Chapter 276: Chapter 138: Great Xia’s Number One Celestial Demon Bone, Only Eighteen Steps in the Seventh Layer Late Stage?
"Hahaha, it mainly depends on luck," Han Li said with a laugh. "Since this Fourth Elder of ours managed to capture the first Jade Pearl, he must be a very lucky person! On this journey, he might encounter only sparse Demon Qi!"
As Han Li spoke, the Fourth Elder reached the outer edge of the Demon Qi Group. Many Cultivators immediately focused their gazes there. The Fourth Elder took out fifteen Restoration Elixirs, placed them all in his mouth, and with a determined expression, stepped into the massive Demon Qi Group!
Lin Xuankong also watched carefully.
As the white-haired Fourth Elder walked into the Demon Qi Group, the countless illusions originally manifesting within it instantly began to change at a speed at least tens of times faster!
The Fourth Elder, who had stepped into the Demon Qi Group, froze. An extremely painful expression appeared on his face, as though he was enduring a horrifying pressure of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Faint cracking sounds emanated from the joints all over his body!
He clenched his fists and let out a low shout. Instantly, a massive amount of incredibly condensed True Qi spread over the surface of his body. He then withstood the terrifying pressure and took a step forward. During this process, the invisible Demon Qi around him continuously annihilated the True Qi on his body, emitting countless sparks, as if he had transformed into an incomparably dazzling ball of light!
The thousands of Martial Cultivators present were unable to withstand the intense light and couldn’t help but squint. Despite desperately straining their Eye Power, they couldn’t discern any details within the ball of light.
Lin Xuankong, silently activating his Eight Gates Celestial Eye, showed a subtle change in expression. His Eye Power was extremely strong, far surpassing the others by an unknown multiple. At this moment, he could clearly see the Fourth Elder gritting his teeth, slowly advancing step by step. Each step consumed an unknown amount of True Qi. After just twelve steps, the True Qi around the Fourth Elder’s body had thinned considerably. The Fourth Elder’s expression changed, his throat moved, and he continuously swallowed Restoration Elixirs. Bursts of True Qi perpetually re-emerged to shield his body!
With a glimmer of hope in his eyes, the Fourth Elder looked towards the path ahead, obscured by illusions, gritted his teeth, and continued forward.
After three breaths, a total of eighteen steps, the hope in the slowly advancing Fourth Elder’s eyes suddenly vanished. A bitter expression appeared on his face as he turned with all his might and began to walk back out.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to persist, but his luck was too bad; the position he entered had extremely dense Demon Qi! If he took even three more steps and the surrounding Demon Qi remained this dense, forget making it three hundred steps—he absolutely wouldn’t even have a chance to return! Although the Restoration Elixir could replenish True Qi, it was still a medicinal substance requiring time to convert and couldn’t sustain him for very long!
The Fourth Elder activated his True Qi to shield his body and walked outward with all his might. However, after just three steps, he suddenly found that the invisible Demon Qi around him had become even denser. The annihilation rate of his True Qi was now several times faster than before!
Damn it! Fear surged in the Fourth Elder’s heart, and he wanted to quicken his pace. But as the Demon Qi intensified, the initial pressure of hundreds of thousands of pounds continually increased, shockingly becoming nearly a million pounds. Even with his Late Stage Tier Seven cultivation and a body as sturdy as Profound Iron, he could hardly withstand this immense pressure, causing his steps to become even slower.
Outside the Demon Qi Group, the numerous Martial Cultivators could not see the invisible Demon Qi, nor could they discern the situation within the ball of light that was the Fourth Elder. They could only see that after less than ten breaths, the ball of light began moving outward, albeit at an incredibly slow pace.
Seeing this scene, Lin Xuankong couldn’t help but furrow his brows. Refining the Celestial Demon Bone is indeed perilous, he thought. This Fourth Elder’s luck is particularly bad, encountering such dense Demon Qi on his first attempt. It looks like he’ll have to exhaust all his True Qi just to get out! A Tier Seven Martial Cultivator’s True Qi is still insufficient. Compared to a ’Qi Ox’ like me, it’s nearly ten thousand times less; how could he possibly withstand such consumption!
"No! Fourth Elder, did you encounter dense Demon Qi?" Han Li, who had been full of joy and eager for the Fourth Elder to be the first to approach the Celestial Demon Bone, stared intently at the ball of light. The joy on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a look of bewildered suspicion. "Why are your movements so slow? Is your True Qi still sufficient?"
"Quick... quickly save me!" the Fourth Elder’s intermittent voice came from within the Demon Qi Group. "The True Qi... is ann-annihilating too fast! I don’t have enough!"
Hearing this, Han Li dared not delay any longer and immediately stepped into the Demon Qi Group. However, as this Tier Eight Powerhouse had just stepped in, his expression changed. "The Demon Qi in this location is so condensed and potent! No wonder you... Wait, Fourth Elder? Fourth Elder, is your True Qi depleted?"
Han Li, who had stepped into the Demon Qi Group, exclaimed in shock.
At this moment, the ball of light that was the Fourth Elder within the Demon Qi Group suddenly flared even brighter, then abruptly dimmed. It revealed the Fourth Elder, whose flesh and blood were rapidly crumbling and dissipating all over his body. His skin, muscles, and bones, starting from his feet, began to disintegrate like sand, gradually transforming into motes of light and vanishing inch by inch with terrifying speed!
Within a single breath, this Late Stage Tier Seven Martial Cultivator had dissipated into countless motes of light, merging into the Demon Qi Group without leaving a single trace. Only the Longsword he carried on his back clattered to the ground within the Demon Qi Group, emitting a resonant hum.