290: Duan Yulong, full of vigor

On the outskirts of the Eternal Night Divine Capital, a thousand miles away, deep beneath a mass grave shrouded in dense Death Qi.

The space rippled slightly, and a figure rose slowly as if emerging from a swamp.

It was none other than one of the Guardian Dharma Kings of the Netherworld Cult, the Yellow Springs Dharma King—Zang Sha!

He wore a voluminous dark-yellow robe that seemed woven from countless grains of fine sand. His hood hung low, obscuring most of his face and revealing only a thin, sallow chin.

A faint, gray-yellow mist swirled around him, emitting a nauseating scent of decay.

In his hand, he held the Zang Sha Gourd; from its mouth, fine grains of sand flowed slowly like living creatures.

“Hmph, such keen perception... The Di Clan Prodigy is indeed extraordinary.” Zang Sha's voice was dry and grating, carrying a hint of unexpected coldness.

“I intended to plant a mark using the Soul-Eroding Yellow Springs Sand's Breathless Soul-Chaser, yet it was detected instantly... That Di Clan brat is more troublesome than anticipated.”

Just now, from a great distance, he had attempted to use a secret technique to quietly attach a trace of the Soul-Eroding Yellow Springs Sand's Origin aura onto Di Jintian.

This was his habitual method for tracking and hunting—silent and undetectable. Once he activated the Yellow Springs Sand, he could erode the target's Divine Soul and Physical Body from afar or track them down.

He hadn't expected Di Jintian's sensitivity to negative energy to be so terrifying that he would instantly see through and disperse that wisp of aura.

He had originally come to scout for information on the Di Clan, but he hadn't expected to run into Di Jintian. According to the Palace Master, Di Jintian was likely the key to awakening 'Him'.

He had thought the boy was buried in the spatial turbulence, but he had actually survived.

“It seems a direct assault won't be easy. With those Great Demons of the Di Clan standing guard, charging in would be suicide.”

In the shadows beneath Zang Sha's hood, two points of eerie green light flickered, filled with calculation.

His withered fingers caressed the cold surface of the Zang Sha Gourd, feeling the filthy, deathly power of the Hundred-Mile Yellow Springs Sand Sea contained within. A sinister plan gradually took shape.

“Duan Yulong of the Profound Nether Sect seems to have a deep grudge against that Di Jintian... he is a fool who can be used. And there's the Burial God Ancient Domain... perhaps... I should find more 'fun' for the Di Clan, so that Di Jintian can...”

Zang Sha let out a bone-chilling low laugh as his figure slowly sank into the ground, vanishing like a ghost and leaving behind only a denser aura of decaying Death Qi.

Soul Burial Abyss was the most renowned martial training forbidden land in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Prefecture. Year-round, mournful winds howled, and gray-white Nether Phosphorescent Fires floated like thousands of ghost eyes among the jagged rocks, casting a ghastly green glow over the bottom of the abyss.

At this moment, the vast White Bone Plain at the bottom of the abyss was already packed with a surging crowd.

Countless Cultivators from the Ten Thousand Ghosts Prefecture had gathered here, their auras mixed and sinister. Countless pairs of eyes—crimson, ghastly green, or turbid—stared fixedly at the solitary, proud figure in the center of the plain: Duan Yulong.

Since returning from the mysterious ruins, Duan Yulong had issued challenges to the other major Sects of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Prefecture.

Duan Yulong stood with his hands behind his back, wearing an ink-colored robe with cloud patterns. His sleeves remained motionless in the bone-chilling wind.

The panic and unease that had once occupied his brow due to news of the Di Clan had now been completely replaced by a tempered coldness and confidence.

A month ago, he had disappeared like a stray dog; a month later, the aura radiating from him was impressively at the Tongtian Realm Sixth Level!

This was by no means comparable to an ordinary Sixth Level. That pressure, as condensed as abyssal cold iron and carrying an ancient, decaying undertone, made many veteran Heaven-Reaching Realm experts present feel secretly alarmed.

“Where is Han Qi of the Heart-Eroding Sect?” Duan Yulong's voice wasn't loud, yet it was like a cold metal blade scraping across the White Bone Plain, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

“The title of the number one Prodigy of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Prefecture has been vacant for a long time. Today, I, Duan Yulong, shall claim it as my own!”

Before his voice had even faded, a gray shadow drifted onto the plain like a ghost, silent and soundless.

The newcomer was tall and thin, with ten fingernails that shone pitch-black as if dipped in lethal poison. This was the number one Prodigy of the Heart-Eroding Sect—Han Qi, with a Tong Tian Realm Tenth Level cultivation.

He gave a sinister smile and said in a raspy voice, “Duan Yulong? You dare be so arrogant just because you lucked into some Opportunity? My Heart-Eroding Palm will be perfect to test my moves on you!”

Han Qi wasted no words. With a flash of his body, he left several indistinguishable afterimages in his wake, his true form already closing in on Duan Yulong's side.

