Chapter 939: The Ghost Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage

Three months later, a white light appeared on the horizon. Soon after, it was seen above an island spanning over a hundred li.

As the light shimmered and faded, it revealed a colossal white flood dragon. Wang Changsheng and three others were seated on its back.

The island's terrain sloped from west to east. In the west, a dozen mountains of varying sizes encircled a vast plain. At the island's center was a small island within a lake, roughly a dozen mu in area.

The white flood dragon slowly descended onto the plain. Not far away stood a mountain over a thousand zhang tall, covered in dense trees, presenting a lush and verdant scene.

As there were no spirit veins on the island, neither cultivators nor mortals resided there.

A narrow valley lay not far away. According to Cheng Zhenyu, the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling was located within this valley, though it was protected by powerful restrictions.

Ye Haitang quickly walked towards the valley, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"How is it, Haitang? Do you have confidence in breaking the formation?" Wang Changsheng asked, remembering that Cheng Zhenyu had almost been injured by the formation, which underscored its immense power.

"I'm confident," she replied, "but this is an improved formation. We'll only know the specifics once we enter and try to break it. It would be ideal if we could find the formation's core."

Wang Ruyan smiled knowingly. A red light glowed between her eyebrows, and a red eye, its surface swirling with runes, emerged.

After a moment, Wang Ruyan retracted her Dark Phoenix Eye, her brows slightly furrowed. She shook her head and said, "I didn't find the location of any formation cores."

"You'll only see the formation's core once it's activated," Ye Haitang explained. "You can't discern anything from outside."

"In that case, we'll have to go in and break the formation," Wang Changsheng said. "Qingling, you stay outside and provide support. Haitang and I will go in together."

"Alright, Ninth Uncle, be careful," Wang Qingling replied.

Wang Qingling nodded and agreed.

Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, and Ye Haitang walked into the valley. As soon as they stepped inside, their vision blurred, and they abruptly found themselves on a desolate plain, the ground covered in shattered stones.

A strong gust of wind howled past, and the shattered stones on the ground flew up, transforming into five colossal yellow giants.

Countless yellow runes lit up on the bodies of the five yellow giants, and each of them acquired a yellow longsword in their hands.

The five yellow giants lightly swung their yellow longswords, creating a whistling sound as they cut through the air.

They lunged at Wang Changsheng and the other two from different directions, moving at high speed.

Wang Changsheng opened his mouth, and a Mountain-Sea Bead flew out. It spun rapidly, its light greatly intensifying, as innumerable clear waters gushed forth, forming a turbulent blue river that surged towards the five yellow giants.

A thunderous roar echoed.

The blue river sent the five yellow giants flying. They crashed heavily onto the ground but quickly got up and charged at Wang Changsheng and the others once more.

Wang Ruyan used her Dark Phoenix Eye to observe her surroundings.

"Are there three formation cores? The three boulders in the southeast," she murmured. With the aid of her Dark Phoenix Eye, she could see three faint yellow glows emanating from the three yellow boulders.

Wang Changsheng was about to attack the three boulders when Ye Haitang stopped him. "Wait, Uncle, Auntie, please observe more carefully," she urged. "The formation master's skill is very high; I couldn't detect any abnormalities from outside. This is an improved formation; its core won't be that easy to find."

Wang Ruyan felt that Ye Haitang made a good point. She frantically poured spiritual power into her Dark Phoenix Eye, which glowed intensely as she gazed around.

Everything appeared normal until her gaze shifted to the five yellow giants, where she discovered that their legs were emitting a faint yellow light.

"There are five more formation cores on the legs of the five stone figures," Wang Ruyan reported, "making a total of eight formation cores."

"That must be it," Ye Haitang confirmed, her expression grave. "Unless all eight formation cores are broken simultaneously. If I'm not mistaken, breaking just one core will trigger a new formation. This is a linked formation."

The five yellow giants charged over again. Wang Ruyan's aura surged dramatically, quickly rising to the Nascent Soul stage.

