Chapter 283: The Thousand Wailing Mask
Chapter 283: The Thousand Wailing Mask
In the small courtyard of Jianmen Town, Lu Chen circled the premises, his eyes keen for any signs of intrusion. Finding none, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. With his worries assuaged, he deactivated the Thousand Illusions Misty Smoke Formation and stepped into the courtyard.
As soon as he entered, a chill ran through him, carried on a gust of eerie wind. Mournful wails echoed through the yard, their voices filled with anguish and rage. The air was thick with the scent of blood, painting a picture of the underworld.
"I wonder how many of the remaining four Ghost-Faced Stonespores have fully matured," Lu Chen mused.
The last time he had visited this courtyard, only one Ghost-Faced Stonespore had reached full maturity, yielding a sinister fourth-grade artifact—the Soul-Luring Lamp.
As a self-proclaimed righteous cultivator, Lu Chen had no intention of flaunting such an uncanny artifact to his sect members. Thus, he kept it hidden in the deepest recesses of his storage bag, away from prying eyes.
Approaching the four Ghost-Faced Stonespores, Lu Chen focused his attention on the tops of the plants, where eerie faces had formed.
"Two of them have fully matured," he observed with delight. Carefully, he plucked the ripe Ghost-Faced Stonespores.
Without pausing to examine the detailed information about the plants, he turned his attention to the faint light orbs that had quietly appeared on the ground.
The white light orbs flickered softly. With a gentle touch, they transformed into countless specks of light, coalescing into a vague, blurry face that instantly merged into Lu Chen's body.
Harvest one third-grade Ghost-Faced Stonespore and obtain a fourth-grade artifact—the Thousand Wailing Mask.
A mask as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in Lu Chen's hand. It was a pale gray color, adorned with subtle patterns that constantly shifted, forming bizarre faces with blank expressions and seething resentment.
Lu Chen could feel the intense chill emanating from where his palm made contact with the sinister mask, and he found his mind drawn to this peculiar artifact.
The Thousand Wailing Mask, a fourth-grade artifact, is refined from a fifth-grade tiger-type demonic beast's companion vengeful spirit. Once worn, the user can alter their appearance and aura with a mere thought, making it nearly impossible to detect. Prolonged use may result in the vengeful spirit's residual consciousness influencing the wearer's mind, causing a gradual loss of self.
I can take control and prevent that.
"A fourth-grade auxiliary artifact with a singular function, but its power is extraordinary," Lu Chen marveled inwardly.
In the cultivation world, artifacts and techniques that could conceal one's form and aura were rare, and those that could completely alter one's appearance and aura were even rarer.
He stored the Thousand Wailing Mask, which felt almost weightless, into his storage bag and turned his attention to the remaining fully mature Ghost-Faced Stonespore. Gently, he touched the white light orb that had appeared.
Countless specks of light converged once more, forming a blurry face that merged into his body.
Harvest one third-grade Ghost-Faced Stonespore and obtain a fourth-grade artifact—the Soul-Luring Lamp.
A thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly, a bizarre lantern appeared in his hand.
The lamp's handle resembled white bone, and its shade seemed to be made from human skin, stretched taut. Countless slender, dark red tassels hung from the base of the lamp, swaying gently in the eerie wind like tiny, entwined tentacles. At the very center burned a ghastly white candle, packed tightly with innumerable malevolent souls and their bitter resentment.
"Another fourth-grade Soul-Luring Lamp artifact," Lu Chen noted with satisfaction. The lamp could attract nearby malevolent souls and disrupt the mental states of cultivators and demonic beasts alike, causing them to lose their sense of self.
The progress bars for the remaining two Ghost-Faced Stonespores were nearly full, but Lu Chen chose to refrain from hastening their maturation to conserve his precious Greenwood Source Qi, a valuable resource.
Not far away, the third-grade Thorny Bone was also on the verge of complete maturity, and Lu Chen decided to bring it with him to Kongming Island.
As for the fourth-grade Hundred-Eyed Aberrant Wood, its numerous sinister eyes had grown significantly. After a moment of hesitation, Lu Chen ultimately decided to take it with him as well.
"Alright, burst forth, infant souls!"
Lu Chen held the Purple Lightning Sword and took out the Wood Infant from his storage bag. He loosened the rune chains binding it and spoke in a gentle tone.
The Wood Infant glanced at the deep purple flying sword in his hand, where lightning flickered. The numbness from being restrained by the rune chains for an extended period suddenly vanished, and its tiny body couldn't help but shudder.
Before Lu Chen could react, the pitch-black hole at its belly button began to emanate a sinister aura, and pale infant souls were squeezed out one by one.
"That's enough, that's enough. Stop now," Lu Chen said, seeing the increasing number of infant souls in the courtyard.
He estimated that these souls would be enough to feed the Holy Infant Fruit for quite some time. Then, he walked over to the Blood Curse Flower.
As soon as he took out the Flood Dragon's essence blood from his storage bag, the hollow blood sphere sensed the arrival of delicious food. Its countless fine veins on the surface squirmed, yearning to get closer to Lu Chen.
"Don't be in such a rush. Today, I'll let you have your fill," Lu Chen said as he poured the third-grade Flood Dragon's essence blood onto the Blood Curse Flower, feeling the plant's excitement. The sea of blood at its core churned and billowed in response.
The blood-colored flower bloomed even more brilliantly and vibrantly.
After feeding the Holy Infant Fruit and the Blood Curse Flower to their hearts' content, Lu Chen left the small courtyard and activated the Thousand Illusions Misty Smoke Formation to bring out the Wind Falcon from his spirit pouch.
The Wind Falcon, with its round belly, spread its pair of green wings and transformed into a green light, soaring into the sky.
"True to its reputation as a speedster, even though it has grown into a round ball and is only a second-grade beast, its speed when flying at full force is not inferior to many third-grade flying swords," Lu Chen praised.
High in the sky, streams of green airflow appeared on the Wind Falcon's pale green wings, carrying Lu Chen as they sped through the mountains like a bolt of lightning.
Hearing Lu Chen's praise, the Wind Falcon let out a crisp cry, and its streamlined belly undulated.
Lu Chen had already obtained the map to Kongming Island from the Scripture Pavilion. Out of safety considerations, he intentionally chose the most reliable route, avoiding many secret realms that his fellow sect members yearned to explore.
After flying for most of the day, Lu Chen looked at the map in his hand, deep in thought.
By now, the Wind Falcon had flown more than six thousand miles without deviating from the route he had specified.
However, Lu Chen's gaze remained fixed on the map, slightly to the left of their current position.
There, a place name that he was once very familiar with was marked.
Linyang Market.
As the Wind Falcon continued its rapid flight, Lu Chen's mind was filled with images of familiar figures.
There was Zhang Hong, his kind neighbor who had taken care of him like an older brother, always greeting him warmly as 'Little Lu' and joining him in hunting demon insects and earning spirit stones. He thought of Zhang Xiuyuan, who enthusiastically called him 'Uncle Lu' despite their similar ages, and He Guan Shi, who had purchased his leftover Spirit Firefly Grass during his most destitute times...
"It would take an extra detour of two or three thousand miles to get there, and the route isn't marked with any potential risks," Lu Chen thought. "But it's been so many years since I last saw those old friends..."
As emotions swelled within him, Lu Chen made a decision. "Turn around and head a little to the left. I want to visit my old home," he conveyed to the Wind Falcon through his spiritual sense.
The Wind Falcon let out a crisp cry, and its speed increased even further.
(End of Chapter)
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