Chapter 144: In front of the Ten Thousand Bone Cave, there are many magic arrays
After leaving the Black Desert, the coalition forces advanced westward, their sense of dead silence and desolation growing ever thicker. The earth gradually transformed from yellow sand to a hard, cracked black Gobi desert. Vegetation completely vanished, even the most tenacious sea buckthorn was nowhere to be seen. The sky was perpetually gray, as if covered by a thick layer of dust, making it difficult for sunlight to penetrate, creating a feeling of oppression and suffocation.
The closer we got to the Cave of Ten Thousand Bones, the more eerie the surroundings became. Scattered, massive, twisted skeletons began to appear on the ground. Some resembled the ribs of ancient beasts, standing like arches. Others were broken, shimmering skulls, their eye sockets pulsing with ghostly lights. A chill wind, like an invisible knife, swept across the Gobi Desert, making a whimpering sound. The wind was mingled with the subtle, disturbing murmurs of countless people weeping.
Even with the protection of Qin Yixuan's divine goddess radiance and the Buddha's light of Master Huijue, the monks in the coalition could still feel the chilling, deathly stillness that penetrated their bones, freezing their souls. The air was thick with the pungent, inextricable stench of decay and sulfur. Faintly, they could hear the horrifying sounds of chewing, the grinding of bones, and the violent roars of men, coming from the distant, vast chasm.
"Amitabha." Master Huijue's speed in turning his rosary beads increased noticeably, his expression as solemn as iron. "Such a strong aura of death and resentment! This place is filled with resentment and demonic energy. It's no ordinary demonic land, but a rift leading to the underworld! The Cave of Ten Thousand Bones lives up to its reputation."
Qin Yixuan hovered in mid-air ahead of the coalition forces, her nine-colored divine eyes fixed on the vast chasm in the distance, resembling a scar on the earth—the Ten Thousand Bone Cave. The chasm stretched before them, its width immeasurable, its edges sheer as if slashed by a knife or an axe. The depths of the valley were bottomless, filled only with a roiling, gray-black cloud of deathly aura, writhing like a living thing. Her brow furrowed slightly. "The valley entrance and surrounding area are enshrined in extremely complex and powerful spatial restrictions and illusion arrays. These formations are closely linked to the deathly aura and demonic energy permeating the earth, forming a vast, self-contained defensive system. The intermingling of deathly aura and demonic energy within is so dense that it severely interferes with divine sense detection. Even my mysterious female eyes struggle to fully penetrate."
She paused, her tone becoming more solemn. "And... I sense that, at the very bottom of the valley, there's an extremely evil, ancient aura filled with destructive and hungry consciousness, dormant, or perhaps... sealed? This aura originates from the core of the 'Eclipse Plan' and Ling Hao's power, yet it's purer and more terrifying! It's like... something the Eclipse Plan wants to summon or release!"
Ye Li closed her eyes and concentrated, fully sensing the throbbing vibrations from the fragments of the Samsara Mirror within her sea of consciousness. The throbbing was several times stronger than in the Black Desert. It wasn't just a reminder of the existence of other fragments, but also a strong repulsion and warning of the contamination and distortion of their shared power, mixed with aversion towards the vast, evil formation currently in operation. "The aura of the Samsara Mirror fragments is indeed present at the bottom of the valley, but... it's contaminated by an extremely filthy and powerful demonic source, and its state is extremely unstable. Furthermore, a blood sacrifice formation far larger than the one in the Black Desert is operating at full speed, with incredibly alarming energy fluctuations! We must stop them as soon as possible!"
The situation was a hundred times more dire than anticipated. The Shadow Demon had clearly turned this place into his core lair, not only capitalizing on the naturally gloomy and desolate environment of the Ten Thousand Bone Caverns, but also laying out a terrifying, layered, and interconnected defense system.
The coalition forces attempted to break through from several seemingly possible entrances marked on the map, but were met with unprecedented fierce and bizarre resistance.
