Video Editor

The air was thick with the smell of decay and rust. Su Ning hid in a spatial rift, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed on the slowly moving figure in front of him.

His breathing almost stopped, and even his heartbeat was suppressed to a minimum...

When facing an old monster like Xiang Zhili, any slight movement could reveal their whereabouts.

"This old fox is indeed not as simple as he seems," Su Ning thought to himself with a cold laugh.

What lay before them was a vast expanse of ruins, with dilapidated palaces scattered around like the skeletons of a giant beast.

On the broken pillars, ancient runes shimmered faintly, as if telling the story of the sect's past glory.

The dome had long since collapsed, revealing a gray sky. Fine dust floated in the light, shrouding the entire space in a hazy veil.

Xiang Zhili stood in the center of the square, holding an ancient bronze lamp in his hand.

The eerie green firelight illuminated his seemingly kind face, but it couldn't penetrate his unfathomable eyes.

The flickering lamplight cast an eerie shadow on his face.

"Senior brother, can we really find the legendary 'Heavenly Palace Secret Manual'?" Zhao Wuyan from Spirit Beast Mountain asked in a low voice, his eyes gleaming with greed.

He was tall and muscular, seemingly rugged, but Su Ning noticed that every step he took was as light as a cat's, clearly a body cultivator deliberately disguised.

Xiang Zhili smiled slightly, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out: "Opportunities are determined by fate, but I only ask to have a clear conscience."

His voice was gentle, yet it sent a chill down Su Ning's spine...

This old man's acting skills were impeccable. If I hadn't witnessed so much treachery and cunning, I probably would have been fooled by his kind and benevolent appearance.

Su Ning's gaze swept over the others: Li Qingluo of Qingxu Sect was dressed in white, with a jade pendant at her waist that shimmered with light; Zhou Ziling of Tianque Fort held a compass and occasionally looked down to check it; the female cultivator from Yanyue Sect remained silent, her expression behind her veil unreadable.

On the surface, they were all Qi Refining stage disciples, but in Su Ning's perception, the aura emanating from these people had clearly reached the Core Formation stage!
"A pack of jackals following an old fox, what a perfect match," Su Ning sneered inwardly.

He had seen too many scenes like this in previous dungeon worlds...

High-level cultivators disguise themselves as weaklings either to lower others' guard or to turn the tables at a crucial moment.

Xiang Zhili suddenly stopped, and the light from the ancient lamp flickered violently.

Everyone immediately looked around alertly and saw twelve broken stone pillars standing at the edge of the square. Each pillar was as thick as three people could hug, and it was covered with runes that Su Ning had never seen before.

"This is... an ancient demon-sealing formation?" the female cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect exclaimed, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

A glint flashed in Xiang Zhili's eyes: "Junior Sister has good eyesight."

He walked slowly to the center of the square, where there was a huge sculpture that had been toppled. "But I care more about this than the stone pillars."

Su Ning's gaze shifted to the sculpture, and the moment he saw it clearly, a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

The sculpture is entirely black, its material resembling neither jade nor stone, and its surface is covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

The strangest thing is that it has no facial features...

The face, which should have been smooth as a mirror, seemed to have been forcibly erased by some irresistible force.

Even though it has collapsed, the sculpture still exudes a chilling aura, like a sleeping beast that may awaken at any moment.

"What the hell is this?" Zhou Ziling asked, frowning, and subconsciously took a half step back.

Xiang Zhili didn't answer, but suddenly turned around with a warm smile on his face: "Fellow disciples, this place is dangerous, but it also holds great opportunities. Why don't we split up and each seek our own fortune?"

The group exchanged glances, and after a brief silence, Li Qingluo nodded first: "That's fine, it'll be more efficient this way."

"As expected of a worthy disciple of the Qingxu Sect, you are indeed sensible." Xiang Zhili nodded approvingly, then took out several jade slips from his sleeve and distributed them to everyone. "These are some of the maps I drew, I hope they can be of help to you all."

Su Ning watched coldly, inwardly sneering: "Split up? Ha, I think it's more like splitting up to die."

He was all too familiar with this tactic—scattering the prey and taking them down one by one.

Sure enough, after everyone left, Xiang Zhili's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a chilling indifference.

He looked around, then suddenly took out several treasures from his storage bag and casually tossed them into the shadows!

Top-tier magical artifacts! Talismanic treasures! Thousand-year-old spiritual herbs! There are even a few fragments of magical treasures!
These treasures, enough to make ordinary Core Formation cultivators envious, were carelessly discarded in the ruins, like worthless trash.

"Old fox, are you trying to lure me out?" Su Ning scoffed.

In his previous life, he was an Immortal Emperor. What kind of treasures hadn't he seen?

These items, which are incredibly precious to ordinary people, are nothing but child's play to him.

Xiang Zhili waited for a moment, and when no one showed up, he frowned slightly.

After a moment of contemplation, he took out a crimson flying sword!
The sword was radiant with light, and a fiery spiritual light flowed along its blade, clearly indicating that it was a complete fire-attribute magic weapon!
"The Crimson Sky Sword?" Su Ning raised an eyebrow slightly, recognizing this magic weapon that was somewhat famous in the cultivation world. "They really spared no expense."

However, he remained unmoved, simply concealing his figure even deeper within the spatial world, while simultaneously activating a secret technique from his past life to completely integrate his aura into the surrounding environment.

A hint of doubt flashed in Xiang Zhili's eyes, and he muttered to himself, "Could it be that I'm just overthinking things?"

He put away the remaining treasures and turned to walk towards the faceless sculpture.

Just as he was three steps away from the sculpture, something unexpected happened!
"boom--!"

The twelve stone pillars simultaneously lit up with a blinding blood-red light, and countless blood-red chains burst forth from the ground, attacking in all directions like venomous snakes!

"Ah—!" Zhou Ziling's shrill scream came from afar.

Su Ning looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the Tianque Fortress cultivator had three chains piercing his chest. His whole body shriveled up at a visible speed and turned into a skin and bones mummy in the blink of an eye!

Li Qingluo's fate was equally tragic.

The jade shield she summoned was like paper against the blood-red chains, easily pierced through.

The chains wrapped around her limbs and twisted violently...

Blood splattered everywhere, and this female cultivator from the Qingxu Sect died on the spot!

"Damn it!" Zhao Wuyan roared, his muscles bulging, his shirt ripping open instantly.

His fists gleamed with a metallic sheen as he slammed them down on the incoming chains.

With a loud clang, the chains were jolted back, but the next moment, Zhao Wuyan's body suddenly stiffened, black blood seeped from his seven orifices, and he fell straight down.

"What a potent poison!" Su Ning's pupils contracted.

These chains were even coated with an invisible and colorless deadly poison!
In just a few breaths, all four Core Formation cultivators were wiped out!

Their essence and blood were absorbed by the chains and flowed into the stone pillar, making the blood light even stronger.

Xiang Zhili remained standing in the same spot, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

Strangely, the chains seemed to be unable to see him, and all went around him.

"As expected, we still need to use a living person's blood sacrifice to break this restriction." Xiang Zhili muttered to himself, his tone so calm it was chilling.

As the essence and blood were injected, the ground in the center of the square began to tremble.

Dark red liquid suddenly seeped from the cracks on the faceless sculpture, as if it were bleeding.

Then, the ground slowly cracked open, revealing a staircase leading underground.

The steps were deep and bottomless, as if leading to the deepest hell.

Xiang Zhili nodded in satisfaction and stepped inside.

Just as his figure disappeared, a glimmer of light flashed across the sculpture's smooth face, so fast it was almost an illusion.

Suning took a deep breath and quietly followed.

He knew the real secret lay below.

The eerie faceless sculpture still lay quietly in place, as if silently watching everything...

The staircase winds downwards, with glowing spirit stones embedded in the walls on both sides, providing dim lighting.

The air was filled with decay and some indescribable ancient scent, and with each step, a hollow echo could be heard.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the road ahead suddenly opened up.

What appeared before Suning was a huge underground cave.

In the center of the cave floats an inverted pyramid-shaped structure, entirely black, made of the same material as the faceless sculpture.

The pyramid, with its base facing upwards and its tip pointing downwards, is about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) above the ground and is slowly rotating.

Xiang Zhili stood at the foot of the pyramid, looking up at this illogical structure, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

"Finally...found it..."

Xiang Zhili stood beneath the inverted pyramid, his withered fingers gently stroking a blood-red jade slip suspended in the air.

The surface of the jade slip was covered with strange runes, each line of which seemed to writhe as if it were alive.

His eyes gleamed with an almost manic joy, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

“Three hundred years… a full three hundred years!” Xiang Zhili’s voice trembled as he carefully put away the blood-red jade slip in a specially made jade box. “I have finally obtained the fragment of the Blood Nerve. I hope this Blood Nerve will help me find a way to the Spirit Realm.”

Suning hid in the spatial rift, observing everything with a cold eye.

He noticed that when Xiang Zhili received the jade slip, the seemingly decorative patterns at the bottom of the pyramid suddenly lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed.

The direction of those patterns...

It bears a striking resemblance to the cracks on the faceless sculpture in the square!
"As expected, there is a connection." Su Ning thought to himself, while concealing his aura to the extreme.

His experience from multiple dungeon runs told him that now was not the time to reveal himself.

After putting away the jade slip, Xiang Zhili did not leave immediately. Instead, he slowly walked around the inverted pyramid, his gaze sweeping over every corner like a hawk.

Suddenly, he stopped and smiled at the empty cave, "Fellow Daoist, you've been following me for so long, why not show yourself?"

Su Ning's heart tightened, but he immediately realized—this was a test!
He held his breath, his heartbeat even stopped for a moment, and he seemed to become one with the space around him.

The cave was silent except for the faint hum of the pyramid rotating.

Xiang Zhili waited a moment, then shook his head: "It seems that I am being too suspicious."

After saying that, he turned and walked back up the steps he had come from, and his figure quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Suning still hasn't made a move.

His countless life-and-death experiences in his past life told him that an old fox like Xiang Zhili would never give up so easily.

Sure enough, less than a quarter of an hour later, Xiang Zhili reappeared at the cave entrance, his eyes gleaming.

"Strange..." Xiang Zhili frowned and looked around. "Could it be that no one is following us?"

He checked the inverted pyramid one last time to make sure nothing was missed before finally leaving.

But Suning remains in the shadows, patiently waiting.

Time passed second by second, and the only sound inside the cave was the humming of the rotating pyramid.

The sky over the Crimson Forbidden Land began to darken—a sign that the forbidden land was about to close.

Just before the forbidden area closed, Xiang Zhili's figure appeared at the cave entrance for the third time.

At this moment, there was no trace of kindness on his face; instead, there was a chilling coldness.

"Looks like I was just overthinking it," Xiang Zhili muttered to himself, a strange expression appearing on his face. "It's just a pity about those baits..."

This time, his figure completely disappeared above the steps.

Su Ning waited a few more moments, and after confirming that Xiang Zhili had really left, she slowly appeared from the spatial rift.

"That old fox is even more cautious than I imagined." Su Ning wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

If it weren't for his rich experience from his previous life, he probably would have already fallen for Xiang Zhili's trap.

He didn't touch the bait left by Xiang Zhili...

Those so-called "top-tier magical treasures" and "millennial elixirs" must have been marked with imperceptible tracking marks.

Su Ning's gaze passed over the bait and fell into the depths of the cave.

"More than any of these, that faceless sculpture is what interests me..."

When Suning returned to the ground plaza, the sky above the Crimson Forbidden Land had turned dark red, as if it were soaked in blood.

The light on the twelve stone pillars went out completely, and the blood-red chains that had devoured the lives of the seven sects' cultivators also disappeared without a trace.

Only the faceless sculpture remained, lying quietly in place, its smooth face turned toward the sky, as if gazing at something.

Suning approached the sculpture and reached out to touch its surface.

It felt cold to the touch, unlike jade or metal, but a material he had never encountered before.

Even more strangely, when he tried to probe it with his divine sense, his divine sense passed right through the sculpture, as if it didn't exist at all!
“Interesting…” A glint of light flashed in Su Ning’s eyes.

He bit his fingertip, forcing out a drop of blood that fell onto the smooth face of the sculpture.

The moment the blood essence fell onto the sculpture, a strange change occurred!
The blood droplets did not slide off; instead, they were quickly absorbed by the sculpture.

Immediately afterwards, the entire sculpture began to tremble violently, and the cracks on its surface burst forth with dazzling golden light.

The cracks wriggled and reorganized like living things, eventually forming an extremely complex array of runes on the sculpted face.

"This is... a recognition array?" Su Ning stared in surprise.

He had seen countless rare treasures in his previous life, but this was the first time he had ever seen such an exquisite recognition formation.

As the recognition process was completed, the sculpture suddenly began to shrink, eventually transforming into a stream of light that disappeared into Su Ning's brow.

Su Ning felt a chill on her forehead, and then a message appeared in her mind:
"The Thousand Illusions Armor can conceal one's form, changing in countless ways, and is undetectable to those below the Nascent Soul stage."

With a thought, a yellow silk shirt instantly appeared on Su Ning's body, replacing his original clothes.

With another thought, the yellow silk shirt transformed into a majestic warrior's outfit, complete with a helmet and faceplate.

"What a wonderful baby!" Suning exclaimed with delight.

This Thousand Illusion Mask can not only change its appearance at will, but more importantly, it can perfectly conceal the user's true aura and cultivation level.

It can withstand the full-force attack of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, making it an extremely rare life-saving treasure.

In the world of cultivation, such a treasure is enough to ignite a bloody battle among the major sects!
Overjoyed, Su Ning looked at the original location of the sculpture and a sense of respect suddenly arose in his heart.

He stepped forward, righted the fallen sculpture base, and then respectfully bowed three times to the empty base.

"Thank you for the gift, Senior."

The moment the third bow was completed, a golden light suddenly shot out from the center of the base and entered Su Ning's brow!

Suning felt a sudden jolt in his mind as a flood of information rushed in.

The Great Wilderness Manual is a supreme method that combines physical cultivation, spiritual awareness, and spiritual power. When mastered, it can lead to physical sainthood and the ability to tear through the void with bare hands.

At the end of this message, a line of smaller text slowly appeared:
"This technique is truly called the 'Human King's Heavenly Control Technique,' a secret passed down only among the human race. Whoever obtains it should take it upon themselves to revitalize the human race..."

Before Su Ning could process this information, the entire Crimson Forbidden Land suddenly trembled violently.

The dark red in the sky deepened, a sign that the forbidden area was about to close.

"It's time to leave." Su Ning took one last look at the empty sculpture base, then turned and sped towards the exit of the forbidden area.

Under his mental control, the Thousand Illusion King Armor transformed into a blue robe commonly seen by ordinary cultivators, perfectly concealing his aura.

The moment Su Ning stepped out of the forbidden area, a loud bang came from behind him.

He looked back and saw that the entrance to the Crimson Forbidden Land was collapsing rapidly, turning into ruins in the blink of an eye, indistinguishable from the surrounding environment.

"It seems no one will be able to get in anytime soon," Su Ning said softly, turning her gaze into the distance.

He touched his brow, sensing the presence of the Thousand Illusion Mask and the Great Wilderness Manual, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Xiang Zhili thought he was the biggest winner of this trip to the Crimson Forbidden Land, but little did he know that the real opportunity had already fallen into the hands of Su Ning.

Finally, Su Ning reconnected with his own spatial world and then allowed his spatial world to devour this blood-red forbidden area.

Soon, the entire blood-red forbidden area began to tremble violently, and Han Li and Nangong Wan, who were fighting against the level two black dragon, were both terrified.

The level-two Ink Dragon was lying prostrate on the ground, seemingly terrified. Nangong Wan quickly seized the opportunity to collect the target item.

"Foolish boy, run! The Crimson Forbidden Zone is about to collapse."

"What? Collapse?"

"Hmph! This is just a man-made small space. It's only a matter of time before it collapses. Otherwise, why would the seven sects restrict Qi Refining stage cultivators from entering?"

"..."

...(End of chapter)