139: Chapter 139 Soul Suppressing Hall

Li Changsheng looked back and saw that all the remnant souls had stopped their attacks.

They hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly at him.

Their scarlet eyes were now all turned toward the jade tablet, as if they were afraid of something.

Li Changsheng did not hesitate any longer; he grabbed the jade tablet and pulled it out with force!

Boom.

An invisible shockwave spread out from the jade tablet, instantly sweeping across the entire maze!

Those remnant souls let out a desperate shriek, their forms twisting violently before turning into wisps of black smoke and dissipating completely!

The red mist also rapidly faded, and the surrounding bluestone slowly sank, restoring the passage to its original appearance.

Li Changsheng stood where he was, panting heavily.

He had added several wounds to his body, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and his Qi was nearly exhausted.

But at last, he had passed the first trial.

Li Changsheng looked down at the jade tablet in his hand.

The jade tablet was ancient and simple, with some chipped edges, but the inscriptions on it were still clear.

They were carved in ancient seal script, and after studying them for a moment, Li Changsheng managed to decipher them.

"The Spirit-Devouring Demon Soul is monstrously ferocious; it must be suppressed with the jade wall and the Soul-Locking Formation."

"If the Formation is broken, the soul will escape, and living beings will be plunged into misery. If future generations arrive here by chance, remember: do not touch the jade wall, and do not enter the depths."

At the signature, the two characters "Xuan Yun" were carved.

On those two characters, a faint yet vast-as-an-abyss aura faintly lingered.

That was the Origin aura of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

Li Changsheng clutched the jade tablet, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

"True Lord Xuan Yun used the power of a Nascent Soul to suppress the Spirit Devourer back then and left behind this great Formation."

"Now, the jade tablet at the eye of the Formation has been taken by him, but the jade wall is still there."

"As long as the jade wall is not touched, the Spirit Devourer will not break its seal for the time being."

He carefully tucked the jade tablet away and continued forward.

Passing through the maze area, a wider corridor appeared ahead.

On both sides of the corridor, there was an eternal lamp every few paces; having burned for who knows how many years, they still emitted a dim, yellowish light.

Li Changsheng walked along the passage for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, when a great hall suddenly appeared in front of him.

The outline of the great hall was vaguely visible.

But just at the entrance of the hall, he stopped his footsteps.

On the ground lay several skeletons.

They were not withered bones from the ancient era, but fresh ones.

On some of the bones, dark red flesh still remained, clearly having died not long ago.

Li Changsheng crouched down to examine them carefully.

There were three skeletons in total, and judging by the remaining fragments of clothing, they were dressed like Loose Cultivators.

Their state of death was extremely miserable; their bodies were covered in black claw marks, their bones were shattered, and their expressions were hideous.

The most bizarre thing was that on each of their skulls, there were five deep finger holes, as if something had forcefully crushed their skulls.

And their Divine Souls had long since vanished completely.

Li Changsheng's brows knitted tightly.

Who did this?

A Yao Beast?

Or... something even more terrifying?

He stood up and looked toward the great hall.

The hall doors were half-ajar, and inside it was pitch black.

In the darkness, it seemed as if something was waiting for him.

Passing through the corridor filled with skeletons, Li Changsheng finally saw the full picture of the great hall.

It was a magnificent ancient palace, built entirely of blue-grey giant stones, about ten zhang high and twenty zhang wide, appearing exceptionally imposing in the gloomy underground space.

However, the erosion of time had left it dilapidated.

Half of the hall roof had collapsed, revealing the pitch-black void within.

The walls were covered in cracks, and in some places, one could even see huge fissures, as if it could collapse at any moment.

The hall doors were tightly shut; the two giant stone doors were three zhang high, and they were covered with dense runes.

Most of those runes had already dimmed, and only a few were still faintly glowing, like the last gasps of a dying person.

Above the lintel hung a broken plaque.

On the plaque, the three large characters for "Soul-Suppressing Hall" were still vaguely visible.

