Chapter 554: Dark Spirit Clan
The dead souls’ evil lair was like a living creature, shimmering in the air with a gloomy, green halo. It looked ferocious, as if it were searching for some victims to swallow.
Shi Yan was still indulging in the surprise caused by the dead souls, and didn’t recognize the danger that was approaching. It was only when the evil lair was around hundreds of meters away from him that he finally realized its existence.
Dead souls clinging at the entrance of the evil lair looked like ghostly tentacles waving in the air.
Those dead souls packed the cave, which hindered Shi Yan’s vision. However, the icy-cold, evil aura could storm directly into the deepest place of warriors’ Sea of Consciousness, which could make them to instinctively give up all resistances.
Shi Yan cursed under his breath. His face didn’t change as he used the Electric Shift and the Star Brilliance to retreat rapidly in the shape of a light ray.
In a short while, he was thousands of meters away from the dead souls’ evil lair. Right when he had the distance, he immediately concentrated his mind, using the power of the Nine Serenities Soul Devouring Flame to filter the eccentric energy in his head.
The flame ignited, as the soul-devouring energy in his Sea of Consciousness was burnt off.
Shi Yan sighed inaudibly. Seeing the dead souls’ evil lair approaching, he wasn’t hurried. He quietly moved his energy, taking out the Sky-breaking Shuttle, ready for any case.
This dead souls’ evil lair came strangely. It was quiet, and even the dead souls inside were hiding their aura, which would make people find it hard to detect them. If he hadn’t reacted in time using the Electric Shift and the Star Brilliance to maximize his speed, he would have gotten trapped for sure.
The dead souls’ evil lair was like a ghostly mouth, patient and persistent as it kept approaching him.
The evil lair accelerated. Now, it was like a shooting star chasing after the moon. It was zooming over too fast, crossing the distance of thousands of meters in just a blink.
An erosive soul energy diffused from the entrance of the cave, covering the entire ten miles around it.
The eccentric energy intruded his Sea of Consciousness the second time. Its momentum this time was fierce, as if it wanted to drain his Sea Consciousness and enslave his host soul.
The Nine Serenities Soul Devouring Flame activated. Flames flew over in his Sea of Consciousness, burning that strange soul energy into ashes. Shi Yan continually retreated. He didn’t want to check the change inside the evil lair, and used the fastest speed to get away from this place of trouble.
He vaguely felt that this evil lair was already occupied by the dead souls.
According to Lin Ya Qi, even though the dead souls’ evil lairs kept changing their locations, they would not proactively attack the warriors or swallow them.
But this dead souls’ evil lair wasn’t like the others. It was strange as it had proactively released the erosive soul energy towards him.
Avoiding the evil lair, Shi Yan sped up and left the place. He flew for half a day and then chose a quiet place to cultivate.
He took out the Soul Gathering Pearl. The souls of the three dead souls were purified, generating the crystal clear soul energy that he could absorb directly.
Shi Yan conveniently dug a cave, got in, and continued to perceive the wonderful features of the Teleportation Formation.
...
Dead Soul Mountain range.
From five different directions, five evil lairs were moving quickly towards the generation direction of the Spirit Potion Valley and the Precious Tool Valley.
While they were flying at a fast speed, they would release the erosive soul energy whenever they met human warriors.
Under the eccentric effects of this strange energy, many warriors got paralyzed instantly. Their Sea of Consciousness was poisoned, and they couldn’t maintain their body functions. After that, their souls were dragged out, getting pulled into the dead souls’ evil lairs.
After they swallowed the warriors’ sous, the five evil lairs swelled up a little bit, and their speed also became faster.
Three days later, the dead souls’ evil lairs from the caves and corners of the mountain range appeared in a dense jungle behind the Spirit Potion Valley. The flying speed of the five evil lairs slowed down.
Each evil lair had many dead souls lingering at the entrance, among which, one evil lair had all dead souls with real bodies!
Right in the middle of that evil lair’s entrance was arranged a diamond sacrificial altar, which was made of bones and flesh. The first dead soul that had a real body stood upright, walking to that altar. Strong energy rippled through it.
The diamond sacrificial altar was lit up. A strange, sinister energy was generated, multiplying in it.
At the entrance, countless dark-green halos headed towards the sacrificial altar, with which the halo from the altar became more blazing.
The other four evil lairs seemed to be attracted by the altar as they started to move towards it, their speed getting sluggish.
The dead souls with real bodies stood at the entrance of the evil lair, diffusing energy and pouring into the altar. The suction force that the altar generated became more intensive, pulling the other four evil lairs.
Eventually, the four evil lairs clung to the evil lair which had the altar.
The five evil lairs connected to each other with the adhesive force from the dark green halo. Next, they began the difficult combining process. In the center, the first dead soul that had a real body was constantly urging the energy in its body, increasing the suction force for the sacrificial altar.
The altar was made of bones and flesh. All of a sudden, blood splashed while flesh shattered everywhere. Under the expanding green halo, the altar crumpled.
The five dead souls’ evil lairs fused into one.
A gloomy green ecliptic burst out from that evil lair after they all fused with each other. Numerous dead souls could be seen flying and celebrating in there.
