Shi Hao was lost in thought, a chill creeping from head to toe. The world truly held many eerie and inexplicable things!
Weren’t the peaks of the Transcendent Summit supposed to be littered with corpses? How could there be something seemingly alive?
A ghost becoming immortal—did such a thing truly exist? The thought sent shivers down his spine, his back tingling with cold sweat.
“Is that a living creature? I feel like it’s staring right at me!” the golden little ant muttered nervously.
On the cliff, a figure sat cross-legged, its eyes open, gleaming with a faint light, as if still brimming with vitality and spirit.
But this was a corpse from a million, perhaps even four or five million years ago! How could it still be alive?
Back then, they had sat here in meditation, their lifespans exhausted. How could they possibly return from death?
If they had merely been injured and dormant, waking up would make sense. But the span of time was far too vast—millions of years were enough to rot even the strongest cultivator’s soul and decay their flesh!
Even if it were an immortal being, once its life essence dried up, enduring for over a million years would be impossible. Only an empty husk should remain.
“Wuu… Aah…”
Suddenly, a terrifying sound pierced the air!
A shadow lunged forward, accompanied by a shrill, ghostly shriek that made one’s scalp crawl and every hair stand on end.
Not just Shi Hao and the little ant at the foot of the mountain—even the distant onlookers trembled in fear, their legs shaking so badly they nearly collapsed.
“What is that thing?!” someone screamed in terror.
“Human skin—how is it alive?!” The golden ant bristled, leaping up in alarm, its tiny fists radiating blinding golden light.
Even Shi Hao shuddered, sucking in a sharp breath. This was too bizarre.
Earlier, he had been distracted by the seated figure on the cliff, only to realize that what he had overlooked was far more horrifying.
On another mountain, an ancient coffin hanging from the precipice had opened, releasing a sheet of human skin that now swelled unnaturally.
The piercing shriek had come from its mouth. How could a dead thing—mere skin—behave like this?
“Ah! Run! A ghost has become immortal—it’s going to devour our essence and drain our life force!” a young woman shrieked, turning to flee.
Chaos erupted as many scrambled backward.
These were all cultivators—why would they fear evil spirits? But this thing was too terrifying, having fallen from the Transcendent Summit. Its origins were anything but ordinary.
This might be the skin of a supreme being—perhaps even an immortal ghost!
“What’s happening?” The crowd behind was bewildered, their fear mounting at the unknown.
The skin swelled further, transforming into a creature with hollow eyes like cosmic abysses, its mouth gaping to reveal razor-sharp teeth.
It spread its arms and swooped down, charging straight at Shi Hao and the golden ant.
“Whatever you are, you won’t stop me!” Shi Hao roared, his right fist blazing as he unleashed a punch crackling with lightning.
This was the Thunder Emperor’s divine technique—a Lightning Fist!
**Boom!**
A dazzling explosion of light and surging energy shattered the void, striking the eerie creature head-on.
“Wuu… Aah…” The shrill scream echoed through the air.
Amidst the lightning and shockwaves, the creature was struck, thrashing violently—yet its skin remained unharmed, not even singed.
What was going on? Shi Hao’s pupils contracted sharply. Despite his overwhelming strength, his full-force attack had done nothing.
Yet, to everyone’s confusion, the creature didn’t counterattack. Instead, it tumbled through the shockwaves, propelled upward by Shi Hao’s punch.
As it soared, it gradually deflated, reverting to a limp sheet of skin.
“Damn it all! What in the world is happening?!” the golden ant yelped.
Everyone was stunned. Why had the skin retreated instead of attacking?
“The ghost’s old skin flew back up!” a female cultivator screamed. No matter how strong, women were often more unnerved by such horrors than men.
Shi Hao stared intently. The withered skin, buffeted by his energy and the shockwaves, now fluttered against the cliff like a ghastly remnant.
Yet he noticed something odd—when the mountain wind blew, the skin would occasionally puff up and collapse again.
“Hmm… Could it be inflating from the wind, and the shrieks are just air passing through?” Shi Hao mused.
The golden ant nodded vigorously, agreeing with the theory.
Even the cultivators behind them paused, finding the explanation plausible—though it didn’t account for everything.
Shi Hao fell silent, his gaze fixed on the cliff. The skin’s durability wasn’t surprising—it was the remains of a supreme being, impervious to most attacks.
But the earlier horror couldn’t be dismissed so easily. Something far more sinister seemed at play.
“Wait—there’s something else up there!” An elder, usually composed, suddenly shouted in alarm, his face paling.
Everyone strained their eyes, but only those with Heavenly Vision could glimpse it.
“What? A hand—what is that?!”
On the cliff, a furry hand emerged, its nails long and hooked like black iron, gleaming wickedly.
Covered in crimson fur, it reached out, carefully cradling the floating skin as if it were a sacred relic.
Then, the hand gently placed the skin back into the hanging coffin and sealed the lid.
Unfortunately, obstructed by rocks, no one could see the creature clearly—only a vague shadow and that monstrous hand.
Finally, a ghostly wail echoed as the unseen being knelt before the coffin, prostrating in worship.
At that moment, everyone felt a bone-deep chill. The Transcendent Summit had truly become a place of horror.
How could there be living things here? Had ghosts truly manifested, or worse—had an immortal ghost been born?
This contradicted ancient records. This was supposed to be a sacred trial ground, where one could attain enlightenment by listening to scriptures.
Yet now, it was a nightmare, freezing hearts with terror.
Silence returned.
Shi Hao didn’t know how the skin had fallen or what guarded it, but he sensed this was no place to linger.
His gaze shifted to another peak, where the seated figure still watched, its glowing eyes fixed on him and the ant.
He couldn’t tell if it was truly alive. A corpse’s eyes could remain uncorrupted, shining like divine stones.
Yet deep down, his soul trembled with unease, a primal dread gripping him.
Should they press onward? This path was surrounded by unpredictable dangers, the mountains possibly infested with malevolent spirits!
The crowd behind shared his doubts. This ancient land had become a place of mystery and terror.
Millions of years ago, people had climbed these peaks and witnessed the truth. Now, they had transformed into this.
What horrors awaited in the ultimate trial ground, where none had ever returned alive? Perhaps it was even worse.
Some even speculated that the ghosts here had crawled out from that very place.
The thought made everyone’s blood run cold. Who would dare enter such a hellish domain, the source of nightmares beyond imagination?
“Should we still go?” the golden ant whispered. “Something feels… off.”
“Yes.” Shi Hao’s reply was firm. Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
The crowd gasped. After such horrors, they expected him to retreat—yet he pressed on.
“Young man, reconsider!” the old city lord urged.
“Thank you for your concern, but I know what I’m doing,” Shi Hao replied without turning back.
His courage earned their awe. To walk this path took unimaginable resolve.
Striding along the rugged stone trail beneath the mountains, Shi Hao moved as if carrying a star’s weight.
Anyone else would have been crushed by the pressure!
This trial was meant only for the supreme—those who had reached the pinnacle of their realm.
The little ant gritted its teeth but endured, proving its own extraordinary nature.
Step by step…
Shi Hao’s footsteps echoed as he advanced, encountering no further dangers. The earlier falling boulders had ceased.
Finally, he reached the path’s end—just a few dozen steps from the ultimate trial ground, where the road curved.
He was about to uncover the truth, to see what lay beyond.
Strangely, the journey had been eerily quiet. Nothing else had happened.
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