"We can't do that; there's no way to reach the centrum through the other areas. We have no choice but to follow him; take care not to be discovered. We should still be able to enter the centrum area first while he's scouring that area for treasures," Xiao Ming decided.
"Looks like that's our only option. Come to think of it, the Three Witch Spirit Saints also went to quite an interesting area; that seems to the blood prison where Daoist Tian Ding sealed away several powerful enemies of his," Daoist Qing Ping said in a concerned manner.
"I'm aware of that, but it's not like we can do anything to prevent them from going there. There could be powerful treasures left behind by those enemies of Daoist Tian Ding's in that blood prison, but they're still not as important as seizing control of the centrum," Xiao Ming said with furrowed brows.
"That's a real pity. According to the tomes I inherited, the enemies trapped in the blood prison possessed powers comparable to those of Daoist Tian Ding. They would've definitely already perished after all these years, but their inheritances would undoubtedly be extremely valuable as well," Daoist Qing Ping sighed in a forlorn manner.
"We had originally to set the blood prison as our second target; could it be that Three Witch Spirit Saints are also aware of its existence?" Mistress Wan Hua speculated with a dark expression.
"That's hard to say. I was the only one who received Daoist Tian Ding's inheritance, but I can't guarantee that other powerful beings of the same generation as Daoist Tian Ding didn't leave behind any leads. After all, the blood prison was something that had once been renowned throughout the entire Blood Sky Continent," Daoist Qing Ping said.
"Alright, we can't do anything about that anyway, so there's no need to speculate any further on the subject; it's about time that we continued onward," Xiao Ming said as he cast his gaze toward the area that Han Li had just entered.
Mistress Wan Hua and Daoist Qing Ping naturally didn't raise any objections.
Thus, the three of them also flew into the area enshrouded under the blue light barrier, except they chose an entry point that was quite far away from Han Li's.
……
"What a cold place."
Han Li was hovering in the air above a glacial world that was covered by a layer of blue snow with a peculiar expression.
There was a glacial aura all throughout the surrounding area, and there were even certain parts of his body where layers of blue frost had accumulated as the glacial Qi had pierced through the protective spiritual light there.
Ever since he had attained complete mastery over his Provenance True Devil Arts, it was extremely rare for him to feel this cold.
Judging from the glacial aura manifested by the illusion in this area, it was clear that the restriction here was far more formidable than those in the areas he had previously passed through.
After hovering in the air for a long while, a layer of silver flames suddenly appeared over his body, and the bone-chilling sensation immediately faded.
Han Li then slowly flew straight ahead, but after traveling for only several kilometers, fierce winds suddenly erupted in all directions, and the countless snowflakes in the air abruptly transformed into thousands of blue ice peacocks.
The peacocks spread their wings, releasing countless balls of blue light in a frenzy.
Han Li briefly inspected these balls of light with his spiritual sense, and his expression changed slightly as he quickly made a hand seal, upon which the layer of silver flames around him thickened by severalfold.
In the next instant, the balls of light struck the silver flames in rapid succession before exploding one after another, creating a massive tornado as silver flames and blue light intertwined…
Elsewhere in the same glacial area, Xiao Ming's trio had released around a dozen treasures and were locked in a fierce battle against a group of close to 20 mountainous blue giants.
These giants were all able to manipulate ice and snow to conjure up armor and all types of weapons, and no matter how much damage they sustained, they were able to instantly regenerate using the ice and snow in the area, making them even more troublesome to deal with than beings with immortal bodies. Thus, even though Xiao Ming's trio was far more powerful than these giants, they were temporarily stalled.
……
Within a massive hall that was filled with countless giant crimson pillars, the Three Witch Spirit Saints were carefully advancing while giving all of the pillars a wide berth.
These pillars seemed to be quite ordinary from a distance, but at close quarters, one would discover that there were countless crimson skulls embedded onto their surfaces, and there was blood occasionally flowing down from the top of the pillars.
"Is this really the entrance to the blood prison, Fellow Daoist Yu?" the elderly man seated atop the giant centipede asked with a hint of unease in his voice.
"Rest assured, Brother Wu; you saw how easy it was to break through the restrictions outside this place. This indicates that the records in that ancient plaque are accurate, and that this is indeed the place where Daoist Tian Ding had imprisoned his powerful enemies. Hehe, the most powerful being of our Witch Dao, Master Tian Wu, once battled Daoist Tian Ding for seven days and seven nights before being defeated and imprisoned here. Otherwise, with Master Tian Wu's aptitude and powers, he would've definitely been able to ascend to the True Immortal Realm as well," the elderly man seated atop the black scorpion replied in a confident manner.
