Chapter 238: Chapter 185: Corpse-Chasing Bell (2)

The Corpse Aura attack struck the Water Curtain Light Shield, setting off violent ripples.

Seizing the opening, Qin Xuan had already unsheathed his Lifebound Longsword!

"Heaven-Burning and Earth-Scorching!"

A majestic sword light erupted from his body.

Corpse Hoof frantically mobilized his Corpse Aura to resist, but his cultivation was already weaker than Qin Xuan’s, and his cultivation technique was faintly suppressed by the Great Sun Sword Intent.

"No... How do you know so many Star Techniques!" Corpse Hoof wailed.

Wherever the sword light passed, the Corpse Aura was burned away, and a grayish-green arm flew into the air before turning into a white light and disappearing.

Ghost Shark’s eyes nearly split with rage, but fear had already taken root in his heart.

He slapped a leather pouch at his waist, and a thick, inky-black, poisonous fog of Corpse Aura spewed out, instantly blanketing an area dozens of yards across.

"Heh, trying to escape?" Qin Xuan chuckled, having already locked onto him.

"Ugh!"

Ghost Shark let out a muffled grunt and stumbled out of the poisonous fog, glaring at Qin Xuan with venomous hatred.

"Your methods are impressive, but I am not to be trifled with. You lot only won by a fluke. We’ll settle this for real in the third round!"

Before his voice had even faded, Ghost Shark’s figure blurred. He crushed a Life-Saving Talisman and was forcibly teleported away.

"Brother, spare me!"

The last one remaining, Hai Shan, begged loudly for his life and turned to run.

Qin Xuan couldn’t be bothered with words. He formed a sword with his fingers and pierced through the man’s skull with a single jab.

In a flash, of the five members of the Ghost Gold Division, four were dead and one was injured.

Aside from the heavily injured Ghost Shark who had escaped, the other four were all teleported away.

One after another, fiery red Soul Essences rose into the air.

Qin Xuan quickly cleaned up the battlefield, nodding in satisfaction as he collected them all.

The number on the Token at his waist jumped continuously.

Forty-five!

Not only that.

Where Jiaoxie had disappeared, Qin Xuan found a dusty, inconspicuous little bell.

The bell seemed to be cast from bronze, its surface covered in strange runes.

’A Corpse-Chasing Bell?’

Qin Xuan gave it a gentle shake. A strange ripple spread out, causing one’s mind to sway.

’Good stuff. Even though it’s only a Tier Two Spiritual Artifact, it can actually control Corpse Puppets and even interfere with a Cultivator’s mind to some extent.’

Qin Xuan put away the bell and immediately left the area without a second thought.

The commotion from the battle here was too great; it would soon attract others.

...

「In Star City Plaza」

The battles within the Winged Fire Serpent Secret Realm were clearly displayed in the sky above the plaza.

The Divine Senses of the various great powers intertwined.

Upon seeing Qin Xuan, a Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch in the "Ghost Star" section of the viewing stands shot to his feet, crushing the armrest of his chair!

This monarch wore an ink-green Daoist Robe. His face was gaunt and grim, his eyes sunken, and he was surrounded by the faint, wailing shadows of souls.

It was none other than the Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Ghost Star Division’s "Corpse Sheep Race," Ci Tie Daoist Monarch!

"Useless trash!"

Ci Tie Daoist Monarch’s voice was shrill, filled with boundless fury.

"Five Late-stage Purple Mansion cultivators were completely wiped out by a single Mid-stage Purple Mansion junior from the Human Race! They even lost the Corpse-Chasing Bell... And one had to use a Ghost Escape Talisman just to flee in disgrace! What an utter humiliation!"

"Fellow Daoist Ci Tie, calm your anger."

Another Ghost Star Nascent Soul Female Cultivator beside Ci Tie had an enchanting face and a dark, profound gaze.

"This boy’s cultivation technique is quite peculiar. It seems righteous and honorable, yet it contains a hint of a demon fire’s tyranny. His combat awareness far surpasses others of his rank. He is definitely no ordinary Loose Cultivator. It’s no injustice that Jiao’Er lost to him."

"But... since when did the Liaoyuan Division produce such a figure?"

The one who spoke was Lady of Plague from the Ghost Star’s Evil Horn Division. She wore a sickly green silk dress, and the black horns curving atop her head gave her a unique charm.

The two Ghost Star Nascent Soul cultivators made no attempt to hide their conversation.

This caused the Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs from the other surrounding divisions to glance over.

Not far away, a middle-aged Daoist Monarch with a scholarly face, dressed in a Silver-White Star Robe, stroked his beard and chuckled.

"Fellow Daoist Ci Tie, Lady of Plague, it’s just a squabble between juniors. Fortunes vary. Why get so worked up? In my view, this young friend from the Human Race is decisive in his kills and meticulous in his thoughts. He’s quite a good seedling."

This person was the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Star Constellation Division’s Star Sun Horse Division, Daoist Monarch Mao Ri, who had never been on good terms with Ghost Star.

"Mao Ri the Old Dog, if you have a death wish, I..."

Ci Tie Daoist Monarch was enraged and about to retort when the image in the Water Mirror suddenly changed!

Qin Xuan had only just left the battlefield when he ran head-on into another team of Ghost Star Cultivators!

Judging by their attire and markings, it was a mixed team from Ghost Star’s subordinate Rotting Hoof Division and Lost Soul Division.

There were thirteen of them in total!

The moment they met, a conflict broke out with Qin Xuan.

