Chapter 257: Hell Yaksha

Ye Liuyun carefully observed the situation inside the hall.

As they entered the hall, the coffin lid burst open with a bang, flipping to one side. Inside, a yin soul suddenly erupted, then gradually condensed into the shape of a hell yaksha, standing five zhang tall, with a blue face and fangs, holding a soul‑hooking rope in its hand.

Those holy ones instantly launched spiritual soul attacks, blasting at the yaksha.

The hell yaksha, attacked, roared: "You mortals, dare to attack a hell ghost official!"

However, his damage was not serious; he immediately flicked the soul‑hooking rope, casually snaring it, catching the soul of a Lingyang Academy elder, and with a backward pull yanked that elder's soul out.

The others, seeing this, did not hesitate and immediately scattered, running deeper into the earth palace.

Ye Liuyun only then noticed that the passage ahead of them had been sealed; the passage opened only when the yaksha snared someone's soul.

The few holy ones vanished in an instant. Ye Liuyun then looked at the yaksha, which directly devoured that elder's soul and immediately pursued those few.

When the yaksha chased out of the hall, it let out a painful roar. Ye Liuyun's golden pupil saw that the walls on both sides were rapidly devouring it, and soon it was completely consumed.

The speed of this consumption was far greater than Ye Liuyun's speed of devouring souls. Afterward, everything returned to calm.

Those few holy ones also stopped at once. One Lingyang Academy elder furiously yelled: "What damned place is this? We can't retreat, we can't fight! Are we destined to die here?"

"Hurry up! After four more halls we'll know the answer—what's the point of complaining here?" the elder under Jin Holy Son urged.

"Hmph! Easy to say when you're not the one hurting. That yaksha always grabs the weakest soul. I bet the next one will be me! I'm not going to throw my life away. I'd rather die here than leave!" The speaking elder sat down, as if feigning reluctance.

"You say after four gates we can reach the treasure vault of the earth palace, but is that true?" the elder of Shuiyue Palace asked the subordinate of Jin Holy Son.

"Absolutely certain! This is recorded in the Jin family's ancestors; there's no mistake." that elder replied firmly.

"Who knows if what you're saying is true or false?" the obstinate elder shouted.

"But if we don't go on, we have no other choice!" the subordinate of Jin Holy Son said.

Ye Liuyun observed through his golden pupil that that person was utterly fearless; perhaps he knew something and had prepared in advance.

While they were arguing, two elders of the Great Zhou Dynasty suddenly lashed out, attacking another Lingyang Academy elder nearby, and the subordinate of Jin Holy Son also suddenly struck the Lingyang Academy elder sitting on the ground, instantly severely injuring both.

Immediately afterward, they launched another spiritual soul attack, severely damaging the two's souls as well, then stopped.

The two Lingyang Academy elders were full of grief and indignation, yet helpless.

The elder of Shuiyue Palace also watched the scene in shock, not knowing what to say. What she now worried about was actually herself.

Both of their storage rings were then confiscated, then picked up and carried toward the next hall.

These three also noticed the Shuiyue Palace elder's worry; the subordinate of Jin Holy Son told her: "Now that we're four, there's no need to fight anymore—just see whose luck runs out."

Ye Liuyun also hurried to keep up with their steps, meanwhile telling Lei Ming all the information he had seen.

"A hell yaksha?" Lei Ming heard this and also shrank his neck, obviously very afraid of such a thing.

"With them scouting ahead for us, what's there to fear?" Ye Liuyun patted Lei Ming's head, comforting him.

But deep down he felt that the end of the earth palace probably wasn't that simple; perhaps some monster awaited them there.

Therefore he kept a certain distance from those people ahead—not too close, lest they notice him, nor too far, so he could still monitor them at any time.

In the next two halls, those holy ones passed through very smoothly. The souls of the two injured holy ones were directly snatched away by the yaksha with its soul‑hooking rope.

Then the same result occurred: the yaksha was absorbed by the walls, and those few people continued onward into the depths.

Ye Liuyun also took a moment to look at the walls, but found nothing; he simply could not fathom how the walls absorbed the yaksha, or where it went.

He tried attacking the walls, but to no avail—not even the demon‑slaying sword could budge them. The walls were protected by formations, and their power was extraordinarily strong.

Ye Liuyun had wanted to let the skeleton puppet smash the walls, but in the end he restrained himself.

"If we trigger another, even more dangerous formation, that would be trouble. Better to just follow those people ahead for now!"

As those people passed the next hall, the one who died was a holy one of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Just before entering the final hall, that elder of the Great Zhou Dynasty suddenly struck at the female elder of Shuiyue Palace, not expecting her to counter‑attack at the same moment.

The subordinate of Jin Holy Son, not idle, also struck to aid the Shuiyue Palace elder, injuring the Great Zhou elder's soul.

The Great Zhou elder sighed: "Ah, it seems I bid too low!"

The subordinate of Jin Holy Son laughed: "Hah, what worth does an old man like you have?" Saying that, his hands reached into the Shuiyue Palace elder's clothing and began to grope.

Fortunately, neither of them was in the mood for intimacy; after a while they lifted the injured elder and passed through the final hall.

Ye Liuyun followed behind to watch the spectacle, feeling nothing but sighs.

"Tsk tsk! These people shouldn't be allowed to cultivate—they've lost all humanity!"

Still, he quickened his pace to catch up.

According to them, they should soon reach the deepest part of the earth palace; he didn't want to fall too far behind and lose them. The subordinate of Jin Holy Son seemed to know something!

Sure enough, the passage ahead had reached its end, revealing a palace‑like structure.

Inside the palace were five huge chambers, whose doors were all closed.

All that was heard was the Shuiyue Palace elder asking: "Is this the treasure you spoke of?"

"Haha! Of course—each door holds different treasures; we've struck it rich this time!" that elder excitedly pulled her along, hurrying toward those chambers.

Ye Liuyun carefully observed the situation, noticing a flicker of undisguised pride flicker at the corner of that elder's mouth.

"Looks like I shouldn't rush; I'll wait a bit longer!" Ye Liuyun thought cautiously.

So he simply stayed at the passage's end, using his golden pupil to watch them. Here there were few obstructions; although the earth palace was dim, it did not hinder his golden pupil's vision or range.

"Here there are five doors, each containing a different kind of treasure. There are pills, weapons, artifacts, and various riches that enhance one's strength. The innermost chamber holds the most valuable treasure of the entire Profound Void Secret Realm." The elder said while walking, excitedly introducing it to the Shuiyue Palace female elder.

"What is the most valuable treasure?" the female elder hurriedly asked.

"I don't know what it is myself; no one has ever opened that door before. But this time we can open it!" the elder said with a hint of excitement.

The elder said, slightly excited.