Chapter 1176: This Old Man Remains Untainted by the Mud

Move forward along the path!

Much of this battlefield ruins, buried deep underground for countless years, has already been destroyed, even fractured and merged with the earth, so many passages have become dead ends, slowly turning this ruin into an alternative maze.

Basically, if one wanders blindly here, one will likely take a wrong direction, risk triggering various restrictions, only to find the end has collapsed into a dead end, forcing a helpless retreat.

Thus, over these past few years, neither the Jade Pool nor people from major factions have managed to find an accurate path within; only Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude, through some unknown creation or perhaps possessing a map, directly excavated this place and even salvaged an inheritance from within, which naturally aroused everyone's covetousness.

Now that they have appeared again, they were immediately spotted; the Shennong Clan even prepared a major move specifically for them, coercing Liu Jingning and her group to force them to reveal themselves, thereby gaining the chance to track Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude and follow them all the way inside.

However, in terms of setting traps for others, Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude have always remained at the pinnacle.

Along the way, they set various traps, and even after entering the inheritance site, they thoroughly tricked the Shennong Clan and other factions, causing those groups to turn on each other and slaughter one another upon the Altar.

Xu Que, Bai Cailing, and their group advanced deeper, finally reaching the entrance location described by those cultivators.

This was a crossroads with seven branches; the Heavenly Prides who were tricked into entering took the leftmost passage, and only this passage entrance was covered in footprints, while the other six passages showed no traces or aura whatsoever.

Xu Que stood outside, gazing at the other six passages, his brows inevitably furrowing.

His intuition told him these six passages were all dangerous, far more chilling to the spine than the leftmost one, as if stepping inside would immediately invite terrifying destruction.

Yet the entrance of that leftmost passage, where the Heavenly Prides were tricked in, was actually the safest among the seven paths; although it still carried an unsettling feeling, that sensation was far less severe than the other six!

Most crucially, this passage still retained the aura of Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude, something absent from the other six passages.

"It seems this passage has something strange!" Xu Que slightly narrowed his eyes.

He could confirm that Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude truly entered through this passage, but after entering, those two fellows likely used some method or entered a hidden branch within, avoiding teleportation to the Altar and instead arriving directly on the opposite shore, where they were eating Hot Pot and watching the show.

"Old Man Xu, do you wish to continue entering via this path?" At this moment, Bai Cailing stepped forward and asked Xu Que.

She also saw it; the only viable path was indeed this one, as the other six passages held great uncertainty and could annihilate them all in an instant, so it was better to continue along the path taken by predecessors.

However, this path did not seem easy to traverse; without knowing the method, one would end up like Yi Zhong and his group, being sent to the Altar and then inexplicably forced into a fight to the death.

Of course, they had an advantage!

Once inside, if Er Gouzi recognized them, he should intervene to save them and bring them out!

"Let's go this way. Just now, those cultivators mentioned that after teleporting in, one would not appear immediately on the battlefield, but only at the edge of the Altar, though still affected by the malevolent energy. So if you have no way to prevent the malevolent energy from entering your bodies, I do not recommend entering together!" Xu Que said calmly, displaying the demeanor of a reclusive master hiding his true strength.

This clashed somewhat with his current realm, strength, and his outwardly sickly appearance, so to the Jade Pool crowd, Xu Que's words sounded rather grating!

Respect is one thing, but the gap in strength between us cannot be ignored! You, a Half-Immortal Realm patient, dare to enter, yet advise us Earth Immortal, Heavenly Immortal, and Golden Immortal realms not to? That is simply too ridiculous!

Moreover, resisting the malevolent energy from entering the body is not difficult; if one knows beforehand and takes precautions, one can basically ensure safety!

The many Jade Pool Female Disciples shook their heads slightly with a smile; out of respect for Xu Que's ability to revive the Pantao Garden, they said nothing, merely pretending Xu Que had said nothing at all.

Bai Cailing also gave a bitter smile and made a gesture of invitation: "Old Man Xu, then let us enter together!"

"Very well!" Xu Que nodded and stepped forward.

Bai Cailing walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him, followed closely by several Golden Immortal Realm Peak Guardians, while over a dozen Jade Pool Disciples of Earth Immortal and Heavenly Immortal realms tightened their expressions, maintaining the highest alert as they followed.

However, the moment everyone stepped into the passage, a biting cold wind blew straight at them, the air mixed with the scent of blood, both fresh and ancient!

Boom!

Suddenly, the ground beneath everyone trembled, and a massive pulling force swept in from all directions, completely enveloping Xu Que and his group, dragging them into the Void, and instantly vanishing them from the passage.

"Damn it!"

Just a second before being teleported, Xu Que couldn't help but curse inwardly.

At this moment, he finally understood that the four walls of the entire passage were part of a Teleportation Array, with no hidden branches whatsoever.

Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude must have carried something akin to a key, altering the direction of the Teleportation Array, allowing them to skip the Altar and arrive directly on the opposite shore.

However, this belated realization of the truth was useless; after the darkness before their eyes flashed away, everyone's vision quickly cleared, finding themselves at the edge of a massive Altar.

Looking out, dozens of figures in the center of the Altar were engaged in combat, fighting fiercely, with Dharma Spells weaving into a tapestry, Spiritual Light blazing intensely, causing the entire Altar to roar and tremble!

