Outside this tomb, the Ghost Demon King would have faced immense difficulty, definitely unable to secure an easy victory whether battling Li Hentian, or contending with Ji Changkong and the Primeval Poison. However, within this tomb, due to the extraordinarily dense concentration of Yin energy permeating the realm, the Ghost Demon King’s strength was amplified manifold.
Moreover, given the Ghost Demon King’s supreme mastery over soul-based attacks, he dared to conceive the audacious notion of devouring Ji Changkong, Li Hentian, and the Primeval Poison all at once. The six stone pillars and the Ice Stone Coffin ceased their absorption of the tomb’s pervasive Yin energy.
All the Yin energy converging from every direction remained swirling within the chamber, causing the density of the spiritual atmosphere to increase continually. The Ghost Demon King thrived here, his soul clinging tightly to the realm’s Yin energy.
Under the influence of his power, the Yin energy aggregated, controlled by his soul force, constantly shifting and forming spectral whirlwinds that drifted throughout the mausoleum. Li Hentian, Ji Changkong, and the Primeval Poison knew they could not allow themselves to be swayed by the Ghost Demon King’s spirit; they guarded themselves secretly.
Their spirits dispersed, launching attacks on the Ghost Demon King from three separate directions to prevent him from sweeping them all into one disastrous net. Li Hentian’s spirit possessed the fiery essence of Yan Jiao.
As his soul force swept through the tomb, the ambient temperature immediately rose. The Primeval Poison’s soul force was almost untraceable; his spirit deliberately suppressed its aura, rendering it exquisitely faint and difficult to detect.
Ji Changkong’s soul, having been fractured once through the Nebula Soul Refining Technique of the Aurorean Sect, had suffered a depletion of spiritual power. Therefore, he did not engage the Ghost Demon King head-on.
His spirit merely wandered restlessly within the tomb, evading pursuit while subtly unleashing the various soul skills of the Nebula Soul Refining Technique to strike at the Ghost Demon King covertly. Soul Rays and similar Aurorean Sect techniques required minimal mental exertion, yet possessed considerable lethality when deployed skillfully.
Clusters of Soul Rays were accumulated, and whenever the Ghost Demon King’s colossal spirit appeared within his range, Ji Changkong would silently release these rays to target him. Among the three, the Primeval Poison was also among the injured contingent, naturally refraining from a direct, desperate clash with the Ghost Demon King in this highly Yin-charged tomb.
Upon transforming, the Primeval Poison became a wisp of ethereal smoke. A puff of spectral wind would instantly cause him to vanish, and by the time the Ghost Demon King sensed him, he would already have shifted to another location, secretly deploying subtle yet potent toxins against his foe.
The venom released by the Primeval Poison mixed seamlessly with the air, rendering it almost imperceptible to both the naked eye and the soul. Despite the significant augmentation of his soul power within the tomb, the Ghost Demon King could not detect the Primeval Poison’s released toxins.
Every cycle his spirit roamed the tomb, the poison within his soul deepened by one degree. Li Hentian acted as the primary combatant.
His soul, blazing like a scorching sun, continuously emitted intense heat, causing rolling waves of thermal energy to surge through the frigid tomb. Streams of heat energy, invisible to the naked eye, radiated from Li Hentian’s spirit and rapidly barraged the Ghost Demon King’s soul.
High temperature was one of the forces the Ghost Demon King most disliked and feared. The rolling heat waves in the tomb, the searing streams of energy, combined with the venom accumulating in his soul from the Primeval Poison, gradually caused the Ghost Demon King’s spirit to weaken.
As his soul power waned, his ability to control the surrounding Yin energy began to suffer limitations, and the Yin energy enveloped by his spirit grew progressively less substantial. Li Hentian immediately sensed the Ghost Demon King’s fatigue!
He intensified his power, launching scorching soul energy attacks. Strands of intensely blazing soul force, like invisible arrows, relentlessly struck the Ghost Demon King’s spirit.
Ji Changkong certainly would not forfeit such an opportune moment to press the advantage. Various miraculous soul skills derived from the Nebula Soul Refining Technique were continuously unleashed, all aimed squarely at the Ghost Demon King.