The first dead soul that had a real body started to extend its limbs in the giant cave after the five evil lairs had combined. It was absorbing the evil green energy which made its limbs more ferocious.
The dead souls which already had the bodies scattered and started to absorb that eccentric energy.
Time flew quietly.
After an unknown time, the dead soul’s evil lair shrank along with the green ecliptic extent. All of a sudden, rays of light bloomed.
Strange aliens with dark virescent skin and green tattoos on their faces struggled, walking out of the ecliptic. They had a humanoid appearance. Their eyes were all cold and sinister.
Their whole body was green, their faces had patterns, and their bodies were covered in thick and heavy armor, which seemed to connect tightly with their flesh as if it were an innate feature of their bodies.
These aliens had a vicious, cold aura. Resentment appeared in their eyes as if they had a deep grudge against every creature. They were all intimidating, appearing from the evil lairs then shooting towards the Spirit Potion Valley and Precious Tool Valley.
That massive dead souls’ evil lair was like a battleship that was connected to them, flying behind.
...
Spirit Potion Valley...
Xue Mu, Ya Lie, and Li Zheng Rong were discussing in the room when all of a sudden, their eyelids convulsed. They all felt fear rising in their hearts.
Ya Lie changed his expression in fear. He jolted up, jumping onto an observatory of the Spirit Hall and released his Soul Consciousness to sense everywhere.
Xue Mu and Li Zheng Rong also came to the place, extending their Soul Consciousness. Taking the Spirit Potion Valley as the center, they were spreading the sense far away.
Almost at the same time, their eyes showed their fear.
From far away, they saw a green light area as spooky as a green swamp. It was gliding deliberately, while the evil energy accumulated in it increased gradually.
"The dead souls!" Li Zheng Rong screamed in fear.
Xue Mu and Ya Lie didn’t answer him. They all took out the Sound Stone, frowning while narrating the situation.
When Ya Lie was done, he used his Soul Consciousness to sense again, more carefully. Suddenly, he said, "It’s not the dead souls. It’s the Dark Spirit Clan. This dangerous race has finally rebuilt their bodies and struggled out of the foreign land."
Li Zheng Rong was surprised, "What do you mean?"
Ya Lie was an Elder of the Pure Land, one of the oldest factions in the Divine Great Land. Books in their sects piled up like mountains, which even had the secret writings of the whole era.
"In the Antiquity Era, there were many races in the Grace Mainland. Humans didn’t simply rule the place like now. At some point in history, there was a race called the Dark Spirit Clan. Even if their bodies were smashed, their souls remained. In the ancient time, this race formed a powerful tribal clan. At their peak, they were much stronger than human warriors. They had many generations of experts and hotshots."
Ya Lie took a deep breath, "The Dark Spirit Clan was good at controlling souls. At their peak, many human warriors had their souls enslaved, making them their servants. In the Ancient time, when human warriors rebelled, a multiracial war burst out. After that war, the Dark Spirit Clan was almost uprooted.
"Under such circumstances, the Dark Spirit Clan decided to leave their bodies, using only the souls to escape to the foreign land. They then kept the big grudge against the race that won the battle. They tried to survive in the foreign land. It’s been tens of thousands of years. No one knows what changes the Dark Spirit Clan has experienced in the foreign land. They have become more sinister and inhumane.
"The five dead souls’ evil lairs are the space crack that connects the land of the Dark Spirit Clan, and also their barriers. The strongest experts of the clan had built these five barriers that year to prevent the other races from getting in their territory and their members from escaping the place. The stronger they are, the harder it is to get out of the barriers. The dead souls we meet here are the souls of the Dark Spirit Clan’s members who had lost their bodies. But they have been changed after thousands of years..."
Ya Lie revealed the secret regarding the Dark Spirit Clan, which was covered in dust for years, with a solemn visage.
"None of us know what is in the foreign land inside the dead souls’ evil lairs. But I know that the current Dark Spirit Clan should have something changed in the foreign land, which makes them more intimidating. They are hard to deal with now. Since they can get through the barrier, I think we have to use all of our forces," continued Ya Lie.
Li Zheng Rong was scared.
"I notified my Cult Master. He’ll be here shortly," Xue Mu wore a heavy countenance. "The returning of the Dark Spirit Clan is related to the future of mankind. Not only my Radiant God Cult, but also your Pure Land, Devil Valley, and the other factions have to be careful. Once we’re careless, the Dark Spirit Clan will take over this land."
"You also know of the Dark Spirit Clan?" Li Zheng Rong snorted.
"Although the history of our Radiant God Cult isn’t as profound as the Pure Land’s, we used to have some books of the Ancient times. We know something about that time too," Xue Mu answered deliberately.
Li Zheng Rong felt pretty uncomfortable, his face indifferent. He scolded, "You’ve lied to us all the time!"
"We assumed that this clan couldn’t escape the barriers. We thought that they had lost many members in that foreign land, so they wouldn’t want to invade us anymore..." Ya Lie was a little bit embarrassed as he explained, "As they are returning now, I’ve informed you immediately, haven’t I?"
Li Zheng Rong put on a serious face. "It’s because they are here already!"
"Quick!" Xue Mu clenched his jaw. "The enemy’s threatening. We have to counter with all of our forces. Everybody should be cautious."