Chapter 429: Fat Yang Bird

Looking at the bloody skeletal hand protruding from his abdomen, Hu Yue's eyes were wide open, his face filled with disbelief.

With a 'patta' sound, the blue round pellet was crushed into powder, and then the skeletal hand suddenly vanished.

Hu Yue let out a muffled groan. As the skeletal hand withdrew, he collapsed limply to the ground, blood continuously gushing from the gaping wound. The scent of blood instantly filled the hall.

Though not yet dead, he was now on the verge of death.

The startled cries of Jin Qing and Shi Die, the sounds of explosions, and the whistling of magic treasures successively entered his ears. All the experiences of his life flashed before him like a rapidly turning lantern. His impoverished childhood, the joy of his entire family when his spirit root was discovered, the helplessness when his beloved senior sister married another, his youthful vigor upon successfully forming his Core, and his enormous ambition to form a Nascent Soul—all these seemed to be fading away as his limbs grew cold...

But Hu Yue was unwilling to give up!

He possessed three flying dagger magic treasures. Normally, when fighting enemies, he would only deploy two. The third flying dagger never left his side. This third dagger was refined using a secret technique; although its offensive power was ordinary, its spiritual protective abilities far surpassed those of common magic treasures. Furthermore, he had spared no effort to cultivate this treasure, and not long ago, it had reached a state of sentience.

When facing a sneak attack, even without his explicit command, this treasure should have sensed the killer intent of others and automatically protected him!

"Unless the one who attacked him..." Hu Yue suddenly remembered something. Unwilling to accept his fate, he used his last vestiges of mortal strength to twist his head slightly, finally catching sight of everything behind him from the corner of his eye.

A ghostly white shadow was relentlessly pursuing Jin Qing, who was enveloped in a silvery glow, constantly flying backward to dodge, and continuously unleashing his magic treasures to bombard the opponent. He seemed to greatly fear the white shadow. On the other side, Han Li and his companions were trapped by a large expanse of black mist. However, Han Li now held a fiery red scroll, from which countless fist-sized fire swallows flew out, forming a massive ring of fire. They continuously assaulted the black mist, preventing it from approaching. Qu Hun and Shi Die stood closely behind Han Li. Qu Hun was encased in a blood-red light, continuously releasing purple flames from his hands to disperse any black mist that entered the fire ring. Shi Die, meanwhile, held a white spherical pearl that radiated dazzling light, preventing any stray black mist from nearing her. Yet, her eyes still showed signs of panic.

Hu Yue ignored the black mist, struggling instead to scrutinize the white shadow relentlessly pursuing Jin Qing.

Indeed, it was the white skeleton that had been dead for who knew how many years. But now, it was emitting white mist all around, leaping with extreme agility. It no longer resembled a lifeless object in the slightest.

Hu Yue forced a bitter smile. He, a Core Formation cultivator, had been ambushed by a mere skeleton. It was truly a ridiculously absurd turn of events.

As this self-mocking thought crossed his mind, Hu Yue's consciousness faded into darkness, and he fell into an eternal sleep. Yet, that faint trace of self-mockery lingered at the corner of his lips.

Just as Hu Yue drew his last breath, Han Li's expression turned grim, and he continuously scanned his surroundings.

Moments earlier, just as Hu Yue was ambushed by the leaping skeleton, large swaths of frigid ghost mist suddenly shot out from the nearby walls, trapping everyone within. Fortunately, Han Li had made some prior preparations and, without hesitation, unfurled the scroll he had just acquired. From within the painting, many spirit birds enveloped in flames flew out.

These 'Zhi Yang Birds,' enveloped in demonic flames and resembling ordinary swallows, Han Li had once read a detailed description of them in an ancient text. Born from pure fire, they specialized in devouring various ghosts and malevolent spirits, making them renowned banes of Yin creatures. However, these birds had long been extinct in the cultivation world. The scroll only sealed a sliver of this spirit bird's essence, allowing it to release mere avatars of the 'Zhi Yang Birds.' While these avatars looked identical to true 'Zhi Yang Birds,' their power was vastly different! Otherwise, this black ghost mist wouldn't just be temporarily dispersed; it would have been completely devoured.

Han Li wasn't particularly worried about these persistent ghost mists. Both his 'Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords' and his Gold Devouring Beetles could easily break through them. What made him uneasy was the master of the ghost mist, who remained hidden and hadn't yet made a move. As for the white skeleton, he could clearly see it possessed no true spiritual consciousness; it was merely a puppet being controlled by someone. Yet, this skeleton was peculiar; despite being struck so many times by Jin Qing's magic treasures, it remained unharmed. It seemed there was some other mystery within it.

