Beneath the moonlight, a skeleton danced atop a burial mound, its tattered red skirt fluttering around its decaying form.
If a living person were to perform this dance, it would be a sight to behold. But executed by a skeleton, it was utterly spine-chilling, enough to scare anyone to death!
Ji Yuan felt the same. He hadn't expected to encounter such a malevolent spirit immediately upon entering the hillside. Besides the unsettling eeriness before him, a chilling dread began to spread through his heart.
At that moment, the young Daoist dared not even breathe. After a brief moment of stunned silence, he quietly began to shift his steps, intending to retreat from the area unnoticed without alarming the dancing skeleton.
However, as soon as his footsteps moved, the gracefully dancing skeleton instantly ceased its motion. Its grayish-white skull rotated with a creaking sound, and its empty eye sockets turned towards his position.
Under that gaze, Ji Yuan felt his limbs stiffen, cold sweat beading on his forehead. While he hadn't noticed it before, he could now clearly sense the aura emanating from the creature.
Late stage Enlightenment!
This was indeed a ghostly entity whose cultivation had reached the late stage of Enlightenment!
Furthermore, it resided within a mist condensed from Yin energy, and being in its domain, it could exert even more formidable power.
Without any hesitation, after the creature released its aura, Ji Yuan abruptly swung his left arm. A handful of talismans he tightly clutched were immediately scattered into the air.
A total of seven or eight yellow paper talismans were flung out. The talisman cores, ignited by a wisp of clear energy, spontaneously burst into flames, transforming into fireballs the size of watermelons that shot towards the skeleton beneath the moonlight.
However, the fireballs, capable of scorching iron and shattering earth and stone, descended only to burn away the tattered strips of cloth on the creature. They left not a single trace on its grayish-white bones.
Upon witnessing this, the young Daoist's eyes widened. He silently put back the talismans he had just retrieved from his sleeve and instead took out another stack from his bosom.
"Go!"
Ji Yuan whispered softly, flinging out the talismans in his hand. After their respective talisman cores were activated, they transformed into streaks of ghostly green light, instantly streaking towards the skeleton's feet.
In the blink of an eye, a dense growth of weeds erupted, entwined around the two leg bones, glowing with a faint green light, and continued to spread upwards. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After releasing this stack of talismans, he immediately turned and fled into the distance, having no intention of engaging in a life-or-death struggle. After all, the skeleton was so resilient that even fireballs capable of shattering earth and stone could not harm it in the slightest!
However, he had only run three or four zhang when he involuntarily halted his steps. He then saw numerous burial mounds around him split open, revealing bone-white arm bones.
Skeletons buried deep underground returned to the surface, moving stiffly towards the young Daoist. Within their empty eye sockets, a faint green flame flickered, constantly absorbing the Yin energy of heaven and earth.
"Boundless Heavenly Venerate!"
Ji Yuan bellowed, flinging out another pile of talismans with a swing of his hand. He refused to believe this! Could all their bones be that hard?
With a whistling sound, the fireballs formed by the pile of talismans shot out, like a small rain of fire. The bright flames temporarily replaced the moonlight.
Fortunately, not all skeletons' bones could ignore the fireballs transformed from talismans. Most were only slightly harder than dry twigs, shattering and scattering instantly under the impact of the fireballs.
After flinging a handful of talismans, a clearing was created in just a few breaths, with broken white bones scattered on the ground. But before Ji Yuan could feel relieved, he heard footsteps behind him.
He quickly turned to look and saw a young woman, completely unclothed, walking slowly across the loess. A charming tear mole was dotted beneath the corner of her right eye.
Her voluptuous figure made the young Daoist's cheeks flush. However, before any impure thoughts could arise, he saw the young woman walk into a patch of moonlight. Instantly, her alluringly beautiful body transformed into a horrifying, grayish-white skeleton.
"Red powder skeleton!"
Ji Yuan's brow furrowed, and his heart sank further.
The so-called "red powder skeleton" was originally a metaphor for women with beautiful exteriors but venomous and malicious hearts. Among malevolent spirits, it represented a terrifying type of ghost.
These creatures usually appeared as alluring and charming beings, only revealing their true skeletal forms under moonlight or in special circumstances. They often used their outward appearance to entice passersby, eventually devouring their flesh and souls to increase their own cultivation.
It was said that after devouring the flesh and blood of living beings, their bones would take on a pinkish hue.
He had initially thought he had only encountered a powerful ghost, but he hadn't expected its origin to be a "red powder skeleton." Such creatures possessed formidable strength, surpassing ordinary Qi cultivators within the same realm.
Ji Yuan inwardly lamented, wishing he could turn and flee immediately. However, he was less than three zhang away from the creature. At its level of cultivation, it would only take a few breaths to reach him.
And if he were to turn his back at this moment, it would be no different from seeking death!
"This humble Daoist truly doesn't believe I'll fall into your hands today!"
Watching the creature slowly approach, the young Daoist hardened his resolve. He shifted his whisk to his left hand, then with his right, he drew a gleaming soft sword from his waist with a crisp sound.
Since the talismans were useless against it, he would no longer waste his internal essence. With a low shout, he charged forward rapidly, projecting an aura of desperation to fight for his life.
At this moment, the red powder skeleton had stepped out of the moonlight, its form reverting to that of the young woman. Seeing the young Daoist charging at her with such ferocity, a flicker of surprise crossed her charming face.
But then she let out a cold laugh. With a delicate flick of her jade-like hand, a gust of powerful wind surged forward, directly aimed at the young man's chest.
Upon seeing this, Ji Yuan quickly raised his soft sword horizontally in front of his chest. As his internal essence flowed into it, the gleaming sword body instantly straightened, narrowly blocking the incoming gust of wind.
With a crisp "ding" sound, the force contained within the wind caused his body to shake. He staggered back several steps before finally dissipating the force.
"Young Daoist, why go to such lengths? Why not enjoy the moonlit flowers with me? Wouldn't that be quite delightful?"
Seeing the young man prepare to charge again, the young woman parted her ruby lips: "I will surely let you, young Daoist, experience the ultimate joys of life."
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan felt a shiver run down his spine, his body trembling uncontrollably. He quickly chanted "Boundless Heavenly Venerate" several times in his heart.
Suppressing the urge to swing his sword and strike, the young Daoist glanced around. Amidst a mass grave, under the moonlight – what kind of pervert could accept such an offer?
Shaking his head, he had no intention of engaging in conversation. His figure flickered, and he continued to sprint forward. The distance of two zhang or so was covered in just two blinks of an eye.
"Why must you be so stubborn?"
The young woman murmured softly. Then, she repeatedly flicked her fingers, releasing potent bursts of energy. Each strike on the ground was enough to create a small hole or shatter several stubborn rocks.
If these strikes were to land on a person, even one with the physique of a cultivator, they would be immediately mangled. If a vital spot were hit, death would be instantaneous.
Ji Yuan, of course, had no intention of letting the energy strikes hit him. He moved his feet in succession, his body flowing like smoke and clouds. Though seemingly slow, it was incredibly fast. He consecutively dodged several incoming energy blasts.
However, while his wondrous footwork allowed him to evade the energy strikes, it also prevented him from closing the distance. He could only continuously maneuver and dodge around the area.