Chapter 222

Chapter 222: The Ancient Seal Character "Nine"

“Stop!” A massive feeling of crisis surged within him. If the Bodhi fruit released its terrifying malevolence, Li Hui had no idea what he would become. With the entanglement of cause and effect, he could not throw this thing away, so he could only maintain the last shred of suppression and call for a halt.

"Bang, bang, bang…" The Bodhi fruit thumped like a heartbeat or a drum, causing an inexplicable panic to rise.

Li Hui’s eyes turned blood-red, filled with murderous intent, and Guang Jin shouted loudly, “Go away, all evils retreat, retreat…"

Fortunately, that shout helped; otherwise, it could have been dangerous. The murderous intent and brutality nearly took control of his mind.

Feeling like he had stood there for ages, Ge Yuntao’s restrictions slowly faded with the passage of time, eventually becoming a thing of the past.

The Time-Flowing Talisman increased the flow of time around his body without harming his lifespan, while the effects of the Seize the Day Talisman, written with the exhausted Eternal Liquid, turned out to be even better.

Using the Time-Flowing Talisman required a fixed position without moving, but the Seize the Day Talisman had no such restriction.

Li Hui moved his limbs and shifted to the side without issue. Surveying the surroundings, he noticed everything was frozen in place; even when in motion, the movement was minuscule.

“Let’s go, leave this place.”

Although he said to leave, he retreated back toward the six people who had blocked his way, slapping them down to search their belongings. The Storage Artifacts and storage treasures were taken and disassembled, revealing some fierce restrictions; just stepping back slightly would leave the light bursting in place, slowly blooming like a flower.

A gentleman seeks revenge only after taking advantage of the brief time available. Li Hui had just wanted to climb up the vessel to find misfortune for Ge Yuntao, but was startled by external tremors—time’s flow was returning to normal, forcing him to turn around and flee with regret.

The surrounding formations couldn’t react in time; his figure had already passed through. In the blink of an eye, he had left six or seven miles behind and casually seized a few formation treasures before bursting them. The thrill of this situation was exhilarating, but such good times didn’t last long; removing this enchantment brought him back to his normal state instantly.

“No, how is this possible?” Ge Yuntao roared, unable to contain his fury.

Li Hui patted his chest, relieved to have escaped. However, his complexion suddenly changed, with his arm swelling as the Golden Bead transformed into a tumor. Fortunately, with a strong leap from his forehead, the Jade Heart of the Earth Court began to suppress the malevolence.

Once the tumor faded and his arm returned to normal, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Without even looking, he knew his face was terribly pale. His heart brimmed with relief at having survived the calamity. However, this escape came at a great cost, depleting the Buddhist power surrounding the Bodhi fruit, leaving it capable of awakening at any moment.

Originally, he expected to suppress it with the Primitive Shell Symbol and the Jade Heart of the Earth Court, combined with the protection of Guang Jin and his Ideal Body’s profound skills. He thought that he wouldn’t have to worry about controlling the Bodhi fruit anymore. Instead, it turned into such a situation, leaving him feeling somewhat depressed.

"With this, every time I advance in rank, the Bodhi fruit will erupt and form calamities. I can’t endure without going into madness; it’s worse than a Demon Cultivator facing their inner demons.” Li Hui put that concern aside for now and looked at the silver snake bracelet. “Next, it’s up to you. My current cultivation isn’t sufficient to sustain a high-speed flow of time. To traverse through the entire formation, I need to be at least a hundred times faster.”

He had many uncertainties regarding the Seize the Day Talisman, but since it belonged to the realm of talismans, the silver snake bracelet should be able to enhance its effects.

“Let’s give it a try; the Spirit Motion marks are equivalent to the talisman patterns of the Seize the Day Talisman. As long as I activate the Spirit Motion marks…" His arms burst forth with golden light patterns as he activated the Spirit Motion marks in an instant. The falling leaves slowed, the gentle breeze halted, and everything seemed to transform into a painted scene.

