Master Jingyun lowered his noble head and thanked Master Huaikong. If Master Huaikong hadn't intervened in time, he would probably be deeply mired in demonic possession, unable to extricate himself, endangering his Daoist heart and foundation, and could very well fall into the demonic path if he wasn't careful.
Master Huaikong walked to the vicinity of the exit and reached out to touch the boulder.
"This is a stone?" Master Huai Kong calmly withdrew his hand. "It is actually a rare and precious Dragon-Slaying Spirit Stone."
"The Dragon-Severing Spirit Stone!" Master Jingyun exclaimed in surprise.
The Dragon-Slaying Stone, weighing thousands of pounds, possesses the power to sever dragons. Once it falls, the tomb entrance closes, separating the living and the dead, a predicament beyond the reach of mortals. The Spirit-Severing Stone, on the other hand, is specifically designed to harm cultivators. Touching it will cause cultivators to become weak in the limbs, or even lose all their spiritual power. With the Dragon-Slaying Stone and the Spirit-Severing Stone combined, their chances of escape are extremely slim.
"The Nie family, they truly are the Nie family," Master Jingyun rambled madly.
Master Huaikong sensed something was amiss and asked, "Master Jingyun, what is your connection with the Nie family?" Otherwise, Master Jingyun would never have used such a matter-of-fact tone.
Master Jingyun took a deep breath and said, "There are twelve Supreme Elders in the Li Tian Dao Palace. They are the pillars of the Li Tian Dao Palace and their cultivation is close to the Celestial Realm. Thirty years ago, one of the twelve Supreme Elders, Elder Hentian, broke through the Earth Origin Realm and entered the Celestial Realm."
"The realm of celestial beings?" Master Huaikong exclaimed in astonishment.
In this world, the levels of cultivators are divided into the Human Realm, the Earth Realm, and the Celestial Realm. These three realms can be further subdivided into three grades and nine levels: upper grade, lower grade, middle grade, and first grade to ninth grade. Legend has it that cultivators who break through to the upper grade, ninth level, the Celestial Realm, can attain immortality, ascend to the upper realm, and escape the suffering of reincarnation forever.
"But what does the Nie family's affairs have to do with Elder Hentian of the Litian Dao Palace?" Although experts at the Celestial Realm are extremely rare, Pujing Temple has two, so Master Huaikong is not surprised. After a moment of stunned silence, he continued to ask.
Master Jingyun sat down cross-legged, and Master Huaikong followed suit. The two sat down for a long talk, seemingly forgetting about Ji Xiaoxiao's presence.
"Before Elder Hentian joined the Li Tian Dao Palace, his surname in the mortal world was Nie." Daoist Jingyun casually uttered these terrifying words.
Master Huaikong asked, "Is he a member of the Nie family?"
Master Jingyun nodded solemnly.
"I am a disciple of Elder Mintian of the Litian Dao Palace. I have come here on the orders of my master to investigate the Nie family." Daoist Jingyun frowned, looking slightly panicked. "Thirty years ago, Elder Hentian suddenly broke through. My master suspected that Elder Hentian used some kind of forbidden technique to break through his cultivation level with the help of external forces."
Master Huai Kong seemed to be deep in thought as he scanned the underground palace.
Hearing their conversation, Ji Xiaoxiao interjected, "Could it be that this underground palace, and our deaths, were all orchestrated by that Hentian? Is he the mastermind behind it all?"
Ji Xiaoxiao was extremely agitated, influenced by the lingering emotions of the original owner.
Her death was not accidental, but inevitable; how could the original owner not hate her?
Master Jingyun remained calm and said, "Now, after careful observation, I have discovered that this underground palace is full of hidden formations. These formations are incredibly ingenious and originated from my sect, the Li Tian Dao Palace. And if you were to ask who in my sect is most proficient in formations, it would be Elder Hentian."
Considering the extremely rare and precious Dragon-Severing Spirit Stone at the exit, it goes without saying who created this underground palace.
Ji Xiaoxiao grumbled and cursed, wishing the heavens would grant her a terrible death. Master Huaikong and Daoist Jingyun remained quiet, meditating with their eyes closed, and did not interrupt Ji Xiaoxiao.
The two people and the ghost spent the day peacefully.
Time flies, and seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.
On the eighth day, Master Huaikong and Daoist Jingyun began to feel weak. They were in a lair of malevolent energy, which had entered their bodies. Without any spiritual energy to replenish their needs, the one-sided depletion caused them to show signs of exhaustion.
"Hentian, for his own selfish reasons, has harmed more than 10,000 innocent people. If I were to hide here today and not be able to inform my sect, I fear there would be even more casualties in the future."
Human desires have no bottom line. The more powerful a person is, the more unscrupulous they may be in order to satisfy their desires. Once they make up their minds, they will inevitably cause widespread suffering.
“Ms. Louyu, may I ask you for a favor?” asked Daoist Jingyun.
Ji Xiaoxiao shook her head and pointed to the top of her head, where a faintly glowing Bagua symbol was visible.
"With my current strength, I simply cannot break this Bagua formation."
So, go ask someone else for your favor!
---Aside---
While typing, I typed out the words "The Descent" and suddenly remembered a horror movie that's really good. I recommend it to anyone who likes horror movies and has guts.
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