Chapter 242: Moon Wheel · Abyssal Grave Miasma · Wuqi

Chapter 242: Moon Wheel · Abyssal Grave Miasma · Wuqi

"Tap-tap-tap."

Xiao Chen advanced slowly through the corridor, his footsteps echoing loudly in the cavernous silence.

As he moved forward, the murals on the ceiling grew increasingly varied. Alongside numerous ritual scenes, depictions of the Wu Clan’s daily life and battles gradually appeared.

After 999 zhang, a spirit wall carved with countless pictographic characters suddenly emerged. It seemed to serve as some kind of explanation.

However, judging from the faint red pigments still clinging to the weathered carvings, this was likely a warning to intruders.

"Ah… this…"

Naturally, Xiao Chen couldn’t read the ancient Wu Clan script. Even if he could, he wouldn’t have turned back because of a few ominous words. Children might be frightened by warnings, but adults simply ignored risks and pressed forward!

Without hesitation, he bypassed the spirit wall and continued deeper. After three turns, the passage suddenly widened, revealing a strange structure ahead.

A spiral tower exuding eerie energy stood before him. Upon closer inspection, it was a bone pagoda constructed from thousands of femurs. Under the glow of nearby crystals, the entire structure refracted a chilling white light.

As Xiao Chen approached, a suffocating stench of decay enveloped him. Each exposed femur had been meticulously processed, though time had eroded most carvings into obscurity. Only a few faint scratches remained visible on select bones.

"Crack!"

A sound like snapping dry twigs echoed. Looking down, Xiao Chen saw a femur fragment on the ground—its brittle surface crumbling further under his step.

Carefully circumventing the bone tower, he entered a narrowing passage. The glowing crystals dwindled, replaced by strange graffiti.

No sooner had he stepped inside than a ghostly figure emerged from the shadows ahead. Its emerald-green glow completely filled the confined space. Using his spiritual sense, he immediately detected another identical specter materializing behind him.

"Qiongtai Fire Lotus!"

When in doubt, deploy a defense spell first.

"Boom!"

The moment the fire lotus struck, the green phantom exploded into a blazing green inferno. Yet despite the flames, Xiao Chen felt piercing coldness seeping through the fire, nearly freezing his very core.

"Crunch!"

"Snap!"

Under the strange green fire’s effect, layer after layer of fire lotuses froze into ice blocks, shattering on the ground with brittle sounds.

"Snow Surge Spirit Armor, activate!"

To be safe, Xiao Chen immediately cast another defense spell, manifesting an ice armor aura around his body. He then continued forward, alternating between the two defense spells as he advanced.

"Boom!"

Two more phantoms lunged, but were blocked by his defenses.

After roughly half an hour, no new specters appeared. Yet this short stretch had already drained half of Xiao Chen’s true mana. A Golden Core cultivator would likely have become an ice sculpture or pile of ashes by now.

At the passage’s end stood another spirit wall. Xiao Chen noticed repeated characters resembling the earlier warning. Below, however, a new set of stone illustrations had been added.

The first depicted the corridor they’d just traversed, with two tiny figures running. The second showed them standing before the spirit wall. The third illustrated one figure retreating down the passage into water. The fourth showed the other figure continuing forward, entering a palace, and finally collapsing beneath a massive Moon Wheel.

Since the Wu Clan script was indecipherable, the warning used contrasting outcomes of two figures’ actions instead.

This cautionary tale was amusing. A typical cultivator, having survived the green flames’ onslaught and exhausted their mana, would likely retreat. But Xiao Chen was an exception. He simply sat cross-legged to recover his mana, ignoring the warning completely.

Whether further dangers existed was secondary—leaving without even encountering malevolent qi? Absolutely unacceptable!

The Wuling’s spiritual energy was thin, slightly hindering mana recovery. No problem—Xiao Chen casually swallowed a Third Stage spirit fruit. He’d harvested over a hundred in the Baicao Forbidden Realm, still having ninety-odd left.

With a hundredfold cultivation enhancement, he fully restored his mana within half an hour.

Bypassing the stone illustrations, Xiao Chen walked a short distance before entering a grand palace. The structure was a regular dodecagon, with eight moon phase murals on each side—depicting new moons, waxing crescents, waning crescents, and full moons.

