“We didn’t mean to disturb you…” Du Qingyuan hurriedly raised her hands to clarify the situation.
“This isn’t a place where you should have come to. But since you are already here, why don’t you stay here to accompany me?”
The black skeleton crackled coldly as it raised its hand and pointed its finger toward the duo.
Huala!
In the next moment, Zhang Xuan and Du Qingyuan felt as if the world was collapsing on them. An overwhelming pressure crushed down on them, leaving them feeling as though their bodies would be reduced to dust.
“This is the strength of the gods…” Zhang Xuan was alarmed.
Knowing that there was no time to waste on words, he took out the Tongshang Sword and executed his strongest swordsmanship.
Huala!
Through exerting his Sword Intent, he swiftly formed a fishnet barrier around him and Du Qingyuan to shoulder the pressure.
As the fishnet tangled together with the finger of the black skeleton, the pressure crushing down on them alleviated significantly.
“Your swordsmanship is decent. Are you from the Sky of Heavenly Sword?” the black skeleton halted its attack and asked.
But a moment later, it shook its head and answered its own question, “That doesn’t seem right. It should be impossible to find someone from the Sword God Heaven here. Furthermore, their swordsmanship is known to be sharp and ferocious, carrying great determination and tenacity. As a result of that, their attacks tend to be tough and unbending…
“On the other hand, your sword seems to extremely sentimental, a very different nature from that of the Sky of Heavenly Sword. To be able to comprehend such a powerful move in a place that is so direly lacking in spiritual energy, you are indeed extremely talented, just like the previous person who last ascended to the Firmament from here.
“But that’s all there is to it. The tomb of my master is not a place where outsiders can enter and leave freely. However, in view that it wasn’t easy for you to cultivate to your current level, I’ll make an exception and spare you if you leave right now,” the black skeleton waved its hand dismissively.
“Elder, we came here to search for the Aura of Divinity in order to reach the level of the deities. I implore you to accede to our request!” Seeing that the black skeleton had finally halted its attack, Zhang Xuan hurriedly lowered his posture and made his request.
This was likely to be the only place on the Forsaken Continent where he could find the Aura of Divinity. So, despite the dangers, he couldn’t back down here so easily.
“Do you wish to die? If not, scram!” the black skeleton harrumphed coldly.
“Elder…”
Zhang Xuan was just about to speak up again when the black skeleton waved its hands impatiently, inducing a burst of energy to surge outward like a massive tsunami.
Zhang Xuan’s face immediately turned livid. It felt as if everything was caving in on him.
He quickly took out all of the Semi-Divinity artifacts he had acquired from the treasure vault of the Ethereal Hall previously to fend against the impact.
Ding ding ding ding ding!
The collision still knocked Zhang Xuan back as blood spurted from his mouth. He crashed heavily onto the floor. At the same time, the Semi-Divinity artifacts he had in hand also fell powerlessly to the ground as well.
He quickly drove his Heaven’s Path zhenqi in order to recover a little as he endured the sharp pain his body was under and rose to his feet.
“I really have no intention of offending you, elder. However, we are in dire need of the Aura of Divinity…” Zhang Xuan said.
“You really are pushing your luck, aren’t you?” the black skeleton spat coldly.
In the next moment, Zhang Xuan felt yet another powerful pressure pressing down on him from above, attempting to crush him into a pancake.
Just as he was about to reach his limits, the crimson pendant he hung in front of his chest suddenly grew warm, and the heavy pressure also alleviated simultaneously as well.
Hu!
Sensing that the power of the pendant had dispelled the pressure, Zhang Xuan was about to make use of this opportunity to try convincing the black skeleton once more when he suddenly felt tension around his neck.
Before he could even react, the crimson pendant was already flying toward the hands of the black skeleton.
“Return it to me!”
Shocked, Zhang Xuan immediately dashed forward to retrieve his pendant. However, there seemed to be some kind of force holding him in place, preventing him from moving at all.
Dangling the crimson pendant right in front of its empty eye sockets, the black skeleton examined it closely for a moment before flicking it back toward Zhang Xuan’s chest.
Hu!
The binding on his body vanished, and Zhang Xuan immediately panted heavily for breath.
With a cold yet no longer hostile voice, the black skeleton looked at Zhang Xuan and asked, “You mentioned that you require the Aura of Divinity?”
Sensing the change in the attitude of the black skeleton after examining the crimson pendant, Zhang Xuan realized that there was a chance that things might work out. So, he quickly clasped his fist and replied, “Yes, elder. I hope that you can accede to my request!”
“I don’t have any Aura of Divinity. However, this can replace it.”
With a grasp of his hand, the air of degeneration swiftly gathered around the black skeleton. Under the might of some sort of power, the air of degeneration swiftly condensed together to form a black current around the black skeleton.
This sight left Zhang Xuan a little taken aback.
He could sense that the black current was much purer and more refined than the air of degeneration. In fact, it emanated an inviolable pressure that was strikingly similar to the Aura of Divinity he had encountered previously.
