The entrance to the Extreme Bone Ruins plunged into unfathomable depths. Wind blew up from underground, carrying a thick, bloody stench.
Zhou Xuan landed at the edge of the tunnel. The hem of his Azure Robe hung down, but he did not linger. He strode straight underground.
The tunnel was spacious inside. Desiccated bones studded the rock walls on either side. After the hundred thousand disciples of the Extreme Bone Sect had been offered in a blood sacrifice, their bones had remained embedded in the stone.
Resentful qi condensed into gray-black mist in the air. Low-level demonic beasts roamed through it, shapeless masses of sludge that devoured flesh and blood by instinct.
The slightest trace of a living person's presence here would draw a swarm of demonic beasts.
Zhou Xuan walked down the center of the tunnel. Several demonic beasts crawled past him, but not one turned to look at him.
Zhou Xuan had not activated a magical shield. He drew up the Taiyi Divine Power from his dantian, mixed it with his newly comprehended Patriarch Sword Intent, and spread a thin film over his body.
He adjusted the film's frequency to match the surrounding resentful qi. To these demonic beasts, which acted by sensing energy frequencies, Zhou Xuan was now nothing more than a mass of pure resentful qi.
Zhou Xuan made no effort to soften his steps. His boots crunched softly through the broken bones on the tunnel floor. Several demonic beasts were drawn by the sound and came over to sniff, then scattered again in boredom.
Zhou Xuan continued downward.
One thousand zhang.
The concentration of resentful qi doubled. The mist turned into viscous droplets that trickled down the rock walls.
One thousand five hundred zhang.
There were fewer demonic beasts around him, but they were much