Although the Yuan Ying cultivators present were mostly skeptical about the spirit fruit that could increase lifespan by a thousand years,
they could all sense the special wood spiritual energy at the top of the giant mountain in front of them, indicating that something definitely existed there. Whether it was other treasures or the so-called lifespan-increasing ghost peach,
it was certainly not an ordinary spiritual object, which was enough to arouse the interest of these old monsters.
Now, hearing the Ghost Spirit Sect's Sect Leader Yan say that there was also an ancient cultivator's relic on the mountain, many people were eager to move.
Their eyes flickered or they exchanged glances secretly. Regardless of whether this person was telling the truth or not, he had obviously piqued their appetites.
Old Devil Baihua and High Priest Luo Ming also frowned deeply. They remained silent, but they were not idle at the moment.
The Yuan Ying cultivators on both sides were constantly transmitting sound messages, seeking their opinions.
After discussing for a while, High Priest Luo Ming snorted and struck the Crimson Roar Drum again. With a loud boom, he instantly suppressed the voices of the others.
"If you want to invite us to explore for treasure together, this seat can agree and temporarily cooperate with you on behalf of these members of the Other-Demon Clan. However, empty words like these, how can we be convinced?"
"Haha, what this Sect Leader says is definitely not empty words." Sect Leader Yan chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, he tossed out a thumb-sized black light sphere. "As for how to gain your trust, you can take a look at this object. This is the peach pit left behind by the ghost peach. With your knowledge, you should be able to distinguish it."
The black light flashed and shot towards High Priest Luo Ming very quickly.
Luo Ming frowned and cautiously prevented the black light from hitting him, instead sending out a purple light that froze the black light in mid-air about ten feet in front of him.
The black light dissipated, revealing a thumb-sized black object inside. It was pitch-black, oval-shaped, and slightly pointed at both ends.
It looked like a peach pit indeed.
However, unlike ordinary peach pits, the holes and gaps on it were very regular. Upon closer inspection, they formed several dense, grimacing ghost faces, with faint, ghostly green light swirling in the gaps, as if they had been deliberately carved.
With a slight shake, a burst of ghostly laughter came from inside the peach pit, as if a ghost was really sealed inside.
High Priest Luo Ming's gaze fell on it, and after carefully examining it several times, he waved his hand, and the peach pit flew towards Old Devil Baihua.
Old Devil Baihua also took a few glances, flicked his finger, and the black peach pit shot back, caught by Sect Leader Yan.
"This object is surrounded by a little special wood spiritual energy, and the aura sensed on the top of the mountain matches. This person is not lying."
High Priest Luo Ming and Old Devil Baihua exchanged glances and communicated with each other a few times.
Although Zhang Ling and the others did not observe the peach pit up close, with their level of divine sense, they all released their divine sense power to examine it while the two great cultivators were checking it.
Immediately, many people showed joy, seeming to believe Sect Leader Yan's words.
"Alright, this seat agrees to explore this mountain with your Ghost King Sect. But if there is no lifespan-increasing ghost peach on the mountain, don't blame this seat for turning hostile." High Priest Luo Ming pondered for a moment and nodded. He then turned his head to look at the ugly youth, Dongfang Ya, and the others who were following behind him. "Do any of you have any objections?"
The Other-Demon Clan cultivators naturally had no objections. On the contrary, several elders also showed joy.
"Haha, the treasures on the mountain will definitely not disappoint the High Priest. Fellow Daoist Baihua, what do you think?"
Fellow Daoist Baihua, with a smile, glanced at Third Elder Qin and the others, and agreed. "Since the High Priest has agreed, this young master and fellow Daoists are also very interested in exploring this place together. However, since Sect Leader Yan has led us into this place, and we are now considered partners, would you first inform us of the exit from this place, so that we can cooperate sincerely?" But suddenly the tone changed, and he asked about the exit.
"So fellow Daoists are worried about this matter. That's easy to handle." Sect Leader Yan chuckled and took out a black jade slip. He struck it with a stream of spiritual power, and green light flickered on the jade slip, revealing streaks of green light.
These rays of light floated嗖嗖 in mid-air, connecting and circling each other, outlining scenes of mountains, rivers, and other landscapes. In the blink of an eye, they formed a map.
"This is the map of this place. Speaking of which, this space was accidentally discovered by a senior of my sect ten thousand years ago. However, this place is not an independent space, but a giant island in the sea covered by layers of heavy Yin energy. As for the specific location, it is approximately in the Black Abyss Sea area in the South Sea. It's just that the space outside this giant island is unstable, surrounded by a space crack. It is a bit troublesome to leave the island, but with the strength of you fellow Daoists, as long as you follow the route marked by this red line and pass through a space crack, it is not difficult." Sect Leader Yan pointed to a winding red line on the map and explained the route out to everyone.
Zhang Ling and the others focused their attention on the map composed of green light, carefully examining it.