The Primeval Poison suddenly grew exhilarated. His miniature form gradually re-emerged in the void, opening its mouth to spew colorless, odorless toxins toward the Ghost Demon King.
These toxins, capable of corroding even a soul, immediately diffused through the air, faintly enveloping the Ghost Demon King. As the progenitor of poison, the Primeval Poison’s mastery over toxins had reached the zenith of perfection.
The venom he expelled acted as an extension of his limbs; though dispersed in the air, it possessed an almost independent awareness, flying only towards the Ghost Demon King. Moreover, whenever Li Hentian and Ji Changkong moved slightly away, the toxins would actively yield, avoiding contact with them.
Li Hentian had initially harbored reservations about the toxins saturating the air, even deliberately maneuvering to avoid them. However, after only a short while, he observed that the diffused toxins behaved as if they possessed eyes; they would proactively shift aside the moment he approached.
This filled Li Hentian with silent awe, causing him to rate the Primeval Poison even higher, and he felt fortunate for Ji Changkong, blessed to have such a formidable ally at his side. With the three united, the Ghost Demon King began to flounder, increasingly unable to manage all three threats simultaneously.
Although the Ghost Demon King’s soul power was extraordinary, dealing with Li Hentian, Ji Changkong, and the Primeval Poison all at once proved immensely difficult. Once the trio discovered the correct method to counter him, he instantly felt his soul reserves were insufficient.
Fortunately, the Yin energy in this tomb was extremely rich; otherwise, the Ghost Demon King would have collapsed much sooner. The Primeval Poison was visibly excited, shouting and ceaselessly discharging the toxins within his body to paralyze the Ghost Demon King’s soul.
His venom possessed the miraculous ability to corrode souls. Once the Ghost Demon King detected the presence of the Primeval Poison’s toxins within his spirit, he was forced to scatter his soul power for defense.
The Ghost Demon King, despite his renown for an indestructible soul, possessed a critical vulnerability. After the three elders of the Guiyuan Sect were poisoned, their spirits were immediately eroded by the Primeval Poison’s power.
Shortly thereafter, the three elders could barely form coherent speech, their soul imprints were swiftly erased, and they were soon dispatched by the Celestial Dragon Turtle. The toxins absorbed by the Ghost Demon King’s soul surpassed the cumulative total inflicted upon the three elders combined; yet, even now, the Ghost Demon King remained relatively unscathed, save for a slowing of his soul attack frequency and movement speed—there was almost no major impairment!
This was entirely due to the Ghost Demon King’s ability to divide his soul into thousands of fragments. Whenever his soul was poisoned, he would instantly cleave into several hundred parts.
His soul being dispersed a hundred or a thousandfold meant the venom inflicted upon it was naturally spread thin across those numerous segments. The Primeval Poison’s...
...fragments, and once the toxins were equally distributed, he would then reassemble the scattered soul segments. Through this method, although his soul was still affected by the Primeval Poison, his consciousness was not entirely wiped out as quickly as it had been for the three elders of the Guiyuan Sect.
Despite this measure, the Ghost Demon King was significantly hampered, as every instance of scattering and re-coalescing his soul required a massive expenditure of energy. Wasting this finite resource repeatedly at such a crucial juncture was clearly a major headache for him.
Li Hentian’s blazing spirit acted like an invisible fireball capable of incinerating all things. Wherever his spirit moved, the area was instantly engulfed in searing heat, causing the very air to crackle audibly.
Li Hentian kept his focus locked on the Ghost Demon King. Having reached the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, he needed this caliber of battle to solidify his cultivation and adapt to the soul attack modalities of his new stage.
Thus, for Li Hentian, this fight offered immense benefits. Regardless of the outcome, his insights into the state of the Nine Palaces Heaven would advance significantly.
“Why? Why would you aid these inferior humans?” The Ghost Demon King’s soul suddenly coalesced, morphing into a vague silhouette that hovered distantly before the Primeval Poison.
His voice rang out with icy disdain. The Primeval Poison let out a low, mocking chuckle.
