Chapter 573: Ghost Howl and Jade Buddha

This was an ancient graveyard, seemingly endless. Lord Dongyang called it the Immortal Graveyard. However, no one knew why such a vast graveyard existed within the Immortal Palace, who built it, or what was buried inside. Were they immortals, or mortals?

These immortal graves had endured countless years, weathered by time, becoming very low-lying. Many had cracked open, and some had even collapsed. Most of the stone tablets were destroyed; even the surviving ones were mere fragments, with no inscriptions left.

Qin Sang even saw a broken spear among the graves, mostly buried in the soil and covered in rust. Though its former glory was obscured by rust, the broken spear remained impossible to ignore. When intact, it must have been an incredibly powerful weapon, but now it lay powerless, forgotten, and buried in the earth. There were many such fragments, similar to the broken spear. All had been stripped of their power by the passage of time, reduced to scrap metal. If there were damaged items, there must certainly be good ones too. The Immortal Graveyard might also be a treasure trove.

The Vajra Ring hung high, its light forming a barrier that protected the five of them, including Qin Sang. Within the ghostly mist, sparse phantoms appeared. Upon discovering the intruders, they shrieked and lunged forward menacingly. The ghost mist swirled and churned with hidden currents.

With a sizzling sound, the ghostly mist, upon touching the Vajra Ring's white light, seemed to ignite and quickly dissipated. The phantoms hidden within the mist fared even worse; touched by the Vajra Ring's white light, they barely managed a brief shriek before vanishing completely from existence.

Perhaps because they were still in the outer reaches of the Immortal Graveyard, these phantoms were quite weak. Under the protection of the Vajra Ring, Qin Sang and his companions didn't perceive the ghostly mist as particularly dangerous. However, Lord Dongyang and Chen Yan's actions clearly became more cautious. The area was entirely filled with immortal graves, leaving hardly any solid ground. Even seemingly flat areas were collapsed tombs, giving a strange sensation when stepped upon.

They proceeded in a meandering path. The phantoms they encountered along the way grew progressively stronger, but the two Nascent Soul cultivators handled them with ease. Fearing they might alert a Ghost King comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator, they continued on foot at a slow pace. Despite walking for a full half-hour, they still hadn't left the Immortal Graveyard; the area ahead remained shrouded in a gray haze. By their reckoning, the Immortal Graveyard's expanse already surpassed that of the palace ahead. Qin Sang was secretly alarmed. How many people were truly buried here? What a terrifying massacre it must have been to consume so many lives?

Fortunately, despite the vastness of the Immortal Graveyard, the ghostly creatures within were not as dense as they had imagined. The world of specters seemed to have a strict hierarchy; the weaker ones only dared to roam the periphery, gathering together, which made them appear numerous. Deeper into the Immortal Graveyard, they sometimes traveled long distances without encountering a single ghostly creature.

Moving silently among countless graves, they walked for another fifteen minutes when Lord Dongyang and Chen Yan suddenly stopped. Qin Sang and the others looked around curiously but saw nothing. A moment later, Lord Dongyang said in a deep voice, "It's Immortal Dongyun! Immortal Dongyun must have encountered a powerful ghostly creature. From the sound of it, he's not having an easy time. I heard there's a Ghost King nearby, comparable in strength to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, and it's extremely troublesome. Immortal Dongyun might have run into it!"

Chen Yan glanced at Lord Dongyang. "You want to help him repel the Ghost King?"

"Of course not." Lord Dongyang sneered, "Though both domains have decided to unite, we remain rivals within the Ziwei Palace. That old fox, Immortal Dongyun, is very cunning; he won't die easily. This is our chance to use him to distract the Ghost King, pass through this area, and get ahead of them."

With that, Lord Dongyang raised a hand and pointed at the Vajra Ring, and its white light receded. The seven figures concealed their presence, hiding in the ghostly mist, becoming almost imperceptible. They skirted around the battlefield ahead, quickening their pace.

Just as they were circling the edge of the battlefield, Immortal Dongyun, who was fiercely battling the Ghost King, also sensed something. Immortal Dongyun wielded a bamboo flute-shaped artifact, manifesting countless phantom flutes that violently struck the Ghost King before him, almost disintegrating half of its body. Immortal Dongyun turned his head to glance behind him, his brows slowly furrowing. At that moment, the Ghost King, having been struck by the bamboo flutes, swayed momentarily but immediately recovered and lunged again, giving Immortal Dongyun no chance to escape. Immortal Dongyun roared in anger, "You suicidal creature!" He had no time to spare for others and could only focus on dealing with the Ghost King's relentless assault.

Meanwhile, Lord Dongyang and his companions continued onward without pause, completely ignoring the fierce battle raging nearby. As they approached the battlefield, the ghost wail grew clearer, becoming piercingly sharp and persistent, like a demonic melody that tried to burrow into their minds. They tried every method to dispel it, but their consciousness began to be affected.

The closer they got to the battlefield, the more pronounced the wail's effect became. Yu Wansen was the first to show signs of trouble; his face turned pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyes momentarily glazed over, seemingly entranced by the ghostly wail. Initially, Yu Wansen would immediately snap out of his trance the moment he became bewildered, shaking off the wail's influence. However, it became increasingly difficult to break free, and the duration of his confusion grew longer. Each time he was startled awake, the fear on his face deepened, and his back was soaked with sweat. He tried to use the ghost wail for mental tempering, only to find it was a delusion.

After only a few more steps, Yu Wansen could no longer endure it. He used the power of the Vajra Ring to block his five senses, minimizing the ghost wail's impact, and his condition immediately improved significantly. Next were Mu Yifeng and Ji Qing. Then, Qin Sang and Qiu Mubai also sealed off their five senses one after another.

In truth, Qin Sang was not affected by the ghostly wail. Years ago, when he entered the Heavenly Corpse Cave, he had encountered demonic sounds, which had a similar effect to the wail. The Jade Buddha had helped him block the demonic sounds' influence. This time, the Jade Buddha again effortlessly shielded him from the ghost wail, steadfastly protecting Qin Sang and giving him immense peace of mind. This was a ghost wail emitted by a Ghost King comparable to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, yet it couldn't shake the Jade Buddha in the slightest! Although they were still far away, Qin Sang's mind showed no sign of being affected. It was conceivable that even if the Ghost King appeared right before him, the outcome would be the same. All along the way, the Jade Buddha had repeatedly demonstrated its power and reliability, never disappointing Qin Sang.

To avoid alerting Lord Dongyang and Chen Yan to anything unusual, Qin Sang also pretended to be overwhelmed and sealed off his five senses. After an unknown period, his senses suddenly returned. Looking around again, there was no mist or graves; they had finally exited the Immortal Graveyard. Behind them lay the gray ghostly mist, but ahead was a vast open space. The soil in this open space, like that in the Immortal Graveyard, was dark brown, as if it had been irrigated with blood.

At the end of the open space stood a massive altar constructed from heaped earth. The altar was shaped like a pyramid from his past life, its peak reaching into a sea of clouds. Around the altar, crimson blood-fiend energy swirled, and ancient restrictions were visible within this energy. Lord Dongyang and Chen Yan led them by flight, but they bypassed the altar and continued onward. Perhaps they lacked the ability to break through the ancient restrictions on the altar.