“How about it? Brother Lu, have you finished setting up as well? With these few magic arrays completely enclosing this place, even if we encounter a major problem, we can handle it somewhat. Besides, nine times out of ten, we’re just wasting our time here.” Marquis Nanlong inserted the last flag into a corner at the bottom of the pool, then clapped his hands together with a bitter smile.
“Heh! I’d rather waste a bit more time than risk any accidents. If there truly is a hidden treasure of ancient cultivators behind this door, that would be ideal. If not, it’s still better to be prepared than not. Though I’m quite eager for treasures, I value my old life even more.” Lu Weiying chuckled lightly, speaking nonchalantly.
Hearing this, Marquis Nanlong shook his head and said nothing further.
At this moment, the old man placed the final array disk in his hands and activated the restriction. A faint layer of white light shimmered indistinctly around them. Satisfied, the old man nodded before turning back to face the blood-glowing stone door.
Marquis Nanlong had grown impatient waiting. Seeing the old man finish his preparations, he immediately and unceremoniously removed a storage pouch from his waist and tossed it into the air. A burst of white light swept out, revealing the translucent skeleton of an ancient cultivator on the ground.
“This Blood Curse Door is truly sinister. To break its restriction, it actually requires the essence or flesh and blood of the one who cast the curse. The flesh and blood are long gone, but this ancient cultivator’s remains should still contain some of his essence.” Marquis Nanlong said gravely, then opened his mouth and spat out a golden flying sword. He then reached out and made a grasping motion toward the skeleton, causing it to float into the air, rising about five or six zhang above the ground.
With a flick of his finger, Marquis Nanlong sent a white spell striking the small sword hovering before his chest. The sword trembled lightly with a hum, and a dazzling golden light erupted from its tip, blindingly bright.
The light grew increasingly intense, forming a golden sphere. Moments later, the light detached from the sword and shot toward the floating skeleton, exploding upon impact. Countless razor-sharp sword energies crisscrossed, engulfing the entire skeleton. In an instant, bone powder, fine as sand, drifted down from the golden light.
Marquis Nanlong’s eyes flashed with intensity as he flicked his sleeve, releasing a golden radiance that swept up every last grain of the translucent bone sand. The golden sword light in the air gradually faded.
Inspecting the crystalline bone powder now gathered in the golden radiance, Marquis Nanlong nodded to himself before glancing at Lu Weiying beside him. Understanding his intent, the old man rubbed his hands together, summoning a white flag between them. With a light shake, a whirlwind materialized around the flag.
Marquis Nanlong sat cross-legged, forming hand seals and chanting low incantations. Various spells flew from his hands, striking the golden radiance enveloping the bone powder. Under the influence of these spells, the golden light churned and rotated, carrying the bone powder within.
The translucent powder shimmered with multicolored spiritual lights, flickering unpredictably, creating a dazzling display.
Meanwhile, the old man surnamed Lu tested the stone door. Instead of rashly attacking with his flag, he casually raised a hand, releasing a series of fist-sized fireballs toward the door.
With soft *puff* sounds, as the fireballs neared the door, the blood light on its surface flared violently. Suddenly, the door seemed to come alive—a mass of crimson light gathered and intertwined, forming a massive ghostly face identical to the carving on the door, spanning over a zhang in size. The ghost face swallowed the fireballs whole, flickered a few times, then dissipated, leaving the door unchanged.
Startled, the old man hesitated before pointing his flag at the door. The whirlwind around it transformed into a wind dragon, roaring as it attacked the door.
The ghost face reappeared, spewing a torrent of red light that engulfed the wind dragon, drawing it into its maw before vanishing once more, leaving the old man both shocked and furious.
Exchanging glances, the old man and Marquis Nanlong were at a loss.
“This Blood Curse Door is indeed peculiar. We should stick to Transcendent Frost Li’s method to dismantle it,” Marquis Nanlong sighed, speaking slowly.
Lu Weiying stroked his chin and nodded reluctantly. Though he had more powerful techniques at his disposal, the ghost face on the door was too bizarre. He didn’t want to risk ruining things by overcomplicating matters. Given Transcendent Frost Li’s renowned reputation, his method was likely reliable.