“For no reason other than not wishing to see this world turned into your Ghost Demon domain! Don't you find it dreadfully tedious if this world contained only one cold-blooded species?” “What has it to do with you?
As long as your soul power is sufficient, you could easily journey to the Endless Star Field. Would you truly cling to this world?” the Ghost Demon King queried.
“Yes, I will remain in this world. Heh heh, this is something you wouldn't comprehend.
The meaning of your existence is purely destruction, to drag the entire world down with you for your singular satisfaction. Beyond slaughter, you understand nothing else!” the Primeval Poison retorted dismissively.
Li Hentian and Ji Changkong hovered on either side of the Ghost Demon King but did not rush to attack, instead listening quietly to the dialogue between these two peculiar, novel species. “Without destruction, how can there be rebirth?
This world is constantly being destroyed. Are those I devour not also destroying this world?
My appearance merely accelerates this process. My existence is born in accordance with the laws of heaven and earth!” the Demon King argued.
The conversation between the Ghost Demon King and the Primeval Poison caused Ji Changkong and Li Hentian to grow increasingly silent. They realized the topic these two novel beings discussed transcended mere animosity; it delved deeply into the ultimate trajectory of this world.
Their remarks regarding humanity’s massive destructive impact on the world caused both Li Hentian and Ji Changkong significant embarrassment. Though the Ghost Demon King was inherently evil and merciless, some of his points held undeniable truth.
Since humanity gained the power to command heaven and earth, they had contributed nothing positive to the world; instead, they utilized the power gained to satiate private desires and secure personal benefits... In this process, the world suffered constant devastation: mountains were razed, the earth torn asunder, rivers dried up, flora diminished, and ferocious beasts were nearly wiped out...
Viewed this way, humanity, after mastering the forces between heaven and earth, had consistently played the negative role. The Ghost Demon King emerged, targeting only powerful Celestial Masters, his source of evolved power being the souls of these Masters!
Could this be some form of natural mechanism to counter humanity? Whether it was Li Hentian or Ji Changkong, listening to the exchange between the Primeval Poison and the Ghost Demon King, they momentarily ceased their attacks and fell into deep contemplation—thinking profoundly about this realm, all its inhabitants, and the eternal constancy of the laws governing heaven and earth...
“You are like me; your appearance is also intended to extinguish this world! Sooner or later, you will follow my path!
Our emergence is a punishment from heaven and earth directed at them! This is the law, the rule of nature; no one can alter it!” Suddenly, the Ghost Demon King roared as if driven mad.
An intense surge of soul fluctuation violently erupted from him. These potent, malevolent waves of energy were not directed at Ji Changkong or Li Hentian, nor were they aimed at the Primeval Poison.
Instead, they targeted the Ice Stone Coffin within the tomb! An infinite tide of malevolent power surged violently into the Ice Stone Coffin.
The Coffin, which had ceased absorbing the realm’s Yin energy, began to shake violently! Ji Changkong and Li Hentian startled, gazing at the Ice Stone Coffin with confusion, unsure of the Demon King’s intent.
“Be careful!” the Primeval Poison suddenly cried out, “Go! We must retreat immediately!” Ji Changkong asked no further questions.
With a sweeping motion, he snatched the Primeval Poison into his hand. Without sparing a glance at the Ice Stone, he immediately reversed course, bellowing, “Old Li, move!” Li Hentian had been reluctant to leave, appearing eager to continue fighting the Ghost Demon King.
However, hearing Ji Changkong’s urgent command and trusting him implicitly, he followed suit. A vast, boundless, terrifying Yin energy suddenly erupted from the Ice Stone Coffin.
The symbols etched upon the six stone pillars flared brilliantly, simultaneously releasing immense amounts of Yin energy. The Yin energy that the Ice Stone Coffin and the six pillars had accumulated over hundreds of years seemed to be released all at once.
For a moment, the Yin energy within the tomb became so dense that even breathing was agonizingly difficult. Even Ji Changkong felt a sudden, chilling cold, his body severely affected by this concentrated Yin force.
