These warriors must be from the Tongtian Divine Sect of the Divine Central Continent, judging from the clothes they were wearing. They had died most gruesomely, almost like they had been dismembered by five horses. Their souls were totally destroyed, their bodies cut up into pieces of varying sizes. Their blood, gleaming with brilliance, had coagulated and would not disperse. There were extremely powerful energy fluctuations in their mangled corpses.

“Judging from the wounds on their bodies, they must have been killed by those Spirits of the Dead. ”

Ding Hao and Tianshu soon confirmed the cause of their deaths.

Their corpses were crystal clear like jade. They would not decay here, even if left for a hundred years. Despite being high-level Martial Emperors, they had died so gruesomely in this place.

Ding Hao and the others pushed on again.

As time went by, the dark clouds in the sky became thinner and thinner.

By this time, that strange circular light portal, open like a huge sky eye, had almost completely disappeared. Only a few remaining dark prison cells were here under the heavens.

Ding Hao wondered if a few experts could be still battling those Spirits of the Dead and trying desperately to survive. Unfortunately, no one could help them.

Ding Hao kept every human corpse he came across here.

Those who could get in here were all heroes of their land. Since they were also Humans, they deserved a dignified burial as an expert. Once Ding Hao got out of these ruins alive, he would bury them in somewhere outside, or take their bodies back to their descendants, which would count as meritorious acts.

As they proceeded, Ding Hao secretly asked the Saber Master and the Sword Master about the origin of the Spirits of the Dead.

“In the Archean times, Demons, Devils, Humans, and Divine Beasts lived side by side in this world. It was hard to distinguish good from evil. It is rumored that an unholy secret technique once existed that could trap living beings, inflict on them the most brutal tortures to stimulate their senses and spirits, and make them collapse mentally. They would undergo such intense suffering over the years, like meat being stewed over slow fire. Finally, their bodies would disintegrate, leaving only their spirits. These lifeless spirits would then slay and devour one other… After countless years, with hundreds of masters sacrificed, they would be finally refined into one spirit. That spirit can walk the underworld, penetrate the barrier of the void, and has incredible assassination power.”

The Saber Master explained in great detail.

Even hearing about this evil technique made one’s hair stand on end.

Ding Hao thought for a while and still had some questions in his mind.

The Spirits of the Dead indeed had powerful assassination power, but they only possessed combat capability in an extremely suppressed space like in the Sea of Opulent Buildings. In a normal environment outside, they could not threaten these experts.

“The Spirits of the Dead that appeared here were only half-finished products at the lowest level. If you encounter top-level Spirits of the Dead, their Yin and Yang can coexist, and they can freely shuttle between reality and illusion. At that level, almost nothing can hurt them. Even extreme Bi Fang’s Fire will not be able to destroy them. Once that happens, even superiors at the Martial Sage Realm will not be able to fight these evil existences.”

The Saber Master was full of admiration for these horrific Spirits of the Dead.

Ding Hao nodded.

“Why are there such evil beings in the Sacred Hall ruins? Rumor has it that although the Sacred Hall was an imperious presence of the Divine Central Continent, even daring to challenge the Green Wood War God of the Continent, it was not a heretical sect that refined Spirits of the Dead…”

Ding Hao spoke out his doubt.

When the Sword Master heard this, he said, “It’s hard to be sure. Legends are often just rumors. If a sect is suddenly destroyed at its peak, there must be a reason. I think the Sky Eye Gate that appeared in the void just now is definitely not a simple illusory or killing formation. It’s most likely a large continental space portal that leads to another world. The appearance of such a space portal in the ruins is enough to explain almost everything…”

While Ding Hao was talking to the Saber and Sword Masters in his mind, Uncle Tianshu, who had been leading the way, suddenly made a gesture and stopped in his tracks.

Ding Hao stopped the discussion in his mind and gazed forward.

They had finally encountered other warriors.

These were four or five experts from the Southern Wilderness, all injured. Two of them were very badly injured, with blood trickling incessantly from their wounds. They had not quite succeeded in treating these wounds with their Qi. The other three around them looked anxious, at a loss over what to do.

“Who’s that?” Hearing their footsteps, a young bare-chested man with short black curly hair, immediately dashed over to them, addressing them a loud and wary voice. He was barefoot, clad in a simple black leather armor.

A strange, almost imperceptible look flashed across Uncle Tianshu’s eyes. He stepped to one side and shrugged. “Young fella, don’t be nervous. Hey, we’re just passers-by. All of you, go on and don’t mind us…” As he spoke, he skirted around them.

Ding Hao followed him.

However, his eyes flitted across the experts from the Southern Wilderness.

