Chapter 2356: Bone Hand

The Mortal Realm

The two mighty beings reached a consensus.

The old man looked up at the sky. Seeing it dim and overcast with dense dark clouds, a hint of impatience flashed in his eyes, and he let out a low roar.

The clouds were instantly scattered, and in a flash, they parted, the snow stopped, and the sky brightened.

The woman in palace attire and the old man joined forces, quickly curbing the momentum of the vortex's eruption. Inside the vortex, flames and purple light were evenly matched, a clear indication of their fierce confrontation.

They seemed to have some reservations, as they did not forcibly disperse the vortex. By unspoken agreement, they both stopped and looked at each other.

Afterward, with mutual understanding, they acted again. The old man controlled the giant purple stele, causing its purple light to recede, while the woman in palace attire repeatedly fanned the feather in her hand.

As the purple light gathered, the giant purple stele gradually moved to the center of the vortex, while flames consumed all other areas.

At the very center of the vortex, the giant purple stele hung suspended, like an unshakeable pillar; no impact could make it budge even slightly.

Immediately after, the woman in palace attire flicked her finger, casting a hand seal.

The flames, though seemingly vast and powerful, hadn't melted even a single piece of ice. At this moment, they swept around the giant purple stele, spinning faster and faster until they blended seamlessly with the ice tide within the vortex.

The woman in palace attire let out a soft breath and nodded to the old man.

A purple glow flickered on the old man's forehead, and a single horn surprisingly grew. From its tip, a beam of purple light shot out, merging into the giant purple stele.

With a boom, the giant purple stele seemed to be under immense pressure. Carrying the surrounding flames, it slowly sank deeper into the vortex. The ice within the vortex finally began to melt; starting from the uppermost layer of the ice tide, ice turned into water, gradually yielding to the suppression of the giant purple stele and the flames.

The two mighty beings moved very slowly and cautiously; the more deliberate they were, the more it suggested that what lay beneath was extraordinary. The three demons observing from the side all felt an invisible pressure, and by unspoken agreement, they retreated a further distance.

At this moment, to the naked eye, the vortex was contracting inward, its momentum gradually weakening, appearing as though it was about to be suppressed by the two mighty beings.

Just then, a strange gleam suddenly flashed in the woman in palace attire's eyes, and the feather in her hand stopped waving. Simultaneously, the giant purple stele's descent ceased, and the purple light and flames seemed to have solidified within the vortex.

Seeing this, the three demons nearby felt their hearts clench, knowing that something had definitely gone wrong.

The two mighty beings frowned, staring at the vortex. For a long time, nothing happened.

Suddenly, the woman in palace attire spoke, "You all retreat first."

This was addressed to the three demons, and the old man clearly agreed.

The three demons hastily assented, retreating without delay, not daring to stay for another moment, while secretly feeling shocked. The instruction to retreat now indicated that if anything went wrong, the two mighty beings weren't confident they could protect them. What exactly lay beneath?

The next moment, the woman in palace attire and the old man finally began to move again, and the giant purple stele continued to descend.

As the three demons were flying backward, they suddenly heard the woman in palace attire let out a soft gasp of surprise, as if she had discovered something. Yet, in their own perception, there was no anomaly.

"Old Rhino!"

The woman in palace attire's expression tightened, and she cried out softly. At the same time, a sudden change occurred deep within the vortex!

Boom!

The three demons' faces were filled with horror. A terrifying explosion seemed to have occurred deep within the earth, suddenly tearing open the ground and exposing bottomless ice layers through gaping rifts.

At this moment, the sky crumbled and the earth split!

These rifts radiated outward from the vortex's center. The three demons watched in horror as the vortex, which had been suppressed, erupted again with even greater force.

Whoosh!

The ice tide surged towards the sky, sending countless pieces of ice flying everywhere, which emitted a dazzling array of colorful light under the sunlight.

Though a dreamlike beautiful scene, the demons had no mind to appreciate it, for the giant purple stele and the flames had also been propelled out by that same force.

The two mighty beings, despite joining forces, were actually countered by the vortex!

The woman in palace attire and the old man had clearly not expected such a thing to happen, and both were filled with alarm and uncertainty.

The next moment, the two mighty beings, having discovered something unknown, suddenly changed their expressions dramatically. Their figures shot skyward; the old man even neglected to retrieve the giant purple stele.

Boom! Boom!

The earth shook violently again.

The three demons in the distance saw the ground beneath the two mighty beings bulge high, and thick layers of ice were lifted by a powerful impact.

Rumble!

The ice layers shattered in mid-air, and amidst the flying ice shards, two beams of white light appeared, shooting towards the two mighty beings.

Seeing the white light, the three demons immediately felt a sense of dead stillness; the white light seemed capable of devouring all life force.

The two mighty beings were locked onto by the white light and actually dared not turn back to attack. Even more terrifyingly, the white light's speed was faster than the mighty beings' escape velocity!