As Han Li pondered, intermittent ghostly wails echoed from all directions. These chilling sounds, neither male nor female, were sharp and piercing, causing one's blood to churn and one's mind to become unsettled.

Han Li's heart tensed. He immediately unleashed his full spiritual sense, enveloping the entire hall. At the same time, with a flick of his finger, two emerald-green small swords appeared before him, slowly rotating around his body.

"What demonic entity is playing tricks here? Show yourself!" Jin Qing, seemingly agitated by the ghostly sounds, suddenly roared in anger. Though not loud, his voice caused the entire hall to hum. The ghostly wails actually ceased in response.

Not only that, when his magic treasure struck the white skeleton again, the skeleton shattered into pieces with a single blow, no longer recognizable. Jin Qing was both surprised and delighted!

Concurrently, the ghost mist that had tightly enveloped Han Li and the others swiftly retracted with a 'swish,' disappearing back into the surrounding walls. Han Li was greatly surprised! He didn't believe Jin Qing's roar possessed such immense power. Just then, Shi Die, who had been standing behind Han Li, turned and seized the opportunity to bolt towards the subterranean steps behind them. In the blink of an eye, she reached the steps and ascended them.

Upon seeing this, Han Li remained expressionless, but Jin Qing's face drastically changed, and he felt immensely vexed. This woman was actually abandoning them in battle? He knew that although Shi Die's cultivation was low, the precious pearl in her hand clearly had a restraining effect on the ghost mist. He certainly couldn't let her just run off like that.

Thinking of this, Jin Qing opened his mouth without hesitation, about to yell at her to stop.

But at this moment, another anomaly occurred! Shi Die, who had ascended the steps, had only taken two steps when a terrifying ghost claw, glowing green, suddenly shot out from a side stone wall without any warning. Its ten fingers were sharp and pointed, and its entire form was jade green. With a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, it plunged into the female cultivator's chest. Shi Die shrieked, desperately urging the pearl in her hand to radiate light, attempting to break free. But the ghost hand seemed utterly fearless. Instead, pitch-black ghostly energy emanated from the claw, instantly enveloping Shi Die. Her screams abruptly ceased. Then, a shriveled, skin-and-bones corpse was thrown out from the black mist, landing right in front of Han Li and Qu Hun.

Han Li looked down at the desiccated corpse, devoid of flesh and blood, and his face turned slightly pale. Jin Qing, already drained of color, merely clutched his white seal magic treasure tightly, constantly looking left and right.

"Hehe! This venerable one requires a suitable body. Which of you three intends to offer yourselves?" From all around the hall, a chilling, scornful cackle echoed.

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flickered in Han Li's eyes. He suddenly unfurled the scroll in his hand again, and the many fire birds hovering outside him flew back into the scroll like nestlings returning home. Then, with a grim expression, Han Li formed a hand seal. With a 'whoosh,' a gigantic 'Zhi Yang Bird,' about ten feet long, flew out from within the scroll. The flames around its body were dazzling. After circling once above Han Li's head, it spread its wings and shot towards a certain stone pillar in the hall.

With a loud 'boom.' Just as the giant bird was about to collide with the pillar, a green light flashed, and then a bizarre python formed of black mist flew out from the pillar, clashing with the fire bird. The fire bird breathed out scorching white pure fire, while the strange python spewed out inky-black cold mist. A battle between bird and python thus commenced within the hall.

"Tsk tsk! I didn't expect that someone in the Starfall Sea would still know the long-lost Spirit Expulsion Technique. It seems this venerable one truly underestimated you." As the voice faded, a strange silhouette slowly emerged from the stone pillar. Han Li and Jin Qing simultaneously focused their gaze!

It was a jade-green figure, its entire body glowing with a crystalline green light, making its true face completely indiscernible. Several arm-thick ribbons of black mist coiled around its form, and its eyes were a vivid blood-red.

After the strange figure swept its gaze over Han Li and the others, both Han Li and Jin Qing felt a chill run down their spines, as if their innermost thoughts had been seen through. They couldn't help but exchange glances, each seeing the horror in the other's eyes.

The sheer pressure the opponent exerted on them with just a gaze indicated that their cultivation far surpassed both of theirs. Could this person actually be a Nascent Soul cultivator? Yet, judging by the strange figure's appearance, it didn't seem like a living being; it resembled a ghost or wraith more. But if it were a malevolent ghost, how could it speak so coherently, without the slightest sign of lost sanity?