Chapter 824: Chapter 825

Spirit Ether Garden

Marquis Nanlong looked at the small stone gate with a contemplative expression before heaving a long sigh. “That’s right. It’s indeed the gate”

Lu Weiying turned to him and asked cautiously, “The blood Qi on this gate seems to be too dense. Will there be any problems?”

“This gate was sealed by an ancient cultivator with all his essence blood. Naturally, it’s different from normal restrictions. It’s quite normal. Why? Brother Lu, are you getting cold feet?” said Marquis Nanlong casually.

The old man shook his head and solemnly said, “Cold feet? How could I do such a foolish thing at this point? However, shouldn’t we be more cautious just in case?”

After a moment of thought, Marquis Nanlong’s expression eased and he said, “Brother Lu’s words are reasonable. This gate does give off an uncomfortable feeling. How about we set up a few layers of restrictions outside the gate? If anything goes wrong, we won’t have to worry about retreating.”

Lu Weiying nodded without any hesitation and happily agreed, “Good, that would be for the best. We’ll do as you say.”

Thus, Marquis Nanlong and the old man took out several sets of formation tools and began to build formations at the bottom of the pool.

…

But just as Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying were preparing to unlock the Blood Curse Gate, a group of people were slowly making their way to the top of a huge mountain covered in pitch-black rocks.

The leader of the group was a middle-aged cultivator with a stern expression. Beside him was an azure-robed old man. He was the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master and Wei Wuya.

Wang Tiangu was three meters behind the two of them.

Behind the three of them, four Core Formation Ghost Spirit Sect disciples followed closely behind.

Wang Tiangu looked at the blood-red clouds not far above his head and suddenly muttered, “This damned place is truly strange. There is actually a restriction on flight within a radius of fifty kilometers. I can’t even fly tens of feet above the ground.”

The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master calmly replied, “The more difficult, the more it proves that we’ve found the right place. If I were an ancient cultivator, I would’ve chosen this place for an important location. After all, with such a restriction, there shouldn’t be many cultivators willing to walk for a day or two.”

“After spending so much effort, I hope we didn’t find the wrong place this time. We’ve already lost three disciples along the way.” Wang Tiangu revealed a helpless expression.

When the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master heard this, he chuckled and did not answer.

However, at this moment, Wei Wuya glanced at the top of the mountain and spoke with an expressionless face.

“Since we entered the inner valley, we’ve already walked for three days and two nights. We should be arriving soon. Don’t tell me we’ll have to walk for several more days!”

“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Wei. We’ll reach that place after we cross this mountain. There’s no need to be too anxious! If this matter succeeds, our Ghost Spirit Sect will become the number one sect in the Devil Dao. It’ll only be a matter of time before Fellow Daoist Wei breaks through to the Deity Transformation Stage,” the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master said with a relaxed expression.

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuya said with a mocking tone, “Hmph! To tell the truth, I don’t believe in the legends of the Spirit Ether Garden. It’s most likely a rumor spread by those ancient cultivators. If there really was such a space at the border between the Spirit Realm and our human world, other cultivators would’ve found it long ago. How could they have preserved it until now?”

“Since Brother Wei doesn’t believe me, why did you agree to our sect’s invitation?” The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master asked with interest.

“Since Fellow Daoist Wang is taking this matter so seriously, and you’ve brought out almost half of the sect’s elites, you must have a certain degree of confidence in this trip to Devilfall Valley. I’m sure that even if you’re not looking for the Spirit Ether Garden, you’re looking for a secret place of ancient cultivators. Since I’m aware of this, I naturally have to get involved. You’ll use my reputation to suppress the other cultivators entering the valley, so it shouldn’t be too much for me to share some treasures with you, right?” Wei Wuya replied without any hesitation.

The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master burst into laughter and revealed a trace of madness, “Haha! Brother Wei is quite straightforward. However, there is one thing that Fellow Daoist Wei is wrong about. Our sect spent so much effort to reach the Spirit Ether Garden. The Spirit Ether Garden isn’t an illusion. It truly exists. The entire Devilfall Valley was built by an ancient cultivator to defend the Spirit Ether Garden. As long as we cross this mountain, we’ll be able to see it with our own eyes in a few hours. At that time, we’ll have to rely on Fellow Daoist Wei to open the space.”

Wei Wuya was slightly surprised to hear this, and a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

“From Sect Leader Wang’s words, it seems you already have evidence of the Spirit Ether Garden’s existence.”

“That’s right. Our sect is 70% to 80% certain of the Spirit Ether Garden’s existence. As for what the evidence is, Fellow Daoist Wei will naturally know when we get there.” A mysterious expression appeared on the black-robed middle-aged man’s face.

This person was a formidable character. He was only at the early-Nascent Soul Stage. However, he was completely unfazed by a late-Nascent Soul Stage cultivator like Wei Wuya.

