Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 154 Strange Things

The monster roared, but due to its limited mobility, it could not completely dodge and was slashed in the back by the long sword, its fur instantly turning red with blood.

Several experts from Wuji Tower also unleashed their unique skills, and in an instant, light flashed and spiritual energy overflowed.

One of the experts swung his longsword, sending a sword aura like a rainbow piercing the sun towards another demonic beast. The beast neither dodged nor evaded; suddenly, a layer of black scales appeared on its body. When the sword aura struck the scales, it only left a shallow mark.

Min Rui frowned, his hands forming a mudra as he chanted incantations.

Suddenly, the ground bulged up, and sharp rocks burst forth, piercing towards the monsters. The monsters leaped and dodged nimbly, but one was unable to dodge in time and was struck in the leg by a rock, letting out a painful howl.

However, these monsters were extremely tenacious. Instead of retreating after being injured, they attacked the group even more frantically.

Their attacks became increasingly fierce, each pounce carrying immense power, as if they wanted to tear everyone to shreds.

While manipulating the Taixu Mirror, Liu Sijun observed the movements of the demonic beasts, trying to find their weaknesses. She discovered that although these demonic beasts seemed ferocious, their eyes would dim briefly between attacks, as if they were gathering strength.

"Everyone, pay attention! The eyes of the monsters will dim between attacks; that might be their weakness!" Liu Sijun shouted.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately changed their tactics.

Gu Changzhou seized the moment after a monster attacked, his figure moving like a ghost as he lunged forward, his sword aimed straight at the monster's eyes.

The demon beast sensed the danger and tried to escape, but was once again entangled by the light emitted by Liu Sijun's Taixu Mirror.

Gu Changzhou's sword struck the monster's eye with perfect accuracy. The monster let out a shrill scream and collapsed to the ground, its body convulsing.

The others followed suit, seizing the gaps in the monsters' attacks to strike their eyes.

With everyone working together, the monsters were finally defeated.

After a fierce battle, everyone was slightly out of breath, but no one dared to let their guard down.

Looking at the surrounding fog, Gu Changzhou said, "This is just the beginning. Let's move forward, but be careful."

The group continued forward through the fog, which grew thicker and thicker as they went deeper, and the eerie atmosphere became increasingly intense.

Suddenly, a strange stone forest appeared ahead. The stones in the forest were of various shapes, some like hideous ghost faces, others like twisted limbs, and they were shadowy in the mist, making them look particularly terrifying.

Just as everyone cautiously stepped into the stone forest, a strange sound came from within, as if someone was weeping softly, or as if a demon was roaring.

The sound echoed through the mist, sending chills down one's spine.

Tong Lei gripped his long sword tightly, his voice unconsciously lowering: "This howling... could it be that some powerful evil spirit is lurking in the stone forest?"

Gu Changzhou's expression was solemn, and his eyes swept around warily: "No matter what it is, we cannot back down. Our goal is to stop Xuanji Hall's conspiracy. Everyone must act with caution."

Liu Sijun gently stroked the Taixu Mirror, causing it to tremble slightly and emit a soft light that illuminated a small area around them. She whispered, "Everyone, move closer and look out for each other. This eerie sound might be a trick to bewitch people."

The group followed instructions and slowly walked deeper into the stone forest.

The strange sound grew clearer and clearer, as if it were echoing right next to one's ears, making one feel uneasy.

Suddenly, the expression of one of the Wuji Tower experts next to Liu Sijun changed, his eyes became glazed, and he unconsciously slashed his own neck with his long sword.

With quick reflexes, Liu Sijun swiftly waved the Taixu Mirror, sending a beam of light towards the expert and instantly waking him up.

The expert suddenly came to his senses, looked at himself who had almost committed suicide, and said with lingering fear, "Thank you, Miss Liu. That voice just now seemed to have a magical power, and it instantly bewitched my soul." Gu Changzhou's face was cold and stern: "It seems that the voice is not simple. Everyone, circulate your internal energy to protect your heart meridians and be careful not to be bewitched by it."

Everyone circulated their spiritual power to form a protective layer around themselves.

Just then, countless eerie green will-o'-the-wisps suddenly surged out of the stone forest. These will-o'-the-wisps were like nimble spirits, yet they carried a chilling aura that was hard to look away from, and they drifted toward the group.

Wherever the will-o'-the-wisps passed, the mist was instantly dispelled, revealing an even more terrifying scene in the stone forest—skeletons slowly rose from the ground, some incomplete, some standing intact, their empty eye sockets gleaming with the same eerie light as the will-o'-the-wisps.

Tong Lei spat out, "Damn it, what kind of weird stuff is this!"

Having said that, he swung his longsword, and a flame swept towards the ghost fire and the skeleton.

However, the flames extinguished instantly upon contact with the will-o'-the-wisp, as if thrown into the sea. Min Rui quickly formed hand seals and chanted an incantation: "Earth spirit, heed my command! Earth shield, protect!"

The ground beneath their feet suddenly rose up, forming a thick earthen wall that blocked the impact of the will-o'-the-wisps and the skeletons.

Liu Sijun then activated the Taixu Mirror with all his might. The mirror shone brightly and shot out a beam of light containing purifying power, which shot straight towards the bones and ghost fire.

Wherever the beam of light touched, the will-o'-the-wisps hissed and gradually dissipated, and the bones were also reduced to dust under the power of purification.

But the will-o'-the-wisps and bones kept pouring in, seemingly endless.

Gu Changzhou knew that this couldn't go on. He looked around and found a huge rock in the stone forest, covered with strange runes. The runes shimmered with a faint light and seemed to be the source of all these strange phenomena.

Gu Changzhou flashed and rushed towards the boulder like a gust of wind.

However, just as he approached the boulder, a huge skeletal hand suddenly rose from the ground and grabbed his ankle.

Gu Changzhou struggled fiercely, and with a swing of his sword, severed the skeletal hand.

But then, more skeletal hands burst from the ground and tightly bound his body.

"Master Hou!"

Seeing this, Liu Sijun was extremely anxious.

She pushed the power of the Taixu Mirror to its limit, and several beams of light shot out from the mirror, precisely severing the skeletal hand that bound Gu Changzhou.

After breaking free of his restraints, Gu Changzhou leaped onto the boulder without hesitation.

He gathered spiritual power in his hands and pressed them hard against the rune-engraved boulder, attempting to destroy the runes and end this strange phenomenon.

As Gu Changzhou poured his spiritual power into the boulder, it trembled violently, and the runes shone brightly.

Suddenly, a powerful recoil force emanated from the boulder, sending Gu Changzhou flying.

Liu Sijun quickly used her spiritual power rope to catch Gu Changzhou safely.

"How are you?"

Gu Changzhou wiped away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head: "I'm fine. The power of this boulder rune is beyond imagination. It seems we need to think of another way."

(End of this chapter)