Divine Root Bone

The shouts and footsteps of the four demonic cultivators behind him pressed closer. Zhang Yang ran for his life while glancing back at his pursuers, his heart filled with anxiety. He was so focused on shaking off those behind him that he didn't realize he had already stepped into the chaotic burial valley, only vaguely sensing that the atmosphere around him was becoming increasingly eerie and desolate.

All the vegetation around him was withered and scorched, the ground was covered with grayish-white bones, there was no sound of insects, no sight of beasts, not even a trace of life had been completely extinguished, the deathly silence was chilling. The pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue running wildly into the depths of the valley.

Before long, a weathered and dilapidated stone side hall suddenly appeared in the field of vision. The walls were full of cracks, the beams and pillars were rotten and mostly collapsed, and the ground was covered with rubble, revealing a desolate and ruined state.

Zhang Yang was speechless. He never expected that such a remote building would be hidden in this desolate place. The thick dust and mold on the ground showed no signs of anyone having set foot there.

The roars of the pursuers were already close at hand. He had no time to think. He trudged through the rubble and groped among the broken walls for a while before finally finding a dilapidated palace door that was barely wide enough for a person to pass through. He ducked down and plunged straight into the depths of the side hall.

The four demonic disciples following closely behind saw Zhang Yang's figure disappear into the ruined hall from afar. Without the slightest hesitation, they rushed into the hall following the trail, unwilling to miss any opportunity to snatch the storage bag.

A moment later, Su Qingyao followed the trail to the outside of the ruined palace. Only after she had been running all the way and stopped did she truly realize the strangeness of this area.

Even in the most remote and desolate mountains and valleys, there should be birds and beasts to roost. But this place was deathly silent for miles around, without a trace of any living creature. A cold, miasma enveloped her, causing a chill to instinctively rise in her heart.

She was meticulous and did not rush in rashly. Instead, she slowly walked halfway around the palace wall, reached out and touched the stone wall covered with mottled weathering marks. Her fingertips caressed the thick, decaying stone layers, and she silently calculated in her mind how long this place had existed.

According to the lifespan rules of cultivators in the Cangxuan Continent, cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm only have a lifespan of one hundred years, while those in the Foundation Establishment Realm have a maximum of three hundred years. Even with the help of rare and precious materials to extend their lifespan, top-tier Foundation Establishment experts would find it extremely difficult to live past eight hundred years. However, the extent of corrosion and weathering on the stone walls of this dilapidated palace could not have been formed in just a few hundred years. Conservatively estimated, this stone palace has stood for at least three thousand years.

Three thousand years, ten times the maximum lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, far exceeding the lifespan of any sect she knew of.

As her thoughts raced, Su Qingyao felt a chill run through her body, and an indescribable sense of terror crept up her spine. An ancient palace that had survived for three thousand years without completely collapsing was hidden in this place where countless bones were buried (the Valley of Mass Graves). It must contain unfathomable ancient secrets, and its level of danger was immeasurable.

But when she thought of Zhang Yang facing four demon disciples alone, and also had her eye on the storage bag she had obtained together, she hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted her teeth, lowered her head and squeezed through the dilapidated palace door, bracing herself to go inside as well.

At this point, Zhang Yang, Su Qingyao, and the four demonic sect cultivators all entered this ancient, dilapidated hall that had been sealed for three thousand years.

Just as everyone stepped into the hall, a bird that had been foraging flew from afar over the valley. It had just reached the invisible ripple barrier at the edge of the valley when, without warning, its whole body stiffened, its wings instantly lost strength, and it plummeted straight down from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the pile of dry bones, dying instantly, silently testifying to the terror of this forbidden land.

The scene abruptly shifts back to the main battlefield in the distant Qingyun Mountains.

In mid-air, the earth-shattering battle between the Azure Cloud Ancestor Ling Xuanyuan and the Black Fiend Demon Sect Ancestor continued unabated. The golden and black Dao Foundation Auras collided violently, and the two unique and majestic Dao Powers at the peak of Foundation Establishment repeatedly crushed the entire valley.

Golden lotus patterns spread out beneath Ling Xuanyuan's feet, drawing life force from the surrounding vegetation and causing spiritual energy to spontaneously accord with him. Meanwhile, the Demonic Sect Ancestor's body was enveloped in a surge of crimson black lotuses, causing everything in his path to wither. Layer upon layer of overwhelming pressure continued to spread, locking away the spiritual energy of all the lower-level cultivators below. Even circulating their qi and blood was incredibly difficult; they could only look up at the two towering figures in the sky, watching the battle with tense minds. Unbeknownst to them, deep within the secluded valley, the young man and woman had already stepped into an ancient, perilous realm.