Chapter 511: The Immortal's Skeleton Reawakens

Wang Sheng dared not move at all.

The immortal perceptions of the two Heavenly Immortals were not actively probing, yet they still covered the entire area. The pressure alone made Wang Sheng's scalp tighten.

He was currently less than a hundred meters away from them. At this distance, a simple teleportation technique from either of them could bring them right to his face.

Anyone who had reached the Heavenly Immortal Realm would never be easy to deal with.

Becoming one with Yaoyun briefly allowed Wang Sheng to fight a mid-stage True Immortal head-on. Nevertheless, he would never claim he could kill a True Immortal without fail. Even when he had easily subdued Lan Huilin earlier, it was mostly because her immortal power had been nearly depleted.

A True Immortal and a Heavenly Immortal didn't just have a gap in their cultivation. Their very level of existence differed as well.

Like Wang Sheng, Yaoyun kept her presence exceedingly faint. She maintained only the most basic consciousness link with him so she could lend him her spiritual power at any moment.

Because the blood soil blocked vision and perception, Yaoyun only noticed the two Heavenly Immortals after they had landed at the bottom of the pit and started tunneling downward.

Fortunately, the layers of blood soil gave Wang Sheng a tiny bit of room to maneuver. He swiftly executed the three steps of his contingency plan in the span of a few minutes.

First, he crushed the message jade that Lan Huilin had given him, sending her a warning. If she were captured, he would be exposed as well. They were essentially tied with the same rope.

Second, he withdrew every last wisp of the tribulation cloud back into himself and dispersed it into primal qi, leaving no trace of the tribulation cloud outside the golden sphere. Unfortunately, he couldn't control the ones inside it.

Finally, he followed the tiny escape route that he had prepared earlier for situations like this. He quickly retreated along the main path, took out the blood soil that he had dug and stored in his storage artifact earlier, and stuffed it back to block the section that he had excavated. However, he only managed to block the nearest collapse before he had to slip into the narrow crack, sealing it behind him with more blood soil as he left.

Wang Sheng stopped the moment the immortal perception of the two Heavenly Immortals got past the soil and reached his position. With nothing but blood soil around him, he remained completely still while concealing every trace of his presence. Fortunately, his aura-concealing technique, which he had gotten from the Heavenly Court, worked well enough to fool their shallow probing.

The two Heavenly Immortals soon flew down and immediately tried to claim the results of his hard work, which enraged Wang Sheng. In all his years of cultivation, he had experienced many crises and several near-death moments, but never had he been taken advantage of like this.

After all the effort he had spent, all the caution, and all the energy he had exhausted just to consume most of the blood-fiend energy, the two Heavenly Immortals now planned to reap what he had sown!

As the old saying went, some insults simply couldn't be tolerated! Wang Sheng considered himself a man, though, so he still did.

His heart was full of frustration, but all he could do right now was hide and wait. Thinking about it again, he had come only to retrieve the remains of an old Heavenly Court general. That was his sole objective.

The two Heavenly Immortals were clearly discussing how to take the immortal armor, which had deployed the golden barrier; and the broad-bladed greatsword, which still shone with immortal light.

Wang Sheng knew the old man well: Elder Long, the giant azure dragon who had captured him. The middle-aged Daoist beside him had a slightly weaker aura and pressure compared to the fiend cultivator, suggesting a difference in power.

Since Wang Sheng was still at the Primordial Immortal, he could only judge their strength based on the aura and pressure they emitted. It was still difficult for him to determine the exact difference between the two.

Yaoyun telepathically said, "

They seem to have noticed that most of the fiend-blood energy inside the sphere has been depleted and plan to take the treasures. Watch them quietly. We shouldn't let them take the Star Deity's remains with them.

"

Wang Sheng nodded slightly and continued observing in secret. He only dared use the faintest senses, not his complete spiritual perception.

Looking back, he had certainly overlooked a few things.

He had originally assumed that the Celestial Wind Sect wouldn't come down. After all, they had suffered heavy losses here in the past and taken the two Golden Immortals' storage artifacts already. Moreover, Lan Huilin had been down here for many years, yet the True Immortals still hadn't chased after her.

These factors made him subconsciously assume that the sect would never return to investigate.

He had not expected them to descend, especially not with two Heavenly Immortals. A human Heavenly Immortal accompanied Elder Long, who had been stationed outside the array.

A faint sense of unease stirred in Wang Sheng's heart. He felt as though what was about to come would exceed all his expectations. Unfortunately, it was just a vague premonition. He had no idea what would actually happen.

The two Heavenly Immortals stood right outside the golden sphere, staring at the two clusters of tribulation clouds inside and at the black-red aura that lightning was continuously consuming. They then discussed how to open the golden barrier.

Wang Sheng could hear their every word.

***

In a deep tone, Elder Long commented, "The immortal armor's power is certainly a lot weaker now."

"With our strength combined, we should be able to temporarily reopen the barrier. We might not have enough energy left to retrieve the treasures, though."

Ji Li suggested, "Why don't we use an array to temporarily seal the armor?"

