The air temperature plummeted, and a layer of dark red frost condensed on the ground.
Those blood-red eyes, suspended in the darkness, were fixed on Su Yu.
A terrifying pressure far exceeding that of the Mystic Realm ignored the defense of the Eight Desolations Demon-Suppressing Qi and directly crushed onto his Purple Mansion Divine Pearl.
Earth Realm!
Su Yu's muscles tensed up suddenly.
A burst of purplish-black electric arcs erupted from his ankle as he unleashed the Thunder Demon Shadow Trace Steps to its fullest potential.
His figure blurred into a streak as he frantically retreated towards the passage behind him.
A viscous tearing sound came from the depths of darkness.
More than a dozen thick, blood-red tentacles shot out from the dense, Sha Qi, their surfaces covered in barbs and secreting a black, corrosive liquid.
The iron chains along the way were touched and instantly melted, turning into molten iron droplets.
Its speed has exceeded the limit of Su Yu's divine sense.
A tentacle grazed Su Yu's side.
The Xuan-grade high-level Pagoda Mystic Iron Armor automatically appeared, accompanied by a piercing friction sound!
The indestructible black iron patterns were scraped away with a layer of iron filings, and the dark golden Buddhist light flickered violently, almost dissipating.
The immense recoil caused Su Yu's internal organs to churn. He forced down the metallic taste rising in his throat and increased his speed even further.
"Mere mortals and insects."
A surge of divine thought exploded throughout the underground plaza, resounding directly in Su Yu's sea of consciousness.
His words were devoid of any human emotion, containing only pure brutality.
"Those trash from the Ghost Shadow Sect, with my support, will surely perish."
"After a century, fresh blood offerings have finally arrived."
The pressure intensified once again.
A dozen tentacles intertwined in mid-air to form a huge blood net, blocking all of Su Yu's escape routes.
A direct confrontation will result in certain death.
Thoughts raced through Su Yu's mind, and his divine sense, at the Spirit Realm Ninth Level, disregarded the backlash and forcefully penetrated the surrounding rock walls.
Thirty feet to the left, there was an extremely small break in the array's patterns.
There lies a space separate from the sealing array!
Su Yu frantically activated the Thunder Demon Shadow Trace Steps, and the afterimage that had been standing still instantly split into dozens of fragments, scattering in all directions.
The tentacle-like blood web suddenly tightened, shredding all the afterimages into nothingness.
Using the force of the lightning generated by the annihilation of the afterimage, Su Yu's true body forcibly turned in mid-air, and with a flash of purple-black lightning, it crashed directly into the seemingly solid stone wall on the left.
Bang!
A faint ripple spread across the surface of the stone wall.
Su Yu passed right through the illusion and tumbled into a small space.
The violent Sha Qi and the sounds of tentacles striking each other were instantly blocked by this barrier.
Su Yu quickly stood up, his scarlet longsword held horizontally in front of him.
This is a secret room less than three zhang square.
A few dim luminous pearls were embedded in the wall, barely illuminating the interior.
In the center of the secret chamber, there was a bronze stone platform, on which sat a desiccated corpse.
The corpse was dressed in tattered black finery, its flesh and blood long since weathered away, leaving only a layer of withered skin covering the bones, which faintly emitted a fluorescent glow reminiscent of the Peak Mystic Realm.
The fatal wound was in the heart, a transparent hole the size of a bowl, with the edges of the bone showing an eerie purplish-black color.
A single blow pierced the heart.
Su Yu stepped forward, his gaze falling on the corpse in front of him.
There sat a dark red jade slip, its surface covered with cracks.
The Eight Desolations Demon-Suppressing Qi transformed into a stream of energy, lifting the jade slip. After confirming there were no traps, Su Yu sent a wisp of his divine sense into it.
"I am Feng Bujue, the thirty-seventh leader of the Ghost Shadow Sect."
A weary thought, filled with endless regret, entered Su Yu's mind.
"Those who come after, whether you are a thief from the Mystic Sword Sect or Rogue Cultivator who has strayed into this place, if you hear this message, it means that the sealing formation outside has been weakened."
"Leave here."
"Never try to touch the chains in the center of the square."
Su Yu listened quietly, his divine sense alert to the continuous bombardment coming from outside the secret chamber.
"A hundred years ago, the Ghost Shadow Sect unearthed the remnant soul of a severely damaged Earth Realm demon in an ancient ruin."
Our ancestors believed it to be a divinely granted opportunity, and with the full strength of the sect, they built this prison and the Blood-Draining Array here, attempting to extract the power of the remnants of demonic souls to help our sect's experts break through their limitations."
A bitter laugh echoed in my mind.
"Utterly foolish."
