Darkness beneath the lamp!
[Ten Rakshasas Temple]
This temple, located in the heart of Ghost-Crying Market, is named after the ten ferocious-looking Rakshasa deities it enshrines.
Among the Holy Sect cultivators who had previously infiltrated, some were skilled at tracking and marked this temple as a key target.
At this moment, the temple was shrouded in a thin but persistent dark light.
The light above flickered unpredictably, clearly indicating it was a defensive restriction spell connected to the market's grand formation.
Its power was greatly reduced because the great formation was broken.
Qi Yun at the temple without the slightest hesitation or attempt to test the waters.
He formed a hand seal, his internal True Qi surged, and a flash of blue light appeared in his eyes.
[Wood Phase Command Method - Dragon-Binding Gāthā!]
Boom!
Spiritual Qi gathered, a massive cyan wooden phantom reappeared, carrying an overwhelming power to suppress everything, like a hammer of divine punishment, slamming fiercely onto the dark light barrier!
One!
Two!
Three!
Click!
Three consecutive Dragon Dragon-Binding Gāthā caused the already crumbling defensive barrier to shatter under the strain, its protective shield cracking inch by inch like shattered glass.
Finally, they transformed into countless fireflies-like specks of light and vanished completely.
After breaking through the barrier, Qi Yun did not immediately rush in.
With a flick of his sleeve, dozens of drawn [Thousand Cranes Talisman] flew out like snowflakes, flashing in the air and transforming into tiny, white paper cranes.
They flew away silently in all directions.
It was like casting an invisible reconnaissance net, keeping watch on the movements of the entire Ghost-Crying Market.
Having grasped the situation from all sides, Qi Yun took a deep breath and stepped into the eerie and mysterious Ten Rakshasas Temple.
The interior of the temple appears more spacious than the exterior.
The light was dim, with only the flickering, eerie green glow of the eternal lamps illuminating the ten blue-faced, toothless, and differently posed Rakshasa statues, making them appear particularly eerie.
As soon as Qi Yun stepped in, a huge net, shrouded in black Sha Qi, descended upon him.
The eyes of the surrounding statues darted about, emitting a bewitching, evil light.
The tighter the security, the more likely it is to be a treasure trove.
With a slight raise of his eyebrows, Qi Yun his fingers like a sword, unleashing the Southern Brightness Devil Fire Sword Qi that slashed and burned the net to ashes.
Evil Light and Sunken Abyss Iron Sand are natural counters to this type of Law Technique.
It only swayed slightly before its clarity returned.
Under normal circumstances, these traps and restrictions would be enough to overwhelm even Late Qi Refining cultivators, potentially leading to their immediate demise.
However, with the Ghost-Crying Market Formation destroyed, the source supporting these mechanisms and restrictions was almost exhausted, and its power was reduced to less than one-tenth, making it much easier to deal with.
Just as he passed through the front hall and arrived at a darker side hall.
Just as he was about to unleash his Divine Sense and rely on his unique sensitivity to spiritual objects to find the treasure's location...
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two extremely concealed, foul-smelling dark lights, like venomous snakes that had been lurking for a long time, attacked his back and neck with extreme cunning, one from the left and one from the right!
Is anyone there?
A sense of foreboding suddenly arose in Qi Yun's heart, Sunken Abyss Iron Sand instantly condensed behind him.
Two "ding-ding" sounds.
The dark light was blocked, revealing two poison needles as thin as cow's hair, gleaming with an eerie rainbow light.
"Heh heh, quick reaction!"
"As expected of a disciple of the Holy Sect, he's indeed rolling in fat!"
Two figures emerged slowly from the shadows of the side hall, chuckling softly.
These two were neither disciples of the Yellow Springs Netherworld, the Zombie Alliance, nor the Hehuan Palace. Their clothing was quite peculiar, embroidered with patterns of the Five Poisons, including snails and venomous snakes. Their aura was cold and gloomy, yet carried a hint of sweet and pungent smell.
These two are incredibly cunning and audacious.
After witnessing the Wuji Sacred Sect destroy the Ghost-Crying Market with thunderous force, instead of fleeing, he harbored thoughts of taking advantage of the chaos and profiting from the misfortune.
They secretly followed Qi Yun, who seemed to have considerable strength and was heading straight for an important goal.
They planned to launch a sneak attack when he and the barrier were both severely weakened or when he found the treasure, thus becoming the beneficiary of the attack.
"The Five Poisons Cult?" Qi Yun's eyes turned cold, and a murderous intent rose in his heart.
The fact that they were only discovered when someone touched them so closely is due to two reasons: firstly, the temple environment interfered with their Divine Sense, and secondly, the two people were indeed very skilled at concealing themselves.
"Good to know! Kid, if you know what's good for you, hand over what you have, and maybe we'll leave you with a whole corpse!" one of the tall, thin men said with a sinister smile, toying with several colorful poisonous quinoa seeds in his hand.
The other short, stout monk remained silent, rubbing his hands together, and a colorless and odorless poisonous miasma that could slightly distort the air quietly spread out.
At the same time, several bright red, lightning-fast Poisonous Bloods crawled out from the cuffs, skimming the ground as they rushed towards Qi Yun.
Qi Yun dared not be negligent, for the Five Poisons Cult cultivators employed unpredictable methods.