“It should be less than a hundred times, at most eighty times.” Li Hui had no time to think further, recognizing his direction as he leaped into the formation, using the Ideal Body to sense it. Although it indicated that the formation was still dangerous, it was no longer a situation of certain death. He perceived a hint of a safe route…

“Go!” His feet touched the clear wind, and his body turned into a faint shadow.

Numerous formations operated rapidly, shooting thousands of beams of light, yet they fell short by a hair’s breadth.

As Li Hui narrowly escaped through the formation, he fell before a massive black fortress. Judging by the reactions from the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays, the silver snake bracelet had exhausted its enhancement power, the consumption so great it couldn’t be measured by reason.

“Hmm? How is there such a large black fortress built on the Earth’s axis?” Just then, a voice came from afar, “Little one, if you could escape this, I’m even more interested in you. Li Family cultivators, Fire Family cultivators, and Jade Symbol Sect disciples, listen up! Spare no expense to break the formation!”

“Old fellow! The old who doesn’t die is a thief!” Li Hui charged into the black fortress, disregarding the dangers he already knew awaited him.

Half a stick of incense later, Ge Yuntao panicked and roared, “Damn it! The Hongmo Sect has locked onto the teleportation array and has actually tampered with my Remnant Soul. Liu Yao, lead your men to charge through the formation; the demonic sect’s army could arrive at any moment! I must take decisive action now!”

The old man with six copper coins on his forehead glanced at the copper vessel, nodding without hesitation: “Alright.”

Thunder cracked in the copper vessel where Ge Yuntao was, and every time the teleportation array exceeded control, he forcefully suppressed it by burning the treasure talismans. The Hongmo Sect held great strength, with numerous high-level demon cultivators lurking, how could they let a mere Remnant Soul from the All-Manifestation Realm slip from their grasp? They began to employ astonishing magical energy, summoning figures forth.

“Ah! I’ll fight you all!”

“Boom!” The copper vessel exploded with brilliant light, taking the teleportation array into the nearby formidable formations, Ge Yuntao, clad in black, landed on the ground, looking remarkably youthful—around forty years old.

Liu Yao gasped, thinking to himself, “A Flesh Replacement Talisman? This Grand Elder of the Jade Symbol Sect truly is formidable, pushing the Path of Talismans to the level of mixing fake with real.”

“Quick, break the formation! I’ve already sent the Hongmo army into the formations; at most, we can delay for half an hour.” Ge Yuntao squinted toward the distance, his pupils radiating countless talisman lights, which even reflected the massive black fortress.

Meanwhile, Li Hui, upon entering the black fortress, found himself unable to leap or float, relying solely on his two long legs to walk. He encountered a strange phenomenon: a character “Nine” formed from green light gathered around him.

“What does this mean? The ancient seal character nine—does it mean I am the ninth person to enter this black fortress during this Wan Nest Island emergence?”

“Wait! Upon entering the black fortress, I couldn’t leap, and I had to walk steadily. Looking at the dust on the ground, it must have been sealed for a long time, so no one should have come here before. Am I really the ninth cultivator in history to enter this black fortress? Could it be that there are layers of tests set up to get me in a dire situation?”

He walked through the passage and crossed the hall, the black fortress was bare, without any decorations or carvings.

Li Hui found an entrance, where red rocks formed a spiral staircase leading down, uncertain of where it led. The ancient seal character floating beside him suddenly vibrated, speaking in a peculiar tone, “Qualified as number nine, low luck, low prosperity, low cultivation. Score increased with the Extreme Path Spiritual Boulders acquired, and score increased with the Jade Heart of the Earth Court obtained. Destroying a Purple Fortress formation doubles the score. Calculating final score.”

“What’s going on? Score? What score?”

The ancient seal character “Nine” scattered, casting numerous shadows on the ground, vividly recreating scenes from when he entered the island, gathering into a massive number that rolled like a tide…