Chapter 868: 准帝鬼像

**Shrouding the Heavens Chapter 870: Quasi-Emperor Ghost Statue**

The Great Emperor Wu Shi's killing formation blasted a corner off the South Heaven Gate, instantly stunning everyone present. What kind of place was this? It was truly bizarre and terrifying.

Dust flew everywhere. This corner of the magnificent building, lying on the ground, had evidently existed for countless years, preserved by immortal Dao patterns. The three characters "South Heaven Gate" on its plaque petrified everyone.

"What kind of place have we entered? Is this the Immortal Ascension Valley, where one can truly ascend? Have we entered the Celestial Realm?""Are we, then, creating havoc in the Heavenly Palace?"

They stood back-to-back, anxiously scanning their surroundings. The area was still filled with a gory, ghostly atmosphere, with white bones and crimson blood rain constantly falling, a truly shocking sight.

Above them loomed a dark, oppressive Heavenly Palace, while below, a hundred ghosts paraded, locked in fierce combat. Swarms of demonic figures descended from the Heavenly Palace, a corner of which had been torn away.

"Who cares what it is? Kill them all! What if it's the ancient Heavenly Court? They've all turned into zombies and ghosts now, no longer the supreme beings of old. Let's slaughter them all!" shouted the Monkey.

By now, their Heavenly Eyes allowed them to see the surroundings clearly. The rushing demonic figures were all clad in armor, resembling celestial soldiers and generals, an imposing sight. Yet, every body was covered in corpse hair—they were not living beings!

"Incredible! The power of these beings is at the Immortal Three Dao-Severing realm. This defies all logic; there can't be so many kings. It must be an illusion!" exclaimed Pang Bo.

Ghosts wailed and spirits howled as black winds whistled. Everything in this place felt unreal, too bizarre. Who in the world could command so many ghosts and gods, all possessing the strength of kings?

The more they thought about it, the more unnerved they became. Perhaps only true celestial soldiers and generals could possess such might, retaining a portion of their combat power after death; otherwise, it was inexplicable.

"Don't tell me we've really hit rock bottom and dug up the ancient Heavenly Court. These can't be the deceased spirits from back then, can they?!" Even the Black Sovereign was getting spooked.

"Our clan elders said the ancient Heavenly Court isn't in this world. If any part of it existed, it would only be the South Heaven Gate, which fell into the Divine Ruins," said Ji Ziyue, her purple aura swirling as she held the translucent, shimmering Demon Saint Egg in her hand.

"Indeed, we need to calm down. There must be something wrong with what we're seeing. Source Heavenly Eye, dispel illusions!" Ye Fan roared.

However, his eyes shot out beams of light several miles long, yet what he saw remained unchanged. The magnificent Heavenly Palace in the sky still stood, and the terrifying corpse-ghosts continued their assault. Everything was real.

"Damn it, who cares what it is? Even if it's the true ancient Heavenly Court, what of it? What if these celestial soldiers and generals are reborn?" The Black Sovereign, going all out, declared furiously, "Great Emperor Wu Shi suppressed the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, slaying gods and immortals. His killing formation can sweep away the Heavenly Court!"

Ye Fan inscribed a pattern of Source Heavenly Markings, placing a pile of Divine Source within it, then positioned the jade tablet in the center to provide it with even greater divine power.

Boom!

At that moment, the jade tablet burst forth with immeasurable light. Tens of thousands of divine chains of order shot into the sky, intertwining to form a terrifying divine formation that pulverized everything. Many celestial soldiers and generals were reduced to blood and bone.

Then, the Wu Shi killing formation drained all the essence, unleashing a world-destroying blow that flattened the Heavenly Palace in the sky with a resounding thud, reducing it to dust.

Everything vanished. The blood rain ceased, the eerie wind stopped, and the ground was covered in nothing but bloodstains and rubble, a scene of utter desolation.

They remained silent for a long time. Everything felt like a dream; all terrifying scenes had disappeared. The ancient Heavenly Court had been shattered by them, leaving only a corner of the South Heaven Gate as dilapidated ruins.

