Chapter 459

Hua Changxi hovered above the crack, crimson flames rolling fiercely around her body, illuminating the broken yet still majestic Zhu Que array on the rock bed at the bottom of the well.

However, the moment her gaze swept across the edge of the array, her expression changed abruptly.

On the periphery of the array, hundreds of figures were densely packed in a circle.

They sat cross-legged like mountains, with Zhu Que Tokens hanging from their waists that Hua Changxi could recognize at a glance.

Unfortunately, the Zhu Que totems on the Zhu Que Tokens had long since dimmed and lost their luster.

These people were the long-missing Zhu Que Army!

No!

There were fewer people!

On the "Zhu Que Army Roster," there were nearly a thousand Zhu Que Army members whose names had dimmed, but there were fewer than five hundred here; therefore, several hundred Zhu Que Army members were missing.

As the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall and the head of the Zhu Que Army, Hua Changxi found it almost unbearable to look at the hundreds of Zhu Que Army members before her.

Under the erosion of the ghost energy and the scorching of the ghost fire, their flesh and blood had long since dried up, and their skin clung to their bones, presenting a blue-gray, stone-like texture; only a tiny, weak red flame remained in their dantian, like a candle in the wind, burning stubbornly.

Even more heart-wrenching was that a crack had opened in the center of every Zhu Que Army member's forehead.

From those cracks, wisps of pure soul power and origin Qi and blood flowed out slowly like thin streams, merging into the patterns of the array beneath their feet.

The reason the entire Zhu Que array had not yet completely disintegrated was precisely because these hundreds of Zhu Que Army members were using their divine souls as fuel and their flesh and blood as a conduit, maintaining the operation of the array day and night!

Hua Changxi's wings trembled slightly, and a lump formed in her throat.

These Zhu Que Army members were delaying the complete collapse of the array through self-sacrifice.

The array had only cracked in one spot, yet the ghost energy and ghost fire within the prison tower were already so thick; one could imagine that if it stopped working completely, the ghost energy and ghost fire would likely sweep through the entire Nanxiang County.

"Hoo~"

Fire lotuses bloomed beneath the Zhu Que Army members, and at the same time, dozens of Zhu Rong Stones were placed around them.

The array was broken, and Hua Changxi could not save these Zhu Que Army members at this time; she could only hope that the fire lotuses and Zhu Rong Stones would allow them to hold on for a little longer.

The next moment, Hua Changxi flew into the array, staring at the crack in the center of the array.

Then, she took a deep breath, the Nanming Li Fire burned into a red-gold barrier at the edges of her wings, and then with a flap of her wings, she rushed into the crack without hesitation.

In an instant, the world turned upside down, and space-time tore apart.

Her body was swept into a twisted void tunnel; the surroundings were no longer just ghost energy and ghost fire, but were accompanied by countless broken light and shadows and wailing—those were the residual echoes of torn souls, the obsessions of countless unwilling spirits.

In the chaotic turbulence, only those nine blood-colored chains served as a guiding line, piercing through the illusion and pointing straight to the other shore.

After an unknown amount of time, Hua Changxi saw a dazzling green crack, and she dived toward it abruptly.

The moment she flew out of the crack, her figure shrank rapidly, turning into a thumb-sized firebird, and at the same time, the scene before her changed suddenly.

She was hovering above a vast and boundless ghostly green river.

The river water was not ordinary water, but was condensed from billions of grievances, death energy, and yin-evil energy, flowing slowly with a phosphorescent green glow.

It was silent, yet it made one's spirit collapse.

Hua Changxi did not have time to observe the river in detail before her attention was drawn to the scene in the center of the river not far away.

Nine blood-vein chains crisscrossed, weaving into a blood cage; inside the blood cage floated a palm-sized black token emitting a ghostly green light.

At the same time, a ghost hand formed from ghost energy and covered in green ghost fire was clutching the blood cage tightly.

The ghost hand extended from the ghostly green river and was connected to it; whenever the ghost energy on the ghost hand faded or the ghost fire weakened, the ghostly green river would release ghost energy and ghost fire to replenish its consumption.

Although Hua Changxi had restrained her aura to the extreme, her appearance still caused the green river to vibrate.

Sensing that something was approaching on the riverbank, Hua Changxi's expression changed slightly, and with a 'whoosh,' she flew onto the blood cage.

