novelraw Chapter 1030: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (38)
Chapter 1030: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (38)
Tai Yinzi staggered to his feet, feeling a bit dizzy. However, something seemed off with his vision. He tried raising his hands in front of him, but he couldn’t see them.
He attempted to walk forward, yet his view seemed to be moving backward.
Then, a light bulb went off in his head. He grabbed his own head with both hands and twisted it forcefully—rotating it 180 degrees. Finally, everything returned to normal.
For ordinary people—even for Taoists—if their necks were twisted 180 degrees without having transcended the limitations of a physical body, they should be dead.
Although some people with unique abilities or martial arts skills could turn their heads in such a way, it was merely a matter of skeletal flexibility. The giant, however, had distinctly heard the sound of bones shattering when he had punched this strange old man earlier.
Moreover, his first punch had even gone straight through, as if the old man’s body wasn’t solid at all.
Yet, afterward, the old man was able to withstand his Dominating Fist and still stand there, completely unharmed.
Just what in the world was this bizarre old man?
The giant was deep in thought, but at the same time, Tai Yinzi was muttering to himself.
He had long known that Black Soul Envoys were not invincible—after all, back when he first started out, he had been hunted by the True Dragon of Divine Land to the brink of destruction. There were indeed extraordinary beings in this world capable of eliminating Black Soul Envoys.While the Black Soul's Mist Form could neutralize most physical attacks, it was a different story if the attack carried additional elemental damage.
Tai Yinzi considered himself quite up-to-date with modern trends, as he had recently crammed a lot of contemporary knowledge.
"You’re from the Ghost Clan?" The giant frowned. "One of Xiao Shengmo’s subordinates?"
Xiao Shengmo?
That name sounded familiar… Tai Yinzi paused for a moment before finally recalling who the giant was referring to—the Lord of Fengdu City, a major figure of the Demon Clan who had already been a powerful figure centuries before Tai Yinzi had even started his journey.
It seemed this Jotaro-looking—no, this big fool—had mistaken the Black Soul Envoy’s mist transformation for the Ghost Clan’s Phantom Form.
Well… the two were indeed quite similar.
However, members of the Ghost Clan had no physical bodies and existed purely as spirit entities, unlike Black Soul Envoys, who could freely switch between solid and intangible forms.
Still, upon assuming that Tai Yinzi was from the Ghost Clan, the big fool seemed to have lost the will to attack.
Tai Yinzi’s mind spun rapidly, and he frowned. "You know our Lord Xiao?"
"Where did this old ghost come from?" The giant leapt down from the stone pillar and snorted. "Don’t recognize me?"
Tai Yinzi casually replied, "I… I was asleep in Lord Xiao’s Tower of Ten Thousand Ghosts for centuries. It’s natural that I don’t know you. Besides, there are countless demons in the world—who can know them all? Do you know every single ghost in Fengdu City?"
The Tower of Ten Thousand Ghosts was indeed one of Xiao Shengmo’s prized possessions and was quite famous.
The Tower of Ten Thousand Ghosts housed countless ghost soldiers, generals, and vengeful spirits. When Xiao Shengmo lost his temper, he could summon an army of 100,000 ghosts from the tower. While he might not be the strongest in single combat, he had never feared group battles.
It was said that Xiao Shengmo hadn’t used the Tower of Ten Thousand Ghosts for centuries.
The giant gave Tai Yinzi a suspicious glance and casually said, "I am Wang Hu, just an ordinary member of the White Tiger Clan."
The White Tiger Clan of the Four Celestial Spirits?
Tai Yinzi’s eyes widened slightly. He then fell into deep thought, locking eyes with Wang Hu. Neither of them spoke.
Considering that it was almost time for the Penglai Grand Gathering, where cultivators and demons from both realms would gather, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Lord of Fengdu City personally attended.
Tai Yinzi had already formulated a plan. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Brother Wang Hu, I was enveloped by a white light and ended up here. Do you know what happened?"
Wang Hu shook his head while looking around at the towering stone forest. "I don’t know. When I came to, I was already here. I tried to leave, but no matter how much I walked around, everything looked the same. So, I decided to make my own path."
So that explained why the stone pillars kept collapsing one after another… This big fool really was the type to bulldoze his way through obstacles.
