Chapter 271: Buddha or Demon

"What did you see?"

Zhang Nuo had always been unflappable; it was rare to see him like this, and Chunyangzi was extremely curious about what kind of thing existed within the prayer beads.

After a long while, Zhang Nuo's complexion finally returned to normal. He took a few steps forward, picked up the prayer beads he had just dropped, stared blankly at them in his palm for a moment, and then said:

"I saw something that is like a Buddha yet not a Buddha, like a demon yet not a demon!"

Chunyangzi was stunned. What exactly was the thing Zhang Nuo spoke of? Neither Buddha nor demon!

"I will go in and take a look!"

His curiosity piqued by Zhang Nuo, Chunyangzi released his Divine Sense and sank it into the prayer beads. As soon as his Divine Sense entered, he saw a golden Buddha statue sitting majestically in the very center of the beads. Surrounding the Buddha statue, strands of Demonic Qi were naturally formed, as if they had become one with the statue.

Chunyangzi was slightly surprised; there was nothing to be afraid of here, so why had Zhang Nuo shown such an expression just now? Just as he was pondering, a bizarre scene occurred.

He saw the Buddha statue's lowered eyelids suddenly open. The entire statue seemed to come alive. At the same time, the Demonic Qi that had previously surrounded the statue surged into its body. The golden light of the Buddha's body peeled away, erupting with waves of Demonic Qi, while the sound of Sanskrit chanting issued incessantly from its mouth, as if it were converting the people of the world!

It was originally a Buddha, yet its body emitted Demonic Qi; such a thing was already very strange. But the moment Chunyangzi heard the Sanskrit chanting from the Buddha's mouth, his heart twisted and deformed. In an instant, he seemed unable to distinguish between good and evil, beauty and ugliness, righteousness and wickedness!

The intense contrast within his mind created a sense of contradiction. He loathed himself and this world, as if only by dying could he be completely liberated.

With a 'whoosh', Chunyangzi's Divine Sense escaped from the prayer beads. Perhaps if he had stayed a moment longer, this Remnant Soul of his would have lost control. As for the consequences, one could guess them even with their big toe.

"What is that thing?"

Chunyangzi was still shaken, and after his mind trembled violently for a moment, he said in a deep voice. Zhang Nuo was still bowing his head in deep thought and did not answer him. In truth, Zhang Nuo did not know what was inside the prayer beads either! Just a single image was enough to leave one's mind in turmoil.

"Senior, the thing inside the prayer beads might be the true manifestation of the fusion of two different cultivation arts!"

At the bottom of the pitch-black Mi Hai Vortex, two flashes of light flickered in Zhang Nuo's eyes.

"You mean to say that by practicing two different cultivation arts, a cultivator will develop strange illusions within their heart?"

"I am only speculating. As for whether it is true or false, perhaps only that old monk knows!"

Putting the two prayer beads away again, Zhang Nuo wiped off the cold sweat that had broken out due to fear and said with a faint smile.

"It seems you had better be cautious with the 'Immovable Underworld King' art! The Demon Emperor of those years had cultivation that reached the heavens, yet didn't he also not dare to practice this art?"

Having seen the bizarre scene after the two arts fused, Chunyangzi's heart was also drumming incessantly, and he was deeply worried for Zhang Nuo.

"No need! The Demon Emperor of those years perhaps could not understand the text in the Underworld Book, but I have the 'Hell Butterfly' to assist me, which is completely different from him!"

Without any hesitation, Zhang Nuo said resolutely. At the same time, he reached into his Storage Bag, took out that thick, heavy book, and gently flipped open a page. The characters inside were glowing brightly, as if they possessed a demonic power that made Zhang Nuo unable to extricate himself!

From this day on, Zhang Nuo specifically sought out a hidden place to wholeheartedly practice the 'Immovable Underworld King' art. The dense Yin Qi in the surroundings seemed born for this art. As he absorbed it frantically, Zhang Nuo felt his body changing drastically, starting first with his Divine Sea.

Originally a place that only stored Spiritual Qi, it gradually began to accumulate faint Yin Qi as the 'Immovable Underworld King' art deepened. The 'Hell Butterfly' between his brows was even more in its element, its soul power becoming even more vigorous! Several times, in order to gather more Yin Qi, Zhang Nuo released the butterfly to help absorb it.

Day after day, year after year, ten years of time passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Nuo had been practicing bitterly in this sunless place for ten years! This was a superhuman level of endurance. He not only had to withstand the pressure brought by the cultivation art but also endure the harsh environment at the bottom of the Mi Hai Vortex.

The only thing that made Zhang Nuo feel relieved was that the Yin Qi here was abundant; he did not have to worry about the quantity of Yin Qi being insufficient at all. Although he had sat in this place for ten years, the amount of Yin Qi had never decreased.

On this day, Zhang Nuo was sitting cross-legged in meditation. As his hand seals changed rapidly, he let out a soft shout. Following this sound, strands of gray light surged from his body, and with a swirl, they wrapped around him.

The gray light glowed faintly, giving one a feeling of deathly stillness. Zhang Nuo's body was inside the gray light, his complexion dark and gloomy. With every breath, he would exhale a puff of turbid air from his mouth.

A moment later, the gray light returned to Zhang Nuo's body. At this time, he slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, strands of gray light flickered, looking extremely terrifying. An aura of death emanated from his pupils; if anyone were to see this now, they would surely shiver with fear.

