Chapter 747 - 732: The Thousand Soul Hall’s Ghost Venerable, Ye Youming

Sikong Yanbin seemed not to have remembered everything. Hearing Shen Lang’s words, he immediately fell into deep thought.

After a moment, Sikong Yanbin let out three great laughs. "To enter Reincarnation and be reborn... this is my good fortune. The heavens have already shown me great favor by not letting my Soul Scatter. How could I dare hope for anything more? Child, can you tell me your name?"

"I am Shen Lang," he replied. "This time, when the Yumu Cave Blessed Land opened, a few seniors from the Li Hen Sect also entered. However, Shark’s Kiss is in the first city region of the Yumu Cave Blessed Land and did not come to the Dragon Scale Divine Hall."

"I can arrange for you to meet them later. Once we leave the Yumu Cave Blessed Land, I will help you enter Reincarnation. How does that sound?"

"Good, good, good!" Sikong Yanbin exclaimed. "I never thought that I, Sikong Yanbin, would see the light of day again! HAHAHAHA! The heavens have treated me well!"

Shen Lang took out a Round Alms Bowl and gave Sikong Yanbin a slight nod.

Sikong Yanbin gave Shen Lang a deep look, then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the Round Alms Bowl.

With a soft sigh, Shen Lang signaled to Duanmu Xie with his eyes.

Black qi surged violently from both of Duanmu Xie’s hands as he walked toward the trident.

"My lord, you absolutely must not move that thing! The moment it’s loosened, it will bring a fatal disaster, a doom from which there is no recovery..."

The barely conscious Evil Ghost King was aghast at the sight and immediately tried to stop Duanmu Xie.

Shen Lang didn’t even spare him a glance, retorting coldly, "Shut your trap. Do I need you to tell me whether it’s dangerous?"

The Evil Ghost King had no choice but to shut his mouth, but he glanced around in terror, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

His Soul Blood was in Shen Lang’s grasp, yet he was still thinking of escape. This just went to show how terrifying the sealed entity truly was!

Duanmu Xie strode up to the trident. Billowing Corpse Qi surged from his body and converged in his palms before he seized the trident in a firm grip!

CRACKLE!

The moment Duanmu Xie’s hands gripped the trident, lightning suddenly crackled across the once-unremarkable weapon!

An incomparably powerful force instantly blasted away more than half of the Corpse Qi on Duanmu Xie’s palms!

Duanmu Xie let out a muffled grunt but refused to let go. Instead, he furiously channeled his power and tried to yank the trident upward!

Above the Hungry Ghost Dao, the winds howled and clouds churned as if signaling the apocalypse!

And yet...

The trident didn’t budge in the slightest!

Duanmu Xie, who had reached the Emperor Martial Realm Late Stage ten thousand years ago, used all his strength yet failed to move the trident even a fraction of an inch!

Even Duanmu Xie himself was stunned for a moment.

The next moment!

An incomparably powerful force erupted from the trident, surging toward Duanmu Xie like a monstrous wave in a raging sea!

Sensing the danger just as the force was about to erupt, Duanmu Xie instantly released his hands, crossed them over his chest, and conjured a black, mirror-like barrier.

At the same time, his feet left the ground as he shot backward at a speed nearly impossible to track with the naked eye!

HUMMM!

The Powerful Qi that erupted from the Heaven-Slaying Trident shot out like a beam of light, instantly slamming into the barrier before Duanmu Xie!

A heaven-shaking sound echoed through the Hungry Ghost Dao. Duanmu Xie let out a muffled grunt as he was sent flying backward even faster!

His legs carved a deep, hundred-zhang-long trench in the ground and smashed through more than a dozen rockeries before he finally came to a stop!

Seeing Duanmu Xie still bent over, his arms crossed before his chest, Shen Lang said with some amusement, "There’s no shame in not being able to pull it out. Who are you holding that pose for?"

Duanmu Xie grimaced. "I’m not posing, my lord... The rebound force from the Heaven-Slaying Trident was too strong. It blasted into my body, and now I’m completely paralyzed. I can’t move... The harder you pull on this damned thing, the stronger the rebound force. I’m afraid even a Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm powerhouse might not be able to pull it out."

"I know. That’s why I had you give it a try, to confirm," Shen Lang said as he walked over to the trident.

Upon reaching the Heaven-Slaying Trident, Shen Lang crouched down and began to examine the Array beneath it.

In the distance, Duanmu Xie winced and grimaced for a moment before finally managing to stand up straight.

Just as he was about to walk over, Duanmu Xie froze. "My lord, some people are heading this way."

Duanmu Xie was referring to the other experts who had entered the Hungry Ghost Dao.

The Restriction on the Hungry Ghost Dao was incredibly bizarre. Much like the Teleportation Gate of the Yumu Cave Blessed Land, it sent everyone to a random location upon entry.

Clearly, the massive commotion Duanmu Xie had caused earlier had attracted their attention.

Without looking up, Shen Lang waved his hand.

Duanmu Xie and the Evil Ghost King instantly concealed themselves, vanishing without a trace.

Shen Lang lightly traced his finger across the ground. With his Silver Eyes of Truth, he could see the Array beneath the trident clearly.

The Array was immense. Centered on the trident, it had a diameter of a full five or six li!

Within the Hungry Ghost Dao, there was an identical trident in each of the four cardinal directions, each supporting its own Array.