"Let me take a look." Tai Yinzi frowned and flew up.
Wang Hu didn’t mind. Watching Tai Yinzi, he stood back with an expectant expression, as if enjoying a show.
Tai Yinzi ascended and surveyed his surroundings. The stone forest wasn’t as vast as he had initially thought. He could see the edge—probably just a few kilometers away. At this distance, it should have been easy to fly out.
However, as Tai Yinzi flew forward, he gradually realized something was off.
He couldn’t reach the edge of the stone forest!
No matter how long or fast he flew, the boundary of the stone forest always remained just at the horizon. Meanwhile, countless stone pillars below him seemed to rush past at great speed.
"What’s going on?" Tai Yinzi frowned as he returned to Wang Hu, clearly displeased.
"It seems like the only way out is to walk," Wang Hu observed, gazing at the endless stone forest. "Flying won’t work… this place appears to be a massive maze formation."
"We need to find the core of the formation," Tai Yinzi muttered, furrowing his brow.
Formation techniques were not his strong suit. That treacherous Yu Sanniang, who had sealed him away for centuries, was far more skilled in formations than he was…
"Do you have a solution?" Wang Hu asked, his eyes lighting up.
Of course, I do…
I could just call my Boss and get this over with in an instant!
But Tai Yinzi quickly dismissed the idea. Who knew if that vengeful maid had already realized he had stolen something?
For now, he had to be cautious.
So, he thought to himself, Adam, you better hold on. I’ll bring you a pair of high-powered batteries later!
"There is one way." Tai Yinzi pondered for a moment before looking at Wang Hu.
This guy… if every White Tiger Clan member were this strong, what would be left of the Daoist World? He might as well say he lives in a small house with an average-looking wife!
"Oh? What’s your idea?" Wang Hu stepped forward eagerly.
"Well, any formation is composed of three things: the core, the materials, and the diagram," Tai Yinzi said seriously. "For a formation to work, all three elements must be balanced. So…"
"So…?" Wang Hu asked, leaning in.
Tai Yinzi patted Wang Hu’s shoulder and said with a sly grin, "We just have to smash our way through! With your strength, we’ll be out in no time!"
BAM!
There was a loud crack, and once again, Tai Yinzi was sent flying through the air, spinning head over heels before crashing into the ground like a ragdoll…
History has a way of repeating itself.
After some time, elsewhere…
As its consciousness slowly returned, it began to examine its surroundings.
It remembered being in a stone chamber somewhere in a cave mansion, where it had encountered a mysterious figure wearing a bronze mask. After failing to defeat that person, it had been struck down.
It was the intruder wearing a featureless mask.
It wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it felt like it had only been unconscious for a short while. Even so, its situation was rather dire.
Half of its body was embedded in an unknown type of crystal, which stood upright at about three to four meters in height. Looking around, it saw that the area was filled with many similar crystal pillars, arranged in a peculiar pattern.
Not far from it, two greedy humans—whom it had encountered earlier in the stone chamber—were also trapped inside the same kind of crystals.
Not only were these two greedy human martial artists present, but also numerous members of the Daoist World and Demon Clan… However, they all appeared pale, unconscious, and their bodies had taken on a shriveled appearance.
Unlike the crystal that bound itself, the crystals restraining these individuals were a deep crimson red—at the same time, it could feel its stamina and Demonic Energy continuously draining away.
Each time a portion of its energy was lost, the crystal imprisoning it darkened slightly in color… At this moment, the crystal it was trapped in had already turned pink.
At the center of the formation of crystals, a massive sacrificial altar could be seen.
Beneath the altar, it spotted two young men lying motionless.
These two young men were not sealed within the crystals, which left it somewhat puzzled.
Sitting cross-legged atop the altar was a black-haired child… As for the mysterious bronze-masked man, he was nowhere to be seen.
“You’ve awakened? As expected of the Greedy Wolf Clan’s young lord of this generation, your abilities are quite remarkable.”
A voice came from behind the crystal… It couldn’t see the speaker, but based on the voice alone, it instantly recognized that it was the same mysterious bronze-masked man who had attacked it.
Its own mask was already gone—it had realized this as soon as it woke up. In other words, its true identity had already been exposed. But if this mysterious figure could recognize it by appearance alone, did that mean this person had appeared at the Penglai Grand Gathering?
