Chapter 1990: Demon Seed
The Quest for Immortality
"Therefore, this Taoist Field is the Holy Land of the dead, a forbidden area for the living."
Young Master Xuanâs gaze was stern as he asked, "How do we break the formation?"
The elder in the black robe shook his head slightly.
Young Master Xuan asked curiously, "Isnât this your Great Wildernessâs inheritance? It should be the handiwork of the Great Wilderness clan, does even the Second Elder not know?"
The elderâs murky eyes trembled slightly, suddenly revealing a cold intent to kill, "The one who created this arrangement is a traitor of the Great Wilderness. He... stole the inheritance of the Great Wilderness, deserving of a thousand deaths..."
Mo Hua, standing aside, was startled upon hearing this.
A traitor of the Great Wilderness?
Who is he talking about?
Young Master Xuan didnât care much about the traitor of the Great Wilderness; he only cared about whether he could reach the Divine Temple.
"Is there no other way?"
The elder pondered for a moment and said, "I have an item, a relic of the Great Wilderness lineage called the âDivine Mist Lamp,â which can hide the traces of Divine Sense and evade the sinister ghosts."
"But..."
The elder looked into the distance, "But this Taoist Field is too vast, filled with evil objects like clouds, and the path is too long. Relying solely on this âDivine Mist Lampâ might not be enough to make it through."
Young Master Xuan said, "Then perhaps, you should also light a person as a lamp?"
The elder contemplated for a moment and nodded, "It seems we have no other choice."
Young Master Xuan instructed Mr. Hui to take out his gold hoop.
The elder shook a few times, injecting a chilling evil power into Shen Qingshengâs meridians, waking him up, and then put the gold hoop on Shen Qingshengâs head.
The familiar sensation returned, and Shen Qingshengâs face instantly turned pale with terror as he said, "No, I will die..."
The elder sealed Shen Qingshengâs mouth and nose with blood-colored spiritual power, preventing him from shouting.
Afterward, he began to recite mystical and ancient words from the Barbaric Wilderness, and the Divine Mist Lamp was lit.
A lamp of fire ignited, mist filled the air, enveloping everyone and concealing their presence.
Mo Hua sensed the surrounding mist, pondered for a moment, and understood.
Within the Divine Mist Lamp was the Formation of Divine Mist, and once activated, it could transform into mist to confuse the perception of Divine Thought.
The sinister fierce ghosts, being things of "divine thought," would also naturally be confused by the Divine Mist Lamp.
Mo Hua was somewhat amazed in his heart.
This Divine Mist Lamp can actually merge with the Divine Mist Formation, crafted ingeniously, likely using the ancient artifact refining methods of the Great Wilderness lineage.
The inheritance of the Great Wilderness is indeed extraordinary.
Shrouded by the Divine Mist Lamp, they walked through the Taoist Field.
Surrounded by infused bronze figures, with ominous shadows overhead like clouds, there seemed to be no incident for a while.
But as they walked further, some significantly stronger ghostly entities detected something amiss and began probing into the mist of the Divine Mist Lamp.
The elder gave Young Master Xuan a glance.
In understanding, Young Master Xuan emulated Mr. Hui and ignited the "human lamp" on Shen Qingshengâs head.
Shen Qingshengâs Sea of Consciousness began to burn bit by bit again.
His divine thought transformed into smoke, diffusing into the sky, attracting these ghostly entities to one side.
Young Master Xuan and his group breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Thus, under the cover of the Divine Mist Lamp and the protection of the human lamp, they continued to walk forward.
Shen Qingsheng was used as a "candle," burning all the way.
But Shen Qingshengâs divine sense was not strong; having been lit once before, this time it was already drying up.
Shen Qingshengâs head felt as though a thousand needles pierced it.
Soon, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Young Master Xuan checked his breath and rolled his eyelids, shaking his head, saying, "Heâs nearly spent. If we keep lighting him, heâll be gone."
Shen Qingsheng was still useful, so the elder didnât want him to die just yet.
As the human lamp extinguished, the sinister aura grew heavier.
Without bait, more powerful ghostly entities began to probe into their mist again.
