A Useless Person Awakens to the Eternal Spirit Emperor Technique

Chapter 8: The First Peril in the Forbidden Land, the Imperial Decree Displays its Power

As dawn broke the following day, the outline of the forbidden land in the northern wilderness became clear in the thin mist.

The black mountain range resembled a colossal beast, its cliffs steep and barren, filled with an ancient and chaotic aura that caused even breathing in it to slightly disrupt one's spiritual energy. Su Qinghe slung her pack over her shoulder, gripped her short sword, and stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up with a lingering sense of trepidation.

"Ling Chen, the map marks 'Mysterious Ice Valley' as the first barrier to entering the forbidden area. Shall we go through there?" She leaned closer to examine it, and the runes on the animal hide map faintly glowed under the influence of chaotic energy.

Ling Chen traced the Xuanbing Valley mark on the map with his fingertips, then spread his divine sense to scan the surroundings. After confirming that there were no traces of pursuers from Youming Valley, he said in a deep voice, "Xuanbing Valley is the shortest route. Although there are ice-type demonic beasts, it is safer than taking a detour. Let's cross the valley first and then head deeper into the forbidden area."

After getting ready, the two stepped into the Xuanbing Valley, one after the other. The valley was bitterly cold, the ground was covered with a smooth ice surface, and icicles hung from the cliffs on both sides. Sunlight refracted through the icicles, casting dappled patterns, but it did nothing to dispel the chill. Su Qinghe wrapped her clothes tighter around herself, walking carefully, afraid of breaking the ice and slipping.

"Watch your step, there's an underground river beneath the ice." Ling Chen turned back to warn him, but his steps were steady. A layer of light golden energy formed around him, protecting him from the cold. He raised his hand and unleashed a burst of spiritual energy, shattering the icicles hanging in front of him to prevent them from hitting Su Qinghe behind him.

Su Qinghe nodded gratefully and followed closely behind. Just as they reached the middle of the valley, the ice surface suddenly shook violently, and several low roars came from the depths. Several white figures darted out from the ice cracks.

They were dire wolves! They were pure white, their fur blending seamlessly with the ice, their fangs gleaming coldly, and their amber eyes fixed on the two of them, revealing a bloodthirsty ferocity.

"Watch out!" Su Qinghe shouted, drawing her short sword and taking the lead in meeting a pouncing ice wolf. She dodged the wolf's claws to the side, her sword tip precisely aimed at the wolf's throat, but the wolf nimbly dodged, its claws scraping the ice surface and sending up a spray of ice shards.

Seeing this, Ling Chen gathered golden spiritual energy at his fingertips and struck out with his palm. The spiritual energy was like a sharp blade, slashing straight at the other ice wolf. The wolf howled in agony, instantly pierced through by the spiritual energy, and fell onto the ice surface, twitching a few times before losing its breath.

"Too many, finish this quickly!" Ling Chen warned in a deep voice, and with a stomp of his foot, his figure shot into the wolf pack like an arrow. His chaotic energy circulated, and his fists and feet were imbued with golden spiritual power, each strike repelling an ice wolf. Su Qinghe was not to be outdone, her short sword flashing as she precisely attacked the wolf pack's weak points. The two worked together seamlessly, quickly eliminating most of the ice wolves.

Just then, a giant ice wolf king, far larger than its kind, leaped out from the ice crevice. It was surrounded by pale blue ice aura, its eyes were blood red, and it roared as it pounced on Ling Chen.

"It's a mid-stage Core Formation demon beast!" Su Qinghe's expression changed. She stood in front of Ling Chen, but was hit by the wolf king's swung tail. She was sent flying backward and crashed heavily into the cliff wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Qinghe!" Ling Chen's eyes turned cold as he turned to protect Su Qinghe. His golden spiritual energy surged and collided with the wolf king's icy spiritual energy.

"boom!"

A shockwave swept through, shattering the ice surface. Ling Chen was forced back three steps, his palms slightly numb. Taking advantage of the momentum, the Icefield Wolf King pounced again, its icy claws carrying a chilling aura, aiming straight for Ling Chen's face.

Ling Chen dodged to the side, grabbed the wolf's paw with his other hand, and unleashed a torrent of chaotic energy into the wolf's body. The Icefield Wolf King let out a painful howl, struggling violently, but it could not break free from Ling Chen's grasp.

"Die!" A cold glint flashed in Ling Chen's eyes. He gathered spiritual energy in his other hand and struck the wolf king between the eyebrows.

The wolf king's body froze instantly, its amber eyes lost their luster, and it crashed onto the ice, creating a deep crater.

After dealing with the wolf king, Ling Chen quickly went to Su Qinghe's side and helped her up: "How are you? Are you badly injured?"

