Reborn Shang Zhou, angry at the sage Nuwa at the beginning

Chapter 2284

The group quickened their pace and headed towards Black Wind Ridge.

The wind of Black Wind Ridge carried a sharp howl, blowing against the skin like a knife. The black rocks were jagged and protruding, like the claws of a ferocious beast.

Scattered bones could be seen along the way, including the remains of cultivators and the limbs of demons, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here.

"Look over there!"

Lin Mo suddenly stopped and pointed to a huge rock not far away.

Below the boulder,

The corpse of a cultivator sat upright, his clothes already tattered and corroded by the power of shadow, but he still tightly clutched a broken jade slip in his hand.

Ye Chengyu stepped forward, carefully took off the jade slip, and infused it with a wisp of spiritual energy.

The writing on the jade slip was blurry and indistinct, with only a few characters barely legible: "Shadow Palace. Three-layered Origin Core Soul-Devouring Array. Beware of False Gods."

"A false god?"

Qingxuan frowned. "Could it be that there are beings in the Shadow Demon Realm who surpass the Great Emperor Realm?"

Chi Jingzi pondered, "It is said that the lord of the Shadow Demon Realm, Shadow Heavenly Lord, has lived for millions of years and his strength is unfathomable. Perhaps the so-called false god refers to him. The Soul Devouring Array should be an array used to devour the origin of the Three Realms, and the core of the origin is most likely on the third level of the Shadow Heavenly Palace."

Ye Chengyu carefully put away the jade slip: "Regardless, this jade slip at least gives us direction. It seems that some cultivators have already ventured into the Demon Realm, but failed. We need to learn from their mistakes and proceed cautiously."

The group continued on their way, and as they passed through Black Wind Ridge, they encountered the first patrol of high-level monsters.

These demons were tall and covered in hard black scales. They wielded giant axes covered in barbs, and their strength was all above the late stage of Golden Immortal, with the leader even reaching the early stage of Taiyi Golden Immortal.

"They are cultivators from the Three Realms!"

The leading demon let out a piercing roar, and swung its giant axe, imbued with dense shadow power, towards Ye Chengyu.
"Kill them and present them to the lord!"

"A swift and decisive victory is crucial; do not reveal your whereabouts!"

Ye Chengyu let out a low shout, and the Flowing Light Sword was drawn from its sheath. The power of spacetime condensed into a silver rainbow, which instantly slashed towards the leading demon.

The monster reacted extremely quickly, its giant axe blocking the attack, but its defenses were torn apart by the power of spacetime, and the silver rainbow severed its arm.

"what--!"

The monster let out a painful roar, and the other monsters rushed forward upon seeing this.

Manjushri Bodhisattva, holding a Ruyi scepter, unleashed a burst of Buddhist light that transformed into countless sharp blades, instantly slaying the three demons.

Chi Jingzi's Bagua Mirror emitted a beam of golden light, accurately striking a demon's brow and shattering its soul.
Qingxuan spun his Tai Chi whisk, and the black and white energies transformed into a vortex, engulfing the two demons and instantly killing them.

Holding a short blade, Lin Mo coordinated his spiritual energy with the chaos within him, facing a demonic creature at the late stage of the Golden Immortal realm head-on.

As the monster's giant axe swung down, Lin Mo dodged to the side, his short blade slicing across the monster's scales, leaving a shallow scratch.

The monster roared and swung its axe again. Lin Mo used the resonance of chaos to predict the trajectory of the attack, leaped up, and pierced the monster's eye with his short blade, completely destroying its soul.

"Good lad, you've made great progress."

Master Xuanchen nodded approvingly, and the Bodhi prayer beads flew out, entangling the last demon. Golden Buddhist power surged in, purifying it.

The entire battle lasted less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and the six of them had slain all the patrolling demons. Ye Chengyu raised his hand and set up a spatial barrier to prevent the smell of blood from attracting more demons: "This place is not safe to stay for long, let's leave as soon as possible."

The group continued onward, and the closer they got to the Shadow Palace, the denser the shadow power became, and the oppressive feeling in the air grew stronger.

en route,

They encountered several more waves of monster patrols, each wave stronger than the last, including a monster leader who was a late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal.

During a fierce battle, Lin Mo was struck on the shoulder by a demon's claw while covering Chi Jingzi. The power of shadow surged into his body through the wound and instantly spread to his meridians.

"not good!"

Lin Mo felt a chill run through his body, and his mind began to wander. Countless distorted illusions appeared before his eyes, as if he saw the Three Realms being swallowed by shadows and countless cultivators dying tragically.

"Lin Mo, concentrate!"

Master Xuanchen acted just in time, sending a golden light from the Bodhi prayer beads into Lin Mo's body. "Circulate your spiritual energy and use the Nine-Turn Bodhi Seed to purify the power of the shadows!"

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, enduring the interference of the illusions, and following Master Xuan Chen's guidance, he activated the spiritual energy within his body, resonating with the Nine-Turn Bodhi Seed in his palm.

Golden Buddhist power and gentle spiritual energy flowed through the meridians, gradually dispelling the power of shadow.

Half an hour later,
Lin Mo finally cleared the shadow power from his body, and the wound on his shoulder began to heal, but his face was still pale.

"Thank you, Master Xuanchen." Lin Mo bowed and expressed his gratitude.

"No need for further explanation,"

Master Xuanchen shook his head. "The allure of the shadow power is growing stronger. You must be even more careful from now on and avoid being harmed by the demons again."

Ye Chengyu took out a healing pill and handed it to Lin Mo:

"This is the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill refined by Laozi. It can quickly restore injuries and enhance resistance to the power of shadow. We will reach the Shadow Palace in one day. The dangers we will face then will only be greater, so we must be in top condition."

Lin Mo took the pill and swallowed it. A warm current instantly swept through his body, and his injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. His spiritual energy also became more abundant.

He gripped the short blade tightly, his eyes growing increasingly resolute: "I understand, I will never hold everyone back again."

the next morning,

The six finally arrived at the foot of the Shadow Palace.

The enormous castle was even more magnificent and eerie than it appeared from afar.

The city wall was thousands of feet high and covered with dense runes. Each rune was flowing with purple shadow power and exuded a chilling pressure.

The city gate was made from a single massive obsidian block, carved with the head of a ferocious monster, its eyes gleaming with a scarlet light, as if watching over everyone who approached.

"There are two early-stage Great Emperor level demons guarding the city gate, as well as countless low-level demons patrolling."

Chi Jingzi's Bagua mirror reflected the scene behind the city gate.

“It’s almost impossible to force our way in; we have to find a way to sneak in.”

Qingxuan observed the runes on the city wall: "These runes form a shadow barrier that covers the entire Heavenly Palace. But I found that there is a weak point in the barrier in the southeast corner. The energy fluctuations of the runes there are weaker, so it must have been damaged before and then hastily repaired."

Ye Chengyu nodded: "Alright, we'll sneak in from the southeast corner. Master Xuanchen, please use your Buddhist power to temporarily block the barrier's detection. Manjushri Bodhisattva, you're in charge of distracting the demons at the city gate. Qingxuan, Chijingzi, Lin Mo, and I will take the opportunity to sneak in."