Chapter 519: The Hand That Can Create All Things

Seeing the captain's eyes gleaming, Xu Qing was about to nod when a cold snort came from beside them.

"What good stuff? And when did I become an old man?"

Xu Qing took a breath, and the captain's expression also changed. They instinctively looked towards the source of the familiar voice.

The void there twisted, and Master's figure appeared.

"This is your second lesson. Sometimes, what you see isn't necessarily true. In the future, you must at least leave a certain range before discussing matters."

Seventh Grandmaster spoke indifferently.

Xu Qing lowered his head and remained silent. The captain wore a crestfallen expression; he hadn't expected Master to be hiding nearby, despite clearly having left.

"Alright, I remembered that Fourth Junior Brother's cultivation is about to break through, so I came back to give some instructions."

"Fourth Junior Brother, breaking through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul is not difficult for you. However, in the process of cultivating the Mandate Nascent Soul realm, you need to attract the Mandate Tribulation five times. Each time you experience it, you will become much stronger."

Xu Qing nodded, having some prior knowledge of this.

Before Gu Huang could take a closer look, the small mouth within the severed hand's palm suddenly opened wide and directly swallowed the closest person, the captain.

According to the plan, the Immortal Forbidden Zone was to be excavated for several months, gradually encroaching on its surroundings until it reached the Imperial Palace at its center.

The captain's breathing quickened, and his eyes gleamed.

These four crystals were brought by the Blood Demon Young Master. They were not originally so impressive, but became increasingly astonishing over these eight days.

This object was a severed hand, cut from the forearm.

"Master... according to the palace intrigue novels I've read, those who specifically live in the Eastern Palace are usually the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince, or a Princess... Didn't I fail to open the door last time?"

The human army here had opened an evacuation channel. It was not mandatory; everything was voluntary.

"Moreover, this is the Eastern District. I'm not well-read, so I'm not entirely sure, but I think the young lady living in the Eastern Palace shouldn't be simple!"

These seven-colored lights flowed from the fingers to the arm, gathering at the proliferating mass of flesh, making it radiate with brilliance, and then returned to the seven fingers.

Bao Xin was pensive.

At this moment, the peach trembled, its brilliance dimmed, and with one bite from the captain, it disintegrated into a puddle of white water, emitting a putrid smell and filling the captain's mouth.

In the entire small hall, there was only one object, placed in the very center.

The captain licked his lips, madness in his eyes.

Bao Xin's gaze also sharpened upon hearing this, but at that moment, the dry cough of the Vajra Sect Ancestor echoed in his mind.

"Female cultivators are especially clean and love to bathe. If this truly is a palace in a harem, do you think there might be a place like an immortal pond here? And perhaps some clothes or accessories like those in bustling areas...?"

All of this happened too quickly. Gu Huang's expression changed, a dagger appeared in his right hand, and he instantly thrust it towards the severed hand.

Gu Huang's expression was strange. He looked at the white water covering the ground, then at the hand, and finally his gaze fell upon the crestfallen captain.

"Although it's nothing compared to sleeping deities, since you've come, you should at least get yourselves some good things."

"More people are exploring now. Even if you get something, you won't be able to keep it. Moreover, most of the palaces here are decaying and disappearing; I fear you won't be able to wait. Besides, little Ah Qing, by my intuition, the treasures here are extraordinary!"

The captain's expression changed, and he immediately gagged, his face filled with disbelief and bewilderment.

Moments later, the seven fingers of this hand glowed again, and seven-colored light bands flew out, swiftly weaving together. Soon, a mirror appeared in mid-air.

Gu Huang nodded and spoke loudly.

However, once Gu Huang put on the mask, as long as he remained still, he could maintain a high-intensity stealth state. Thus, in the perception of these seven statues, which only had their instincts left, Gu Huang did not exist.

He didn't know the ultimate purpose of those four mountain-like crystals, but judging by the knowledge Xu Qing had broadened for him, these objects might also be prepared for the front-line war.

This point was significantly different from the statues encountered in the few palaces they had visited before, further indicating the unusual nature of this white square palace.

It was the captain's figure.

"So, in this Immortal Forbidden Zone, if you encounter good fortune, do not be hasty in attracting the Heavenly Tribulation. I will tell you the specifics later."

"Little Ah Qing, you've been tricked!" the captain gnashed his teeth.

A strong palpitation continuously surged within Gu Huang's mind.

Fortunately, the stealth ability granted by First Grandmaster proved remarkably effective, allowing the seven to narrowly avoid the danger with pounding hearts.