Su Qinghe shook her head, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and forced a smile: "It's nothing, just some internal injuries. I'll be fine after taking a healing pill." She took out a healing pill from her storage bag and swallowed it. After a while, her complexion improved slightly.

After a short rest, the two continued their journey. After another half day, they finally emerged from the Xuanbing Valley and found themselves in a vast wasteland. In the distance, they could vaguely see a huge stone gate with indistinct ancient runes carved on it, which was the entrance to the Northern Wilderness Forbidden Land.

Just as the two were about to reach the stone gate, a cold voice suddenly came from behind: "Young Master Ling, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Ling Chen turned around abruptly and saw more than ten disciples of the Netherworld Valley dressed in black robes surrounding him. The leader was a middle-aged cultivator with a gloomy face. His aura was powerful, and he was actually at the late stage of the Core Formation realm!

"The Lord of the Netherworld Valley?" Ling Chen's eyes narrowed as he recognized the man as one of the high-ranking members of the Netherworld Valley, whose portrait he had seen on a letter before.

The middle-aged cultivator grinned, revealing a set of yellow teeth: "Young Master Ling has good eyesight. I am Black Wind, the Vice Valley Master of Netherworld Valley, and I have come today to retrieve the Chaos Jade Pendant. If you know what's good for you, hand it over obediently, and I might spare your life."

The disciples behind them drew their weapons, and a chilling aura enveloped them, surrounding the two. Su Qinghe immediately gripped her short sword, standing in front of Ling Chen, her expression grave: "Ling Chen, let's fight them!"

"Fight? What are you going to fight with?" Black Wind sneered, raising his hand and sending several streams of black spiritual energy shooting towards the two of them.

Ling Chen immediately raised his hand to create a protective barrier to block the spiritual energy attack, and said to Su Qinghe, "You hide to the side first, I'll deal with him."

Before he finished speaking, Ling Chen flashed forward, rushing towards Hei Feng. The golden and black spiritual energy collided, producing a piercing roar. Although Hei Feng was only at the late stage of Core Formation, Ling Chen, with the support of the Chaos Jade Pendant and the Eternal Spirit Emperor Technique, possessed combat power far exceeding that of cultivators of the same level. For a time, he was evenly matched with Hei Feng.

After dozens of rounds of fierce fighting, Black Wind gradually found himself at a disadvantage. He was shocked; Ling Chen was only at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment stage, yet he could contend with him. If the fight dragged on any longer, things might change.

"Attack! All of you, come at me!" Black Wind roared, and the disciples behind him immediately attacked in unison, their chilling spiritual energy surging towards Ling Chen like a tidal wave.

Ling Chen was attacked from both sides and was immediately in danger. Just then, the black token in his arms suddenly became hot, and a golden phantom emerged from the token, transforming into a huge palm print, which slammed towards the disciples of the Netherworld Valley.

"This is... the Eternal Spirit Emperor's Decree!" Black Wind's expression changed drastically, and his eyes revealed a look of horror.

As the palm strike landed, several screams rang out, and more than ten disciples of the Netherworld Valley were instantly sent flying, their breaths fading away. Black Wind was also injured by the aftershocks of the palm strike, flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out blood.

Ling Chen stared in shock at the emerging golden phantom. He knew this was the power of the Eternal Spirit Emperor's Decree, but he hadn't expected it to be this powerful.

The golden phantom slowly dissipated, and the black token returned to its calm state. Ling Chen put away the token, walked up to Hei Feng, and said coldly, "The Netherworld Valley has repeatedly provoked me; today I will wipe out your entire family!"

Black Wind was terrified and begged for mercy, "Young Master Ling, spare my life! It was the Valley Master's idea, it has nothing to do with me! I am willing to submit to you and serve you like a dog!"

Ling Chen's eyes were indifferent. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and struck out with his palm.

Black Wind's body was instantly pierced by the golden spiritual energy, and he completely lost his breath.

After dealing with the pursuers from the Netherworld Valley, Ling Chen walked to Su Qinghe's side and helped her up, saying, "We should enter the forbidden area now."

The two walked to the stone door and reached out to touch the runes on it. The runes lit up instantly, and the stone door slowly opened, revealing complete darkness inside, with eerie sounds faintly audible.

"After you go in, stay close behind me and don't wander off," Ling Chen instructed, taking out a nightlight from his storage bag, lighting it, and stepping through the stone gate first.

Su Qinghe nodded, gripped her short sword, and followed closely behind.

The stone gate slowly closed, and a new intruder entered the depths of the Northern Wilderness Forbidden Land. Deeper still within the forbidden land, a pair of eyes watched all this unfold, emitting a low chuckle: "The Eternal Spirit Emperor's Decree… finally, someone has been able to activate it. This game is getting more and more interesting."