Whoosh!

In an instant, the white light was within arm's reach of the two mighty beings.

At this moment, the three demons finally saw what was inside the white light: two ghastly pale skeletal hands.

The skeletal hands had unusually long arms, stretching out from deep within the vortex. Their five fingers splayed wide and then suddenly clasped shut beneath the two mighty beings.

At this moment, the three demons' vision blurred. They knew the two mighty beings must have unleashed their domains and powerful divine abilities, some of which were beyond their perception.

The three demons could only see blurry sights.

At some point, a golden mask appeared on the woman in palace attire's face. The mask had a peculiar design; it didn't reveal her facial features, but instead was carved with a divine bird. The divine bird seemed alive, its eyes shining brightly, faintly able to draw the three demons' minds into it.

On the other side, the old man revealed his true form, transforming into a gigantic rhinoceros.

This giant rhinoceros was remarkably similar to the purple rhino phantom summoned by the young couple earlier, but its body was even more massive than the phantom, nearly three times its size. Its four hooves were like heavenly pillars, truly an unparalleled divine rhinoceros, standing tall between heaven and earth.

The giant rhinoceros wore armor befitting its size, assembled from countless pieces of purple crystal.

The purple crystals gleamed, emitting sharp, sword-like purple rays. The giant rhinoceros roared, raising its head, lifting a front hoof, and stomped down heavily.

The skeletal hand was directly beneath the giant rhinoceros. The rhinoceros stomped squarely on it, but only caused the skeletal hand to tremble slightly.

Crack!

Its five fingers closed together, and the skeletal hand instantly became incredibly vast, transforming into a bone prison that trapped the giant rhinoceros within its palm.

Sharp purple light cut against the surface of the skeletal hand, but only stirred up streaks of ghastly white light, to no avail.

Bellow!

The giant rhinoceros bellowed furiously, shaking heaven and earth, and violently slammed into one of the bone fingers in front of it.

Bang!

The bone finger joint cracked loudly; its solidity far exceeded imagination. Under such a terrifying impact, it still didn't break.

Immediately after, the skeletal hand rapidly shrunk while quickly retracting.

The three demons watched with their own eyes as the giant rhinoceros in the palm shrunk along with the skeletal hand. The mighty divine rhinoceros instantly transformed into a small, lamb-sized rhino, then, held by the skeletal hand, it disappeared into the earth.

The woman in palace attire on the other side was not spared either; she disappeared almost simultaneously with the giant rhinoceros.

From striking to capturing the two mighty beings, the two skeletal hands took but an instant.

The three demons' faces were filled with terror; they couldn't believe their eyes. The two mighty beings had simply vanished.

Before the skeletal hands, the two mighty beings' display was utterly pathetic, almost without any power to resist. Were the skeletal hands truly terrifying to this extent, or did the two mighty beings intend to take the risk and seize the opportunity to enter the vortex's interior?

Judging by their performance just now, it didn't seem like the latter.

Endless fear enveloped the three demons.

They stood dumbfounded in place, momentarily at a loss. They didn't try to escape, reasoning that if even the two mighty beings fared this way, there would be no chance of escape if the skeletal hands wanted to capture them.

After waiting for a moment, no skeletal hand reached out to grab them.

The dark clouds, dispersed by the old man's roar, gradually gathered again. Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, covering the damage caused by the skeletal hands. The vortex completely stopped erupting and returned to its usual state.

The surroundings calmed down. After the disturbance, it seemed to have returned to its former appearance, except for the two mighty beings whose whereabouts remained unknown.

The three demons stared intently at the vortex. They didn't see the two mighty beings surge out from within, unsure if they had already been trapped below.

The fate of the two mighty beings was hard to predict. The three demons exchanged blank stares; the hostility between them finally vanished. They had to do something.

They didn't believe the two mighty beings would simply die inside and knew they had to seek help from their clans as quickly as possible. However, this place was deep within the wilderness, separated from their tribes by countless mountains and rivers, making it uncertain when aid would arrive.

"Cousin..."

The female cultivator called out softly, feeling lost and helpless.

The man was the first to regain his composure. "We've been here so long, and the skeletal hands haven't attacked us," he said. "Things might not be so bad. Grandpa and the others might just be temporarily unable to escape. You stay here and keep watch, and I'll try to get help from the clan..."

As he spoke, the man looked at the female demon opposite him and asked, "You have a way to send messages, right?"

The female demon awoke as if from a dream. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

She looked around and said worriedly, "The distance is too great. Before, we were brought here by our masters. Now, on our own, I'm afraid it won't be easy..."

Communication secret arts also have limitations, especially in a place like this. Just the preparations before sending a message would be extremely complicated and might not even succeed.

"Regardless, we must try!"

The man said gravely, and immediately, together with the female demon, went out to find a suitable location.