Zhang Ling found that this map overlapped with a small half of the area of the map that Third Elder Qin had obtained from the flying skull ghost earlier.
The green light map looked more refined, as if it had been carefully drawn. There were several marked points inside, the largest of which was the giant mountain in front of them at the moment.
According to this map, the encompassed area was extremely large. It was impossible to determine the exact size, but there were many mountains, hills, plains, and other landforms on it, as well as some vague areas that seemed to have not been explored clearly.
However, the general trend of the mountains was high in the north and low in the south, and there were some independent areas around, roughly forming a ring shape. The outermost layer was the seawater pattern representing the ocean currents.
Just looking at it like this, the area covered by this map was at least equivalent to the territory of two or three small countries. It didn't seem like an island at all.
"In this way, this place is very large. We were previously transmitted here using a teleportation array. How do you explain this?"
Some old monsters also saw some clues and frowned as they questioned.
"Previously, this sect spent a great price to have several elders come to this place first and set up a one-time teleportation array. Then, corresponding formations were set up in Yanhsia City, and with the help of this Blackwater River, we were able to transmit all of you to this place at once.
That special teleportation can only function once. Now, if you want to leave this place, you can only pass through the surrounding space crack," Sect Leader Yan explained expressionlessly.
Afterwards, several other people inquired about some other related situations. This Sect Leader Yan answered all questions, not impatient or irritable, showing a sincere cooperative appearance.
Before long, the three parties reached a temporary cooperative relationship and set off towards the top of the mountain.
Naturally, the Ghost King Sect cultivators led the way, followed by Old Devil Baihua, Zhang Ling and the others, nearly twenty Yuan Ying old monsters from the human race.
Finally, there were the Other-Demons. They currently had exactly ten Yuan Ying old monsters gathered. They were the smallest party in terms of numbers.
There were also ten or so Other-Demon Clan Golden Core cultivators who had just gathered, as well as thirty or forty Golden Core disciples from the Immortal City.
However, after a decision by both sides, these Golden Core disciples could only wait at the foot of the mountain. They were not qualified to act with their group of Yuan Ying cultivators. Bai Xinyao, among others, was left at the foot of the mountain to wait.
However, none of the Ghost King Sect's Golden Core cultivators were left behind, and they all followed.
Zhang Ling and the Other-Demons did not care too much about this. These cultivators posed no threat in the eyes of their many Yuan Ying old monsters.
In fact, counting the number of people, there were far more cultivators who were swept into this place than just them. At least seventy or eighty thousand cultivators were fighting in Yanhsia City at that time.
However, everyone knew that under the circumstances at that time, low-level cultivators would find it difficult to survive. Even Golden Core cultivators would suffer many casualties.
It was a twist of fate to be successfully transmitted to this place. However, in terms of Yuan Ying old monsters alone, there were still ten or so who had not shown up.
It was unknown whether it was because they were far away from this place and could not arrive in a short time, or because other changes had occurred.
There were many demons and ghosts here. If they encountered a powerful monster like the Corpse Infant, even Yuan Ying cultivators would find it difficult to deal with, and might even perish.
Of course, these were not what Zhang Ling and the others needed to worry about now. Their minds were currently focused on exploring this giant mountain.
"Since everyone is willing to cooperate, this sect must also remind you that there are many restrictions on the mountain, especially near the top of the mountain, where there is a evil wind. When you get there, you must temporarily listen to this sect's command in order to safely reach the top of the mountain. There are also hidden Yuan Ying-level ghosts in this mountain. If you encounter them, fellow Daoists can work together to solve them." Occasionally, Sect Leader Yan would give a few instructions.
According to this person's introduction, this mountain was named Shuoyue Mountain by the predecessors of the Ghost King Sect and was as high as 90,000 feet.
Fortunately, there were no restrictions in the area at the foot of the mountain. Everyone flew upwards at low altitude, and the speed was not slow.
There was no road to be found on the mountain at all. It was full of strange rocks and gravel. Only the rocks on the mountain were gray-green in color, and you could see clusters of pale white or turquoise-colored smoke and fire surrounding them.
You could even see some Yin Spirit Stones, Yin Fiend Jade, etc., hidden in the soil and rocks, and the quality was not low. Many people were interested and collected some.
However, these old monsters all knew their limits. They only searched around the area they passed and did not leave too far.
After all, such a large giant mountain was unknown to contain what dangers. Naturally, they had to be cautious.
Zhang Ling also collected a piece of mid-grade Yin Spirit Stone along the way.
The entire mountain seemed to be a huge Yin Fiend spiritual vein. The only strange thing was that there was no vegetation on the mountain, not even a single blade of grass.
Before long, everyone reached a height of 10,000 feet, surrounded by heavy Yin Fiend black mist, which interfered with the divine sense to some extent, but the impact was not too great.
