Chapter 978

In Bai Yao’s startled gaze, the golden arc exploded upon the corpse.

The corpse, ancient beyond reckoning, instantly disintegrated into a pile of white ash within the golden light.

"Let's go. It seems I overestimated the danger." Han Li frowned silently for a moment, then spoke coolly.

Then he strode out of the place.

Bai Yao let out a light laugh, shook her head dismissively, and followed him out.

Not long after, the two reappeared in the corridor and continued flying forward.

When their figures had vanished far away, a streak of purple light was finally swallowed by the black wind, and beneath the stone pillars in the cave, a human-shaped black shadow slowly rose from the ground.

The black shadow was entirely dark, its features blurred, as if nothing but pure shadow—only its eyes glowed with eerie green light.

It first glanced at the ice shards of the demon monkey at the entrance, then lowered its head to look at the ashes before the pillar, and suddenly lunged toward the ground.

A bizarre scene unfolded!

After the shadow rolled once, the ashes flew toward it and clung to its entire form without falling off.

Then the shadow emitted a low moan, releasing waves of black mist that wrapped its entire body.

Moments later, as the black mist churned, an identical corpse stepped out from within.

This time, the corpse was no longer a lifeless corpse—it turned its head slightly, then suddenly opened its mouth toward the entrance and spat out a thick black wind that swept up the ice shards of the demon monkey.

Within the black wind, the ice melted and dissolved at a visible rate.

With a “whoosh,” a complete demon monkey leapt out of the wind.

It bared its fangs several times, then leapt a few times until it climbed onto the corpse’s leg, settling there like a pet, motionless.

The corpse extended a black claw and idly patted the demon monkey’s head twice, its eyes fixed on the exit, green light flickering incessantly.

This corpse seemed to be thinking like an ordinary person, clearly possessing full sentience.

While Han Li and the others split up, atop a massive mountain peak in the southern lands, an estate erupted in deafening shouts and battle cries—nearly a hundred black-robed cultivators attacked a faint yellow barrier with various magic treasures and tools, the barrier shielding most of the estate, yet inside, only a dozen yellow-robed cultivators frantically waved colorful array flags to reinforce the barrier.

Due to their small numbers, the barrier trembled precariously, and every face showed panic.

Hundreds of zhang above the estate, a middle-aged cultivator with a stern appearance, also clad in yellow robes, had an unusually pale face.

Around him, five pale-gray figures stood at a distance, each faint as smoke.

Yet these figures formed a circle, precisely surrounding the middle-aged cultivator.

“Brother Zong, can you not spare the He family? I’ve met the Ghost Sect’s Sect Master several times. If you’re willing to show mercy, I’ll lead the He clan out of the cultivation world forever and never reappear. Moreover, this is the southern lands—wouldn’t your reckless actions invite trouble?” The yellow-robed cultivator, though knowing it was futile, still clung to his last hope as he looked upward.

“Your He family agreed to submit to our Yin Luo Sect, yet at the last moment, you wished to renege. What do you think of our Yin Luo Sect? Don’t imagine that moving to the southern lands means we can’t find you. To preserve our sect’s reputation, the He family must vanish entirely. And I, Zong, intend to use your head to intimidate the petty ones. Will you end your own life, or shall I do it for you? If the Five Sons’ Heart Demon strikes, not even bones will remain.” Though no one was nearby, a voice drifted from all directions—ethereal, genderless, indeterminate.

At these words, the yellow-robed cultivator’s heart sank.

At that moment, a thunderous crash came from below—the yellow-robed cultivator’s eyes widened as he glanced down: the barrier shielding the estate had shattered into fragments, dissolving into scattered glowing specks.

The yellow-robed cultivator’s face lost all color.

Outside the estate, the Yin Luo cultivators erupted in cheers, then a flood of light descended, instantly engulfing the dozen estate cultivators within the barrier.

“You dare…”

The yellow-robed cultivator could no longer contain himself—he slapped his spirit beast bag, and a flash of yellow light shot out, transforming into a yellow serpent dozens of zhang long, streaking downward.

“Why bother with these junior disciples? Let me test your Hun Tian Brick.” The mysterious figure spoke calmly, and one of the pale figures suddenly moved—after the serpent, yet arriving first—materializing beneath it.

Its speed approached instantaneous teleportation.

The serpent’s eyes flashed with ferocity, its gaping maw opened wide, and it lunged toward the pale figure.

The pale figure said nothing, shook its form, and instantly transformed into a giant skull, over a zhang wide, entirely snow-white. The serpent froze in shock, trying to halt—but it was too late.

The skull let out a series of eerie “gaga” laughs, then spat a cloud of white silk that instantly wrapped the serpent’s head, binding it completely.

The serpent panicked and struggled violently, its massive tail, like a steel whip, lashed hard against the skull.

But the skull didn’t budge an inch; instead, gray light suddenly glowed from its mouth, traveling along the white silk directly into the serpent.

An unbelievable scene unfolded.

