100: Chapter 100 Three Stone Statues in the Dilapidated Temple

Immortal Master Ziyang sized up the three stone statues. When he saw the three yellowed Talismans stuck on them, his eyes widened. He unconsciously tugged at his Senior Brother, Daoist Xuanming.

"Senior... Senior Brother, look at the cloud patterns on those three Talismans. Don't they look... a bit familiar? The technique is almost identical to our sect's Suppressing Demon Talisman Script!"

Daoist Xuanming did not respond, but his gaze also fell upon the three yellowed Talismans. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

This technique was definitely left behind by a Senior of their sect. However, judging by his assessment, the material of the Talisman paper was certainly not from recent times; it was a masterpiece from at least a thousand years ago... or even an even more distant era.

"Just how long have these three stone statues been sealed here!?"

His gaze wandered back and forth across the three stone statues, but soon, Daoist Xuanming's expression darkened. He patted Immortal Master Ziyang and pointed at the base of the middle statue, which looked like a little girl: "Junior Brother, look there!"

Several fragments of cloth that hadn't completely burned away but had long since faded to a grayish-brown were half-buried in the soil. The faintly visible cloud pattern markings on them—weren't they precisely the markings of their sect?

"It seems a Senior of our sect must have burned their very life to draw these three Suppressing Demon Talismans... just to barely manage to Seal these three here!" Immortal Master Ziyang sucked in a cold breath.

Then, as if a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, Immortal Master Ziyang couldn't help but shiver: "Senior Brother, do you think those three Talismans might fall off? I keep feeling like they're about to peel away."

Hearing Immortal Master Ziyang's words, Daoist Xuanming's eyes twitched, but he immediately swallowed hard and forced himself to remain calm: "Junior Brother, be careful with your words and your actions. As long as we don't actively touch these things, it should... it should be fine."

"Then... then Senior Brother, let's go stay over there first. Being so close to these three stone statues makes me feel a bit cold!" Immortal Master Ziyang pointed to a distant open space, his body reflexively backing away a couple of steps.

"Alright!! I had the same idea!" Daoist Xuanming did not hesitate at all, and the two of them moved backward in silent agreement.

They retreated all the way to the edge of the vast stone hall, leaning against the cold rock wall. Only when they felt they had put enough distance between themselves and the three stone statues did they both breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ignore everything else for now and hurry to recover from your injuries. Once we've recovered, we'll leave this place as quickly as possible!" Daoist Xuanming changed his previous plan of staying here for a few days. Now, he only thought about leaving this sinister place as soon as his injuries were healed.

The two of them immediately sat cross-legged and circulated their Mind-Cultivation Technique to repair their Physical Bodies, which had been damaged by forcibly summoning the Dragon Vein and being wounded by Xia Jin.

As they circulated their Cultivation Technique, wisps of spiritual power uncontrollably seeped out from their pores and began to slowly drift throughout the hall.

The energy gradually approached the three stone statues in the center of the hall. Almost all the drifting spiritual power seemed to fall upon the statue on the far right, which looked like an old man.

Over time, a faint blue flame suddenly flared up on the Talisman on the forehead of the old man statue, which had already been dim. In the blink of an eye, it consumed the entire Talisman.

The moment the Talisman disappeared, the grayish-white stone surface of the statue began to rapidly recede from the top like a tide, revealing skin beneath that looked like withered tree bark.

The old man, who had been a statue, first turned his neck with some confusion. His grayish-white eyes slowly scanned the space that had imprisoned him for an unknown number of years.

Finally, his gaze landed on Ziyang and Xuanming in the corner, who were closing their eyes to adjust their breathing, completely unaware of what was happening.

A hint of greed crept into the corners of his eyes.

In the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already standing silently behind Immortal Master Ziyang and Daoist Xuanming.

Two withered palms lightly pressed down on their heads.

"Little fellows! Have you come to provide this old man with delicious blood food? I haven't tasted blood food from the Land Immortal Realm in a very long time!!" A dry, raspy voice suddenly spoke.

"Not good!!"

Immortal Master Ziyang and Daoist Xuanming, who were still in deep meditation, felt their hair stand on end. Their bodies were filled with a chill that forced them to break out of their meditation and snap their eyes open!

However, the first thing that met their eyes was the empty stone platform ahead—where three stone statues had stood, now only two remained! The old man statue on the far right was gone!

Could it be... Immortal Master Ziyang and Daoist Xuanming slowly turned their heads to look behind them.

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

Just as the two of them were about to resist, a terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from the tops of their heads! They felt their essence blood and the spiritual power they had spent their lives cultivating surge uncontrollably toward the withered hands like a river bursting its banks!

"Argh! No, don't!! I can't die!" Daoist Xuanming's heart was filled with regret.

If he hadn't suggested coming here, the two Senior Brothers wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

But it was too late. Just as the thought arose, his consciousness was destroyed by the old man.

Their bodies shriveled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, only two seated mummies remained.

The old man slowly withdrew his hands and closed his eyes contentedly for a moment. His Adam's apple bobbed as he made a satisfied swallowing sound.

When he opened his eyes again, the cloudiness in them seemed to have faded slightly, and the aura of decay on his body had also noticeably weakened.

"Hahahaha, I didn't expect to encounter such a stroke of luck right after breaking the Seal! Although I'm still far from returning to my peak, I should be satisfied!"

The old man turned around and walked over to the other two stone statues.

Without any hesitation, he reached out and cleanly tore off the Talismans stuck to the foreheads of the other two stone statues.

The moment the Talismans were removed...

The petrified layers on the pot-bellied middle-aged man in the center and the little girl on the left began to vibrate violently, then peeled off in pieces like a broken pottery shell.

The stone color faded, revealing their true bodies beneath.

Almost simultaneously, the two "people" opened their eyes.

Elder Mo Ya looked at his awakened companions, a rare smile appearing on his face.

"White Luan, Hei Tu... long time no see."

The fat man called Hei Tu twisted his thick neck. He first took a greedy, deep breath of air before looking at the old man, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Elder Mo Ya? You old ghost... you actually woke up before us?"

His gaze then caught sight of the two mummies in the corner, and he grinned, revealing forest-white teeth. "...Devouring two Land Immortal Realm Cultivators, you certainly got off to a lucky start."

At that moment, the little girl called White Luan tilted her head. After glancing around, a look of disgust appeared on her face.

"Catch up later. Leave here first."

"We have slumbered for too long, and our Origin is depleted and in urgent need of replenishment. The priority... is to find enough blood food to restore our power."

Her voice was very soft, but it caused Elder Mo Ya and Hei Tu to pull back their smiles simultaneously.