This was an ancient graveyard that stretched beyond the reach of sight.
Dongyang Bo called it the Immortal Tomb.
Yet no one knew why such a vast expanse of graves had appeared inside the immortal palace, who had built them, or what lay buried beneath them.
Were they immortals?
Or mortals?
Having weathered endless ages and the baptism of time, these immortal graves had worn down until they were extremely low to the ground. Many had cracked open, and some had even collapsed entirely.
The vast majority of stone monuments were already destroyed. Even among the few that survived, only broken remnants remained, their inscriptions worn away into nothingness.
Amidst the graves, Qin Sang actually spotted a snapped spear, more than half of it buried in the dirt and caked in rust.
Though its former splendor was obscured by corrosion, it was still impossible to ignore. When whole, it must have been a terrifying weapon of immense power. Now, however, it had lost all its might, left to lie forgotten in the dirt.
Fragments like the broken spear were by no means rare. All of them had been stripped of their power by the passing of centuries, reduced to scrap metal.
Yet where there was junk, there was bound to be treasure.
The Immortal Tomb might very well be a treasury in its own right.
The vajra ring hung high overhead, its radiance forming a protective barrier that sheltered Qin Sang and the other four.
Within the ghostly mist, faint spectral figures spotted the intruders. Shrieking, with bared fangs and brandished claws, they lunged forward. For a moment, the ghost mist churned, dark currents surging wildly.
*Sizzle!*
The moment the ghostly mist touched the white light of the vajra ring, it seemed to catch fire, screeching harshly as it rapidly dissolved.
The ghostly shadows lurking in the mist met an even worse fate. The instant the ring's white light brushed against them, they had time for only a fleeting shriek before being completely erased from existence.
Perhaps because they were still on the outer edges of the Immortal Tomb, these ghosts were quite weak. Under the protection of the vajra ring, Qin Sang and his companions did not feel the mist was particularly dangerous.
Even so, Dongyang Bo and Chenyan clearly grew far more cautious.
Surrounded by immortal graves, there was hardly anywhere to set foot. Even the seemingly flat ground was formed from collapsed tombs, and walking across them brought a distinctly eerie sensation.
They advanced along a winding path.
The ghosts they encountered grew increasingly powerful, but the two Nascent Soul cultivators dealt with them with ease.
Fearing they might alert a ghost king rivaling a Nascent Soul cultivator, they proceeded on foot at a modest pace. Yet even after walking for a full half hour, they still had not emerged from the Immortal Tomb, and everything ahead remained shrouded in a murky gray haze.
By Qin Sang's estimate, the expanse of the Immortal Tomb had already exceeded that of the palace complex ahead.
He was secretly shocked.
Just how many people were buried here?
What kind of horrifying slaughter could have swallowed so many lives?
Fortunately, though the Immortal Tomb was vast, the ghosts within were not as densely packed as he had imagined.
It seemed the spectral realm had a strict hierarchy as well. The weak ghosts only dared to wander the perimeter, congregating together and giving the illusion of great numbers.
Deeper into the tomb, they could sometimes travel long stretches without encountering a single ghost.
After moving silently among countless graves for another quarter of an hour, Dongyang Bo and Chenyan suddenly halted.
Qin Sang and the others looked around curiously, but saw nothing.
A moment later, Dongyang Bo said in a low voice, "It's Immortal Dongyun! He seems to have run into a formidable ghostly entity. Judging by the sound, he isn't having an easy time. I've heard that a ghost king rivaling a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator lurks in this area—an exceptionally troublesome foe. Immortal Dongyun may very well have crossed paths with it!"
Chenyan glanced at Dongyang Bo. "Do you intend to help him drive it off?"
"Of course not."
Dongyang Bo sneered. "Although our two domains have decided to join forces, within the Ziwei Palace we remain rivals. That old fellow hides his depth well; he won't die so easily. This is our chance to slip past while he draws the ghost king's attention, getting a step ahead of them."
With that, Dongyang Bo pointed at the vajra ring, causing its white light to recede.
The seven figures concealed their auras, vanishing into the ghostly mist almost imperceptibly. Skirting around the battlefield ahead, they quickened their pace.
Just as they skirted the edge of the battlefield, Immortal Dongyun, who was locked in fierce combat with the ghost king, sensed something.
Wielding a bamboo-flute magic treasure, Immortal Dongyun conjured ten thousand phantom flutes and struck the ghost king before him savagely, nearly scattering half its body.
Immortal Dongyun glanced back over his shoulder, his brow furrowing.
At that moment, the ghost king, sent flying by the bamboo flute, flickered ethereally before instantly reforming. It pounced once more, giving Immortal Dongyun no opening to disengage.
Immortal Dongyun was furious. "Reckless creature!"
With no leisure to mind anyone else, he could only focus on dealing with the relentless ghost king.
Meanwhile, Dongyang Bo's group pressed on without stopping, paying no heed to the fierce battle beside them.
As they drew nearer to the battlefield, the ghostly shrieks grew increasingly distinct and piercing, lingering like a demonic melody that burrowed toward their minds. No matter what they tried, they could not shake it off, and their mental faculties began to suffer.
The closer they got, the more pronounced the screeching became. Yu Wansen was the first to show signs of distress. His face turned pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and a fleeting daze flickered across his eyes as if he were being bewitched by the ghostly howls.
At first, the instant he fell into a trance, Yu Wansen would catch himself and break free.
Yet breaking free became harder and harder, and his lapses grew longer. Each time he snapped back to his senses, the terror on his face deepened, his back soaked with sweat.
He had tried to use the ghostly shrieks to temper his mind, only to realize it was wishful thinking.
After merely a few more steps, Yu Wansen could endure it no longer. Borrowing the power of the vajra ring, he sealed his five senses to minimize the impact, and his condition improved markedly.
Next came Mu Yifeng and Ji Qing.
Soon after, Qin Sang and Qiu Mubai also sealed their senses one after the other.
In truth, Qin Sang had not been affected by the ghostly shrieks at all. Back when he entered the Heavenly Corpse Cave, he had encountered a demonic sound with a similar effect, and the jade Buddha had shielded him from it.
This time, the jade Buddha once again effortlessly blocked the ghostly howls, guarding Qin Sang steadfastly and bringing him immense peace of mind.
This was the screech of a ghost king rivaling a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, yet it still could not shake the jade Buddha in the slightest!
Though they were still some distance away, Qin Sang's mind showed not the slightest trace of disturbance. He could easily imagine that even if the ghost king stood directly in front of him, the result would be the same.
Along his journey, the jade Buddha had demonstrated its power and reliability time and time again, never once failing him.
To keep Dongyang Bo and Chenyan from noticing anything amiss, Qin Sang feigned an inability to withstand it and sealed his five senses as well. After an indeterminate amount of time, his senses suddenly returned.
Looking around, the fog and graves were gone; they had finally emerged from the boundaries of the Immortal Tomb.
Behind them lay the grayish-white ghostly mist, while ahead stretched a vast expanse of open ground. The soil here was the same as in the Immortal Tomb—a dark, blackish-brown that looked as though it had been drenched in blood.
At the far end of the clearing stood an enormous earthen altar.
It was shaped like a pyramid from his previous life, its apex piercing into the sea of clouds. Circling the altar was a drift of crimson baleful blood aura, within which ancient restrictions faintly appeared.
Dongyang Bo and Chenyan led them into flight, but bypassed the altar and continued onward.
Most likely, even they lacked the ability to breach the ancient restrictions upon it.
Chapter 572