And the area covered by these four tridents encompassed almost the entirety of the Hungry Ghost Dao!

An incredibly complex and powerful Sealing Array had been laid out across the entire ground of the Hungry Ghost Dao. The four tridents were linked together, activating this potent Sealing Array in an interlocking design. The method was simply astounding!

’I investigated earlier with my Silver Eyes of Truth. The Hungry Ghost Dao stretches for over three hundred li. It’s one thing to set up such a complex and powerful Sealing Array in an area this large, but to actually use one of the Ten Great Celestial Artifacts, the Heaven-Slaying Trident, as an Array Banner... What an extravagant move!’

’So what kind of existence is being suppressed down here?’

Shen Lang muttered thoughtfully to himself.

Suddenly...

An overwhelmingly powerful voice echoed in Shen Lang’s mind: "They sealed me—Ghost Venerable Ye Youming of the Thousand Soul Hall!"

The voice was quiet, yet it boomed like thunder in Shen Lang’s mind, nearly shattering his composure.

Shen Lang replied in his mind, ’Ye Youming? One of the three great Ghost Venerables? Lord Ghost Venerable, you vanished ten thousand years ago. Turns out you just ran off to the Yumu Cave Blessed Land to get yourself sealed? How did you end up in such a miserable state?’

"..." Ghost Venerable Ye Youming clearly hadn’t expected that the kid before him would be completely unafraid, even daring to mock him. For a moment, he was at a loss for words!

After a long moment, Ye Youming finally snorted. ’Where did a brat like you come from, daring to look down on me! Back when I reigned supreme, your ancestors hadn’t even... ’

Shen Lang cut him off. ’Lord Ghost Venerable, you’ve been sealed for so long. Don’t you want to get out? Are you really that interested in bickering with me?’

Ye Youming’s voice stopped abruptly.

In his countless years of existence, Ye Youming never imagined he would be cornered like this by someone.

He hadn’t managed to utter a single word of the grand speech he had prepared!

"Of course I want to get out. That is why I have been waiting for you for many years," Ye Youming said in a sullen, booming voice.

Shen Lang laughed. ’Waiting for me? No one who enters this Hungry Ghost Dao can escape your notice, Lord Ghost Venerable... Why didn’t you go for the three Emperor Martial Realm Late Stage powerhouses who were fighting over there, and come to me instead? With my meager Cultivation, how could I possibly break this Seal?’

"Those juniors don’t have the ability, but I know you do... You only looked at it for a moment, yet you’ve already grasped most of the intricacies of this Array... Don’t bother denying it. I’ve been watching you! You may be able to fool others, but how could you possibly fool me?" Ye Youming let out a strange, cackling laugh.

’Since you know I have a way to help you break free, Lord Ghost Venerable, then let’s make a deal,’ Shen Lang proposed in his mind. ’I’ll help you undo the Seal. My condition is this Heaven-Slaying Trident. What do you think?’

Ye Youming was silent for a moment before chuckling. "That’s impossible. The Ten Great Celestial Artifacts are no small matter. I’ve been trapped here for ten thousand years; this Heaven-Slaying Trident is the compensation the Yumu Cave Blessed Land owes me. How could I hand it over to you? Besides, even if I were willing, you wouldn’t be able to control this Divine Weapon. Forget about it!"

"So... there’s nothing to discuss, then? All right, you can keep it for yourself." Shen Lang stood up nonchalantly.

Ye Youming was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Hey! Young friend, don’t be in such a rush to leave! Help me break this Seal, and I guarantee your Cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds. You’ll be able to walk sideways across the Star Continent!"

"Name another condition! For example, my Inference Soul Technique, which I never teach to outsiders? And the reputation of the three great Ghost Venerables is well-earned. If you rescue me, the entire Thousand Soul Hall will owe you a favor. Think about it!"

"Walk sideways... only crabs do that. I’m not interested." Shen Lang smiled faintly.

The smile lasted only a moment. The next instant, Shen Lang’s brow furrowed as he dodged to the left!

CLANG! CLANG!

Two beams of Sword Qi swept through the spot where Shen Lang had just been standing, striking the trident with a crisp, metallic ring.

The trident was like a stabilizing force; though it was neither tall nor large, it remained utterly unmoved after taking two such powerful sword strikes!

"Treasures belong to the strong... If you want to claim this for yourself, you’d better weigh your own abilities... You wouldn’t want to obtain a treasure only to find you don’t have the life left to use it!"

A voice filled with killing intent and menace spoke up from behind Shen Lang.

Shen Lang turned to see six people emerge from behind a distant rockery, all walking toward him with hostile expressions.

Among them, surprisingly, was Blood Gun Mu Feng of the White Bone Hall, a man he had fought before.

Mu Feng trailed behind the group, saying nothing, but the killing intent in his eyes was completely undisguised!

Shen Lang chuckled. "The treasure you’re referring to... is it this?"

As he spoke, he gestured toward the Heaven-Slaying Trident.

"Of course!" said the white-robed man who had spoken earlier, sauntering forward with his Longsword in hand.

"The power radiating from this object is vast and unfathomable. It took two of my Sword Qi without moving an inch, so it’s clearly not some ordinary Imperial Artifact... I don’t care what sect you’re from. If you know what’s good for you, get lost right now, or I’ll make you wish you were dead!"

Shen Lang glanced at the man’s Longsword. A brilliant Spirit Light shimmered on its blade, which had clearly been gathering power for some time.