Was this the summit of Heavenly Mountain?
Qin Sang wondered silently to himself, deeply curious as to what so many magnificent palaces and such a mysterious black pagoda had once been used for, and what had caused their destruction.
After entering Ziwei Palace, he had witnessed many bizarre sights, and his capacity for shock had grown considerably.
Qiu Mubai and the others, however, were thoroughly captivated by their surroundings, unable to tear their eyes away, shaken to the core.
“If we scale the pagoda together, we can move faster. It would be best to get up there before they break through the immortal formation. Though most of those old eccentrics will be drawn toward the core region, there is no guarantee someone won’t pass by here and discover our tracks.”
Dongyang Bo summoned his life magic treasure, the vajra ring.
Chenyan, meanwhile, drew a sword. Slender and exceptionally graceful, its hilt was carved from flawlessly pure crystal into the likeness of a phoenix, exquisite beyond measure.
Grasping the phoenix sword, she cut a valiant, spirited figure.
*Whoosh!*
With a flick of the phoenix sword, a burst of sword qi flew forth, taking the shape of a phoenix as it let out a soft cry.
Dongyang Bo cast his vajra ring right on cue, projecting a ring phantom that slammed into the door alongside the phoenix sword qi.
*Clang!*
After a sound resembling colliding iron and bronze, the phoenix sword qi and the ring phantom vanished together. The pagoda doors flashed with light, and countless eerie runes surfaced, resembling looming demonic phantoms.
With a solemn expression, Dongyang Bo drove the vajra ring forward, shooting out a rapid volley of ring phantoms, and Chenyan was not one to be outdone.
Their coordination was seamless.
Before long, the runes upon the doors shattered with a roar, accompanied by a dull, rumbling tremor, and the doors slowly swung open.
“Enter!”
Dongyang Bo recalled the vajra ring and gave a low shout, leading the charge into the Black Pagoda. The others hurriedly followed.
Before stepping inside, none of them had imagined that the interior would not be a cramped space, but an extraordinarily vast expanse stretching beyond the horizon.
Within this pitch-dim space, mountain ranges rolled endlessly.
Yet the place was utterly lifeless. Not a single trace of green could be seen—only barren, jagged stone hills. Dry riverbeds carved through the landscape here and there, completely parched.
Most startling of all was that across this entire realm, bleached bones carpeted the ground, among which broken weapons occasionally peeked through.
It seemed this place had once been an Asura battlefield, the site of horrific slaughter!
Qiu Mubai and the others were dumbfounded by the appalling sight.
This small, dark pagoda was actually a place of grim omen!
The bones were so thoroughly crushed that it was impossible to tell whether they belonged to humans or beasts. The weapons were also severely corroded, drained of all spiritual power.
The good news was that the surroundings were deathly quiet, with no terrible entities showing themselves.
If whatever had massacred these living beings back then were still around, everyone present would be doomed without a burial ground.
They stood on a mountain, with a sheer cliff face at their backs. Right in the middle of the cliff, an ethereal door flickered faintly in and out of view.
Once inside, Dongyang Bo and Chenyan seemed blind to the bones blanketing the earth, flying toward the depths of the realm without pausing for a single breath. Crossing mountains and ridges, they eventually located a pitch-black stone.
After they attacked it together for a time, restrictions flared across the stone as well. Once those were shattered, a door identical to the one on the cliff face appeared.
One door seemed to correspond to one floor of the Black Pagoda.
Just how many floors did this pagoda have?
Qin Sang, Qiu Mubai, and the others trailed silently behind, watching Dongyang Bo and Chenyan breach door after door, ascending floor by floor. Every single floor was a vast domain just like the first.
Though the scenery differed from floor to floor, they all shared the same carpets of bleached bones and traces of past slaughter.
Qin Sang and the others had grown numb. It was impossible to fathom how many lives had perished here.
The higher they went, the more hidden the doors became, and the restrictions upon them grew increasingly formidable.
