Chapter 167: Avici

Earth Realm, Cangzhou Prefecture, Mount Jiuhua City.

"The Dead Realm is a place like this—deformed and twisted; it should never have existed in the first place."

"Other planets are absolutely not this chaotic."

"It is only because the four realms of Earth and Moon are too feeble to organize the Earth Realm."

"Allowing its branches to twist and grow freely is what has created this spectacle."

Shi Xuan raised his head and looked at Jiang Jian. "In the time to come, I will do my best to keep my consciousness clear and wait here."

"Waiting for the day the Earth Realm returns to normal."

"If one day, you achieve success in your cultivation, your merit matches the creation, and you are able to turn the universe around."

"Please remember that on the dark side of Earth, this ugly corner still exists."

"And even more so, remember to restore it to the right path."

"It needs rules to restrain it."

"Those who have died need quiet rest even more."

"After all, this is the final destination for the hundred billion souls of the four realms of Earth and Moon after they die."

Having said this.

Shi Xuan revealed a miserable smile. "My mother, she missed me too much."

"Her consciousness never dissipated; instead, with an incredibly strong willpower, she has maintained it until now."

"The only clear thought she has left there is me."

"After getting the bracelet, every night, I would hear her calling."

"The day I arrived in the Dead Realm and saw her like this, I only had one thought in my heart: to give her release."

"To peel off her face and take her place, remaining here."

"Perhaps, this is my fate."

"However, I do not regret it."

Shi Xuan moved his fingers, and a seal appeared.

"This is the seal to activate the Dead Man's Jade."

"The moment I peel off the face, you activate the seal to destroy her face."

"This way, she can be without worries and sleep in peace."

Behind him.

That three-story-tall dead person's body trembled even more violently.

As if at any moment, it would awaken.

Jiang Jian's gaze trembled as he attempted to activate the seal.

The Dead Man's Jade in his hand indeed trembled along with it, and wisps of gray Qi surged out.

In a flash of thought, Jiang Jian took a portion of it to protect his own soul.

The aura of a living person was hidden even deeper.

"The time is coming."

Shi Xuan turned around, his figure gaunt and thin as paper.

The next second.

His figure shook, dispersing the gray Qi on his soul.

The remaining aura of a living person was clearly revealed!

Boom—

The three-story-tall dead person's ears kept falling off its body; it was almost about to open its eyes!

As if it had sensed this aura.

Outside the pavilion, many dead people had their gazes stall as they looked toward here.

Shi Xuan did not hesitate at all; he used his remaining spiritual essence cultivation, stomped hard on the ground, leaped more than ten meters into the air, and reached toward the original face of the three-story-tall dead person!

Time seemed to stand still.

Seemingly sensing something, the dead person's eyelids trembled violently; the next second, it was about to open them!

Shi Xuan's figure momentarily stalled; his palms were full of gray Qi as he grabbed the edge of that face.

With an indescribable despair in his expression, he tore it off fiercely!

Rip!

This face was torn off alive; the next second, countless dead people's ears emerged!

Holding it in his hand, Shi Xuan's palms trembled; he didn't even dare to look at it for a second longer.

With his heart wrung with pain, while it hadn't yet turned into gray Qi, he dropped down and roared, "Jiang Jian! Help me kill her!"

Jiang Jian remained silent, but his hands did not stop; he pinched the seal, and gray Qi rolled out, directly wrapping that face within it!

The gray Qi dissipated.

Amidst the spreading black light, this face had already dissipated into fine fragments, never to be seen again.

Shi Xuan let out a sigh of relief, then stood blankly on the spot, as if he had lost all his strength.

"The Earth Realm of our Earth should not be like this."

Shi Xuan revealed a miserable smile, whispering to himself, while countless dead people's ears sprouted all over his body, instantly drowning him completely!

Countless resentful roars struggled to rise!

The three-story-tall dead person's body collapsed instantly!

Hundreds of thousands of dead people's faces twisted and scurried, all drilling into Shi Xuan's body!

Jiang Jian's heart was complex; he took one last look at it and, without stopping, his figure retreated violently!

"The time is almost up."

After leaving the pavilion and looking at the pale-as-paper sky, Jiang Jian's heart grew even colder.

