Chapter 153: The Ancient Battlefield

Crimson, gold, earth-yellow, sky-blue, and cyan—these precisely corresponded to the five attributes of the five-element spirit stones. If these were truly top-grade spirit stones, even those Void-Splitting realm old monsters in the outside world would likely fight over them with eyes turning red.

"Hmph... wait, this wooden sword seems to have something special about it?"

After all, Xiao Wenzi had not yet transformed into a human form, and even if he were given top-grade spirit stones, they would be of no use to him. He quickly shifted his attention to the skeleton.

Although the robe on the skeleton's body had been pierced, it was still brand new, suggesting it was a magical robe.

A magical robe, as the name implied, was a garment refined by cultivators using treasure-forging techniques. Its function was akin to a defensive magical treasure, and some high-level magical robes were sufficient to withstand the slashes of top-grade magical treasures without damage.

Judging from the degree of weathering on the skeleton's bones, it had been dead for quite some years, which meant that the quality of this magical robe was exceptionally high. To be able to pierce and run it through, the wooden sword was definitely no ordinary treasure.

"Senior, this junior means no offense. It's just that I am currently in danger of being hunted down and urgently need these spirit stones to raise my cultivation level. If you have a spirit in heaven, please grant me this favor."

While Xiao Wenzi was muttering inwardly, Chu Xin'er also suppressed her excitement and bowed deeply to the skeleton.

The skeleton before her was extraordinary; during its lifetime, it was definitely a terrifyingly powerful figure. Even if such a person had been dead for a long time, the contingencies they left behind could easily reduce her to ashes.

Chu Xin'er knew she could not act recklessly; at the very least, she should maintain proper respect for the senior. After sincerely kowtowing three times to the skeleton, she raised her head, intending to collect all the intact high-grade spirit stones around the stone platform.

"Wait, Xin'er, I'll go test if there's any danger first."

In this space deep underground in Lingtian Canyon, why was there such a skeleton? To call him an ancestral master of the Lingtian Sect felt somewhat unreasonable, but if not, how had this person been trapped and died here?

Though Chu Xin'er felt doubts and worries, Xiao Wenzi naturally thought of this as well. Before figuring out whether any hidden dangers lurked, it was best not to casually touch those spirit stones.

He could rely on the system to come back to life, and the Level 12 Sky System Coins remaining from dealing with Wei Suo were still enough to refill his consumed red hearts, giving him nine lives. Such scouting work was best suited for him.

Chu Xin'er raised no objections to Xiao Wenzi's kind reminder. Anyway, there was only her here, and it wouldn't hurt to collect the treasures a little later.

Perhaps too much time had passed, or perhaps when the skeleton fled here, it had already reached the end of its rope, having no energy left to set up any other mechanisms besides going all out to heal its wounds.

Xiao Wenzi flew over the mountain of high-grade spirit stones and all the way to the stone platform without any accidents occurring.

Staring closely at the skeleton for a moment without making out anything special, Xiao Wenzi decided to try removing the top-grade spirit stones on the stone platform. If the skeleton still showed no reaction, it meant he was truly dead, and they could safely loot the treasures here.

Under Chu Xin'er's nervous gaze, Xiao Wenzi landed on the edge of the stone platform, grabbed the sky-blue spirit stone with both claws, and flapped his wings hard to pluck out the jujube-sized spirit stone.

Once the top-grade water spirit stone was removed, the skeleton remained motionless. Both Xiao Wenzi and Chu Xin'er let out long sighs of relief; it seemed their previous worries were unfounded.

After Xiao Wenzi delivered the top-grade water spirit stone into her palm, Chu Xin'er began collecting the various high-grade spirit stones scattered around the stone platform, because she was unsure if anyone was pursuing them or when the experts of the Lingtian Sect might appear.

Receiving no response, Lu Yin decided to check the thatched cottage, guessing that a high-level cultivator had once lived here, and at the very least, some jade slips or classic texts might have been left behind.

As rogue cultivators, the cultivation techniques she and her elder brother Lu Fang practiced were quite ordinary. If they could obtain the inheritance of the master of this place, this trip would not have been in vain.

Arriving in front of the thatched cottage, Lu Yin first bowed and saluted, saying, "Senior, this junior inadvertently broke into your dwelling without any intention of offense." Then, with a gentle push, the thatched cottage door creaked open, revealing a crack.

"Ah~~!" Seeing the skeleton sitting cross-legged on the straw mat inside the cottage, Lu Yin could not help crying out in surprise.

Chu Xin'er was not here, and Lu Yin had never been to the underground space; otherwise, they certainly would have noticed how similar the two skeletons were.

Unable to help, Xiao Wenzi flew back to the skeleton's side while Chu Xin'er was collecting the spirit stones, circling it to study it carefully.

The bones of the skeleton had already begun to weather, but its limbs were completely intact. The fatal wound dealt to it was solely caused by that unpretentious-looking wooden sword.

The wooden sword had directly pierced the skeleton's heart. Seeing that several of its teeth were bitten to pieces, Xiao Wenzi guessed that this person must have suffered immense torture during its lifetime.

After observing for a long time without discovering anything conclusive, Xiao Wenzi decided to try pulling out the wooden sword for a closer examination.

Hum~~!

The moment he landed on the hilt of the wooden sword, gripped it with both claws, and circulated his demonic spiritual energy to pull it out, the world began to spin dizzyingly. His consciousness seemed to detach from his physical body, instantly pulled into an ancient and desolate world.

That was a slender, indistinct figure. Thirty-six brilliant long swords danced around her, the heavens and earth roared, and nearly a hundred powerful experts fought against her.

Every gesture and movement they made possessed the mighty power to split mountains and cleave seas, yet they were unable to suppress this woman in a short time.

This battle fought until the sky and earth turned dark and the sun and moon lost their luster. Mountain peaks collapsed and sank, and oceans turned into mulberry fields within the span of a day.

Although Xiao Wenzi felt an extreme sense of reality as an outsider, he was not affected by the aftermath in the slightest.

He had no idea what had triggered this battle, who the woman with the blurred face and figure was, or why she was fighting those powerful experts to the death.

However, from his perspective, the thirty-six long swords surrounding the woman looked somewhat familiar to him, especially one of them, which was identical to the wooden sword thrust into the skeleton's chest cavity.

Only, at this moment, the wooden sword emitted a brilliant sharpness, and every strand of released sword qi possessed the formidable power to slash through the void, whereas the wooden sword on the skeleton was unpretentious, differing very little from an ordinary wooden sword.

The battle dragged on for a long time. Finally, after paying the heavy price of a dozen powerful experts self-destructing and perishing, the woman was also severely wounded.

"Hahahahaha~~! Shameless to the extreme, even if this grandma dies, I won't let you off easily... Go to hell, all of you!"

Enduring yet another wave of stormy attacks and realizing she could not escape alive, the woman's voice, filled with resentment, resounded across the heavens and earth.

Her hands danced like fluttering butterflies, and the brilliant lotus sword array revolving around her disintegrated into thirty-six wooden swords, flying toward the surrounding crowd respectively.

Ordinarily, with numbers on their side and the woman heavily wounded, those powerful experts would have had no problem blocking her surprise attack.

Yet the moment those wooden swords traced out profound trajectories, the woman suddenly spat out dozens mouthfuls of vital essence blood. Instantly, her momentum climbed sharply, as if the heavens and earth had frozen still.

The crowd of powerful experts instantly slowed down in their movements. Despite trying their utmost to break free from the restraint, they could only watch in terror as the wooden sword grew larger before their eyes.