Chapter 263: The Relic

Hearing the white-robed old monk's words, Nanxuan Laozu was slightly stunned. As his thoughts raced, he pondered what kind of demand the other party would make. The look of contemplation flashed and vanished; he quickly regained his composure and smiled lightly:

"Please speak, fellow Daoist!"

Everyone pricked up their ears, all wanting to hear what the old monk was actually going to do. With two soft "Whoosh!" sounds, the old monk shook his white robes a few times and his figure stood up abruptly. The kind smile on his face vanished, replaced by an overbearing aura that dominated the world.

Although the other party had not yet spoken, Zhang Nuo felt that something was wrong. With a movement of his Divine Sense, he prepared the Nine Dragon Sword Case in advance. If anything unfavorable to him occurred, he would unleash his Flying Sword to stall the other party for some time, allowing him to use that moment to escape.

Ye Yuemiao's delicate body shifted slowly on the chair, and rays of light bloomed from her jade hands inside her purple robes; it seemed she had also made preparations.

Nanxuan Laozu was much calmer than them, looking at the monk with a normal expression and a slight smile.

"My request is very simple: I ask the Nascent Soul stage cultivators to leave behind their Nascent Souls! The Golden Core stage cultivators are to leave behind their Golden Cores! As for those Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, they may leave on their own!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the great hall stood up abruptly, and the brilliance of various Magic Treasures flashed incessantly. Nanxuan Laozu gave a cold laugh, waved his hand slightly toward the people behind him, and then walked forward a few steps, saying:

"Fellow Daoist, what kind of joke are you making! Although this great hall is extraordinary, I don't think it is enough to trap us!"

He seemed to have seen through something and did not appear panicked. With a calm demeanor, he flipped his hand gently and took out a disc as white as jade.

This action by Nanxuan Laozu took the white-robed old monk by surprise, and even the cultivators behind him were greatly puzzled!

"It seems ginger is indeed spicier when it's old!"

Ye Yuemiao was standing right beside Zhang Nuo, speaking in a voice so low it was almost inaudible. Zhang Nuo turned his head slightly, and their gazes met instantly. He nodded slightly. Zhang Nuo did not say much; he felt a powerful pressure in the young woman's eyes, a pressure that did not come from cultivation base, but from the depths of her heart.

However, in the current situation, he had no time to worry about other matters. With his palms behind his back, seven or eight rays of white light swirled incessantly in his palms!

"Oh! So you had already seen through the trap I laid?"

The old monk let out a cold laugh, his gaze revealing disdain as he looked at the White Disc in front of Nanxuan Laozu.

"Hehe! A mere Illusion Array cannot deceive this old man! Break for me!"

As he spoke, Nanxuan Laozu let out a fierce shout, and several Dharma techniques from his fingers were cast out, all sinking into the White Disc. Instantly, the White Disc shone with brilliant light, like a small sun. Wherever the light passed, the surrounding scenery shattered like dry wood being snapped.

"Clatter!" It was as if a giant mirror had been shattered. Amidst the flickering spiritual light, everything around them changed its appearance. The great hall, which had been brimming with Spiritual Qi, darkened in an instant. The Spiritual Qi vanished, and in its place came bursts of ghostly wailing. The eerie, cold wind blowing onto everyone gave them a feeling of shivering with fear.

At the same time, on the surface of the "Immortal Palace," a large swath of light fell away, revealing its true face: a dilapidated, pitch-black great hall wreathed in Demonic Qi. That was not all; the flowers and plants they had seen on the way here had also turned into ruined vegetation. Some even had giant mouths that opened and closed, emitting a nauseating, putrid stench!

The sudden, massive contrast left many cultivators unable to accept it. Could everything they had seen be fake? That seemed unlikely! The "Immortal Palace" just now had been real, and the scenery they had walked through had been within reach. If it were truly an illusion, it wouldn't have produced such a realistic effect!

Zhang Nuo took a deep breath of the air here, and his expression changed several times in succession. Inside the great hall, besides the strands of Demonic Qi, there was also a thick Yin Qi, the concentration of which could be compared to the Dark Swamp at the Demon Emperor Tomb.

"Clap, clap!"

After two sounds of clapping, the white-robed old monk standing at the main seat of the hall did not seem surprised at all. He looked at Nanxuan Laozu with a calm expression, appearing extremely impressed.

"Hehe! Human cultivators are indeed much smarter than those demonic beasts. It seems this old monk was careless!"

While speaking, the white-robed old monk even chanted a Buddhist name. What happened next made even someone with Nanxuan Laozu's cultivation base gasp in cold air.

The monk, who had just had flesh and blood, saw his white robes shatter in the blink of an eye, turning into flakes of ash that drifted away. Even more terrifying was what followed: after the clothes were gone, the monk's aged skin also disintegrated. Finally, all that stood before the crowd was a white skeleton!

However, the string of prayer beads that had been hanging around the old monk's neck remained completely undamaged. Near the skeleton's heart, there was a thumb-sized bead burning with a fierce cyan flame. This bead was wrapped in layers of flames, making it impossible to see what it looked like inside. The scorching flames passed through the bones and rose slowly from the side of the skeleton's shoulder.

