Chapter 444

Chapter 444: The Altar Reawakens the Strange Beasts

A golden light dived deep into the ground, sinking thirty thousand zhang.

This golden light was a golden shell, illuminating the surroundings, causing nearby spirits to retreat quickly, not daring to come closer at all.

The Celestial Dog teeth pierced through the earth, creating a hole as thick as an arm, and Li Hui rode the golden shell straight down, directly entering the ancient ruins.

Releasing his spiritual sense, he quickly understood his surroundings.

This was the third layer of the ruins, piled high with the remains of fierce beasts. Many useful parts had already been carved away by someone.

“Did someone survive?” Li Hui walked deeper into the ruins and found the fourth layer to be wider than the third, also filled with corpses, emitting a foul energy and not a sound to be heard.

Continuing downward to the fifth layer, then the sixth, he finally paused at the seventh layer.

Tombstones! A lot of tombstones!

The inscriptions recorded various sect practitioners, including disciples from the Haotu Sect. In the distance, through the mist, stood a broken nest, with signs of a brutal battle visible all around.

Entering the eighth and ninth layers, the spaces grew larger and larger, already thoroughly looted. Li Hui surveyed the area before quickly moving forward, stopping again at the fifteenth layer underground.

This place was astonishing; chains as thick as several zhang filled the air, binding a colossal ancient bronze fierce beast, which, even in death for many years, still emitted a terrifying ferocity.

As he approached, the Arhat fruit immediately reacted, wanting to absorb the ferocity to regain its fury.

“This must be an ancient fierce beast, Tao Wu! No wonder so many fierce beasts thrive here.”

Li Hui pondered for a moment, then took out Miao Jade to build an altar, which was much larger than the previously sacrificed altar for treasures and magical items. He emptied the Qian Kun Moving talismans drawn by Ge Yuntao, placing the Great Earthly Xuan Dragon of Reverse Five Elements talisman on the altar’s top. He thought, “The silver snake bracelet can not only devour magical items but also the vitality of dragon veins and the remnants of Di Jiang. Let’s see if it finds interest in this Tao Wu’s corpse.”

“Speed up!”

With preparations complete, Li Hui activated the altar.

The light soared upward with a whoosh, followed by a thunderous explosion. A massive shadow appeared above the altar, as a silver snake head suddenly emerged, pulling out a piece of ancient bronze light from the silent Tao Wu corpse.

“Ha! It works; the silver snake bracelet is indeed interested in these ancient existences.”

“Roar…” The ancient bronze shadow roared in great terror.

Thinking of escaping after entering the snake’s mouth? Impossible.

The silver snake displayed its might, swallowing its prey. After devouring one piece of ancient bronze light, it pulled out another piece from the depths of the corpse.

Once the bronze figure vanished, the silver snake bracelet forcefully inhaled, causing chains binding the Tao Wu to emit silver lights that surged into its mouth.

Sometimes, Li Hui felt that this silver snake was the greatest fierce beast in the world; spirit treasures and supreme treasures turned to ash beneath its jaws, let alone magical items. Previously, there were wild guesses that this creature could devour the power of creation. Could this Tao Wu corpse also possess such power?

With his cultivation still rising, he had not yet reached that level of understanding, but he believed that one day he would uncover the secrets of the silver snake bracelet.

The decree floated above the altar, spinning, with layers of talisman power being infused, revealing a dazzling array of black patterns. Soon, the black patterns spread into vast silver light, drawing in faint flickering shadows from all directions, accumulating ever more.

Before entering the ruins, Li Hui refined the decree, brushing away the excess parts, diligently outlining the nine-colored deer’s antlers, eyes, face, skin, belly, legs, hooves, and tail, merging them into a stunning nine-colored deer. However, while it was described in texts, no one had truly seen this peculiar divine beast. When the talisman brush attempted to create something from nothing, it surprisingly lacked enough talisman power!

Although the decree was complete, it fell short of the final and critical step: activating the nine-colored deer to make it emerge from the talisman.

Li Hui calculated that this decree belonged to the level of jade symbols. Due to its extraordinary length, filling it with talisman power to create something from nothing presented unimaginable obstacles. Perhaps he could break through the threshold.

“Woo woo woo…” A whirlwind sprang up, as the silver snake’s mouth opened and closed, turning the chains binding the Tao Wu into ash, causing the talisman power to surge upwards.

The decree unfolded, with the deer’s antlers, eyes, face, skin, belly, legs, and hooves becoming prominant, breaking the constraints of ink to become incredibly real.

Then, the legs, hooves, and tail shimmered, creating beautiful waves that gently spread outward from the talisman’s surface in a hazy display.

Li Hui looked up, letting out a small sigh, “Still not happening? The past of the nine-colored deer is too mysterious; creating something from nothing is beyond my reach.”

At that moment, the dead body of the Tao Wu cracked with a loud noise, and nine black, venomous eels emerged from its chest, each a hundred zhang long. The silver snake, invigorated, twisted to pounce on them.

“What’s happening?” Li Hui focused and saw that the silver snake bracelet was not attacking the eels but was rushing toward the chest of the Tao Wu, pulling out a strangely designed Nine-Dragon Fire Cover.

The silver snake became like a drunkard meeting fine wine, eyes shining as it embraced the wine jars, causing the eels to churn angrily around it, swinging their tails but unable to hit anything.

Of course, they couldn’t hit anything! The silver snake bracelet descended like a deity, its source linked to the altar.

Fortunately, the nine eels didn’t understand to attack the altar; otherwise, Li Hui would be in trouble. They had been refining under the fierce flames for years, losing their bindings and wildly threatening. Regardless of their once-great nature, they were far from good now and needed to be eliminated quickly.

One by one, the nine venomous eels perished; as the talisman power surged, brilliant silver light infused into the decree, making the legs and hooves of the deer become clearer.

In truth, the decree’s immense talisman power requirement wasn’t the fault of the talisman itself. As Li Hui illustrated the legs and hooves, he added many personal embellishments, aiming to endow the nine-colored deer with unbelievable speed, making this step quite challenging. However, once he succeeded, everything would change.

The decree radiated with nine colors, reversing the Five Elements. Borrowing talisman power, it continuously increased its might. Upon reaching an extraordinary peak, all the colors and lights suddenly contracted.

The grand divine deer stepped down from the sky, elegant, unusual, and proud!

Li Hui nodded with joy, not pausing to admire his masterpiece; while the silver snake was still generating immense talisman power, he quickly sat down to draft the Arhat Seven Kill Talisman to eliminate the fierce energy in the area. Unexpectedly, the talisman paper ignited with a whoosh and failed.

“Not good! The fierce flames are so intense that even the talismans cannot endure them!”

His mind raced, and he quickly devised a plan, finally smacking his forehead, deciding, “For now, the only option is to draft a decree, using the corpse of this fierce beast, the Tao Wu, as the source to merge it into the decree.”

Fortunately, he had just emptied the Blood Talisman Sect, selecting the rarest materials, refining the black blood of the Tao Wu, extracting its essence to slowly send into the inkstone for grinding, then combining it with dozens of rare treasures to produce talisman ink.

Ge Yuntao had kept several blank decrees, left by the ancestors of the Jade Symbol Sect.

Li Hui chose the best one, the longest blank decree, and carefully began to outline it, as he had a model before him, making it smooth to brush down.

With the final stroke complete, he infused it with overwhelming talisman power.

This decree, like a great whale sucking water, devoured the enormous corpse of the Tao Wu, and after a terrible tremor, it left not a trace behind…