novelraw Chapter 107 : Mysterious Remains
Chapter 107 : Mysterious Remains
Chapter 107: Mysterious Remains
The crowd gathered together, staring at the crazed Sangji Jiacuo, while Jiang Zhaoming frowned.
Then, a pill appeared in his hand, radiating a terrifying shade of black.
「Lilian, tell me—under such circumstances, does this Gu insect still stand a chance of controlling Sangji Jiacuo?」
Lilian looked curiously at the item in Jiang Zhaoming’s hand and examined it carefully for a moment.
Then she shook her head and said, 「My honored King, I fear we’ll only know if we try—but Sangji Jiacuo should have little resistance left now.」
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Jiang Zhaoming nodded, then struck Sangji Jiacuo’s abdomen with a punch from afar, forcing him to open his mouth.
With a flick of his fingers, the final Soul-Devouring Gu dropped into Sangji Jiacuo’s mouth.
The group watched as Sangji Jiacuo convulsed violently before collapsing to the ground.
At the same time, Lilian continued casting spells, trying to stabilize Sangji Jiacuo’s terrified soul.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhaoming approached King Yutian’s corpse and took the storage pouch from his hand.
Infusing spiritual energy into it, Jiang Zhaoming probed within and quickly learned how to use it.
When he opened the pouch, hundreds of thousands of Spirit Crystals, hundreds of magical artifacts, and over a dozen spiritual treasures appeared before him.
These artifacts and treasures seemed ancient, their styles exceedingly strange, clearly not of Great Zhou craftsmanship.
However, each item was engraved with inscription arrays that had protected them from the erosion of time.
Weapons, ranked from low to high, were divided into—mortal-grade weapons, exquisite weapons, magical artifacts, spiritual treasures, and sacred treasures.
The Monument of Heroic Souls and the storage pouch in Jiang Zhaoming’s possession belonged to the category of spiritual treasures, while the Thousand Mechanisms Gu was a spiritual treasure as well.
Normally, even Divine Power Realm experts could only wield magical artifacts.
Yet Jiang Zhaoming’s current haul included hundreds of magical artifacts and more than a dozen spiritual treasures.
「A great fortune indeed!」
His eyes brightened as he shrank the storage pouch to palm size and fastened it to his waist.
The uses of these artifacts and treasures could be studied later upon return.
Half an hour passed.
On the ground, Sangji Jiacuo slowly sat up. The chaos in his eyes faded, replaced by clarity as he looked toward Jiang Zhaoming.
「It actually succeeded?」 Jiang Zhaoming’s heart trembled slightly.
For the Soul-Devouring Gu to successfully seize the body of a Golden Body Realm cultivator was a pleasant surprise indeed.
Of course, this owed much to Lilian’s powerful spiritual will suppressing Sangji Jiacuo’s resistance at the crucial moment.
Otherwise, relying solely on the Gu insect, it would have been crushed instantly by Sangji Jiacuo’s overwhelming soul power.
「M–Master.」
The Gu insect controlled Sangji Jiacuo’s body, forcing out a few clumsy syllables.
Jiang Zhaoming nodded slightly. 「Tell me—what did that Yutian noble mean by ‘Senior of Great Zhou’?
What secret lies hidden within the depths of this Kingdom of Sunlight?」
Sangji Jiacuo’s brows furrowed as if searching through an ocean of fragmented memories.
After a moment, he said slowly, 「The Kingdom of Sunlight… an ancient legend of Yutian… boundless and mysterious… I—cannot glimpse its entirety.」
Jiang Zhaoming felt a twinge of disappointment; that was as good as saying nothing.
「However——the ‘Senior of Great Zhou’ my Master asks about—according to legend, beneath these tomb mounds are buried———」」
Sangji Jiacuo’s brows knit even tighter, as though enduring immense pressure.
He struggled to unearth that broken portion of memory, but could not express it clearly.
Lilian reminded gently, 「Honored King, this Gu’s soul power is limited. When it devoured Sangji Jiacuo, much of the soul fragments—and thus crucial memories—were lost.」
Jiang Zhaoming frowned and gestured for her to stop.