All of this was too terrifying. In the blink of an eye, a perfectly healthy person had turned into this state. Everyone felt a chill in their hearts; several disciples even sat down on the ground, their eyes dull, as if they had been scared silly!

"Finally showing your fox tail!"

Being at the very front, Nanxuan Laozu was closest to the skeleton, so he saw all of this most clearly. After a brief moment of shock, he calmed down again.

"This old monk has lured and killed countless demonic beasts here, but I never expected to taste a Nascent Soul today!"

The skeleton's jaw moved slightly; although there was no flesh, the voice was still very clear. He grabbed the prayer beads in front of him, and after rubbing them a few times, a cyan light began to emanate from the surface of the beads.

"It seems the mist on the outskirts of this place was also your doing?"

Taking a slight step backward, Nanxuan Laozu's eyes radiated two streaks of biting killing intent!

"Correct! If not for that mist, how would you have come here so easily! Outside the great hall, perhaps I could do nothing to you, but once inside the hall, this is my domain! No one can escape! You are the first batch; I believe that with the affair of the Xianhuan Continent, a second batch of cultivators will arrive very soon!"

The skeleton was very smug. He pinched a Dharma technique fiercely, and rolling Demonic Qi surged from the surroundings of the great hall. With a transformation, it wrapped the entire hall within it, forming a bright, water-like translucent light curtain on the outside!

Zhang Nuo took a deep breath. Based on his Divine Sense perception, he could not break through this light curtain outside the hall with his cultivation. It seemed he could only pin his hopes on Nanxuan Laozu.

"A mere Restriction can trap me?"

Feeling everything around him, Nanxuan Laozu said calmly as the light curtain first formed.

"Whether it can or not, you'll know once you try! Why bother with sharp words!"

Seeming somewhat impatient, the skeleton transformed from the old monk lunged forward. At the same time, the bead wrapped in cyan flames within its body emitted a shrill, long cry. The skeleton's bony hand grabbed the prayer beads around its neck and pulled hard. With a soft "Clatter," all one hundred and eight beads scattered.

The beads, radiating cyan light, circled around the skeleton like brilliant stars.

"Solve these little fellows first!"

After saying this softly, the skeleton raised its hand, and four beads flashed out, their speed even faster than Zhang Nuo's Fast Sword! The flying beads left almost no trace in the air, directly piercing through the chests of four Foundation Establishment stage cultivators!

Coming ashore this time, besides Nanxuan Laozu and the others, he had only brought nine Foundation Establishment stage disciples, and in the blink of an eye, four had already fallen!

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Zhang Nuo frowned slightly. If the beads just now had attacked him, it would be hard to say whether he could have easily dodged them!

Seeing that the other party had already made a move, Nanxuan Laozu let out a long whistle. As he flicked his sleeves repeatedly, several discs were unleashed. Amidst the flashing brilliance, Fowen flowed on the surface of the discs. One by one, fighting white Fowen rushed out from the surface of the discs, quickly surrounding the remaining people in the middle.

"You understand the art of divination?"

As soon as the skeleton saw Nanxuan Laozu's actions, its voice changed immediately. The bead wrapped in cyan fire within its body trembled involuntarily, and the cyan flames flickered several times before stabilizing.

"Hmph! A mere Buddhist cultivator who has passed away, this old man does not take you seriously!"

After stating the skeleton's origin in one sentence, Nanxuan Laozu turned his head and said to the others:

"Inside its body, that bead burning with cyan flames is a Relic cultivated for many years. Although the physical body has passed away and the Nascent Soul has dissipated, a Buddhist cultivator who possesses a Relic can use a certain secret technique to transfer most of their cultivation into the Fo Sheli. Pay attention: as long as you are not hit by its Relic, Golden Core stage cultivators should be in no danger. Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, do not attack; just hide within my Fowen array!"

In just a few sentences, Nanxuan Laozu explained the stakes. Only then did everyone understand the origin of this skeleton; it turned out to be a Buddhist cultivator.

Zhang Nuo's heart stirred. He had never come into contact with Buddhism and had never heard that one could continue to live after the physical body passed away by relying on a Relic.

"If this old monk were as simple as you think, I would have died eight hundred times over long ago!"

After hearing Nanxuan Laozu finish speaking, the skeleton suddenly let out a cold snort. It lifted one hand slightly, and a mass of ink-black Demonic Qi appeared on its palm.

The eerie Demonic Qi swirled incessantly between the skeleton's bony fingers! Seeing this scene, the disdain in Nanxuan Laozu's eyes from just a moment ago revealed a trace of confusion and surprise!

"Can manipulate Demonic Qi? Could it be that before passing away, he practiced two different cultivation techniques, one Buddhist and one Demon Sect?"

His thoughts raced. The situation was becoming increasingly tricky. Bursts of Yin wind came from within the great hall, brushing past everyone's bodies, and a bone-chilling cold rose slowly from their spines!