Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy-Chapter 519 - 454: Divine Soil

It’s done.

With a slight lift of his eyes, Qi Xiu took a deep breath. The clouds floating and surging around him suddenly returned to his body, only for him to transform into a faint, pitch-black smoke.

Having successfully manifested the aura of this great formation, Qi Xiu focused intently, trying to lightly touch the that would trigger a backlash from the great formation.

No reaction; it seems my guess was correct.

Seeing that he had already touched the without any response, Qi Xiu let out a slight sigh of relief.

No longer worried about triggering this ancient Killing Array, Qi Xiu immediately turned back to Old Man Bodhi and the Little Ginseng Fruit.

"Do not resist, I’m taking you down."

With a word of caution, Qi Xiu waved his large sleeve, and the Universe in the Sleeve unfolded, gathering the old and the young directly into the sleeves.

Then he dove towards the bottom of this ancient Killing Array.

The closer he got to the base of the ancient great array, the more the air was permeated with a chilling aura that made one’s heart tremble.

After almost a quarter of an hour of rapid flight, he had reached an astonishing depth of ten thousand miles underground.

Finally, at the edge of Qi Xiu’s vision, a ray of light appeared.

"What is that...?"

Approaching the light, Qi Xiu’s eyes instantly sharpened.

Underneath the great formation, there was a piece of Black-Yellow Divine Soil, exuding an infinite medicinal fragrance and casting billions of rays of divine light. Sitting cross-legged atop this divine soil was a middle-aged man with graying temples, dressed in purple, appearing both dignified and valiant.

At the sight of this man, a flash of spiritual light darted across Qi Xiu’s mind.

Although it was the first time seeing him,

He was absolutely certain this middle-aged man sitting atop the Black-Yellow Divine Soil was the Lord Wei that Old Man Bodhi had spoken of!

"A corpse that has remained uncorrupted for tens of thousands of years, even a Primordial Spirit True Honor couldn’t achieve this.

It must be the divine soil beneath him that played a role."

As Qi Xiu stared at the middle-aged man sitting on the divine soil, he walked slowly forward. Yet, when he was less than ten feet away from the man,

Qi Xiu’s expression suddenly changed, a hint of incredulity flashing in his eyes.

"Is this... the sound of breathing?

This person isn’t dead yet?"

Turning slightly, half-unbelieving, Qi Xiu listened carefully to the sounds around him.

In the next moment, a faint but genuine sound of breathing reached his ears.

Inhale!

Exhale!

Frowning tightly, Qi Xiu halted in his steps, unable to fathom that the middle-aged man in front of him was still alive.

Tens of thousands of years...

How could he possibly still be alive?

Staring at the man defying worldly logic, Qi Xiu couldn’t comprehend how anyone could live through tens of thousands of years.

Aside from gods, not even a Primordial Spirit True Honor has such a prolonged lifespan.

Is he a god?

No!

His aura is worlds apart from a god like Elder Shui; he absolutely cannot be a god.

Besides, if he were a god, he wouldn’t need to rely on this divine soil. That faint breathing sound must merely keep the flesh from dying, hanging on by a thread.

Upon realizing this, Qi Xiu’s expression relaxed slightly.

Tens of thousands of years, even if this person used the divine soil and methods beneath him to keep the flesh from death.

His soul couldn’t endure for so many years either.

What stands before us is but an empty shell, devoid of soul and spirit.

With a wave of his sleeve, Qi Xiu released Old Man Bodhi and the Little Ginseng Fruit from the Universe in the Sleeve, pointing them toward the middle-aged man on the Black-Yellow Divine Soil.

"Do you know this man?"

Looking up at the purple-clothed man seated on the divine soil, Old Man Bodhi’s face changed dramatically. Ignoring the presence of Qi Xiu, an outsider, he instantly knelt on the ground with a thud, touching his head to the floor.

"Zhong Bodhi greets Lord Wei!"

So he is indeed Lord Wei!

Seeing Old Man Bodhi abandon all pretense to kneel and bow to the man in purple, Qi Xiu calmed himself; his previous intuition was confirmed in his mind.

"Didn’t you say you hadn’t seen Lord Wei before? How did you know it was him?"

Positioned beside Old Man Bodhi, Qi Xiu spoke softly, his eyes downcast, scrutinizing this old trickster.

"I have never met Lord Wei, but my ancestors left behind a portrait of him. Naturally, I recognized him at first sight today."

After kowtowing respectfully to Lord Wei nine times, Old Man Bodhi slowly got up.

"You are truly loyal."

Despite being a Dao Body Realm entity, Old Man Bodhi could abandon his pride to bow nine times to a soulless body, showcasing the weight Lord Wei carried in his mind. Qi Xiu couldn’t help but grow more curious about Lord Wei.

How did he brainwash these spirits, passing it down through generations?

"Why is Lord Wei’s body here?"

Gazing at Lord Wei’s body, Old Man Bodhi’s eyes showed a hint of a different color, instinctively reaching out to touch.

"Don’t touch!"

Blocking Old Man Bodhi with a flick of his sleeve, Qi Xiu nodded slightly with his chin:

"This person is the core of the ancient Killing Array above. If you dare to touch him, prepare for the great formation to shatter you immediately."

"Why didn’t you say so earlier."

Withdrawal from Qi Xiu’s intimidation, Old Man Bodhi huffed and puffed his beard in annoyance.

"How was I to know you’re still so impulsive at your age."