Whoosh!

Ye Fan walked forward, sweeping away all the rubble with a flick of his sleeve, revealing a collapsed thatched hut. After clearing it, a set of white, slender, and pristine bones appeared, seemingly having been there for a year or two.

"This..."His heart sank, followed by a wave of melancholy. Had that intelligent woman truly died? Ye Fan felt a blockage in his chest; memories from those years still resurfaced, even though he had ultimately ended up with Li Xiaoman...

"Another old friend has passed away," Pang Bo sighed deeply as well.

"No, this woman isn't old. She shouldn't be your old friend; she can't be more than sixteen or seventeen," the Black Sovereign said, making a judgment based on its vast experience.

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan squatted down to examine closely. He said, "It's a young girl, not Lin Jia."

"If it's not Lin Jia, then who is it? It can't be that she set up a trap to kill old friends like us, can it?" Pang Bo muttered.

"If it weren't for the ancient Great Emperor's killing formation, anyone who entered here this time would have died. It's clear they didn't intend for us to leave alive," Ye Fan sighed.

After the area was leveled, soon, peaceful rays of light emanated and auspicious energy permeated the air, transforming the place into a land of immortals once more. It was incredibly strange.

They had already walked quite a distance when the large black dog, its head drooping, muttered mysteriously, "No, everything just now was fake. The true South Heaven Gate is in the Divine Ruins. Little Nuannuan and I went there once and observed it from afar; that was real, filled with an everlasting heavenly might."

Then, it suddenly stood upright, shivering with a jolt, and exclaimed, "Could it be *that* thing?!"

Everyone was startled by it. They all stopped and turned to look at it. What had this dead dog discovered?

"Needless to say, it definitely wasn't the ancient Heavenly Court. I already told you it's not in this world," Ji Ziyue mumbled softly, her intelligent eyes darting about, cautiously guarding against the black dog trying to steal the Demon Saint Egg.

"This Sovereign knows what that thing is now! Perhaps we can obtain a heaven-defying treasure!" The black dog was nearly frantic, its large red tongue lolling out as it grinned widely and laughed up at the sky.

"What treasure?" Pang Bo asked.

"A treasure forged by a Quasi-Emperor!" The black dog's single sentence made everyone gasp in unison.

Swoosh!

It transformed into a streak of black light and rushed back, fearing others would snatch it. It quickly arrived at the previous desolate site, first conjuring the jade tablet for defense, then extending its large paws to dig, tearing open the foundation of the thatched hut.

Boom!

A terrifying aura of malevolence shot skyward, causing goosebumps to erupt on everyone's skin, their pores to open, and their bodies to turn cold. Beneath the foundation, a black stone statue appeared.

It resembled a malevolent ghost, incredibly ferocious, as black as ink, and filled with an ominous aura. If not for the suppression of the Wu Shi killing formation, it seemed capable of extinguishing all life, making it impossible for any living being to approach.

"What kind of monster is this?" Li Tian asked, while the others also looked bewildered.

"What a pity, this thing is almost ruined. I knew it! How could ordinary people make it function? It was meant to be destroyed after all," the black dog said, its heart aching, as it pounded its chest and stamped its feet in distress.

Cracks appeared on the black ghost statue, making it seem as if it would shatter with a mere touch. Indeed, it couldn't last much longer. The black dog, with extreme caution, carved various Dao patterns to seal it externally and then placed it into its treasure trove.

"What exactly is this thing?"

"This is a Humanoid Battle Formation!" the black dog explained.

More precisely, it was a formation, infinitely powerful, with all its secrets carved within a single stone statue. Once activated, its murderous aura would spread across the heavens. It could control corpses, turning them into the strongest weapons, capable of slaying sect leaders, defeating Great Perfection Kings, and even killing Saints. It harnessed the profound mysteries of creation, possessing immense power.

"It can even kill Saints?" Everyone was astonished.

