The pressure in the inner hall was even greater. The moment they stepped inside, a heavy, suffocating pressure fell upon the four of them as if a massive mountain were weighing down on their shoulders, making every step an ordeal.
Shi Yu felt both the spiritual energy and divine sense within her body instantly grow sluggish and difficult to circulate. Even breathing turned heavy, and she could clearly hear the violent pounding of her heart against her ribs.
After taking only a few steps forward, fine beads of sweat trickled down her nose. She turned her head to look at the three beside her, her brows knitting slightly at the sight of them also suppressed by the immense pressure.
Qingzhou was doing somewhat better, but Ji Yu's face was already as pale as paper. His legs trembled with every step, rendering him unable to utter a single word. Beside him, Mo Tong fared slightly better, but he too was struggling to hold on. Mo Tong was, after all, merely formed from a single sloughed skin of Qingzhou's true form, and his cultivation was far inferior to the original body; he naturally could not endure such pressure for long.
With a swift thought, Shi Yu pulled out two storage rings and slipped them onto their fingers, whispering softly, “Don't push yourselves. Wait outside the palace for Qingzhou and me.”
She had placed a generous portion of pills, spirit talismans, and artifacts inside both storage rings.
The pressure here was simply too overwhelming, and many surrounding cultivators had already lost heart, turning back toward the palace exit. Ji Yu and Mo Tong were not particularly strong compared to the others, but with these supplies, they would at least remain safe if anyone tried to target them.
Ji Yu touched the storage ring on his finger and pouted in discontent. Yet, knowing his strength fell far short, he squeezed out a sentence under the crushing force: “Sister, you two must come out safely.”
Mo Tong took Ji Yu by the arm and channeled his spiritual energy to help shoulder some of the pressure. He then nodded to Shi Yu and Qingzhou. “We will wait for you outside.”
Watching the two turn and leave, Shi Yu looked at Qingzhou. “Let's go. Let me see what's really inside.”
As they walked deeper into the inner hall, the pressure grew increasingly suffocating, causing the cultivators' steps to grow even more arduous and slow. From time to time, cultivators unable to withstand it shook their heads with a sigh and retreated from the inner hall. There were also those of lacking strength who stubbornly pushed forward anyway; after forcing out a few more steps, they let out tragic screams as arrows of blood spurted from their mouths, sending them flying backward to crash heavily onto the ground, leaving it uncertain whether they would survive.
The number of cultivators walking through the inner hall grew smaller and smaller.
After shuffling forward with great effort for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Shi Yu looked ahead into the distance and finally caught a blurry glimpse of an elevated platform at the innermost section of the hall.
Atop the platform sat a cushion, upon which rested a skeleton sitting upright. It was the remains of a male cultivator, its bones jade-white and glowing with a faint, luminous sheen, looking as if carved entirely from white jade. The suffocating pressure filling the inner hall radiated directly from these white bones!
Shi Yu felt a wave of shock in her heart, thinking to herself, Bones like white jade... and even after countless years have passed, such astonishing pressure still lingers on the corpse... Just how terrifyingly high was this senior's cultivation when he was alive?
For bones to shine like translucent white jade, one had to be a mighty figure of noble character, pure mind, and immensely deep cultivation during their lifetime.
The other cultivators had also spotted the scene, their gazes growing increasingly fervent. With the corpse of an ancient mighty figure present, legacy treasures were almost certainly nearby! The legs that had been struggling to move under the pressure suddenly seemed to regain a bit of strength as everyone scrambled to rush forward and seize the initiative.
Shi Yu narrowed her eyes, in no hurry to step forward. Weighing down by the pressure as they were, rushing would achieve nothing anyway.
Noticing that the skeleton wore grand robes with its head lowered and tilted, as if gazing at something, she followed its sightline. Only then did she discover a small, inconspicuous set of bones beside its hand. It appeared to be the skeletal remains of an animal, curled up in a tiny ball next to his hand, making it impossible to tell what creature it had been. Looking closer, subtle strands of black energy seemed to coil around the animal's bones, unlike the male cultivator's jade-white remains.