The thumb-sized firebird was quickly submerged in the blood-colored light on the chains.

"Why did the Ghost Infant River suddenly start vibrating?"

Several members of the Ghost Clan dressed in black robes appeared on the riverbank directly opposite the blood cage.

"Is it the humans from the other end of the Ghost Fire Well trying to take back the Ghost Fire Token?"

"That must be it. Should we notify Lord Ghost Commander to come and investigate?"

"Forget it. Lord Ghost Commander just went to the altar; he's probably going to refine that Zhu Que bone offered by the humans. We'd better not disturb him, or if Lord Ghost Commander gets angry, we'll all have our souls scattered."

"That's true. That Zhu Que bone is the core of the array that seals the Ghost Fire Well. As long as he refines the array core, Lord Ghost Commander will be able to open the restrictions of the Ghost Fire Well at will. By then, our Ghost Clan will be able to enter and exit the human world freely."

"If Lord Ghost Commander also manages to seize the Ghost Fire Token, the nine-story prison tower that suppresses the Ghost Fire Well will belong to our Ghost Clan. It is said that the nine-story prison tower is a Dao weapon containing the sounds of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth; if one can comprehend it, one might even become the master of a Dao."

"No wonder Lord Ghost Commander attaches such importance to the anomalies here at the Ghost Infant River and came to guard it in person."

The few Ghost Clan members left, chatting and laughing.

Once they were gone, Hua Changxi flew out, looking in the direction they had left, her eyes stern.

Zhu Que bone, array core...

So the array was broken because the array core was stolen!

Then the crack she had passed through earlier must have been the location where the array core was placed.

The Ghost Fire Token must be taken back, and at the same time, the Zhu Que bone that served as the array core must also be retrieved.

Hua Changxi withdrew her gaze and looked at the Ghost Fire Token in the blood cage.

On one side of the Ghost Fire Token was a relief sculpture of a Zhu Que with its eyes closed, stepping on a black well, fully in the posture of "using the power of the divine bird to suppress the chaos of the netherworld"; on the other side, the two characters for "Ghost Fire" were engraved.

Having had the experience of occupying six blessed lands, Hua Changxi looked at the Ghost Fire Token and instantly thought of a way to refine it—make the Zhu Que on the Ghost Fire Token open its eyes.

She had already cultivated a Zhu Que spirit body, and her blood naturally carried the will of the Zhu Que; she should be able to make the Zhu Que on the Ghost Fire Token open its eyes, right?

Hua Changxi decided to give it a try, but before that, she had to deal with the ghost hand beneath the blood cage.

"Hoo~"

A thumb-sized fire lotus drifted down and landed on the ghost hand that was clutching the blood cage tightly.

The fire lotus merged into it, and the ghost hand instantly faded a little.

Immediately afterward, ghost energy from the Ghost Infant River dissipated, filling in the part of the ghost hand that had been melted by the fire lotus.

After doing this several times, seeing that the ghost hand had no other reaction, Hua Changxi knew that the ghost hand had no "consciousness" and required manual control.

Seeing that no Ghost Clan members came to investigate during this time, Hua Changxi felt a little relieved. Without further hesitation, the next moment, a drop of her essence blood flew out and merged into the Ghost Fire Token.

As the essence blood merged, the Ghost Fire Token immediately began to vibrate, and then, a brilliant red light burst forth, directly suppressing the green glow on the Ghost Fire Token.

The blood-colored chains seemed to sense the anomaly of the Ghost Fire Token and tightened instinctively.

The moment the blood-colored chains tightened, the ghost hand also instinctively began to pull.

The tug-of-war began again.

Hua Changxi was anxious; she was worried that Jing Sheng would not be able to withstand such violent pulling. Fortunately, at this moment, the Zhu Que relief on the Ghost Fire Token opened its eyes.

In an instant, Hua Changxi sensed that the Ghost Fire Token had established a connection with her, and she immediately controlled the Ghost Fire Token to stop vibrating.

"Why is the Ghost Infant River vibrating again?"

The few Ghost Clan members from before appeared again, looking at the Ghost Infant River, which was kicking up waves, and the tightening ghost hand, cursing as they spoke.

"The Ghost Infant River is vibrating repeatedly; we must go and tell Lord Ghost Commander. If something goes wrong, we won't be able to take the blame."