33: A divine blessing! A key! The imprisoned being!
Before Xu Qing could think further.
He suddenly sensed something and looked up at the sky.
In the sight of his Spiritual Eyes, strands of gentle golden light descended from the sky.
The golden light enveloped his massive seventy-meter-long body and quickly integrated into it.
“This is... Karma?”
Zombies are neither human, nor Yao, nor ghost; they are outside the Five Elements and belong to a Heaven-Defying existence.
Eliminating a zombie, especially one formed from the corpse of an ancient mighty figure, naturally yields great Karma.
Thus, Karma descended from Heaven, blessing the Green Snake in the mountains.
“For a Yao Cultivator like me to have so much Karma is truly rare.”
Since it wasn't harmful to him, Xu Qing didn't pay it much heed and looked down at the Token.
“Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven?”
Xu Qing's heart stirred slightly.
Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven and the Purple Canopy Grotto-Heaven belonging to the Monkey King should theoretically be the same place.
However, the name Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven is much older, tracing back to the Ancient Era.
It was a legendary Immortal Blessed Land, the residence of mighty figures.
But now, the Purple Canopy Grotto-Heaven is occupied by the Yao Race from deep within the mountains.
Could there be some connection between the two?
Xu Qing picked up the Token and poured his Magic Power into it.
“Buzz!”
The Token trembled, and a voice entered Xu Qing's mind.
“I, Chi Zhenzi of Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven...”
Inside was a snippet of information left by the middle-aged man!
A moment later.
Xu Qing finally understood the cause of the matter.
Chi Zhenzi was a Qi Refining Cultivator from Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven who suffered severe injuries while traveling abroad, and his Lifespan was nearing its end.
To prevent his corpse from undergoing a Zombie Transformation, he sealed all the Acupoints on his body with 361 soul-fixing needles and sealed himself within an Immortal Cave in the mountains.
Time passed quickly, and the Qi Refining Cultivators of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens vanished without a trace.
The Immortal Caves they left behind were gradually occupied by existences from deep within the mountains.
But those were only the peripheral areas of the Grotto-Heaven.
The true Grotto-Heaven, the location of the Treasure Trove, requires a key to open.
Chi Zhenzi's Token was the key to unlocking the Purple Profound Grotto-Shining Heaven!
Qi Refining Cultivators possess unique methods to open up spaces for storing objects.
To open that space, he would have to come back to life.
The fellow who occupied the Purple Canopy Grotto-Heaven devised a side route to obtain the Token.
Help Chi Zhenzi undergo Zombie Transformation!
To avoid exposure, he came to the periphery of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, found this Yin Land, set up a Formation, removed the soul-fixing needles from Chi Zhenzi's Baihui Acupoint, and buried Chi Zhenzi here.
Many years passed.
Chi Zhenzi was about to undergo Zombie Transformation, just one step away from success.
But at this moment, Xu Qing appeared.
He killed the Monkey King, obtained the soul-fixing needles, and possessed the great Divine Ability of the Earthly Fiend, which could protect his body, burn Yao Evil, and granted him Immense Strength, suppressing zombies in every way!
Furthermore, Chi Zhenzi was a Qi Refining Cultivator who had been dead for many years, his Physical Body weakened, and his strength greatly reduced.
One link connecting to the next; missing even one would have made it impossible to suppress Chi Zhenzi's corpse.
With all these factors combined.
The object that the Upper Three Ranks Deep-Mountain Overlord had painstakingly schemed for years fell into Xu Qing's hands!
The most crucial point was the significance behind the Token.
The key to the Ancient Immortal Blessed Land!
It can unlock a Treasury containing the most precious items of a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land!
If this news got out, it would surely shake the world, and countless Skilled Individuals and Unusual People would rush to contend for this Token!
“Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land...”
Xu Qing murmured to himself and put the Token into his pouch.
He set his gaze upon the soul-fixing needles.
This was a set of Secret Treasures Chi Zhenzi obtained during his lifetime, specializing in attacking living Souls and spirits; once a set of soul-fixing needles descended, nothing below a True Immortal could move.