Xiao Chen scanned the empty hall—no pillars, cabinets, or even stools. The most striking feature was the massive crystal Moon Wheel suspended upside-down from the ceiling, several zhang wide. Like a real moon, it bathed the space in silvery light.

Eight polished mirrors lined the ceiling’s edge, refracting the Moon Wheel’s glow across the empty floor, creating artificial lunar phases. The shifting light compressed the moon’s waxing and waning cycles into this confined space.

With a low rumble, the eight mirrors slowly adjusted angles, causing the reflected light to dynamically evolve. Xiao Chen noticed they corresponded to eight special stone tablets. As the moon phases shifted, the tablets moved in sequence, maintaining an orderly left-to-right progression.

The earlier illustration’s fallen figure suggested danger here. Unsurprisingly, the threat likely originated from these stone tablets.

Normally, Xiao Chen should observe the moon phase changes to uncover hidden patterns. After fifteen minutes of study, however, he only noticed scattered stone dust on some tablets. Abandoning this approach, he opted for a direct method—activating his defense spirit shield and charging through.

This wasn’t recklessness, but a calculated decision. As the saying went: use your strengths to exploit weaknesses. His advantages lay in powerful spells and the Night’s Blade’s protection. Methodically studying patterns would waste time without guaranteeing safety.

"Crunch!"

The moment he stepped forward, an odd sound came from beneath his foot. The floor sank two inches, revealing surrounding holes. Each spewed a jet of purple mist that pierced his spirit shield and Qiongtai Fire Lotus, directly entering his body.

Well, this tile represented poison—safe.

Another step triggered a faint earth-yellow glow, but nothing else occurred. Likely a restraint formation, but undetectable—safe.

He tested stepping on the special moon phase tablets.

"Click-clack!"

This time, the tablet didn’t sink. The altered sound caused one mirror to blaze brightly, channeling a beam of white light directly onto Xiao Chen.

This technique was completely incomprehensible. Fortunately, nothing strange occurred—safe.

After triggering various toxins and illusions across ten tiles, Xiao Chen safely reached the other side.

Beyond a short passage, he encountered a third identical spirit wall. The upper half repeated the warning inscription. The lower half replaced illustrations with twisted, unclear lines.

Due to age or poor craftsmanship, the figures resembled humans with asymmetrical limbs and heads swollen to a fifth of their body size.

"Hmm?" He frowned. "What does this mean? Just trying to scare people now?"

Examining closely, he noticed apparent damage—scratches that seemed to gouge the wall itself, as if the shaman who carved it had applied excessive force. Understandable, since the distorted patterns suggested the artist's unstable mental state.

Circumventing the wall, the passage widened ahead. After less than half an hour’s walk, Xiao Chen reached a plaza-like area. The space stretched 4,000 zhang long and 2,000 zhang wide, supported by stone pillars. The center housed a 400-zhang-wide tomb chamber—the destination he sought.

During the moon eclipse, he’d seen this structure. The Wuqi he sought lay enshrined within, guarded by the final barrier: the Abyssal Grave Miasma accumulated over millennia. Normally invisible to cultivators, even Xiao Chen required secret techniques to perceive the malevolent qi.

But this place was different—it was palpable just by approaching.

A suffocating pressure diffused throughout the entire space, like sinking into quicksand, stagnant sludge, or a clogged ditch.

Anyone familiar with malevolent qi could instantly recognize the overwhelming concentration of malevolent qi here.

Typically, cultivators who reached this location were no ordinary figures.

Upon detecting anomalies, seasoned experts would immediately be deterred by the Abyssal Grave Miasma.

A few stubborn or oblivious souls who charged in recklessly would only lose their lives pointlessly.

For a million years, this barrier had never failed.

Yet today, it encountered an unusual visitor.

Xiao Chen retracted his protective mystic light and strode directly into the plaza.

He then deliberately sat cross-legged and activated the Xuantian Consumption Secret Method to absorb the surrounding malevolent qi.

In an instant, a vortex formed at the plaza’s edge, ferociously devouring the malevolent qi.