Although she had taken on the position of Zi Xing, young lord of the Greedy Wolf Clan, it hadn’t been for long. This was also her first time appearing in public.
The Greedy Wolf Clan, which resided in the highlands, rarely interacted with the outside world, and very few extraordinary beings from the Divine Land had seen her before.
“What do you want?” Zi Xing tried to remain calm.
“Do you know where this place is?” The voice of the bronze-masked man was low, hoarse, and ethereal.
“Where is this place?” Zi Xing remained silent for a moment before choosing to follow his line of questioning. Given the current situation, the only thing she could do was extract as much information as possible.
The voice slowly approached… The mysterious figure was clearly walking toward the crystal imprisoning Zi Xing.
He spoke in a measured tone, “This is the Emperor’s Cave Mansion, the same place your Daoist and Demon factions jointly explored over a month ago. Of course, this is only a portion of the cave system, or rather, one of its key locations. The structure of this cave mansion is far larger than what you’ve seen. The area you all believed to be its end is merely the tip of the iceberg.”
“The Emperor’s Cave Mansion…” Zi Xing furrowed her brows. If this really was part of the cave system, then why had the Daoist and Demon factions explored for dozens of days without ever discovering this place?
Who exactly was this mysterious figure, and how had he reached an area unknown to even the elite forces of both factions?
Could it be…
“This cave mansion… Did you deliberately expose it?” A strange thought flashed through Zi Xing’s mind, and she blurted it out.
The bronze-masked man slowly stepped forward, now standing directly beneath the crystal pillar imprisoning Zi Xing.
With his hands behind his back, he raised his head to gaze at the altar at the center.
“Zi Xing, young lord of the Greedy Wolf Clan, you are quite astute. I admire that.” The bronze-masked man said indifferently. “That’s right. I intentionally exposed the Emperor’s Cave Mansion so that the Daoist and Demon factions would discover it. Decades ago, I found this place and have been exploring it for a long time.”
Zi Xing’s heart trembled, and an icy chill ran through her body—this was a long-planned conspiracy!
A scheme that had manipulated both the Daoist and Demon factions into walking right into a trap!
This place was shrouded in mystery and eeriness, giving her an overwhelming sense of horror… The Daoist and Demon members who were being continuously drained by the crystals were on the verge of death, their life force flickering like a candle in the wind…
Would this be her fate as well?
“The Edict… Is it fake?” Thinking through the situation carefully, Zi Xing couldn’t help but gasp. Now that she realized it was all a conspiracy, she began reconsidering everything. “Your goal was to use the ensuing chaos to capture Daoists and Demons?”
A mysterious cave mansion appears…
The Emperor’s Edict emerges…
The Daoist and Demon factions compete for it…
And throughout the conflict, people mysteriously disappeared, initially assumed to have died due to hidden battles among themselves…
“The Edict is real.” The mysterious figure said flatly. “If it were fake, how could it have sparked such a fierce struggle? After all, there are still some true experts in the Daoist World who can distinguish authenticity.”
“Then… what exactly do you want to do?!” Zi Xing asked in horror.
“I simply want to remove the old and build something new in its place.” The mysterious man slowly raised his head, gazing at Zi Xing’s face as he spoke softly, “For that, some sacrifices are necessary.”
“Build something new?”
“You will witness it. You will also become its foundation, Zi Xing. I appreciate your contribution.” The mysterious man nodded slightly, then walked directly toward the altar.
“Wait! Explain yourself! What is your true goal?!” Zi Xing shouted in anger.
But the mysterious man continued ascending the steps toward the altar, his voice echoing through the chamber, ancient and solemn—
“The old Divine Land has died. I merely wish to awaken it.”
Ignoring Zi Xing’s furious demands, he finally reached the altar, standing before the black-haired child seated there.
The child slowly opened his eyes.
The mysterious man spoke in a low voice, “Are you ready?”
The child nodded.
The mysterious man’s expression turned serious. “Bear with it. Extracting the Jade Dragon Pillar will be painful… If it becomes too much, I will pause.”
The child merely closed his eyes.
Moments later, a piercing cry of agony echoed through the strange chamber…
The sound made Zi Xing’s scalp tingle with terror!
(End of Chapter)