“Go!” Marquis Nanlong commanded, pointing at the golden radiance in the air. The light flared brilliantly, humming as it surged toward the stone door without hesitation.
Blood light flickered, and the ghost face emerged once more. This time, however, as soon as it faced the golden radiance, the bone powder within transformed into rice-sized white specks, clinging desperately to the ghost face. Upon contact, wisps of grayish-white mist erupted, dissolving the face instantly. Within moments, the entire door was shrouded in the mist.
Eerie wails rose from the fog, accompanied by flashes of blood light. Thick, bloody tentacles burst forth, thrashing violently against the stone floor as if the door itself had come alive. Yet, as the gray mist enveloped them, the tentacles melted away one by one.
“Now, strike!” Marquis Nanlong shouted without hesitation, seeing the door’s state. He tapped the golden sword before him, channeling his spiritual power through hand seals into the blade. The sword transformed into a blinding golden streak, shooting through the air.
Beside him, the old man, face grim, poured most of his spiritual power into the flag before hurling it forward. In a flash of white light, the flag split into several wind dragons, charging fiercely at the door.
In an instant, the golden streak and wind dragons plunged into the gray mist. A deafening explosion erupted as golden light, blood light, and whirlwinds clashed and merged before detonating violently.
A gust of wind later, the stone door became clearly visible again, the gray mist completely dispersed by the blast. Marquis Nanlong narrowed his eyes—the door no longer glowed with blood light, as if its restrictions had vanished.
Glancing at the golden sword embedded halfway into the door, he willed it with his spiritual sense. The sword shot out, transforming into a golden streak several feet long, slashing chaotically at the door. Amidst the cacophony of strikes and golden flashes, the door was reduced to rubble, releasing an overwhelming stench of decay.
Yet, when Marquis Nanlong and the old man saw the shattered remains, their expressions changed drastically.
From the broken edges of the rubble, dark red blood oozed like a living being, the source of the foul stench. The sight was indescribably eerie.
Though the door was destroyed, no astonishing treasures lay behind it. Instead, a pitch-black staircase descended into the earth.
“Let’s go. I want to see what treasures this Blood Curse Door was guarding, making it so mysterious.” Marquis Nanlong licked his lips, sneering as he stared at the passage leading into the depths. Without waiting for the old man, he strode forward and entered the passage.
The old man surnamed Lu remained still for a moment, eyeing the blood-oozing remnants of the door and the exposed passage. His brow furrowed deeply. Finally, he exhaled heavily and stepped into the passage as well.
To his surprise, the passage was remarkably short, descending only about twenty zhang before opening into an underground hall. The hall was small, no more than seven or eight zhang wide, and completely empty save for an altar table at the center.
When the old man entered, Marquis Nanlong stood frozen in the middle of the hall, staring blankly at the items on the altar.
Puzzled, the old man approached and looked as well—his heart immediately skipped a beat.
“Heavenly Origin Fruit! Am I seeing this right? The fruit that extends one’s lifespan by a hundred years with just one bite! And that purple ganoderma—could it be the legendary Heaven-Mending Ganoderma? Judging by its aura, it must be over ten thousand years old. Even consumed raw, it could advance decades of cultivation. And this golden bamboo—is it the Golden Lightning Bamboo, one of the Three Divine Woods? And this…” Lu Weiying stammered in disbelief as he identified the six or seven plants on the altar. Dazed, he took two involuntary steps forward for a closer look.
“Fellow Daoist Lu, if I were you, I wouldn’t act so rashly. Do you truly believe these spiritual medicines are just lying here for the taking? Take a closer look around first.” Marquis Nanlong’s cold voice snapped the old man out of his excitement.
“Brother Nanlong, what do you mean?” The old man felt as if cold water had been poured over his head, his mind clearing instantly as he frantically scanned the surroundings.
“Ah! This seems like the legendary Minor Sumeru Diamond Formation—a Buddhist array. Why would it be here?” The old man finally noticed faint runes on the walls, his expression shifting to one of astonishment.
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