The elder said, "Letâs switch people."
Young Master Xuan nodded.
Thus, the gold hoop lamp was placed on Mr. Huiâs head.
All his life, Mr. Hui had been using others to "light the lamp." Little did he expect that one day, his own head would be used for lighting.
The human lamp ignited again, and wisps of divine sense smoke rose.
Mr. Hui was a Golden Core, his divine sense stronger than Shen Qingshengâs.
But surprisingly, his divine sense smoke was even more mixed than Shen Qingshengâs, perhaps due to his age, his distracted thoughts, and excessive greed.
Added to this was the fact he had been bitten by corpse spirits, his divine thought already tainted with impurities.
Therefore, the smoke burnt from his divine thought wasnât to every ghostâs liking, naturally making its effect somewhat weaker.
Though weaker, he was still a Golden Core, thus more "resistant" to burning.
They continued walking a good distance until he showed signs of divine sense exhaustion.
"Switch again," said the elder.
So the one being lit as the human lamp was swapped out for Shi Tou.
Shi Touâs divine thought was much better than Mr. Huiâs; his thoughts seemed much less complex, and his greed not as intense.
But being a Body Cultivator, he was somewhat dull-witted, not fond of thinking.
Thus, the smoke from his divine thought had a somewhat bland scent.
But with the cover of the Divine Mist Lamp, the quality of the human lamp wasnât that significant; as long as it could be lit, it sufficed.
Thus, they continued traversing the golden Taoist Field.
Unknown how long they walked, the towering Divine Temple was already in sight, and the emperorâs tomb of the Great Wilderness seemed also to be just ahead.
Yet at this moment, Shi Touâs divine sense was nearing exhaustion, the human lamp about to extinguish.
There was still a small stretch of path to leave the Taoist Field.
Shen Qingsheng, Mr. Hui, Shi Tou had all been used as lamps, the only one left was Mo Hua.
These demon cultivators naturally wouldnât use their own divine thought as a lamp.
But Mo Hua...
Young Master Xuan was somewhat hesitant; he had a great use for Mo Hua, reluctant to truly use him to light the lamp.
If it burns out his mind, heâd lose an excellent servant.
The elder was also hesitant.
But seeing the human lamp nearly depleted, there seemed no other choice.
"Light it," said the elder.
"Alright."
Young Master Xuan thought for a moment, nodded, and took the gold hoop from Shi Touâs head, turning it to fit onto Mo Huaâs head.
Mo Hua wanted to resist but didnât dare move.
After all, at present, he was a "puppet" of Planting Devil in Taoist Heart, not allowed to have independent consciousness.
Moreover, surrounding him were Golden Core Demon Cultivators, each stronger than the next.
"If itâs lighting the human lamp, then so be it..."
At most, itâs just draining some divine sense, probably nothing too significant.
Besides, divine sense exhaustion, damage, even divine sense depletion, heâd long grown accustomed to, so draining some divine sense wasnât much of an issue.
Mo Hua stood motionless, letting Young Master Xuan put the human lampâs hoop on his forehead.
Afterward, Young Master Xuan began lighting the lamp.
The human lamp shone for a while but with no reaction.
"Whatâs going on?" Young Master Xuan was startled.
The elder frowned.
Mo Hua hesitated for a moment and was unclear, so he introspected with his divine sense, sensing what was happening, and gradually understood.
His divine thought was like a complete union with the Dao, fused and inseparable, like a copper cast, unmovable by the human lamp.
Unable to draw on divine thought, naturally the lamp couldnât be lit.
With the elder and Young Master Xuan watching him, he had no choice but to "loosen up."
He voluntarily released a portion of his divine sense, feeding it to the human lamp for burning.
The human lamp slowly ignited.
"Itâs working..."
Young Master Xuan nodded slightly, breathing a sigh of relief.
But the next instant, he was stunned.
The human lampâs light grew brighter and more brilliant.
A strand of pure golden smoke drifted into the sky.
Then everyone felt as if the entire sky "boomed" with an explosive sound, the winds and clouds shifted, the previously fierce sinister aura surged like a monumental tsunami.