Chapter 942: White Bone Plain

Yan Buji sped through the dense forest, black blood continually dripping from the wound on his left arm. Behind him, the entire sky was dyed an eerie green, as if myriad ghosts wailed.

"Damn it..." he gritted his teeth, suppressing the surging qi and blood. That old ghost's soul technique was too bizarre; even after fleeing this far, he could still feel that yin-cold aura clinging like a shadow.

Suddenly, a broken cliff appeared ahead. Below the cliff roiled black mist, bottomless.

Yan Buji's footsteps halted.

The "Soul-Consuming Abyss" of the Zanghun Shanmai is said to cause even a Void Union cultivator who falls in to have his soul scattered and spirit destroyed.

But now, that terrifying aura behind him was rapidly closing in.

"Little thief...... you can't escape......"

"Old beast, still chasing!"

The old man's voice came from all directions, as if the whole forest resonated. Trees twisted eerily, and hideous human faces appeared on the bark.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Yan Buji's eyes.

Either way it's death; better to gamble!

He leapt off the cliff, his form instantly swallowed by the black mist.

During the descent, piercing cold invaded his marrow. Countless translucent arms stretched from the mist, trying to grab his body. Yan Buji swung the Soul-Burying Sword; black light flashed, and those arms snapped apart, emitting shrill wails.

"Boom!"

He crashed heavily at the cliff's base, Yan Buji spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He forced himself upright, discovering this was actually the Bai Gu Ping Yuan. Countless skeletons covered the ground, some flickering with eerie phosphorescent fire.

Most chilling of all, these skeletons were frozen in a crawling posture, as if, at their last breath, they were still struggling to escape something.

"This place is......"

Suddenly, his pupils constricted.

In the center of the Bai Gu Ping Yuan stood an altar piled with skulls. On it was thrust a rust-blotched iron sword, its blade entwined with seven chains, each stretching in a different direction and vanishing into the void.

Yan Buji instinctively sensed danger, but above the cliff behind him, the eerie green light had already illuminated the sea of mist—the old man was closing in!

He gripped the Soul-Burying Sword and walked slowly toward the altar. As the distance closed, the chains began to tremble slightly, emitting a grating "creak".

When Yan Buji stepped onto the first step of the altar, a sudden change occurred!

The seven chains suddenly burst forth, like living things lashing out to entwine him! Yan Buji swung his sword to strike, but the chains were utterly unaffected, and in the blink of an eye they coiled around his limbs and neck.

"Ugh!"

The chains tightened, suspending Yan Buji in midair. Worse, he felt his cultivation being rapidly devoured!

The rusted sword on the altar began to tremble, its corrosion flaking off to reveal a blood-red blade. A hoarse voice sounded directly in Yan Buji's mind:

"Blood...... give me blood......"

At the brink of life and death, Yan Buji suddenly noticed a line of small characters carved into the altar's base:

"Using the soul as a guide, one can command the Seven Slaughters."

In a flash of lightning, he understood. He bit his tongue, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto the rusted sword!

"Boom!"

Blood light shot into the heavens!

The seven chains instantly loosened, then wound around Yan Buji's arms, turning into seven ferocious tattoos. The blood sword flew automatically into his hand, its hilt opening a scarlet vertical pupil!

"Seven Slaughter Soul-Locking Sword......" Yan Buji felt the sword's transmission: it was a vicious weapon specialized in destroying primordial spirits!

He also didn't know what connection it had with the Soul-Burying Sword!

Just then, the mist on the cliff exploded, and the old man's figure emerged.

"So you were hiding here!" Lao Gui cackled as he dove down, "Where else can you run...... what?!"

His manic laughter cut short, he stared fixedly at the blood sword in Yan Buji's hand: "Seven Slaughter Sword!? You actually......"

Yan Buji wasted no words, crossing his swords in a slash!

The black light of the Soul-Burying Sword and the bloody radiance of the Seven Slaughter Sword intertwined, like two ferocious dragons colliding violently in midair, bursting forth a heart‑shaking blade of destruction. This blade sliced through the void like lightning, bearing endless might as it streaked straight toward the old man.

Faced with such a terrifying attack, the old man's expression drastically changed. In his haste, the soul shield he condensed was as fragile as paper before this blade, instantly torn into countless fragments. The blade, however, continued onward like a bamboo shoot splitting, unimpeded, and struck directly at the old man's primordial spirit.

"Ah! This is......" accompanied by Lao Gui's anguished cry, his primordial spirit was struck by the blade and instantly burst apart, scattering into countless remnants of soul. Yet just before those soul fragments hit the ground, the chain tattoos of the Seven Slaughter Sword suddenly seemed to come alive, extending along the sword's light like a famished beast opening its bloody maw, devouring every fragment.

"No! Release me! You can't......" the old man's remnant soul let out a desperate wail, trying to break free of the Seven Slaughter Sword's bonds, but it was already too late. The sword's chain tattoos clung tightly to his remnant soul, dragging it bit by bit toward the sword's pupil.

Yan Buji watched coldly, his eyes as icy and merciless as frozen stone. He turned a deaf ear to the old man's pleas, simply watching as the chain pulled the remnant soul into the sword's pupil.

As the old man's remnant soul was fully drawn into the sword's pupil, the shrill wail finally ceased completely. The sword's pupil seemed satisfied, slowly closing, while the seven chain tattoos on the Seven Slaughter Sword returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

Once more the Bai Gu Ping Yuan fell into a deathly silence, only Yan Buji's heavy breathing echoing in the air. Though brief, this battle drained him far beyond imagination. The Seven Slaughter Sword, in that fight, was like a bottomless pit, frenziedly sucking his essence blood.

If not for the Soul-Burying Sword constantly suppressing it from beside him, he would likely have already been drained to a husk.

"I must leave quickly......" Yan Buji thought to himself, he struggled to his feet and staggered toward the exit of the Bai Gu Ping Yuan.

He gritted his teeth against the searing pain, slowly pushing himself up from the ground. Every movement sent a wave of heart‑rending agony through him, yet he clenched his teeth and persisted. Finally he managed to stand, swaying a few steps before barely steadying himself.

Suddenly, his gaze was caught by a concealed tunnel behind the altar. The tunnel looked extremely ancient, its walls covered in various strange murals. Though some were blurred, they still seemed to recount an ancient legend.

Yan Buji had no mind to study the murals closely; what he needed most now was a safe place to treat his wounds. Yet just as he was about to step into the tunnel, the final mural made him halt.

The scene in this mural was eerily bizarre: seven massive chains tightly coiled around a coffin, atop which two crossed swords were planted. Beneath the coffin, countless corpses knelt on the ground, as if paying homage to it.

"Is this...... a prophecy? Or a warning?" Yan Buji stared at the mural, a vague unease welling up in his chest. He unconsciously touched the tattoos on his arm, glanced at his twin swords, and a shadow flickered in his eyes.

These tattoos and twin swords held endless secrets and power. Yet now, seeing in the mural a scene related to them, he couldn't help but doubt.

Yet he now had no other choice. On the Bai Gu Ping Yuan behind him, the phosphorescent fires winked out one after another, as if seeing off some dread presence.

Yan Buji drew a deep breath, steadied himself, and then stepped into the dark tunnel.