Chương 38: The Uncanny

Hum! At that critical juncture, the Golden Seal nestled deep within Reyn's sea of consciousness suddenly shuddered, emitting a low, resonant vibration. To the outside world, the sound was nonexistent, but within Reyn's soul, it struck with the weight of the Morning Bell and Evening Drum—a primordial tolling that rolled down from the highest peaks. The fog of enchantment that had begun to cloud his mind shattered instantly.

His eyes snapped wide, filled with a surge of raw terror, and his escape speed doubled as he pushed his spiritual energy to its absolute limit. The mysterious woman let out a soft, surprised "Eh?" Her delicate features shifted into an expression of genuine curiosity. It was clear she had not expected a mere Qi Condensation cultivator to resist her soul-snaring charms.

"Hmph. I intended to toy with you a while longer, but since you are so ungrateful, do not blame me for being ruthless. I shall pluck your soul and refine your marrow; you shall never taste the cycle of reincarnation again." Her persona shifted violently. The warmth of the "girl next door" vanished, replaced by the glacial majesty of a sovereign queen. Her phoenix-like eyes overflowed with a killing intent so palpable it birthed howling gales within the chamber.

Under the weight of that murderous aura, the very air seemed to stagnate with the chill of autumn. From a mature beauty to a gentle neighbor, and finally to a frigid monarch—this woman was not only peerless in her grace but a thousand-faced enchantress of shifting temperaments. However, Reyn felt no trace of admiration. Locked under that freezing killing intent, he felt his very soul groan as if it were about to be entombed in ice. This was no empty threat; he had no doubt that a fatal blow was imminent.

Judging by the crushing spiritual pressure radiating from her, he stood no chance of survival. A bitter smile touched Reyn's lips, but his gaze remained resolute. Even facing a certain death with zero hope of survival, he would never simply surrender to fate. One final gamble—life or death is in the hands of the Heavens! In an instant, Reyn's aura exploded. Pushed to the brink of the abyss, his latent potential was squeezed out in a desperate surge.

His 15th-level Qi Condensation cultivation erupted without reservation, his spiritual pressure swelling until it rivaled that of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The mysterious woman's eyes flickered with a second spark of surprise, which was quickly suppressed by her cold indifference. She raised a slender, jade-like hand, and an invisible force began to coalesce rapidly. Under the pressure of that terrifying energy, every drop of color drained from Reyn's face.

"Hmph!" Suddenly, the woman's brow furrowed. She let out a cold snort, and her expression darkened significantly.

"Damned thing! You have sealed me for all these years, and yet you still attempt to block my departure today?" Her voice was like ten-thousand-year-old ice, saturated with an unyielding, murderous intent. She cast a chilling glance at Reyn before flicking her wrist, sending a streak of malefic black light toward him. This light bypassed Reyn's protective spiritual shield as if it weren't there, sinking directly into his chest. Reyn's vision went dark.

He lost all consciousness instantly, his body collapsing to the floor. With a wave of her hand, the woman sent Reyn's limp body flying. He struck the stone wall behind him, but instead of a hard impact, the surface rippled like water, and he was swallowed into the rock. Having finished this, she looked upward, her eyes flashing with cold light. With a final snort, her silhouette gradually faded into nothingness.

"This is the final restriction. Once we break this, we will surely find the key to the next level," one of the Wu brothers said, his face flushed with excitement. The brothers exchanged looks, each seeing the flicker of hidden greed in the other's eyes.

"Junior Brother Chu Dian, you claimed that breaking this final seal would lead us directly to the core of the ancient cultivator's abode. Is this truly the case?" Di Yun asked, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. Chu Dian sneered inwardly but maintained a mask of stoic indifference.

"It is no lie. Once this last barrier falls, you shall see for yourselves." The Di brothers exchanged another glance, a subtle nod passing between them. Di Yun sat cross-legged to recover his spent spiritual energy and Divine Sense, while Di Meng sat nearby, assuming a protective stance with a wary expression. Chu Dian's internal sneer deepened, but he did not provoke them. He simply sat down to recover his own strength. Two hours later, the Di brothers had returned to their peak state.

They resumed the task of unraveling the restriction. Chu Dian stood several paces behind them, his eyes fixed on the beautiful courtyard illusion before them, a trace of excitement finally leaking into his gaze. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Break!" Half an hour later, the Di brothers shouted in unison. They struck the illusion with a rapid succession of hand seals. The seals sank into the courtyard like stones into a pond. As the frequency of their techniques increased, ripples began to distort the image. The courtyard grew increasingly ethereal until only a single, isolated doorway remained standing before the three men. Beyond the doorway lay a grey, misty void, its destination unknown.

The Di brothers looked at each other, a strange light in their eyes, and stopped their techniques simultaneously to turn around. The restriction was fully dismantled; the remaining doorway could likely be shattered with a mere flick of spiritual energy. Even with Chu Dian's limited knowledge of arrays, he could see that the path was open.