The only entity unaffected by this sudden surge of Yin energy was, naturally, the instigator—the Ghost Demon King. His appearance within the tomb shifted constantly, and the injuries he sustained began to rapidly recover under the influence of the immense Yin energy.
It was clear that the tomb’s Yin energy was beneficial, even vital, to him; the heavier the Yin concentration, the stronger the Ghost Demon King became. Thud!
Ji Changkong’s body slammed into the entrance of the tomb and was forcefully repelled; he could not exit through the opening. Filaments of Yin energy converged at the entrance, solidifying the pathway until it was utterly blocked.
Li Hentian, wielding the Wheel of the Blazing Sun, quickly arrived from behind. The Wheel floated forward, striking the wall of Yin energy blocking the tomb entrance.
Rumble! The tomb shook violently.
The ground beneath it vibrated as if an earthquake had struck, suggesting the entire structure might collapse at any moment. However, the attack from the Wheel of the Blazing Sun failed to actually shatter the wall of Yin energy at the entrance.
More Yin energy rushed in rapidly, making the wall even more impregnable. Ji Changkong and Li Hentian had reached the exit, but they remained trapped.
Ji Changkong was quite surprised. While it was understandable that he, whose true cultivation level was at the peak of the Seven Stars Heaven, could not breach this wall of congealed Yin energy...
...the fact that even Li Hentian, who had just broken through to the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, could not shatter the Yin wall was beyond his expectation... “This tomb has accumulated a millennium of Yin energy, and releasing it all at once gives it a formidable power beyond imagination!” Li Hentian frowned, watching the ambient Yin energy inside the tomb continue to multiply, a silent worry beginning to creep in.
“The Yin energy was incited by the Ghost Demon King. I say we must kill him at all costs before he absorbs enough of this energy; otherwise, even if we join forces, we won’t be able to deal with him!” the Primeval Poison urged urgently.
Indeed, at this moment, the Ghost Demon King’s aura was becoming increasingly terrifying. Wild power radiated outward from him in all directions.
The dense Yin energy suddenly surged toward Ji Changkong and Li Hentian, instantly enveloping all three of their bodies in its chilling embrace. Li Hentian’s expression shifted slightly; he was forced to divert some of his power to counter the invasive cold energy, leaving him with even less focus to shatter the Yin wall beside him.
Ji Changkong gripped his Dragon Glory Saber tightly, turning around, his eyes fixed fiercely upon the Ghost Demon King. Power poured in from the Tian Yuan Orb, flooding his body and causing his imposing presence to surge.
A blood dragon suddenly erupted from the Dragon Glory Saber. Upon emergence, the dragon rushed with devastating speed toward the Ghost Demon King, who was continuously amplifying his power.
Simultaneously, Ji Changkong abruptly coughed up a mouthful of blood. The blood instantly solidified in the void, crimson droplets revolving like the most exquisite rubies in the air.
Vast amounts of Yuan Qi were fiercely channeled from his palms into the suspended mass of blood before him! Hiss!
Hiss! Roar!
Azure lightning, serpentine in form, coiled around the blood mass. A muffled thunderclap resonated faintly from within the blood, yet seemed to echo from the deepest recesses of the soul...
His eyes shone brilliantly, pinpricks of starlight leaking from his pupils and quietly drilling into the blood mass before him. His pupils contracted sharply.
Ji Changkong grinned, letting out a sharp cry, pouring the immense power from his hands entirely into the blood mass. That mass transformed into a terrifying Heavenly Thunder, condensed by a factor of hundreds, which instantly shot toward the Ghost Demon King.
The Ghost Demon King, in the midst of absorbing the tomb's Yin energy to boost his strength, showed a flicker of surprise in his cold, merciless eyes. He seemed to perceive the unusual nature of this thunderbolt centered around rolling blood.
He immediately abandoned the absorption of the tomb’s Yin energy and hastily dove toward the Ice Stone Coffin. Crack!
A strange noise emanated from the Ice Stone Coffin. The tightly sealed Coffin magically split open, revealing a tiny fissure.
A wisp of corrosive corpse qi seeped out of the Ice Stone Coffin, merging with the Ghost Demon King’s aura... A world-shattering, immense thunderclap exploded within the tomb, causing the structure to vibrate even more violently.