"Finally reached the first level!"

A faint smile hung on the corner of Zhang Nuo's mouth, his joy evident on his face.

"I also did not expect that after cultivating the 'Immovable Underworld King' to the first level, it would actually be like this!"

Chunyangzi had seen the gray light surrounding Zhang Nuo clearly just now. He had not expected that the light emitted by the 'Immovable Underworld King' would not be five-colored, but gray, which was completely different from ordinary cultivation arts.

What made Zhang Nuo even happier was that because the 'Immovable Underworld King' art had leveled up, his cultivation had also leaped from the Golden Core Initial Stage to the Golden Core Middle Stage. This was something he had never dreamed of.

However, upon looking inward, Zhang Nuo gasped in shock. He saw that his four Divine Seas were now completely filled with Yin Qi, and he could not find even a shadow of Spiritual Qi.

With a sudden flip of his palm, the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler' was summoned. The small silver ruler also flickered with gray light; compared to when he used Spiritual Qi before, it was a world of difference.

'Whoosh!'

A sound of air being torn rang out. Zhang Nuo casually cast the small ruler into the distance. Wrapped in gray mist, the small ruler struck the ground heavily.

'Boom!'

A loud noise came, and the ground in the distance was blasted into a deep pit three or four zhang in diameter. Seeing this, Zhang Nuo's face lit up with joy; he had not expected that using Yin Qi to drive a Magic Treasure would result in no loss of power at all!

With a wave of his hand, he recalled the 'Measuring Heaven Ruler'. Zhang Nuo stood up, and with an escape light surging from his body, he shot into the high sky.

"It can actually use Yin Qi to drive an escape light!"

Chunyangzi was so happy he almost jumped out. Being able to fly with an escape light meant his speed would naturally be much faster, and perhaps he might even find a way out.

However, Chunyangzi very solemnly said to Zhang Nuo soon after:

"Kid Zhang, you must remember, no matter what, you must not use the 'Nine Dragon Sword Case'!"

While in the escape light, Zhang Nuo was slightly stunned upon hearing this; he did not understand the meaning of Chunyangzi's words.

"My Remnant Soul resides within the Sword Box, and I rely entirely on the nourishment of Spiritual Qi to survive. Currently, the Spiritual Qi inside the Sword Box is enough for me to use for a while, but if you forcibly drain it, I will die before long!"

Zhang Nuo's thoughts turned slightly, and he quickly understood Chunyangzi's meaning. His entire body was now filled with Yin Qi and lacked even a shred of Spiritual Qi; if he were to channel Yin Qi into the Sword Box, Chunyangzi would surely die.

"Please rest assured, Senior! I know what I am doing!"

"Good!"

Hearing Zhang Nuo's guarantee, Chunyangzi's hanging heart was finally put to rest! However, every time he saw the four Divine Seas of Yin Qi bubbling beneath Zhang Nuo's Golden Core, Chunyangzi could not help but gasp in shock! If he were to touch even a little of that Yin Qi, he would lose a massive amount of his Remnant Soul power.

Driving the escape light to fly—Zhang Nuo had not experienced this kind of speed for a long time. He flew for about several thousand miles in the boundless darkness, yet he still did not discover any light.

Zhang Nuo's heart sank. Could it be that there was really no way out at the bottom of this Mi Hai Vortex? Other than allowing him to fly here, was the 'Immovable Underworld King' art he had bitterly cultivated for ten years of no other use?

Just as Zhang Nuo was suspicious, his Divine Sense suddenly sensed an anomaly to one side. He immediately stopped the escape light, hovered in mid-air, and carefully scanned the area with his Divine Sense.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Nuo's eyes lit up, because not far ahead, he sensed the presence of humans. That feeling was very real; his Divine Sense could not be wrong!

His body slowly landed on the ground, and he walked toward that place step by step. Before he could clarify the true identity of the other party, he did not want to expose his strength.

'Clang!'

A sound of impact clearly came from ahead, as if a battle were taking place. Speeding up his pace, Zhang Nuo did not delay at all and charged straight over.

Light! That was a firelight! Having lived in darkness for many years, seeing the light, Zhang Nuo could hardly believe his eyes! A fervor in his heart made him even more excited!

Before long, Zhang Nuo arrived at the source of the firelight, only to see a burly middle-aged man wearing clothes made of an unknown beast hide, holding a half-zhang long Ghost Head Blade in his hand, and fighting against a massive demonic beast before him.

Judging by its cultivation, the demonic beast was only around the third rank; it resembled a giant mantis, its entire body was cyan, and its two sharp front claws attacked the middle-aged man like lightning, while the middle-aged man directly held the Ghost Head Blade horizontally in front of him to defend!

It seemed that the middle-aged man was just like Zhang Nuo, who had just entered this place; although he was a cultivator, he had no Spiritual Qi to use and could only force his body to clash with the demonic beast!

In the middle-aged man's other hand, he held a torch high; although his movements were flickering, causing the firelight to nearly extinguish, it could still illuminate a small area around them.

The middle-aged man, who was struggling bitterly against the demonic beast, felt his Divine Sense stir slightly and discovered Zhang Nuo running over from a distance, and his heart immediately sank! A murderous intent erupted in his eyes!