OBS Chapter 99 The Remnant Soul of Tian Shu
Chapter 99 The Remnant Soul of Tian Shu
Lu Ming slowly stood up; all his wounds had healed. However, the double depletion of his spiritual energy and soul still left him pale.
He placed one hand on the hilt of the Cloud Snow Sword, and even though he was still seriously injured, he did not relax his vigilance in the slightest.
Ning Qingxue stood beside Lu Ming, her fingertips constantly gripping the Heartbreak Bell on her wrist, full of vigilance.
In the center of the secret chamber, the pale gray phantom slowly solidified.
The old man was dressed in an ancient-style Tian Shu robe, with the Tian Shu pattern, which had long been lost, embroidered on the hem.
His eyes were lined with wrinkles, and his eyes were cloudy yet deep, revealing the vicissitudes of time.
"No need to be on guard."
The old man spoke first, his words like a gentle comforting voice from an elderly elder, which calmly suppressed the frantic pounding of the shadowy soldiers outside the door.
"I have been living here for thousands of years as a remnant of my soul, and I have no strength left, nor am I your enemy."
Ning Qingxue cautiously replied, "The Heavenly Pivot Holy Land has long since been reduced to ruins."
"If it is a remnant spirit guarding the formation, why didn't it appear when we stepped into the ruins, but instead waited until we were trapped in the secret chamber, critically injured and on the verge of death?"
"Why did you just stand by and watch us being hunted down by the shadow soldiers until we were cornered before showing up to help?"
The timing was too coincidental, so coincidental that it seemed like a meticulously planned wait.
Upon hearing this, the old man sighed softly, a trace of sorrow appearing in his weathered eyes.
He raised his hand and slowly pointed to the faint patterns on the side wall of the secret chamber that were almost integrated with the stone wall: "Little girl, you are very thoughtful. No wonder you are wary."
"Look at the array patterns on your stone wall, they were specially laid out by the Tian Shu cultivators back then."
"The Soul-Sealing Array is designed to prevent remnant souls from being corrupted by the power of nothingness. Because of this array, I cannot voluntarily step out of the secret chamber and am trapped here until just now..."
His gaze turned to Lu Ming: "It was only after this young friend's spiritual energy fluctuations triggered the core of the Soul Sealing Array that I was able to break free from the array's bindings and appear before you."
"Otherwise, even if I wanted to help, I would be powerless to do so."
Lu Ming frowned slightly: "What exactly is this 'nothingness' you speak of, Senior?"
"Where did those shadow warriors formed from black mist originate, and how could they be killed endlessly? And how was the Heavenly Pivot Holy Land destroyed?"
This was the biggest question in their minds after they stepped into the ruins.
Broken pillars and ruins, with withered bones everywhere. The entire Tian Shu sect clearly died in a fierce battle. But what kind of enemy could have caused this once mighty holy land to be completely destroyed and turned into a dead silence?
The old man's eyes dimmed, and the weariness around him deepened as he recalled a tragic and heroic past:
"The destruction of Tian Shu was not due to sectarian disputes, nor was it an attack by cultivators, but rather it was destroyed in the void beyond the boundary."
"Those black mists are the power overflowing from the Void Venerable. The Shadow Soldiers and Warriors can kill them endlessly and annihilate them completely, simply because the source of the power is the Void Venerable who is sealed in the core of the Holy Land."
"Back then, the Venerable Void appeared from nowhere, and wherever he went, life was ravaged and nothing grew."
"It will stop at nothing to prevent the Heavenly Pivot Holy Land from unifying China."
"The cultivators of Tian Shu fought a bloody battle against the Void, using the power of the entire Holy Land to set up a nine-layered Void-Suppressing Array. Based on the power of spiritual veins, earth veins, stars, and the evil energy of heaven and earth, they forcibly sealed the Void Venerable in the core area."
"None of the Tian Shu cultivators retreated; they all perished outside the seal, leaving only my remnant soul to guard this seal that is about to break. I have been waiting for five thousand years."
The old man's words were poignant and earnest, deeply moving even Lu Ming.
Moreover, what the old man said perfectly matched the skeletons and battle traces they saw in the ruins, without the slightest flaw.
Ning Qingxue's eyes relaxed slightly, but she still did not lower her guard.
