"This creature possesses no definitive physical form!" General Tie Feng roared, bracing his armored forearm to withstand the impact of the lashing tail. "Physical strikes are futile! Unleash soul-based attacks or pure flames!"

  The twin elders of the Whirlwind Sect moved in unison. Locking hands, they conjured a howling vortex of fire and wind, attempting to incinerate the dragon's mass of putrid, necrotic muscle. However, the flames were instantly sucked into a void-like abyss upon contact with the dragon’s hide; the Yin energy of this place was too dominant, snuffing out every spark of Yang that dared to flicker.

  Zhi Xuan remained motionless, his black-and-white robe fluttering calmly amidst the chaotic storm of essence. He gazed at the Yin Corpse Dragon with a vision that pierced through layers of illusion. Deep within the cluster of rotted sinew, he spotted a pulsating, dark purple core—a crystal of pure Yin that served as the creature’s consciousness.

  "Brother Gu, what are you waiting for?" Ba Yan shouted. He had regained full consciousness, his face deathly pale as he unleashed a flurry of flying daggers to repel the swarming phantom hands rising from the waters below. "If this dragon isn't dealt with immediately, Master Taixuan's bell will run out of energy!"

  "This aura," Zhi Xuan mused internally. He felt the Heavenly Devouring Chalice, which housed the Soul Lantern, thrashing in response to the thousands of trapped souls within the Yin Corpse Dragon. "If those souls can be absorbed, I could immediately begin studying the Nirvana Ancient Puppet technique. However, revealing such a card here is too risky."

  A thin smile played on Zhi Xuan's lips. He gestured with his hand, and from the void beyond the formation, a colossal hand glowing with lava-like veins manifested, clutching the body of the Yin Corpse Dragon. "Perish."

  As the searing lava fingers gripped the dragon's frame, a deafening hiss filled the air, accompanied by plumes of highly toxic black vapor. Thousands of faces embedded in the dragon's flesh shrieked in unison—a chorus of agony capable of shattering the Dao Heart of an ordinary cultivator. Yet, under Zhi Xuan’s iron-willed control, the lava hand tightened, incinerating the necrotic mass with temperatures far exceeding pure Yang fire.

  "GRAAAARRRRHHH!"

  The Yin Corpse Dragon thrashed wildly, its bony tail battering the lava hand repeatedly, but each collision only produced silvery sparks. The twilight-gray essence shrouding Zhi Xuan’s attack acted as a shield, preventing the Yin mist of the swamp from extinguishing the molten heat.

  Zhi Xuan extended his free hand, and the Demonic Blood Sword streaked out toward the beast. "Cleave."

  The sword flew like a bolt of crimson lightning, piercing the murky atmosphere of the Ancient Demon Land. Its wicked yet majestic glow carved a line through the copper-red mist, carrying a killing intent so compressed that the space in its path seemed to warp.

  CRAAAAASH!

  The blade did more than just pierce the dragon's foul flesh; it shattered the dark purple core hidden deep within the muscle. A massive explosion of Yin energy erupted instantly, but rather than letting it dissipate wildly, Zhi Xuan’s fingers moved in a complex mudra.

  "Return to the void," he hissed. Suddenly, a gray vortex manifested at the tip of the Demonic Blood Sword, vacuuming the surging Yin essence and the thousands of wailing souls from the exploding dragon.

  Silence reclaimed the realm, far more suffocating than before. Master Taixuan, General Tie Feng, and the other cultivators stood frozen. Their eyes were locked onto the figure of Zhi Xuan, who drifted serenely in the air, his hands tucked back into his sleeves as if he had merely swatted a nuisance.

  Master Taixuan slowly lowered his hand, the bronze bell above his head chiming softly as if echoing the residual vibrations of the power Zhi Xuan had just unleashed. He looked at the youth with an unreadable gaze—relief that the threat was gone, but also the seeds of fear, seeing how effortlessly Zhi Xuan manipulated slaughter energy in a place that should have suppressed outside power.

  "Incredible strength, Brother Gu," Master Taixuan finally spoke, breaking the icy silence. "To destroy a Yin entity with a single strike... it seems I was not mistaken in inviting you."

  General Tie Feng sheathed his heavy claymore with a sharp metallic ring. He glanced at the now-still swamp, though his eyes remained fixed on Zhi Xuan. "It is not just the strength, but the way he controls his essence amidst this Yin swamp... such a grasp of Law is nonsensical for someone at the mid-stage."

  Zhi Xuan ignored their praise and suspicion alike. He felt the Demonic Blood Sword return to his Sea of Consciousness, bringing with it the soul residues that had been crudely purified by his twilight-gray essence.

  "Our journey is far from over, Master Taixuan," Zhi Xuan replied flatly. "That dragon was merely the gatekeeper of the Swamp of Regret. As we venture deeper, the Ancient Demon Land will not offer a warmer welcome than this."

  Li Chen approached, fanning himself despite the freezing air. "Brother Gu is right. Look at your bell, Master. Its light is dimming again."