"That’s him! The one who ambushed Senior Brother Ghost Shark... Kill him! Avenge Senior Brother Ghost Shark!"

"Use Soul Drain and Refining on him! Make sure he can never be reborn!"

Facing the siege of thirteen Ghost Star Cultivators from the Middle to Late Stage of the Purple Mansion.

Qin Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You think you’re worthy of being my enemy?"

BOOM!

The Demonic Essence around Qin Xuan’s body erupted without reservation.

The Supreme Yang Thunder created by the Yi Wooden Heaven-Smashing Hammer continuously crashed down.

With every strike that landed, a Ghost Cultivator would turn into a white light and be teleported out!

"How can your Thunder Technique be so pure?"

"No, it’s a Star Technique!" the thirteen wailed, their formation falling into chaos.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he had actually managed to counter-kill seven of the Ghost Cultivators!

The remaining six were all injured and terrified, their assault faltering.

Of course, the Corpse-Chasing Bell that Qin Xuan had just obtained also played a huge role.

Although he wasn’t familiar with Ghost Dao Techniques.

But relying on his formidable Divine Sense, he forcibly activated the bell’s chime, repeatedly interrupting the enemy’s casting rhythm and causing considerable chaos.

In the end, he obtained another forty Starfire Essences.

While most people in the Li Huo Secret Realm had only a dozen or so Soul Essences, Qin Xuan was already approaching the one hundred mark.

He was, astonishingly, number one in the Li Huo Secret Realm.

...

In front of the Water Mirror, Venerable Cite and the Lady of Plague were trembling with anger, wishing they could personally rush into the Secret Realm and crush that brat!

Meanwhile, Venerable Mao Ri and the other Venerables from other divisions watched with a strange light in their eyes, filled with amazement.

"This boy... is actually this powerful?!"

"At the Star Mansion First Level, he fought thirteen Ghost Cultivators of the same rank by himself and counter-killed seven of them..."

"The Liaoyuan Division... has produced an incredible junior!"

Qin Xuan’s performance had attracted the attention of numerous Daoist Monarchs.

However, at that very moment, several other screens on the Water Mirror abruptly lit up, erupting with even more brilliant light.

Those were the battlefields of the various divisions’ Saint Children and Saintesses!

Yanyao, the Saint Child of the Wing Fire Division, transformed into a hundred-zhang-tall flame giant and obliterated an Ancient Fire Spirit with a single punch, sending a rain of fire across the sky.

You Huan, the Saint Child of the Zhuyin Division, moved like a phantom through a team of Human Race Cultivators.

His methods were bizarre and ruthless, sending a chill down one’s spine!

A Saintess from the Star Sun Horse Division, riding the phantom of a Celestial Horse, drew upon the light of the stars to purify a large area of demonic creatures, appearing both holy and powerful...

Compared to the domineering displays of these Saint Children and Saintesses of the Star Mansion Realm,

Qin Xuan’s gritty, fist-to-flesh Daoist Technique combat, while exciting, seemed like mere "child’s play."

"No matter how strong the Human Race of the Liaoyuan Division is, they ultimately cannot compare to the cultivators of my Divine Race. They can never ascend to the grand stage."

High above in the Nine Heavens, a Venerable Divinity Transformation commented indifferently.

The various Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs also averted their gaze.

...

「In the Secret Realm.」

For the next few days, Qin Xuan hunted Soul Essences in the Winged Fire Serpent Secret Realm, moving about completely unopposed.

During this time, he successfully met up with his three teammates: Sunx Wei, Zhao Lu, and Wang Hao.

The four of them joined forces, encountering and defeating several waves of straggling cultivators from the Zhuyin Division and Wing Fire Division, their Soul Essence count growing steadily.

On this day, when Qin Xuan had obtained one hundred Soul Essences and was tracking a rare Fire Essence Beast,

he suddenly stumbled into a stretch of collapsed ancient ruins.

Deep within the ruins, the Corpse-Chasing Bell in Qin Xuan’s possession suddenly began to ring.

A stone wall rumbled open.

Revealing a dusty, ancient Stone Array behind it.

"Is this... an Ancient Teleportation Array?" Sunx Wei said in surprise.

"Judging by the patterns, it seems to be one-way and extremely unstable. There’s no telling where it leads," Wu Qian said with a frown after careful observation.

Wang Hao gave a bitter smile. "Even if we knew where it led, it would be useless. Looking at this Array, it needs mid-grade spirit stones to activate."

"A single mid-grade spirit stone is worth a thousand low-grade spirit stones... Even if we sold ourselves, it wouldn’t be enough..."

"Not necessarily."

Qin Xuan mulled it over for a moment. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, he actually took out several Mid-grade Fire Attribute Spirit Stones and tentatively embedded them into the Array Hub.

BUZZ!

The Stone Array suddenly lit up with a blinding white light, and the Power of Space fluctuated violently.

The world spun around them.

When Qin Xuan managed to steady himself, he found that he was in a completely unfamiliar place! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The sky was no longer crimson, but a pure, azure blue.

Fluffy white clouds drifted by under the bright sunlight.

The land was vast and boundless. A river snaked through it like a silver ribbon, and the air was filled with a fresh, vibrant, life-filled energy.

It was a stark contrast to the scorching, deathly silence of the Winged Fire Serpent Secret Realm.

"This... isn’t the Winged Fire Serpent Secret Realm?"

Sunx Wei looked around in astonishment.

"What rich and pure Power of the Stars!"

Wang Hao said, feeling the air with a sense of excitement and agitation.