Having been tempered by life's experiences since childhood, she was meticulous and thoughtful. Even if the old man's words seemed flawless, she wouldn't completely believe them.
Lu Ming was also silently weighing his options.
The pills and spirit stones given by the Zhenwu Sect are still plentiful, enough to sustain the two of them for a long time.
However, the Void Shadow Soldiers are born from the power of the overflowing energy and can never be completely killed. The secret room is ultimately just a temporary refuge. Once the stone door is breached, the two of them, already severely injured, will have no strength left to fight.
They had no choice but to trust the old man in the gray robe.
The old man seemed to see through their concerns, smiled gently, and offered no further explanation. He simply raised his withered finger and gently pointed it at the stone door.
A faint golden light emanated from his fingertips and slowly landed on the stone gate.
The stone gate, which had been trembling from the shadow soldiers' impact, instantly stabilized.
The frantic banging and roaring outside the door seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, disappearing abruptly. Inside the secret room, only the steady breathing of the two people remained.
The Soul-Sealing Array Patterns on the stone wall also lit up with a faint silver light, echoing the faint light on the old man's fingertips. These were the unique Star Array Patterns of the Heavenly Pivot Holy Land.
This genuine protective force dispelled most of their doubts.
Ning Qingxue slowly loosened her fingers from the Heart-Shattering Bell, but her spiritual energy still surged within her body:
"I don't care if you are a remnant soul guarding the formation or if you have other schemes. If you dare to play tricks along the way, I will destroy you along with me even if it means burning my own soul. I will show no mercy."
The old man nodded slightly, showing no displeasure whatsoever, but rather full of praise: "This young girl has such a temperament; she has not wasted your cultivation."
"Rest assured, I am but a wisp of remnant soul, and my days are numbered. All I seek is to fulfill the last wish of the entire Tian Shu sect, stabilize the Nine-Layer Zhenxu Formation, and prevent the Void Venerable from breaking free and wreaking havoc on the Divine Land."
Lu Ming bowed slightly to the old man: "In that case, I will trouble you to lead the way to the core of the seal, senior."
The old man said no more, turned and walked deeper into the secret chamber. His pale gray figure flickered in the dim light, his steps steady and slow.
"Follow me. This secret chamber is not a dead end, but a hidden passage left by the Tian Shu cultivators. It can avoid the Void Shadow Soldiers on the outside and lead directly to the core outer perimeter of the Nine-Layer Void Suppression Array, saving a lot of fighting."
Ning Qingxue subconsciously reached out and helped Lu Ming's arm.
When her fingertips touched Lu Ming's arm and she felt his body tremble slightly, she remembered that he was still recovering from serious injuries. His movements were swift yet gentle.
But then she withdrew her hand without batting an eye, reverting to her usual aloofness, as if her earlier act of helping him up was merely a casual gesture.
Lu Ming was slightly taken aback, turned to look at her, and said in a low voice, "Thank you."
Ning Qingxue turned her face away, gave a nonchalant snort, and walked silently beside him without replying.
The two followed closely behind the gray-robed old man and stepped into the secret passage deep within the secret chamber.
The passageway was narrow and deep, allowing only two people to walk side by side. The walls were engraved with intricate array patterns that emitted a faint silver light, illuminating the way ahead.
The passageway was filled with only silent darkness and a faint smell of dust. With each step, the sound of footsteps echoed through the passageway, making it seem exceptionally empty.
Lu Ming and Ning Qingxue walked side by side, one on the left and one on the right, secretly looking out for each other, without relaxing for a moment.
Lu Ming secretly transmitted his voice, his presence audible only to the two of them:
"My Dao Foundation is naturally sensitive to the power of nothingness. I didn't detect a trace of it in this old man, but for some reason, I always feel a strange unease in my heart."
Ning Qingxue nodded slightly and responded softly, "I feel the same way. His words are logical and fit perfectly with the traces of the ruins. However, the perfect help that appears out of nowhere in a desperate situation is the biggest flaw."
"We just need to follow along, remain on high alert, and take immediate action if there is any unusual activity."
The two were of one mind and reached an agreement without needing to say a word.
Ahead, the figure of the gray-robed old man walked silently forward, his pale gray silhouette appearing exceptionally peaceful under the illumination of the starlight array.