An endless torrent of malevolent qi surged into his body, then flowed into his dantian, transforming into raw material for solidifying the Yin Earth Seal.

“Hua~!”

Faintly, Xiao Chen seemed to hear crashing waves in his ears.

It was the sound of malevolent qi rushing to fill the void created by its rapid depletion around him.

One day later.

After sixteen uninterrupted hours of refinement, the Abyssal Grave Miasma covering the plaza finally dissipated.

“Huh~!”

Xiao Chen exhaled a long breath of turbid air. “Finally done.”

Since malevolent qi naturally corroded nearby lifeforms, the refinement process couldn’t be paused once started.

Maintaining such an intense secret technique for so long left even him exhausted. Fortunately, it had concluded smoothly.

Using his spiritual sense to observe his dantian, he saw the newly formed Yin Earth Seal glowing faintly. A smile tugged at his lips.

This was already the fifth malevolent qi seal Xiao Chen had collected.

Though only the Fire Malevolence had a complete pair, one must remember—the five elements’ malevolent qi were divided into yin and yang, totaling ten types.

In other words, he’d already gathered half of the five elemental malevolent qi.

Now, he just needed to gather more information, and the time to complete all malevolent qi collections would soon arrive.

“Damn the Yin Corpse Sect—what a bunch of bastards!”

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen couldn’t help recalling the malevolent qi clues he’d obtained in the Darkness Sea.

Originally, he’d planned to seek his fortune after leaving the Relic, but now it seemed nearly impossible.

“Forget it. Why dwell on annoying things?”

Xiao Chen shook his head forcefully, as if shaking off pointless negativity. "Better to go retrieve the Wuqi first."

He stood and walked toward the central tomb chamber.

At this point, the chamber itself had no need for elaborate defenses.

There was no longer any purpose.

Thus, when Xiao Chen approached and pushed the stone door directly, it opened effortlessly with barely any force.

---

Stepping inside, the first thing that caught his eye were the vivid murals lining the walls.

Perhaps due to excellent preservation, Xiao Chen could still see the vibrant colors on the paintings.

The largest mural, positioned centrally, depicted a moon sacrifice ceremony in meticulous detail.

The Moon Witch Holy Maiden wore an exquisitely resplendent red gown, a luminous moon crown atop her head, and raised a glowing orb in her right hand, her expression solemn and dignified.

Before her stood a massive altar, laden with various sacrifices.

Most of the Clan Members surrounding her knelt on the ground, bowing their heads in reverence toward the altar.

Only one towering, muscular warrior knelt semi-prostrate before the Holy Maiden, hands clasped and raised above his head, awaiting her bestowal of a Blood Crystal.

Clearly, the Holy Maiden held an unparalleled status within the clan.

“So this is what the moon sacrifice ceremony looked like?”

It was completely different from Xiao Chen’s two previous experiences.

He carefully observed the Holy Maiden’s expression on the mural but saw no sign of pain.

Whether she truly felt no pain or the artist had deliberately softened the depiction remained unknown.

Inside the tomb chamber, burial artifacts were arranged in orderly patterns.

Hundreds of ancient candlestands, intricately crafted from bronze with elaborate carvings, were scattered throughout the chamber.

Thanks to miniature Spirit Gathering Formations embedded in the carvings, small orange-red spirit flames still burned steadily, illuminating the entire chamber.

In addition, scattered around were rune-inscribed bone flutes, necklaces strung from unknown beast teeth, gemstone-topped scepters, and other distinctive artifacts.

The closer one approached the chamber’s center, the more refined these artifacts became.

“Hmm?”

Xiao Chen reached out to pick up a beast tooth necklace, but the moment he applied slight pressure, it crumbled to dust.

He tried grabbing the gemstone instead.

Though the gemstone remained intact, the scepter shattered into a dozen pieces.

“Dong!”

The fist-sized gemstone hit the floor with a thud.

Despite its intricate carving, the spiritual energy within had long since dissipated.

To cultivators like him, jade or gemstones without spiritual energy were no better than scrap metal.

At the chamber’s heart stood an exquisite coffin.

Carved from a single block of glossy black Shitou, it measured three zhang and three chi in length, six chi and six cun in width.