Being brought to the Dead Realm by Shi Xuan using negative energy.

Was the closest Jiang Jian had ever come to facing the threat of death!

This sense of powerlessness was almost suffocating.

But in the depths of Jiang Jian's heart, he had never once thought of giving up, not even for a second.

Every moment.

Jiang Jian was thinking about how to escape the Dead Realm.

"Only less than half an hour left."

As his thoughts surged, Jiang Jian moved rapidly, his face gloomy, as he swept toward the West Gate of Mount Jiuhua City.

Shi Xuan, in order to help his mother find release, had not hesitated to send Dead Man's Jade to everyone in the study group.

The so-called "I won't harm you" and "gifts for you" were all lies and deceptions.

Shi Xuan's target was never Liu Tiezhu and the others.

Those were merely decoys.

His goal, from beginning to end, was Jiang Jian!

Until the very last moment.

Did Shi Xuan teach Jiang Jian the method of using the Dead Man's Jade.

From this, one could see the depth of his scheming.

But Shi Xuan's heart, after all, still had a conscience.

In the end, he still left a glimmer of survival for Jiang Jian.

The fact that an exit to the Earth Realm would briefly appear at the intersection of the two realms was true.

That activating the Dead Man's Jade could hide the aura of a living person was also true.

"Mount Jiuhua City West Gate."

The towering city wall was getting closer, but Jiang Jian's expression grew colder.

Because the pale-as-paper sky was gradually covered by a desperate darkness.

The sky of the Earth Realm was originally an endless darkness.

Only when the two realms intersected would daytime appear in the Earth Realm prefecture at the brief intersection point.

That darkness was boundless, swallowing everything.

From the far reaches of the firmament, it spread crazily toward Mount Jiuhua City!

The pale sky was like a sheet of white paper splashed with ink, rapidly being dyed by the darkness.

The speed of its expansion was suffocating!

Jiang Jian, having been schemed against by Shi Xuan, had nowhere to vent his emotions, and the fire in his heart burned fiercely.

As he rushed, a terrifying vortex appeared in the depths of his pupils.

"I prided myself on being cautious and having innate wisdom."

"After taking the top spot in the two prefectures, preparing resources, and breaking into the Spring Realm, I actually developed arrogance."

"Thinking that with my own means, I wouldn't fall into danger, I went to the banks of the Shaoshui."

"In the end, I still swallowed the bitter fruit."

"I was played by Shi Xuan."

In Jiang Jian's eyes, not only was there reflection, but a cold killing intent roared to life!

If there were enough time.

Jiang Jian would absolutely not hesitate to strike and kill Shi Xuan!

But he knew too little about the dead.

Shi Xuan very likely had hidden means.

If he struck rashly and was dragged down by him.

Who knows, he might be left in the Dead Realm forever, never to be reincarnated!

Likewise.

If he hadn't listened to Shi Xuan just now and hadn't destroyed that face.

Resulting in that face growing on Shi Xuan's body.

Then Shi Xuan would definitely go mad instantly!

In an instant, he would fall into danger!

Time was this tight.

He had no time to deal with him.

Every minute saved was an extra minute of survival!

"From now on."

"No matter when, I must remain calm and composed."

"I must absolutely never develop even a hint of arrogance!"

As he sped along, countless events flashed through the depths of Jiang Jian's mind!

Although he forced himself to settle his mind.

The frustration of being schemed against grew more intense, and the raging fire in his heart roared, surging with enough intensity to reach the heavens!

Shi Xuan hadn't left him much time at all!

In other words.

Shi Xuan didn't care at all whether others could escape the Dead Realm.

The intersection of the surface and the Earth Realm lasted about a day.

But the time Shi Xuan chose was that very night.

From this, one could see.

His selfishness had reached the extreme!

"The ugliness of the human heart far exceeds that of demons and ghosts."

"This is human nature."

"I only blame myself for being careless and getting schemed against."

"This is the first time."

"And it will be the last."

Jiang Jian's gaze was cold, and countless chaotic thoughts arose.

"From today on."

"I will never lightly trust anyone again."

"Any living being, other than myself."

"If I can escape this time."

