Chapter 240: Human-shaped ghost

Qin Sang was already on high alert, and the moment Yu Daiyue shouted a warning, the Ebony Sword and Heavenly Poison Veil immediately drew out the entity lurking in the shadows.

A sword light suddenly pierced through the area, followed by a strange scream. Where the light passed, an incredibly ethereal humanoid shadow appeared. It was impaled by the Ebony Sword, swayed violently, and then disintegrated into a ball of flame.

As expected, fire spirit beasts were lurking!

However, unlike firebirds or flying monkeys, these creatures couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Instead, they were incredibly elusive, like ghosts. Had it not been for the poisonous mist making contact, Qin Sang and Yu Daiyue wouldn't have detected them at all earlier.

The next moment, the mist in front of them surged, and countless humanoid ghosts slowly emerged, blocking their path. They stared at Qin Sang and Yu Daiyue with hateful gazes. Their more human-like features made them appear even more terrifying than the flying monkeys.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!..."

In the blink of an eye, countless humanoid ghosts lunged at them. Yu Daiyue waved his arm, throwing out a black profound umbrella. The umbrella glowed brightly, instantly expanding into a massive black shield, blocking their path.

What was shocking was that the humanoid ghosts could completely ignore the shield's existence, easily passing through the profound umbrella's barrier!

"Oh no!"

Yu Daiyue exclaimed in shock, "They can ignore defensive artifacts!"

"Charge through!"

Seeing that Yu Daiyue's profound umbrella was useless, Qin Sang also abandoned the idea of summoning defensive artifacts. With the Ebony Sword clearing the path, he darted forward. Based on his past experience, the best approach in this situation was to forge ahead, never allowing himself to be surrounded.

Although the humanoid ghosts possessed strange abilities, they were more fragile than firebirds, allowing them to use offense as their defense.

However, after rushing forward for a while, they still found themselves caught in an endless siege.

Yu Daiyue seemed to have exhausted all his methods, roaring repeatedly and finding himself helpless. The two of them moved slower and slower.

Seeing this, Qin Sang had no choice but to take out the Jade Ruyi Talisman-Treasure and said solemnly, "Senior Brother Yu, please guard me..."

His vision instantly plunged into darkness. Qin Sang felt his body lighten, then suddenly sink, his feet landing on solid ground. When he opened his eyes again, the pervasive mist had vanished, and before him was an incredibly bright space.

This must be the Ancient Immortal's Vestige, right?

Having finally passed the trial, Qin Sang secretly sighed in relief.

He stood beneath a massive shadow, subconsciously surveying his surroundings with a vigilant gaze. Then he tilted his head back, staring at the exceptionally tall stone tablet for a long time.

Like the ancient tablet at the entrance, it was entirely dark black with mottled marks left by time. However, there were no inscriptions or patterns, making it impossible to glean any clues from the tablet to deduce the origin of this Ancient Immortal's Vestige.

Qin Sang detected traces of several auras, indicating that quite a few people had entered the Ancient Immortal's Vestige before them. Some even seemed to have meditated beneath the stone tablet for a while, but now, not a single person was visible.

No traces of dangerous presences had yet been found; the Vestige appeared very calm. It wasn't occupied by powerful demonic beasts, and even more fortunately, there were no overwhelming numbers of fire spirit beasts.

Only then did Qin Sang's mind relax slightly, and he gazed out.

The sky was clear and cloudless, with almost no mist obstructing his view. As far as his eyes could see, he still couldn't see the boundaries of the ancient cultivator's vestige, which was much larger than they had imagined.

Mountains stretched endlessly, with varying heights. He vaguely saw outlines of buildings and halls on some mountain peaks. Qin Sang also noticed a streak of light flying out from a stone hall, then disappearing into the depths of the mountains.

This was someone who had arrived before them; he wondered how many treasures that person had acquired.

This space did not seem to be merely an ancient cultivator's vestige; it resembled more the location of an ancient sect's mountain gate, or a common dwelling place for many ancient cultivators.

The stone tablet seemed to be the center of the entire space, with boundless vistas in all directions. However, in the far west, four majestic peaks, resembling heavenly pillars, pierced the clouds. They were the most conspicuous and special places in the Vestige, serving as unmistakable landmarks.

That place was very likely the core forbidden area of the Ancient Immortal's Vestige!

The four extremely similar peaks suggested that the true ancient cultivator's immortal abode might only be on one of them, with the others serving as a deception. Such a layout, similar to a false tomb, was not uncommon.

Of course, it was also possible that all four mountains contained something, but the distance was too great to discern anything from the outside.

Such a place was not somewhere Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could recklessly trespass. Qin Sang merely speculated in his mind, then withdrew his gaze, not intending to venture into danger himself.

Qin Sang was more concerned with what he could do. He noticed that the temperature inside the Vestige was much higher than he had imagined, extremely hot, making it difficult for mortals to live in such an environment.

He sniffed and immediately smelled a strange, pungent odor. He couldn't help but frown, realizing that the plants in the Vestige were also incredibly peculiar.

As far as the eye could see, there were only ordinary trees and grasses. Trees of varying heights formed dense, primitive forests, some tall enough to reach the mountains, others short like shrubs. Coupled with endless stretches of wild grass, everything was equally withered, without a trace of green, a desolate yellow filling the landscape.

A gentle breeze blew, and the withered grass rustled, emphasizing the desolate and bleak atmosphere.

Although twisted in form and with cracked bark, appearing utterly lifeless, these plants stubbornly persisted, adorning the Vestige with a layer of dry, yellow carpet.

Was this landscape caused by the magma flowing underground? Qin Sang mused.

During the trial, he had personally witnessed the power of the magma river. It was highly likely that endless magma flowed beneath the Vestige, rushing into that river, then divided into two spaces by a restriction via the stone tablet.

This magma river would continuously flow outside the Ancient Immortal's Vestige, connecting with reality, though its exact location in reality was unknown.

After all, so-called secret realms and vestiges were actually just spaces in reality that powerful cultivators had sealed off using formations or restrictions to serve as hidden locations, rather than creating new small worlds out of nothing.

That kind of immense power to open up a minor world only existed in legends.

Their discovery of the Vestige's entrance here only indicated that the Vestige's owner had placed the entrance here. The Vestige's true location might be at this very spot, or somewhere else entirely.

As Qin Sang pondered, Yu Daiyue also looked around with a thoughtful expression, seemingly contemplating which direction to go. Besides the west, the other three directions seemed much the same.

After a moment of thought, Yu Daiyue turned to Qin Sang and said, "Junior Brother Qin, which direction do you plan to go? How about we continue to search for treasures together?"

Qin Sang and Yu Daiyue were standing a little far apart. He gently shook his head and said, "Senior Brother Yu, my spiritual power is largely depleted. This place is still relatively safe, so I want to first recover my spiritual energy before moving. I won't delay you."

To break through the humanoid ghosts' obstruction, Qin Sang had used the Jade Ruyi Talisman-Treasure once.

The seemingly calm Vestige likely harbored hidden dangers, and he did not want to recklessly blunder about in his current state.