30: Chapter 30 A Talisman Leads to White Bones, A Sword's Cry Terrifies the Soul

The skeleton arm lunged, fast as a ghost. The lingering might of the Foundation Establishment Stage mixed with Evil Qi was something that a Qi Refining Stage 4 Cultivator could never withstand head-on.

Dodge? The path of retreat was sealed.

Clash head-on? The risk was immense, and it would inevitably disturb the demon abyss sword.

In a flash, thoughts raced through Lin Ye's mind.

Was the skeleton's target the leather pouch, or rather, the "gui water escape talisman" inside? Perhaps its residual obsession was to be the Guardian of this object, or perhaps it was driven by the demon abyss sword's Evil Qi to destroy any hope of escape.

Either way, the leather pouch was key!

He couldn't let it get it, nor could he allow himself to be entangled in a fight.

Then... let the leather pouch go where it belonged!

A cold glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes. With a difference of a hair's breadth, just before the skeleton arm reached the leather pouch, his right toe accurately kicked the edge of the pouch!

It wasn't a violent kick, but a deft flick, carrying a spin.

Whoosh!

The grey leather pouch, as if guided by an invisible thread, traced an arc and flew precisely toward the center of the hall—directly beneath that demon abyss sword, which was slowly rotating and exuding a monstrous, ferocious might!

The skeleton arm grasped at empty air, and the ghostly green flames suddenly flared! It seemed enraged, or perhaps driven by its obsession; without hesitation, it abandoned Lin Ye, who was right in front of it. The skull turned toward the flying leather pouch, emitting a silent roar, and the entire skeleton pounced toward the area beneath the demon abyss sword at an unnatural speed!

It worked!

Lin Ye shouted inwardly, but his body didn't stop. He didn't pursue, but instead, like a startled rabbit, violently retreated backward. At the same time, the light of the Ancient Ring "ancient ring yuan sha" on his left hand became restrained, concealing all his aura as he merged into the shadows of the wall.

His gaze was locked tightly onto the flying leather pouch and the skeleton.

The leather pouch tumbled in the air, and the object inside (most likely that damaged escape Talisman) was faintly visible.

The skeleton's speed was extremely fast; its withered bone palm opened, and it was about to grab the leather pouch.

Just then—

Hum!!!

The "sleeping" demon abyss sword seemed to sense the "foreign object" rapidly approaching from below and the faint spatial fluctuations belonging to the "gui water escape talisman". The sword body shook violently!

A dark red Sword Qi, more condensed and terrifying than any before, like a blood moon slashed out from the Nine Nether Hell, emerged from the sword body silently, yet faster than thought, slashing toward the flying leather pouch and the pouncing skeleton!

The target seemed to be... both?

No! The main target of the Sword Qi was, shockingly, that pale blue, damaged escape Talisman sliding halfway out of the leather pouch! The demon abyss sword seemed to have an instinctive hatred and desire to destroy "escape"!

And the skeleton happened to be blocking the path between the Sword Qi and the escape Talisman!

Sshhh—!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a soft sound like a red-hot iron being plunged into ice water.

The tough skeleton of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator was like paper before this extremely condensed Evil Qi Sword Qi. It was sliced in half and instantly turned into powder! Even those two points of ghostly green flame let out a shrill, silent wail before being completely extinguished.

The damaged escape Talisman was also swept by the aftermath of the Sword Qi. Its pale blue light flickered violently and dimmed, and a clear crack appeared on the Talisman itself. However, it wasn't completely destroyed; instead, it was blown obliquely away by the wind carried by the Sword Qi, sticking with a "slap" to the back of a half-collapsed stone pillar in the distance.

The demon abyss sword emitted a faint sword hum that seemed both satisfied and disdainful. The sword body slowly rotated back, continuing its rotation and absorption of Evil Qi, as if it had merely swatted a fly.

The entire hall returned to that eerie, oppressive calm once again.

Only the damaged escape Talisman with a crack and dim spiritual light behind the stone pillar, along with the powder of the skeleton on the ground, told the story of that thrilling moment.