After Lilian conducted a brief test, they discovered that though Sangji Jiacuo, under Gu control, retained the spiritual foundation of the mid Golden Body Realm,
his combat instincts and spell memory were severely impaired—his actual strength was only at the early Golden Body Realm.
Even so, a Golden Body Realm combatant was still a great boon, enough to make him the third strongest within Anxi Prefecture.
Jiang Zhaoming turned his gaze toward the chaotic mounds of graves, drew out the Monument of Heroic Souls, and infused it with spiritual power.
A faint glow flowed across the stele, but no trace of lingering soul could be sensed—only silence.
「Enough.」
Jiang Zhaoming sighed softly, then looked toward Sangji Jiacuo. 「Just now—where were you planning to explore?」
Sangji Jiacuo, still retaining fragments of recent memory, slowly lifted his arm and pointed south.
Jiang Zhaoming followed his finger and his heart tightened.
Unlike the relatively “peaceful” northern region behind them, the southern sky—
—was smothered in heavy lead-gray clouds like an inverted sea of filth, pressing down upon the land.
Within the clouds, pale lightning serpents flickered silently, occasionally tearing the darkness apart and illuminating the desolation below.
The earth seemed clawed apart repeatedly by colossal talons, leaving a maze of deep ravines.
Charred rocks jutted from the ground—no grass grew—an apocalyptic wasteland of deathly silence.
Glancing at the three Golden Body Realm warriors beside him, Jiang Zhaoming judged that their self-preservation should be sufficient.
He decided firmly. 「Let’s go. We’ll take a look.」
The power of earth surged beneath their feet, and the four figures sank into the ground, moving slowly southward along the veins of the land.
For the sake of careful study, Jiang Zhaoming did not fully accelerate but instead advanced cautiously, observing as they went.
The further south they traveled, the more horrifying the scene became.
Ruined village remnants, the skeletal remains of colossal cities—like the bones of dead beasts—littered the ground.
Even more terrifying were the countless skeletons strewn everywhere, layered upon layer, carpeting ravines and ruins—a gray-white tapestry woven from death itself.
Most of the bones were so brittle that a light touch reduced them to ash, signifying countless ages of stillness.
Even skimming a small area, Jiang Zhaoming roughly estimated the bones numbered in the millions.
What kind of catastrophe had this so-called “Blessed Land” once endured?
As the four passed the edge of a colossal ruined city—so vast it defied imagination—and prepared to move deeper into the southern heartland—
—a weary voice suddenly thundered directly within their minds.
「Do not proceed further south!」
The abruptness of the voice sent Jiang Zhaoming’s heart pounding.
After a brief pause, he decisively drew upon the earth veins, and the four reemerged upon the surface.
They stood amidst the center of a ruined city.
Though long fallen, the towering structures—tens of zhang high, reduced to skeletal frames—
and the densely packed, hive-like foundations spreading outward—still hinted at its former grandeur.
Jiang Zhaoming, ignoring nostalgia, swept his sharp gaze across the crumbling ruins, searching for the voice’s source.
「I am here.」
Sensing the direction of the mental voice, the four walked toward the city’s center and turned a corner.
Before them lay a massive pit, a thousand-zhang wide—carved out by some unknown force.
Within it rested millions of skeletons—forming a forest of white bones.
Examining them closely, Jiang Zhaoming found not only human bones but also many strange skeletons,
some belonging to divine beings several zhang tall.
「I am here.」
The thought resounded again. Jiang Zhaoming turned toward its source.
At the top of the pit lay a skeleton encased in golden armor—astonishingly intact.
The voice did not come from the bones themselves—but from a jade pendant at the skeleton’s waist.
Jiang Zhaoming reached out, and the pendant floated into his hand.
As he looked upon it, a strange familiarity welled within his chest.
At that same moment, the mental voice spoke once more—filled with deep confusion.
「Bloodline of the Royal Family of Great Zhou? Tell me—are you my younger brother… or my descendant? What year is it now——」」