Turning away from Old Man Bodhi, Qi Xiu began observing the Universe Space; in this small underground cavern, there were niches excavated into the walls, but they only contained some ashes, with nothing valuable to be found.

Perhaps there was something valuable initially, but after tens of thousands of years, even the best items couldn’t withstand such erosion, turning to ash long ago.

Qi Xiu lightly tapped the ground beneath him, gathering his sleeves in the process.

This isn’t right.

There’s no trace of the True Dragon Clan here, their treasures shouldn’t be located here. Did I take a wrong path?

As Qi Xiu contemplated this anomaly, the entire underground cavern suddenly began trembling violently.

Qi Xiu froze, the next moment feeling like he was being locked onto by a primordial killing spirit, an overwhelming sense of slaughter rushing towards him, leaving him as if trapped in an icy abyss, his blood threatening to flow backward.

"You..."

Turning with surprise, he saw the Little Ginseng Fruit clutching a large handful of Black-Yellow Divine Soil, causing Qi Xiu to roll his eyes in frustration, his expression angry as he shouted at Old Man Bodhi:

"Can’t you keep an eye on the brat!"

"You brat, how can you dare to touch anything!" Knowing he was at fault, even when faced with Qi Xiu’s onslaught of criticism, Old Man Bodhi didn’t retort, instead urging the Little Ginseng Fruit to put down the Black-Yellow Divine Soil.

The situation was already irreversible, no matter how much blame was assigned.

Boom—

In the midst of speaking, a deafening roar erupted from overhead, waves of endless gray-black slaughtering light pouring down.

Boom!

It felt as though a world of slaughter had opened up, gray-black divine light filled the void, obliterating all in its path.

Haotian Mirror!

With a reach, the Haotian Mirror hidden behind the Little Ginseng Fruit returned to Qi Xiu’s hand, infused with a powerful surge of Dao Yuan. The glass treasure mirror, carved with myriad cloud patterns and Dao Charms, suddenly expanded.

Boom Boom Boom!

The void exploded, everything was annihilated, the pulsing slaughter divine light surged fiercely, filling the heavens and earth.

The resurgent ancient Great Array descended, enveloping the man and two spirit beings.

In an instant, the three were placed in a pitch-black space suspended with countless fragments and sand.

Buzz—

As the void lightly trembled, an ancient Killing Array, weathered by countless years, stood quietly, now awakening, emanating a chilling deathly aura.

Numerous slaughtering divine lights gestated within the array, like ancient stars from Outside the Domain, brimming with endless malevolence, pouring down.

Qi Xiu tried to transform himself into the Great Array’s energy to escape the attacks, but locked onto by these slaughtering divine lights, even transforming couldn’t exempt him from the assault.

Breaking the array was the only option.

Qi Xiu’s gaze grew cold, behind him the imposing figure of the Hunyuan Daoist manifested.

This Killing Array was a Formation from the Middle Ancient Era.

Separated by tens of thousands of years, the array systems of these eras were vastly different, the probability of breaking the array through cunning was small.

The only option now was to withstand the array’s attack and forcibly break it.

Within his thoughts, the ancient stars formed of slaughtering divine light approached, emitting black light, spinning ceaselessly, carrying terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth, fiercely descending.

Haotian Mirror!

Wielding the Haotian Mirror to resist the stars’ impact, Qi Xiu’s form constantly retreated, his expression growing more solemn.

Though the Haotian Mirror could completely withstand the strikes from these slaughter stars, it couldn’t block all the force.

Even the slightest transmitted vigor from it was enough to shake his flesh apart.

If not for his cultivation of the Hunyuan Myriad Laws Immortal Body, he would have been grievously injured.

This array’s power was fearsome.

"You hold off these stars, I’ll find a way out!"

Expression shifting, handing the Haotian Mirror to Old Man Bodhi, Qi Xiu pulled the Little Ginseng Fruit and headed to the rear.

"I? You? Him?"

Unexpected, Old Man Bodhi hurriedly took the Haotian Mirror, intending to speak, but a slaughter star had already crashed heavily onto the Haotian Mirror.

"Ugh!"

Like being struck by lightning, Old Man Bodhi’s expression changed swiftly, his body quivering as though electrocuted, palms already oozing green blood like Jade.

Knowing he would be instantly killed by the slaughter star if he retreated even a step, Old Man Bodhi gritted himself, channeling Dao Yuan into the Haotian Mirror to maintain defense, shouting loudly:

"Hurry back, this old man can’t hold for long!"

But Qi Xiu paid no heed to Old Man Bodhi’s cries at this moment, instead moving swiftly with the Little Ginseng Fruit through the array.

"I just deceived your grandpa; the array’s eye isn’t the corpse of Lord Wei, but the Black-Yellow Divine Soil below him.

You have mastered the Innate Earth Technique, you should be able to sense where the divine soil is.

Quickly sense the location of that divine soil, whether we can escape depends on you."

With Qi Xiu pulling at his neck, the Little Ginseng Fruit was unhappy, pouting and folding his arms:

"You deceived my grandpa, and still want me to help you?"

"You brat, you caused this mess by grabbing that divine soil, triggering the array’s revival.

Refusing to help me is fine, I honestly think I can hold out longer than you and your grandpa in this array, believe it or not."

With a few words, Qi Xiu subdued the rebellious Little Ginseng Fruit. While it sensed the Black-Yellow Divine Soil, Qi Xiu subtly shifted his gaze towards the figure holding the Haotian Mirror, resisting the slaughter stars’ impacts.

...