Chapter 83 Attacked on the Way

With the scorching flames of war reigniting within the carriage, the eight desolations nether carriage, symbol of the Saint's dignity, glided steadily across the horizon with a subtle sway, slowly making its way toward the edge of the territory controlled by the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Time slipped away quietly during the smooth flight, and before long, they arrived near a dark wasteland. This place was sparsely populated, with only a few scattered adventurers, those living on the edge of a knife, or Sect Cultivators on special missions.

The atmosphere suddenly changed. This was the indistinct border between the spheres of influence of the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Soul Suppressing Abyss; ghosts lingered, Death Qi hung heavy, and the earth took on an ominous dark gray hue.

Elder Li's expression became noticeably more vigilant. He raised his hand to signal, and the formation of the guard unit quietly tightened, circling more closely around the eight desolations nether carriage. Even the eight restless nether ghost tigers seemed to grow alert, their breathing heavy as they emitted faint roars.

Inside the carriage, the sultry atmosphere had not yet fully dissipated. Mo Qingzhu lay limply in Xiao Ming's arms, her skin still flushed with the afterglow of their intimacy, breathing slightly.

Xiao Ming sat with his eyes half-closed, his fingertips idly playing with her delicate, jade-like feet. He appeared languid, but in reality, his perception was subtly extending outward.

"Saint..." Mo Qingzhu seemed to sense the sudden change in the atmosphere outside, and she shifted her body slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"It is nothing," Xiao Ming said in a calm tone, carrying a hint of lingering satisfaction and an unquestionable sense of control. "Just a few snacks; Elder Li and the others will handle it!"

As soon as his voice fell—

A giant black skull attacked the convoy they were traveling in.

Almost simultaneously, more than a dozen figures dressed in dark purple robes with cold Auras shot up into the sky from the wasteland a hundred zhang ahead. The three leaders were clearly of the Nascent Soul Stage!

The one in the center had a hunched figure and held a skull-headed cane. His Aura was the most formidable, having reached the Peak of the Late Nascent Soul Stage; he was the perpetrator of the attack just now.

The two on either side were both at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage; one held a giant hammer, and the other gripped a giant bone sword, their eyes staring sinisterly at the members of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Hehehe... The Heavenly Demon Sect has indeed sent people." The hunched old man holding the skull cane let out a creepy, strange laugh. "Leave the carriage behind, and perhaps I can spare your lives!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the massive black skull, wrapped in chilling ghostly wails, smashed toward the front of the moving convoy. Wherever it passed, it stirred up waves of eerie ghost Qi.

Elder Li's expression did not change in the slightest; he even raised his hand to stop the guards behind him from forming a defensive formation. He stepped forward alone and waved his withered palm forward, seemingly casually.

A streak of pitch-black Devilish Qi, condensed into a tangible form, shot out. It moved faster than the attack despite being launched later, meeting the imposing black skull head-on.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a crisp sound like shattering glass. The skull, which had appeared monstrously fierce, disintegrated inch by inch the moment it touched the ribbon of Devilish Qi, like snow meeting the scorching sun, turning into black smoke that scattered across the sky.

"Hmph, Old Ghost Xue, it has been a hundred years, and you still rely on these petty tricks." Elder Li's voice was hoarse, carrying a trace of undisguised mockery. "With just you few, it's not enough to be taken seriously!"

The hunched old man known as Old Ghost Xue constricted his pupils, a flash of surprise and suspicion crossing his face, but it was immediately replaced by ferocity.

"Old Devil Li, do not be arrogant! Back then, we were both in the Nascent Soul Realm, and neither could do anything to the other. Today, with Elder 'Shadow' and Elder 'Bone Luo' of my Soul Suppressing Abyss here, it's three against one; do you think you can turn the heavens upside down? If you are sensible, leave the carriage and the person inside. For the sake of our old acquaintance, I might let you die quickly!"

Beside him, "Shadow," holding a bone sword, and "Bone Luo," carrying a giant hammer, stepped forward simultaneously. Their immense Nascent Soul Aura, mixed with chilling Death Qi, surged forth like a tide, causing some of the weaker Heavenly Demon Sect Disciples behind to turn pale.