The ground was splattered with bloodstains, and dozens of corpses lay scattered in pools of blood, presenting a gruesome scene.

"Oh no, Er Gouzi and the others have already left!" At this moment, Bai Cailing's expression changed slightly, and she said in a low voice.

Hearing this, Xu Que finally looked toward the opposite shore of the Altar; there, only a pile of leftover food and a large pot remained, with no sign of Er Gouzi, Duan Jiude, or the others, clearly indicating they had already departed.

For everyone, this was not good news.

Originally, they had planned that after entering, Er Gouzi would use his power to bring them over, but who would have thought Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude had already left? Now their situation was no different from that group of Heavenly Prides locked in the chaotic battle.

Even if they could resist the malevolent energy and avoid falling into madness to seek out others for a fight, this could not stop those whose bodies had already been invaded by the malevolent energy from rushing over to trouble them.

"Hmm? Something is wrong; why is the malevolent energy in this place so powerful? It feels like it cannot be resisted!" Suddenly, a Female Disciple shouted with a face full of shock.

Heeding the warnings of those cultivators earlier, they had prepared defenses upon entering, with some even summoning Dharma Artifacts to protect their bodies, yet once on the Altar, they still felt turmoil within their bodies, as some malevolent energy had managed to penetrate them.

"This place is not right!" A Golden Immortal Realm Guardian also tightened his expression and said in a deep voice.

Clearly, even one as powerful as a Golden Immortal could not avoid the assault of the malevolent energy in this place.

Even if this current amount of malevolent energy would not yet affect their sanity, it was only a matter of time; if they remained here, the malevolent energy within their bodies would gradually increase, eventually forcing them into a state of rage beyond their control.

"Truly worthy of being an Ancient Battlefield; this malevolent energy originates from that Remnant Soul of a Divine Spirit. After the Remnant Soul was torn apart, the rage from his final moments was released, making it extremely difficult to resist!" At this moment, Xu Que slightly narrowed his eyes and said calmly.

The name Shenling Ancient Battlefield was not given lightly; this place became a battlefield precisely because Divine Spirits had fought to the death here. Every Divine Spirit perished in a great war, so naturally, the malevolent energy was ferocious; how could it be resisted by someone at the Golden Immortal Realm?

"Old Man Xu, please step back; do not stand too close to the front!" Bai Cailing spoke, her expression extremely grave.

She already understood the severity of the situation; while everyone still retained their sanity, she could only ask Xu Que to retreat to the edge to avoid being dragged into the battle, though she also knew this action was somewhat superfluous.

This Old Man Xu possessed the weakest strength among them; if anyone was most likely to fall into a state of rage, it should be this Old Man Xu!

Thus, Bai Cailing's intention in asking him to step back was also to keep him as far away from their side as possible; otherwise, if he lost his sanity and attacked the Jade Pool people, the Jade Pool would have no choice but to retaliate, creating a very difficult situation.

"Rest assured, this amount of malevolent energy is not something I, this old man, cannot handle!" However, at this moment, Xu Que smiled slightly and said with an air of calm indifference.

Everyone was immediately startled; after checking Xu Que's state, they all widened their eyes in disbelief.

"This... how is this possible?"

"Old Man Xu can actually resist all the malevolent energy!"

"Old Man Xu, how... how did you do it? Why does the malevolent energy actively avoid you upon reaching your vicinity?"

Several Jade Pool Disciples immediately exclaimed in shock.

Bai Cailing and several Golden Immortal Realm Guardians also looked at Xu Que in surprise, deeply puzzled by this phenomenon, which was far too unreasonable; a half-immortal realm sick old man could actually cause the malevolent qi to avoid him voluntarily.

"Hehe!"

At this moment, Xu Que smiled lightly, hands clasped behind his back, gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle with a kind expression, saying faintly, "The reason the malevolent qi can affect you is that you have demons in your hearts; you are not pure enough. If you could achieve the same tranquility as this old man, with no demonic obstacles in your hearts, the malevolent qi would lose its effect!"

No demonic obstacles in the heart at all?

How is that possible?

Even a Divine Spirit cannot achieve a heart without demonic obstacles; even the True Buddhas of the Buddhist Sect cultivate the Six Roots of Purity, but everyone knows clearly that the Six Roots cannot be thoroughly purified. As long as there is a single flaw, one will ultimately be affected by the malevolent qi.

Could this Old Man Xu, being so tranquil, be a Saint?

"Since I was young, I have taught Xu Que to become a person like me in the future: without any demonic obstacles, content with the world, like a pure lotus rising from the mud unstained. Alas, holding the sun and moon to pluck the stars, there is no one in the world like me. To achieve the same unstained purity as this old man is indeed too difficult, so do not be sad; keep working hard!" At this moment, Xu Que's face was full of profound mystery as he comforted everyone.

Everyone was stunned, feeling that something was very wrong!

This is impossible! When Yi Zhong was possessed by Xu Que earlier, this Old Man Xu acted so irritable, even striking Yi Zhong. How could such a person have no demonic obstacles? How could he rise from the mud unstained?

"Eh!"

At this moment, Bai Cailing seemed to discover something; her eyes suddenly turned to Xu Que's chest, and she smiled, saying, "Old Man Xu, may I see the dozens of Buddha Beads and these few Buddha Bead necklaces on you?"