"This place really is quite unsettling, so I can see why Brother Wu is concerned. However, due to the fact that we're using Witch Dao cultivation arts that are far different from normal cultivation arts, Daoist Tian Ding's inheritance may not be very useful for us. In contrast, we'll be sure to benefit immensely if we can obtain Master Tian Wu's cultivation arts and treasures from the blood prison; perhaps we'll even have a chance of ascending to the True Immortal Realm in the future. As such, we have to venture into this blood prison even if there's some risk involved," the final elderly man said.
"Indeed. It's a pity that the stone plaque was damaged, and only the part that detailed the methods to counter the restrictions outside remained. If we knew how to counter the restrictions in here as well, then we'd have nothing to worry about," the elderly man with the Yu surname sighed.
"Hehe, it's already a massive opportunity for us to find the exact location of the blood prison. There may be some powerful restrictions in here, but the three of us will definitely be able to break through them," the man with the Wu surname chuckled.
"In any case, it's too late for us to turn back now. Speaking of which, that brat with the giant ape form that we encountered outside was truly formidable. If Fellow Daoist Xiao and the others hadn't appeared, I really wanted to refine that brat into a blood puppet," the man with the Yu surname said.
"That man's giant ape form is indeed extremely powerful, but his second transformation seemed to have stemmed from some type of devilish ability. With his powers, even the three of us most likely wouldn't have been able to take him down in a short time. We intentionally put on an inhospitable display so that no one would follow us into this blood prison, and I'm sure our plan worked," the elderly man with the Wu surname chuckled coldly.
"That's a strategy that we devised in advance, and I'm sure it would've at least been somewhat effective. Out of all of the people currently in the Heavenly Cauldron Palace, only Xiao Ming's trio can pose a substantial threat to us. Xiao Mo is renowned as the deranged devil of the Blood Bone Sect, and he's no ordinary Grand Ascension Stage being. On top of that, he has Mistress Wan Hua and Daoist Qing Ping to assist him, so our chances of victory against them would be quite slim," the final elderly man said.
"No information has been transmitted to us by the spies we left behind, so it looks like Xiao Ming and the others didn't follow us; they must have some other target in mind. This is great news for us; we can focus all of our attention on this blood prison now," the man with the Wu surname chuckled coldly.
Just as his companions were about to respond, their three giant steeds suddenly drew to an abrupt halt as they let loose a string of sharp cries while adopting wary stances.
The three elderly men's expressions changed slightly upon seeing this, and they immediately released a series of treasures to defend themselves.
The trio then cast their eyes up ahead with cautious expressions.
What they failed to notice was that the blood pouring down the crimson pillars in the hall was gradually becoming more and more viscous while also taking on a reddish-black color.
A burst of rustling suddenly rang out up ahead, and moments later, specks of green flames appeared in the dark space up ahead, following which a series of thumb-sized skeletal butterflies emerged.
These butterflies had flames burning all over their skeletal bodies, creating a very unsettling sight to behold, and there were over 10,000 of them in total.
"Those are Bone Engulfing Butterflies! Get back!" the man with the Wu surname immediately exclaimed upon catching a clear glimpse of these butterflies, and his companions' faces also paled significantly upon seeing this.
The three of them immediately shot back in retreat atop their respective steeds, while the swarm of butterflies followed along silently behind them.
They were fleeing at over 100 times the speed that they had come, and they instantly covered a distance of several thousand feet.
All of a sudden, a burst of sinister cackling rang out, and the reddish-black blood pouring down the crimson pillars converged to form a series of crimson skulls.
As soon as these skulls appeared, they instantly swelled to the size of wagon wheels before pouncing toward the three elderly men to block their path of retreat.
The expressions of the man with the Wu surname darkened slightly upon seeing this, but he remained calm as he said, "Those are blood spirits formed by the blood of the powerful beings who perished in the blood prison! Brother Yu, unleash the spirit warding technique right away; the two of us will keep these Bone Engulfing Butterflies and blood spirits at bay for you!"
"Alright, I'll be counting on you then, fellow daoists," the man with the Yu surname replied as the centipede beneath him drew to a halt, and he immediately sat down onto his steed with his legs crossed.
A series of dark green jade badges then flew out of his body before forming a strange formation that carried him upward.
