sword tightly.
Almost simultaneously, the ancient treasure’s light barrier emitted a cracking sound. The infant hesitated no longer, stomping its foot and vanishing on the spot, reappearing instantly at the entrance. It then prepared to flee into the passage with the sword.
But at that moment, something bizarre occurred.
“Nanlong Hou,” still facing away from the entrance as if unaware, had his back robe suddenly explode open, revealing a ghostly face identical to the Blood Curse Gate, complete with tightly shut eyes—so lifelike it seemed real.
The ghostly face abruptly opened its eyes, revealing the same silver-white orbs, and spat out a purple shadow from its mouth.
Just as the old man’s infant threw the sword forward, intending to merge with it and escape, it heard a faint whistling sound. A searing heat surged in its head, and something shot out from between its brows, extending a considerable length.
The infant stared dumbly at the elongated object protruding from its forehead. A moment later, it let out a shrill scream before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.
To an onlooker, it would appear as though a thumb-thick purple tendril had extended from the ghostly face’s mouth, pierced through the infant’s head from behind, and emerged a foot in front of its brow—like a grotesquely long tongue.
The ghostly face grinned savagely as the infant fell. Its tongue retracted, coiling around the infant and dragging it into its mouth. After a few chews, it swallowed the infant whole, then closed its eyes in satisfaction. “Nanlong Hou” finally turned around, glanced emotionlessly at the now ownerless blue sword, and with a flicker of cruelty, reached back and tore out the old man’s heart. A light squeeze reduced it to a mist of blood, severing all life from the corpse.
With that done, “Nanlong Hou” swept his gaze indifferently over the area before transforming into a black mist and flying into the passage. Moments later, he emerged at the bottom of the pool. After a cold glance at the unmanned arrays, he shot upward toward the surface.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, “Nanlong Hou” appeared atop a stone mountain, hovering a hundred zhang in the air. Flying so high naturally triggered the Forbidden Devil Valley’s restrictions, summoning countless blood-red lightning bolts from the sky—all aimed at him.
Yet, before any lightning could come within a zhang of him, they veered away as if repelled, leaving him unscathed amidst the storm.
After surveying the surroundings for a long while, “Nanlong Hou” finally identified his direction. His silver eyes gleamed as he narrowed them toward a distant point. Suddenly, his form dissolved into black mist, streaking across the sky until he vanished beyond the horizon.
Meanwhile, in the basin, Ghost Spirit Sect Master Wei Wuyan and his group stood at the foot of an altar, gazing up at the seemingly endless staircase in awe.
They should have arrived much earlier, but a large-scale restriction near the altar delayed them for most of the day. Only now had they reached it.
Up close, the altar appeared grand yet ancient, its steps overgrown with weeds and partially eroded by time.
“Let’s go. Once we reach the top, we can locate the entrance to the Ethereal Spirit Garden,” the Ghost Spirit Sect Master urged after a thorough inspection, stepping onto the altar first.
But he immediately cursed loudly, startling the others.
“Be careful! There are more restrictions on these steps. Reaching the top won’t be easy,” he growled, his body flickering with yellow spiritual light as he glared at the seemingly infinite staircase.
Wei Wuyan frowned slightly. Though unfazed by restrictions, the delay frustrated him. The others shared his impatience, their minds fixated on the Ethereal Spirit Garden after learning of its existence.
“Let’s go,” Wang Tiangu sighed, stepping onto the staircase. A flash of yellow light later, his body felt as heavy as a thousand jin.
The rest followed, encountering the same phenomenon. Wei Wuyan remained unmoved, while the three Golden Core disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect trembled, their faces paling.
Slowly, the group ascended toward the altar’s peak.
“Is this the Spirit Candle Fruit?” Han Li murmured, standing in an oasis concealed by restrictions. Beyond lay an endless desert spanning tens of thousands of miles.
“Absolutely. Its appearance and the markings match perfectly,” Zi Ling replied excitedly, her bright eyes fixed on the green lake ahead.
A hundred zhang into the lake, a patch of mud protruded from the water, hosting a vibrant green herb. The plant stood several feet tall, covered in thumb-sized oval leaves, with four peculiar fruits at its crown.
The fruits were fiery red, narrow at the top and wide at the base, their tips glowing faintly like candle flames. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted from them.
Han Li nodded in confirmation. “I’ll go pick them now to avoid complications,” Zi Ling suggested, taking a deep breath and turning to him.
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