Chapter 282: Blood-Soaked Altar

Tang Wanzhou said, "Ancient texts record that one page of scripture can restore vitality to an entire province and dispel all darkness."

Someone laughed and said, "Even recovering just one province would be of extraordinary significance. Once this province is completely stable, we can then recover the next. This would truly be an achievement for all time!"

"The Du'e Temple supports the Zuoqiu Faction, so let them fight in the Lingxiao Living Realm. Our Snow Sword Tang Faction will build another Living Realm ourselves."

Tang Wanzhou silently walked towards the sixth, and final, mural.

"After the chaos of war settled, the new sect leader, with the full strength of the entire sect, recovered most of the Book of Radiant Stars, totaling thirty pages, and stored them in the Holy Heart Layer of the Ancestral Court."

"According to the historical outlines drawn by generations of sages, the underground immortal mansion beneath the prefectures and provinces spans three thousand four hundred li from north to south, and four thousand li from east to west."

"We are now at least a thousand li from the Holy Heart Layer."

Tang Wanzhou and a group of martial arts masters began to discuss.

Li Weiyi couldn't interject, so he retreated to the periphery. He looked up at the magnificent murals on the stone wall, feeling a quiet doubt arise in his heart.

Doubt one: Without a doubt, the value of comprehending the Book of Radiant Stars and its ability to dispel the Shadow Realm of the Deceased—any single aspect of it would be enough to drive a transcendent being mad.

If he were Tang Wanzhou, for such a treasure, she would surely only lead the most core martial cultivators of the Snow Sword Tang Faction to search for it.

However, among the thirty-eight riders on this journey, there were experts from various factions accompanying them. Outside the Tinder Altar, many opportunists had also followed them.

Was Tang Wanzhou confident enough to silence everyone after finding the Book of Radiant Stars?

Doubt two: The Bhagaloka Sect had been destroyed, and fierce turmoil had erupted within the Ancestral Court. Was the Book of Radiant Stars really still in the Holy Heart Layer?

It was impossible for Tang Wanzhou not to have considered this point.

None of this was her true objective.

What exactly was she planning?

Li Weiyi went to the jade railing and looked down. Below was a dark, hollow abyss.

This was inside the Tinder Altar. Jade railings formed a circular walkway, over a hundred zhang in diameter. One layer connected to another, seeming to lead to the depths of the earth's core.

Li Weiyi picked up a stone, wanting to test its depth.

Just then, he saw some points of light at the bottom of the abyss.

The points of light grew more numerous and brighter...

"What is that..."

Li Weiyi held his breath and concentrated. He looked at the veteran martial cultivators still in discussion and said, "There's something in the abyss below!"

Everyone became alert and quickly gathered around.

Someone threw down a stone lantern, and as it fell, it illuminated the darkness layer by layer.

"It's ferocious insects; they're flying up. Quickly, leave this place." Tang Hu grabbed Li Weiyi's and Tuobabu Tuo's wrists, preparing to lead them away.

This was a secret mission Tang Wanzhou had assigned him!

Tang Hu was a senior expert of the Snow Sword Tang Faction, a top-tier figure, second only to a giant of the Longevity Realm.

On the surface, Tuobabu Tuo was to protect Li Weiyi, but this was merely a diversion. In times of danger, Tang Hu would be the first to take them both out.

"Oh no, the stone door is closed!"

Tang Hu put the two down. With his inner Dharma Qi circulating, he struck out with both palms.

"Boom!"

On the previously unremarkable stone door, dense arrays of runes appeared, like an ocean of characters. While blocking Tang Hu's palms, they also unleashed a torrent of energy strong enough to overturn mountains and seas.

Tang Hu stood his ground, unmoving.

But Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo were sent flying like two leaves, their heads ringing with a booming sound, almost causing them to pass out.

They were not weak; it was simply that Tang Hu was too strong.

"Grandpa Hu..."

Tuobabu Tuo shouted.

Tang Hu was about to strike a few more blows, but hearing the shout, he turned to look. Only then did he realize that the two people he was supposed to protect had been sent spitting blood by the force of his palm and the formation.

He could only take the two of them back.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Inside the altar, swarms of glowing ferocious insects flew like streams crisscrossing through the air.

They emitted piercing cries, their sounds containing psychic attacks.

Countless streams of psychic energy intertwined, which even a martial cultivator of the Dao Seed Realm could not withstand. One person's face showed a crazed expression; their consciousness had been lost.

He drew his blade and slashed at his companion beside him, cutting him in half.

Blood splattered, staining the ground red.

Immediately, the scene became extremely chaotic.

Madam Wanyan released two "Seven-Colored Fireflies."

Old Man Shanze released three commander-level exotic insects, "Blood Jade Mantises."

The five commander-level exotic insects fought against the swarms of glowing ferocious insects.

Strangely, even as these ferocious insects were continuously killed, they showed no fear of the five commander-level exotic insects. They grew fiercer with each battle, refusing to retreat at all.

Old Man Shanze roared, "They're Netherworld Mayflies, one of the most terrifying general-level ferocious insects! There are too many of them, and they specialize in psychic attacks, capable of controlling martial cultivators' minds."

Tang Wanzhou watched the chaotic battle before her, her gaze calm. She flickered dozens of zhang, and with a single finger, struck down a martial cultivator who had lost consciousness.

Tang Hu appeared beside her with Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo. "The entrance is sealed by a formation," he said. "It's likely... the work of a Saint Spirit Psychic!"

Hearing this, Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo's hearts turned cold, and their hair stood on end.

"How could there be a Saint Spirit Psychic in an underground immortal mansion?" Tuobabu Tuo asked. "Figures of that level aren't supposed to be able to enter, are they?"