Elder Li, however, suddenly let out a low laugh. The laughter was dry but contained a chilling implication. "Old acquaintance? Heh heh... Dry Bone, your information is far too outdated."

Before the words had even faded, Elder Li's hunched body slowly straightened slightly. There was no earth-shattering explosion of Aura; rather, the obscure and difficult-to-discern Aura around him suddenly became deep as an abyss, unfathomable.

The Spiritual Qi and Devilish Qi between heaven and earth seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, beginning to swirl slowly around him as the center. A massive Aura, far exceeding the Nascent Soul Realm, spread out silently like a tide.

Under this pressure, the thin gray mist on the wasteland receded a little, centered around him.

The grimace on Old Ghost Xue's face froze instantly, his eyes bulged, and the hand holding the skull cane began to tremble uncontrollably. "You... this Aura... impossible! A hundred years ago, you were clearly only..."

"A hundred years ago was a hundred years ago." Elder Li interrupted him, his tone as calm as if he were stating a trivial matter. "Old Ghost Xue, times have changed. Now, I ask you—how do you want to die?"

As he uttered the last few words, Elder Li's previously cloudy old eyes suddenly lit up with a terrifying brilliance, and his Aura no longer restrained, erupted completely.

"Soul... Soul Transformation!"

Elders "Shadow" and "Bone Luo" screamed in unison, their voices filled with terror.

"Run!" Old Ghost Xue reacted the fastest. In his absolute terror, he couldn't even muster the slightest thought of resisting. A thick cloud of Death Qi exploded around him as he prepared to use an escape technique that would consume his Origin to flee.

"Want to leave now? It's too late."

Elder Li did not even move his feet; he simply raised his withered right hand, fingers spread, palm facing down, and slowly made a gripping motion in the void toward the direction where the three stood.

This movement was slow and clear, carrying an indescribable rhythm, as if he had grasped an invisible thread in the Void Realm.

"Nether Thread Pull, Bind Life."

He spat out the four words; his voice was not loud, but it carried a coldness that pierced straight to the Soul.

But in the eyes of Old Ghost Xue and the other two, the world suddenly changed color. They saw countless dark threads growing out of thin air from their shadows and the surrounding area.

These threads were as thin as nothingness, yet incomparably tough. Ignoring their protective Devilish Qi, they silently wrapped around their bodies, limbs, necks, and even seeped into their Souls.

The Death Qi escape light that Old Ghost Xue had exploded came to an abrupt halt, as if frozen; the retreating figures of Elders "Shadow" and "Bone Luo" also stiffened in mid-air.

They were not restrained by force, but had lost their "connection" to this heaven and earth, losing all control over themselves; they could not even manage to blink an eye.

Elder Li's gripping hand began to close, one finger at a time.

With every finger that closed, the dark threads wrapped around the three tightened by a fraction.

As the first finger curled down, all defensive Qi and protective Devilish light on the three vanished without a sound.

As the second finger curled down, their Meridians and bones emitted faint, unbearable grinding sounds, and their Dantian Nascent Souls were gripped by an invisible hand, withering and trembling.

As the third finger curled down, their skin and flesh lost their luster at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming gray and withered, as if their life force was being forcibly drained away.

The moment Elder Li's fourth finger curled down, the pupils of Old Ghost Xue and the other two completely dilated. Their bodies withered and weathered at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally, with a soft "poof," they turned into three small piles of gray-black dust that fluttered down, merging with the ubiquitous ashes on the wasteland.

Elder Li slowly lowered his hand, as if he were just dusting off non-existent dust from his fingertips. He turned around, faced the eight desolations nether carriage, bowed, and said, "Saint, it is all resolved."

Inside the carriage, Xiao Ming's fingertips happened to graze the base of Mo Qingzhu's thigh, leaving her trembling slightly.

"Hmm." Xiao Ming only responded indifferently, not even giving any instructions to those outside the carriage, as if everything that had just happened was no different from crushing a few ants. His gaze seemed to pierce through the carriage wall, cast toward the deeper parts of the wasteland—their destination!

Elder Li did not see the Saint speak for a long while, so he slowly straightened up, waved his hand at the crowd behind him, and ordered, "Continue forward!"