Chapter 704

Chapter 704: Following the Crowd

The earth’s core was vast and boundless, serving as the central hub of the Dharma Demon world!

Li Hui sat on a piece of green stone, practicing his cultivation, but suddenly felt his strength drop. His vitality waned, leaving him comparable to an ordinary practitioner at the Bosa stage.

“Junior Brother!”

A barefoot farmer appeared on the green stone, his shoulders carrying a hoe. His dark face broke into a kind smile as he looked at Li Hui’s back, radiating warmth.

“Senior Brother, you finally took this step.”

“Junior Brother, you are so persistent. Even if I turn into a ghost, I’m still a good ghost! I consider it a stroke of luck as Gao Yuhu to accompany you into the earth’s core. The Jade Heart of the Earth Court is formed from ancient righteous energy, surely it can cleanse away my ghostly malice.”

Li Hui kept his eyes closed and said, “Senior Brother can follow the divine path, transforming from a ghost to a god, and live on through the ages.”

Gao Yuhu shook his head. “No, being a ghost is more carefree than being a god. I heard from Prime Minister Turtle that you are establishing the Dao Fruit in the earth’s core, so I’ll guard this place for you!”

“Senior Brother is also quite persistent; in the end, we are both stubborn people!”

“Hahaha, how can one cultivate the Dao without persistence? How can one practice talismans without it?” Gao Yuhu laughed heartily while carrying his hoe. “I have grand ambitions myself! While you protect the heavens, I shall till the earth. I plan to cultivate this earth’s core as if it were our own land. What do you think of this wish, Junior Brother?”

“Hahaha…” The two shared a hearty laugh, a ghost and a man, in perfect understanding.

Li Hui resumed his cultivation, and the wooden turtle ring on his finger slowly dissipated, transforming into a large black wooden turtle that hung in the air and began to slowly turn, saying, “This is a significant matter; I also intend to remain in the earth’s core to help you watch over the treasure cabinet while cleansing my ghostly aura, aiming to align myself more closely with Orthodox cultivators.”

“Are you planning to restore your true form, Senior?” Li Hui kept his eyes closed.

Prime Minister Turtle sighed deeply. “I do have such thoughts! Seeing the calamity of immortals taking form fills me with trepidation. Not out of fear of extinction, but out of fear that the world’s immortals cause this ancient calamity of immortals to linger on! Am I hiding incorrectly? Should I have perished in body and spirit?”

Li Hui remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s not that I look down on you, Senior, but you think too highly of yourself. The reason the ancient calamity of immortals persists to this day is certainly not because of you.”

Prime Minister Turtle laughed in anger. “You little brat, your encouragement is truly unique! You’ve completely dispelled the few thoughts I had left about martyrdom.”

“Haha, Junior Brother is just speaking the truth,” Li Hui grinned.

“Forget it, I won’t waste my breath on you. From today, I shall stay hidden in the earth’s core to accompany Gao Yuhu while plowing the land and help you organize the treasure cabinet, reinforcing the Dao principles.” The giant wooden turtle faded from view.

“Thank you, Senior Brother and Ancestor for your protection!” Li Hui expressed his gratitude.

Such a monumental arrangement needed to have contingencies to ensure that the plan was smoothly executed. Gao Yuhu and Prime Minister Turtle would serve as guards to prevent any unexpected events. Initially, they would remain discreet, but when the time truly came to act, the commotion could be immense, and thus one should not let their guard down.

After that, the green rock fell silent. Li Hui seemed to have extinguished his presence; he was there, yet his energy was gone!

It wasn’t until three days later that he suddenly drew his breath towards his chest.

“Bang…” A talisman imprint formed on his chest, instantly extending outward and weaving into a web in the air. Upon closer inspection, it was apparent that this web consisted of dense runes, slowly landing on the green stone, with at its center a palm-sized golden talisman that flickered between reality and illusion.

