Chapter 1697: Mysterious Skeleton

"Your power is unmatched throughout history, Your Excellency. It is an honor for my generation to witness your splendor."

Along the way, the leader of the Tongyuan Royal Clan surprisingly abandoned his previous hostile stance, transforming into Xu Yang's sycophant and flattering him incessantly. What exactly was this guy trying to achieve?

Initially, Xu Yang maintained a calm smile. He figured there was no harm in listening to the young man flatter him, as he had nothing to lose anyway.

However, Xu Yang later noticed something unusual. The Tongyuan Immortal Manor wasn't as vast as he had imagined, and given their travel speed, they should have already reached the forbidden area.

Yet, they had been flying for nearly half an hour without reaching the edge of the forbidden area. Xu Yang grew impatient and directly interrupted the man's endless flattery, his expression growing colder.

“Are you trying to stall me? It's been over half an hour, and we still haven't reached the forbidden area. Do you have some other agenda? Also, where are my three companions? You promised to release them, but I can't even sense their presence yet.”

Upon hearing Xu Yang's questioning, the leader of the Tongyuan Royal Clan, naturally, dared not show any disrespect. He quickly offered an awkward, ingratiating smile.

“To be honest, Your Excellency, your three teammates have already been teleported into the forbidden area. Until we arrive there, neither your aura nor theirs can be sensed.”

Xu Yang raised an eyebrow, a slight, knowing smile playing on his lips.

With a gentle wave of his palm, he embedded a dark golden light directly into the leader of the Tongyuan Clan.

Unbeknownst to the leader, this was a manifestation of the Angelic lineage's Light Law. Xu Yang had effectively implanted an incredibly potent Light Crystal, formed from the power of light, within the man's meridians.

With just a slight mental command from Xu Yang, the Light Crystal embedded within the man's body would instantly explode. Even if it couldn't kill the Tongyuan Clan leader outright, it would at least cripple a significant portion of his cultivation. Xu Yang was confident that with ten times his courage, the man still wouldn't dare to do anything to anger him.

Indeed, as soon as the dark golden Light Crystal was successfully implanted, the two quickly arrived at the seal of the forbidden area.

Xu Yang sneered, “It seems I have to put some pressure on you to get things done. Fortunately, you adjusted your plans in time, or I might have ended your life at any moment.”

Hearing Xu Yang's words, the Tongyuan Clan leader before him broke into a cold sweat. Standing beside Xu Yang, he barely dared to breathe. He then personally moved to remove the seal of the forbidden area, covering its surface with his powerful spiritual energy. Soon, all the corresponding formation mechanisms quickly fell dormant.

“Our clan has a rule: no one is permitted to enter the forbidden area without a direct order from the Grand Elder. I can only accompany Your Excellency this far; the rest is up to you.”

Xu Yang nodded in satisfaction. “You may return. The Light Crystal I implanted in you will dissolve on its own within twelve hours. Of course, if I discover any other tricks within this so-called forbidden area during that time, don't blame me for being ruthless.”

Upon hearing Xu Yang's words, the Tongyuan Clan leader instinctively shivered. It was clear he was indeed hiding some unknown information from Xu Yang, but he lacked the courage to reveal it at that moment. He could only slink away quickly.

With no one else in sight, Xu Yang, as a precaution, gripped the main divine artifact, the Cold Spring, in his hand. Powerful frost energy quickly formed an incredibly strong ice crystal shield around his body.

Fully prepared, Xu Yang then attempted to touch the sealed light before him and enter the corresponding spatial area. Scanning his surroundings, he saw that the place was filled with colossal ancient stone statues.

It looked more like the ruins of an ancient battlefield, yet despite the numerous statues obstructing the view, the entire forbidden area still exuded a profound sense of tranquility.

Stepping into this domain, Xu Yang felt a persistent sense of bewilderment and disorientation, as if the place wasn't as real as he imagined. “Could this so-called forbidden area itself be a massive illusion? That would be terribly dull, wouldn't it?”

Xu Yang shook his head helplessly and tried a light wave of his hand. A powerful ice-blue sword aura shot out, and frost energy swiftly covered the surface of the colossal stone statue before him, taking effect.

The originally earthen-black statue, under the powerful ice-blue freezing energy, quickly transformed into a gigantic blue ice crystal sculpture. Xu Yang then struck with a backhand palm, instantly shattering the massive ice sculpture into dust!

However, Xu Yang hadn't anticipated that his strike would unveil a crucial secret hidden behind the massive statue. It turned out the statue was actually an enormous ancient coffin. Inside the statue, an ancient physical body was sealed, completely enveloped by special energy.

Just by glancing at the skeleton deep within the energy seal, Xu Yang determined that the person sealed within the statue was at least a powerful figure of the 'Grand Elder living fossil' caliber, undoubtedly a brilliant individual nurtured by the Six Human Spirit Meridians.

There were more than a dozen similar colossal statues throughout the forbidden area. The exposed skeleton of the one Xu Yang had split open, upon contact with his ice-blue sword energy, seemed disturbed by the biting aura. It suddenly opened its blood-red eyes and let out a guttural roar.

Perhaps, at that moment, the skeleton was actually conveying its furious emotions through its spiritual energy.

Yet, Xu Yang showed no trace of fear. He merely stood before the massive sealed skeleton with a cold smirk.

“Stop with the theatrics. If you can still move, then prepare yourself for a duel with me. If not, then just remain a docile living dead.”

Faced with Xu Yang's arrogant and dismissive attitude, the creature, whose peaceful rest had just been disturbed, flew into a rage. The energy body sealing its skeleton was then rapidly absorbed by its limbs and bones in an extremely short time.

Once the sealing power had completely integrated into its skeletal structure, the ancient, peak human expert's skeleton was endowed with incredible mobility.

Although it lacked flesh and blood, a mere skeleton managed to achieve an astonishing speed of movement. In just a few blinks, the skeletal figure had darted directly in front of Xu Yang.