Chapter 1035: Obsessive Terror

"Who is this?!"

Chen Daotian's gaze turned slightly cold as he stared directly, "The body is decayed, but judging by the skeleton and bone age, it's a human cultivator from our era, not an ancient alien powerhouse."

"Not even at the Great Ascension stage... unable to protect the body after death."

Chen Yanshu's eyes flickered with a glimmer, knowing that the dead speak the truest words, "This stone seems to be a treasure of one of the ten sects of the Eastern Wilderness Heavenly Dao."

"Five Ghosts Extinguishing Heavenly Dao." Two black-clothed individuals spoke in unison, their brows slightly furrowed.

They had been secretly lurking in the Eastern Wilderness for thousands of years, with the Nine Heavens Immortal Alliance and Star Pivot as their backing, continuously receiving information about the major forces of the Eastern Wilderness from the Wild Heaven Region.

It could be said that their vision and knowledge were now far beyond what they once were.

Even Chen Xun had started to enjoy reading ancient texts beyond cultivation techniques, no longer the little cultivator who knew nothing and was curious about everything.

This massive stone exuded an extremely dense yin energy... its surface was smooth and hard, resembling a natural black jade, emitting a profound dark glow, covered with intricate cracks, as if it were an ancient and mysterious object.

Chen Daotian looked up and said in a deep voice, "The Arm Ghost Stone, a third-grade spiritual object, can preserve the body of a Unity cultivator from decay, and after nurturing for tens of thousands of years, it might even become a Ghost Fiend, advancing further in cultivation."

Having a Ghost Fiend at the Great Ascension stage would allow one to walk unchallenged in any heavenly domain, except for the special heavenly domains of each grand world.

But clearly, this skeleton was left unattended, and no one knew how this person managed to enter here with just Unity stage cultivation, which seemed quite absurd.

Chen Yanshu's eyes narrowed slightly, suddenly saying, "The edge of this Arm Ghost Stone is sharp as a blade, stable and solid, with interwoven cracks that seem alive. It's a legendary offering from an immortal tomb, a second-grade spiritual object."

"Once, when I followed the old master, an immortal tomb was unearthed around the Xuanji Sacred Land, and there were rumors of this object being unearthed, but it disappeared without a trace."

Chen Yanshu's eyes carried a contemplative look, "This human cultivator seems to have entered that immortal tomb and brought out this object, quite bold."

"So that's how it is." Chen Daotian's eyes lit up with realization, "Then it seems this object is somewhat redundant. Let's take the precious herbs first; I've observed that there is no storage ring around this skeleton."

"Alright, you go get the Zhongnan Zhi." Chen Yanshu nodded, "I'll go investigate the Image Stone on this skeleton; this person might have some connection to the Five Ghosts Extinguishing Heavenly Dao."

"Okay."

Before the words were finished, the surrounding thunderstorm environment surged violently, but it still couldn't hinder their steps in the slightest. The power of the laws of heaven and earth surging around these black-clothed individuals was simply too strong.

A stick of incense later.

Chen Daotian led his people toward the center of the thunderstorm, disappearing into the vast ghostly miasma.

Meanwhile, Chen Yanshu went straight to the mysterious stone platform. His eyes narrowed slightly, having already investigated this stone and the skeleton hundreds of times from afar, finding no issues.

This person was thoroughly dead, with no chance of coming back to life.

However, if viewed from an outsider's perspective, when faced with a potential resurrection and the Chen family lineage, naturally, it would be better to face the resurrection...

"Unity stage, yet died here."

Chen Yanshu's lips curled into a meaningful smile, speaking softly, "Little friend, forgive me, but since I've taken this object, I will ensure you rest in peace."

With that, he raised his hand, reaching for the Image Stone tightly held by the skeleton.

This Image Stone... Earth rank, not even a Dao Comprehension Stone, was extremely ordinary, yet it hadn't decayed here, clearly protected by this person with their life, more important than their own life!

Chen Yanshu's eyes were now filled with intense interest; there might be some great secret within, the secret of how a Unity stage cultivator traversed this place.

If they could grasp this secret, it would likely make their future endeavors here much easier, allowing them to accumulate more foundation for the Five Aggregates Sect and avoid a scolding from the old master.

Crack...

But the skeleton seemed to grip too tightly, and Chen Yanshu couldn't pull it out. If he used brute force, it might destroy the skeleton.

He furrowed his brows, gently tapping with his fingers, and the skeleton's five fingers finally slowly loosened. For some reason, at that moment, Chen Yanshu felt a strong sense of unwillingness...

Those hollow eyes seemed to gaze into the distance, and the posture of the entire skeleton carried a sense of defeat, a sense of helplessness.

Chen Yanshu's brows furrowed deeper, as he slowly took the Image Stone, and after his mana dissipated, the skeleton's five fingers began to slowly tighten again...?!

This scene sent a shiver through Chen Yanshu's heart, what kind of obsession was this?!

His gaze gradually deepened as he activated the Earth-rank Image Stone, and a light screen slowly unfolded...

Buzz!

Chen Yanshu's aura suddenly exploded at this moment, his pupils contracting sharply, as if he had seen some earth-shattering secret, even causing a drop of cold sweat to slowly form on his forehead.

...Aunt Crane Spirit.

This person's name in life was Feng Jinyu.

The images stored within seemed to narrate the latter half of Feng Jinyu's cultivation journey. He traveled on a spatial ship, crossing the Southern Yu Continent to reach the Cloud Immortal Splendor.

At this time, he was impoverished, silently surviving by slaying fierce beasts and spirit beasts on the road. A Rosefinch inner core repeatedly saved him from death, allowing him to accumulate some wealth in the roadside markets.

Every night, he stayed in a cave in the wilderness, under the dim light, using those gray eyes to quietly study the map, planning the route to the Heavenly Melody Immortal Kingdom.

How to be safer, how to save spirit stones, he was a disciple of the Dao Academy, with courage and character far beyond ordinary cultivators, and his strength was much greater than ordinary scattered cultivators.

His heart trembled slightly, realizing that the world of cultivating immortality outside wasn't filled with Dao Academy prodigies, and he... seemed never to be weak.

Once he confirmed the route, he set off.

The scene shifted slightly, and after an unknown number of years, he had entered the battlefield beyond the boundary. Although his cultivation was at the Void Refinement phase, he was by no means the lowest existence, with a significant chance of survival.

He deeply recorded this scene, eldest brother, Crane Spirit... Jinyu has arrived.

This scene made Chen Yanshu's brow twitch slightly, even somewhat overturning his worldview. To dare to enter the battlefield beyond the boundary at the Void Refinement realm... the old master had said that without reaching the Heavenly Immortal realm, it was a death sentence.

Even Aunt Crane Spirit's expedition beyond the boundary was accompanied by the Ominous Ancestor!

He didn't understand the resolute Dao heart of these cultivators, why they always pursued uncertain endeavors, always sought life-and-death situations.

Feng Jinyu remained on the battlefield beyond the boundary for countless years, but his cultivation also grew rapidly, reaching the late Void Refinement stage in the blink of an eye, his body exuding a bloodthirsty aura.

Especially those strange gray eyes, which seemed to contain divine abilities in the eyes of others.

But a small cultivator could never control their own fate, nor foresee fortune or disaster, nor turn misfortune into blessing.

One day, Feng Jinyu was blasted away by the aftermath of a great battle, his Three Souls and Seven Spirits nearly shaken out of his body. He lay in a sea of corpses, covered in wounds, his eyes filled with deep resentment...