“Is that the senior's spirit beast companion?” she guessed softly.
Qingzhou stared at it for a long while before withdrawing his gaze, whispering softly, “It is a red fox.”
“A red fox?” Shi Yu's brows knitted slightly, inexplicably recalling the extraordinarily gorgeous master of the secret realm she had glimpsed earlier in the pearl fragment.
Possessing spirit beast bloodline himself, it was likely no difficult task for Qingzhou to identify the true form from the skeletal remains. Shi Yu pulled back her gaze and, seeing the surrounding cultivators struggling forward step by step into the depths of the inner hall, said, “Let's push forward too.”
The closer they drew to the skeleton, the stronger the pressure became, tightly wrapping around everyone like a wall.
By now, many more cultivators had been crushed to the point of coughing up blood and collapsing, or retiring in defeat, leaving only a handful still persisting. Every single one of them was either a person of profound cultivation or possessed special magic treasures for protection, allowing them to barely forge ahead under such pressure.
Their eyes were fixed on the white bones, filled with an ever-growing greed and longing. A few among them charged forward recklessly, unsparing with their spiritual energy or lifespan, even resorting to violence, all just to snatch the upper hand.
A burly saber cultivator, whose skin was already cracking and bloody, refused to give up. Catching sight of another cultivator overtaking him, he roared in fury and threw his broad saber straight at the rival, spraying a line of blood. “Don't you dare snatch my opportunity!”
This scene acted like a spark igniting a fuse, plunging the inner hall into instant chaos. Several cultivators at the very front followed suit and began attacking one another, targeting vital spots with every strike. For a time, the clashing of metal echoed incessantly.
“You old thief! How venomous of you, after I helped and supported you all the way here!”
“Hahaha! The legacy is right before us, so don't blame me, brother!”
Shi Yu and Qingzhou were also targeted by incoming attacks. Exchanging a glance, they erected their spiritual energy barrier to block the blows.
The situation inside the inner hall remained unclear for the time being. Unwilling to tangle with these people and waste her spiritual energy, Shi Yu focused on defending herself alongside Qingzhou, waiting until the situation became clear.
“Their eyes are bloodshot and their expressions are manic. Something isn't right,” Shi Yu remarked, her gaze darkening as she stood back-to-back with Qingzhou inside the barrier and observed the people nearby.
Sensing something, she looked back at the red fox skeleton, only to see that the faint strands of black energy coiling around it had indeed thickened.
This black energy was likely a form of demonic or fiendish aura, possessing the ability to stir up and amplify the desires in people's hearts. In turn, these stirred-up, magnified desires and negative emotions fed and strengthened it.
Shi Yu felt a black fog clouding her own heart as well. However, possessing a resolute mind, she did not panic; focusing her mind for just a moment, she dispersed it, remaining unaffected.
Forming hand seals to stabilize the spiritual energy barrier, she turned to look at Qingzhou, only for her hand to be suddenly grabbed and held tightly in his palm.
Shi Yu paused, taken aback. “Qingzhou?”
Dark emotions surged violently within the youth's eyes before her, showing a rare, unfamiliar intensity that made her feel a sudden wave of unease.
Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, a faint sigh softly drifted into her ears like an evening drum or morning bell, instantly bringing a sense of clarity to everyone's minds.
The surrounding chaos came to an abrupt halt. Qingzhou also snapped out of his gloomy thoughts; looking at Shi Yu, he froze for a second before releasing her hand. “I...”
Shi Yu caught his hand in return, her eyes darkening as she faced their surroundings. “Be careful.”
The entire inner hall seemed to ripple slightly with that faint sigh just now.
Shi Yu focused her sight and noticed that the luminous light on the senior's white bones had brightened somewhat. As one waxed, the other waned—the black energy on the adjacent red fox skeleton noticeably paled in an instant, though it had not faded completely, tenaciously coiling around the bones.
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