manynovel Page 159
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He could only watch helplessly as the hand, imbued with the aura of death, was firmly imprinted on the center of his chest.
"Snap... Pfft—"
That was the terrifying sound of the sternum being crushed and collapsed by an irresistible force, followed by the muffled sound of the heart being pierced and crushed by the broken bone fragments!
Tian Jinzhong froze abruptly. All the brilliance in his wide-open eyes vanished like a receding tide, leaving only endless regret and a trace of resentment for failing to fulfill his duty.
He could no longer hold on; his body felt as if all the bones had been removed, limp yet carrying a tremendous weight, and he collapsed forward.
In the end, his body fell, still facing out of the cave, his head stubbornly raised, using his last body heat and congealed blood to firmly seal the entrance to the Demon-Subduing Cave.
Tian Jinzhong, the 65th generation disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain.
He fought to the bitter end and died for his cause.
Chapter 187 Secrets of the Cave, A Dream
The mountain wind howled, swirling up fallen leaves and carrying with it a faint scent of blood.
There was a deathly silence in front of the Demon-Subduing Cave.
The white-robed men stared indifferently at the still-warm corpse on the ground, their eyes devoid of any emotion, as if they had merely crushed an ant in their path.
At the same time, they also cleanly and efficiently killed several Longhu Mountain disciples who were guarding the Demon-Subduing Cave with Tian Jinzhong.
Only Gong Qing stood there quietly, watching the old man who used to smile and give him fruit, treating him like a kind grandson, now turned into a cold corpse in order to protect his sect.
A single, scalding tear, which he could not hold back, silently slid down his handsome yet resolute face.
"Master Tian..."
He murmured softly, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of.
"I'm sorry."
He slowly walked forward, gently moved Tian Jinzhong's body aside, and then, with his hands that were also trembling slightly, pushed open the extremely heavy stone door of the Demon-Subduing Cave.
The harsh scraping sound was particularly jarring in the quiet night.
A cold, damp, and musty smell, mixed with the stench of rust and mildew, wafted from the cave.
Without hesitation, Gong Qing stepped inside first.
Inside the cave, the light was dim, with only a few lamps flickering on the stone walls, casting mottled and eerie shadows.
The air was filled with a nauseating stench, a mixture of excrement and rotting food.
At the source of that stench, in the deepest corner of the stone chamber, several figures were huddled there, motionless.
They wore tattered prison uniforms, their hair was tangled like a mess of weeds, and their faces and bodies were covered with dried filth.
Hearing the stone door open, they slowly raised their heads, their faces, also covered in grime, expressionless.
Their eyes were empty and dull, like two bottomless dry wells, devoid of any human emotion.
They were completely unaware that glistening saliva hung from the corners of their mouths, dripping down their chins and onto their dirty clothes.
Gong Qing stared at the unbelievable scene before him, completely frozen in place.
The white-robed men behind him also frowned, a hint of confusion flashing in their eyes.
This is the mysterious person from the so-called "Nine Heavens Sect" that they went to great lengths to obtain, even at the cost of becoming enemies with Longhu Mountain.
Is this the key piece in their plan, capable of shaking up the entire world order?
How... how did they all become idiots?!
"impossible!"
A man in white robes gave a low shout, rushed forward, grabbed one of the men by the collar, and lifted him up.
He pointed his fingers like a sword and rapidly tapped several acupoints on the man's forehead, Baihui point, and other vital points, attempting to use his pure Qi to stimulate the hidden power within the man's body.
However, no matter how he tried, the man's body was as limp as a lump of mud, and he did not respond to any of his stimuli.
At this moment, the ominous premonition in Gong Qing's heart reached its peak.
He strode forward, grabbed one of the people's wrists, and carefully probed a stream of pure Qi into the other's body.
You wouldn't know unless you investigated, and once you did, Gong Qing's face turned ashen.
He was horrified to discover that the meridians in these people's bodies had long since atrophied, and their dantian was like a desolate desert, without a trace of qi.
Their bodies had long been completely destroyed at their source by some more domineering and unreasonable force, turning them into empty shells with only the most basic physiological functions remaining.
"Soul..."
Gong Qing's voice trembled. He suddenly raised his head and met the gazes of the other white-robed men, whose faces were also grim.
They all thought of the same, most terrifying possibility.
Without further hesitation, Gong Qing reached out and placed his hand directly on the top of one of the people's heads, forcibly probing into the other's sea of consciousness with his spiritual power, which far surpassed that of his peers.
There was no resistance.
He felt as if his divine senses had fallen into an endless, deathly darkness.