The only difference was that the Aura of Divinity was golden in color and it didn’t carry the property of degeneration. If Zhang Xuan were to be afflicted with even a hint of the black current, even with the Little Chick’s chicken soup, there was still a good chance that he would be corroded down to his bones.
“I don’t think that I’ll be able to use the Aura of Divinity that you have produced…” Zhang Xuan pointed it out hesitantly.
If he were to dare assimilate it, the chances were that he would be dead before he could even raise his cultivation.
“I know what you are getting at. The Aura of Divinity is originally golden in color, but it takes on a different form in this world,” the black skeleton said.
“A different form?” Zhang Xuan was perplexed.
“The spiritual energy in this world is too murky and impure. With the passing of time, the Aura of Divinity would become corrupted, losing its golden glow,” the black skeleton explained with a shake of its head.
Similar to how the spiritual energy on the Azure was far purer and more refined than that of the Master Teacher Continent, it was likely that the situation was similar for the Firmament and the Azure as well. The incredibly pure Aura of Divinity, when placed in an area that was far more impure than it, would eventually become corrupted and turn into the air of degeneration.
Zhang Xuan’s complexion darkened.
He thought that he would be able to find pure Aura of Divinity here, but if it had all turned into air of degeneration, it would be useless even if he acquired it.
There was no way he could assimilate it, let alone use it to make a breakthrough!
“Elder, is there a way to cleanse the corrupted Aura of Divinity?” Zhang Xuan asked.
He had to find a way to make things work out over here.
Otherwise, not only would he be unable to find Luo Ruoxin, the fake Kong shi might even tear the Library of Heaven’s Path out of his body, thus resulting in his death!
And he knew that the next victim after him would likely be his direct disciples and the rest of the Six Sects.
It was not as if he didn’t have other strategies that he could resort to, but those were the final measures. It would really be a desperate battle for survival then.
In order to everything going down in the worst possible situation, he had to become a god at any cost.
“There’s a way to do it, but it won’t be easy,” the black skeleton said.
Hearing that there was a way out, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief on the inside as he hurriedly asked, “Elder, I beseech you to enlighten me.”
“A ritual that utilizes the power of souls can cleanse the Aura of Divinity. However, it’ll require many wills to be united as one, earnestly wishing for it to happen. If there’s even a single will that isn’t aligned with the rest, it will end in failure,” the black skeleton said.
“Elder, please impart to me the procedures of the ritual,” Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and said.
“Un.”
The black skeleton raised its finger and tapped forward lightly.
Hu!
A sliver of its will was infused right into Zhang Xuan and Du Qingyuan’s minds.
“This…”
Upon seeing the content of the will, Zhang Xuan’s eyebrows shot up.
Just as what the black skeleton said, the ritual would require many people working in unison to complete. Furthermore, the chances were extremely high that sacrifices would be required.
“The act of cleansing Aura of Divinity is a necessary step to becoming a god. This step poses no difficulty if it’s conducted in the Firmament, but over here, it’s no different from trying to overstep the authority of the heavens. So, it’s only normal that someone will have to suffer divine retribution for it… If you think you are able to do it, you can give it a try. Otherwise, I have no alternative solutions for you either,” the black skeleton said.
With a tap of its finger, it sent a sphere of black energy right toward Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan carefully caught the sphere of black energy with his zhenqi before sealing it within a jade bottle.
“That’s all I have for you. Do not disrupt my rest anymore. I don’t care whether you are from the Sky of Heavenly Sword or Sky of Freedom, but if you dare step into this area once more, don’t expect me to show mercy to you…”
The black skeleton sat down on the ground before falling completely still.
Zhang Xuan stashed the jade bottle into his storage ring before bowing deeply to the black skeleton, “Thank you, elder.”
Even though the other party didn’t have the golden Aura of Divinity he wanted, the other party did provide him with a sliver of hope and a clear direction.
As long as he did what the other party said, there was a chance that things might just work out.
“Can I swallow that black skeleton whole?”
Just as Zhang Xuan and Du Qingyuan were about to leave, Little Chick, who was in the tamed beast sack, suddenly spoke out.
“Don’t utter nonsense!” Zhang Xuan nearly fainted upon hearing those words.
Till now, the little yellow chick’s cultivation was still stagnated at Heavenly High Immortal realm. Given that it hadn’t even reached Semi-Divinity realm, how could it possibly devour a real god whole?
Wasn’t that practically daydreaming?
Furthermore, even though the black skeleton was hostile at first, it provided him with a way out of the quandary he was in.
“Tsk, stingy…”
Little Chick murmured in displeasure as it continued to peck at its Premier Immortal Pills.
After dealing with Little Chick, Zhang Xuan began walking in the direction from where he came from when a thought suddenly came to his mind. He took out his pendant and clasped his fist toward the black skeleton, “Pardon me for bothering you, but I would just like to ask one last question. Elder, do you know of the origin of this pendant?”