Lin Ye lay in the shadows, his heart pounding wildly, his back soaked in cold sweat.

How close! What a terrifying demon abyss sword! A single, casually unleashed Sword Qi had instantly annihilated that skeleton, which had retained at least part of the power of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

If he hadn't made the split-second decision to divert the disaster, he would be the one turned into powder right now!

He didn't dare to move in the slightest, even keeping his breathing as imperceptible as possible. He silently counted for over a hundred breaths, and only after confirming that the demon abyss sword had truly returned to "calm" did he slowly lift his head.

His gaze first fell on the damaged escape Talisman behind the stone pillar.

It was cracked and its spiritual light was dim, but it seemed it could still be used? At the very least, it was better than nothing.

Then, he looked at the demon abyss sword. The dark red cracks on the sword body seemed to have healed slightly after that burst of Sword Qi, the Sword Intent more condensed, the ferocious might restrained, yet even more heart-palpitating.

The pale blue Talisman runes on the Restriction gate dimmed another fraction, the cracks widening as if they might collapse completely at any moment.

Time was truly running out.

He had to act immediately!

He looked at the damaged escape Talisman again. Should he go and get it? The stone pillar was closer to the demon abyss sword, making the risk immense.

But... it was worth a gamble! An extra escape Talisman (even a damaged one) meant an extra sliver of survival and a trump card. Moreover, since the skeleton had guarded (or fought for) this object with its life, perhaps there was some other mystery to this escape Talisman.

He took a deep breath, pushing the Ice Soul Sword Art and Mystic Jade Body to their limits. Ice armor circulated on his body surface, and his Qi Concealment Technique was hidden deep.

Then, like the most agile civet cat, he pressed against the ground, moving with the smallest movements and the slowest speed, "sliding" toward that stone pillar.

Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang...

The distance to the stone pillar grew smaller, and he could see the damaged escape Talisman stuck to the pillar more clearly. The water patterns on the Talisman were already somewhat blurred, a crack running through nearly half of the Talisman surface, its spiritual light weak, but it was indeed still there.

Just at the moment his fingers were about to touch the escape Talisman.

A new change occurred!

It wasn't the demon abyss sword, but... the ground!

The ground where the powder of the skeleton annihilated by the Sword Qi lay suddenly lit up with a few points of extremely faint, almost imperceptible ghostly light!

Immediately after, these ghostly lights, as if possessing life, rapidly flowed toward the direction of the stone pillar—or more accurately, toward that damaged escape Talisman!

Was it the final obsession remaining from the skeleton? Or a strange change produced after being soaked in the demon abyss sword's Evil Qi?

The ghostly light was extremely fast, reaching the foot of the stone pillar in the blink of an eye, and spread upward along the pillar's body, targeting the escape Talisman directly!

And Lin Ye's hand, at almost the same time, reached for the escape Talisman!

Who was faster?

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes, and he increased his speed by another three points. Icy spiritual power spat from his fingertips, turning into a tiny icicle, taking the lead to wrap around a corner of the escape Talisman and yanking it violently toward himself!

Almost simultaneously, those few points of ghostly light also touched the other corner of the escape Talisman!

Screech—!

The weak spiritual light collided with the ghostly light, emitting a soft sound.

Lin Ye successfully pulled the escape Talisman into his hand. It felt ice-cold, but besides the original crack, the Talisman was also stained with a few ghostly green spots like maggots on a bone, which were trying to drill into the interior of the Talisman!

The ghostly lights seemed to pause for a moment because they had lost their target (having been snatched by Lin Ye), and then, as if they had sensed the aura of Lin Ye, a "living being", they suddenly changed direction, like several tiny poisonous snakes, and lunged to bite at the wrist holding the Talisman!

Before the ghostly light arrived, a chilly, vengeful, and strongly corrosive intent had already reached him!

Was it the final counterattack of the skeleton's remnant soul? Or an evil object spawned by the demon abyss sword's Evil Qi?