The rigid rock ceiling above began to sway. The incredibly fierce Heavenly Thunder detonated near the Ice Stone Coffin.
The Ghost Demon King was inevitably caught in the blast. Thick smoke billowed from the Demon King’s form.
Under the bombardment of that intensely terrifying Heavenly Thunder, the Ghost Demon King was clearly wounded; his soul was struck by the lightning, rapidly dissipating and vanishing. A thread of corpse qi drifted out from the Ghost Demon King’s remnants.
That thread of qi writhed incessantly upon the Ice Stone Coffin, twisting and clawing, latching onto the Ghost Demon King’s body and dragging him toward the Coffin. Ji Changkong froze, stunned.
“What’s happening?” Li Hentian asked, his face grim, staring strangely at the corpse qi emanating from the Ice Stone Coffin, crying out in alarm. “...There is something strange inside the Ice Stone Coffin.” The Primeval Poison stared fixedly at the Coffin, murmuring, “The Ghost Demon King must have known something was abnormal about this tomb, which is why he initially avoided releasing the Yin energy.
He certainly knew that releasing the Yin energy would lead to an unfortunate outcome.” The Ghost Demon King’s ever-shifting face was laced with a trace of terror. It seemed he, too, was extremely afraid of being dragged into the Ice Stone Coffin.
A single strand of corpse qi was enough to immobilize the Ghost Demon King’s body. He struggled fiercely but found it difficult to break free from that tendril of qi; his body was contorting and stretching, clearly about to be forcibly pulled into the Ice Stone Coffin.
“Bad!” the Primeval Poison shrieked, shouting, “I understand now! The entity inside the Ice Stone Coffin must be from the Purgatory Ghost Clan!
After the souls of the Purgatory Ghost Clan perish, their corpses can persist through a specialized method. The soulless corpses of the Purgatory Ghost Clan, once they absorb sufficient Yin energy, transform into Corpse Ghosts!
Corpse Ghosts have no soul but are far more terrifying; they instinctively loathe all living things with souls and will devour every being possessing a soul!” A pale, bloodless hand slowly extended from the Ice Stone Coffin. This hand was skeletal, devoid of flesh, resembling bone merely covered by a layer of skin.
Wisps of chilling energy emanated from the tips of its five razor-sharp fingernails. Thick, corrosive corpse qi poured forth from the palm of this hand.
The single thread of qi that had bound the Ghost Demon King originated from this hand's core. The corpse qi acted as a tether, connecting this hand to the qi lingering on the Ghost Demon King’s form.
The Ghost Demon King suddenly calmed, his icy eyes filled with a terrifying luster as he stared at Ji Changkong and Li Hentian. "The Ghost Corpse will destroy all life with a soul. Once the tomb is sealed, no one can escape. Either you become the Ghost Corpse, or you are all killed by it—choose for yourselves!"
"What is the Purgatory Ghost Race? What is this Ghost Corpse? Is the Ghost Corpse very powerful?" Ji Changkong asked, his face grim, refusing to look away from the Ghost Demon King.
The Ghost Demon King's body was already seized by that one Ghost Corpse. His eyes remained cold and merciless; he was currently utilizing the power of his soul to...
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"He knows!" the Ghost Demon King stated calmly, looking at the Origin Poison.
Ji Changkong and Li Hentian both turned their gaze toward the Origin Poison.
Nodding with a wry smile, the Origin Poison explained, "The Ghost Corpse is the nemesis of any soul-based creature. Look at the Ghost Demon King—isn't he renowned for his indestructible soul? Under the influence of the Corpse Qi, his soul cannot scatter at all; he can only endure the Corpse Qi's influence. If he hadn't just absorbed a significant amount of Yin energy from heaven and earth, he would have collapsed long ago."
"What would happen if the Ghost Corpse got out of here?" Li Hentian inquired.
"The East Sea would be doomed. Not only the cultivated Heavenly Masters, but even ordinary citizens with souls, and even ferocious beasts and domestic fowl, would all be annihilated by the Ghost Corpse!" the Origin Poison uttered.
