Chapter 618

Chapter 618: Red Mist and Dark Energies

As time passed, Li Hui had been in the Heavenly Realm for three months.

During these three months, the team faced the hardships of traveling and clearing paths through thorns, battling black bugs, yet thanks to their substantial resources, they had suffered no losses. They had experienced a pursuit by the Time Claws during this time, which could only be described as a catastrophic loss!

As they drew closer to the East Sea, Li Hui felt increasingly unsettled. He had only twenty percent of his supplies remaining, having exhausted many jade symbols, countless alchemy potions, and Miao Jade along the way, along with Dao Trace Stones and Reincarnation Stones. The city lord’s residence had incurred debts for these reasons!

Half a day ago, the team entered a sea of red mist. While there were some dim lights in certain areas of the Heavenly Realm, those areas were even more dangerous than complete darkness.

The appearance of this red mist was suspicious; if it hadn’t been blocking the main route, Li Hui would rather have the team take extra time to go around than rush in headlong the way they had.

"The map from the three esteemed seniors didn’t indicate this red mist. It seems to have dispersed the Chaotic Mirage and Dark Energies, appearing harmless and quite beneficial to passersby, but the more colorful the mushroom, the more poisonous it seems. I can’t shake this uneasy feeling," Li Hui warned everyone, "Stay alert and focused; we must be cautious to prevent any accidents."

After three months of working together, this team had grown exceptionally strong. Many mid-stage Myriad Forms practitioners had advanced to the late stage, and two mid-Hongfa practitioners had reached the later stage as well. If they persevered a bit longer, they all had the hope of making further progress.

"What is that?" one practitioner stopped in his tracks.

In the surging red mist stood a skeleton, a humanoid skeleton at least fifty zhang tall, exuding an imposing presence. Its skull seemed ablaze with coals, and two green lights swirled in its eye sockets, as if it had just awakened from a long slumber.

"What is this thing?" Li Hui asked, surprised. His spiritual sense had not detected the massive skeleton ahead, but he could see it with his own eyes. It would be hard to believe there was nothing strange about it!

The team reacted quickly, accelerating madly to rush past the towering skeleton’s feet. Whatever this thing was, the sight of that blazing skull warned them it would not be easy to deal with, so they hastily pushed on without delay.

Over the past three months, they had managed to escape numerous dangers thanks to their habit of running at the first sign of trouble and avoiding curiosity about dangerous situations. However, today was different. As the team steadied themselves and looked ahead, they found themselves frozen in terror. Ahead loomed another massive skeleton, its skull radiating fierce flames, and the green light in its eye sockets grew ever stronger. They had unwittingly circled right back around!

"Attack!" Li Hui commanded decisively. They still had a slim advantage; as long as they acted quickly, they could keep the skeleton’s imposing power in check.

Tianyi and Tian Zhu raised their hands to enhance everyone’s fire resistance, and Tianyi couldn’t help but ask, "What is this? Is it the skeleton of a wild giant?"

Li Hui had already activated the observation talisman formation, and tens of thousands of talisman imprints formed two talisman disks that swirled around his eyes. What he saw was terrifying, and he shouted urgently, "Release all the black dragon jade bi, follow my command, I mean all of them!"

With his order, the practitioners quickly summoned true energy to unleash countless dark blue jade discs.

"Boom!" The palm-sized jade discs expanded in the wind, transforming into hundreds of walls that surrounded the team, with hundreds of magnificent black dragons clinging to the walls, ready for battle.

Confused, the practitioners asked, "Master, is using all the black dragon jade bi necessary…?"

Li Hui shouted impatiently, "Quickly, release all defensive jade symbols! Use everything you have to increase your defense!"

Before he finished speaking, a deafening sound erupted, and the walls created by the black dragon jade bi quickly began to collapse.

"Heavens!" All the practitioners were left dumbfounded; that enormous skeletal figure suddenly drew together, resembling a hollow sphere, which now emitted a green flame that seemed to be scanning its surroundings.

"This… this skeleton drawing together looks like a gigantic eyeball."

One practitioner remarked, and Li Hui sighed, "It’s an eyeball! The red mist is a massive Dark Energy; it uses this giant skeleton as its eye. It will be challenging to escape this place; we must suppress that ‘bone eye’ as much as possible."

"Attack!" The practitioners all launched their assaults. However, their attacks were like a cow sinking into the sea; they had no effect on the vast hollow "bone eye."

"What do we do?"

Green flames were rampaging, immense power crushing down on them. All the black dragons in the vicinity took to the air, crashing together amidst a flurry of debris, yet they failed to change the dire situation, causing everyone to panic.

Li Hui flicked his hand, unleashing the Celestial Talisman, transforming into a Golden-winged Dapeng that soared toward the bone eye, radiating immense light. The infinite Buddhist light spread outward, faintly revealing a Buddhist statue suppressing all evils.

At that moment, the black dragon jade bi had all been destroyed. Seizing the opportunity from the sheer force of the Buddhist light, the team of practitioners clung tightly to the carriage as they fled. They had been in the Heavenly Realm for three months but had never encountered this red mist of Dark Energy before, unaware of how much territory it could cover.

"Humming, humming…" The red mist began to contract, forming serpentine blood rivers that surged along inexplicable paths, resembling veins and unsettling everyone.

"Don’t let the Dark Energy affect you." Li Hui unleashed the "Heavenly Collapse Unfazed Talisman." This was a new talisman method he had created over the past three months, combining the characteristics of the Heart Talisman. It could minimize the impact of the Dark Energy on the mind.

"Poof…" More than ten practitioners spat out blood, all protective treasures shattered; their vital essence was forcibly extracted, and when everyone looked back, only a few pieces of broken armor remained.

The Buddhist light was crumbling, and Li Hui raised his hand to release the Five Elements Jade Symbols, quickly linking them into a formation that surged outward. Thunderous sounds echoed as the heavens and earth seemed to tilt.

Such immense power was overwhelming, and before long, it was extinguished. The team had barely fled ten miles when the enormous bone ball ahead began to slowly revolve, sending everyone trembling in fear—how could it have circled back?

"Dash downward, bury yourselves underground!"

This was their only option; moving in the air was faster, but landing on the ground was akin to binding their own hands and feet. The Dark Energies could infiltrate every nook and cranny, and going underground might lead them to their doom.

However, the air was perilous, leaving Li Hui no choice but to issue this order.

With a loud crash, another unfortunate soul among the team fell, their protective spiritual armor collapsing like paper. This marked the first significant loss in three months; if things continued this way, they would likely face total annihilation.

The team quickly plummeted to the ground. Li Hui pressed hard on the carriage, and various wooden planks rapidly unfolded, encircling everyone. The carriage transformed into a ground-burrowing shuttle, silently burrowing into the rock layers as they frantically escaped.

Without this advantage, what would have been the point of bringing the carriage?

Its primary function was to help everyone escape in times of crisis, but there was no time to celebrate—the thin strands of red mist were seeping through the cracks in the carriage.

Li Hui promptly seated himself in meditation, took out his Ink, Brush, Paper, and Inkstone, and began to draw talismans. As his practitioners were filled with trepidation, they saw the delicate red mist swirling toward his brush tip, merging with the ink to form terrifying symbols that sent chills down their spines.