With that, should his true essence be completely exhausted, he could only rely on the Spirit Crystals in his possession to replenish it.
This made Su Shi'er all the more wary of the Immortal Ruins.
Before long, a palace hall with half its structure collapsed appeared in Su Shi'er's field of vision.
On the open ground before the hall, Golden Baleful Patriarch stood with his hands behind his back.
A golden blade aura several zhang long hovered at his side, its edge aimed directly at a motionless figure seated within the hall.
The figure was gaunt and thin, draped in a tattered Daoist robe whose original color had long become unrecognizable. Half its body had fused together with the wooden seat beneath it.
The exposed arm was covered in cracks like weathered deadwood.
At first glance, it was almost indistinguishable from the other rotting timber inside the hall.
Only from a crack in its chest did a faint blue-black radiance flow.
Beneath the wooden seat, a broken metal crossbeam lay pressed at an angle. The beam was dark all over, yet fine golden glimmers flickered from its fractured end.
From the corner of his eye, Golden Baleful Patriarch repeatedly glanced toward the crossbeam, making no effort to conceal the greed in his gaze.
Besides that, two other cultivators stood before the hall.
One was tall and lean, holding a small bronze seal in his palm. The other wore a green robe, his right hand tucked inside his sleeve, his aura likewise condensed without being released.
Su Shi'er had some impression of these two.
At the Immortal Ruins Entrance earlier, they had joined forces to resist the Nine-Pillar Killing Array. However, they had never spoken, so he did not know their names.
"Fellow Daoist Hou?"
The moment Su Shi'er appeared, Golden