He was particularly skilled in using poison, making him impossible to guard against.
With a thought, the Sunken Abyss Iron Sand from the abyss churned around him, protecting him completely from the poisonous miasma.
At the same time, with fingers pointing in quick succession, the [Wood Phase Command Method - Void-Trapping Awl] shot out with a pure, evil-dispelling light, accurately pinning the poisonous creatures to the ground!
"Do it!"
Seeing that the poisonous miasma and scorpions were ineffective, the tall, thin man shouted and unleashed a storm of poisonous sand. The sand grew rapidly in the wind, transforming into a colorful poisonous mist that enveloped the entire side hall, possessing extremely strong corrosive and hallucinogenic properties.
The short, stout cultivator then opened his mouth and spat out a purple-gold toad phantom.
The phantom toad croaked, its sound waves as tangible as real ones, directly striking Qi Yun's Divine Soul.
Startled by the strange frog's roar, Qi Yun felt dizzy and lightheaded, and the protective iron sand was sizzling as it was corroded by the poisonous mist.
Even the Sunken Abyss Iron couldn't defend against it?
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, Qi Yun's brows furrowed slightly, and his hands deftly formed Method Formula.
"Using evil to control good, refining Bing and Ding in reverse!"
Southern Brightness Devil Fire!
Rise!"
The blast was no longer a slender Sword Qi.
Instead, it was a torrent of demonic fire, like a volcanic eruption.
This time, Qi Yun used the True Essence condensed in his Dantian to cast a spell, and the domineering demonic fire erupted and swept outwards.
The Southern Brightness Devil Fire, being both extremely yang and extremely evil, is precisely the nemesis of these insidious methods!
One-!
The colorful poisonous mist melted and evaporated instantly in the demonic fire, like snow being poured into boiling water.
The phantom of the golden toad was scorched by the demonic fire, letting out a shrill scream, twisting a few times before collapsing and dissipating.
Along with the other poisonous insects and Gu creatures that the two had laid out, they were all reduced to ashes within the range of the demonic fire!
"What?!"
"Oh no! Retreat quickly!"
The two Five Poisons Cult disciples' expressions changed drastically; they hadn't expected Qi Yun to possess such a domineering area-of-effect fire Law Technique!
The two hurriedly summoned their protective magical Law Artifact —a bone shield and a beast-hide banner—in an attempt to defend themselves.
However, Qi Yun's murderous intent had already been formed.
Following the torrent of demonic fire came several more refined and sharper strands of Southern Brightness Devil Fire Sword Qi.
Puff! Puff!
The protective Law Artifact shattered with a mournful cry after only a moment under the combined impact of demonic fire and Sword Qi!
The Sword Qi pierced through their True Qi without any hindrance, penetrating their hearts and brows.
The tall, thin monk and the short, stout monk both wore expressions of shock and disbelief, their bodies rapidly charred and carbonized in the remaining demonic fire.
Staring expressionlessly at the two charred corpses, Qi Yun waved his hand to summon back the skeleton, devouring its remaining blood essence and cultivation.
Having dealt with the two reckless Five Poisons Cult disciples, Qi Yun regained his composure and refocused his attention on the treasure hunt.
He closed his eyes and began to slowly unleash his Innate sensory abilities, which were like those of a "human treasure-hunting mouse."
Like mercury spilling onto the ground, they carefully sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations that might be hidden in every inch of the temple.
At first, when his Divine Sense swept through the deep recesses of the temple, the hidden compartments and secret chambers that seemed most likely to conceal treasures returned only emptiness and deathly silence.
It appears to have already been emptied out.
Just as he was about to withdraw his Divine Sense, an extremely faint yet strangely familiar tremor suddenly emerged.
This sensation didn't originate from deep within the temple, but rather from behind him?
It comes from the front hall where ten Rakshasa statues are enshrined.
"That's quite a scheme. Too bad you ran into me."
He leaped back to the front hall, and the floating Sunken Abyss Iron Sand beside him suddenly surged, instantly condensing into a heavy black blade the size of a door panel, its edges gleaming with a cold metallic light!
With a flick of his fingers, Qi Yun unleashed a black blade that whistled through the air as it slashed fiercely at the third statue on his left.
That Rakshasa statue holding a skull rosary and appearing in deep thought!
Crack! Boom!
The stone statue immediately shattered, sending shards of stone flying everywhere!
As the statue shattered, a large pile of objects shimmering with various Baoguang and brimming with Spiritual Qi poured out like a flood, covering half of the front hall floor!
There were fragrant elixirs sealed in jade boxes; Jade Slip containing Spiritual Qi energy and flowing runes; refining materials of various colors emanating different attribute fluctuations; and several uniquely shaped magical artifacts and Law Artifact that shimmered with spiritual light!
The interplay of Baoguang illuminated the dimly lit front hall, making it appear even brighter!
Faced with this sudden windfall, Qi Yun waved his hand dismissively.
An invisible suction force swept out, without even looking, and pulled all the treasures on the ground, along with the jade boxes and chests that might contain items, into its storage bracelet!
The movements were clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Now is not the time to examine closely; the right thing to do is to quickly collect the spoils and leave this dangerous place. However, just as all the treasures were about to be collected...
Qi Yun paused slightly in his movements.
His gaze fell upon an inconspicuous object nestled within the Baoguang.