The female cultivator who stayed behind, though afraid, could only guard the place with trepidation.

In the distance.

When the two mighty beings were captured by the skeletal hands, Qin Sang also sensed something. He immediately stopped flying and looked back intently.

By this time, he had flown very far, and even the Sky-Eyed Butterfly couldn't see the vortex anymore.

At this moment, Qin Sang, however, saw flames and purple light interweaving in the sky, and a giant rhinoceros prominently appeared within the purple light.

Even from here, Qin Sang could still feel the terrifying might of the giant rhinoceros, knowing it must be one of the mighty beings.

"Have the two mighty beings started fighting?"

As this thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind, he witnessed a horrifying scene.

A skeletal hand stretched out from below, seizing the giant rhinoceros. The rhinoceros struggled fiercely, but was taken away by the skeletal hand...

From Qin Sang's position, he could only vaguely see the outline of the skeletal hand. He stared blankly at the purple light on the horizon that still hadn't dispersed, feeling his scalp tingle and a chill run down his spine.

This skeletal hand was completely different from the two auras he had sensed before. Yet, he hadn't sensed a third mighty being arriving just now. Could it be...?

Was it formed by the vortex's internal formations and seals, triggered by those two mighty beings? Or was there an existence hidden deep within the vortex, stronger than a Body Integration cultivator?

"What on earth have I awakened?"

Qin Sang couldn't imagine.

He had been trapped deep within the vortex for three hundred years, living side by side with that entity for three hundred years.

The skeletal hand could easily crush him with just one finger...

Recalling these three hundred years, Qin Sang had several times considered going down to investigate, but was ultimately stopped by his rationality, as if he had walked several times before the gates of hell.

The surrounding cold wind seemed to grow even colder. Qin Sang turned and ran.

Based on his previous experience, he deduced that as long as he didn't actively provoke it, the skeletal hand wouldn't appear. Still, Qin Sang didn't dare to go back at this moment.

Not to mention that the two mighty beings wouldn't easily perish; if something truly happened to them, it would only attract stronger demon cultivators, perhaps even Heavenly Demons coming to investigate.

It was conceivable that this place would surely become a hotbed of trouble, and he had to get away as quickly as possible.

Splash! Splash!

The mountains were covered in white snow. Clear spring water flowed beneath the ice, passing through a mountain stream where the riverbed gradually narrowed.

Through the thick ice, the riverbed was clearly visible. Between two rocks, there was a crevice from which a water frog's head peered out.

The water frog lay motionless at the bottom of the water. Its spiritual aura caused the mountains and water to resonate with it, revealing it to be, surprisingly, a powerful demon beast.

Squawk!

A strange cry suddenly came from the sky, as a strangely shaped fierce bird swooped towards the mountain stream.

The fierce bird was hawk-shaped, with a large fleshy tumor on its forehead and sharp spikes growing on its wings.

With a flap of its wings, the ice and the stone walls on both sides of the mountain stream shattered into pieces, and the formerly narrow riverbed instantly became wide open.

Just as the fierce bird was about to plunge into the water, a croak echoed in the mountain stream, and a black thread shot out from the ice surface, flying towards the fierce bird's fleshy tumor.

The fierce bird had no choice but to abandon its attack and dodge the thread.

The thread was actually the water frog's tongue. With a rumble, the water frog's body surged dramatically in size, sending the rocks on its back and half of the hillside flying.

The water frog leaped onto the fierce bird's head, and the two demon beasts immediately began to fight fiercely.

After a fierce battle, the water frog emerged victorious. Its tongue pierced through the fierce bird's fleshy tumor, successfully slaying it. However, the water frog itself was also heavily injured, with half of its tongue severed.

The water frog gasped a few times and pounced on the fierce bird's corpse. This was its spoils of war, but it didn't have much time to enjoy it, as the great battle would surely attract other demon beasts. It could only search for some vital parts to take away.

The water frog spat out several water blades, dismembering the fierce bird's corpse. Its primary target was the fierce bird's demon core.

The demon core was easy to find, located in the fierce bird's abdomen. Looking at the dark pellet embedded in the flesh, a greedy glint flashed in the water frog's eyes. Just as it was about to swallow it whole, its entire body suddenly stiffened.

A figure appeared silently before the water frog; it was Qin Sang.

Qin Sang barely glanced at the fierce bird's corpse. He reached out and tapped the water frog's glabella. A moment later, he withdrew his finger, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Unknowingly, forty years have passed again..."

Qin Sang sighed softly; the scene from forty years ago was still fresh in his memory.

He had fled the vortex in one breath, never daring to look back again. He didn't know what had become of the two mighty beings, or the origin of the skeletal hands, or if the treasure deep within the vortex had been taken...

After he felt safe, he had originally intended to ask for directions to decide his next destination. Unexpectedly, things were far from as simple as he imagined. He had been out for forty years, yet he still hadn't left this snowfield.