"What is the meaning of this, fellow Daoists?" Chu Dian asked, his voice low and dangerous. Di Yun's lips curled into a cold smirk.

"It means nothing, except that my brother and I feel that treasures are better split between two people rather than three. Wouldn't you agree, Daoist Chu?" As the words left his mouth, their killing intent erupted without concealment, locking onto Chu Dian with lethal precision. Chu Dian's eyes filled with mockery. He nodded slowly, as if in agreement.

"You are quite right. Splitting the loot three ways is indeed inferior to me taking everything for myself. Since that is the case, you both can die!" As his voice fell, a tide of endless malevolence erupted from Chu Dian. His eyes turned cold and heartless as he flicked his sleeves, launching several streaks of black light.

"You court death!" the Di brothers roared. Both were at the 8th level of Qi Condensation; they were certain that by working together, they could easily slay Chu Dian.

"Ants... how can you hope to compete with the brilliance of the moon?" Chu Dian's killing intent flared as two more streaks of obsidian light vanished into the air.

"Agh!"

"Argh!" Two screams of shock and agony rang out. The Di brothers were suddenly enveloped by globes of pitch-black radiance. The moment the black light touched their spiritual shields, it began to corrode them with terrifying speed.

"A demonic art! You... you are a demonic cultivator!" The Di brothers turned pale, their eyes wide with primal fear.

"Daoist, spare us! We swear we will never tell a soul about what happened today! Please, for the sake of our hard work in breaking the restrictions, grant us a path to live!" Chu Dian remained unmoved, letting out a derisive chuckle.

"Do you truly take me for a three-year-old child? However, since you did indeed exert much effort, I shall allow your souls to depart and enter the cycle of reincarnation." With a surge of his Divine Sense, the black light intensified. The Di brothers' struggling shields shattered. Under their horrified gazes, the black light touched their flesh. Within breaths, they were dissolved into two charred, obsidian skeletons. Chu Dian sneered and beckoned with his hand.

The two globs of black light flew back to him like loyal pets, vanishing into his body. He reached out and snatched their storage bags before firing a bolt of spiritual energy at the remaining doorway. The portal collapsed, and a painted scroll drifted down from the air. Within the painting was a beautiful courtyard. At the feet of a demonic creature—covered in black scales, possessing a tail, and sporting jagged bone spikes on its elbows and knees—lay two blackened skeletons.

Chu Dian showed no reaction to the macabre image. He caught the scroll, which shrunk into a pitch-black jade bead. A flash of greed crossed his eyes as he placed the bead into a nearby teleportation array. In a flash of black light, he vanished.

"Damnation! What is this cave? How can there be so many vengeful spirits?" The old woman's face was grim, a hint of fear touching her eyes. The sheer number of spirits suggested that the master of this place had committed unspeakable slaughters. The chubby Daoist was equally somber. Though he seemed still, any spirit that dared come within ten feet of him was instantly annihilated. Upon closer inspection, one could see threads of golden light, thin as hair, darting around him, piercing any wraith that drew near.

"Daoist Honghua, we must increase our pace and conserve our spiritual energy." The old woman nodded. The two finally made their move. When Golden Core cultivators unleashed their power, it was world-shaking. Hundreds of spirits blocking their path were erased in a single breath.

"Go!" They transformed into streaks of light, their speed increasing severalfold as they charged forward. However, moments later, they were surrounded by an even larger sea of spirits, forcing them to slow down once more. To their horror, high-level wraiths began to appear—entities equivalent to Foundation Establishment cultivators. While not yet a threat to their lives, it was a dire warning. Boom! Boom! A ruthless light flashed in the chubby Daoist's eyes.

The golden threads surrounding him expanded, sweeping through the surrounding thirty yards like a violent storm. Moments later, the threads returned to him, though their golden luster had dimmed slightly. His face paled; that strike had cost him a significant amount of spiritual energy. He swallowed a medicinal pill from his storage bag, and his complexion improved. Pop! Pop! Pop! Within a thirty-yard radius, the snarling, malevolent ghosts froze.

A tiny, golden-rimmed hole appeared on each of their foreheads before their forms dissolved into mist.

"I will see for myself what secrets are hidden here, and what these ghosts are guarding!" the chubby Daoist shouted, accelerating his light and flying deeper into the cave. The old woman's eyes flickered with a strange light, but she silently followed.

Reyn had regained consciousness the moment the mysterious woman subdued him. However, facing her overwhelming power, he knew he had no chance of escape. Sensing no immediate threat to his life, he had allowed himself to be cast into the restriction, hoping to find a way out later. Lying on the ground, Reyn suppressed his aura entirely. After a long moment of silence, he confirmed there was no immediate danger and slowly opened his eyes. He found himself in a small, exquisite courtyard.

The area was enclosed with no visible doors. Reyn stood up cautiously, not daring to take a step. He condensed his powerful Divine Sense—now comparable to a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—into a fine line and carefully scanned his surroundings. After a while, his brow furrowed. He could sense no spiritual energy fluctuations at all. Was this place not an illusion created by a restriction?