For malicious ghosts and wandering spirits, the soul-fixing needles were even more of a Sharp Weapon.
With one needle driven in, any malicious ghost would have its Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
“Also good stuff.”
Xu Qing immediately performed the Troop Swallowing Technique, swallowing the 361 soul-fixing needles into his belly, and with a rotation of his Magic Power, immediately converted them for his own use.
In addition to that.
The material of the Bronze Coffin was also decent.
It was forged from some kind of Strange Copper, hard and spiritual, very suitable for Refining Weapons.
He looked back at the black mark on the ground.
Since a wisp of Chi Zhenzi's Lingering Thought could decide to Dissolve into the Dao, leaving behind not even ashes, he probably had no taboos regarding these items.
Xu Qing decided he would move the Bronze Coffin away later as well.
He might find a use for it later.
He remembered that the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Arts contained a Divine Ability for refining Magical Artifacts.
At this moment.
After the source disappeared, the Black Mist began to dissipate.
The blood water in the Blood Pool also quickly dried up.
Before long.
The Blood Pool dried up, and the Bronze Coffin tilted and fell, revealing a dark hole beneath it.
Waves of Cold Yin Qi emanated from the hole.
“This should be the location of the Formation Eye.”
The surrounding black stones were all broken and useless.
Xu Qing guessed there should be some good things in the more important Formation Eyes of the Magic Formation.
The more powerful the Formation, the more precious the materials consumed!
Xu Qing's mind stirred, and he moved his body, diving into the hole below.
“Splash...”
As soon as he entered the cave, an Underground Dark River appeared before Xu Qing.
The Giant Snake plunged into the water and began swimming in the direction the river flowed from.
The Cold Yin Qi in the river water grew increasingly dense.
The Body Protecting Divine Light lit up, shielding Xu Qing within it.
As a Snake Yao, Xu Qing was naturally able to swim; he lashed his long tail, stirring up waves, and his speed instantly soared.
The dark river gradually widened.
After a long time.
The surrounding river channels disappeared, and Xu Qing arrived in a dark Water Region.
“It seems I've left the dark river.”
“Why haven't I seen the Magic Formation yet?”
Xu Qing was quite confused.
His golden eyes surveyed the surroundings like two lanterns.
Suddenly.
A faint glimmer of light in the distance caught his attention.
Xu Qing lashed his long tail, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Before long.
He discovered the source of the light.
It was a Skeleton dozens of meters long, with special bone quality, emitting a faint glow, and subtly revealing waves of Oppressive Might.
Xu Qing was very familiar with this feeling.
Flood Dragon Oppressive Might!
He focused his gaze and saw that the head of the long skeleton indeed had a protruding Sharp Horn.
“A Snake Yao close to Transforming into a Flood Dragon?”
Xu Qing ignored the oppressive might, watched for a moment, and continued forward.
As he went deeper.
More and more Skeletons appeared, and they were all Snake Yaos exhibiting certain Flood Dragon characteristics!
What surprised Xu Qing the most was that Chains pierced through the Skeletons, fixing the Corpse Skeletons in place.
They... seemed to be imprisoned here!
The Oppressive Might emanating from the many Skeletons grew heavier.
In the end, even the Flood Dragon Corpse Skeleton of a true Flood Dragon appeared!
Dense Flood Dragon Oppressive Might circulated, enough to make a Snake Yao immediately prostrate itself.
Xu Qing felt a trace of pressure, but his Bloodline was undergoing transformation and could resist this oppressive might.
He circulated his Magic Power, and a hazy green light enveloped his entire body as he continued forward.
Before long.
Deep in the dark water ahead, countless golden Chains were intertwined, marked with Magic Spell Runes, emitting a faint, ethereal light.
These Chains extended to the Magic Formation at the bottom of the water, firmly imprisoning the existence at the center of the Magic Formation.
Relying on the faint light emitted by the Chains.
Xu Qing clearly saw the existence within the Magic Formation; his pupils suddenly contracted, and the Warning Signs in his heart surged!