"The priority for refining the dimensional space must be raised to the highest!"

His thoughts flowed rapidly.

Jiang Jian stopped and looked ahead.

The towering city gate stood in dead silence.

Several tall dead people were walking back and forth not far away.

Dozens of meters away, at the corner of the city gate.

A pale light gate hovered quietly.

The edges of this gate were irregular and still trembling constantly.

Clearly, its existence was unstable.

What made Jiang Jian's gaze sink was.

Those few dead people were constantly wandering in front of the light gate.

But to enter the surface entrance, one must possess the aura of a living person!

The dead cannot enter the surface realm!

Shi Xuan, due to using his mother's special means, had a soul that was half-living and half-dead, which was why he could travel between the two realms.

But if Jiang Jian wanted to go to the surface realm, the aura of a living person on his soul had to be completely revealed before he could step into the light gate!

By this time.

Time was becoming increasingly urgent.

The darkness at the end of the firmament rolled in like splashed ink!

"Karmic Fire!"

Jiang Jian did not hesitate at all.

As he sped, he pinched the seal, and the gray Qi of the Dead Man's Jade on his soul faded away completely!

Intense frost-white flames surged from his sleeves, directly wrapping the few dead people within them!

Sizzle!

A foul, burnt smell wafted over; the few dead people let out unpleasant shrieks, struggling crazily in the Karmic Fire!

Jiang Jian did not stop; his gold-white sleeves brushed lightly, and using his spiritual essence cultivation, his figure distorted and turned into black light.

The next second, he appeared directly in front of the light gate!

Inches from the end of the world!

His aura as a living person was completely exposed!

From all directions, countless dead people stalled in their movements.

Then, their organs twisted, and they swarmed toward this place like madmen!

Bang!

Jiang Jian took a step out, but it was as if he had hit an iron plate; he was bounced back half a step, and the spiritual Qi around him rippled like water!

The light gate was still emitting white light.

But the light curtain upon it was extremely solid, not something a living being could cross.

"This is the boundary wall!"

"This is not the entrance or exit for the intersection of the two realms at all!"

Jiang Jian stood on the spot, stunned for a moment, when a lightning bolt flashed through his mind, exploding suddenly!

"Shi Xuan never intended for me to leave alive!"

"Almost everything he said before was false!"

Thinking of this.

Jiang Jian's gaze was cold, and endless killing intent erupted!

His thoughts surged rapidly, and the previously vague truth was fully revealed!

The light gate before him was at most a place where the boundary walls were adjacent during the intersection of the two realms.

If this were the entrance and exit to the Earth Realm.

Then when Shi Xuan rolled him into the Earth Realm, he wouldn't have entered from the village town, but would have come directly to Mount Jiuhua City!

"The real exit is the village town we came from!"

"To go there, I need to head to the East Gate of Mount Jiuhua City!"

The moment he analyzed the truth.

Jiang Jian's heart fire roared, and the rumbling was heaven-shaking!

At the end of the firmament, the darkness surged faster, almost reaching a position within reach!

Countless dead people, dense and numerous, surged over!

Jiang Jian's expression, however, eerily returned to calm.

Amidst his gold-white robes, indescribable scorching white flames surged to the heavens!

Boom!

Under the crazy infusion of spiritual essence, the frost-white fire stream rolled over, brushing past a dozen dead people, turning them all into dust!

Jiang Jian took a step out, his figure distorting and dissipating.

Amidst the interweaving black light, he appeared again, instantly covering a hundred meters!

By this time.

The aura of a living person could no longer be hidden, nor was there any need to hide it!

Jiang Jian was expressionless, using "Inches from the end of the world" repeatedly.

With Karmic Fire surrounding him, he crushed dozens of dead people along the way, speeding toward the East Gate of Mount Jiuhua City!

More dead people, with eerie faces, pounced toward Jiang Jian!

Countless dead people's organs grew in the sky, falling toward Jiang Jian!

"Stay!"

"Don't go!"

"Stay here!"

"Once you've entered the Dead Realm, you are a dead person; you should have stayed here in the first place!"

"Don't go!"

The dead people laughed eerily, letting out calls.

Every call was a terrifying soul attack!

