556: Lu Xueqi (33)

Puff, puff, puff!

Black water arrows struck the ice wall, rapidly corroding pits into it, but were ultimately blocked.

"What is that thing?"

Bi Yao also summoned her Magic Treasure, the heartbreak flower, its pink glow protecting her body.

Su Han’s eyes narrowed, his Divine Sense locking onto the source of the attack.

It was coming from the underwater ruins!

He no longer hesitated, urging the nether skeleton spirit boat, preparing to accelerate and leave this area.

These ruins were strange; it was not advisable to stay long.

However, just as the nether skeleton spirit boat moved, the seawater below suddenly churned violently.

More black water arrows shot out from under the water like a downpour, covering a large area around the nether skeleton spirit boat.

At the same time, a powerful suction force came from the center of the ruins, attempting to drag the nether skeleton spirit boat into the deep sea!

"It's a trap! There's an automatically triggered defensive Formation in the ruins!"

Su Han instantly understood.

Their passage might have activated an ancient Restriction in the ruins that had been dormant for countless years.

"Charge out!"

Su Han let out a low cry, frantically injecting his true essence into the netherworld token, fully urging the nether skeleton spirit boat.

The nether skeleton spirit boat emitted a low hum, its hull glowing brightly with black light, resisting the suction from below, and struggling to charge forward.

Lu Xueqi continuously cast Sword Arts, her icy Sword Qi crisscrossing, constantly shattering or freezing the incoming water arrows.

Bi Yao's heartbreak flower transformed into flying petals, seemingly delicate but incredibly sharp, slicing through any water arrows that slipped through.

But the number of water arrows was simply too great, and their corrosive nature was extremely strong, constantly depleting the true essence of both of them.

The nether skeleton spirit boat's protective light shield also flickered erratically, enduring immense pressure.

This was not a sustainable situation.

While controlling the nether skeleton spirit boat, Su Han cast his Divine Sense deep into the ruins, attempting to find the core of the Restriction.

In his perception, the source of the suction and the water arrows both pointed to a relatively intact high platform in the center of the ruins.

On the high platform, something seemed to be enshrined, emitting faint energy fluctuations.

"The core is over there!"

Su Han pointed to a spot to the front left.

"We must destroy it or interfere with it, otherwise it will be difficult for us to escape!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xueqi did not hesitate in the slightest.

"I'll cover you!"

She let out a clear shout, the Frost Snow Sword's light surged, and a huge ice-blue Sword Qi cleaved through layers of water arrows, temporarily clearing a path.

Su Han knew that the opportunity was fleeting; his true essence circulated within him, and with a flash of his figure, he was about to leave the nether skeleton spirit boat and rush towards that location.

"Hey! It's too dangerous!"

Bi Yao exclaimed.

"Trust him."

Lu Xueqi's tone was calm, her Sword Arts in her hand never stopping, continuing to provide cover for Su Han.

Su Han temporarily handed the netherworld token to Bi Yao to maintain the nether skeleton spirit boat's basic operation, while he himself plunged into the sea like a fish.

Once in the water, the corrosive, icy aura became even stronger.

He circulated his Cultivation Technique, his Protective Aura isolating the seawater, and rapidly approached the high platform at the center of the ruins.

The closer he got to the high platform, the stronger the suction and the denser the water arrows became.

Su Han summoned the qingming sword, its sword light swirling, shredding the incoming water arrows.

Soon, he saw the high platform.

The high platform was built from some kind of white jade, and although it was covered in cracks and seaweed, its overall structure remained intact.

Enshrined on the platform was not a statue, but a tattered black banner.

The banner moved without wind, emitting a faint black light; the suction force and the black water arrows were precisely emanating from this banner.

"A Demonic Path Magical Artifact?"

Su Han's heart stirred; the aura of this banner was somewhat similar to that of the nether skeleton spirit boat, both filled with malevolent Qi.

He tried to attack it from a distance with the qingming sword, but his Sword Qi was blocked by an invisible force field around the banner.

It seemed he needed to get closer.

Su Han gritted his teeth, enduring immense pressure, and forcibly rushed onto the high platform.

The moment he stepped onto the high platform, the black banner trembled violently, and a condensed black stream of light, like a venomous snake, shot towards Su Han's face!

Its speed was far beyond that of the previous water arrows!

Su Han's pupils contracted; he held the qingming sword horizontally in front of him.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, a huge force struck, making Su Han's hand numb, and he retreated several steps.

The black stream of light, having missed its target, circled in the air and attacked again.

This time, Su Han saw clearly: at the core of the stream of light was a black long nail engraved with skull runes!

It was filled with a resentful and deathly aura.

This was definitely not an ordinary Restriction; this banner had gained sentience and could attack autonomously!

Su Han dared not be careless; he used his movement technique to contend with the black long nail on the high platform.

At the same time, he noticed that at the base of the banner's pole, several Spirit Stones that had already lost their luster were embedded, and the banner's own energy also fluctuated, clearly due to its ancient age and severely diminished power.

Otherwise, he might not have been able to easily take that last blow.

"Must deal with it quickly!"

Su Han's thoughts raced, contemplating a countermeasure.

Using the qingming sword to clash directly would make it difficult to destroy this strange banner in a short time.

His gaze swept over the runes on the banner, and suddenly his heart stirred.

The style of these runes had many similarities to those on the nether skeleton spirit boat and the netherworld token!

Could these ruins also be related to the Netherworld Dao?

Thinking of this, Su Han made a bold decision.

He no longer dodged, but instead circulated the true essence within his body, simulating an icy aura originating from the same source as the nether skeleton spirit boat, and at the same time, infused a wisp of his Divine Sense, mixed with this aura, into the banner.

He did not show hostility; instead, he conveyed a soothing intention, akin to "same origin."

Indeed, the black long nail that had been relentlessly pursuing him suddenly slowed down a bit, seemingly perplexed.

It worked!

Su Han's spirits lifted; he continued to increase his Divine Sense output, attempting to communicate with the banner.

He couldn't fully control this banner, but interfering with its judgment, making it believe he was a "kindred spirit," might be feasible.

This process was extremely dangerous; if it failed, he would immediately face the banner's full retaliation.

Su Han concentrated fully, carefully manipulating his Divine Sense and aura.

Gradually, the black long nail stopped, hovering in mid-air, no longer attacking.

The suction emanating from the banner also began to weaken, and the water arrows it spewed became sparse.

Now's the time!

A sharp glint flashed in Su Han's eyes, and his figure shot up, but instead of attacking the banner, he reached out to grab the several discarded Spirit Stones at the base of the flagpole that had completely lost their Spiritual Qi!

Crack!

He squeezed hard, completely crushing the discarded Spirit Stones.

At the same time, he quickly took out several High-Grade Spirit Stones from his Storage Pouch and embedded them into the grooves at the base of the flagpole with extreme speed!

This was like giving a drink of clear spring water to someone dying of thirst.

The black banner trembled violently, and its faint light surged!

But it did not attack Su Han, who was so close, because the shared aura Su Han had infused had confused it.

The newly embedded High-Grade Spirit Stones provided pure energy, temporarily stabilizing the banner's state and interrupting its attack and suction on the nether skeleton spirit boat.

Seizing this opportunity, Su Han swiftly retreated, quickly returning to the surface and landing back on the nether skeleton spirit boat. (End of Chapter)