"That's right, junior brother, we should aim for this!" The captain's face lit up as he walked and spoke with Bao Xin.

After speaking, the seven swiftly departed.

"Its sturdiness has reached the Return to Void level!"

Gu Huang sensed something, his heart trembled, and he took out the mask Bao Xin had given him. As he sped along absorbing its power, he silently calculated the time. Within ten breaths, a sense of impending disaster descended upon him.

His physical body bizarrely disintegrated directly, transforming into thousands of tiny finger-sized strips of flesh that burrowed into the small ventilation holes.

As the captain's words spread, Gu Huang was gazing intently at the area being opened up by the human army in the distance.

"Captain, what's going on?"

Compared to the entire Immortal Forbidden Zone, this area was like a drop in the ocean, insignificant, occupying less than one percent even within the Eastern District.

Exotic matter was drawn in, integrated, and then dissipated.

Looking at the mirror now, Gu Huang raised his hand to grab it. The mirror instantly came to him, but the moment he touched it, it turned into white water, spilling onto the ground.

Over these eight days, the first batch of hundreds of thousands of human cultivators had already established a safe zone spanning a thousand miles.

The more the captain spoke, the happier he became. He went up and kicked the severed hand directly, but still not satisfied, he simply opened his mouth wide and took a fierce bite.

Inside the small hall, the captain's exclamation came from the mouths of these seven crystal worms. Then, the seven crystal worms quickly merged together, forming a small crystal figure.

At this moment of palpitation, Gu Huang suddenly turned his head and saw a rapidly approaching small crystal figure, noticing the captain's face beneath it.

Because of the sleeping deity here, this place had never been broken into or developed since ancient times. It contained countless rare treasures, numerous ancient texts, and possibly even some of humanity's past foundations.

Meanwhile, on this night, a strange light red color appeared in the sky above the Immortal Forbidden Zone.

"Actually, once the Red Moon awakens and the sleeping deity here is devoured, it will be much easier to enter. Does it have to be now?" Bao Xin looked at the captain.

"Liar! This time, I lost money!"

"Haha, this object as our shield, and Ning Yan as a meteor hammer, perfect!"

Eight days had passed since the Immortal Forbidden Zone opened.

It was the Dao Ancient Consecration Token.

Gu Huang swiftly rushed out, releasing a portion of the suppressed absorption power within him. Immediately, the surrounding exotic matter surged towards him, pouring into his body through all his pores.

All of this went unnoticed by Gu Huang, who was nearly seven hundred miles away from the human safe zone.

Of course, all of this was predicated on the absence of deities in this place.

However, they were not too far away after all. Although unseen by the naked eye, signal towers built within the safe zone occasionally transmitted announcements within a certain range to their command swords.

The remaining parts, as their front ends wriggled, transformed into the captain's face, appearing like human-faced worms, constantly biting and trying to break through the restriction.

It was a Blood-Eyed Forbidden Artifact.

With full stealth activated, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a white square palace appeared in their sight.

Thus, time passed. In the subsequent exploration of the seven, the seventh day arrived.

Bao Xin also tried several times, with the same result.

Just like that, time quickly passed.

This sensation of extreme comfort was captivating, as if their souls were about to float. The continuous physical pleasure instinctively made them unwilling to resist.

At the same time, the statues in this white square palace all raised their heads. On their flesh-covered faces, their features were twisting, and red light ignited in their eyes.

As for the hand's four fingers, they were currently extended, and within the palm, a ferocious small mouth could be seen, faintly revealing countless intercrossing sharp thorns.

These small holes were very strange; they were not covered by flesh and were clearly avoided.

Immediately after, several light bands emanated from those fingers, floating in mid-air and rapidly intertwining, outlining a heart shape.

Then the small crystal figure separated again, transforming into seven worms that rushed towards the small holes above, frantically burrowing outwards. But at this moment, eighty breaths of time had already passed.

"So hard!!"

When the seven approached, these statues actually came to life.

Currently, the captain and Gu Huang were resting on top of a relatively small, tall palace, a hundred miles outside this safe zone.

To be precise, it wasn't absorption, but filtration.

However, through multiple experiments, the seven eventually figured out another use for this hand: if they parasitized within it and didn't try to create items, it could serve as a shelter.

A full hundred zhang in size.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, everything here returned to normal. The seven statues returned, standing still in the distance once more.

"However, beyond the Nascent Soul realm, the increase in combat power is merely incidental. The main point is to accumulate enough Mandate through heavenly tribulations, which will be crucial for the future Spirit Treasury."

