From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 521 Celestial Phenomenon

The aura leaking from that crack was like a fine needle, drilling into my sea of ​​consciousness.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and my fingertips unconsciously dug into the patterns on my storage ring—the spirit crystal was incredibly hot, burning my palms even through two layers of storage bags.

“Ancient books.” My throat tightened, and I suddenly released Wen Chen’s hand.

The warmth of his palm still lingered on the back of my hand, but I had already turned around to rummage through my personal storage bag.

The jade slip containing the "Map of the Nine Realms" from Qingwei Palace was buried at the very bottom. When I touched it, my fingernail almost split open, and I slammed it onto the stone table with a "thud".

The jade slip emitted a cold light as soon as it touched the stone surface, and lines of small characters emerged.

I stared at the gold-lacquered seal script, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of my chest—the two characters “Tianxi” suddenly jumped out, like a red-hot iron nail driven into my eyes.

"The chasm is the weak point in the boundary wall," I read aloud, my voice trembling. "Legend has it that the passage connecting to other worlds requires the essence of a living being as a guide..."

"This aura is more like the Void Realm." Wen Chen's voice came from the side, with his usual composure, but two octaves lower than usual.

I turned to look at him; he was staring at the crack, the sword tassel tangled in the wind.

He pressed his fingertips to his brow, as if recalling some ancient text, "The Void Realm has no spiritual veins, no life force; the consciousness of all who enter will be torn to shreds—except..."

“Apart from evil cultivators who can manipulate death energy,” Zi Ling suddenly interjected.

The rope holding her fire talisman pouch was twisted from her grip, her fingertips almost transparently white. "I've seen it in the forbidden books of the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave. It says the evil cultivators there specialize in absorbing the life force of the living to nourish their souls..."

Ah Zhu's sobs suddenly rose in pitch.

Elder Qingfeng paused in his hand patting her back, and the golden light on the protective goggles intensified, like two small suns covering the grandfather and granddaughter.

Only then did I notice that there was a smell of rotting grass in the wind, mixed with a faint fishy odor, which went straight into my nostrils.

"Everyone," the ethereal immortal suddenly spoke.

His hand, which had been stroking his beard, fell to his side, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints. "The crack is widening."

I looked up abruptly.

What was just a fist-sized crack has now widened to the size of a bowl, and a blood-red, glass-like light pours down, illuminating the bluestone slab with an eerie purple hue.

The mountain wind swirled black mist that poured out from the cracks, as if a million invisible hands were tearing the night sky apart.

"Watch out!" Wen Chen's sword was drawn with a "whoosh".

He flicked his wrist, and the sword energy condensed into a semi-transparent barrier above our heads. But the moment it touched the black mist, it made a "sizzling" sound, like water splashing into hot oil.

I instinctively reached out to touch the spirit crystal.

The burning sensation in the storage ring had turned into a scorching heat, as if something was drilling into my sea of ​​consciousness along the veins of the spirit crystal.

Just then, an arm suddenly emerged from the black mist—or rather, a solid mass of black mist, with a faint blue light emanating from its fingertips, pointing directly at my storage ring.

"It's sensing the spirit crystal!" the ethereal immortal shouted.

He suddenly made a hand seal with his fingertips, and golden light patterns rose around his body, covering the black mist arm like a net.

But the arm only paused for a moment, then with a "rip," it tore open the light net, and the resulting shockwave overturned the stone table, causing the jade slip of the "Nine Realms Map" to fall to the ground with a "clatter."

Zi Ling's fire talisman finally flew out.

The crimson flames were enveloped in black mist, but only produced a burnt smell—the black mist was not a solid entity at all; it dissipated into smoke as soon as the fire spread, and then quickly coalesced into an even thicker arm.

"Back off!" Wen Chen grabbed me and jumped back.

His sword energy barrier had faded to almost invisible, and I could clearly hear cracking sounds coming from outside the barrier, as if something was being squeezed out of the cracks.

The burning sensation from the spirit crystal suddenly reached its peak.

I gritted my teeth and tore off the storage ring, only to see the black mist arm suddenly accelerate, the wind it generated stinging my cheeks.

Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles exploded with a "bang," emitting golden light. The light struck the black mist, causing it to solidify for a moment—I saw countless human faces wrapped in his arm, their eye sockets empty, their mouths agape enough to fit a fist, screaming silently.

"It's a living soul!" My mind went blank.

The Qingwei Palace's "Soul Crossing Scripture" states that evil cultivators in the Void Realm refine the souls of living people into black mist as "guides," no wonder this aura sends chills down my spine.

Wen Chen's sword suddenly blocked the black mist arm.

