Chapter 974: Deliver All Living Creatures from Suffering
The skins on the trees all started burning up as well. A great fire blazed throughout the entire forest. It seemed like the Skin Flaying Hell was vanishing.
If the paths of reincarnation still existed, these spirits would leave this bitterness and be reincarnated. However, now that the paths were broken, these spirits would only dissipate.
When Xiao Bai and the others saw this, they were all incredibly astonished. They had not expected the unyielding Phantoms to disappear just like that.
Xiao Chen expended nearly all his Magic Energy to cleanse all the Skeleton Phantoms in the entire Last Breath Lake.
He stood up and recalled the Reincarnation Lamp back into his hand. Then he said, "Let's go. We probably already startled those people on the island. We need to move fast, so we don't end up clashing with them.
---
On the island in the center of the lake, the Medicine God Valley's Mister Wei, Gongsun Hualong, and Mo Lian, a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage of the physical body, looked at the distant blaze. Their faces all revealed astonishment.
The group of cultivators behind the three of them was stunned at this sight as well.
"What's going on? The skins on the trees are all burning."
"Could it be that someone cleansed the Phantoms in Last Breath Lake?"
Mister Wei nodded and said, "That should be the case. Either that person received the inheritance of a Buddhist Sect Martial Technique, or he has a Secret Treasure even more powerful than the Soul Slaying Mirror in my hand."
Gongsun Hualong looked around, his old face showing a sinister expression. He guessed, "It should be a Secret Treasure that targets spirit-type beings. In this world, there are only a few powerful Buddhist Martial Techniques. It is unlikely that someone that knows one would come to the Nine Layers of Purgatory."
After he voiced this guess, the three started laughing together. Mister Wei said, "As the saying goes, 'Arriving at the most opportune moment is better than arriving early.' With that Secret Treasure, we will have a much better chance of dealing with that Golden Bone Demonic Soul."
Mister Wei looked at Gongsun Hualong and Mo Lian, who were beside him. "My two old friends, who shall go over?"
Before Gongsun Hualong could answer, Mo Lian jumped in, saying, "Haha, leave this person to me to deal with. Don't come and snatch this from me!"
"Whoosh!"
Right after Mo Lian spoke, he pushed off with one leg and shot up like an arrow. With this leap, he traveled several kilometers, disappearing from the two's sight.
Gongsun Hualong and Mister Wei did not find Mo Lian's behavior strange at all. In the Ghost Domain, the Ghost Monarch's and Ghost Empress's factions were like water and fire.
In recent years, the Ghost Empress's faction relied on refining spirits, gaining increasing influence in the Ghost Domain. The friction between the two factions also moved from covert to open conflict, steadily intensifying.
If the cultivators from opposing factions met outside alone, they would definitely kill each other.
As a core member of the Ghost Monarch's faction, when Mo Lian heard there was a Secret Treasure that could kill spirits, he naturally became very excited.
Gongsun Hualong asked, "Mister Wei, can you really bear to do this? You actually agreed to give the Soul Slaying Mirror to Mo Lian as his reward for helping. Secret Treasures that work against spirits are extremely precious and rare."
Mister Wei replied happily, "That is not a problem. It is just a replica. From the looks of things so far, it is worth it. Without Mo Lian's help, we would not have arrived at the eighth layer of purgatory so quickly and crossed Last Breath Lake smoothly."
"What should we do now? Should we wait for him to come back before attacking, or should we start first? This Golden Bone Demonic Soul is not easy to deal with."
"Let's start first and test it out first. When Mo Lian comes, it will be easier for us to kill it."
After Gongsun Hualong heard this, he turned his head and looked at a pitch-black mound five kilometers away, not saying anything else.
A pure-white flower on that pitch-black mound was blooming beautifully. There was a flame that looked like fluid ice in the center of the flower, flickering amid the petals.
Not far from the mound lay a completely golden skeleton holding a huge sickle. It appeared to be in deep sleep.
The jaws of the skeleton moved up and down, occasionally exhaling a clump of black flames that burned away the air, forming large patches of black clouds.
The clouds hovered above the mound, ever-present.
Gongsun Hualong's gaze turned serious. Then, he took out a set of blue Battle Armor, which he carefully placed on various parts of his body, before taking out a heavy black spear.
Finally, he pushed off the ground and flew over to the mound silently.
Holding the Soul Slaying Mirror, Mister Wei followed behind quickly. The cultivators from the Medicine God Valley fanned out into a semicircular formation of two wings for support.
Everyone showed an extremely cautious expression, not daring to be careless at all.
Suddenly, black flames lit up in the hollow eye sockets of the Golden Bone Demonic Soul like it just woke up from deep sleep.
"Bang!"
The Golden Bone Demonic Soul stood up in a flash. A crescent-shaped golden light appeared on the sickle in its hand. Then, it repelled Gongsun Hualong's sneak attack.
Gongsun Hualong lost in this competition of physical strength. The Golden Bone Demonic Soul knocked him back one kilometer, and his right hand, which held the spear, felt somewhat numb.
Without saying anything, Mister Wei attacked in a flash. The grandmaster-level Martial Sages at the rear sprang into action at the same time. The intensity of the battle instantly shifted up another gear.
However, neither side would be able to achieve a definite victory within a short period.
---
At another part of Last Breath Lake, Xiao Chen and his group sped towards the island in the center after the lake became safe. Without the Skeleton Phantoms blocking them, their speed recovered back to normal.
The group arrived at the island in fifteen minutes. However, before they could catch their breath, their expressions changed.
