Chapter 326: One Body with Three Souls and Seven Spirits

Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression, like the Eight Sects Alliance, is situated in the southern part of Yinghuang Province, on the other side of Mount Tai-Si Du'e.

The immense Du'e Mountain Range, vast in scope, is filled with miasma and countless malevolent forces. It also harbors endless bizarre phenomena.

To some extent, it is indistinguishable from a forbidden zone.

This mountain range divides the southern part of Yinghuang Province into two sections.

Relatively speaking, one side is a somewhat joyful land, where laughter can occasionally be heard. The other side, however, is hell, where even crying is a luxury, and numbness is the sole prevailing theme.

This is Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression.

It is also the largest cursed land in Yinghuang Province, apart from the restricted areas.

Within an area comparable to half of Southern Phoenix Continent, there are 137 nations, inhabited by both humans and other races.

Day or night, these 137 nations are eerily quiet. It's not that they are uninhabited; rather, survival itself is a torment. The beings there are merely livestock, raised as provisions.

And provisions have no right to speak.

Consequently, the people living in these 137 nations have lost the ability to speak; the only sounds they can make are horrifying screams.

Thus, the land here is silent, and so is the sky, which remains dim. The sun and moon struggle to penetrate, enveloped by thick dark clouds.

The only source of light in this cursed land comes from eerie flames, fueled by the oil of myriad races' flesh and blood, burning atop small hills of piled bones.

The bones on these hills are completely devoid of flesh; some appear to have been there for a very long time, while others were thrown recently.

Such hills of bones are ubiquitous as far as the eye can see.

Every five hundred li, there is one, densely packed, as if transforming the entire area into a bone forest.

One can imagine that over countless years, an innumerable multitude of mortals from various races have perished here.

This immense scale of death has caused the land to be permeated with death qi, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

The ground's color, saturated by repeated blood soakings, has turned dark purple. Grains of sand have long since coalesced into felt-like patches, a shocking sight.

A foul, fishy stench pervades the air. An ordinary person would undoubtedly vomit uncontrollably upon inhaling it, until even their bile is expelled.

There are also trees here, but they are crimson, absorbing blood from the soil as nourishment. Each tree is incredibly bizarre, with occasional naked mummified corpses hanging from their branches.

In the wind, these mummified corpses sway, resembling dried meat, slowly weathering away.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that these mummified corpses have been coated with substances that emit volatile scents.

This attracts predatory birds from the sky and the strange entities lurking nearby, which will then be used as supplementary ingredients to be cooked alongside the mummified corpses.

Besides the trees, there are also blood lakes here.

Within this cursed land, silent bubbles rise in the lakes. Occasionally, a passing disciple of Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression will pause and drink from one, their expression mostly one of satisfaction.

Xu Qing's magic vessel flew silently across the sky. Everything below filled him with silent contemplation.

The Captain was also quiet, and even Yan Yan, who possessed a strong malevolent aura, was somewhat dazed after witnessing all this.

Xu Qing and the Captain had once encountered a faction calling themselves "Little Sanling" within Mount Tai-Si Du'e, but compared to this place, they couldn't even be called "little."

There was no comparison.

"It appears there are 137 nations, but now there are less than a hundred. This is why Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression has recently been frequently venturing out to abduct people from smaller nations and bring them here," the Captain said softly, gazing at the land. "The number 137 seems to hold special significance for the Sanling. So, whenever their consumption falls short, they need to replenish."

"But if their cultivation has reached the level of the Sanling, why do they still devour the flesh and blood of myriad races? It shouldn't hold any meaning for them," Yan Yan asked, clearly puzzled.

"The Sanling are manifestations of the three souls of the Ghost Emperor of Nanyue."

Xu Qing recounted what his master had told him to the Captain and Yan Yan. At the same time, he felt that the Ghost Emperor Mountain, which had been moved into his sea of consciousness, was now subtly different.

It seemed the relocated Ghost Emperor Mountain was more vivid within this region.

This struck Xu Qing as peculiar and led him to form more conjectures.

The Captain listened thoughtfully and nodded.

"Then it's not surprising. Three souls and seven spirits embody some rule unknown to us."

After sensing the Ghost Emperor Mountain in his sea of consciousness, Xu Qing looked down at a blood lake below, observing a disciple of Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression drawing water, and spoke in a low voice.

"According to master, after that Ghost Emperor perished here, Yinghuang Province changed fundamentally. So, could it be understood that every person born on this land contains a trace of the Ghost Emperor's bloodline?"

"If that's the case, then it also explains why the Sanling frequently consume them... In essence, this is how they strengthen themselves."

"Exactly!" The Captain's eyes lit up.

"Most likely, that's it. However, these matters are too distant for us; we don't need to seek the full truth."

As they spoke, their magic vessel flew silently over the blood lake. Despite such a large vessel passing overhead, the disciple drawing water showed no awareness.

This was because, upon entering the vicinity of Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression, the Captain had taken out his concealing artifact, enveloping Xu Qing's magic vessel in its shroud.