The handwriting was ancient and vigorous, every stroke exuding an awe-inspiring righteousness that, even after a thousand years, still made one feel a sense of reverence.

And on both sides of the hall doors stood two stone statues.

They were two humanoid stone carvings, about three zhang high, holding stone swords, clad in stone armor, with majestic expressions.

They stood quietly on both sides of the hall doors, like two loyal guards, protecting this great hall as they had for a thousand years.

Li Changsheng walked a few steps closer to observe them carefully.

The stone statues were covered in cracks, some of which were several inches deep, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch.

But even so, they still emitted a heart-palpitating aura of majesty.

That aura was exactly the same as the Origin aura on True Lord Xuan Yun's jade tablet.

"Protector stone statues."

Li Changsheng understood in his heart.

He had seen records of this in the texts of the Scripture Pavilion; it was a common defensive measure used by ancient Cultivators.

They would carve stone statues from special materials and infuse them with a Formation and a trace of spirituality, allowing them to autonomously attack intruders.

These stone statues were immensely strong, had extremely high defense, and were tireless, making them one of the most troublesome opponents.

He took a deep breath and walked toward the hall doors.

Just the moment his hand was about to touch the stone doors—

Boom!

The two stone statues moved simultaneously!

Their stone eyes suddenly lit up, emitting a pale golden light!

Their crack-filled bodies made a loud crunching sound, yet they still swung their stone swords at astonishing speed, hacking down at Li Changsheng's head!

Li Changsheng was startled; his footwork shifted rapidly, and he narrowly avoided the sword strike!

The stone sword hacked into the ground with a loud boom, creating a deep trench in the floor!

Debris flew and hit Li Changsheng, causing a stinging pain!

What powerful strength!

Li Changsheng did not dare to take it head-on; his form moved like an agile ape, attempting to circle to the side of the stone statues.

But the two stone statues cooperated tacitly, one on the left and one on the right, sealing off all his attack routes!

Although their movements were not as flexible as a living person's, every sword strike was heavy and powerful, and every attack covered an area of several zhang!

What was even more fatal was that they were also emitting a faint golden light.

The moment that light touched Li Changsheng, the Qi in his body stagnated slightly.

That was the power of purification, specifically meant to restrain evil, but it also restrained his Green Wood Fist, which contained the power of vitality!

Li Changsheng gritted his teeth, abandoned his fist technique, and switched to using the Qinglan Sword Art.

The green steel sword stabbed into the stone statue, leaving only a shallow white mark!

He did not know what material the stone statues were made of, but they were terrifyingly hard, and his sword could not cause any substantial damage at all!

"Must find the weakness..."

While dodging, he observed carefully.

The runes were most dense at the joints of the stone statues.

Those runes were flickering with faint light; they should be the core that drove the stone statues.

If he could destroy those runes...

He spotted an opportunity and stabbed his sword toward the knee joint of one of the stone statues!

Clang!

The tip of the sword pierced into the runes, sparking a spray of fire!

That rune flickered a few times and actually dimmed slightly!

It worked!

But that stone statue also sensed danger, turned abruptly, and swept its stone sword across!

Li Changsheng had no time to dodge and could only block with his sword held horizontally!

Bang!

A tremendous force came, and he was swept away, crashing heavily into the wall!

With a sweet taste in his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of blood!

"Big Brother Changsheng..."

In a daze, he seemed to hear Xiao Cao's voice.

No, that was an auditory hallucination.

He gritted his teeth and braced himself to stand up.

His chest burned with pain, and at least two ribs were broken.

But the two stone statues had already lunged over again!

Li Changsheng took a deep breath, pulled two second-grade Diamond Talismans from his robes, and activated them without hesitation!

Two pale golden light shields enveloped him!

The stone swords hacked onto the light shields; the shields flickered violently but forcefully blocked the attack!

"This is it!"

Li Changsheng pressed forward and stabbed his sword toward the elbow joint of the other stone statue!

The runes shattered!