Chapter 240: Human-Shaped Spirits

Qin Sang had been alert from the start. As soon as Yu Dayue shouted his warning, the ebony sword and Sky Poison Veil immediately revealed the presence lurking in the shadows.

A streak of sword light suddenly cut through the air, followed by a strange, eerie scream. Where the sword light passed, a phantom-like human figure appeared, pierced by the ebony sword. It violently shook for a moment before shattering into a ball of flame.

So there is a Fire Spirit Beast lying in ambush!

But unlike the Firebirds or Fire Monkeys that could be seen with the naked eye, these creatures were like ghosts—extremely elusive. Had it not been for the poisonous miasma, Qin Sang and Yu Dayue wouldn’t have noticed a thing until now.

In the next instant, the mist before them began to swirl and roil, and countless human-shaped spirits slowly materialized, blocking their path. Their eyes burned with hatred, and their faces, more human-like than those of the flying monkeys, made them even more terrifying.

Swish! Swish!...

In the blink of an eye, numerous human-shaped spirits lunged at them. Yu Dayue waved his arm and threw out a black, mysterious umbrella. The umbrella shone with a brilliant light, rapidly expanding into a huge black shield, blocking their way.

What was shocking, however, was that the spirits were able to completely ignore the umbrella, effortlessly passing through its defense!

"This is bad!"

Yu Dayue exclaimed in shock, "They can ignore defensive artifacts!"

"We’ll force our way through!"

Seeing that the umbrella had no effect, Qin Sang abandoned the idea of using a defensive artifact. With a swift motion, he led the way, his figure flickering as he advanced. Based on his previous experiences, the best course of action in such a situation was to charge forward without hesitation, never allowing themselves to be surrounded.

Although the human-shaped spirits had strange abilities, they were even more fragile than Firebirds, and killing them was more effective than defending.

However, after pushing forward for a while, they found themselves trapped in an endless siege.

Yu Dayue seemed to have exhausted all his methods, roaring in frustration with no solution in sight. The two of them were moving slower and slower.

Seeing this, Qin Sang took out his jade ruyi and said in a calm voice, “Senior Brother Yu, cover me...”

...

The world around them immediately plunged into darkness. Qin Sang felt his body lighten, then suddenly become heavy as his feet touched solid ground. When he opened his eyes again, the thick mist had disappeared, and before him lay an incredibly bright space.

This must be the ancient immortal’s estate, right?

After finally passing the trial, Qin Sang breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood beneath a massive shadow, instinctively surveying his surroundings with a wary gaze. Then he tilted his head to stare at the unusually tall stone stele for a long while.

Like the ancient stele at the entrance, this one was completely black, bearing the weathered scars of time, but there were no inscriptions or markings, offering no clues to the origins of the ancient immortal's estate.

Qin Sang sensed the remnants of several auras nearby, suggesting that more than a few people had entered the estate before them. Some of them seemed to have rested under the stone stele for a while, but now there wasn’t a soul in sight.

There was no sign of danger, and the estate seemed incredibly calm. It hadn’t been claimed by powerful demonic beasts, and, thankfully, there were no Fire Spirit Beasts swarming the place.

Qin Sang’s mind relaxed a little, and he took in the view before him.

The sky was clear, without a cloud in sight, and there was no mist obstructing his view. As far as his eyes could see, he still couldn’t spot the boundary of the estate. It was much larger than he had anticipated.

The mountains stretched on endlessly, rising and falling, with faint outlines of buildings or halls visible atop some peaks. Qin Sang even spotted an evasion light shooting out from a stone hall, disappearing into the depths of the mountains.

The person who had arrived before them—one could only guess how many treasures that person had claimed.

This place didn’t seem like a simple estate; it resembled more of the mountain gates of an ancient sect or a shared residence of many ancient cultivators.

The stone stele appeared to be the center of the entire space, stretching out in all directions without end. However, to the far west, four towering peaks pierced the clouds, standing as the most prominent and unique feature of the estate. They were unmistakable landmarks.

That was very likely the core forbidden area of the ancient immortal's estate!

The four very similar peaks likely only had the true ancient cultivator's cave dwelling on one of them, while the others were probably there to mislead. Such layouts, resembling crypts, were not uncommon.

Of course, it was also possible that all four mountains housed something, but they were so far apart that from the outside, it was impossible to tell what was on them.

Such places were not something Foundation Building cultivators like them could carelessly enter. Qin Sang merely speculated in his mind, then withdrew his gaze, choosing not to take the risk personally.

What Qin Sang was more focused on was what he could do. He noticed that the temperature inside the estate was much higher than he had imagined—extremely hot. It would be difficult for ordinary people to survive in such an environment.

He sniffed the air, immediately catching a strange, pungent smell, which made him frown. He also noticed that the plants inside the estate were equally strange.

What caught his eye were the mundane trees and plants—tall and short trees forming patches of dense primitive forest. The tall ones reached up like mountains, while the shorter ones resembled bushes. Scattered across the land were endless patches of dry grass, all the same color—withered yellow—without a trace of greenery.

The dry grass rustled as a breeze swept through, adding to the desolate, bleak atmosphere.

Though the trees were twisted and the bark cracked, giving the impression of being lifeless, these plants remained stubbornly alive, creating a layer of dry, yellowish carpet across the estate.

Did the magma flowing beneath the ground cause this phenomenon?

Qin Sang thought to himself.

During his trials, he had witnessed the might of a river of magma, so the ground beneath the estate was likely filled with endless magma, flowing into that river and separated into two spaces by a barrier created through the stele.

This lava river likely flowed outside the estate, connecting to the real world, though its exact location in the real world remained unknown.

After all, so-called hidden realms and estates were merely spaces sealed by powerful cultivators using formations or barriers, enclosing a portion of the real world as a hidden place. They didn’t create entirely new little worlds out of thin air.

The legendary method of creating a small universe through great magical power only existed in myths.

Their discovery of the estate's entrance here simply meant that the estate's owner had placed the entrance here, but the true location of the estate might still be where they stood or elsewhere.

As Qin Sang mulled over this, Yu Dayue was also looking around, his face thoughtful as if considering which direction to head. Aside from the west, the other three directions seemed equally viable.

After thinking for a while, Yu Dayue turned to Qin Sang and said, “Junior Brother Qin, which direction do you think we should go? How about we continue searching for treasures together?”

Qin Sang and Yu Dayue were standing at a distance from each other. Qin Sang shook his head lightly and replied, “Senior Brother Yu, my spiritual power has been greatly depleted. This place seems relatively safe, so I’d like to recover my Qihai before we continue. Please don’t let me hold you up.”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

To break through the human-shaped spirits’ obstruction, Qin Sang had used his jade ruyi talisman astra.

Though the estate seemed calm, it likely hid deadly dangers, and he didn’t want to recklessly charge forward in his current state.