"How do we deal with the Ghost Corpse?" Li Hentian asked again.
"The Ghost Corpse is invulnerable to blades or spears, impervious to water or fire, and it erases any soul power..." The Origin Poison managed a bitter smile. "The only method is to completely dissipate the heaven and earth Yin energy upon it. Once all the Yin energy is consumed, the Ghost Corpse will naturally and completely vanish."
"Every time the Ghost Corpse slays a soul, it consumes a fraction of the heaven and earth Yin energy. Once all the Yin energy on it is used up, the Ghost Corpse's lifespan also ends, and a glare from the fierce sun will turn it to ashes."
"How many people can this Ghost Corpse kill with the heaven and earth Yin energy it currently possesses?" Ji Changkong asked urgently.
"I don't know. Perhaps it could wipe out the East Sea, or perhaps all living things in this world..." The Origin Poison shook his head, indicating ignorance.
"Is there truly no way to kill the Ghost Corpse?" Li Hentian rotated the Sun Wheel in his hand, his eyes fixed ahead with grim intent.
"There is!" Unexpectedly, the one who answered was the Ghost Demon King.
The Ghost Demon King, whose body was nearly dragged entirely into the Ice Stone Coffin, looked over calmly, neither hurried nor slow. "Destroy the six stone pillars in the tomb, and the Ice Stone Coffin will automatically close. The Ghost Corpse is currently restrained by the Coffin; it cannot emerge for now. Once the Coffin seals, it will be locked inside again."
"Oh... is that so..." Ji Changkong chuckled lightly, smiling broadly. "Once the Ghost Corpse takes care of you, we'll destroy those six pillars. Thanks for the tip."
The Ghost Demon King fell silent, his body inching closer, pulled by that pale hand within the Ice Stone Coffin. Yet, he still showed no expression, as if that pale hand were pulling someone else.
"Without me, if you destroy the six pillars, you won't be able to leave the tomb either."
"The tomb will continue to absorb the heaven and earth Yin energy, and sooner or later, the Ice Stone Coffin will reopen. By then, the Ghost Corpse can emerge, and you will suffer the same fate as me—your souls destroyed by it!"
Only when the Ghost Demon King’s body was stretched longer and his struggling power waned did he speak again.
"Destroy the pillars first, eliminate the threat of that Ghost Corpse, and then we deal with the Ghost Demon King!"
Ji Changkong hesitated slightly, then suddenly spoke.
Li Hentian nodded, and the Sun Wheel in his hand struck out. The full might of a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master was unleashed through the Sun Wheel, exploding violently against one of the stone pillars.
Boom! Boom!
When struck by the Sun Wheel, the stone pillar shook violently. The heaven and earth Yin energy attached to it surged out like water from a burst dam, scattering throughout the tomb.
The marvelous symbols etched on the pillars suddenly flew off. The Origin Poison cried out in delight, immediately drifting out from Ji Changkong's body and swallowing those symbols from the pillars.
Li Hentian ignored him and continued his assault, damaging the other five stone pillars in the tomb as well...
The Origin Poison followed Li Hentian. Every time a pillar was destroyed, the Origin Poison swallowed the miraculous symbols that flew free. After Li Hentian broke the power of all six pillars, the heaven and earth Yin energy gathered in the tomb suddenly rushed toward the Ice Stone Coffin.
A strange fluctuation emanated from the body of the Ice Stone Coffin—a fluctuation seemingly directed at the Ghost Corpse within.
The hand that the Ghost Corpse had extended to pull in the Ghost Demon King suddenly released its grip and rapidly retracted into the Coffin. All the Corpse Qi clinging to the Ghost Demon King also re-entered the Ice Stone Coffin at that moment.
The minute fissure that had cracked open on the Ice Stone Coffin suddenly sealed, and the Coffin became perfectly tight once more.
Kaka-kaka! Kaka-kaka! Kaka-kaka!
Strange sounds echoed from within the Ice Stone Coffin as immense volumes of heaven and earth Yin energy violently erupted from it.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive chunks of rock from the ceiling of the tomb began to fall. The six stone pillars shattered one after another, sending rubble flying everywhere with astonishing force.
