abnabooks Chapter 89 The Remains of Tian Shu
Chapter 89 The Remains of Tian Shu
Three days later, three thousand miles northeast of Tianque City, in the Crimson Blood Gobi Desert.
The world was a blinding crimson, with swirling quicksand and scorching winds. This place, which had been a forbidden zone for life for thousands of years, had recently been plagued by strange phenomena.
Soaring spiritual light repeatedly tore through the sky, and ancient Daoist charm spread out, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, causing the spiritual energy within a radius of thousands of miles to surge. Beneath the yellow sand lies the ruins of the Heavenly Pivot Holy Land, which once aspired to conquer the Divine Land.
Li Jingyun, dressed in white, led eight elite disciples from the Dao Academy to the outer perimeter of the ruins. Lu Ming was among them, making a total of nine people.
On the Gobi Desert, figures dotted the landscape, with various factions clearly divided and occupying their respective territories.
The air was thick with dust, and the tense atmosphere was like a taut bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.
Some were from families of cultivators, dressed in fine clothes, with exquisite magical artifacts, and had formed formations to occupy advantageous positions.
Some small, independent sects of cultivators hid in corners, their eyes gleaming as they waited for an opportunity to strike.
The most eye-catching group was the one on the other side, dressed in black with the character "离" (meaning "separation") embroidered in dark gold thread on their robes. They were the people from the Li Tian Palace of the Li Hen Tian Palace, and Ning Qingxue and Zi Li were among them.
Li Jingyun stood with his hands behind his back, his white clothes standing out against the red and yellow dust, his expression calm and composed as if he were strolling in a garden.
His eyes slowly swept across the entire room, and those with ulterior motives instinctively avoided his gaze.
He announced loudly, "The outer maze and killing array of the ruins have been broken, but the inner area is heavily restricted. The space has been shattered due to the ancient war, and traps and spatial rifts are everywhere."
"The nine of us will form the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation and follow closely behind me!"
"Yes, Senior Brother Li!" The eight responded in unison, quickly taking their positions. The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation was perfectly formed, with their spiritual energy connected.
Lu Ming was positioned towards the rear of the formation, forming a pincer movement with Chu Tianyi and Mo Yuan.
The group formed a formation and advanced toward the main entrance of the ruins, which was a half-collapsed megalithic portal. Behind them was not the real scene, but a vortex of distorted light and shadow.
As you approach, a clear, melodious sound like silver bells rings out, the tinkling sound particularly jarring in the somber atmosphere.
As the crowd parted at the Heavenly Palace, Ning Qingxue slowly stepped out. Her black, close-fitting outfit, with dark gold cloud patterns outlining her exquisite figure, exuded a heroic and neat air. Her ink-black hair was tied up high.
The Purple Glass Guardian followed closely behind.
"Li Tian Palace, Li Tian Hall, she is the young hall master Ning Qingxue, and next to her is Zi Li, one of the four guardians of Li Tian Hall, whose cultivation is unfathomable." Chu Tianyi whispered in Lu Ming's ear, on high alert.
"They have great ambitions; they must be here for the Divine Cauldron."
The two sides confronted each other at the entrance, and the atmosphere reached a freezing point.
Zi Li spoke first, her voice ethereal: "Li Jingyun, how have you been? The Dao Academy is far away in Qingzhou, yet you've also come to get involved in this mess."
Li Jingyun nodded slightly, his tone calm: "Protector Zili's demeanor remains as elegant as ever. The Tian Shu Relics are meant to be possessed by those with the right fate, and I believe the Daoist Academy is indeed very fortunate to have them."
"Hmph, righteous people are good at talking nonsense, but they're probably not capable enough and will end up losing their lives instead."
"I've long heard of the two prodigies of the Dao Academy, but I wonder how much you, one of them, really amount to." An old cultivator from the Li Tian Palace sneered provocatively, his aura powerful.
Li Jingyun's lips curled slightly, a hint of arrogance hidden beneath his composure: "Whether or not I can obtain this opportunity is none of your concern. As for my capabilities, that depends on your own abilities."
After speaking, Ning Qingxue's gaze swept lightly over Li Jingyun, finally lingering briefly on Lu Ming before she let out a cold snort.
But then he led the group from the Heavenly Palace into the vortex of light and shadow.
"Follow up!" Li Jingyun gave the order, and the nine people from the Dao Academy followed closely behind, stepping into the vortex.
A strong sense of spatial tearing suddenly struck, far surpassing the turbulence of a teleportation array. Bizarre and shattered scenes flashed by rapidly before my eyes.
A moment later, when their feet touched solid ground, the world around them had been turned upside down.
The magnificent palace complex has been reduced to ruins, and the huge stone pillars have fallen like skeletons.
The mythical beast patterns on the pillars are blurred and indistinct, the broken stone slabs turn to dust at the touch, and the ancient array patterns on the ground are dim but still exude a dangerous aura.
The spiritual energy in the air was extremely chaotic, with turbulent currents of various attributes raging like invisible blades. Tiny black spatial cracks flashed by, and the entire ruins were shrouded in a heavy and desolate atmosphere.
"Stay close!" Li Jingyun shouted, unleashing his full divine sense. An ancient compass appeared in his hand, its pointer trembling slightly as it guided the way to safety.