After multiple failed attempts, the seven were now resting on a relatively safe rooftop ten miles from this palace.

Seventh Grandmaster gave some instructions, glared at the captain, and then turned and vanished.

Bao Xin pondered. Seeing the captain's extreme persistence, he nodded.

"I hope the captain succeeds."

"He shouldn't be here anymore, right?"

After this incident, the captain sighed repeatedly. The feeling of seeing desirable loot but being unable to obtain it made his eyes grow increasingly red.

In fact, the captain and I had tried before and found that if we moved while wearing the mask, it was fine at long distances, but at close range, these seven statues could still clearly sense us.

"So we must work harder and strive to be able to protect Xu Qing in the future!" Gu Huang said solemnly.

Meanwhile, at the agreed meeting spot for Gu Huang and the captain, Bao Xin was crouching there, covered in dirt, spitting blood, and still shaken.

Seeing that the captain was unharmed, Gu Huang also breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to these, the most astonishing sight was four white crystals floating in the sky, each ten thousand zhang in size, like mountains.

With that bite, he screamed. Bao Xin's eyes narrowed; he saw the captain's teeth breaking off and gasped.

The captain's figure was instantly swallowed.

This was understandable, as every palace of Xuan You Master was, in fact, a small world.

"How could this be? Damn it, this thing is a scam! It asked me what I wanted to create, saying it could use life force to make all things. I told it I wanted a peach that could nourish the spirit after eating it."

Bao Xin glanced at the captain and wholeheartedly agreed.

"I see you're still relatively intact, just like what we encountered before. They've also begun to decay and dissipate. Although covered in flesh, the palace seems to have some phoenix-bird shape. Could it be a palace where one of Master Xuan You's concubines once resided?"

Under the descent of the oppressive aura, the restrictions on this white palace seemed to have been somewhat reduced.

"Little Ah Qing, this place is too vast, and you have too little information. But I think there must be a treasure in this palace; otherwise, there wouldn't be seven statues parasitized by flesh guarding it all around."

It was slowly spreading.

The seven fingers of the severed hand, also pushed and bent with full force by Gu Huang and the captain, and even lifted and smashed onto the ground, finally bent into a loosely cupped, lifted shape.

For example, the "good thing" the captain mentioned earlier was actually a massive statue, severely encroached upon by the exotic matter here, with only its head remaining.

Afterward, they journeyed on, advancing and retreating several times, until finally, they saw an ordinary palace, but were unable to enter it.

Just like that, the seven quickly left the rooftop and galloped towards a certain direction.

Even with the exotic matter encroachment, there were still usable items.

"Little Xu Qing is too good to us, little Ah Qing. This lesson, I feel I've gained even more enlightenment."

"A supreme treasure! Little Ah Qing, quick, come eat!"

The captain was still gritting his teeth, various thoughts swirling in his mind.

The captain took another bite, completely certain.

"The material of this thing doesn't seem like flesh; it's more like an ordinarily crafted artifact. It's very suitable as a shield."

"And some ornaments, especially in places where female cultivators reside. There must be many of these small trinkets. I see ghost spirits are here too; these are all treasures!"

It looked like a massive formation.

Gu Huang hesitated, unmoving.

After he was swallowed earlier, he appeared in a crimson space. Intense voices echoed in his ears, telling him that he could use life force to create all things.

They could see a small team occasionally entering and exiting. These were teams like Gu Huang and the captain, who had taken on exploration missions and gone out.

As the Heavenly Dog's throat continuously wriggled, a large amount of saliva dripped, and a hundred-zhang severed hand was directly spat out, falling onto the ground.

This time, the captain didn't try to open the door. Instead, he approached and headed straight for the top of the small hall. Once there, he didn't hesitate at all, his eyes filled with madness, and his body swayed violently.

Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly opened his mouth wide and unleashed the Heavenly Dog Immortal Art.

Extremely dangerous, a near-death experience.

"Junior brother, look here. I hadn't paid much attention before, but I just discovered there's actually a place like this here."

As Gu Huang muttered to himself, the captain was sprinting frantically. Taking advantage of the statues being drawn away, he moved at an astonishing speed, heading straight for the white small hall.

"This time it's different, I have a way! At worst, I'll give it a try!"

Those whose minds didn't waver easily immersed themselves in it instantly, ignoring everything.

Looking at the flesh-covered statues standing at the four corners of the palace and feeling the terrifying fluctuations emanating from them, Gu Huang and the captain's breathing became much shallower. After exchanging glances, the few of them split up.