  Indeed, the yellow glow of the Soul-Guiding Bell began to flicker unstable. Master Taixuan immediately refocused his concentration. "You hear that? Do not lower your guard! Keep the formation tight. We must cross the remainder of this swamp toward the Whispering Bone Forest before the copper sun sets."

  The group of ten Soul Transformation experts moved again, gliding low over the black water. However, the atmosphere within the group had shifted. The other five cultivators, including the twin elders of the Whirlwind Sect and the iron-masked man, now maintained a more respectful—or perhaps more wary—distance from Zhi Xuan.

  As they flew, the copper-red mist around them began to whisper. It wasn't the wind, but bodiless voices calling their names, probing the old wounds within their respective Dao Hearts.

  Zhi Xuan sealed his sense of hearing with spiritual essence. To him, these whispers were nothing but meaningless residue. However, he noticed the iron-masked man behind him emitting unstable ripples of purple energy. The man stared fixedly at a clump of mist to his right, his hands trembling violently.

  "Do not listen to them," Zhi Xuan's voice suddenly resonated directly within the iron-masked man's mind, cold and sharp as an ice needle. "If you allow your imagination to wake them, you will become the next face at the bottom of this swamp."

  The man jolted, his purple glow dimming as he stabilized. He glanced at Zhi Xuan, giving a small, stiff nod before refocusing on the path.

  A few miles later, the swamp surface vanished, replaced by cracked, gray earth. Before them loomed a range of colossal trees that possessed neither leaves nor bark. Their trunks were a ghostly white, textured like human bones stacked together until they reached the heavens.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  "The Whispering Bone Forest," the old woman with the black wooden staff whispered. She inhaled the air, which now smelled of bone and ancient dust. "Here, Divine Sense will be severely limited. Master Taixuan, ensure that bell keeps ringing, or we will be lost in this bone labyrinth forever."

  Master Taixuan nodded solemnly. He tapped the bronze bell, and the TING— it produced was now more rhythmic, creating sound waves that bounced between the bone-trees to map the path ahead.

  Zhi Xuan stepped into the shadow of the forest. The moment he crossed the boundary, he felt a bizarre spatial pressure. The space within this forest seemed to fold; what appeared near might actually be thousands of miles away.

  "A Natural Spatial Formation," Zhi Xuan muttered. He covertly activated his Heavenly Eye. Under his divine vision, he saw threads of fate coiled around every bone-tree trunk. These trees did not grow from the soil; they sprouted from the remains of battles between gods and demons of old.

  Zhi Xuan’s calm footsteps crunched against the fine bone dust, creating a rustling sound that seemed to be answered by moans from within the pale trunks. As they pushed deeper, the copper sun above became powerless to pierce the dense canopy of branches that resembled giant fingers clutching the sky.

  "Coat your feet with essence," Master Taixuan instructed in a strained voice. "This ground can swallow essence. Every step you take without protection will drain the power from your meridians."

  Zhi Xuan glanced down. Indeed, every time his foot touched the ground, the white dust glowed faintly, attempting to pull the twilight-gray essence from his body. However, instead of letting it be drained, Zhi Xuan reversed his energy flow. His essence vibrated subtly, creating a repulsive force that made the dust scatter like snow rejecting a similar pole.

  The group’s pace slowed as the bone-tree formations grew tighter. Amidst the oppressive silence, only the chime of Master Taixuan’s bell served as an anchor for their souls. Yet, even the bell’s ring sounded heavy now, as if the air in this forest had turned into a thick liquid that resisted every ripple of sound.

  "Something is wrong," Li Chen whispered, his jade fan now held as a shield before his chest, its sea-blue glow flickering uneasily. "Brother Gu, do you feel it? The space around us... it feels as if it’s breathing."

  Zhi Xuan did not answer verbally. His hidden Heavenly Eye caught a phenomenon far more terrifying than mere spatial folding. The threads of fate coiling around the bone-trees began to move, shifting slowly in rhythm with the heartbeat of the Ancient Demon Land buried far beneath.

  "Don't stop!" Master Taixuan cried out, his voice now tinged with a poorly hidden panic. "Keep moving!"

  The Soul-Guiding Bell above Master Taixuan’s head suddenly emitted a jarring, discordant shriek—TRANG!—as if its bronze surface had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer. The yellow light surrounding them convulsed, and in an instant, the vision of the ten cultivators blurred.

  In a blink that lasted no longer than a speck of dust to a cultivator, the world around them was violently pulled by an invisible, giant hand. The bone-trees that had stood straight suddenly warped like shadows on stirred water. Tremendous spatial pressure slammed into their bodies, making even the internal organs of a Soul Transformation expert feel as though they were being crushed.

  Zhi Xuan immediately stamped his foot, radiating twilight-gray essence to nail his position onto the heaving ground. However, the spatial threads in this forest were far more complex than he had anticipated.

  "The Star-Reversing Formation!" Master Taixuan roared amidst the howling spatial winds. He lunged to reclaim his Soul-Guiding Bell, which was now tumbling wildly, but the bell's yellow glow faded, swallowed by a gray mist that suddenly emerged from the gaps between the trees.