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, but the ice patterns on the sword grew brighter and brighter—that was because he had used his primordial spiritual power.

I took the opportunity to squat down and pick up the jade slip, but my fingertips were burned as soon as they touched it and I pulled back—new words had appeared on the jade slip note at some point: "The rift in the sky opens, the spiritual crystal moves, and the evil cultivator arrives."

The one who breaks the deadlock must do so with blood as the catalyst...

"Yao Yao!" Zi Ling's scream made me look up.

The black mist arm had already torn through Wen Chen's sword energy and was only half a foot away from my storage ring.

I saw the eerie blue light at its fingertips growing brighter and brighter, as if it were about to pierce through the storage bag and grab the spirit crystal directly.

"Form the Three Talents Formation!" Elder Qingfeng suddenly roared.

He tucked Azhu into Ziling's arms, then cast a spell, causing a burst of green spiritual light to rise around him.

Zi Ling immediately shielded A Zhu behind her, and fire talismans from the fire talisman bag flew out with a "whoosh" sound, forming a wall of fire above our heads.

The ethereal immortal quickly formed hand seals, and golden light patterns began to circulate around him again, like shackles binding the black mist.

Wen Chen seized the opportunity to grab my wrist and pull me behind him.

The warmth from his back seeped through his Taoist robe, but I felt terribly cold—the black mist arm was three times faster than before, and even Elder Qingfeng's wood spirit barrier began to crack.

“Spirit crystals… must be stored away.” I gasped as I reached for my storage ring.

But the ring seemed to be stuck to my hand; I couldn't pull it off no matter what I did.

Instead, the burning sensation of the spirit crystal traveled through my blood vessels to my heart, and my vision began to darken. I vaguely heard Wen Chen calling my name, his voice sounding like it was coming from a very far place.

"Wait a minute." I suddenly remembered something.

My fingers trembled as I reached for the jade box at my waist—it was given to me by my master before he died, who said it contained something that "should not be used unless absolutely necessary."

As soon as I removed the seal on the surface of the jade box, a cool aura emanated from it, suppressing the burning sensation of the spirit crystal.

The black mist arm paused for a moment.

Taking advantage of the gap, I lifted the lid of the box and saw a dark golden talisman lying inside, with patterns like blood threads coiling around it. It was the "Delusion-Breaking Talisman" that my master had drawn with his life essence.

As soon as the talisman was revealed, an angry roar came from the crack, and the black mist arm suddenly retracted, trying to retreat back into the crack.

"Want to leave?" I gritted my teeth and clenched the talisman tightly.

The talisman felt warm in my palm, but unlike the burning spirit crystal, it gave me a sense of intimacy, as if we were connected by blood.

As I gazed at the ever-expanding crack, I suddenly recalled the last line of the jade slip: "The one who breaks the deadlock must use blood as a catalyst"—perhaps this talisman was the catalyst my master left me.

The mountain wind, carrying a fishy smell, rushed into my collar. I watched as the black mist arm retreated back towards the crack, my fingertips slowly tracing the patterns on the talisman.

Wen Chen gripped my wrist tightly from behind. Zi Ling's fire wall was still crackling, and Elder Qing Feng's wood spirit barrier was already showing spiderweb-like cracks.

"Wait until it gets closer," I said softly, my voice carrying a ruthlessness I didn't even realize.

The talisman felt hot in my palm, like a ball of fire that could explode at any moment.

I stared at the blood-red, glass-like crack and suddenly laughed—since this is a chasm in the heavens, then I will be the one to pierce it.

My fingers trembled slightly as I held the talisman, the dark gold light seeping from the patterns on the talisman flowing through my fingers like a little snake coming to life.

Master's dying words suddenly rang in his ears—"This talisman is nourished with my three hundred years of essence. Unless the rift in the heavens opens and the spirit crystal moves, never touch it." At this moment, the spirit crystal was burning hot in the storage ring, and the black mist gushing from the crack was still wrapped with the wails of living souls. Wasn't this the "opening of the rift in the heavens"?

"Go!" I bit my tongue, drawing blood, and tossed the talisman into the air.

The dark golden light exploded with a "boom," like a ball of molten gold splashed onto the crack.

The talisman instantly transformed into a golden net, each golden thread wrapped with blood, tightly gripping the blood-red, glass-like crack.

The crack, which was still expanding, suddenly contracted, and the black mist hissed as it was whipped by the golden threads, even deforming the arm of the black mist.

"Ziling!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my throat aching from the fishy smell. "Take Azhu to the center of the formation!"