"Of course. This is a humanoid formation forged by a Quasi-Emperor with their lifelong effort. It's rumored that during an era without an Emperor, a Holy Spirit emerged and wreaked havoc upon the world, but was ultimately trapped and killed by such a formation," the Black Sovereign stated.

"No way, a single statue like this can kill a peerless Holy Spirit?" None of them believed it.

"Of course, it's not just one statue. There should be a sequence of them, and they wouldn't be as nearly destroyed as this one," the black dog said.

This was a ghost statue. A complete set should include ghost statues, human statues, immortal statues, and so on, totaling nine statues, each an unparalleled powerful formation.

Once the ghost statue was unearthed, the Immortal Ascension Valley became completely peaceful. The killing intent vanished, and all dangers were dispelled.

Pang Bo suddenly slapped his head, filled with remorse. "I missed a great opportunity. I might have seen a human statue before."

"What?" The Black Sovereign immediately perked up, asking where he had seen it.

"At the Immortal Palace outside the Barren Forbidden Zone. I didn't pay attention at the time; I only saw it was covered in cracks, much like this ghost statue, and seemed to be on the verge of destruction, so I didn't take notice."

The black dog bared its fangs, wanting to bite him several times. It said, "That was a heaven-sent fortune! If you had looked closely, there surely would have been instructions on how to activate it. You... you infuriate me!"

"So, the ghost statue might also have originated from that Immortal Palace?" Ye Fan mused.

Shortly after, they arrived at the bamboo forest. Every jade bamboo stalk was pure white and crystalline, sparkling translucently, enveloped in swirling, steaming milky-white essence.

Ye Fan strode to the stone platform, picked up the mobile phone, and carefully used his divine power to generate a faint current. Then he turned it on, and pleasant music began to play.

At that moment, Ye Fan and Pang Bo felt as if an age had passed, both momentarily lost in thought. It had been too long; certain memories were unlocked, revealing how utterly different their current lives were from their past.

"Little Ye Zi, are you alright?" Ji Ziyue asked worriedly, gently shaking his arm.

"I'm fine," Ye Fan replied, recovering his senses. He smiled at her, then explained what the item was in detail.

Ye Fan discovered some photos. Several of them were of him, and he had almost forgotten when they were taken. There were also many of Lin Jia herself, smiling brightly and warmly.

"This is..." Suddenly, Ye Fan's gaze froze, his expression hardening. Pang Bo beside him gasped, and seeing their reactions, the others gathered around.

The picture was very dim, showing many people with fearful and helpless expressions. Many were incredibly terrified, huddled together, almost despairing.

"Lin Jia took this photo with her phone inside the bronze coffin," Ye Fan said gravely.

It was discernible that these were all old acquaintances, their faces filled with despair and terror—a scene that took place within the Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin.

"Terrifying! There was a malevolent ghost right beside us, and we had no idea at the time," Pang Bo felt his entire body turn cold, a chill even rising in his heart.

In the photo, there was even a black shadow not far from them, incredibly sinister and terrifying beyond measure. It was cloaked in darkness, completely out of place with them, with only a pair of eyes glowing with a ghostly light, truly frightening.

Ye Fan also felt chills, a layer of goosebumps forming on his skin. He realized that there had been someone else in the dark coffin chamber back then—a black malevolent ghost that no one had noticed!

"Lin Jia actually took a photo like this. She probably didn't say anything because she didn't want to alarm everyone, right?"

The more Ye Fan and Pang Bo recalled, the more terrifying it seemed. Such a being had existed in the dark bronze coffin chamber, traveling with them, which was truly spine-chilling.

After they recounted the events of that time, even Li Tian, Li Heishui, and others felt their skin crawl. To have traveled alongside an unknown malevolent ghost, right by their side without knowing, and only now learning the truth, was truly a heart-stopping revelation.

Then, Ye Fan played a voice recording. A terrifying voice, seemingly from hell, echoed: "I am back..."

Ye Fan and Pang Bo shivered with a jolt, holding their breath and listening intently.