Chapter 1265: Jade Bones and Brocade Skin

The Mortal Realm

"Bang!""Bang!""Clatter..."Upon impact, the prison cage shuddered, tugging at the dark chains as its runes flickered incessantly.Jing Yu sensed the danger and swiftly activated her Lightning Prayer Bead, conjuring a protective barrier."Crackling!"Dozens of blood-red lightning bolts shot forth, striking the barrier.The Lightning Prayer Bead vibrated intensely for a moment but quickly stabilized, firmly blocking the blood-red lightning.

After the initial probe, a glimmer of joy flashed in Jing Yu's eyes. However, she didn't rush. Instead, she continued attacking the seal while meticulously observing the white bones inside the cage.The bones were humanoid, with a face resembling a human's, but the skeleton was noticeably larger than an ordinary person's. It was unclear if it belonged to an ancient race akin to humans or if it had cultivated some unique technique.This was not the only entity sealed at the bottom of the blood pool; several other similar cages were present.Among them, the cage at the very center of the blood pool possessed the strongest sealing power. The ancient cultivator that Old Demon Ye and Qing Jun sought was precisely the one imprisoned within that central cage.The ancient cultivator had barely survived until now. The white bones, suppressed alongside him at the bottom of the blood pool, likely belonged to someone whose cultivation was not much inferior to his own during their lifetime.This place was the core of the Blood Prison. With the Black Tower formation outside and blood pool cages inside, the layered defenses seemed insufficient, as the entity was also bound by shackles.Corpse Flowers and Blood Amber were rooted in the bone seams of the white bones, drawing power from the ancient corpse. They were exquisitely captivating, yet possessed a desolate beauty that made it impossible to look away.Now that the ancient corpse had transformed into white bones, the Corpse Flowers had also become Blood Amber.The seal was weakest where the cage was damaged. Jing Yu successfully breached it and flashed into the cage, where the Corpse Flowers and Blood Amber were now within easy reach.

Gazing at the lifeless white bones before her, Jing Yu hesitated for a moment, then once again used her Lightning Prayer Bead to conjure an illusion.The illusion flashed, flying above the white bones, extending sharp claws to grab a Corpse Flower Blood Amber on the skull.The moment the illusion touched the Corpse Flower Blood Amber, a sudden anomaly occurred!Without any warning, a dense blood-red color surged from the white bones, followed by countless blood-red filaments."Whoosh!"The illusion was utterly defenseless; it was pierced by the blood filaments, completely entangled, and shattered on the spot.Immediately after, these blood filaments relentlessly pursued, as if guided by eyes, following the connection between the illusion and the main body, shooting towards Jing Yu.The transformation of the white bones happened with extreme speed.The blood filaments reached Jing Yu in an instant.Jing Yu was greatly alarmed. She had meticulously examined the bones several times before and found no abnormalities. Without time to think, Jing Yu hastily activated her Lightning Prayer Bead, while her entire body glowed with lightning."Boom!"The blood filaments were finally blocked by the Lightning Prayer Bead and the lightning aura on Jing Yu's body, but they still spread out like a persistent disease, forming a blood cocoon that enveloped Jing Yu.Jing Yu's body trembled slightly as she looked towards the source of the blood filaments, noticing that the white bones had turned into blood-red bones, but other than releasing the filaments, it made no other movements.Seeing this, she was surprised, feeling it didn't resemble a corpse transformation.While resisting the blood filaments' assault, she focused her gaze on the blood-red bones and finally discovered that faint runes were emerging within them. Those runes were the true source of the blood filaments.She pondered: "Was it a curse left by the blood-red bones just before death, born of resentment, to kill anyone who touched the corpse? Or was it a trap set here by that ancient cultivator?""There's no sign of human manipulation," Jing Yu thought. "If it's a trap set by that ancient cultivator, then it seems their situation isn't good. They must be extremely weak, having lost the ability to control these blood filaments. Otherwise, I'd be in serious trouble. The fact that so many people have entered this time, and that person hasn't made any move, speaks volumes."Since it wasn't a corpse transformation, she felt relieved.Although the blood filaments were strange, they were, after all, ownerless. With some effort, she should be able to find a way to break free, though it would take some time.Thinking of this, Jing Yu launched her full power, fighting back against the blood filaments.

Meanwhile, Qing Jun, tracking Old Demon Ye, had also arrived at the bottom of the blood pool.The scene before her was similar to what Jing Yu had witnessed.Dense dark chains extended from all directions, converging on a colossal cage. However, every pillar of this particular cage was completely intact.Inside the cage, a figure sat cross-legged.Upon seeing the figure's appearance clearly, Qing Jun's expression froze.He sat cross-legged within the cage, his face directly facing Qing Jun.The figure resembled a skeleton; all its flesh and blood had been hollowed out, leaving only bones and skin.Only a layer of thin, almost transparent skin adhered to the skeleton, stretched taut and smooth like silk. The internal meridians, organs, flesh, and everything else had vanished, leaving the body shriveled and indistinguishable from a skeleton.The head was also the same; its eye sockets were deeply sunken, with a faint glow seemingly within the eye holes. Yet, the teeth were complete and clearly visible through the thin skin, forming an ambiguous expression, neither a smile nor a frown.Strangely, its bones were blood-red, unlike common stark white bones, and emanated a jade-like luster. It was a jade bone!It didn't look like a human but more like a statue crafted from jade and silk.Witnessing such an eerie sight, a chill involuntarily rose in Qing Jun's heart, and she became greatly wary of the jade bone.Jing Yu had stated with certainty that this person was alive before and had been causing trouble here, but now, the jade bone was completely still, showing no sign of life.Had this person transformed himself into such a non-human form? Was this the reason he had survived until now?At this moment, she saw Old Demon Ye, who had descended before her, standing before the cage, scrutinizing the jade bone.Old Demon Ye's pupils and the whites of his eyes had completely vanished; his jet-black eyes stared fixedly at the jade bone.Sensing Qing Jun's arrival, Old Demon Ye turned. The blackness in his eyes receded, returning to normal, and he said blandly, "Are you here to stop me?"Qing Jun, with a wave of her jade hand, made the Five Directions Pagoda spin gracefully before settling lightly into her palm."You and I are enemies, not friends, so why ask?" Qing Jun replied. "Unless you swear to withdraw your troops, cease hostilities, and hand over the jade bone and all information you possess, to be jointly controlled by the three domains!"Old Demon Ye merely sneered without a word. Suddenly, he waved his large sleeve, and a stream of light flew out. Within the light was a crystalline command arrow, appearing as if forged from profound ice.The moment the command arrow appeared, it emitted a terrifying coldness. The surrounding blood water actually froze, and the dark chains became coated in a layer of frost, which rapidly spread to the cage."Crack!"The command arrow shattered with a 'crack', and several white figures drifted out. Like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, they rushed towards the cage, eagerly spewing cold air onto it.The ice on the cage grew thicker and thicker, crackling.The seal seemed to have met its nemesis; its runes were frozen by the ice, unable to retaliate, and their light grew increasingly faint. Old Demon Ye had clearly planned this for a long time, preparing treasures specifically to counter the seal.Seeing this situation, Qing Jun's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.The cage was a complete, intact entity with its seal. For a moment, it was difficult to discern whether the jade bone was merely feigning death or if it had truly exhausted its life force and been trapped to death by the seal.Was Old Demon Ye not worried that once the seal was opened, the jade bone would escape while both sides were fighting?