The Aura Conduit Stalk’s yang plant was indeed here!
Even Lin Jiu, a transmigrator with little knowledge of this world, could tell that the spiritual herb before her was extraordinary—it was simply too unique.
Shaped like an orchid, the entire plant was enveloped in a warm, orange glow, suspended between the hands of the bronze statue of Wu Nishui, adding a touch of brilliance to the ancient hero from thousands of years ago.
Liu Qingyin’s face lit up with joy as she rushed forward to the statue. Turning back to Wei Liang, she smiled brightly, “Master! We’ve found it!”
She promptly reached out, trying to retrieve the herb, but her expression suddenly changed. “This… what is this…?”
The orange light surrounding the herb was encased by another layer of deep red glow, as crimson as blood, tightly constricting the herb’s radiant aura.
A rare look of surprise appeared on Wei Liang’s face. With Lin Jiu in his arms, he moved closer, observing the scene with great interest.
“The resentment of the dead.”
Lin Jiu seemed to hear that grand, majestic battle hymn again. She stared intently at the crimson light, and every now and then, the image of a sword flashed before her eyes.
‘A sword? Where does that come from?’ She blinked, and both the sounds and visions vanished, leaving only a faint buzzing in her ears.
“Master, the herb and I are connected; it’s calling me to free it from its shackles! Shall I try to forcefully take it?” Liu Qingyin raised her left hand, and a small crescent moon formed at her fingertips.
Lin Jiu raised an eyebrow slightly. ‘Not bad, not bad—the female lead’s approach to forcibly claim ownership is quite bold.’
Wei Liang’s thin lips curved up slightly, his dark eyes filled with mockery. “Once it merges with the resentment of the dead, it becomes a poisonous plant.”
“Then what should we do?” Liu Qingyin frowned. “No one can say when the resentment of the dead will dissipate—it all depends on how much resentment the deceased harbored in life. We can’t just wait around here forever, can we? But this is the Wu family’s underground tomb, a place of heroes for generations. Where could such resentment come from?”
She pondered for a moment before adding, “That doesn’t make sense. If this place was already filled with resentment, how could Wu Mengxia not know? Why would he hide the yang plant here?”
Once again, the battle hymn resounded in Lin Jiu’s ears. A strange tremor pulled at her, drawing her in.
“Should I try?” She looked up at Wei Liang. “If anything goes wrong, promise you’ll save me right away.”
Chuckling with amusement, Wei Liang couldn’t resist patting her on the head.
Liu Qingyin turned her gaze away in anger. ‘Playing weak again! Always playing weak! Not a shred of pride! And yet, Master falls for it every time!’
Lin Jiu slowly raised her hand, cautiously approaching the ball of crimson glow. The moment her fingertip made contact, a sharp buzzing echoed in her mind, and an unusual force pulled her in, thrusting her into an entirely different space!
Her vision was filled with red—the sky was red, the ground was red, and even the countless skeletons surging forward like a tide were all hued in deep crimson.
Lin Jiu took a deep breath and instinctively took a few steps back.
Crack.
A piece of white bone was crushed under his feet.
A chill ran down Lin Jiu’s spine as she stared at the group of skeletons just a meter ahead, their backs turned to her. Thankfully, they seemed intent on rushing forward, paying no attention to the unexpected intruder behind them.
Lin Jiu lifted her gaze, following the direction in which the skeletons charged. There, a snow-white mountain abruptly rose in this crimson world. At the summit of the mountain, a slender, bright red light shone, glowing with a transparent brilliance.
Her heart skipped a beat—‘A sword! That’s the sword from the visions she saw in the underground tomb! Could this be her destined weapon?’
The chuuni heart1 within Lin Jiu was burning with excitement.
‘But…’ staring at the sea of crimson skeletons surging toward the sword, Lin Jiu panicked. She was just a downright ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, a novice with no real skills.
‘Stealing a sword from the mouths of tens of thousands of skeletons? No way, not worth the risk. Better to slip away quietly!’
She stepped back, only to bump into a hard chest.
‘Wei Liang?!’</em< A glimmer of hope sparked in her heart as she turned around. Lin Jiu froze for a split second. Standing behind her was not Wei Liang, but a towering, muscular crimson skeleton. Its hollow, dark-red eye sockets ‘stared’ at her intently.
A whooshing sound filled the air above her, and at the same time, an intense sense of danger gripped her. Trusting her instincts, she ducked her head and threw herself to the side, rolling clumsily in the process.
All those smooth, graceful combat maneuvers—the kind that looked like dancing while fighting—came from years of training and experience. For a transmigrator like Lin Jiu, being able to execute a clumsy roll right away was already an impressive feat.
Fighting the urge to bury her head in the ground like an ostrich, Lin Jiu pressed her trembling hands against the ground and looked up. The skeleton that had attacked her was swinging a half-meter-long hand axe, slamming it into the spot where she had just stood barely moments ago.
Her left cheek began to tingle, and a chill surged into her mind. Lin Jiu practically confirmed that, thanks to her Foundation Establishment cultivation, her senses far exceeded those of ordinary people. She had even activated the legendary sixth sense. This tingling, icy feeling must be a physical manifestation of imminent danger.
Without a second thought, she pressed her palm against the ground and sprang to her feet.
Sure enough, a heavy thud sounded as a bone arrow struck the ground, its tail vibrating with a buzzing noise. Catching a glimpse of her surroundings out of the corner of her eye, a sudden ringing filled Lin Jiu’s ears, leaving her mind momentarily blank.
Behind her, a crimson tide of skeletons advanced toward the white mountain in the distance, their movements steady and orderly, like a disciplined army. Lin Jiu, standing in their path, felt like a tiny, helpless ant caught in a raging current, poised to be swept away at any moment.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the still-quivering bone arrow from the ground, forcing herself to remain calm as she scanned her surroundings. Just as she expected, there were endless skeletons in every direction. Fortunately, most of them paid no attention to her, this unexpected guest. The crimson skeletons marched resolutely, gripping their bone weapons as they advanced toward the looming white mountain.
The skeleton wielding the hand axe, after missing its target, didn’t chase after Lin Jiu. It simply turned its skull and continued forward. Exhaling in relief, Lin Jiu pulled the bone arrow from the ground, intending to use it as a makeshift weapon. The skeleton with the bow quickly approached, gripping one end of the longbow and swinging it down at her.
Lin Jiu’s heart skipped a beat as she tightened her grip on the bone arrow, instinctively channeling aura into it. Through her spiritual sense, she ‘saw’ a dark-gold light flowing from the arrow’s tail to its tip, giving an added layer of resilience to the previously brittle bone arrow.
She raised her hand, using the bone arrow to block the skeleton’s bone bow.
Scrreeech—the sound of bone scraping against bone was enough to set anyone’s teeth on edge. The arrow and bow slid against each other, and Lin Jiu used the resulting force to rush to the skeleton’s right side. With that momentum, she swung the bone arrow like a knife, slicing through the gaping chest.
Bones shattered, and the towering skeleton collapsed with a crash!
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