From the serpent’s head onward, wherever the gray light passed, its once glossy, swollen body rapidly withered and shriveled—in moments, its flesh vanished entirely, leaving only skin stretched over bone.

The serpent died instantly.

Yet the skull wasn’t done—it shook the white silk, swallowing the entire serpent corpse into its mouth and began chewing with horrifying “crunch-crunch” sounds.

Seeing his long-time spirit serpent meet such a fate, the yellow-robed cultivator was filled with rage and horror, a flicker of venomous hatred flashing in his eyes.

He glanced at the approaching pale figures, then suddenly slapped the back of his head and spat out an object—a square brick, several cun across, glowing faintly yellow.

He formed a hand seal and pointed gravely at the brick.

The treasure spun into the air, then rapidly expanded in a flash of light—within a single breath, a colossal object appeared above the yellow-robed cultivator.

Over ten zhang in size, blazing with blinding yellow light, its surface swirled with runes—its aura was terrifying.

“Is this the Hun Tian Brick? Hearing of it was nothing compared to seeing it—I’m truly disappointed. It seems I have no need to show myself; let the Five Demons escort you on your way!” The hidden cultivator sighed, sounding deeply unimpressed.

As soon as he spoke, the other pale figures moved, drifting slowly toward the yellow-robed cultivator.

The yellow-robed cultivator ignored the scornful words—he glanced at the approaching pale figures, then roared suddenly, his voice shaking the heavens—the Hun Tian Brick above him began spinning rapidly. Due to its size, a hurricane instantly erupted, engulfing the yellow-robed cultivator.

But the pale figures paid it no mind—when they neared the hurricane’s edge, they stretched their forms and shot straight into the wind.

“Foolish!”

Countless yellow beams shot out from the wind—each a square brick, several chi in size.

A thunderous roar erupted, and in moments, the pale figures were swallowed by the light.

But seizing the opportunity, a streak of yellow light shot out from the hurricane, vanished instantly, and flew toward the horizon—within a blink, it was over twenty zhang away.

“Hmph!” A chilling, bone-deep sneer echoed.

Then, with a few “pops,” four pale figures emerged from the yellow light as if untouched, then vanished from their original spots in a flash.

The next instant, space rippled ahead of the yellow streak—gray light flashed, and four pale figures appeared, silently lunging at the streak.

The yellow-robed cultivator panicked, halted his flight, and raised his hand urgently.

Instantly, a massive brick several zhang wide struck the pale figures—but they merely swayed, their forms passing straight through the brick as if it were air, appearing before the cultivator in an instant.

The yellow-robed cultivator was thrown into utter panic—he waved his hand and revealed a long-held ancient treasure.

It was a blue token.

The moment the token flashed, a wave of blue mist erupted—when the pale figures entered it, their forms instantly stiffened, as if frozen in place.

Before the yellow-robed cultivator could even smile, the pale figures let out eerie laughter and dissolved within the blue mist.

Seeing this, the cultivator realized his mistake—he immediately summoned a surge of spiritual light around his body and tried to flee.

But before him, white mist suddenly appeared—several faint human shadows burst forth, ignoring his protective aura entirely, piercing through it and vanishing into his body.

Before he could react, he felt his Nascent Soul tighten suddenly, his body grew hot, as if all his blood had boiled.

This was his final sensation in this world—the next instant, his eyes went black and he lost consciousness.

Had anyone else been nearby, they would have clearly seen the yellow-robed cultivator’s face wither at a visible rate, turning into a desiccated corpse within moments.

His Nascent Soul within the corpse was instantly devoured by the pale shadows clinging to his body; then the four pale figures, sated, flew out of the corpse, transforming into four skulls that savagely devoured the remains.

At that moment, the fifth pale figure slowly drifted over, joining the other four in a line.

Below, the estate’s explosions and battles had ceased, and an old black-robed cultivator flew up eagerly.

“Respected Grand Elder! All seventy-two He family cultivators have been exterminated. There remain three hundred and some ordinary descendants—please give your orders.” The black-robed elder bowed respectfully, standing still before the pale figures.

“Kill them all.” The mysterious cultivator spoke coldly.

“Yes!” The black-robed elder replied, preparing to fly down.

“Wait. Grand Elder Ge wrote earlier that the cultivator who killed our Fourth Elder and stole the Yin Luo Flag may be in the southern lands. This matter is settled—deploy all personnel to track him down. I will remain in the southern lands for a year; if I find his trail, I will eliminate him immediately. Our sect’s sacred treasure cannot fall into outsider hands.” The mysterious cultivator ordered grimly.

“Yes, your disciple will issue the orders immediately.” The black-robed elder’s expression hardened, and he bowed respectfully before turning into a streak of black light and descending.

“To kill the Fourth Elder who carried the Yin Luo Flag and escape the pursuit of the Tian Lan Sacred Palace—that’s far more impressive than these He family fools. He must be an interesting opponent!” The mysterious cultivator murmured to himself after the elder left, as if deeply intrigued by Han Li.

Net