562: Lu Xueqi (39)

Su Han recognized the Yao Beast, his expression grave.

Liubo Mountain was indeed fraught with danger; even a random Yao Beast encountered here was a difficult ancient variant.

The Thorn-Bone Beast exerted force with its hind legs, transforming into a streak of red lightning, charging directly at Su Han, who stood at the very front!

Its speed was astonishing!

Su Han was prepared. The qingming sword drew an arc, Sword Qi crisscrossing to block the Thorn-Bone Beast's path of attack.

But the Thorn-Bone Beast was exceptionally agile. It twisted its body strangely in mid-air, actually evading the Sword Qi. Its tail, covered in bone spurs, silently stabbed toward the back of Su Han’s heart like a venomous scorpion!

“Be careful!”

Lu Xueqi cried out sharply. The tianya divine sword struck later but arrived first, precisely tapping the tip of the Thorn-Bone Beast’s tail!

Clang!

Sparks flew.

The Thorn-Bone Beast cried out in pain, retracted its tail, landed on the ground, and watched Lu Xueqi warily. It clearly realized this cool and aloof woman was not easy to provoke.

Bi Yao seized the opportunity to strike. The sorrowful strange flower spun, and countless petals shot out like flying knives toward the Thorn-Bone Beast’s eyes and vulnerable joints.

The Thorn-Bone Beast swung its Sharp Weapons, batting away most of the petals, but a few still grazed its scales, leaving shallow bloody marks.

The injury ignited its ferocity!

It roared, and the bone spurs on its back suddenly lit up with red light. In the next moment, dozens of sharp red beams shot out like arrows, overwhelming the three of them!

These red beams were not only fast but were clearly imbued with intense poison and powerful penetrating force!

“Retreat!”

Su Han shouted, and the three figures rapidly retreated while simultaneously using their own means to defend.

Sword light, flower shadows, and lightning intertwined to form a defensive net.

The red beams collided with the defense, producing dense explosions. Poisonous gas permeated the area, causing the surrounding vegetation to wither rapidly.

After blocking this wave of attack, the Thorn-Bone Beast seemed to have expended considerable energy, its aura slightly weakened.

Su Han seized the opportunity, his figure like the wind, actively closing the distance!

The qingming sword technique was displayed to its extreme. Sword light rained down, specifically targeting the Thorn-Bone Beast's relatively weak abdomen and joints.

Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao also provided support from the side, restraining the Thorn-Bone Beast’s movements.

Although this Thorn-Bone Beast was ferocious, facing the tacit cooperation of the three, it gradually fell into a disadvantage.

The wounds on its body multiplied, and its movements became slower and slower.

Finally, Su Han found an opening. The qingming sword, like a poisonous Dragon emerging from its lair, pierced the Thorn-Bone Beast’s relatively soft throat from an extremely tricky angle!

“Puchi!”

Blood sprayed out.

The Thorn-Bone Beast made a gurgling sound, struggled a few times, and then crashed to the ground, dead.

The three breathed a sigh of relief; this Thorn-Bone Beast was indeed difficult to deal with.

Su Han skillfully split open the Thorn-Bone Beast’s skull and extracted a fist-sized, red-glowing Yao Core.

The Yao Core of a Late Golden Core Stage ancient variant was extremely valuable.

He also carefully collected some of the Thorn-Bone Beast’s back spines and claws; these were all excellent Artifact Refining Materials.

“The scent of blood here is too heavy; it will soon attract other predators. We must leave quickly,”

Su Han said immediately after finishing processing the spoils of war.

The three dared not linger. They quickly left the forest clearing and continued advancing toward the main peak.

As they went deeper, the terrain began to gradually rise.

The Spiritual Qi around them became increasingly dense, even condensing into a faint spiritual mist.

The Heaven And Earth Treasure they encountered also gradually increased.

Some Spiritual Plants that had long become extinct in the outside world could occasionally be found here.

Su Han carefully collected some necessary medicinal herbs but did not linger excessively; their primary goal was still the main peak.

According to fragmented records in ancient texts and the guidance of the astrolabe, the core secret of Liubo Mountain, and its most precious treasures, were likely located atop the main peak.

After traveling for another half a day and crossing a mountain ridge, the scene before them shocked the three once again.

The front was no longer dense jungle, but a vast expanse of collapsed palace ruins.

The scale was incomparably grander than the ruins at the bay area they had seen before.

Countless broken white marble pillars stood tall, massive palace walls had collapsed into broken ramparts, and stone slabs carved with exquisite patterns were scattered everywhere, covered by wild grass and vines.

Although dilapidated, one could still imagine its past glory and magnificence.

A desolate, ancient, and majestic aura washed over them.

The pointer of the astrolabe pointed straight toward the deepest part of these palace ruins.

“Is this… the true core area of Liubo Mountain?”

Bi Yao gazed at the endless ruins before her and murmured.

Su Han’s expression was solemn. He could feel that countless powerful Restriction fluctuations were hidden within these ruins, some of which made his heart tremble.

“Be careful. The Restrictions here are much stronger than outside. One wrong step could lead to eternal damnation.”

He reminded them and was the first to step into the ruins of these ancient palaces.

He trod with extreme caution, fully probing the energy flow on the ground and in the air with his Divine Sense.

The ruins were silent, save for the moan of the wind blowing through the broken walls, like an ancient sigh.

They passed through gate after gate, and traversed hall after hall that had collapsed.

Occasionally, they saw scattered skeletons—some humanoid, others the oddly shaped bones of Yao Beasts—all eroded beyond recognition by time.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here in the distant past.

Suddenly, Su Han, who was walking at the front, stopped abruptly, his expression shifting slightly.

Ahead was a relatively intact square. In the center of the square was a massive, deep pit.

The edge of the pit was smooth, as if it had been instantly sliced open by some Sharp Weapon.

And the pit itself was not completely dark; instead, it was filled with a dense, heavy, mercury-like… Devilish Qi!

The Devilish Qi was incomparably pure, even purer, older, and more powerful than any Devilish Qi Su Han had ever seen on Demonic Path Cultivators!

Deep within that Devilish Qi, a faint dark red light could vaguely be seen, pulsing slightly like a heart.

A pressure that made the Soul tremble permeated from the deep pit.

The netherworld token on Su Han’s chest became scorching hot again, but this time, it burned so intensely that it caused a burning pain on his skin!

The astrolabe’s pointer spun wildly, finally trembling as it pointed directly at that deep pit!

“What is down there…?”

Bi Yao’s voice was dry, and her face turned pale.

Lu Xueqi gripped the tianya divine sword tightly; the blade emitted a faint hum, seeming to sense an immense threat.

Su Han stared fixedly at the deep pit of Devilish Qi and the dark red light within it.

Liubo Mountain, an Immortal Mountain?

A Demon Suppressing Abyss?

The scene before them made the records in the ancient texts seem pale and laughable.

This was no Immortal Mountain; it was clearly a terrifying Demonic Lair! Or perhaps, beneath the Immortal Mountain, a monstrous demon was being suppressed!

And the abnormal reaction of the netherworld token seemed to indicate that all of this was inextricably linked to the mysteriously vanished Netherworld Dao!

Was their arrival a coincidence, or… a pull of some kind of destiny?

Su Han looked at the bottomless demonic pit, a strong sense of unease welling up in his heart.

The truth of Liubo Mountain seemed to be slowly revealing a hideous corner of itself in a way far beyond expectation.

And their adventure was about to step into an even more unknown and dangerous situation.

Whether the path ahead held fortune or disaster, no one knew. (End of Chapter)