Its surface was engraved with complex, mysterious Wu Talismans and patterns of mythical beasts.

Looking closely, one could even see faint mystic light flowing within the Shitou.

“Sigh, why can’t I see the Wuqi?”

Xiao Chen scanned the chamber, finally spotting a small niche on one side.

He hurried over and saw a mysterious beast skin lying quietly within.

The beast skin’s surface bore faded markings, but the dark red Wu Talisman drawn in Wu Blood remained clearly visible.

“Could this be a legacy cultivation manual?”

Xiao Chen picked it up for inspection.

Though he couldn’t identify the specific yao beast species, he immediately sensed the unique aura of a Fourth Stage yao beast.

“No wonder it lasted so long—not only does it have Wu Talisman reinforcement, but the raw material itself is exceptional.”

He sighed, storing the beast skin in his Han Hai Ring.

Based on past experience, legacy cultivation manuals were likely of high quality.

While probably useless to him, this manual might benefit Su Li.

These minor details were ultimately trivial.

The critical issue now was—where was the Wuqi?

Xiao Chen scanned the chamber again. Though spacious, its layout was simple and straightforward.

No other niches existed, and his spiritual sense detected no hidden chambers.

The only place he couldn’t see—and his spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate—was inside the central coffin.

“Er~!”

Xiao Chen blinked. “Could they have placed the Wuqi inside the coffin?”

He pushed open the thick coffin lid and lifted the cover.

Inside lay a woman of exquisite beauty, her jet-black hair flowing beside her, her ornate priestess robes still sparkling with various decorations.

Indeed, a glowing orb rested in her arms.

Except for its lack of radiance, it was nearly identical to the Holy Maiden’s Wuqi in the mural.

Xiao Chen reached for it, but a powerful suction immediately pulled his hand onto the orb.

Then, a pair of icy hands shot out.

They gripped his wrist tightly, sharp nails digging into his flesh.

Simultaneously, a coldness like that from the netherworld surged up his arm like a serpent.

Where it passed, his meridians began freezing solid.

“Hu!”

The previously silent tomb chamber suddenly howled with a chilling wind, causing the surrounding candle flames to flicker violently, as if about to extinguish.

The orb’s suction grew stronger.

Not only was Xiao Chen’s hand stuck, but the hands pulled his arm with increasing force.

As if trying to drag his entire body into the coffin.

“Hei~!”

Though he immediately surged with true mana to resist, he still found himself helplessly pulled closer to the coffin.

The Great Priest’s previously closed eyes slowly opened.

But her eyes were entirely white, with no pupils or vitality.

Then, her mouth began to open and close.

It sounded as if two rusted iron plates were grinding together, producing a guttural, incomprehensible incantation-like noise.

Suddenly, an invisible force surged outward, like a tidal wave crashing toward him.

As if a thousand hands were simultaneously pushing him into the coffin.

“Ugh, are you serious? Another trap?”

Unable to break free, Xiao Chen gave up resisting and let them pull him in.

The coffin lid, previously pushed aside, was lifted by an invisible force and slammed shut.

A quarter-hour later.

Xiao Chen’s figure reappeared in the plaza outside the tomb chamber.

“No fair play, huh? True Yang Fire Dragon, smash it!”

A colossal fire dragon erupted from behind him, its coiling body nearly covering the entire tomb chamber.

“Honglong!”

The massive explosion shattered the chamber, creating a gaping hole.

But Xiao Chen wasn’t done. He raised his hand, unleashing a Ninghuo Palm.

Blazing flames instantly reduced the damaged walls to rubble.

The severely damaged tomb chamber could no longer hold, collapsing with a thunderous crash.

Staring at the central coffin, Xiao Chen drew his Flying Sword and executed the sword manual’s techniques.

A mighty sword beam precisely avoided the Wuqi, reducing everything else to dust.

Retrieving his rarely used Hua She Bone Spear, he snatched the Wuqi from afar and stored it in his backup Storage Ring.

Now unburdened, Xiao Chen unleashed his full power.

“Honglong!”

“Honglong!”

“Honglong!”

...

Explosions thundered one after another, obliterating everything within sight.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end