The nine-person battle formation was tightly linked, their energy energies connected, resisting the erosion of the turbulent energy flow.
After traveling several miles, a disciple accidentally touched the underground array patterns, and a black wind howled out, its chilling coldness capable of destroying spiritual energy and grinding flesh.
Li Jingyun pointed his sword, and the pure Yang sword energy rose like the morning sun, instantly dispelling the black wind.
After traveling for a while, the group accidentally entered the Illusionary Mindset on the flank. Illusions arose and stirred up their inner demons. Chu Tianyi activated the Ice Heart Technique, and the clear sound cleansed and stabilized everyone's mind. Mo Yuan slashed out with his sword, and the dark sword light tore through the illusion, allowing everyone to escape safely.
The group arrived at a wide plaza paved with huge square stone slabs. Just as they were about to take a short break, a sudden change occurred!
In the center of the square, the messy engravings suddenly lit up with a dazzling light, and an incomparably powerful spatial force erupted, as if an invisible giant hand was about to crush everyone!
At the same time, a group of black-robed cultivators darted out from the shadows at the edge of the square like ghosts; it turned out to be the Netherworld Sect lying in ambush there!
"Netherworld Soul-Eating Shuttle!"
"The Curse of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons!"
"Yellow Springs Extradition Flag!"
The Netherworld Cult's magical artifacts and spells came crashing down, specifically targeting the soul and defiled magical treasures, directly attacking the Dao Academy and the Li Tian Palace members whose formation was slightly shaken by the impact of spatial power!
"Watch out! It's the Netherworld Cult!" Li Jingyun drew his longsword from its sheath with a dragon's roar, transforming it into a dazzling rainbow that stretched across the sky. The sword energy swept across, instantly turning dozens of Soul-Eating Shuttles into dust, and the mournful ghostly howl was also severed by a single sword strike!
The nine members of the Taoist temple quickly regained their formation, and the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation was in full operation, with spiritual energy intertwining to block most of the attacks.
The Heavenly Palace was also attacked. Zi Li raised her hand and unleashed a purple light, which dispelled the illusion spell upon contact.
Ning Qingxue's silver bell rang sharply, its clear sound transforming into invisible sound waves that dissipated the ghostly aura and the Soul-Eating Shuttle that were close by.
At the same time, he wielded a pair of dark blue short blades, his movements as nimble as a butterfly, and several Netherworld Cult cultivators were repelled as soon as they got close.
"Not good, we've run into a tough opponent right from the start!" Within moments, the Netherworld Sect was being forced into a retreat. Seeing the situation was dire, their leader shouted sharply, "Retreat!"
The group of black-robed cultivators immediately threw out several streams of poisonous mist and afterimages, their figures turning into black smoke as they vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a mess and a pungent smell of poisonous mist.
Everyone dispersed the poisonous fog unharmed, except for several new cracks in the ground caused by the fierce battle.
"Hmph, those rats from the Netherworld Sect actually dared to attack my Li Tian Palace! They're utterly audacious!" said the old man from the Li Tian Palace group indignantly.
At this moment, at the end of the square, an ancient stone gate slowly appeared, with ancient patterns of the Tian Shu Holy Land engraved on the door, and waves of energy emanating from it, clearly the entrance to the core of the ruins!
The people from both the Taoist temple and the Litian Palace locked their gazes on the stone door, and the hostility in the air was once again at its peak.
"How about my academy go in first to scout ahead, Protector Zili?" Li Jingyun stepped forward slowly, his white robes fluttering, his long sword pointing diagonally at the ground, the sound of dragon's roar echoing through the air.
Zi Li sneered, "Opportunities of heaven and earth belong to the strong. There's no need for pleasantries; let's see who prevails with their skills."
Before the words were even finished, the people from the Heavenly Palace had already moved! They already outnumbered the Dao Academy members, and they launched the first attack, heading straight for the nine people from the Dao Academy!
"Attack!" Li Jingyun gave the order, and the people from the Dao Academy rushed forward, and the two sides instantly engaged in battle!
The deafening explosion of spiritual energy collisions illuminated the ancient square with bizarre and colorful lights, while sword energy crisscrossed and demonic energy surged.
The ruins of the Heavenly Pivot Holy Land trembled in the aftershocks of energy, and tiny spatial cracks opened and closed continuously, swallowing the scattered energy.
Chu Tianyi and Mo Yuan joined forces to meet Zi Li. The three of them fought fiercely, with purple mist and sword light intertwining, making it difficult to distinguish between them.
The other disciples of the Dao Academy fought against the cultivators of the Li Tian Palace, and the battles were evenly matched.
Meanwhile, a graceful figure moved with the sound of a bell, dodging the attack of two Daoist disciples, and rushed straight towards Lu Ming. It was Ning Qingxue!
Her eyes were cold and clear, and the silver bell on her wrist trembled slightly, as if sound waves were locking onto Lu Ming's body. The dark blue short blade in her hand gleamed with a cold light, and she moved with lightning speed, arriving in front of Lu Ming in an instant.
Looking at the familiar face before her, Ning Qingxue spoke in a clear, assertive voice:
"So you're a disciple of the Daoist academy. Today I'll capture you alive!"
Lu Ming's heart tightened, and he pointed his sword, Cloud Snow, directly at Ning Qingxue, meeting the sudden attack head-on.