The illusion array at the valley's entrance wasn't simply a visual delusion; it directly affected the souls of those who trespassed, evoking their deepest fears and desires, creating a deceptively realistic illusion. Several teams of Yuandan-level cultivators had entered it, only to be swept up in a frenzy of violence, slaughtering each other or charging towards the cliffs in wild laughter. Had Qin Yixuan not awakened them with divine sound, and Master Huijue forcibly shattered the partial illusion with his Buddha's light, the consequences would have been disastrous.
The attackers, cloaked in the dense aura of death, were even more difficult to defend against. There were "Soul Devouring Demons," whose strength rivaled that of the Spiritual Realm, formed from countless vengeful souls; there were "Bone Dragon Remnants," with massive bodies, bones as hard as black iron, and mouths emitting ghostly fire; and there were "Corpse Demon Vines," capable of escaping the earth invisibly, suddenly emerging and dragging people under... These monsters were not only formidable but also fearless. Even more terrifying, they seemed to be guided by a unified will, their attacks methodical and coordinated.
Not to mention the elite Shadow Demon monks, who exploited the terrain, lurking in the shadows to launch sneak attacks and set various sinister traps (such as bone-rotting miasma, explosive magic patterns, and soul curses). They knew every inch of the land, maneuvering with the complex terrain to maneuver against the coalition forces, causing considerable trouble and casualties. During one assault, a Spiritual Mansion Realm elder from the East Continent Star Palace accidentally triggered a hidden "Nine Nether Soul-Eroding Formation," instantly draining his soul and reducing him to dry bones, leaving no time for rescue.
The repeated forced assaults not only had little effect and failed to penetrate deep into the valley, but also resulted in the loss of dozens of skilled fighters, including some cultivators at the Spiritual Mansion Realm. This dealt a certain blow to the morale of the coalition forces, and the air was filled with an atmosphere of anxiety and solemnity.
"We can't force our way through like this!" Ye Li observed the terrain and the energy flow of the formation, analyzing it calmly. Her voice was particularly clear among the slightly depressed coalition forces. "The defense system here is connected to the evil energy of heaven and earth, the dead energy of the earth veins, and the core magic source of the entire Ten Thousand Bone Cave. They are completely integrated. Breaking the formation by force will not only be ineffective, but may also trigger a full-scale riot of the evil energy in the entire Ten Thousand Bone Cave, and may even prematurely awaken the terrifying existence at the bottom of the valley. The consequences are unimaginable! We must change our strategy and find the weaknesses in its defense system, or... find a way to dismantle it from the inside."
Qin Yixuan nodded in agreement, her beautiful face filled with solemnity. "With the power of the goddess Xuannu, I might be able to forcibly purify and temporarily stabilize the deadly demonic energy in a small area, creating a relatively safe passage for everyone. However, this method consumes a lot of energy and cannot cover a large army for a long time. More importantly, such a large movement will inevitably be noticed by the demons at the bottom of the valley, alerting them."
Just as everyone was at an impasse, desperately searching for a way out, Ye Li received the latest intelligence, obtained at great cost by Lin Feng through the most urgent and secret channels of the Phantom Pavilion. This intelligence revealed that based on in-depth decryption of items seized from the Black Desert stronghold, repeated interrogation of captured low-level demon cultivators, and cross-analysis of clues gathered by Phantom Pavilion spies throughout the Western Regions, it was discovered that the Shadow Demon's complex defensive formation in the Myriad Bone Cave was not powered by a single node, but rather a primary node and three crucial secondary nodes.
These three sub-nodes, like the three fulcrums of a triangle, are respectively located in three extremely dangerous specific areas of the Ten Thousand Bone Cave: the "Blood Pool of Resentful Spirits" - a very dark place that gathers the resentment and filthy blood of countless fallen warriors; the "Burial Palace" - the core area of the ancient battlefield, where the corpses of the strongest men from both sides in the war are buried, where death and unyielding fighting spirit are intertwined; the "Eye of the Demonic Wind" - the place where the evil energy of the underground veins of the Ten Thousand Bone Cave and the demonic energy from outside the domain meet and gush out, forming a destructive demonic gale.