Wei Wuya nodded, and his expression returned to normal. However, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

Even if the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master in front of him was convincing, he definitely wouldn’t believe him if he didn’t see the Spirit Ether Garden with his own eyes.

Of course, Wei Wuya wasn’t going to voice his thoughts directly. Instead, he smiled indifferently and changed the topic to something else.

“After your sect’s Elder Zhong entered the valley, he acted separately from us. We haven’t seen each other for such a long time. Can Sect Leader Wang tell us Fellow Daoist Zhong’s whereabouts? It can’t be that your sect allows a Nascent Soul elder to stroll around the Devilfall Valley like other cultivators, right?”

The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Master indifferently replied, “Brother Wei must be joking. To tell you the truth, Elder Zhong has gone to another secret area in the valley to search for another treasure. Of course, although this treasure is rare, it is definitely incomparable to the Spirit Ether Garden.”

Wei Wuya let out a hollow laugh upon hearing the other party’s frank admission, but he didn’t pursue the matter any further. The group waited for a moment before continuing on their way to the mountaintop in silence.

…

There were six or seven Ghost Spirit Sect disciples scattered around a pile of rubble. They were constantly searching for something under the boulders. As for Old Man Zhong, he was floating at the center of the pile of rocks without moving.

Although his spiritual sense could easily cover an area of several tens of kilometers in the wilderness, he was unable to find some specific markings.

As such, even though he was feeling quite impatient, he could only rely on his disciples to slowly search through the area like looking for a needle in a haystack.

…

At the exit of a large canyon in the inner valley, a series of thunderous booms suddenly erupted from within the five-colored light. Brilliant light then erupted, following which a burst of lightning flashed and a group of cultivators suddenly rushed out of the valley.

They were led by an old Daoist and a green-robed old man. Although the two of them appeared to be completely unscathed, they appeared to be in quite a sorry state.

They were Daoist Heavencrystal and the Grand Elder of the Controlling Spirit Sect, Dong Mentu.

The other five green-robed cultivators behind them were also wearing tattered clothes and had pale complexions, as if they had suffered quite a bit. As for the two evil ghost puppets, they were still the same as before.

“We’ve finally broken through the restrictions and entered the valley. I didn’t think that Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal’s two puppets would be so powerful. They’re almost on par with top-grade early-Nascent Soul cultivators. How enviable!” Dong Mentu only came to a stop when he was over 100 feet away from the valley’s entrance. He then turned to look at the valley behind him before glancing at the two malevolent-looking puppets.

“Puppets are just puppets. No matter how powerful they are, they can’t compare to Brother Dong’s subordinates. The five of them each cultivate one of the five elements, so if they join forces, they’ll probably be able to contend against a late-Nascent Soul cultivator for a while.” Daoist Heavencrystal was clearly quite wary of Dong Mentu, and he intentionally lagged behind him as soon as he left the valley. At that moment, the two mechanical puppets appeared behind him in a flash.

Dong Mentu’s expression darkened upon seeing this, but he soon sighed and smiled bitterly.

“Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal, you sure are cautious with me. I originally thought that you wouldn’t have any prejudice against me after we worked together to break the formations over the past two days. Why don’t you consider joining forces with me? If the two of us work together to search for treasures, it’ll be much safer than fighting alone.”

Daoist Heavencrystal chuckled and nonchalantly refused, “What are you saying, Brother Dong? This humble Daoist doesn’t hold any prejudice against Fellow Daoist, but this humble Daoist prefers to be alone. Let’s not talk about joining hands. Since we’ve already entered the inner valley, this humble Daoist will take his leave.” After paying his respects, he cautiously stared at the other party’s face without moving.

Dong Mentu’s brows furrowed upon seeing this, and he immediately broke into a smile.

When Daoist Heavencrystal heard this, his expression relaxed and he calmly said, “Since Fellow Daoist Heavencrystal doesn’t wish to be with me, I won’t force you. Let’s part ways here. I hope you’ll reap great rewards!”

“Hehe. Then I must thank you for your kind words!” Daoist Heavencrystal said peacefully with a relaxed expression after hearing that.

The green-robed old man’s expression grew sullen as he watched Daoist Heavencrystal’s departing figure.

Dong Mentu let out an unwilling sigh and looked around before patting the spirit beast pouch at his waist. “This old ghost is truly cautious. I’ve been with him for two days and he didn’t reveal a single weakness. Otherwise, I would’ve been safer if I could snatch these two puppets in the inner valley.”

With a whoosh, a huge silver bat flew out of the bag and landed in front of Dong Mentu.

He raised his hand and shot out a pitch-black pill. The huge silver bat swallowed the pill in mid-air before flying off in another direction.

When Dong Mentu saw this, he hastily called out to the five cultivators behind him and took the lead to fly over in a streak of green light. The five Controlling Spirit Sect cultivators followed closely behind. In the blink of an eye, there was no trace of anyone at the entrance of the canyon.