Yu Shangrong landed on a tree branch. He hid his aura as he held his Longevity Sword. Then, he lay down and closed his eyes. He had the intention of ignoring everything that did not affect him. His objective was to guard the quagmire and spend the next 49 days in peace. He lied down and closed his eyes.
It did not take long before the procession of cultivators drew close to the quagmire. They came to a halt.
Yu Shangrong was puzzled. He opened his eyes slightly. He saw the cultivators through the dense canopy of leaves.
The cultivators stood out under the moonlight. They were all wearing purple cloaks, and their heads were covered. Their faces could not clearly be seen. They seemed like a gloomy bunch. It was eerie how they hovered in the air in a long row.
“The Land of Buried Bones lies ahead… According to the plan, we’ll have to control the skeletons of all the dead.”
“Over the centuries, many have been buried in the Land of Buried Bones… The dead of the cities in the area were dumped here as well. They’re all given a grand burial ceremony.”
One of the cultivators flew forward over the quagmire. He looked at the Land of Buried Bones and announced loudly, “Our grand predecessors deserve our respect… Their souls and wills will be passed down after their deaths.”
Several cultivators flew after him. They saw the skeletons on the Land of Buried Bones.
These skeletons were one of the trump cards of the people of Lou Lan.
When Yu Shangrong saw this, he felt slightly relieved. They were clearly here for the skeletons…
The Land of Buried Bones was a trump card of the people of Lou Lan. The higher-ups gathered them in the name of respecting the dead. In truth, they were hoping that they could still defend Lou Lan in their deaths. Witchcraft was the key to controlling these skeletons.
Yu Shangrong retracted his gaze. He ignored them and closed his eyes as he prepared to sleep.
At this moment, the purple-robed cultivators flew above the quagmire and formed a circle.
“Let’s do it.”
“Praise!”
The purple-robed cultivator in the lead pressed a hand to his chest. Then, he joined his palms and raised them toward the skies. A faint purple light appeared from between his palms.
Soon after, a purple beam of light shot toward the Land of Buried Bones. A light circle shone on a skeleton. The skeleton seemed to have been imbued with life as it began to move.
“Lay the Formation.”
The other purple-robed cultivators stood in their respective positions and raised their palms at the same time. They looked up at the skies; their hoods sliding off their heads. Purple lotuses were branded on their foreheads. The moment they cast their spells, the lotuses shone.
Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!
Primal Qi surged.
“Kan… shu… bo… tou… piao… mu… you… liang… xin…”
They chanted a series of unintelligible incantations as purple gas began to rise from their bodies. They controlled the Primal Qi in their surroundings. Soon after, purple witchcraft circles appeared under their feet.
The sound of gurgling rang in the air as the clear pool of water at the center of the quagmire began to bubble.
The purple-robed cultivators were puzzled.
“Be careful! There’s a living person.”
As witchcraft cultivators, their senses toward the dead were greater than the ordinary person. Naturally, their senses toward the living were the same.
They looked at the clear pool of water in the center of the quagmire and exchanged a look. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the pool of water intently.
At this moment, a gentle voice from the nearby forest rang in their ears. “My apologies.”
The purple-robed cultivators were stunned. They instinctively turned to look at the source of the voice.
Under the moonlight, they saw a cultivator dressed in green robes slowly flying out of the forest before stopping in the air above them. Although he was alone, they sensed an unfathomable aura from him. They could tell his composure was born out of spending time with elites and the confidence of surviving on a blade.
Yu Shangrong asked lightly, “If it’s possible, can you cast your spell elsewhere?”
“Why?” the witchcraft cultivator standing at the lead asked, puzzled.
Yu Shangrong looked up at the moon and said, “Don’t you find this quiet and peaceful place perfect for resting?”
“I’m sorry, my friend… We’re here on orders, and we have to cast our spell here,” another cultivator replied.
“The Land of Buried Bones is vast. It won’t have much of an effect if you change locations…” Yu Shangrong smiled warmly. “I sincerely wish you’ll heed my suggestion.”
A witchcraft cultivator standing at the back said contemptuously, “Why must we switch locations? Why don’t you move to another location instead? There are plenty of other places for you to rest! This is the best place for us to cast our spell!”
“Me, too,” Yu Shangrong said curtly.
“My friend, please leave.”
Yu Shangrong shook his head lightly. His expression was calm as he said with a sigh, “As you wish. You may stay.”
As Yu Shangrong spoke, his Longevity Sword spun out of his hand with a whoosh. It split into two, four, eight… Countless energy swords appeared in a formation.
The Sword Devil’s Destiny!
“No! Defend yourselves!”
Many cultivators raised their hands at once. A huge purple barrier rose from the witchcraft circle.
The Sword Devil’s Destiny rained down like hail.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
The energy swords easily shattered the witchcraft barrier. The remaining energy swords instantly pierced the chests of several cultivators. More than ten members out of the more than 50 witchcraft cultivators died instantly.
The remaining cultivators wore a frightened expression on their faces as they cast spells after spells.
Yu Shangrong raised his right hand. His Longevity Sword returned to his grasp. He gripped tightly and stepped forward.
“Stop him!”
“Kill him!”
Several purple radiant circles appeared and shot toward Yu Shangrong.
Yu Shangrong moved at lightning speed as he shot forward and slashed his sword.
Countless energy swords parried the incoming purple light circles.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several cultivators were sent flying.
At the same time, before anyone else noticed, energy swords had materialized in the air again and rained down on them, piercing their chests, as they were sent flying back.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Corpses fell down from the sky into the quagmire.
In just a blink of an eye, only more than ten witchcraft cultivators were left out of the more than 50 cultivators.
The cultivator in the lead frowned deeply as he waved his sleeves and called out, “Retreat!”
The cultivators turned around and fled.
Yu Shangrong said calmly, “My apologies, but none of you are allowed to leave…”
It would be bad if these people escaped and spread the word about this incident.
Yu Shangrong moved at top speed. The faint red light on his sword flashed brighter than before!
Grand technique!
There was a flurry of movements as he pierced the chest of one cultivator who was lagging behind. He did stop and continued moving at lightning speed.
Five well-trained witchcraft cultivators turned around and launched purple rings from their palms.
Having had the experience of fighting a grand shaman, Yu Shangrong did not allow the purple energy to come close to himself. He immediately swung his Longevity Sword with great force.
Traceless Sword!
Countless energy swords appeared in the surroundings, sweeping away the purple rings!
When they looked up, Yu Shangrong had already arrived in front of them. He spread his arms; the energy swords hovering around them.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The energy swords flew out and pierced the cultivators’ bodies.
“A Great Yan swordsman?” Currently, there was only one surviving witchcraft cultivator.
The cultivator ran for some distance. When he saw his comrades were all dead, he stopped. He turned around and faced Yu Shangrong. He knew it was futile to run!
Yu Shangrong raised his sword. He shook his head and said, “This wasn’t what I intended to do… but I have no choice.”
“…” The leader of the witchcraft cultivator said, “Are the cultivators of Great Yan so shameless and despicable?”
“You can say whatever you like…” Yu Shangrong was not interested in squabbling.
The lead witchcraft cultivator began to laugh maniacally before he said, “I admit that Great Yan is strong in individual fights, but this time… you’ve merely killed low-rank witchcraft cultivators. If you kill me… the royal city will surely get to the bottom of this… Even if you run to the ends of the world, they will hunt you down.”
“Is that a threat?” Yu Shangrong was amused.
