CHAPTER 238: THE TABLET-BOUND SKELETAL GIANT

Lu Chen watched as the last stone tablet settled into place. Within moments, it found its position and stood firmly at the very top.

Three stone tablets now stood in vertical alignment. Aside from the base, which remained relatively intact, the two above it were slightly damaged and no longer formed complete rectangles.

The topmost tablet was the smallest and uneven, wider on the left and narrower on the right, tapering off as it rose. To Lu Chen, that fragment resembled a triangle.

The middle tablet was larger, its lower half still mostly whole and rectangular. Yet from the middle upward, it began to narrow, growing thinner toward the top. Seen from the front, it looked like an upright trapezoid.

Lu Chen stood before the assembled tablets, studying them closely, yet no matter how he looked, he couldn't make sense of them. When pieced together, the three tablets resembled a crooked stake thrust into a mound of earth, or more precisely, a "greater than" sign planted in the ground.

He muttered, "The arrangement looks strange, but aside from that, nothing seems particularly wrong."

After circling the structure a few times, he stopped in front of it. Raising his hand, he pressed his palm lightly against the stone surface. In an instant, lines of text lit up, turning into beams of light that entered his forehead, illuminating the Divine Chamber within his mind.

Startled by the sudden commotion, Jun Laoye and the others quickly gathered around. Feeling the gentle warmth radiating from the light, Lu Chen waved his hand slightly, signaling them to remain silent.

Within his mind, his Divine Psyche Incarnation opened its eyes and stepped out from the Divine Chamber. With hands clasped behind its back, it stood before the chamber and gazed at the fragmented curtain of light floating in midair, reading slowly.

The text began with several large words: "Cloud Register of Seven Seals." They were almost identical to what Lu Chen had seen when he obtained his first fragment.

His Divine Psyche Incarnation continued downward. There was more content beneath the title. Several small glowing figures were depicted dancing in the center, each accompanied by lines of text.

Lu Chen's Divine Psyche Incarnation stared for a long time but couldn't discern how those glowing figures related to the text beside them.

His Divine Psyche Incarnation examined the broken sections. Many characters were missing, though a few fragmented ones could still be made out. With over eighty thousand characters in the world and countless possible combinations, it was impossible to infer their meaning. After staring for quite some time, he eventually gave up with a small shake of his head.

"It seems these three tablets only contain the opening passages. The actual records must be inscribed on the remaining ones."

The Divine Psyche Incarnation memorized the glowing scene, then waved its hand to dispel the projection.

With that, Lu Chen's consciousness returned to the physical world. His eyes snapped open as he released a burst of spirit qi, storing the tablets into the Heavenly Pool. Turning to Jun Laoye and the others, he said, "This place is no longer safe. We need to leave, now."

Seeing Lu Chen's expression and swift movements, Jun Laoye asked if the disturbance had anything to do with the tablets. Lu Chen glanced at him and shook his head slightly, showing he wasn't certain either.

As Jun Laoye hesitated, Lu Chen spoke again, his tone firm. "We caused quite a commotion earlier. The barrier that hid this place had kept us from being noticed. But now, it's gone. We need to move before anyone finds us."

Before Jun Laoye could say anything else, Lu Chen cut him off. "There's no time. Let's go."

He quickly formed a hand seal and cast a large-scale Cleansing Dust Technique, erasing all traces of their presence. Then he exchanged a glance with Wind Dragon before wrapping an arm around Nantian Wan'er's waist and darting southwest.

Wind Dragon met Red Fox's eyes, then transformed into his three-zhang-long dragon form. With a flick of his tail, he lifted Jun Laoye and Nantian Yijian onto his back and followed closely behind Lu Chen.

Following closely behind Wind Dragon, Red Fox slowly turned invisible in the air, weaving layers of illusions along the ravine's edge.

The strange phenomena surrounding the tablets left both her and Wind Dragon uneasy. Great anomalies always heralded great calamities, and with their current strength, they knew they wouldn't stand a chance if danger came.

Holding Nantian Wan'er close, Lu Chen sped southwest with his three avatars following behind.

They traversed a hundred meters... five hundred... then a thousand...

Just as Lu Chen slowed down to glance back toward the ravine, a sudden shockwave struck him head-on, forcing him backward.

The wave solidified into a faintly shimmering wall.

Lu Qing frowned. "Is that a barrier wall?"

Lu Chen steadied himself in midair and extended a vine to press against the invisible surface. "Something's not right. This is a sealing barrier. It wasn't here just moments ago."

His three avatars split off in different directions, but each was repelled by the same unseen force, colliding against a flickering wall of light.

Lu Chen stared at the barrier for a moment, then flung out another vine and hurled a skeleton forward. The skeleton passed cleanly through the transparent wall despite being infused with spirit qi.

He sent out another skeleton and followed closely behind. But the moment he made contact, a loud bang resounded. The skeleton slipped through, while Lu Chen was thrown back violently.

Lu Qing quickly extended a vine from the Divine Tree to catch him. Gazing at the skeleton on the other side, she frowned. "Original, the skeleton passed through, but we were blocked. This barrier must have been set specifically against us."

