"Looks like we can only go up from here!"
Zhang You stared at the stone steps stretching from the foot of the mountain all the way to its summit, somewhat astonished.
Countless human bones were embedded within those steps.
The skulls in particular drew the eye.
They were packed densely together, belonging to adults and children alike.
The stone steps exuded dense yin energy, so thick it already showed signs of turning to mist.
If an ordinary person walked up there, they would never return!
Each step was over a meter tall, as though they had been prepared for some giant.
The moment he approached the steps, he felt as if his soul were being scorched!
There was also a suppressive force coming from the mountaintop!
"Sure enough, it won't be that easy to climb!"
Zhang You added a layer of defense to himself, then leaped onto the second step.
This time, not only did the sensation of his soul being scorched intensify considerably, but the erosion of yin energy also grew stronger, as did the suppressive force. With all three bearing down on him at once, simple defenses were no longer enough!
"Looks like the higher we go, the stronger the suppression will become!"
Old Daoist also placed several talismans around himself.
When he reached the second step, Zhang You suddenly had a bold idea!
He would use the pressure here to temper his physical defenses and soul defenses.
There were still some reserves within his body that had yet to be fully brought out, and this was the perfect opportunity.
So he focused on protecting his soul. As for his body, he only set up simple defenses and forced his way upward!
Naturally, he told Old Daoist about his idea as well.
Old Daoist said he would pass and told Zhang You to do as he pleased.
Zhang You did not dwell on it and carried out his plan.
The results were immediately obvious!
He struggled somewhat at first, but it gradually became easier and easier.
By the time he reached the seventy-eighth step, all the reserves within his body had been fully awakened.
Zhang You felt a lightness in his body unlike anything before, as though he were a feather or drifting willow fluff, light as a swallow!
His soul defenses had also improved noticeably.
At the very least, if he encountered the soul-burning attack of that tall flaming spirit again, he could handle it with ease!
The two decided to rest there for a while and recover their expenditure.
They still could not see the mountaintop, but they could see the foot of the mountain below.
According to Old Daoist, this place also involved the power of space.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Fierce sounds of battle suddenly came from the foot of the mountain!
Zhang You and Old Daoist snapped out of their rest.
"Haha, old opponents—and there's even an Octopus Monster!"
Zhang You sprang to his feet. This was all delicious, tempting experience for leveling up.
"Maybe we shouldn't bother with them!"
Old Daoist tugged at the corner of his mouth, looking somewhat helpless.
"I'm afraid it isn't up to either of us!"
Zhang You smiled faintly and rushed downward.
By then, the three evil beings had already spotted Zhang You. Their eyes gleamed viciously as they temporarily stopped fighting and roared toward him.
"It's been several days, and you've grown quite a bit stronger! But I've become stronger too!"
He had already confirmed earlier that it was possible to descend from this mountaintop.
The instant he landed, the three evil beings surrounded him!
All three possessed the strength of the second level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, comparable to Bai Huang's previous strength.
They did not waste words and attacked Zhang You directly!
The Evil Buddha Statue glared furiously, its enormous golden palm crashing down with great force.
It also chanted scriptures, each invisible attack striking directly at the soul.
One of the Two-headed Corpse's heads, the snake head, opened its mouth wide and unleashed an attack formed from condensed venom. The scales on its body also flew out, raining down like a swarm. It would not rest until it turned Zhang You into a human beehive!
The horn on its other head gathered power, then in the blink of an eye fired a mana ray like a laser down from the sky.
The third evil being was an Octopus Monster. Its body was that of an octopus, with dozens of tentacles, yet it possessed a human head.
It also launched an attack, spewing black smoke from its mouth and enveloping Zhang You along with the other two evil beings.
Then its dozens of tentacles actually swelled another size before stabbing toward Zhang You and the other two evil beings.
This Octopus Monster was the boss of the Burial Ground of Yin and had been sleeping until now.
After waking, it discovered that two of its underlings had been killed. It therefore hated Zhang You and Old Daoist to the bone.
As for the Evil Buddha Statue and the Two-headed Corpse, when they passed through the Burial Ground of Yin, they had devoured a great many Mist Ghosts and enraged the Octopus Monster. Thus, they too were bitter enemies.
It did not hold back in the slightest when making its move, directly taking on three opponents alone.
Though black fog shrouded the surroundings, Zhang You could sense their positions.
"Four Symbols: White Tiger: Shatter Void Fist!"
Zhang You shattered the Evil Buddha Statue's palm with one punch.
As for the soul attack, it could no longer hurt Zhang You!
"Four Symbols: White Tiger: Thunderclap Shield!"
He blocked the Two-headed Corpse's dual attack.
Just as the Octopus Monster's tentacle attack arrived, he seized it tightly with one hand.
"Off you go!"
Zhang You swung the Octopus Monster up and smashed it wildly into the ground!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After being slammed several times, the Octopus Monster was dizzy and disoriented, nearly falling apart.
In a ruthless burst of resolve, it severed its own tentacle.
Zhang You stomped down hard. The ground split open, leaving behind a deep pit, and then he charged at the Evil Buddha Statue.
"Earth Splitter!"
Blood qi left his body and instantly condensed into a thirty-meter blade, which hacked down viciously.
The Evil Buddha Statue's expression changed directly from fury to shock.
It condensed another pair of arms and brought its palms together.
"Bang!"
A golden protective barrier appeared before it.
"Crack!"
But it was not enough. The barrier and the Evil Buddha Statue were both cleaved in half!
"Demon Purge!"
Zhang You stepped on the Evil Buddha Statue's severed body and soared higher once more, sweeping the thirty-meter blade horizontally toward the Two-headed Corpse.
The Two-headed Corpse reacted quickly. Its four arms stretched forward and entwined with the snake head, then fused and changed shape, becoming a fifty-meter blade of flesh and bone melded together.
It also slashed forward with all its strength.
"Pshht!"
A flash of red light passed, and the Two-headed Corpse froze in place.
Soon, both its body and the fifty-meter blade split into two halves and crashed to the ground.
All kinds of foul-smelling fluids flowed everywhere.
"It actually dodged!"
Zhang You was slightly surprised.
Originally, he had aimed for the red flesh ball—or rather, the fleshy tumor—on the Two-headed Corpse's chest.
He had not expected it to shift position at the final moment!
"Hundred Blood Qi Slashes!"
Zhang You withdrew the thirty-meter blade, and red light condensed around both his hands.
After landing, he used Slippery Feet, rushed before the Octopus Monster, leaped into the air again, and instantly unleashed over a hundred slashes!
Before the Octopus Monster could react, it shattered across the ground!
Yet none of the three evil beings had died!
"Amitabha!"
An old monk appeared within the Evil Buddha Statue's golden body.
"Give me back my life!"
The bloody flesh tumor absorbed the surrounding severed limbs and chunks of meat, forming another lump of flesh monster. It stood a full hundred feet tall, with a pieced-together head at the top that groaned in agony.
"You will all die! All die..."
The Octopus Monster became a mass of black fog, within which densely packed Yin Souls churned up and down!
The three evil beings revealed their true forms!
Before you continue