In an instant, the fine runes spread out from the green stone, and at this accelerating pace, the entire earth’s core would be covered in just over a month.

Li Hui stood up, looking at the golden talisman with satisfaction and nodding. He then clasped his fists in reverence toward the void, and in the next moment, his figure vanished.

Once he left, Gao Yuhu’s voice echoed in the area: “Senior, how is Junior Brother progressing? I sense no aura of the path of talismans at all.”

“I don’t know either! No one has ever managed to have the Dao Fruit shatter and then reform like he does. As for whether he succeeded, no one in the world can know.”

“Oh? It seems Junior Brother’s exceptional depth in cultivation is becoming more unfathomable, and he’s moving further away!” Gao Yuhu sighed, waiting for the talisman methods to spread in the earth’s core so he could start his own groundbreaking endeavors…

Meanwhile, Li Hui returned to the group, behaving honestly as he joined his companions. When asked about his harvest, he simply smiled and said nothing more.

Everyone was in high spirits; this time, entering the earth’s core, everyone made gains.

A practitioner praised, “When many gather, the flames burn high! With so many high-level practitioners acting together, we can traverse the earth’s core freely!”

The oldest Traveling Realm practitioner stepped forward to remind everyone, “Be extremely cautious on the way back. The Yin Moon Dynasty and the Demonic Essence World have spies; our group is not secure. Although Elder Zhuge Yi stands guard outside, if Ancestor Yan Jiao’s subordinates could slip through the ground to reach us, other experts could as well. Don’t let the spoils blind your judgment, understood?”

“Understood!” Everyone quickly replied. The people present were shrewd, unwilling to gamble with their lives. Li Hui followed the crowd, clasped his fists in agreement, and set off on the journey home.

The return journey went smoothly for the first five hours, but once they reached the underground plain where the Xu Crocodile lair lay, a thunderous crash echoed as the sky fell and the earth collapsed.

Something was really wrong; ghostly shadows appeared from all directions, ghost flags waved, and the Yin Moon Dynasty had buried heavy troops here.

“Engage!”

“How dare mere ghosts block our path? Exterminate them!”

The practitioners unleashed various Dao arts, their five elemental powers endlessly flowing, along with one-time use offensive treasures, making the ghostly creatures screech and vanish into dust, leaving not even a trace of a Remnant Soul behind!

Li Hui had no intention of participating; he tucked his hands into the broad sleeves of his robe. With any ghosts approaching, Yuan Ciheng and Luo Meini would handle them.

Thus, the large group advanced over thirty miles, but to everyone’s shock, the ghostly forces not only did not diminish; they were multiplying as they fought.

“Why are there so many? The enemy is exhausting our strength.”

Even though everyone recognized that these front-line troops were cannon fodder, they had no choice but to engage in slaughter, for once buried by the Ghost Army, escaping would be challenging.

After fighting for nearly half an hour, casualties appeared within the team. Many Traveling Realm practitioners intervened, their massive hands striking down from the sky. After a series of explosive sounds, the Ghost Army faced complete destruction.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, tens of thousands of giant ghosts with blue faces and sharp teeth emerged, dragging wolf-toothed clubs as they slowly approached.

“It’s the ghost king! Damn it, what is the Yin Moon Dynasty planning? They are sending so many ghost kings to annihilate us!” Many practitioners exposed fearful expressions upon seeing the giant ghosts suddenly speed up, crashing towards them with thunderous steps.

In less than half a stick of incense, these blue-faced giant ghosts scattered the practitioners’ formation, but they also paid a heavy price, nearly the entire army being obliterated.

“Quick, gather together to resist their charge!” a Traveling Realm practitioner shouted.

Many practitioners were puzzled, wondering why everyone was in such a hurry after they had joined forces to eliminate the giant ghosts. Little did they know, the ground erupted, and thousands of half-acre-sized Bony Hands emerged.

These hands had six fingers, and the surviving bony arms behind them were bound with chains, resembling tails. Recognizing their terror, some turned and fled…