Chapter 129: Protective Wife Speaks

Boom!

The blood-red characters on the foreheads of the deceased townspeople flew out countless shimmering textual projections, attacking the giant-headed humanoid unknown creature.

Li Weiyi quickly retreated, raising his dark banner. Spiritual energy continuously flowed into it as he hid within a veil of green light, observing the battle. He desperately wanted to escape, but his accursed curiosity held his legs rooted to the spot.

These deceased townspeople from Burial Immortal Town were too bizarre; they seemed to possess a unique consciousness. Their appearance in Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain was absolutely extraordinary. Most crucially, Li Weiyi wasn't sure if their awakening and the anomaly in Burial Immortal Town were related to the blood he spilled that day. He wanted to uncover the secret and resolve the mystery of his origins.

"From their aura, they are significantly stronger than when they first awakened."

Li Weiyi carefully observed the various techniques employed by the deceased townspeople and the giant-headed unknown creature, accumulating experience so he would know what to guard against and how to respond if he encountered them again. The seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors were very tense, all burrowing into his collar, trembling with fear. A moment later, unable to resist their curiosity, they each poked out a head. The seven heads, stacked together, gazed towards the battlefield where spectral fires danced.

The giant-headed unknown creature was defeated and fled into the Stone Golem Forest. One by one, the deceased townspeople, shrouded in spectral fire, retracted their textual projections. They formed a neat, long column and walked into the misty, cloud-shrouded Stone Golem Forest. They walked slowly, not in pursuit. It was more as if they were following some inherent directive, and encountering Li Weiyi and the giant-headed unknown creature was merely incidental.

The surroundings grew quiet. Li Weiyi's tensed muscles and nerves relaxed. He was about to leave this strange place when suddenly, a pleasant female voice chimed: "Follow them!"

"Who's there?" He was startled and immediately pulled out his iron book, looking around.

"Follow them..." The voice drifted, now distant, now near. When distant, it was like a whisper on the horizon, or from another space-time, light as the wind. When near, it was like a soft murmur in his ear.

Rustle!

Blood from Li Weiyi's injured left hand turned into a mist, diffusing and swirling around him. Before him, a world of pale red blood mist appeared. The gravel field, overgrown with weeds, rapidly decayed and molded, exuding an eerie chill. A slender figure, clad in a solemn red wedding gown, materialized out of thin air within the blood mist, standing silently.

Li Weiyi, of course, knew who she was. His eyelids narrowed, and his heart pounded as he observed, for the first time, this "Dao Protector Wife" that Zen Sea Mist-Gazer had spoken of. Her wedding gown was exceptionally beautiful. On the chest, a dragon-and-phoenix design was woven with gold and silver threads, the cuffs bore lotus patterns, and the wide skirt trailed behind her like long phoenix wings spread across the ground. Copper coins dangled from the four corners of her red silk veil, concealing her face, but her slender, jade-like neck and some strands of hair were visible.

Only now did Li Weiyi truly believe in her existence. Filled with uncertainty and wonder, he asked, "Who exactly are you? Are you really residing in my bloodline?" She didn't respond, as if she couldn't hear Li Weiyi's voice. The pleasant voice emanated from her, but it didn't seem to come from her mouth; rather, it originated from the surrounding space.

Li Weiyi was cautious. He asked, "Why should I follow them? Do you know who they are?" Still, it was the same emotionless voice.

"Is that the only thing you can say?" Li Weiyi frowned, then slowly stepped forward, intending to lift her veil and see her face. However, just as his hand reached out, a wave of cold energy rushed towards him. His wrist was grasped by the Dao Protector Wife's icy, jade-like hand, stopping him.

"Follow them." These three words sounded as if they came directly from her mouth, incredibly clear and close.

"Can't I look?" Li Weiyi channeled spiritual power into his arm, but no matter how much strength he exerted, he was completely unable to resist her. Her hand was exceptionally beautiful, each finger slender and delicate, neither plump nor thin, as if carved from celestial jade. Yet, simply resting it gently on Li Weiyi's wrist was enough to freeze his arm in mid-air, preventing him from touching the red silk veil.

"Fine... if I can't look, I won't then..." Li Weiyi had no obsession; he merely wanted to know what kind of existence the Dao Protector Wife was. He slowly withdrew his hand, and her fingers loosened their grip. Her fingers were icy cold, and undeniably real. Inside his collar, the seven Phoenix-Winged Moth Emperors, who had been full of anticipation, now watched with wide eyes, naturally disappointed and dejected.

She kept urging him to "follow them," and Li Weiyi also wanted to investigate. So, holding his green dark banner, he quickly followed the deceased townspeople who had already entered the Stone Golem Forest. He remained cautious, wary of an attack from the giant-headed unknown creature. The Dao Protector Wife followed behind him, the train of her wedding gown trailing on the ground, well over ten feet long. She exuded an elegant presence, her head held high, an jade belt around her waist. One hand was clasped behind her back, while the other formed a hand seal before her chest. Her entire body was enveloped in the glow of blood mist. As she stepped forward, the copper coins dangling from the four corners of her veil jingled softly.

"Spirit Tablet Masters, did you see that? This is the Dao Protector Wife that Zen Sea Mist-Gazer once spoke of. Can you discern her origin?" Li Weiyi communicated telepathically.