Elder Long glared at him. "Wouldn't that release all the fiend-blood energy inside?"

"The energy here isn't strong enough to pose much threat to us anymore," Ji Li countered. "Once the armor is sealed, the fiend-blood energy will flow out on its own. You just have to hold it back for a moment while I retrieve the sword and armor. We'll withdraw right after."

Elder Long sighed. "If the fiend-blood energy runs wild again, we may suffer heavy losses."

Ji Li smiled. "The outer grand array can hold it back. Since our sect members have already retreated to the edge of it, I'll just have to send word for them to prepare to act later.

Once we've taken the treasures and the fiend-blood energy erupts, we'll cut the unaffiliated practitioners' wrists and ankles and send them down to delay the energy. It will definitely be drawn to them. Once it's past them, we'll still have the array to hold it back. That should allow us to retreat without losing any of our sect members."

Elder Long shook his head and sighed. "Now I finally understand why my race could never compete with you humans. We had never been anywhere near as ruthless as your kind."

Ji Li smirked and remarked sarcastically, "That's a good joke, Elder Long."

Elder Long waved repeatedly, dismissing it as a joke. "

Hahaha.

What about the heavenly tribulation?"

Turning serious, Ji Li made some calculations. "Its power is clearly fading, which means it has already crushed the fiend-blood energy's attempt to turn devilish. That's probably just the residual force."

"You might be right."

"Setting up the array will take some time. Let's start with the runes."

"Very well."

Elder Long and Ji Li carved array runes in the air around the golden sphere.

They had already once used a similar array to seal the same armor before. Back then, their sect had many powerful cultivators on site, including four Heavenly Immortals. However, they ultimately failed to stop the immense fiend-blood energy within the sphere from erupting. Many of their experts died that day.

True Immortals would certainly be considered powerful in this remote region of the ancient battlefield. Their sect had so many because it was one of the dominant powers among the thirteen qi planets. Only the Fengli Sect could openly contend with it.

Half a day later, the two Heavenly Immortals had created a hexagonal array above and below the area. Complex runes flickered across their surfaces.

Ji Li and Elder Long stood to the side, watching the two fully exhausted tribulation clouds inside the golden sphere.

"The remaining heavenly tribulation force has lost all power. There's no need for us to bother with it," Ji Li said. "Elder Long, it's your time to shine."

Elder Long waved calmly. "This is nothing."

They simultaneously launched a beam of immortal light each into the hexagonal arrays, making them release layer upon layer of ripples that pressed against the golden sphere in the middle.

Yaoyun telepathically told Wang Sheng, "

That's the Sixfold Ground-Sealing Array.

"

The ripples settled onto the golden sphere, making its light tremble violently. A moment later, two beams shot down from the centers of the arrays and pierced through the sphere, striking the armor within.

The armor instantly lost its immortal light. Soil-colored scales over it as it was forcibly sealed. Right after, the remaining fiend-blood energy surged toward the two Heavenly Immortals.

Elder Long calmly pulled out a palm-sized cyan gourd from his sleeve, removed the wooden stopper, and tossed it forward. "Treasure gourd, unleash your power!"

In response, the cyan gourd shone brightly and flew horizontally before the two. A small vortex appeared at its mouth and swallowed all the fiend-blood energy, making it swell and turn blood red.

Elder Long then formed hand signs. Waves of powerful immortal power flowed into the gourd, forcibly stabilizing it.

He didn't have to tell Ji Li anything. The moment the gourd absorbed the fiend-blood energy, Ji Li turned into streaks of light and shot forward, stopping right beside the two skeletons.

As the vice sect master of the Celestial Wind Sect, he possessed powerful treasured artifacts, including a large seal, a treasured cauldron, and a nine-story pagoda. His Daoist robe glowed with intense immortal light, showing the sect's rich resources.

Instead of focusing on the armor, he first reached for the greatsword with a silver-gloved hand. He grabbed the greatsword by the blade and yanked it hard to the side. The ribs of the skeleton at the bottom shattered, and the hands of the skeleton at the top were torn loose, scattering its finger bones.

Ji Li's eyes sparkled with excitement. Still gripping the blade, he reached with his left hand toward the temporarily sealed armor.

Witnessing the remains of the old Heavenly Court general being destroyed, Yaoyun's anger surged through Wang Sheng. Unfortunately, they could only watch from the dark.

Elder Long's companion had just grasped the edge of the armor and was about to pull it toward him when he felt the greatsword sink, as though something was fighting him for it.

Ji Li was a battle-hardened vice sect master. Nevertheless, the moment he raised his head, he still froze for a moment.

At the end of the greatsword, one of the skeletal hands that had clearly been destroyed now gripped the hilt tightly. Beside it, the bones that had scattered flew back on their own and reassembled into another skeletal hand that clutched the vacant part of the hilt.

The skeleton donning the immortal armor tilted slightly. In the hollow sockets of its skull, two black-red flames ignited.

A chill rushed from Ji Li's soles all the way to his scalp.

"

Rebels who defy the heavens, seek death, and you shall receive it!

"