His right hand's fingers were spread like a claw, the black light on his nails surging. A silent, soul-eroding and bone-corroding sinister palm force struck toward Duan Yulong's ribs—the Heart-Eroding Bone-Corroding Palm!

As the palm wind passed, even the air made a faint sizzling sound, as if being corroded by lethal poison.

“Using afterimages to deceive the eyes? Mere parlor tricks!” Duan Yulong's eyes were sharp as a hawk's, and a cold sneer played on his lips.

The instant that poisonous palm was about to hit his body, his footwork suddenly became unpredictable, as if treading on duckweed atop the Nine Nether River. His body twisted at an incredible angle to evade.

Only a condensed ink-colored phantom remained in his place, which was instantly pierced and corroded by Han Qi's poisonous palm.

Han Qi's strike missed, and though his heart tightened slightly, his reaction was lightning-fast.

He held his left hand with fingers together like a blade, which thrust toward Duan Yulong's throat with a piercing whistle—the Heart-Eroding Soul-Severing Finger!

The finger wind was sharp, concentrating a malicious force capable of piercing the Divine Soul.

“Too slow!” Duan Yulong sneered and, instead of retreating, he advanced!

His body spun low to the ground like a ghost, narrowly avoiding that life-taking finger strike.

Simultaneously, he curled his right fingers into a claw. His skin instantly turned greenish-black, and his nails grew by three inches, shimmering with a metallic, cold luster.

A bone-chilling aura originating from the Nine Nether Purgatory suddenly erupted!

Screech!

Five dark claw rays tore through the air, accompanied by a piercing ghostly wail, as they savagely clawed at Han Qi's hurriedly blocking arms!

“Argh!” The sound of tearing cloth and cracking bone rang out almost simultaneously!

Han Qi's protective Evil Essence Qi was torn apart like thin paper. The sleeves on both his arms shattered, and his flesh was ripped open, revealing bone. Five deep, charred claw marks were left behind.

A bizarre, bone-chillingly cold power frantically bored into the wounds, heading straight for his Divine Soul!

Han Qi let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning as white as paper. He staggered back a dozen steps, each step leaving a deep footprint on the hard black stone ground. His eyes were filled with unbelievable horror.

In just a single exchange, his proud Heart-Eroding secret techniques were completely suppressed by the opponent's even more ferocious and bizarre movement and claw techniques!

“The Prodigy of the Heart-Eroding Sect? Nothing more than this.”

Duan Yulong slowly withdrew his ghost claw, a few drops of Han Qi's dark red blood dripping from his fingertips. His voice was flat, without a hint of emotion, yet it was more piercing than any mockery.

“Don't be so arrogant! Qiu Qitian of the Blood Prison Gate shall slay you!” A violent roar exploded like a thunderclap.

Blood-red light shot into the sky as a burly, robust figure, carrying a dense aura of bloody Evil Qi, crashed onto the field. It was the Blood Prison Gate's Prodigy, Qiu Qitian, with a Tong Tian Realm Tenth Level cultivation.

In his hand, he held a dark-red giant blade as wide as a door—the Blood Prison Slaughter Blade!

Evil Qi swirled around the blade's body, and the faint wails of countless vengeful spirits could be heard.

Qiu Qitian had clearly learned from Han Qi's mistake and knew that Duan Yulong's movement techniques were treacherous.

He didn't bother with feints at all. With a wild roar, the blood-colored Essence Qi around him erupted like a burning flame!

“Blood Prison Heaven-Burning Slash!”

He raised the giant blade high, drawing in the dense blood-red Evil Qi from the surroundings and transforming it into a ten-zhang-long viscous waterfall of blood. With a terrifying momentum capable of burning blood and melting souls, it hacked straight down!

The blade's force was as heavy as a mountain, sealing off all of Duan Yulong's paths for evasion and forcing him into a direct confrontation!

“A head-on clash? Just what I wanted!” A spark of excitement ignited in Duan Yulong's eyes.

He took a deep breath, and the majestic power lying dormant within his body suddenly awakened!

Ancient and hideous demonic patterns faintly emerged beneath his skin. The heaviness originating from the prehistoric lands and the overbearing aura of the Nine Nether Abyss achieved a perfect Fusion.

He clenched his right fist, and his entire arm instantly swelled by a size, with veins winding around like coiling dragons.

Upon his fist, rings of visible earthy-yellow ripples condensed, yet the center of these ripples emitted a heart-palpitating deathly silence of the Netherworld!

He threw a punch!

Wherever the fist's force passed, space distorted slightly, as if unable to withstand this pure and violent power!

BOOM!!!

The fist's energy and the blood-colored blade waterfall collided violently!

A blinding light instantly swallowed the center of the White Bone Plain!

Violent energy turbulence, like an out-of-control Vicious Beast, swept frantically in all directions, blowing over those with weaker cultivation at the periphery.