Ji Changkong and Li Hentian stood unshaken, allowing the stones to strike their bodies as they stared intently ahead.
Chi! Chi!
Beneath the Ice Stone Coffin, multicolored light suddenly appeared—a huge, glittering fissure shone brightly, within which a shooting star flashed and vanished.
The Ice Stone Coffin burst forth with immense power. Propelled by this surge, the Coffin plummeted into that huge, ruptured fissure. Amidst the continuously twinkling stars within the gap, it receded into an unknown, mysterious place, drifting away like a small boat.
Both Li Hentian and Ji Changkong watched, dumbfounded. As the tomb began to collapse, the heaven and earth Yin energy, which had been concentrated on Yin Si Island, suddenly started to dissipate. The tomb had abruptly lost its ability to gather Yin energy, and as the structure crumbled, Yin Si Island was wracked by a massive earthquake.
The Ghost Demon King, having narrowly escaped the Ice Stone Coffin, swept his cold eyes over Li Hentian, Ji Changkong, and the Origin Poison. "I will find you!"
In an instant, the Ghost Demon King's soul aura dispersed, thinning like threads, growing increasingly faint until it became indistinct, slowly vanishing from the tomb.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The tomb rumbled mightily, the debris overhead raining down relentlessly. The location where the Ice Stone Coffin had been locked was now a completely healed, five-colored chasm. Beneath where the Coffin had been, there was now only a large slab of stone, similarly engraved with marvelous symbols.
However, these symbols were not active; they were permanently etched onto the stone slab.
"Kong Kong, take that slab, and let's get out of here first, Yun'er!" the Origin Poison shouted.
Ji Changkong frowned, sensing the Ghost Demon King’s aura growing weaker. He knew the Demon King had taken the opportunity to escape. Ji Changkong felt a hidden resentment, realizing this endeavor had once again ended without success. Prompted by the Origin Poison, Ji Changkong stepped forward and grabbed the stone slab carved with strange symbols.
The slab was as large as a door and extremely heavy. Ji Changkong had to channel his power into his arms just to lift it.
Under the guidance of the Origin Poison, Ji Changkong and Li Hentian retraced their steps, eventually emerging from the pool and regaining their footing on Yin Si Island.
The heaven and earth Yin energy that had been condensing on Yin Si Island now slowly dissolved into the atmosphere, ceasing its convergence on the island.
The somber flowers on Yin Si Island withered one by one. In just a short time, every last one of them was dead. As the Yin energy dissipated, the flowers perished completely.
These flowers on Yin Si Island thrived only by drawing sustenance from the heaven and earth Yin energy; once deprived of its nourishment, they died rapidly.
Yin Si Island, once suffused with a chilling Yin aura, suddenly felt the air freshen up, now free from the pervasive heaven and earth Yin energy and those startling, eerie plants.
Slap!
Tossing the heavy slab onto the ground, Ji Changkong asked, "What the heck is this thing? It's so heavy..."
"The slab isn't important; the symbols on it are. Those symbols are fascinating," the Origin Poison smiled. "The Ghost Demon King activated the Ice Stone Coffin’s power once more, causing it to suck up all the heaven and earth Yin energy in the tomb, instantly tear open a spatial rift, and return to the boundless starry sky, following its pre-set trajectory back to a certain location..."
"What's going on?" Ji Changkong frowned, staring at the Origin Poison. "Tell me everything you know, leave nothing out."
"In the vast starry sky, there are countless worlds like the Five Elements Continent, and in those worlds, there also exist higher forms of life. The Purgatory Ghost Race is one such advanced race. The Ghost Race members are inherently stronger than you people. Before you even learned to utilize the powers of heaven and earth, they were already capable of traversing the endless star fields using celestial forces..."
"However, the Purgatory Ghost Race has very few members; the entire boundless starry sky holds only about ten thousand of them. Although their power is immense, and their understanding of manipulating heaven and earth energy is profound, their numbers continue to dwindle because they are often collectively hunted by other high-level races in the boundless star fields."