Mo Lian, who rushed over, was stunned at first. Then he said joyfully, "Little friend, it looks like our fates are tied together. The earlier commotion must have been your doing!"
Xiao Chen felt very unlucky. However, he did not get overly flustered. He smiled calmly and said, "We are no doubt fated. In less than a month, we meet again. Indeed, the earlier commotion was due to this junior."
"This old man is in a good mood today. Hand over the Secret Treasure that deals with spirits and the half of the Flood Dragon Scissors. Then, you may leave."
The old man was actually in a good mood. The commotion that the Secret Treasure caused earlier rivaled that of the original Soul Slaying Mirror.
If Mo Lian could obtain it and present it to the East Mountain Ghost Monarch, he would definitely receive the Ghost Monarch's favor—perhaps enough that the Ghost Monarch might personally help him raise his cultivation level to the quasi-Emperor realm that he had lost hope of reaching.
There were precedents of such rewards. Given the East Mountain Ghost Monarch's unfathomable strength, he could raise a person to quasi-Emperor after paying a certain price.
Of course, the prerequisite was that the treasure presented was worth the price that the Ghost Monarch would have to pay.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and said, "You may be in a good mood, but I am not. If you disappear from my sight now, I can pretend that I did not see you."
Mo Lian could not help but laugh loudly. "White Robed King Xiao Chen, I heard of your name from the Medicine God Valley's Mister Wei. Hearing about you is not as good as seeing you in person. You are truly extraordinarily arrogant. However, before me, you have no qualifications to be arrogant!"
After Mo Lian's laughter ended, he unleashed his killing Qi. His voice sounded bone-chilling, without a shred of emotion.
Ten dragon-shaped clumps of energy swam around behind Mo Lian, kicking up a strong wind that blew everywhere, a storm front preceding him as he unleashed a horrifying aura from his body.
Ten Dragon Force and this was only Mo Lian's most basic strength. He could strike out with ten Dragon Force, fifty thousand tons of force.
"Today, I will show you the horrifying strength of a person who became a Martial Sage through the physical body. If you can withstand an ordinary blow of mine, I will not make things difficult for you anymore!"
Xiao Bai looked at Xiao Chen worriedly. Then she sent a voice projection, Elder Brother Xiao Chen, don't listen to him. His punch can unleash ten Dragon Force, something that even a great grandmaster-level Martial Sage can't withstand.
Xiao Chen smiled warmly and sent back a voice projection, Xiao Bai, don't worry. You, Brother Yuan, and Brother Kong should step back some. Just watch.
"Die!"
Seeing Xiao Chen take a stance and the other three retreat, Mo Lian could not help but smile coldly. He shouted a war cry and charged over at lightning speed.
The dragon-shaped energy charged upwards in all directions.
A surging Dragon Might spread throughout a five-kilometer radius. As he punched, it was like mountain ranges for fifty kilometers around got uprooted and fell from the sky.
Xiao Chen did not feel flustered. When he was sure that the other party used only ten Dragon Force, his lips curled up in a similarly cold smile. Then, he executed Myriad Heaven Divine Fist, Deities Descending.
A divine light descended from the distant heavens and entered Xiao Chen's body. His aura soared. However, before it reached its peak, he restrained it from climbing further.
Of the tenfold increase in combat prowess possible, Xiao Chen used only seventy percent, intentionally suppressing thirty percent.
Dragons roared as twenty dragon-shaped clumps of energy formed behind him. The surging Dragon Might instantly suppressed the Dragon Might from Mo Lian's ten dragon images.
Mo Lian's heart palpitated heavily as he cursed silently, Damn, twenty Dragon Force. This brat tricked me. His figure flashed as he tried to retreat.
However, Mo Lian had rushed over at lightning speed earlier, arriving before Xiao Chen in an instant. Now that he changed his mind, how could he still have time to retreat?
Xiao Chen stepped forward and easily caught up. Then, he punched with his right fist. Twenty dragons roared together. They merged into one and erupted out.
Mo Lian vomited blood, and the vast might behind him shattered. Then, he crashed into the ground heavily like a sandbag.
Cracks bloomed around him, spreading into the distance. The sky and the earth shook as Dragon Might flooded out.
Wounds erupted on Xiao Chen's face, trickling blood. His delicate face looked extremely horrifying. Tiny cracks appeared all over his bones as pain spread silently.
However, Xiao Chen's eyes were as calm as clear water. He stood upright, as straight as a pine, his hair fluttering. He had not moved a step.
As Xiao Chen looked at the disbelieving Mo Lian, he said calmly, "As the saying goes, 'A word spoken is past recalling.' As you say, you may scram now."
Rage flashed in Mo Lian's eyes as he vomited blood again and got to his feet in a sorry state.
Mo Lian suppressed the injuries in his body as he said coldly, "Good, I underestimated you. You are also a physical body cultivator. However, you clearly used a secret technique with this punch. This old man doesn't believe that you would dare to throw a similar punch again."
Xiao Chen smiled mockingly. "What's wrong? Do you intend to go back on your word?"
"Haha! I'll kill you. Then, who will know that I went back on my promise? Are you not convinced? Today, I will bully you! What can you do to me? You are not the only one who can explode out with twenty Dragon Force."
Mo Lian no longer dared to underestimate Xiao Chen, so he prepared to use a secret technique to double his combat prowess. Even if he aggravated his physical injuries, he had to end Xiao Chen.
Otherwise, if he allowed Xiao Chen to mature, then it would really be too late for regrets.