560: Lu Xueqi (37)

What drew the most attention, however, was the center of the altar.

A hazy mass of black Qi hovered there. Within the black Qi, a fist-sized object could vaguely be seen bobbing up and down, emitting an aura that was of the same origin as the netherworld token, yet purer and more powerful.

The netherworld token grew scorching hot, even vibrating slightly, pointing directly at the object within the black Qi.

“It seems that is the source of the summoning,” Su Han said, his gaze solemn as he looked at the altar and the mass of black Qi.

He could feel that the altar itself was an extremely powerful and ancient Seal Formation.

And that mass of black Qi, along with the object inside, appeared to be the core of the Seal.

This was definitely not a place of good fortune.

“This Seal… seems to have loosened a bit,” Lu Xueqi, whose perception was sharp, pointed toward some runes at the edge of the altar.

The light from those runes was clearly dimmer than elsewhere, and subtle cracks had even appeared.

Traces of extremely faint black Qi were slowly seeping out from those cracks, merging into the central mass of black Qi.

“Could it be due to the passage of time causing a loss of power?” Bi Yao guessed.

Su Han shook his head, his expression serious.

“It doesn't look like it. Look at those stone pillars,” he said, pointing to the nine stone pillars carved with strange beasts.

One of the pillars, carved with a Bixie totem, was broken in the middle and lying to the side. The fracture was as smooth as a mirror, not resembling natural weathering, but rather looking as if it had been cleanly severed by some sharp blade!

“This Seal was deliberately destroyed!” Su Han’s heart sank.

Who did this? Why would someone want to destroy the Seal here? What exactly was sealed away?

Countless questions flooded his mind.

Just then, the central mass of black Qi seemed to sense the existence of the netherworld token and suddenly surged violently!

A powerful suction force emanated from the black Qi, its target aimed directly at the netherworld token in Su Han’s hand!

Su Han felt an irresistible force pulling at the netherworld token, trying to wrench it from his grasp!

He hurriedly circulated his true essence, gripping it tightly.

“Not good! This thing wants to use the netherworld token to escape!”

Su Han shouted loudly, attempting to retreat.

But the runes on the altar seemed to activate, lighting up with a faint glow and forming an invisible force field that confined the three of them within the square!

Simultaneously, a low, seductive mental fluctuation emanated from the black Qi:

“Come… come here… release me… I will bestow upon you… supreme power… the true Legacy of the Netherworld Dao…”

This mental fluctuation acted directly upon the Sea of Consciousness of the three, filled with seductive power.

Bi Yao’s eyes first showed a trace of confusion, and she subconsciously took a step forward.

“Bi Yao! Guard your mind!” Xue Qi’s cold voice was like ice water poured over her, instantly sobering Bi Yao, who was left trembling with lingering fear.

Su Han tightly guarded his spiritual platform, resisting the mental erosion, his heart filled with horror.

This sealed existence, merely relying on a trace of leaked power and mental fluctuation, was already this terrifying. If it were at its peak, how terrifying would it be?

It absolutely could not be allowed to escape!

He tried to activate the netherworld token to sever the connection, but found that the netherworld token resonated strongly with the object in the black Qi, which instead made the suction force even stronger.

Because the core was damaged, the altar’s Seal had greatly weakened. Under the dual effect of the black Qi’s impact and the netherworld token’s resonance, the cracks in the runes were spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye!

“Crack… crackle…”

Grating sounds echoed, and more cracks appeared on the altar’s surface.

Denser black Qi surged out from within, condensing in the air into a vague, distorted face filled with resentment.

“Stop it!”

Su Han made a decisive move, bringing the qingming sword down fiercely toward the mass of black Qi!

The sword light pierced into the black Qi, but it was like a clay ox entering the sea; it only caused the black Qi to churn more violently, and the vague face let out a silent roar.

Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao also attacked simultaneously, sending the heavenly abyss divine sword and the heartbreak flower shadow toward the black Qi and the surrounding Seal cracks, attempting to reinforce the Seal or weaken the black Qi.

However, their attacks seemed to have little effect, and instead accelerated the collapse of the Seal.

“It’s useless… ants… once this venerable one escapes, I will torment your Divine Souls for eternity…”

The mental fluctuation filled with malice struck the Sea of Consciousness of the three again.

The cracks on the altar multiplied, the volume of the central black Qi more than doubled, and the suction force became even more terrifying.

Su Han felt the netherworld token was about to fly out of his hand!

At this critical juncture, his gaze swept over the nine stone pillars surrounding the altar, especially the broken Bixie pillar.

An idea flashed through his mind!

Nine Pillars Suppressing Demons! The Seal of this altar relied on the Formation constituted by these nine stone pillars!

One pillar broken meant the Formation was incomplete, which caused the Seal to loosen!

What if… what if he could temporarily restore the effect of that broken stone pillar?

He suddenly recalled that in the Sect’s Scripture Pavilion, he had read a secret art called the “Five Elements Demon Sealing Seal.” Although it was not of a high rank, its principle was to temporarily stabilize the Seal by using one’s own spiritual power to simulate the Formation nodes!

Perhaps it was worth a try!

“Xue Qi, Bi Yao! Buy me some time! Attack the other stone pillars and draw its attention! I need to try reinforcing the Seal!”

Su Han shouted loudly, then, disregarding the danger, sat cross-legged at the edge of the altar and rapidly formed hand Seals.

Although Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao did not understand what Su Han intended to do, based on absolute trust, they immediately complied.

The tianya divine sword and the sorrowful strange flower unleashed their strongest light, no longer attacking the central black Qi, but instead blasting toward the other eight intact stone pillars!

Of course, they controlled the force; they weren't destroying them, but rather infusing spiritual power into them to stimulate the pillars' inherent power.

The eight stone pillars were stimulated by the spiritual power, and the strange beast totems carved on them seemed to come alive, emitting a faint radiance. The suppressive force on the central black Qi appeared to have increased slightly.

The vague face let out an angry roar, and a portion of the black Qi separated, turning into tentacles that attacked Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao. (End of Chapter)