"The methods of demons in the Earth Realm are beyond the comprehension of mortals. In the thirtieth year after the formation was completed, the remnant soul of that demon took control and Soundless eroded the core of the formation."
"It uses the array to control the minds of successive sect leaders. The demonic Sha Qi can follow the array's patterns and infiltrate a martial artist's inner palace, amplifying the desires in their heart."
Until finally, your mind is completely replaced by it, turning you into a walking corpse who only knows how to hunt flesh and blood for it.
"This prison is full of the Ghost Shadow Sect has gathered from all over Qing Province; they are all food to feed that demon and help it regain its strength!"
It turns out that the skeletons outside were not enemies of the Ghost Shadow Sect, but rather offerings they themselves had sent to the demons.
"When I succeeded to the position of sect leader, the demonic corruption had penetrated to the bone marrow, and most of the elders had become its puppets. It ordered us to plunder the flesh and blood of more high-level martial artists."
"With my last ounce of clarity, I activated the isolation barrier of this secret chamber, attempting to sever its control, but it was too late. The Grand Elder had been completely assimilated; he had personally shattered my heart meridian."
"When the Grand Elder killed me, his face still wore that fanatical look, as if he had received a blessing from the gods."
"With my last strength, I sealed off the entire exit of the underground prison. Ghost Shadow Sect must not become an accomplice in the return of demons to the human world."
"Those who come after, that demonic remnant soul has been trapped for several years, its strength must have declined, but it is still not something an ordinary martial artist can contend with. Leave quickly and report this matter to the Demon Suppression Bureau..."
Click.
The jade slip exhausted its Spiritual Qi, turning into a pile of dark red powder that fell from mid-air.
The transmission abruptly stopped.
The truth behind the destruction of the Ghost Shadow Sect and the secret treasure sought by the Mystic Sword Sect were all a complete hoax.
There are no extraordinary martial arts techniques here.
There was only a remnant soul of a demon from the Earth Realm who had been starving for a hundred years.
Those three old guys from the Mystic Sword Sect fought tooth and nail to break open the stone door; they weren't actually looking for treasure.
They were delivering takeout to this demon.
Boom!
The walls of the secret chamber trembled violently, stones fell from the ceiling, and the light from the barrier flickered wildly, threatening to collapse at any moment.
The remnants of demonic spirits outside are violently dismantling this secret chamber.
With a slight thought, Su Yu brought up the system panel.
[Cultivation Level: Body-Tempering Mystic Realm Sixth Level, Qi Refinement Spirit Realm Eighth Layer, Spirit Refinement Spirit Realm Ninth Level ]
With my current strength, I can easily deal with someone at the Mystic Realm Eighth Level.
But even if it is extremely weak and chained, it is still extremely risky to fight a demonic remnant that was once at the Earth Realm.
Escape routes have been blocked.
"Bang!"
Another loud bang was heard, and a deep crack appeared on the stone door of the secret chamber, through which black corrosive liquid seeped in.
Su Yu raised his right hand and gripped the hilt of the sword. The Mystic Iron Pagoda Baleful Intent automatically activated, transforming into armor that enveloped his body.
And it was at this moment.
Su Yu's outstretched divine sense detected another powerful fluctuation.
At the entrance to the underground plaza, the heavy black stone door was finally shattered completely.
Three powerful figures rushed into the square.
The three elders of the Mystic Sword Sect entered.
"Kid, the secret treasure is ours!"
Elder Bedrock's wild laughter echoed in the square. He waved his fists to disperse the dust in front of him and strode into this desolate space.
Elder Sharp Sword and Elder Heavenly Mystery followed closely behind, all three of them displaying the fervor of having found a great treasure.
Immediately afterwards.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
The three auras belonging to the Mystic Realm Eighth Level solidified instantly.
Su Yu peered out through a crack in the wall of the secret room.
The dozen or so blood-red tentacles that were attacking the secret chamber suddenly stopped moving.
In the darkness, the pair of blood-red eyes hovering in mid-air slowly turned, shifting their gaze from the direction of the secret chamber to the three people at the entrance.
" The Mystic Realm Eighth Level..."
That thought, which struck directly into the sea of consciousness, resounded once more, revealing an undisguised greed and fanaticism.
"The finest flesh and blood."
The fervor on Elder Bedrock's face froze. He stared blankly at the thick darkness before him, at the enormous tentacles writhing in the air.
There was no hidden treasure ahead.
Only deadly intent.
A thick tentacle suddenly changed direction, tearing through the air.
The speed was so fast that even Elder Sharp Sword's Sword Qi had no time to be activated.
Pfft.
The tentacle pierced through Elder Bedrock's right shoulder in an instant, lifting him into the air.