Within the blood-mud space, the three masters were engaged in an intense discussion, all horrified by the bizarre situation surrounding Li Weiyi. The existence of the Dao Protector Wife was beyond their comprehension.

Behind him, the Dao Protector Wife's hand, which was forming a hand seal, pointed her index finger forward.

Whoosh!

A wisp of blood-red light pierced through Li Weiyi's body, striking the Buddha relic on the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish. Moments later, the Spirit Tablet Masters' terrified voice echoed: "Weiyi, you'll have to resolve this yourself. We just received a warning; we're absolutely forbidden to discuss it, and we nearly had our souls scattered!"

Li Weiyi gasped, unable to resist glancing back. So domineering. In the distant mist, footsteps and strange cries were constantly audible, but none of them approached.

They walked for nearly half an hour. Within the Stone Golem Forest, a winding stone staircase path appeared, and the deceased townspeople ascended it. Li Weiyi sharply noticed that their footsteps had become perfectly synchronized, each person stepping precisely into the footprints of the one before them. He naturally dared not deviate, so he also followed their footsteps up the stone stairs. With every step, he dropped a coin at his feet, marking the position of the footprints. He had countless money pouches on him, brimming with various coins.

On both sides of the stone stairs stood large and small stone golems, appearing quite eerie and unsettling in the thick mist. Some of these stone golems were shattered, revealing a thick stone shell, indicating that something had once been contained within them.

"It's so quiet. This place doesn't seem so scary after all," he thought.

After walking cautiously for a while, Li Weiyi, to verify a suspicion, flicked a copper coin onto the ground to the right of the stairs. The coin dropped.

Bang!

Where it landed, a bright, profound yellow light erupted. Countless complex and ancient incantations, runes, and array symbols manifested simultaneously on the ground and in mid-air, unleashing destructive energies like lightning and heavenly fire. All the stone golems shook incessantly. In the void, scenes blurring the line between reality and illusion—palaces, floating islands, colossal stone statues—all emerged. The deceased townspeople in front quickly halted.

Li Weiyi could feel the terrifying power of those incantations, runes, array symbols, lightning, and heavenly fire. If struck, he would undoubtedly be reduced to ashes. He stood rooted to the spot, holding his breath, not daring to move even a finger. He only dared to move his eyes to observe the scenes in the void, which felt eerily real.

About a quarter of an hour later, the profound yellow light subsided, and all the characters, energies, and unknown phenomena dissipated into the air. A single small copper coin had nearly caused a catastrophe. Clearly, this place could only be safely entered by following a specific route.

The deceased townspeople ahead continued their journey, and Li Weiyi obediently kept placing coins to mark the path. After walking for an unknown duration, having ascended who knew how many miles up the mountain, they finally reached the end of the stairs. Before them lay a dense expanse of white bones, like a sea of skeletons. Li Weiyi was deeply shaken, unable to believe his eyes, unsure if he was still within Thirty-Three-Mile Mountain.

The sea of bones was too vast, resembling a world unto itself. The bones piled on the ground were comprehensible, but in the void on either side, there were also layers upon layers of bones, seemingly stacked high enough to reach the cosmic heavens. Some of these bones, belonging to unknown creatures, were as massive as mountain ranges. There were also some skeletons with multiple heads, hundreds of meters long. Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of human skeletons were piled atop them, appearing like dust or the bones of insects and ants.

Though celestial mists swirled here, the place resembled the entrance to hell; it was utterly terrifying. Not to mention Li Weiyi, even cultivators at the Dao Seed Realm or Longevity Realm would likely turn and flee in terror.

Li Weiyi tried to remain calm and glanced back at the Dao Protector Wife. She remained perfectly still, and her voice sounded again. Following the deceased townspeople into the sea of bones, it grew progressively vaster. From its deepest part, a blood-red light emanated.

The stone steps then turned downwards. Below, the sea of bones was both a cavern and a vast plain. From his elevated position, Li Weiyi looked towards the blood-red light, which appeared to be a crescent-shaped lake of blood! From dozens of miles away, he could see a colossal, grayish-white, smooth skull at the edge of the lake. A rough estimate put its height at several kilometers. The skull had a massive mouth, filled with spiky fangs, and black mist permeated its bone seams.

Descending the stone steps, he entered the Bone Sea Plain. The deceased townspeople no longer proceeded cautiously. They fanned out, heading in different directions. Li Weiyi did not follow them further. Instead, he headed towards the crescent blood lake in the distance, because in that direction, he saw a four-colored glow, very much like the radiance emitted by immortal soil. That was immortal soil, a single tael of which could be worth a million silver. Few treasures in the world could compare.

He glanced back and saw the Dao Protector Wife consistently following behind him. She seemed very confident, radiating an aura of fearless power. Immediately, Li Weiyi's apprehension significantly decreased, and his pace quickened.

Whoosh!

As they drew closer to the crescent blood lake, the Dao Protector Wife's speed surpassed his. She transformed into a graceful red blur, sweeping past him. Upon reaching the crescent blood lake, Li Weiyi truly felt its immensity. It was as vast as an ocean, with rolling waves and a strong, unpleasant smell of blood.