Bang!

Around Jiang Jian, the Star Armor suddenly appeared!

Countless sound waves, and the soul attacks contained within them, were all bounced away!

This piece of technological equipment had extremely strong soul-defense capabilities!

Gradually.

The dead people blocking the way had increasingly strong death Qi.

They even unleashed death Qi methods!

Bang!

The Star Armor shook again!

The clanging sounds were endless!

The starlight on it dimmed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Getting closer and closer to the city gate.

Jiang Jian took a step out, moved another hundred meters, and appeared before the East City Gate!

The next second.

A dead person, three meters tall and covered in noses, flew out and blocked Jiang Jian's path!

Boom!

Time was tight; Jiang Jian didn't stop at all; his figure distorted, turning into a seven-colored lightning bolt, tearing through the sky and crushing it directly into fragments!

Rainbow after the rain!

In an instant, Jiang Jian had landed at the edge of the city gate!

At the same time.

What made Jiang Jian's heart sink was.

The light before his eyes dimmed slightly.

The sky was about to turn dark.

With the operation of the Earth Realm.

The intersection of the two realms was gradually separating.

The sky turning dark meant he would be completely plunged into the Earth Realm, with no hope of escape.

Spiritual Qi could not be replenished, like water without a source, a tree without roots.

Once it was exhausted.

He would surely die.

Jiang Jian walked outside the city gate, looking at the nothingness ahead, his expression strangely calm.

From the mountain city to the village town.

It also required activating the Dead Man's Jade to reveal the illusory portal.

But Shi Xuan had not told him this method of activation.

Behind him, hundreds of dead people were chasing.

"Shi Xuan, you really did well."

Jiang Jian revealed a smile.

The next second.

He turned around, facing the countless dead people.

From his gold-white sleeves, he extended his pale, slender fingers.

From the sash at his side, he took down a broken wooden sword and held it in his hand.

"Han Guang."

Jiang Jian swirled the sword, calling out softly.

The wooden sword trembled lightly, and the cracks on its wooden shell seemed to grow larger.

Many wood shavings even shook off.

But at this moment.

This sword still could not be used.

The moment the wooden shell began to transform, it became its shackle.

Only when the wooden shell completely shattered could its original appearance be revealed.

"Shi Xuan, I know you are watching here."

Jiang Jian took a step out, and amidst the interweaving black light, he walked toward the pavilion.

"It's a pity your schemes have all fallen into empty space."

The pavilion below was silent.

No response came.

Fine light streams permeated.

Jiang Jian appeared on the roof of the pavilion, his sleeves brushing lightly.

He took a refraction crystal in his hand.

Space Core.

"You did so much just to let your mother find release."

"For this, you didn't hesitate to sacrifice others."

Jiang Jian held the Space Core and said softly, "Standing from your selfish perspective, perhaps you were not wrong."

"But the person you wanted to sacrifice was me."

The refraction crystal emitted light.

Something hovered before it.

It was a twisted, struggling human face!

When Shi Xuan peeled off the face, Jiang Jian did not use the Dead Man's Jade to destroy it.

Instead, he first wrapped it with gray Qi.

Then he used the level 6 "Inches from the end of the world" to transfer it directly to himself and put it into the Space Core!

The Space Core was something that transcended the four realms of Earth and Moon.

This human face, placed inside, would fall into a stagnant state.

But according to the boundary rules of the Earth Realm, it was considered to have already dissipated.

Only then could Shi Xuan, according to the original plan, replace his mother and become that huge dead person.

Boom!

The pavilion was instantly breached!

Stones collapsed!

The huge dead person, covered in ears, stood straight and stared at Jiang Jian with resentment!

"Jiang Jian!"

Countless voices overlapped, echoing endlessly, shrieking and roaring.

It shook its bloated body, many dead people's ears falling off, its expression ferocious. "You actually betrayed your trust and kept a hand in the dark!"

Jiang Jian was expressionless; he didn't explain to it, but with surging spiritual Qi, he held that face and said, "Tell me immediately the method to open the village town passage."

The face twisted and struggled, hovering to the side.

It was almost thrown by Jiang Jian into the pile of dead people below.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 168 =====