Chapter 619

Chapter 619: Possessed by Ghosts

"This is the Essence of Calamity Power Talisman! Everyone, remember to keep it close to your body." Li Hui said, breathless from drawing the talisman.

The essence of calamity power was formed when late-stage Traveling Realm cultivators failed to ascend during the final trial, and surprisingly, sects in the Nine-Mystic Continent sold it at exorbitant prices, mainly for crafting Rebirth Pills.

Li Hui had exhausted all his efforts to collect some essence of calamity power and was now using it in creating talismans, forcibly merging the red mist into them to confuse the aura for protective use.

"Hurry, leave the war chariot."

Once prepared, Li Hui released a large number of replacement talismans and motioned for his practitioners to exit the chariot.

As soon as they stepped away, they felt suffocated— the red mist was even denser and more intense from the layers below.

Fortunately, the Essence of Calamity Power Talismans in their hands rippled at the crucial moment. The extraordinary symbols danced like headless corpses wielding shields, slightly pushing the red mist aside. They huddled together, forming an isolated zone resembling a barrier.

Li Hui dared to say that if just a hint of red mist touched them, even mid-stage profound law cultivators would go mad. The Heavenly Realm truly wasn’t a place for ordinary cultivators; even late-stage Traveling Realm cultivators faced life and death.

There was no turning back now; they had gone too far.

"Boom…" A distant rumble echoed as Li Hui sensed the chariot had shattered, and all the replacement talismans perished in an instant.

Their hearts raced, having lost count of how many times they had died since entering the Heavenly Realm. That they had survived this long felt miraculous, something they themselves scarcely believed—it was as if they were in a dream.

"Move slowly and watch your surroundings," Li Hui commanded, casting a few Escape Talisman, instantly turning the ground ahead into fine sand, forming a tunnel that led far away.

They cautiously advanced, crossing through the blood-like strands of red mist that twisted back and forth in the deep places. Holding their breath, they passed by the blood strands, escaping the red mist.

Three days later, the red mist began to thin, and they finally felt a sense of relief, but then Tianyi screamed, "Something’s wrong! We clearly lost over twenty people; why…?"

"Dammit! What’s going on?" It dawned on them that the group was intact, with no losses at all; it was enough to scare anyone to death. What in the world was happening?

"Do you remember who died?" They were even more alarmed; their memories felt vague, and no one clearly remembered which members had fallen in the crimson mist.

Li Hui’s expression turned grave as he bellowed, "Stay calm! Since we began using the underground route, we’ve been ensnared, including me drawing over twenty extra Essence of Calamity Power Talismans. We can’t distinguish the real from the fake now! Moreover, we will keep forgetting this matter until eventually everyone is silently devoured."

"What should we do?"

"Use puppet talismans to let me control them. If anyone shows signs of abnormality, we seal them immediately. Perhaps… perhaps we can hold out longer," Li Hui suggested.

These individuals were loyal fighters; even those who joined the team unwillingly would not be able to resist triggering distrust. If they all used the puppet talismans to act in unison, their leader could easily identify any problems.

"Alright, let’s use the talismans!" Several late-stage Hongfa cultivators took the lead to activate their puppet talismans. Soon, everyone’s expressions grew stiff, their gazes blank, like wooden carvings, with only Li Hui remaining alert.

"Follow my orders and head to the surface." Li Hui gestured with a finger, activating the puppet talismans, and the team silently ascended to the surface.

Upon emerging, they discovered many dead trees in the darkness, emanating a faint glow. Don’t be fooled into thinking these dead trees were safe; if they grew densely, they could even devour swarms of black bugs, posing a greater danger than any strange beasts.

To Li Hui’s surprise, as the team moved swiftly, some massive dead trees trembled. This had never happened before; could these long-standing dead trees actually sense abnormalities among them?

Not only did the dead trees fear the team, but even the extremely vicious black bugs fled at the sight.

"Hey, this is really strange. No matter how I use Bai Ze’s divine eye or the observation talisman formation, I can’t seem to tell the difference. How are these dead trees and black bugs recognizing threats?" Li Hui suddenly reached out, pulling a black bug from the dirt, intending to test what it was afraid of. However, as soon as he brought the bug closer, it exploded with a bang, spraying black liquid everywhere.

All the black bugs scurried away in terror, even the dead trees retreated underground, while some previously unnoticed gray stones emitted shrill cries and flew off in an instant.

"Goodness! What in the world is following us?" Li Hui found the situation very troubling; from his experience over the past three months traveling through countless regions, only exceptionally fierce creatures could scare off the dead trees and black bugs.

Once on the move, wherever they went, all the ghostly beings scattered like startled birds, not daring to linger even for a moment.

If he forced a black bug or a dead tree to stay, it would explode before getting close—everyone in the team had experienced this, and there were no exceptions.

The only silver lining was that even if Li Hui cast the Sheng Dou talisman, which contained sunlight to illuminate the land, those Dark Energies wouldn’t rush over in swarms; instead, they would keep their distance.

With this in mind, Li Hui closely monitored for any abnormalities within his team while hastily making his way toward the East Sea.

Five days later, the team traversed the distance that had taken them three months to cover previously and even intentionally passed through several dangerous areas marked by Xu Ri Shangren, only to emerge unscathed.

This situation didn’t bring Li Hui any joy; instead, it filled him with growing unease, as he sensed a terrifying presence approaching him.

What troubled him even more was that no matter how he exposed his Legal form on the way, the Time Claws from Wan Nest Island remained indifferent.

Li Hui clenched his fists and cursed, "Dammit! This situation indicates there is something just as powerful as the Time Claws, or perhaps even more formidable, trailing us like a ghost. Could it be that we are about to encounter a Departed Immortal? Xu Ri Shangren only speculated about why the Heavenly Realm had turned out this way, but the specific reasons are known only to the heavens."

At this moment, Li Hui longed for the Six Paths of Reincarnation; with Tian Xin among them, perhaps his calculations could uncover the root cause, which would be far better than stubbornly enduring in the dark.

"Faster, quicker, we must find the Crystal Palace quickly."

On the seventh day, the team arrived at the shores of the East Sea.

According to the markings on the map, this was indeed the East Sea shore, but ahead there was little more than flat terrain, hardly any mountains or hills, and not a single muddy pit, let alone the sea.

Li Hui quickly checked his bearings and hurriedly plunged into the vast area of the East Sea; given their current speed, they hoped to arrive in three days.

The first day went smoothly, but on the second day, the sound of thunder suddenly approached, and thousands of bone arrows, thick as arms, soared through the air. Li Hui quickly arranged the formations and deployed jade symbols for strong defense.

The roaring din filled his ears, and it felt as if the sky was moving. Soon, layers of deep purple light enveloped them like a large net, wrapping the team in multiple layers, as they carefully ensured not to let a single trace of aura leak out.