  "Everyone, hold fast to your mental foundation!" General Tie Feng bellowed, his armor glowing bronze-gold at maximum intensity, trying to serve as an anchor for the group.

  But the spatial laws of this place had reached a saturation point. One by one, the figures of their companions began to fade, swallowed by the gray mist that seemed to erase their existence from this dimension. Li Chen, who was closest to Zhi Xuan, reached out for the hem of his friend’s black-and-white robe, but his hand only passed through the cold, empty air.

  "Brother Gu—!"

  Li Chen’s voice was cut short, vanishing along with a blinding explosion of purple light. Zhi Xuan felt his body being pulled into a deep, hollow vortex. The Heavenly Samsara Wheel within his soul spun wildly, straining to prevent his Divine Soul from being torn apart by spatial friction as sharp as a thousand daggers.

  Within heartbeats, the pressure eased. Zhi Xuan landed on one knee atop a hard, cold surface. He was no longer in the sprawling forest path. He now stood in a chamber bounded by colossal bone pillars that arched upward, forming a dome that resembled the ribcage of an unimaginably large ancient beast. The gray mist here was thick, limiting even the reach of his Heavenly Eye.

  "Scattered," Zhi Xuan muttered softly. His voice did not echo, as if the bone walls absorbed every vibration.

  He stood up slowly, straightening his robe, which remained spotless despite the spatial storm. He could not sense Master Taixuan or his bell. There was only a suffocating silence and a sharper scent of death—the aroma of bone scorched by time.

  Zhi Xuan scanned his surroundings, but he found only primordial silence. Beneath his feet, the floor was not stone, but a bed of skulls ground into fine shards, forming intricate and malevolent geomantic patterns. Every step he took triggered a faint cracking sound, as if the shattered souls beneath were mourning their eternal fate.

  "A chamber of mental isolation," Zhi Xuan whispered. He realized the spatial storm wasn't a natural phenomenon, but a defense mechanism of the Bone Forest designed to separate intruders based on their Dao Hearts.

  Zhi Xuan showed no fear; instead, his sapphire pupils glinted with cold sharpness. He understood that in a place like this, fear was a poison more lethal than the Breath of the Ancient Demon. If this forest wished to test him with silence, he would give it a deeper silence in return.

  He began to walk, every movement controlled like a predator in the night. Yet, after only a few steps, the gray mist before him began to roll, forming silhouettes that gradually solidified. Not monsters, not the Yin Corpse Dragon, but human figures he recognized all too well from his furthest memory fragments.

  "Zhi Xuan... why did you abandon us?" a raspy voice drifted, followed by shadows of his past from the lower plains—people who had fallen under his blade, and those he had failed to save.

  Zhi Xuan stopped. He stared at the shadows with a face as immovable as stone. "Shallow illusions," he hissed. "You dare attack the mind of a cultivator who has washed his soul in the Samsara Wheel? This forest truly underestimates me."

  He slammed his foot onto the floor of bone shards. Instantly, a ripple of twilight-gray energy exploded from his point of contact, shattering the illusory silhouettes into nothingness. As the illusions crumbled, the bone wall to his right shuddered violently, opening into a narrow fissure that emitted a dim, flickering light.

  "Brother Li's aura," Zhi Xuan murmured, immediately stepping through the gap.

  Zhi Xuan stepped through the narrow fissure, where the bone walls seemed to throb like veins coursing with thick Yin essence. The dim light ahead grew clearer, revealing a vast space resembling an ancient sacrificial hall. In the center of the room, he saw Li Chen standing with his back to the fissure, but strangely, the youth's body was entwined in glowing, unstable nets of blue essence threads.

  "Brother Li," Zhi Xuan called out, his voice flat yet containing a mental vibration capable of piercing the silence.

  Li Chen jolted, his shoulders tensing before he slowly turned around. His usually jovial face was stiff, his eyes reflecting profound confusion. In his hand, his sea-jade fan was snapped shut, trembling as if holding an invisible weight.

  "Brother Gu?" Li Chen’s voice sounded distant and disoriented. "You... weren't you just here?"

  Zhi Xuan stepped forward, each footfall on the cracked bone floor emitting a twilight-gray ripple that crushed the illusory threads creeping beneath his feet. "Wake up. We were all scattered just moments ago."

  Li Chen blinked repeatedly, as if trying to banish the fog clouding his sight. The blue essence threads coiling around him slowly faded, but the remnants of spatial pressure were still etched clearly on his pale face. He exhaled a long breath—one that carried the freezing chill that had settled in his lungs.

  "By the lofty heavens... this place is truly cursed," Li Chen muttered, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "I felt as if I had just walked through thousands of years of silence, only to find myself back at the same point. If you hadn't appeared, Brother Gu, I might have lost my way in this mental labyrinth forever."

  Zhi Xuan did not approach immediately; he stopped three paces away, his eyes as deep as the ocean scanning every inch of the bone hall. "I suspect this was a plan by Master Taixuan. Earlier, I killed the Yin Corpse Dragon that was indirectly protecting him, and as a result, I too was dragged into this."