Having defeated the intimidating eight-headed serpent phantom, Zhang Shaozhong finally felt half of his anger released, but looking at the lifeless shrine in the center of the lake, he knew this matter was not over yet.
"Let's go in and take a look! Let's see what other monsters and demons are inside!"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Shaozhong took the lead, stepping onto the frozen lake surface and heading towards the eerie black shrine.
Ling Qingxue and Ye Meier followed closely behind.
The closer one gets to the shrine, the stronger the cold and eerie aura becomes. Even though the phantom of the Yamata no Orochi has been dispersed, the place still makes people extremely uncomfortable.
The shrine gates were wide open, revealing a bottomless darkness that seemed to swallow all light.
The three men, skilled and daring, strode inside.
The interior of the shrine is much larger than it appears from the outside, as if one has entered another dimension.
The walls around him were twisted, resembling the entrails of a living being, studded with countless pale skulls, their eye sockets flickering with eerie green flames. The ground was made of some kind of viscous, flesh-like substance, soft and spongy underfoot, and it would even wriggle slightly.
The air was filled with a strong, pungent smell of blood mixed with a strange, ancient sandalwood scent that made one want to vomit.
"What kind of hellhole is this? It's even more disgusting than the Nine Netherworld Demon Realm I lived in back then!"
Night Enchantress wrinkled her nose and waved her hand dismissively. A barrier of demonic energy formed around her, isolating her from the unpleasant aura.
Ling Qingxue scanned her surroundings with her divine sense, her cold eyes narrowing slightly: "This space is strange, distorted by powerful resentment and evil energy, forming its own ghost realm. Be careful of illusion arrays and spatial traps."
As soon as she finished speaking, the eerie green flames of the skulls on the surrounding walls suddenly intensified!
Buzz—!
The scene before my eyes instantly distorted and changed!
Zhang Shaozhong found himself suddenly surrounded by a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Under his feet were sticky blood and severed limbs. Countless twisted vengeful spirits crawled out of the sea of blood, wailing and stretching out their rotting arms to grab his ankles!
Su Lan's figure appeared not far away, covered in blood, staring blankly at him, murmuring, "Mr. Zhang... save me..."
The intense visual and psychological impact is enough to cause an ordinary person to collapse instantly!
"A trivial skill!"
Zhang Shaozhong's eyes cleared, and as the chaotic energy circulated within his body, the evil power that had been disturbing his mind was instantly dispelled!
The mountain of corpses and sea of blood before their eyes, along with Su Lan's phantom, shattered like glass, revealing once again the disgusting, writhing interior of the shrine.
On the other side, Ye Meier seemed to be trapped in an endless erotic fantasy, surrounded by countless handsome men and beautiful women, who used every means to seduce her.
But she merely scoffed, a flash of demonic light in her eyes, and the illusions burst like bubbles: "You think you can fool me with such little skill? Go cultivate for another thousand years!"
Ling Qingxue's situation was even simpler. Any illusion that came within three feet of her was automatically purified by her pure and sharp immortal power. Her icy blue eyes were like clear mirrors, reflecting all falsehoods.
This illusionary formation had limited effect on the three determined individuals.
Having broken the illusion array, the three continued deeper into the area.
The shrine's internal structure is intricate and labyrinthine, with various malicious traps and curses being triggered from time to time, but they are all forcibly broken in the face of absolute power.
Finally, after passing through a long corridor pieced together from the spines of living people, they arrived at the deepest part of the shrine.
This is a huge circular altar.
The altar was constructed of black, seemingly dripping viscous boulders, covered with writhing, eerie runes that resembled living creatures. In the center of the altar sat a figure, cross-legged.
He was also dressed in the pure white priest's robes, but unlike the other priests, he did not wear a mask.
What was revealed was an extremely old face, covered with deep wrinkles, like a dried orange peel.
His eyes were closed, but he gave you an eerie feeling that he was "watching" you.
What's most unsettling is that beneath his skin, countless tiny snake-like creatures seem to be wriggling, causing his face to contort slightly from time to time.
Instead of a royal coin, he held a palm-sized, jet-black wooden box carved with an eight-headed serpent pattern.
A sinister aura, far deeper, more restrained, and yet far more dangerous than the previous phantom of the Yamata no Orochi, emanated from his body and the wooden box, like a dormant volcano.
Golden Core stage! And definitely not a beginner at this stage!
Behind the old priest stood four other priests, each wearing a gold and silver mask and exuding an equally unfathomable aura, like four lifeless statues.
Sensing the arrival of the three, the old priest slowly, extremely slowly, opened his eyes.
What eyes they were!
There were no pupils, only a murky, abyss-like darkness that seemed to suck in one's soul!
“Cultivators from another land…”
The old priest spoke, his voice hoarse like two rusty iron pieces rubbing together, carrying an ancient and eerie rhythm, "...destroying my serpent god's avatar, trespassing on my sacred altar...your sins can only be washed away by your souls being eternally condemned to the Avici Hell."
His gaze (if you can call it a gaze) swept over the three of them, lingering on Ling Qingxue and Ye Meier for a moment. A very subtle fluctuation seemed to flash in his turbid eyes, but it quickly returned to its dead silence.
"You old fool, stop talking nonsense!"
Zhang Shao stepped forward, pointing his finger at him without any politeness and cursing, "You bunch of inhuman bastards, you killed our people! Today we're here to raid your hideout and send you on your way! State your names, I don't kill nameless ghosts!"
The old priest remained unmoved by Zhang Shaozhong's insults, and simply said in his hoarse voice, "I am Shiki Yugen, the Grand Priest of the Yamata Shrine."
He gently stroked the black wooden box in his hand, as if caressing a lover's skin: "Disturbing the slumber of the serpent god, blaspheming the supreme divine power... let you personally experience... what the true wrath of the gods is."
Before he finished speaking, the four masked priests behind him, as if they had received a command, raised their heads at the same time, and their eyes under their masks burst out with a scarlet light!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Four powerful energy fluctuations, imbued with a metallic and murderous aura, instantly locked onto Zhang Shaozhong and his two companions!
These four priests also possessed the strength of the late Foundation Establishment stage!
Meanwhile, the high priest Shiki Yugen slowly stood up, and the lid of the black wooden box in his hand silently slid open a crack...
A terrifying aura, seemingly emanating from the deepest hell, instantly changed the expressions of Ling Qingxue and Ye Meier, and began to emanate from it!
The real battle has only just begun!
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