"Use your Fire-Breaking Talisman to reinforce the Spirit-Trapping Array, and don't let the spatial tear affect the entire valley!" Zi Ling paused in her arms holding A Zhu, and when she looked up at me, her eyes were red-rimmed—the coral beads in her hair were darkened by the black mist, but she still nodded forcefully: "Hold on!" Before she finished speaking, she had already pulled A Zhu and run behind the mountain wall, the Fire Talisman pouch hitting her waist with a "thump thump" sound, like it was hitting the tip of my heart.

Wen Chen's sword suddenly pressed against the back of my neck.

His palm, icy cold, touched me more reassuringly than any warm jade. "Take half a step back," he said in a low voice, the icy patterns on his sword creeping up my clothes. "That thing is going to shrink back." I followed his gaze and sure enough, the black mist arm was curled up, its pale blue fingertips still lingering on my storage ring.

With a flick of his wrist, Wen Chen's sword energy, wrapped in frost, pierced the center of the black mist with a "whoosh"—the black mist, like a punctured balloon, scattered into fragments with a "poof," but before dissipating, it emitted a piercing shriek that made my eardrums ache.

"It's closed?" Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles suddenly lit up with a green light. He reached out and caught the falling jade slip of the "Nine Realms Map," his fingertips tracing the note on the slip. "This crack... is closing?" I looked up and saw that the original bowl-sized crack was shrinking at a visible speed. The blood-red glass light gradually dimmed into a purple-grape color, and finally, with a "click," it was like a shattered mirror being pieced back together.

The smell of decaying grass in the mountain breeze had faded somewhat, and the burning sensation of the spirit crystal had also weakened. Only then did I realize that my back was already soaked with cold sweat, sticking to my Taoist robe and feeling chilly.

"Fellow Daoists, what skillful methods you employ?"

The sinister laughter felt like an icicle piercing the back of his neck.

I turned my head sharply and saw the hem of a blood-red dress swaying out from the shadows of the trees.

Blood Fiend stood under the old locust tree three zhang away, the dark red lines at the corners of his eyes glistening with moisture in the night, his mouth stretched wide enough to reveal his back teeth: "Going to such lengths to guard the spirit crystal... what a pity." Before he finished speaking, a dark, heavy bead flicked from his fingertip, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks. "This Void Thunder Bead, I sacrificed for three years using the resentment of a hundred infants."

"Watch out!" Before Wen Chen could even sheathe his sword, he rushed over and shielded me behind him.

The moment the thunderbolt landed, the earth shook violently.

I was jolted so hard that I slammed into the stone wall, and my forehead stung with pain.

When I looked up again, the crack that had just closed had split open again, leaving a narrow opening about the width of a finger. Blood-red light leaked out through the opening, like a drop of blood that had been suspended in mid-air.

“How could this be…” Zi Ling’s voice came from the direction of the array’s core.

She helped Ah Zhu run back, and one of the coral beads in her hair had fallen out at some point. "The fire pattern of the Spirit Trapping Array has dimmed!"

The explosion just now shattered three spirit-guiding pillars! Elder Qingfeng's protective mirror crackled twice, and the green light vanished abruptly: "It's the power of the void... This lightning pearl is mixed with the death energy of the void realm; ordinary formations can't suppress it!"

The ethereal immortal suddenly cast a silence spell.

His gaze was fixed intently on the crack, his beard trembling: "Listen..."

I hold my breath.

In addition to the smell of decaying grass, the mountain breeze carried a faint hissing sound, like silkworms munching on mulberry leaves, or like something crawling out through a crack.

Wen Chen's sword suddenly trembled violently, and ice patterns began to crack from the tip of the sword—that was his original spiritual power resisting some kind of erosion.

He grabbed my wrist with his other hand, his palms sweating profusely: "Yaoyao, the spirit crystal..."

"It's still burning." I tugged at the storage ring, and this time I easily took it off.

The spirit crystal rolled twice in my palm, and a layer of black mist rose from its surface, which then seeped into my arm through the gaps between my fingers.

The crack widened a bit, and I could even see a pair of eerie blue eyes within the surging blood-red light—the same color as the fingertips of the black mist arm.

“Outer formation!” Zi Ling suddenly pointed to the entrance of the valley.

I looked in the direction she was pointing, and the protective array that had covered the entire stronghold was flickering. The bluish-white light patterns were like extinguished candle flames, with a few wisps of black smoke leaking out between the flickering light and shadow.

The black mist, carrying a fishy stench, drifted over, and I suddenly recalled a line from the Qingwei Palace's ancient texts: "When the rift in the heavens opens, evil cultivators will inevitably arrive."

I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight.