Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 324 Arrived Just in Time. (First Update!)

Whoosh!
At the critical moment, Kulan rushed to the broken wood, grabbed it, and looked at it with intense longing in her eyes.

However, the moment Ku Lan touched the broken wood, the Yin energy around her flowed away like a flood bursting its banks. In the blink of an eye, her cultivation level plummeted from the [Scissors Prison] to the ninth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison]!
This kind of fall in realm is almost identical to the way Zheng Que improved his cultivation as a ghost in the underworld—smooth, fluid, and without any stumbles.

Just as Ku Lan's cultivation aura was about to plummet to the eighth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison], Shu Yunying rushed over and kicked Ku Lan.

"what……"

With a scream, Ku Lan was kicked far away. The piece of wood she was holding inexplicably slipped from her grasp the moment she flew backward, but remained firmly in front of Zheng Que, without moving an inch.

Immediately afterwards, Shu Yunying's eyes shone brightly, and she also grabbed at the piece of broken wood, her longing just as intense as that of the withered orchid earlier.

Just like withered orchid before, the moment she grabbed the broken wood, the yin energy also dropped rapidly as if a floodgate had been opened. Just as she was about to fall from the [Scissors Hell] to the [Tongue-Pulling Hell], a chilling gust of wind swept over and ruthlessly sent Shu Yunying flying!
At the same time, from the black surface of the summoning banner, a pale arm extends and grabs at the broken wood with a clear purpose.

Just as Qingli was about to touch the broken wood, numerous ghosts swarmed around her like a tide...

Boom boom boom...

Ping Pong Pong...

Seeing this chaotic scene, Zheng Que's expression changed drastically. The purple-clad female cultivator beside him was trapped in an illusion, his ghost servants had all gone out of control, and the imperial edict was blocked by broken wood...

call!
Above their heads, a massive shadow roared down, and the ghostly hand formed from skulls crashed down.

This was just a casual, unpredictable attack from the Iron Tree Prison, yet its power was immense, as if it could raze the entire outskirts of Taiping County to the ground!
Zheng Que felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the attack coming down on him. He immediately disregarded everything else, grabbed the purple-clad female cultivator's hand, and tried to use her body to push away the piece of broken wood. At the same time, he began to forcefully draw out the imperial edict with his other hand.

But just as his fingers began to move outward and begin to draw out the decree, he suddenly felt a jolt throughout his body, as if he had been suddenly thrown into a thousand-year-old icy pool, his hair stood on end, and his heart pounded like a drum.

This is the breath of death!
Moreover, the feeling it gave him was even stronger than the "weird" feeling he had experienced not long ago with the [Iron Tree Prison]!
Zheng Que's entire body suddenly froze.

has a problem!
Using this edict will result in your immediate death!
Is this "strange" creature from the Iron Tree Prison unafraid of imperial decrees?

Or is there any other reason?
In a flash, Zheng Que suppressed all his fear and followed his intuition from the Book of Life and Death, standing still without moving.

The next moment, the enormous, eerie ghost hand of the [Iron Tree Prison] came crashing down with a whooshing sound. The powerful wind it brought was so strong that it made it hard for Zheng Que to breathe, and even standing was extremely difficult.

However, just as the ghostly hand was about to crush everything around it, a layer of viscous ink suddenly appeared beneath it...

boom! ! !
The ghostly hand slammed firmly onto the ink, instantly creating waves of ink that surged and swirled, quickly transforming into lifelike ink ghosts that roared as they pounced on the "strange" Iron Tree Prison.

Boom boom boom...

Suddenly, ink-like droplets splattered across the sky like a sudden downpour, pounding against the earth. The world was enveloped in varying shades of ink, making the already dim twilight even more profound.

The pervasive scent of ink quickly masked the original fishy stench.

All the ghosts below that were touched by the ink rain froze instantly, then collapsed limply, quickly melting into pools of ink that seeped into the ground and disappeared.

Only in the small area surrounding Zheng Que was no ink rain falling. Seeing this, Zheng Que breathed a sigh of relief; Mu Xian Gu had arrived!
The next moment, a figure in a yellowish-brown dress quietly appeared beside him.

The newcomer wore a simple outfit of a yellow-brown robe with black trim, and a string of pendants with the character "役" (meaning "service") adorned with pearls and jade. She looked like a lady who had stepped out of an ancient painting.

It is indeed the Immortal Bone!
At this moment, Mu Xiangu's gaze was also fixed on the piece of broken wood not far in front of Zheng Que, and a strong desire appeared in her eyes as well.

But just like when she first saw the imperial edict, she quickly suppressed this inexplicable instinct...

Seeing that Mu Xiangu had arrived in time, Zheng Que said without hesitation, "Miss Mu, ignore that 'weird' thing and quickly protect me and get me out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiangu snapped out of her daze, immediately shook her head, and said decisively, "No way!"

"This is a merit... Hmm, this kind of heinous and wicked demon must be eradicated immediately!"

"Although this 'weird' has a high level of cultivation, its intelligence is muddled and confused, and it can't exert much of its strength!"

"I will first escort you out of the battlefield. Be careful and don't come near here!"

As she spoke, she manipulated a large amount of ink to fight against the "weirdness" of the Iron Tree Prison, while simultaneously waving her long sleeves, instantly creating a gust of wind that swept Zheng Que and the others away into the distance.

woohoo hoo...

After a dizzying spin, Zheng Que fell to the ground, his head spinning, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Cough cough cough..." He spat out a mouthful of mud and sand, quickly looked around, and immediately realized that he was on a small hillside far from Taiping County, with the outline of the city walls faintly visible in the distance.

call out!
The summoning banner flew in like a spear, diagonally embedding itself in the mud beside him.

The purple-clad female cultivator, whose wrist was gripped tightly by Zheng Que, was thrown directly onto him.

Ku Lan and Shu Yunying landed on either side of him, looking around blankly.

Further away in the weeds, Lu Maohong was treated far worse. The old cultivator was covered in blood, his breath was weak, and he had smashed down a large patch of grass before he could finally stop rolling. His eyes were already closed and he was unconscious.

Zheng Que took a deep breath and looked again at Taiping County in the distance. The huge [Iron Tree Prison] "weirdly" floated above the city, like a low-pressure cloud, eerie and terrifying. Below, the ghost tide surged, like a boiling ocean.

The inky rain continued to fall, like sharp brushstrokes, constantly erasing all sorts of ghosts. The eerie atmosphere, like mist, shrouded the entire city and its suburbs.

Apart from the numerous battles, howls, and rain outside the city, the surrounding area was deathly silent, without a sound.

※※※

The dilapidated palace was empty and deserted.

The Book of Life and Death, spread out on the mottled long table, records Zheng Que's lifespan: "Lifespan: sixteen years, eight months, and twenty-eight days. He died at three quarters past the hour of You (5:45 PM)."

The "You Shi San Ke" (酉时三刻) suddenly changed again, returning to "Hai Shi" (亥时)!
(End of this chapter)