Gu Huang's mind recalled the ordinary palace that the captain was interested in. At each of its four corners, there was a statue parasitized by flesh. They were all alive, and only a small portion had dissipated; most of their bodies were still intact.

Gu Huang remembered that the rooftop still had countless finger-sized ventilation holes.

"What's inside?"

"And according to my experience as your master, each time the Heavenly Tribulation unfolds, if multiple Nascent Souls simultaneously..."

"...although the power of the Heavenly Tribulation will be immensely great, once successful, the Mandate obtained will be extremely vast."

"Of course! The few palaces we've seen these past few days, those without guardians are trash. One statue guarding is fine, but this is the only one guarded by seven statues!"

"I don't know what it is, but I feel it's a great treasure." The captain panted, triumphantly taking out the human-skin mask. After putting it on his face, he transformed into the Greedy Heavenly Dog and spat outwards.

It floated in mid-air, like four white holes, absorbing exotic matter.

As the captain spoke, he immediately approached the severed hand. He was swallowed multiple times, trying repeatedly, creating a wide variety of items, even mundane ones, but none could actually be used; they all turned into white water.

Furthermore, a Heavenly Dao warning strongly resonated in his sea of consciousness.

The surroundings were empty.

Although the surrounding edges were enveloped by exotic matter, constantly encroaching, the barrier couldn't last too long, though it held for a short while.

A dim yellow light emanated from it, causing the eighty-plus human-faced worms to change their physical structure, gaining a crystal luster. As they shone brightly, although a small portion still collapsed, ultimately seven managed to burrow inside.

"You're still thinking about this small hall?"

Besides this, the palaces within a thousand miles had their contents moved out and their forms transformed, becoming part of a formation.

Through the light shield, numerous strange octagonal buildings, entirely constructed from spirit stones, could be seen within. They resembled low towers, emitting astonishing fluctuations while possessing invisible connections to one another.

"Xu Qing's kindness, we can never repay it in this life."

Gu Huang turned to look. It was a cluster of palaces encircled by flesh-and-blood city walls.

Bao Xin asked a question. In reality, they had already used this method before. Gu Huang took an extremely great risk, but the captain wasn't strong enough and couldn't open the door.

However, his always effective dagger had no effect this time. Not only could it not cut through the hand, but the recoil force emanating from it made Gu Huang's body tremble, forcing him to retreat.

"Let's go, let's go! Let's go to that place you mentioned earlier. There must be good stuff there!"

The captain's eyes also widened as he looked at the severed hand. There was only a single tooth mark on it, and the skin wasn't broken.

Over the course of eight days, they had searched many places outside, acquiring some gains. They also saw many palaces that were in the process of dissipating, seemingly because the enclosed environment here had been broken.

Before Gu Huang could ask, the captain's body swayed and rapidly grew, quickly returning to a normal human form. However, his face was pale, and he looked incredibly exhausted. He immediately lay down on the ground, panting, yet his eyes held excitement.

The seven statues, having failed to find Gu Huang, soon returned.

The captain squatted beside him, nodded upon hearing this, then pointed forward and spoke in a low voice.

As a result, being enveloped by it gave Gu Huang and the captain a full sense of security.

Especially on the present Wanggu Continent, research into exotic matter isn't very deep, though some methods for dispelling it exist, such as various removal techniques for exotic matter within forbidden artifacts; this was not such a method.

Those ventilation holes were clearly not that simple; they contained terrifying restrictive power that instantly erupted, causing a significant amount of the flesh strips to directly collapse.

"That old man, he's elusive!" The captain gave a bitter laugh, then spoke loudly.

The more the captain burrowed, the harder it became. Finally, he got stuck within the restriction inside the small hole, unable to move up or down. As the restriction erupted and destructive power enveloped him, he immediately grew anxious.

"After this thing swallowed me, a voice inside asked me what I wanted to create, saying it could use life force to make all things. After I told it, it just created this piece of junk."

"It must be because too much time has passed, and it's been slightly corroded, so it's broken. But if that's really the case, this thing is indeed a supreme treasure! No, I have to try again."

"Little Ah Qing, my plan is simple. We'll go again later, just like last time. You'll absorb the surrounding exotic matter here to attract the statues' attention. Once the seven statues leave, I'll go in and get the item!"

Gu Huang was pensive. These were things he had not known before.

However, the restrictions here were too strong. Soon, forty percent of the captain's flesh strips collapsed again. When fewer than eighty strips remained, each worm's mouth spat out a partial token radiating an ancient aura.

This was a bad encounter.