"What if they were already inside?"

As Tang Wanzhou said this, she sensed something and looked up.

Tuobabu Tuo's thoughts spiraled into extreme terror; his eyes almost popped out of his head.

By the railing on the upper level, two ancient figures appeared, identical like twins. They stood in the darkness, meeting Tang Wanzhou's gaze.

One of them let out a dry, hoarse laugh. "As expected of Tang Wanzhou, who commands the fourteen southern provinces," he rasped, "to remain so calm even in such peril."

"Peril? Based on those Netherworld Mayflies? Or on you?" Tang Wanzhou said.

Li Weiyi released Da Feng.

Its body expanded, transforming into a giant butterfly two to three meters long. A terrifying aura, comparable to that of a Longevity Realm martial cultivator, erupted from its body, as it charged into the swarm of Netherworld Mayflies.

The ferocious insects immediately scattered, not daring to attack Da Feng.

Some of the mayflies simply dropped to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, afraid to take flight.

"Is it an evil cult?"

"Who cares who they are, just cut them down first."

The martial cultivators gradually recovered and unleashed their combat techniques and intentions.

Several of them attacked the two old men standing above.

The two old men used movement techniques and fled further upwards.

"Clang!"

A sword hum rang out.

The Divine Snow Sword transformed into a stream of light and sword shadow, flying out. It violently pierced through the formation, smashed through the stone door at the entrance, and flew from the Tinder Altar into the air.

Then, it traced an arc and flew back into the altar, landing in her hand.

Tang Wanzhou's voice echoed throughout the altar: "It's an ambush! Retreat quickly, I'll cover the rear!"

"No one is leaving today."

From above, an ancient voice rang out.

Immediately after, horrifying roars filled the air.

In the darkness at the very top of the altar, a third old man appeared. He waved the Ghost Banner in his hand.

From the banner flew countless ghostly shadows of the deceased, their eyes burning with spectral flames. They rapidly swooped down, surrounding each of the martial cultivators Tang Wanzhou had brought.

The chaotic battle erupted once more.

Tang Hu immediately rushed out of the stone door with Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo, appearing on the altar's surface. Their bodies leapt and soared into the air.

"Da Feng is still inside."

Li Weiyi had no time to retrieve it; Tang Hu had taken him away too quickly.

"Don't worry, the Young Master will bring it along."

From the altar, a dazzling chain of spiritual light shot out, flying dozens of zhang, wrapping around Tang Hu's waist and abdomen in mid-air.

The spiritual chain glowed with extremely high temperatures, burning Tang Hu's armor with a sizzling sound.

"Whoosh!"

A second spiritual chain flew over and wrapped around Tang Hu's neck.

"Quickly... go..."

Tang Hu struck a palm on the back of both Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo, sending out a burst of Dharma Qi, propelling them several li away, where they landed in the thorns of the Nether Spirit Plains.

"Grandpa Hu!"

Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo stood up and looked back.

They saw Tang Hu entangled by one spiritual chain after another, letting out a roar like a trapped beast. He was then violently dragged back into the altar, his body exploding into a mist of blood, becoming a skeletal frame wearing armor atop the altar.

A top-tier expert of the Dao Seed Realm was killed in just a few breaths.

"It's a Saint Spirit Psychic... Go, Li Weiyi, let's go, quickly..."

Tuobabu Tuo and Li Weiyi, whose eyes were as cold as ice, fled rapidly across the Nether Spirit Plains.

From the altar entrance behind them, martial cultivators continuously rushed out, only to be dragged back by the spiritual chains, unable to escape at all.

Tuobabu Tuo and Li Weiyi released Dharma Qi to protect themselves, sprinting wildly through the thorn bushes.

Screams continuously echoed from the altar behind them.

The further he ran, the more Li Weiyi felt something was wrong. "Why is it so quiet?" he wondered. "What about all those martial cultivators who came in with us earlier, looking to fish in troubled waters?"

Tuobabu Tuo, running ahead, suddenly stopped, his eyes filled with terror, as he looked at a bloody clearing ahead.

The clearing, tens of zhang wide, was filled with corpses lying haphazardly.

All the martial cultivators who had followed them had died here, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

In stark contrast to this gruesome scene, a woman in white, unstained by a single drop of blood, stood in the center of the Asura-like hell of corpses. Her long hair swayed, tied with a ribbon. Even her back view exuded an ethereal beauty, as if she were untouched by the mortal world.

The surrounding thorn bushes glowed with purple, blue, and cyan light, reaching human height.

The strength of her aura and mental force prevented Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo from even circulating their Dharma Qi; the entire space seemed to be frozen.

She turned around, raised a finger, and froze Li Weiyi and Tuobabu Tuo in place. She then walked towards the towering Tinder Altar, and a celestial voice rang out, carrying far into the distance: "Tang Wanzhou, in all the conflicts of the past sixty years, have you ever been defeated?"

"Whoosh!"

Just then, Tang Wanzhou burst out of the stone door, severed all the spiritual chains, and stood proudly with her sword at a dozens-of-zhang-high stone cliff by the altar, looking towards the white-clad woman on the distant Nether Spirit Plains.

Da Feng flew out after her.

Li Weiyi's body was entwined by a wisp of Dharma Qi, rendering him unable to move. He looked at the white-clad woman's back, and a storm raged in his heart.

A moment ago, when the white-clad woman walked past him, for an instant, Li Weiyi saw her face clearly.

"Yao Qingxuan..."

This name appeared in Li Weiyi's mind.

Simply because she resembled Yao Yin too closely.

But how could this be possible?

That extraordinary woman, admired by countless people, had committed suicide over a decade ago.

Had his eyes deceived him?