A rapid zither melody rang out, and a blue sound wave, hundreds of zhang long, swept forth, swiftly passing over the legs of the five yellow giants and the three yellow boulders.

A tremendous roar echoed.

A tremendous roar echoed as the legs of the five yellow giants exploded and the three yellow boulders crumbled into dust.

Their vision blurred again, and they reappeared in a narrow valley, with Wang Qingling standing not far away.

"Ninth Uncle, Ninth Aunt, Cousin Haitang, are you alright?"

Wang Changsheng shook his head. "We're fine," he replied. "There might be more restrictions ahead. Qingling, you stay outside to provide support."

Wang Qingling agreed and remained outside. Wang Changsheng and the other two stepped towards the cave entrance, releasing two puppet beasts to go ahead.

The cave was not large; it twisted and turned, extending deep underground.

Not long after, a stone cavern over a hundred zhang wide appeared before them, filled with eerie gusts of wind.

Wang Changsheng involuntarily shivered. He flicked his sleeve, and a Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada flew out. It flapped its wings and darted towards a section of the uneven stone wall.

The Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada spat out a large expanse of golden flames, striking the stone wall.

A shrill scream rang out as a grotesque ghost face appeared on the stone wall. The ghost face struggled violently, emitting waves of piteous cries, but to no avail.

Not long after, a grotesque ghostly creature flew out from the stone wall and disappeared into the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada's mouth.

Soon after, another ghostly creature, wielding a black flying fork, appeared on the stone wall and was likewise devoured by the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada.

Wang Changsheng was somewhat surprised. Could this be the cultivation cave of some Nascent Soul stage ghost cultivator?

Ghostly creatures of various forms appeared on the stone wall, one after another, and were successively devoured by the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada.

"This should be the Hundred Ghosts Devouring Spirit Restriction," Ye Haitang said, her expression serious. "It seals a large number of ghostly creatures. Once someone breaks the restriction, they'll rush out to attack. There are several Core Formation stage ghost kings here, so the owner of this cave dwelling is very likely a Nascent Soul stage ghost cultivator. Uncle, Auntie, you must be careful." She then conjured a red shield to protect herself.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan nodded and applied defensive measures to themselves.

After a while, having devoured a grotesque black ghost face, the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada flew back to Wang Changsheng's side, feeling drowsy. Wang Changsheng then put it back into his Spirit Beast Pearl.

The stone wall lit up with a dazzling yellow glow. After the glow dissipated, a fan-shaped stone door, several zhang high, was revealed, carved with numerous grotesque ghostly figures.

Wang Changsheng's aura surged dramatically, quickly rising to the Nascent Soul stage. He slapped his right palm into the air towards the stone door.

A blue giant palm, over ten zhang in size, materialized in the air. Its surface crackled with numerous blue electric arcs as it slammed forcefully towards the stone door.

A tremendous roar echoed.

With a loud bang, the stone door shattered into pieces. A stone chamber over a hundred zhang wide appeared before them.

The stone chamber was not large but showed clear signs of artificial excavation. On the left stone wall was a pit, inside which lay an extinguished copper lamp.

In the center of the stone chamber lay a human skeleton. A blue storage ring was on its waist, and it was draped in a tattered black robe. To its left was a stone shelf holding colorful seashells and some black ore.

Wang Changsheng controlled two puppet beasts to enter the stone chamber and smash the skeleton into pieces.

He released his divine sense to carefully examine the stone chamber's condition but found no abnormalities.

Even with a Nascent Soul stage ghost cultivator presumably dead, Wang Changsheng dared not be careless.

The two puppet beasts removed the storage ring from the skeleton and collected the items on the stone shelf, including the black robe.

Wang Changsheng's divine sense scanned the storage ring several times, finding no abnormalities. He then cautiously took the ring and poured out its contents.

There were ten second-tier magical treasures alone, including a black bone saber about two chi long, exuding an oppressive yin aura. There was also a gleaming golden bell, its surface flickering with runes, emitting terrifying spiritual energy fluctuations.