Unrivaled Martial Emperor

Chapter 563 - Attacking the Dao Palace

With the arrival of the five major alliances, the confidence of everyone present soared.

The eerie great hall, seemingly harboring some vicious creature that could bring about a calamity, now didn’t seem as threatening. And the sole reason for that was the experts of the major alliances.

Some martial artists were starting to lose patience. After all, they were here to obtain treasures to soar to the heavens and reach the Divine Nascent realm, not to wait around like dolts.

Were they afraid of the great hall? Yes, but their greed for the treasures inside was starting to surpass their worries about the possible dangers inside.

To the crowd, the presence of so many people, including Li Yao and other top experts, meant that there was little to fear. They could leave the malevolent spirits to these formidable experts.

Perhaps this was the so-called courage in numbers.

If only a few people had been here, the eerie atmosphere of the great hall and their own lack of strength might have left them paralyzed with fear, prompting them to flee rather than pursue the treasures.

Despite the large number present, no one made a move. The great hall was just too eerie at night, like Yama’s palace. It was as if a supreme demon was inside, striking fear in the people’s hearts. [1]

Consequently, the crowd decided to wait until dawn.

It was well known that Yin qi was thick at night, not to mention countless people had lost their lives in the tragic battle on the Hidden Dragon Island in the past.

Some remnant thoughts and resentment were bound to be still there. In such an ominous environment, it was likely that something very terrifying had formed.

This would explain the ghost soldiers patrolling the great hall.

At least with the arrival of dawn, the increase in Yang qi would ease some of the crowd’s fears.

The night went by very quickly. As the crowd waited, the next day came. Sunlight shone down, dispersing the eerie aura around the place.

As the sky brightened, it was as if the ghost soldiers heard a signal to retreat. They all dissipated and re-entered the great hall.

This sight caused many people’s eyes to widen in alarm, their gazes growing more intense.

The ghost soldiers had retreated into the great hall, making it a daunting challenge to breach. Yet, many couldn't hold back any longer.

“Charge!” someone shouted.

Immediately, hundreds of martial artists rushed toward the great hall like a swarm of locusts, their movement accompanied by the constant whooshing of wind.

However, as the crowd rushed out, the mountain path that led to the great hall suddenly cracked open. The cracking noises sent shivers down the crowd’s spines and made their hairs stand on end.

From the ground, skeleton jiangshi emerged, their eye sockets flickering with green ghost fires. They attacked the crowd with ferocity, like a wind sweeping away clouds.

These skeleton jiangshi were formidable, retaining the cultivation levels they had in life, many of them being in the Nine Revolutions of the Golden Core realm.

Miserable screams rang out almost immediately. Several figures exploded, turning into mists of blood.

The crowd’s actions seemed to have disrupted the slumbering souls here.

Overwhelming Yin qi rose to the skies, sealing the heavens. It blocked the sunlight, so the temperature in the area plummeted, and chilling winds blew.

Rumble!

Somewhere, a large army was charging, causing the earth to shake intensely. In the next moment, a massive army of ghost soldiers emerged from the great hall, their overwhelming murderous qi rising to the sky.

“Kill, kill all these demonic beings!”

“Kill, protect the Dao Palace, protect Hidden Dragon Island!”

“Live and die together with the Hidden Dragon Island!”

The great hall’s doors suddenly opened. Next, an army of white skeleton jiangshi, riding various skeleton demonic beasts, charged out. They were wielding lances and dagger-axes and were clad in iron armor, shining with a chilling light.

These skeleton jiangshi mistook Chen Fan and the others for the demonic cultivators who had invaded Hidden Dragon Island three thousand years ago.

Nearly a thousand ghost soldiers had surged out, shaking the land. The Yin qi and the ghost qi were so thick they wouldn't dissipate. They rushed toward the crowd.

“Damn it, the deceased are treating us as demonic path cultivators, damn it!”

“There are too many of them, and these skeleton jiangshi are all very powerful. How do we deal with them?”

Everyone’s expressions darkened.

Not everyone on the island had arrived here. Only three to four hundred had gathered to attack the great hall and seize the treasures. The others were unaware of the situation, exploring other ruins, or had died long ago.

Now, these three to four hundred people had to face the attacks of close to a thousand skeleton jiangshi. And unfortunately, these skeleton jiangshi were far from weak.

The skeleton jiangshis were so tough that even treasures couldn’t destroy them for sure. They weren’t an easy bunch to deal with.

Someone in the crowd roared, “We’ve already come this far, are you still thinking of withdrawing? Think about the treasures! With so many skeleton jiangshi here, this place is definitely an important location. There must be lots of treasure inside.”

Greed once again overtook the crowd’s rationality.

Why had they participated in the trial?

Wasn’t it to obtain treasures and gain strength?

They were unwilling to give up in the face of such difficulties.

The Yin qi was overwhelming, with dark clouds shrouding the skies in pitch-blackness. Wailing and howling filled the air, creating a nightmarish scene.

With close to a thousand skeleton jiangshi, battle cries echoed as their iron armor glinted ominously. Murderous qi rose to the skies, sweeping out like a flood. The lands shook, rumbling, striking fear into the people’s hearts.

It was a shocking scene.

The skeleton army, almost a thousand strong, darkened the horizon like a flood of steel, crushing everything in their path. Wherever their weapons struck, everything turned to dust.

A chilling wind whistled, and lightning flashed. Numerous tall trees were uprooted and crumbled in the sky. Wood shavings and leaves danced wildly in the air.

Woo, woo, woo. Woo, woo, woo...

The remnant malevolent thoughts of the dead gave rise to howling wind and made the old crows cry mournfully.

It swept over everything, lifting trees and ancient vines. Even large rocks weighing hundreds of kilograms were swept up and thrown into the air.

The skeleton army harbored deep-seated hatred from their lives for the demonic cultivators who had invaded the island. Even after three thousand years, their hatred had not diminished; it had only intensified.

They did not stop for a second to ensure that their opponents were demonic cultivators; they just attacked. In their minds, anyone who wanted to break into the great hall was a demonic cultivator, enemies they had to kill.

Even though they had already died, this remnant will made them want to defend the Hidden Dragon Island.

Nothing could stop these fallen cultivators. Wherever their weapons pointed, everything was destroyed, regardless of who the targets were.

The treasures in the great hall were also very attractive to the crowd.

Thus, even when facing the skeleton army, the crowd cast aside all concerns and channeled their cultivation, destroying the skeleton army along with their remnant thoughts.

1. Yama is the King of Hell in Buddhism. ☜