"If we can successfully destroy these three sub-nodes at the same time or within a very short time difference, the energy circulation of the entire Wangu Cave defense formation will be disrupted, its power will be drastically reduced, and there may even be a brief stagnation or loophole! That will be the best, and perhaps the only, chance for our main force to break into the core altar at the bottom of the valley!" Ye Li immediately shared this key information with Qin Yixuan, Master Huijue and other coalition leaders.
This intelligence, like a ray of light in the darkness, lifted everyone's spirits. But with it came even greater challenges and risks. A new strategy was quickly formulated: the coalition forces decided to split into four groups and act simultaneously!
The first route, led by Master Huijue himself, features the most profoundly accomplished arhats and ascetic monks in the Buddhist sect, versed in various demon-slaying magical powers. These are complemented by powerful individuals from other factions skilled in defense and offensive tactics. This elite "evil-destroying squad" is tasked with storming the "Blood Pool of Resentful Spirits." Their mission is to purify the pool of resentment and tainted blood accumulated over millennia, using supreme Buddhist teachings, and to destroy the energy nodes of the formation there. This route is both the most direct and the most dangerous, and will undoubtedly face the fiercest resistance.
The second group, led by Envoy Yunying, includes core disciples from the Jiuxiao Heavenly Palace, experts in formations and swordsmanship, as well as several formation masters dispatched from the Dongzhou Star Palace. This "formation-breaking team" aims to infiltrate the complex terrain and numerous traps within the "Bone Burial Palace." Using their understanding of formations, they will evade powerful enemies and locate and completely destroy the foundation stone of the formation deep within the palace. This path requires exceptional skill and stealth.
The third route is the most unique and dangerous. Led by the Golden Peng Demon King, a demon king from the Southern Wilds, whose true form is a swift golden eagle and who is extremely skilled in harnessing wind power, he will select several cultivators equally proficient in wind-related techniques or possess special concealment abilities to form the "Disruption Team." Their mission is to venture into the "Eye of the Demonic Wind," powerful enough to tear apart even a Yuandan-level cultivator, disrupting its stable energy flow and even directing some of the demonic wind to attack the formation's nodes. This route is a life-or-death struggle.
The fourth route is the real core and main force of the coalition, led by Qin Yixuan and Ye Li personally. It gathers the top combat forces in the coalition. When it is confirmed that the three sub-nodes have been successfully destroyed and the main defense formation has experienced violent fluctuations, they seize the fleeting opportunity and rush to the core altar at the bottom of the Ten Thousand Bone Cave with the fastest speed and the strongest force, and have a final decisive battle with the main force and leader of the Shadow Demon there!
The plan is extremely risky, especially for the three teams responsible for destroying the three sub-nodes. They all have to go deep into dangerous places, facing unknown and extreme environments and powerful enemies. Failure on any one side may lead to a total loss.
Qin Yixuan's gaze swept over the group about to split up. Her voice was calm and powerful, carrying a soothing sacredness: "Fellow Daoists, the safety of the spiritual world and the fate of all living beings depend on this battle. The road ahead is treacherous and full of danger. I urge you to exert your abilities, support each other, and be cautious. We hereby swear that regardless of success or failure, we will fight to the end! I hope you all... take care and return victorious!"
There were no grandiose words, only heavy responsibilities and unwavering conviction. Soon, the four teams quietly separated in a solemn atmosphere. Like four precise scalpels, with a relentless determination, they stabbed at different vital points within the vast magical formation of the Ten Thousand Bone Cave. The final decisive battle was about to begin in this ancient burial ground, a most gruesome prelude.
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