Nantian Wan'er looked at the wall of energy in front of them, a sudden unease welling up within her. "Lu-gege, how could this happen? What should we do now..."

Her gaze drifted toward a cluster of withered trees on the right. "Lu-gege, I think I just saw someone there... or maybe a demonic beast..."

Lu Chen activated his Divine Eye and shouted, "Who's there? Come out now!"

He sent out a slash of sword qi through the air, shattering the withered trees in an instant. Dust billowed, clouding the area.

Sensing his sword qi had struck something, Lu Chen released another surge of spirit qi, stirring up a storm that swept the dust away. But beneath it lay only a pile of gray, decayed bones. There was no beast, no person, nothing at all.

He turned back and gently patted Nantian Wan'er's hand. Behind the second withered tree, Little Pup's figure flickered briefly before vanishing again. In that fleeting instant, Lu Chen's Divine Sense had almost locked onto him.

As Lu Chen turned away and extended his Divine Sense once more toward the trees, Little Pup's lips curved into a sly grin. "Not bad. That danger instinct of yours really isn't bad at all. I thought you'd give up after one try."

Lu Chen probed the area five more times, but when nothing stirred, he finally withdrew his Divine Sense and refocused on the barrier.

A fierce gust surged from behind as Wind Dragon flew up beside him. "Little Lu, step aside."

He formed a spell mid-flight, unleashing a powerful storm at the barrier. Yet even that failed to break through.

Wind Dragon stopped next to Lu Chen, tension written across his face as he stared at the shimmering wall. "So it's already come true... Great change always brings great calamity."

Unwilling to yield, his eyes flared with azure light. A razor-sharp wind blade shot forth, but before it could even touch the barrier, it shattered from the rebound.

He frowned deeply. "How could this be?"

That wind blade he had unleashed earlier was comparable to an attack at the Core Breakthrough Realm. Seeing it shattered so effortlessly, Wind Dragon found it difficult to accept.

Behind the withered tree, Little Pup lowered his small, glowing purple hand and grinned mischievously. "Hehehe, the trial hasn't even begun. How could I let you leave so soon? And you, Little Dragon, you must regret that mouth of yours. Everything bad you say always ends up coming true."

As his laughter faded, the purple beam that had earlier fallen into the ravine suddenly erupted. The sound of explosions echoed below, and Little Pup's grin disappeared. He raised his right hand and slammed it downward.

A torrent of brilliant violet light burst from the ravine, illuminating the entire northern sky.

Feeling the surge behind him, Lu Chen swiftly turned around, activating both his Divine Eye and the Eye of the Ancestral Dragon. The two ocular arts merged into one, revealing everything within the violet radiance.

He exchanged a look with Wind Dragon. Both grew alert, maneuvering cautiously as Lu Chen's three avatars took up positions along the perimeter, keeping vigilant watch over the ravine.

Jun Laoye raised his gaze toward the eerie violet glow, then looked up toward the backyard of the Scripture Hall[1]. He quietly put away his Earth-Shattering Spear and made a subtle hand gesture before putting on a blank expression.

The purple light continued to rise, shattering the final layer of the sky's barrier and dyeing the corpse-qi-filled clouds with its sinister glow.

On the cliff, the cultivators opened their eyes at once. Seeing the sudden violet eruption in the north, many assumed a heavenly treasure had appeared and prepared to fly toward it, only for Ancestor Suitian to stop them.

"That purple light reeks of ominousness," he said coldly. "Something unexpected must have happened there. I advise you not to go."

Staring at the violet-stained corpse qi clouds, Ancestor Suitian's expression darkened. "The secret realm opens in one day. If anyone gets injured now, it'll be troublesome."

Daoist Du's eyes gleamed with cunning as he looked north. "Old Freak Suitian, that light clearly signals a treasure's emergence. Why call it ominous? Don't tell me you're planning to keep it to yourself?"

"Hmph." Ancestor Suitian flicked his sleeve and sat back on a long bench. "If you don't believe me, go see for yourself. But whatever happens, you'll bear the consequences."

Daoist Du rolled his eyes and snorted. "Heh, no need to get so defensive. I was only asking."

Just as he finished speaking, the violet glow in the north abruptly contracted, pulling away much of the corpse-qi-laden clouds with it.

In the next moment, a thunderous roar, one imbued with innate dominance, came through from the same direction. The entire Heavenly Mandate Hall trembled, birds scattered across the sky, and countless cultivators dropped to their knees.

Ancestor Suitian looked up at the sky full of fleeing birds, then pointed toward where Jun Laoye was. Raising his token, he spread his divine sense across the Heavenly Mandate Hall, activating every protective formation at once.

The other nine venerables stepped to the cliff's edge and gazed toward the ravine. There, countless bones had risen into the air, gathering within the shrinking violet light to form a colossal skeletal giant, towering several tens of zhang high.

1. Editor's note: again, at least 35 km above them, without counting horizontal distance...but cultivators, am I right? ☜