Outside the great hall, the black shadow kept his eyes shut, his features blurred beyond recognition. Only where his eyes should have been did two blood-red glimmers occasionally flash and vanish, radiating endless coldness, deathly stillness, and an instinctive hatred for the living.
He was Shi Junqing, the Vengeful Demon bound by ancient restrictions and ordered to guard the outer perimeter of this hall. In life, he had been one of the Heavenly Court's Immortal Gods. Though his strength had declined somewhat after falling into a Vengeful Demon, he feared no death and retained part of his former combat instinct and Anomaly Spiritual Power.
At this moment, most of his perception and attention blanketed the vast corridor outside the hall's main entrance, vigilant against every outsider who might intrude.
Yet at that very instant, the faint yet distinctive ripple of vital energy caused by the Jade Box's movement within the hall, though greatly weakened by the hall walls and already exceedingly thin, still pierced through space and brushed against Shi Junqing's soul, triggering an almost imperceptible resonance.
"Hmm?"
Like a slumbering fierce beast awakened by the slightest disturbance, Shi Junqing's ever-closed scarlet eyes abruptly snapped open beyond the barrier.
The two crimson points of light were like ghostly flames kindled in the night, erupting with icy, bone-piercing killing intent and thick suspicion. His Spiritual Sense instantly locked onto the source of that disturbance—it came from behind him, within the great hall that should, in theory, have been completely sealed.
How could there be movement inside the hall? Shi Junqing's thoughts raced. His consciousness, nearly numbed by the erosion of Vengeful Sha, also rippled violently at this utterly unexpected development.
"Roar!"
A low, savage howl squeezed from his throat. It sounded less than human, more like a mixture of grinding metal