7: Jinmen Mingzha

"A field domain..."

This heavy name weighed heavily on Li Ke's heart.

This feeling of space being almost infinite outwards, yet as close as a foot inwards,

It was clearly a field domain!

If the ritual performed by Baron Charles could produce a field domain,

Then it would probably be a big problem.

In the Cultivation World, a field domain was a Divine Ability that only Cultivators in the Void Refining Realm could unleash,

It represented their beginning to refine the Void Realm and touch the Laws of the Great Dao.

But Li Ke was currently only at the first level of Qi Refining,

Miles away from the Void Refining Realm...

If he was trapped within a Void Refining Realm field domain,

Would there still be a way out?

Li Ke, not believing in evil, immediately took the zombie

And tried to break through in several different directions along the edge of the Manor.

The result was unsurprising.

No matter which direction he walked, he would fall into the boundless dense fog, as if he would never reach the end.

And as soon as he turned back, within a few steps, he would inevitably return to the confines of the Manor.

This place had truly become a sealed cage!

Thump... Thump...

Just as he was repeatedly trying,

A few heart-pounding thumps faintly came from deep within the Manor,

Li Ke some massive creature struggling or moving.

Li Ke's eyes narrowed.

He couldn't continue to wander around the periphery.

If the source of all these anomalies, which might exist deep within the Manor, discovered him, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He immediately took the zombie and quickly left the Hazelnut Forest and the edge of the mist,

And stealthily moved towards a relatively secluded stone house with a courtyard nearby.

...

"Creak..."

Charles Manor covered a considerable area.

Besides the main castle where the nobles resided, there were also many houses for guards and servants.

The stone house in front of him looked quite sturdy, and its courtyard wall was relatively intact.

Li Ke pushed open the creaking courtyard gate.

The courtyard was empty, with only a few withered yellow leaves swirling on the ground.

An ancient-looking kite-shaped wooden shield leaned against the corner of the wall, with a long-handled one-handed saber hanging beside it.

It seemed to be the residence of a guard member.

Li Ke quickly searched the stone house.

He found no trace of anyone or any demonic creatures.

However, he did find a storage cellar.

He ordered the zombie to guard the courtyard entrance,

And he himself descended the steps into the cellar.

The cellar was small, and the air was somewhat foul and carried a damp, decaying smell.

Several burlap sacks were stacked on a few wooden shelves in the corner.

The sacks contained some dried meat and dried fruit,

And it seemed their preservation was still quite good.

Li Ke picked up a piece of dried meat and carefully examined it.

Aside from being slightly spoiled, he found no other abnormalities.

He swallowed hard.

This body, ever since he had Transmigrated,

Had experienced a series of high-intensity mental and physical exertions, and was already extremely weak.

What he needed most now was food and rest.

He no longer hesitated, grabbing a handful of dried meat and dried fruit and wolfing them down.

After consuming a few pieces of dried meat and a handful of dried fruit, a long-lost feeling of fullness came from his stomach, and some of his expended physical strength also recovered.

Li Ke leaned against the damp, cold wall.

An indescribable sense of exhaustion, Li Ke a surging tide, washed over him.

The weakness of his Divine Soul, the consumption of his magical power, and the high mental tension... made his eyelids feel incredibly heavy.

"I must rest."

"Otherwise, the injury to my Divine Soul might further worsen and affect subsequent actions."

Li Ke slowly closed his eyes and almost instantly fell into a deep sleep.

...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Li Ke woke up from his deep sleep.

His consciousness gradually returned, and most of his physical fatigue dissipated, replaced by a long-lost sense of ease.

He silently sensed the connection established between him and the Old Ma Nu zombie in his mind.

Everything in the courtyard was normal, and no unusual situations had occurred.

Based on the feedback from the mental connection and the extent of his magical power's natural recovery,

Approximately two hours had passed.

Li Ke felt that his Divine Soul had recovered quite a bit.

The Devilish Qi, which had been almost depleted due to continuously using Soul Searching Art, Corpse Refining Art, and Corpse Controlling Art,

Also refilled under the nourishment of this dense Death Qi.

"I can comprehend it one more time..."

Li Ke was not in a hurry to get up.

Instead, he immediately immersed his entire mind deep into his Sea of Consciousness.

He looked at the towering "demon-referencing tablet" in his Sea of Consciousness.

Buzz...

On the dark and rugged stele body,

Countless dense, dark-gold patterns, Li Ke living creatures, slowly lit up and flowed.

Countless profound and obscure information streams surged into his mind Li Ke a tide.

Pages of Demonic Path Legacies, some domineering, some eerie, some sinister, flashed rapidly before his "eyes."

Li Ke quickly browsed the countless Legacies recorded on the "demon-referencing tablet."

"Since I can't leave this Manor for now."

"Then the most urgent task is to figure out what exactly has gone wrong here."

He needed a spell that could investigate the situation and gather information.

Soon, his gaze lingered on a Legacy radiating a faint green light in the upper area of the stone tablet.

"Golden Gate Paper Piercing"

"Paper is inherently lifeless, yet given form becomes spirit. Form is inherently impermanent, yet connects to the netherworld."

The obscure and ancient words exuded a chilling aura.

Paper binding?

Li Ke was slightly startled.

Some distant memory fragments surfaced in his mind.

Paper binding was an extremely obscure school of spell arts.

Its most classic abilities were making paper effigies, paper horses, and various paper offerings.

This type of spell art did not focus on improving one's own Cultivation,

But rather was a special practical skill.

In the Cultivation World, many Demonic Path Cultivation Techniques could achieve similar effects,

Such as refining Puppets, commanding ghosts, and so on...

In comparison, paper binding seemed somewhat thankless and a bit useless.

Furthermore, practitioners of paper binding were extremely rare, and the methods of Legacy were also very uncommon,

So, ordinary Demonic Path Cultivators knew little about this obscure spell art.

However, in his previous life, Li Ke

Had once encountered a practitioner of paper binding.

That person's Cultivation was far inferior to his own at the time.

But in an unexpected skirmish,

The opponent's endless bizarre methods caused him a great deal of trouble.

Various strange paper effigies and paper horses, Li Ke living creatures, fearlessly attacked, making it impossible to guard against them.

There were even some paper Puppets with special abilities,

Such as paper tigers, paper centipedes, paper palanquins...

Each one was strangely unpredictable and impossible to guard against.

That time, Li Ke was unable to do anything to the opponent until the very end,

Instead, the opponent seized the opportunity and almost caused him to suffer a disastrous defeat.

This left a very deep impression on him.

Li Ke had never heard of this Legacy called "Golden Gate Paper Piercing."

But judging by its position on the "demon-referencing tablet" and the faint aura it exuded,

It was highly likely to be an extremely top-tier Legacy...

"This is it."

A decisive look flashed in Li Ke's eyes.

He mobilized his recovered mental power, concentrating it fully,

And reached out to touch the ancient characters of "Golden Gate Paper Piercing" on the stone tablet, which glowed with a faint green light.

Buzz...

The stone tablet trembled slightly.

On the dark stele body, the other golden patterns rapidly receded Li Ke a tide and disappeared.

Only the area of "Golden Gate Paper Piercing"

Emitted a faint, ghost-fire-Li Ke green light, illuminating the surrounding darkness in a ghastly green hue.