"Seeing their dwindling numbers, and seeking revenge against those who hunt them, the Purgatory Ghost Race collects the corpses of their fallen members and drains enormous amounts of heaven and earth Yin energy to form Ghost Corpses. The people of the Purgatory Ghost Race inherently possess the means to control these Ghost Corpses. They refine their deceased comrades into these entities, treating the Ghost Corpses as their most formidable weapons against the higher races of the endless star fields."
"Yet, refining a Ghost Corpse requires an exceptionally vast quantity of heaven and earth Yin energy. Many worlds lack sufficiently dense Yin energy to support the formation of a Ghost Corpse. Even in worlds rich with Yin energy, due to the immense requirement of the Corpse, they can only forge perhaps two or three Ghost Corpses."
"To create more Ghost Corpses, the Purgatory Ghost Race places the corpses of their kin in various worlds containing Yin energy, allowing them to absorb a world's heaven and earth Yin energy over long periods to refine the Ghost Corpse. The intelligence and power of the Purgatory Ghost Race are formidable; the Ice Stone Coffins they devise possess miraculous functions. Once they detect a Ghost Corpse has formed, the Coffin will tear open a spatial rift from that world and return to their hands."
"Clearly, this place was a Ghost Corpse crucible for the Purgatory Ghost Race. This particular Ghost Corpse should have taken more time to fully form, but the Demon King's stimulation of Yin energy triggered a certain power within the Ice Stone Coffin, causing it to tear space and return to the boundless starry sky..."
The Origin Poison narrated, unfolding a new vista before Li Hentian and Ji Changkong. Before this, although Ji Changkong vaguely knew of high-level races in the boundless starry sky, he had harbored some doubt due to never having witnessed them. Only after the Origin Poison detailed the Purgatory Ghost Race did he realize how narrow his own perspective had been.
"I gained all this information from the Tianyuan Pearl. As you know, the Tianyuan Pearl originates from the Dead Star Domain, and it does contain some news about the boundless starry sky..." The Origin Poison chuckled, heartily slapping Ji Changkong on the shoulder. "Don't belittle yourself, Kong Kong. Your strength isn't considered too poor even in the boundless starry sky, and this old fellow, the Nine Palaces Heavenly Master, would be considered a powerhouse there too!"
After a brief pause, the Origin Poison continued, "I've heard that in the Dead Star Domain, there exist ancient beings similar to the Sea Monsters or the Four Divine Beasts. Those creatures have existed since the formation of the boundless starry sky itself. Those ancient beings in the Dead Star Domain are the truly formidable ones; even the Purgatory Ghost Race would absolutely not dare provoke them. Furthermore, it is rumored that the boundless starry sky also contains the Ten Directions Heavenly Masters. The Ten Directions Heavenly Masters are supreme existences capable of roaming freely across the starry expanse—they represent the ultimate evolution of humanity and are in no way inferior to the high-level races of the endless star fields."
"If this Ice Stone Coffin's Ghost Corpse truly encountered a Ten Directions Heavenly Master, it would only meet a dead end. In the Dead Star Domain, aside from those ancient beings like the Four Divine Beasts, the Ten Directions Heavenly Masters are old monsters no one dares provoke. Even the Purgatory Ghost Race can only match them at their peak."
Having said this, the Origin Poison looked at Ji Changkong with a smile. "Kong Kong, I look forward to the day you reach the Ten Directions Heaven realm so you can take me to the Dead Star Domain for a look."
Ji Changkong wore a wry smile, looking down at the stone slab below. "What is this devilish scribbling? Do you recognize it? Is this the Purgatory Ghost Race's script? It looks truly hideous..."
"Though the characters are ugly, they are extremely useful to you, hehe. My asking you to bring this out was all for your own good," the Origin Poison chuckled maliciously, casting a knowing look at Ji Changkong. "Kong Kong, if this stone slab is used correctly, it can bring you a major benefit. Do you believe me?"
"Don't dangle the hook; tell me what these characters are and what use they have for me," Ji Changkong asked, narrowing his eyes with a slight smile.
"At the very least, it can help you break through to the Eight Trigrams Heaven realm!" the Origin Poison stated with utmost seriousness.