Chapter 1014: Wind Extreme Nail

The Grand Shaman tapped her foot, transforming into a streak of light that soared upwards. Old Demon Fang and the other cultivators followed closely. Before long, they arrived at the mysterious valley. The valley was silent; not a soul was in sight.

The Grand Shaman surveyed her surroundings, then flashed into the deepest part of the valley, arriving before an ancient restriction situated between two sheer cliffs. Inside the valley, it was pitch black, like a black hole. The black light consisted of dense, delicate threads, which were extensions of the ancient restrictions embedded in the cliffs on both sides. These threads crisscrossed, blocking the entire valley entrance. The threads were fine and not solid objects. Human cultivators turned pale at the mention of them, not daring to approach the threads by even an inch. This place had already claimed many cultivators' lives. Fortunately, the ancient restriction would not harm anyone unless actively trespassed.

"The Heavenly Pagoda is clearly a relic of an ancient human sword cultivator sect. Why would a treasure of the Witch Tribe be hidden here?" Standing before the ancient restriction, Old Demon Fang still harbored doubts.

The Grand Shaman gazed intently into the depths of the ancient restriction and said calmly, "Who can truly say whether humans and the Witch Tribe were friends or foes in ancient times? The Seven Killings Hall contains not only ancient human cultivator ruins, but also traces of the Witch Tribe and the Demon Race. The fact that we can directly cultivate human techniques indicates something. Moreover, while humans are helpless against these restrictions, we of the Witch Tribe might not be."

As she spoke, the Grand Shaman flipped her palm, revealing two black, nail-shaped artifacts. She infused them with true essence. The iron nails began to glow faintly blue from within, revealing countless azure runes. Simultaneously, tiny whirlwinds formed at the tips of the nails, gradually turning blue.

"Last time, it was full of peril inside, and the gains were minimal. That was because I couldn't shake off Lingzhuzi; he was eyeing me like a tiger, so I couldn't use these two Wind Polarity Nails and had to rely on other methods... This treasure happens to counteract these restrictions perfectly; it's the best choice." The Grand Shaman flicked her finger. "Go!"

*Bang! Bang!* The two iron nails struck the cliff walls on either side, sinking completely into them. The stone walls vibrated violently. The black light within seemed like torrents of dark water, threatening to overflow. A sudden gale erupted in the valley, centered around the two Wind Polarity Nails. The Grand Shaman formed hand seals, fully activating the artifacts. Then, the black light from the stone walls gradually settled down, and simultaneously, some of the chaotic threads in the valley began to dim unusually, until they completely vanished. In an instant, the dense black threads became much sparser than before. Although they still appeared very dangerous, traversing them was not difficult for the Grand Shaman and her companions.

After completing these tasks, even someone as profoundly cultivated as the Grand Shaman felt somewhat strained. She turned to the two elders behind her and said, "Elder Feng, Elder Yue, I trouble you to guard this place. Do not let human cultivators take the Wind Polarity Nails."

"Grand Shaman, rest assured, the two of us will guard this place to the death!" the elder said gravely.

The Grand Shaman said gently, "There's no need to fight to the death. If you discover human cultivators and we haven't returned yet, take the Wind Polarity Nails and conceal yourselves in the shadows, then return after they leave."

"Understood!"

One elder sat down on the ground, while the other flashed out of the valley to keep watch.

With all arrangements made, the Grand Shaman nodded to Old Demon Fang and, with the remaining personnel, stepped into the restriction. The black threads here were still incredibly chaotic and dangerous. The Grand Shaman and her group carefully maneuvered through the gaps between the threads, moving deeper inside. The valley's interior was much larger than imagined. Bare rock lay beneath their feet, and the top was out of sight. They seemed to be in an extremely deep canyon, with nothing but black threads surrounding them.

The Grand Shaman and Old Demon Fang walked at the very front, while the others quietly followed. They kept a wide distance from each other to prevent accidentally triggering the restriction and implicating others.

After walking for a while, the Grand Shaman paused, looked around, then swept her hand across her waist, producing a jet-black stone disk. The disk's surface was etched with simple symbols. The Grand Shaman held up the stone disk with one hand and chanted an incomprehensible incantation. Before long, an exquisitely intricate tattoo suddenly appeared on her wrist, as white as snow. Upon seeing this, Old Demon Fang and the others showed no surprise. These tattoos symbolized divine marks, which represented the true power of their Witch Tribe, and like their life-bound spirit insects, were the Witch Tribe's genuine legacy.

Unfortunately, the path of divine marks was incomplete; its highest attainment was equivalent to the Qi Condensation stage. All the Witch Tribe experts present had deeply researched the path of divine marks, but without exception, they had all failed. However, the future of life-bound spirit insects seemed promising, with some having forged an unprecedented path through them. Thinking of this, several Witch Tribe cultivators subconsciously glanced at Old Demon Fang. Old Demon Fang abandoning his human body to integrate with a spirit insect's body for a breakthrough was truly shocking. However, if it offered a high probability of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, many would likely be willing to do the same. After a period of activity, Old Demon Fang became very mysterious. He had been in secluded cultivation in the Spiritual Cicada Cave for years, and there was no news of him taking on disciples. It was unknown whether Old Demon Fang would reveal and pass down the secret art he had researched after his passing. Old Demon Fang, meanwhile, remained silent, quietly awaiting the Grand Shaman's actions.

*Clink!* The stone disk vibrated lightly in the Grand Shaman's hand. As the Grand Shaman activated the power of the divine marks, countless fine strands of 'rain' suddenly drifted around her, creating a misty veil. This seemingly beautiful image of a 'beauty in the rain' was occurring within an extremely dangerous ancient restriction. These 'rain' strands brushed past the black threads, causing heart-stopping moments, yet never touching them in the slightest, demonstrating the Grand Shaman's control was truly peerless.

*Drip...* The 'rain' strands fell into the stone disk, and the strange symbols within seemed to come alive. The disk's interior became like a vast lake, with giant waves surging. The Grand Shaman gently stirred the stone disk with her finger. The disk's waves surged in one direction, wanting to rush outward once they reached the edge, but were contained. Seeing this, the Grand Shaman looked up in that direction and declared, "It's right there!"

Everyone immediately set off. The Grand Shaman, holding the stone disk, led the way. Old Demon Fang moved around them, maintaining vigilance to prevent any incidents that might disturb the Grand Shaman.

They continued like this for a while. Expressions of surprise simultaneously appeared on everyone's faces. In front of them, the black threads formed by the restriction suddenly vanished, revealing a circular stone hall. It had no plaque, no inscriptions whatsoever. The stone hall was weathered and exuded an ancient aura, clearly not of this present age. After a brief look around, they found the entrance to the stone hall: a massive, elongated stone block. The stone block stood before them like a colossal stele, serving as the hall's door. In the very center of the stone block, there was a circular groove. Everyone realized something, their gazes falling upon the stone disk in the Grand Shaman's hand. The groove was the same size as the stone disk.

The Grand Shaman pondered for a moment, then took a step forward. Instead of rushing to place the disk into the groove, she extended her hand, gently touching the stone stele with her fingertips to carefully sense the restrictions within the stone hall.