Chapter 253

"Tsk tsk, it's exactly like him—this nose, these eyes, just like mine back then. No wonder that beast couldn't kill you. After all, that soul contract still holds; even in reincarnation, you're immune to true murderous intent."

Hearing this, the two monks were stunned; the tall, thin monk immediately crossed his golden staff before him and barked:

"What did you say? Who are you?"

"You're in the way here. You might as well go ahead and die." The old monk barely glanced at the tall, thin monk and Yuanming, then pulled a short, pale silver ruler from his sleeve and flicked his finger lightly toward him.

With a sudden "Boom!"

The silver ruler's surface erupted with nearly a hundred tiny, flickering spirit patterns; a thick silver arc flashed out and slammed into Yuanming.

The tall, thin monk barely managed to raise his golden staff to meet the lightning arc—then his body grew hot, and the several layers of protective light shields hovering over his skin shattered and vanished.

His golden staff flew from his grasp, and his entire body was hurled backward, his skin charred black, emitting a steady stench of burning flesh.

"Third-rank artifact"

Yuan Tong, beside him, gasped in shock and without hesitation hurled the pale yellow scripture clutched in his hand, then shook his sleeve and flung out a golden bone fragment as well.

The golden bone fragment exploded the moment it left his hand, summoning a faint golden ring-shaped phantom that materialized in midair—then, in a blur, vanished.

The pale yellow scripture ignited on its own in the wind, turning to ash—but nothing seemed to happen.

The next instant, golden light flashed above the old monk's head; a faint golden ring phantom swelled into a massive object, over ten feet in diameter, and descended.

"Talisman Treasure"

The old monk muttered indifferently, then tapped the silver ruler upward lightly.

Thunder cracked repeatedly!

Three silver lightning arcs shot from the ruler and struck the giant golden ring phantom in an instant.

The giant ring phantom buzzed violently under the crackling lightning, growing hazy—but then the old monk tapped the silver ruler upward again, and a thicker silver arc flashed out, striking the golden ring phantom.

With a "Puff!" the giant golden ring phantom let out a mournful cry, then flickered and dissolved into nothing.

Seeing this, Yuan Tong was terrified. Without hesitation, he dashed to Yuanming, who lay nearby, scooped him up, then pulled another second-rank talisman engraved with dense spirit patterns from his sleeve and tore it open.

A yellow glow shimmered over the young monk's body, dense spirit light swirling across his skin, then his entire form sank into the ground and vanished.

"Second-rank Earth-Diverting Talisman"

The old monk smiled faintly, about to act—when suddenly, nearly a hundred monks' chanting voices echoed through the surrounding void, and dense pale golden scripture phantoms appeared over his body; he felt a crushing weight, as if his frame had become heavier than ten thousand jin, utterly immobilized.

"Vajra Sutra"

The old monk's expression didn't change. He sighed, then silently recited a few incantations.

A continuous rumble of thunder erupted.

Dense silver lightning arcs surged over the old monk's body; within a few breaths, they shattered and erased every scripture phantom clinging to him.

Once free, the old monk glanced at the spot where Yuan Tong had vanished, then muttered with a strange smile:

"Pathetic. Did you really think the Jialan Temple's seals were just for show?"

With that, the old monk stomped his foot; silver light swirled around his soles, and amid rolling thunder, he shot away as a streak of silver lightning.

…

Kang Wuhen sat on a chair, quietly staring at the crimson box and thin black book before him, his face filled with hesitation.

Inside the box lay three semi-transparent pills, each containing a faint black miniature human phantom, writhing and thrashing inside like living things trying to escape.

After a moment's hesitation, Kang Wuhen finally picked up one pill from the wooden box, examined it closely for a long while, then brought it to his nose and sniffed several times.

Definitely a Human Soul Pill—just as I remembered. Even the scent is identical. According to Jialan Shangren's memories, if I ingest this pill and master this secret technique, I can subdue my past-life Fan Shen Fa Ti and reclaim my original relics.

"A pity—the memories don't specify what relics remain here. But I can't retreat now. I'll have to take the gamble." Kang Wuhen muttered, then swallowed the pill in one gulp and opened the black book, beginning to cultivate using the pill's power.

…

Wang Yu raised his hand; his green-red long knife transformed into countless blade shadows, slicing every one of the white spiders before him—each exhaling icy breath—cleanly in two.

Around him lay dozens of dead spider beasts of all kinds; farther off, a multi-zhang-long flying vessel lay in ruins, and nearby rested seven or eight human corpses clad in demonic sect robes.

This was clearly a battlefield where demonic sect and beast forces had clashed—but he had stumbled in by accident, and in the chaos, he slaughtered them all.

Still, as he glanced toward a distant direction, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Behind the rolling white mist, faint dark silhouettes of mountain peaks were visible—he had apparently reached the edge of the formation, and would soon be able to leave.

…

In another corner of the formation, at the center of the massive array, the original dozen colossal bone vessels now numbered only a few remaining suspended in midair.

Of the hundred Heihun Sect disciples, only a dozen still lived.

Most still wore expressions of terror, yet held various artifacts, guarding warily around them.

At their center, a massive, shattered white bone skeleton sat cross-legged before the array, inhaling and exhaling to recover.

The giant skeleton had lost one arm, half its skull gone, its body riddled with wounds, and even the third eye socket on its head was now just a hollow hole—as if something had been ripped out.

Yet as it exhaled with a hissing sound, spiritual energy surged toward it, and its previously diminished aura slowly began to rise again.

After an unknown length of time, the giant skeleton suddenly rose to its feet. With its single remaining arm, it formed a hand seal, chanted an incantation, then gestured toward the surrounding void.

"Boom!" "Boom!"

The corpses of the fallen Heihun Sect disciples scattered across the ground exploded open; countless white bones burst from their bodies and surged toward the giant skeleton.