In that darkness, there was no memory, no emotion, no thought, nothing at all.
There is only a pure, eternal... nothingness.
The souls of these people had already been completely erased from the most fundamental level of their existence by an even more terrifying and incomprehensible force long before they were imprisoned in this Demon-Subduing Cave!
They went to great lengths, lying in wait for years, even at the cost of making enemies of the entire righteous path, and even causing the death of a respected elder.
In the end, all they got were empty shells that had long since lost their souls!
A profound sense of absurdity and a chilling coldness instantly swept over Gong Qing's entire body.
Gong Qing made a decisive decision and shouted.
He dared not linger any longer and turned to rush out of the cave.
The white-robed men also looked extremely grim, and followed closely behind.
A meticulously planned scheme ultimately turned into a mirage in such an absurd and tragic way.
In the dense forest outside the mountains, a chase was drawing to a close.
The four white-robed men who had led Zhang Yunyuan there had long since lost their initial composure and provocation.
Their faces were deathly pale, their breathing erratic, and they desperately tried to circulate their internal energy, but they still couldn't shake off the terrifying presence that followed them like a shadow.
They couldn't figure it out.
Their prized agility seemed as laughable as a child's running in front of their opponent.
No matter how they changed direction or accelerated, their opponent always managed to trail behind them in a more relaxed and leisurely manner. That effortless demeanor brought them a deep-seated despair.
After all, their strength was only at the peak of the Acquired Realm, and the strongest of them was only half a step into the Innate Realm.
Zhang Yunyuan, on the other hand, was a genuine cultivator at the lower level of the Innate Realm!
Chasing them is like a cat chasing a mouse.
Finally, after crossing a rocky beach, the four of them stopped in despair, back to back, panting heavily, watching warily as the figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
The four exchanged a glance, a hint of determination and madness flashing in their eyes.
With a loud shout, the four of them held nothing back, and four cold and domineering auras soared into the sky. As their auras intertwined, a strange Four Symbols Formation instantly took shape!
"The two polarities give rise to each other, with death as the catalyst!"
Two of them formed hand seals, and their bodies immediately emitted a soft, emerald-green light.
The radiance flowed like water, rapidly healing the hidden injuries inflicted on his companions during their rapid escape, and even quickly restoring their depleted Qi.
Meanwhile, the other person crossed his hands and drew several streams of death energy from the earth, which condensed in his palms into several white bone spears that exuded an ominous aura, locking onto Zhang Yunyuan from afar!
The last one let out a roar, and strange black patterns instantly spread across his body. His muscles swelled and bulged in an inhuman way, transforming him into a ferocious beast nearly ten feet tall with a blue face and fangs!
He stomped his feet hard on the ground, the rocks beneath his feet shattered, and his massive body hurtled toward Zhang Yunyuan like a cannonball with an inhuman trajectory!
Its claws are sharp as knives, its bone spears pierce the air, and it is backed by an inexhaustible healing power.
This desperate attack was the strongest measure they could muster.
A genuine sense of seriousness finally flashed in Zhang Yunyuan's eyes.
He no longer held back in the slightest.
A low shout came from his mouth.
The chaotic Dao Qi surrounding him suddenly began to circulate!
Faced with the whistling bone spears and ferocious beasts, he simply raised his right hand and pressed it lightly forward.
There was no earth-shattering noise, only a deep darkness that seemed capable of swallowing everything, silently unfolding in the space an inch in front of his palm.
Those bone spears, powerful enough to pierce steel plates, melted and disintegrated silently the moment they touched the dark realm, like ice and snow thrown into a furnace, turning into the most primitive dust!
The beast's claws, sharp enough to tear tigers and leopards apart, were firmly blocked by an irresistible chaotic force, unable to advance even an inch further!
Zhang Yunyuan uttered another word.
The tiny primordial energy in his palm suddenly erupted!
A terrifying force, far beyond anyone's imagination, swept out with overwhelming force!
The ferocious beast let out a shrill scream, and its massive body was forcibly forced back to its original form.
Together with the other three, they were like four kites with broken strings, spitting blood as they flew backward and crashed heavily against the distant mountain wall, their fate unknown!
Chapter 188 Exploring the Mystery of the Bright Soul
"This...this is impossible!"
The four men lay on the ground, severely injured, yet their eyes burned with a mad flame.
Their proud "Two Elements Mutual Generation" technique and their near-immortal physical bodies, which could make any opponent of the same level feel despair, were as fragile as paper in front of their opponent!
This is no longer a difference in strength, it's a crushing defeat on a dimensional level!
How could someone from the world of supernatural beings possess such terrifying power?!