Xu Qing glanced down at the disciple drawing water behind them, thought for a moment, and then abandoned the idea of capturing him for study.

Their primary objective for this visit was to remain hidden, so it was best not to cause any disturbances or alert their presence.

Time passed slowly, and half a month quickly went by.

During this half-month, Xu Qing and his companions drew closer to the center of Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression. Along the way, they witnessed more human suffering and observed small nations that had been completely consumed.

These small nations were empty, becoming ghost towns, grim and gray within, with only strange entities wandering about.

Amidst the extreme desolation, Xu Qing also noticed that the Ghost Emperor Mountain in his sea of consciousness was not only more vivid but also faintly emitted some light, which made him even more cautious.

After another three days, Xu Qing and the Captain discussed and decided not to rely on the magic vessel anymore.

The magic vessel was too large; even with the Captain's concealing artifact being somewhat effective, continuing to use it would be unstable.

As for Yan Yan, she was very well-behaved throughout the journey, and everything she saw on the ground kept her mostly silent.

Although she possessed a strong malevolent aura, she was not purely evil. Many times, Xu Qing saw compassion and anger in her eyes.

Therefore, as they neared the edge of Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression's central region, Xu Qing put away the magic vessel. The moment they landed, the Captain swiftly pulled out dozens of artifacts from his pocket.

"I've been preparing for a long time to get my precious robe back. These are all concealment artifacts I've collected. If one isn't enough, then five; if five aren't enough, then ten!" the Captain said, quickly distributing them to Xu Qing and Yan Yan.

After each of them activated their artifacts, covered by a dozen or so concealment artifacts per person, their auras and figures were hidden to a greater extent. They then swiftly pressed forward towards Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression.

They proceeded without any stops. Another half-month passed, and in the dim, distant landscape, three immensely towering black mountains, piercing into the clouds, appeared before Xu Qing and his companions.

Those three peaks were boundless and majestic, seeming capable of shaking the heavens. A single glance would cause a stir in one's heart; partly due to their awe-inspiring presence, and partly because powerful cultivators resided on these three great black mountains.

Thus, it was as if the mountains themselves possessed spirits, inspiring a sense of reverence.

The moment Xu Qing and his companions saw these three mountains, they all stopped, their expressions changing.

Those three great black mountains were indeed Sanling Mountain of Dao Suppression!

Above the clouds at the mountain peaks, enormous illusory figures materialized, creating a celestial phenomenon: like three massive funnels, they drew in the dark mist from the sky.

Amidst this absorption, three immensely grand thrones could vaguely be discerned within the mist.

On the third mountain, the throne, crafted from crystal, was incredibly luxurious, dazzling, and exquisite. Upon it sat a stunningly beautiful woman.

This woman was tall but perfectly proportioned, exuding allure. The charm she radiated with a mere glance of her beautiful eyes could stir primal urges in males.

Staring too long, one would inevitably become infatuated, unable to extricate oneself.

This woman was precisely the Phantom Spirit Venerable, the human soul of Ghost Emperor Mountain, whom Xu Qing and the Captain had encountered that day.

She sat there, holding a mirror, admiring her own beauty. Occasionally, she would wave her hand, and mortals from various races would be pulled from all directions to surround her.

Amidst their mournful cries, these mortals were like delectable snacks, gripped by her two fingers, placed into her mouth, and slowly chewed. As she devoured them, her skin seemed to improve.

Beside her, the second mountain was even more terrifying. The throne there was made from the bones of a gigantic black beast, resembling a colossal skull. Countless lingering souls permeated the surroundings, encircling it with low growls, while a tall cultivator also sat upon this throne.

Although this cultivator's body was enormous, he was emaciated like a stick, appearing as a massive skeleton. He was bald, and while his entire body was bony, his back swelled upwards like a small mountain.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the bulging "small mountain" was, in fact, a massive tumor, crisscrossed with blue and red blood vessels, a truly shocking sight. It was as if this tumor had absorbed all the flesh and blood from his entire body.

Within it, a rhythmic pulsation produced booming sounds like war drums, echoing through heaven and earth, shaking one's very soul.

Moreover, the tumor seemed to exert immense pressure on him, causing this skeletal cultivator to gasp for breath. Every few moments, he would open his enormous mouth, and a vortex would appear in the void, drawing in hundreds of beings, which he would swallow in one gulp and chew forcefully.

Because he ate too many at once, his mouth was full of fresh blood. Yet, he was permeated with ferocity; the more blood there was, the harder he chewed.

This skeletal cultivator on the second mountain was none other than the second of the Sanling, the Venerable Jueyang, who was the Earth Soul!

The anomalies of just these two mountains caused Xu Qing and his companions' minds to tremble intensely, let alone... the First Mountain beside them!

The First Mountain was a mass of black mist. Only the throne could be vaguely seen, but the figure within remained obscured. Yet, an earth-shattering horror erupted from it. The first and second mountains simply couldn't compare to it!

It seemed this mountain was the true embodiment of peerless malevolence!

Because the spirit within this mountain was the strongest soul of Ghost Emperor Mountain – the Heavenly Soul!

The Venerable Taiguang!