Occasionally, vague ghost spirits in the black mist howled and charged over, in large numbers. However, most of them were remnants of souls that had not even condensed into a form. Most of them were fierce spirits transformed from the remnants of souls after the death of demons.
After all, no human cultivators had come to this place for ten thousand years. These remnants of souls probably only had the strength of the Qi Refining stage and posed no threat to everyone at all.
...
At the same time, Elder Guiche, Real Man Baihun, and other Ghost King Sect cultivators who had already reached the top of the mountain came to a pitch-black space.
It was pitch-black in front of them, and they could not see anything. Even if they released their divine sense, they could only explore the area within ten feet of their bodies before being swallowed by the darkness.
Real Man Baihun raised his hand and threw out a few crescent stones flashing with white light. However, the light emitted by these crescent stones only flashed for a moment before gradually being swallowed by the darkness.
"Here, it is indeed the same as the Sect Leader said. Our divine sense is suppressed so much." Real Man Baihun muttered.
"Only Yin fire can illuminate this place."
Elder Guiche's eyes glowed with a green light, and he raised his chicken claw-like withered arm and snapped his fingers. Wisps of gray-white Yin energy floated out from his fingertips, circled around in front of him, gathered together, and condensed into a ball of pale white flame.
"Hehe, Senior Brother's Xuan Yin Bone Fire has long been completed. This junior brother is not proficient in Yin fire supernatural powers, but only barely condensed this ball of Nether Soul Fire, which can only be used for lighting." Real Man Baihun saw the ball of pale white flame and revealed an envious expression. A ball of green flame also rose in his hand.
"Junior Brother doesn't need to belittle himself. Your corpse refining technique is ranked first among us, and the Sect Leader has praised it many times."
Hearing this, Real Man Baihun shook his head and smiled. "Haha, corpse refining is just an external force. It can't compare to Senior Brother's true strength." There was no humility in his eyes, but rather a hint of complacency.
His corpse refining technique was indeed extraordinary.
"Two Senior Brothers, both are people who cultivate great supernatural powers. How can we compare to Junior Brother Wang and I? If it weren't for the Sect Leader's help, I'm afraid it would be difficult for us to form a Yuan Ying," the gray-clothed elder following behind looked enviously at Elder Guiche and Real Man Baihun.
"As long as we achieve our goal this time, the Ghost King Sect's dominance of the Northern Plains cultivation world will no longer be empty words. At that time, you will not have to worry about your strength not advancing by leaps and bounds," Elder Guiche said without turning his head.
"Senior Brother's teachings are correct. We will do our best to help the Sect Leader complete the great task." The two gray-clothed elders did not dare to refute in the slightest and quickly expressed their determination.
"Alright, enough nonsense, the front is the Underworld King Altar." Elder Guiche waved his hand, and the Xuan Yin Bone Fire instantly split into several balls, illuminating the area more than ten feet ahead.
The darkness dissipated, and in front of them appeared several huge crimson pillars.
Each one was several feet wide in diameter. It was impossible to see how high they were, but they plunged straight into a cloud of black mist above their heads. Each pillar was carved with a blue-faced, fanged evil ghost, which looked lifelike.
The arrival of the group seemed to have alarmed the evil ghosts on the pillars. After a long time, the evil ghosts opened their ghostly eyes one after another and stared angrily at Elder Guiche and the others.
A cold, bone-piercing Yin wind also swirled around. Even though they were all ghost path cultivators, they could not help but feel a chill.
The thirty Golden Core cultivators following further behind were all pale and involuntarily retreated.
"Hmph, you are so frightened by a few paintings." Elder Guiche snorted with a gloomy expression. His voice was not loud, but he used spiritual power.
The minds of those Golden Core disciples could not help but shake. Looking at the evil ghost carvings on the pillars again, the cold feeling they had just felt was greatly reduced.
After passing ten evil ghost stone pillars, there was a black circular platform in front of them, several feet above the ground, flashing with a faint green fluorescence. However, the spiritual light was dim, and it was unknown what purpose it served.
"This is it, it's time to act." Elder Guiche looked at the circular platform and inexplicably said this as he touched the green bamboo slip he had been holding in his right hand.
A scream suddenly rang out.
Real Man Baihun suddenly turned his head, looking expressionlessly at the Golden Core disciples behind him, and with a wave of his hand, several black skull heads hit five or six Golden Core disciples, who were immediately killed.
The other Golden Core cultivators' expressions immediately changed drastically. Before they could react, the gray-clothed elders also began to massacre at the same time.
With a few more screams, more than a dozen Golden Core disciples died tragically.
After a dozen or so breaths, all thirty Core Formation disciples were brutally killed on the spot by the two Nascent Soul monsters.
“Don't blame this old man. Your flesh, blood, and souls, cultivated with the Blood Demon Great Art, are the keys to opening this formation.” Elder Guiche didn't lift a finger; his aged voice echoed all around.