The speed at which Dongyang Bo and Chenyan cracked them visibly slowed. Eventually, they even had to pause halfway through breaking a restriction to consume spirit pills and rest before continuing.
Yet they never once called upon Qin Sang and his peers to intervene.
“The seventh floor!”
Another door was forced open.
This time had proven extraordinarily difficult. Dongyang Bo and Chenyan had exhausted every trick in their arsenal before finally unraveling the door’s restrictions.
Qin Sang followed them through, stepping into a new realm while silently counting the layers. Counting the very first door, this was the seventh they had opened—meaning they were on the seventh floor of the Black Pagoda.
Once again, a boundless sea of bleached bones met their eyes.
Qin Sang gazed expressionlessly at the landscape. The atmosphere was chilling and uncanny, leaving no one in the mood to speak.
The earlier ease on the faces of Qiu Mubai and the others had long vanished. Each appeared lost in contemplation, as though struck by some profound realization.
Among their peers in their respective sects, they were the elite, boasting boundless futures, and naturally possessed some pride. Yet after beholding this small pagoda that entombed countless bones, all of them fell silent.
Compared to what these bleached bones had been in life, how much stronger could their meager cultivation possibly be? In fact, they might be vastly inferior. What right did they have to feel self-satisfied?
Once Dongyang Bo and Chenyan recovered, they pushed forward once more.
After flying at high speed for a long time, they arrived before a massive heap of bones.
Pushing the bones aside, they revealed a cavern entrance. The door for this floor was actually hidden within a subterranean cave; how the two seniors had managed to find it was anyone’s guess.
The cave floor was likewise carpeted with bones that crunched and creaked underfoot. Upon reaching the end, they were met by an earthen wall. Dongyang Bo turned toward Qin Sang and the other four, barking an order: “Summon the Five Elements Beast Seals now and unleash the beast souls to assist us in breaking the restriction!”
*Are we finally reaching the top of the pagoda?*
Qin Sang thought to himself. Voicing his compliance, his spiritual sense locked onto the beast seal inside his body and summoned it forth.
The space within the underground cavern was not particularly large, and the five of them standing before the earthen wall nearly filled it completely. Dongyang Bo and Chenyan withdrew to either side, summoning their own magic treasures in preparation to crack the restriction.
The Five Elements Beast Seals were aligned with the five cardinal directions.
Ji Qing held the Gouchen Beast Seal in the center, though the true core of the formation was actually Qiu Mubai.
“Form the array!”
Taking their positions, the five raised their respective beast seals high.
At Qiu Mubai’s command, they immersed their minds into the seals, unbinding the beast souls dormant within.
*Roar!*
In an instant, thunderous roars echoed through the cramped cavern.
Fragments of bone on the ground danced wildly in the gale.
*Roar, roar…*
The roars grew more frantic as the five beast seals blazed with dazzling brilliance at the same time.
An illusory silhouette crawled out of the Xuanwu Beast Seal in Qin Sang’s hand. Its thick limbs, heavy tortoise shell, and sharp fangs differed little from the legendary Xuanwu of myth.
The other beast souls were no different. Though artificially refined, every one of them was vivid and lifelike.
Ferocious and feral, the beast souls poised to pounce and turn on their masters, yet were kept firmly suppressed.
“With me as the head, unify the five elements!”
Once the beast souls stabilized, Qiu Mubai let out a loud shout. Qin Sang and the others hastily directed their beast souls toward Qiu Mubai’s White Tiger beast soul.
One illusory silhouette after another merged into the White Tiger.
Once the five elemental beast souls united, the resulting entity grew grotesque and bizarre, its original shape no longer recognizable.
Seeming to bear an immense strain, Qiu Mubai turned deathly pale. The beast seal in his grip was the first to fracture, followed shortly by the explosive shattering of everyone else’s seals.
“Go!”
Exerting the very last drop of his strength, Qiu Mubai hurled the amalgamated beast soul straight into the earthen wall!
Chapter 606