"Come on, junior brother, let's take this hand and go explore other places."

At the severed position, a massive tumor-like growth had accumulated as if from proliferating flesh, surrounded by countless swaying tentacles.

Gu Huang also felt that using this object as a shield, combined with their stealth abilities, was very suitable for this place.

After descending through the small holes of the small hall, they saw everything within.

"Senior brother, we need to hurry. I have a feeling... it's about to awaken, likely around the time the eighth batch of arrivals comes, in eight days." Gu Huang spoke solemnly while squatting inside the severed hand.

As he pondered, the captain blinked, pulled Gu Huang, and swiftly left. They didn't breathe a sigh of relief until they had gone quite far.

"Almost..." Gu Huang looked around.

Gu Huang frowned, and the captain sighed.

"To make my teeth break, this thing is not simple. Did I use it wrong? Little Ah Qing, you go try."

Bao Xin's gaze retracted from the distant sky and he turned to look at the captain.

This seventh batch of arrivals was primarily composed of the Imperial Capital's army, with more white-robed figures among them. Upon their arrival, they rapidly dispersed, venturing deep into the unknown areas of the Immortal Forbidden Zone.

As he absorbed now, the golden threads within his body trembled, emitting a strong desire and continuously stretching. Gu Huang even felt as if his body had grown slightly larger.

The next instant, a roar echoed, and seven terrifying fluctuations spread through the area, as if searching instinctively.

When the life-and-death crisis erupted intensely at this moment, Gu Huang didn't hesitate. He immediately put on the mask Xu Qing had given him, burrowed into the flesh-covered ground, and remained perfectly still.

After the captain got up, he looked at the peach floating in mid-air, his expression extremely agitated. After letting out an exclamation, he lunged forward and took a bite out of the peach.

As for the palace they guarded, its shape was also the same: not an unusual palace, but rather square.

The captain thought for a moment, then nodded.

His eyes were not idle. He immediately unleashed the poison path within him, preparing to attack the hand. But at that moment, the five fingers of the hand suddenly glowed with different colored lights, swirling among themselves, while a crackling sound echoed from within.

Gu Huang was pensive. He walked down for a look, then raised his hand and pressed it onto the small mouth in the palm of the severed hand. The next instant, the small mouth opened, and an immense suction force emerged. Gu Huang didn't dodge, allowing the suction to engulf him, and he was swallowed.

Although Gu Huang had hidden, he was still somewhat affected.

"Is it absorbing the divine essence floating in the exotic matter?"

The fluctuations emanating from within were astonishing.

"Fortunately, I have the Consecration Token, otherwise this time I would have been finished. But... it was worth it."

The seven crystal worms finally all burrowed out, gathered into a small figure, and then swiftly fled backward.

Both its appearance and aura were incredibly real.

It wasn't over. The seven light bands seemed to be weaving, and to Gu Huang's astonishment, a seven-colored peach unexpectedly appeared before him in a short while.

Gu Huang's eyes narrowed.

Thus, soon, within the mists of this Immortal Forbidden Zone, a hundred-zhang severed hand could be seen rapidly moving across the ground.

His face tightened, and all his traces were concealed.

"I have that feeling too."

The exotic matter in this area had been expelled, isolated by a barrier formed by a formation. Looking out, amidst the dim world, the only brilliant light shone brightly in the distance.

Therefore, the Imperial Capital naturally placed extreme importance on this Immortal Forbidden Zone, and it could not be fully explored and developed in a short amount of time.

As this process cycled repeatedly, faint golden threads began to form within the white crystals.

"What in the world is this thing!"

Gu Huang also used great willpower to maintain his calm.

"Don't look at that! What does it have to do with us? Little Ah Qing, I have an idea!" The captain suddenly sat up, pulled Gu Huang, and spoke loudly.

Immediately after, the light from the fingers dissipated, and the small mouth in the palm opened and spat outwards, expelling the captain's body.

"No problem!" The captain, excited, pulled Bao Xin, eager to go. Gu Huang took a deep breath and simply stopped resting. He was also very curious about the object inside this ordinary palace.

The captain licked his lips.

After several hours passed, they looked at each other.

But at that moment, fluctuations of absorbing exotic matter suddenly came from nearby again. The seven statues jolted violently, swiftly turning back. As a roar echoed, the captain seized the opportunity and rushed forward.

"Eighty breaths at most."

Now, as the command sword vibrated, Gu Huang and the captain learned of the arrival of the seventh batch of newcomers, and also knew that an eighth batch would arrive in eight days.