One of the injured people was a white-haired old man, also clad in a black leather armor that resembled a vest. He was wearing a tasset that looked like shorts on his lower body, his arms and legs exposed. The old man was swarthy and muscular, as if cast from pig iron. His neck was wounded and his head was almost severed, leaving only a strip of flesh attaching the two…

This elder’s entire body flickered with a strange brilliance. He sat cross-legged on the ground, doing his best to heal himself. He did not quite succeed. Black undispersed mists were still swirling around that gaping wound on his neck, and the wound would not close.

A young man of around 20 was also badly injured.

This unlucky guy also had short black curly hair. There was a horrific gash from his left shoulder all the way to his right abdomen. His internal organs were completely cut up, his whole body almost diced. Blood spurted out of his wounds like spring water. Like the first man, there were black mists swirling around his wounds which would not heal.

Had they been ordinary warriors, and if it weren’t for the fact that these experts above the Primordial Realm had such powerful vitality, they would have died long ago from the injuries.

Ding Hao could tell at a glance that their wounds were inflicted by the Spirits of the Dead.

The black mists that lingered around these wounds were clearly the same light-isolating mists in the dark prison cells. It was actually able to wrap around these wounds, hindering the healing process…

Ding Hao’s heart skipped a beat when he saw this.

He was also injured by the blades of those Spirits of the Dead, and almost sliced in half at the waist. But his wound had healed so quickly that he did not notice anything unusual, so he gave the matter little thought at that time.

Could these black mists actually possess such horrific destructive power?

Could they stop an expert’s injuries from healing?

But why did their lethal power have no effect on him?

Walking past these people, Ding Hao could not help looking at them a few more times.

The way these experts from the Southern Wilderness dressed was completely different from that of the Northern and Central Regions. Most of them wore very little, and went barefoot with their arms and calves exposed. Even their Martial Emperor experts adopted this style of dress. Their fashion style was plain, unlike the elaborate and aesthetically pleasing style of the Central and Northern Regions, their robes and sleeves often fluttering in the wind.

Other than the two injured men, there were three other experts in this company. Two were girls around 16 and 17.

These two girls from the Southern Wilderness were fairer in skin color than the men. They were as fair as white jade or mutton fat, pale and tender. Their petite faces were extremely exquisite. These two girls were rare beauties, imbued with the wild valiant aura unique to women of the south.

The two were clad in short armor, not quite hiding their firm and well-developed bosoms. Their slender, soft, and fair waists were exposed, and their belly buttons were inlaid with red gems, swirling with an alluring red mist which complemented their flawless skin. A well-crafted armor protected their hips and legs, while their fair and slim thighs dazzled everyone’s eyes.

Women from the Southern Wilderness were scantily dressed, but also wore a lot of exquisite ornaments. There was a lustrous sheen on their mauve hair. The two girls had on them at least a few dozen superbly crafted silver ornaments. Tassels dangled and a silvery brilliance gleamed on their wrists and ankles. They were wearing a dozen bracelets and anklets of exquisite workmanship, expertly fashioned by a master metalsmith.

The two young ladies were gorgeous. They stood there quietly, displaying the feminine charms of the Southern Wilderness to the full.

What Ding Hao found most astonishing was that the two girls looked almost identical, as if cast from the same mold. They seemed to be a pair of identical twins.

“Grandpa Gui, how are you feeling? Hang in there! Nothing must happen to you…”

The two girls were in a panicky fluster. One of them could not stop herself from crying, and Ding Hao felt sorry for her.

Ding Hao glanced at the two girls and thought to himself that they must be from some powerful sect of the Southern Wilderness, or they could not have come so far. Since their strength was suppressed here, Ding Hao could not see their real martial arts or magical weapon cultivation. But in terms of physical cultivation, they were far inferior to himself.

However, Ding Hao could vaguely tell that the injured old man was the most powerful warrior among these five experts. His strength made Ding Hao quite wary. Although seriously injured, he was like an ancient wounded behemoth with a terrifying aura.

The strength of this pair of gorgeous twins was second only to that young man with short black curly hair. The young man was staring warily at Ding Hao and his companions. Although only superficially wounded, his strength was quite average. The other young man who was almost cut into two had the lowest strength…

Looking at the two weeping girls, and the panic and sorrow on their delicate faces, Ding Hao could not help pitying them. For some inexplicable reason, he remembered his sister Ding Ke’er, who had been missing for quite a while.

If his sister were here, and her friends and teachers were also injured, she would be weeping as sadly and helplessly as them, given her kind nature.

Perhaps that promise he gave was too solemn. Every time Ding Hao saw a girl from the Southern Land, he would feel intimate to her in his heart, like she was really his sister.

At this moment…

“Senior, can you save my Grandpa Gui and Junior Brother? You must have a way, right?” One of the twin girls from the Southern Wilderness suddenly rushed up to Tianshu and begged him.

Tianshu had assumed the appearance of a Taoist immortal, with white hair and a youthful face. He made one feel like he was really an unfathomable immortal being. No wonder the girl sensed instinctively that Tianshu must have a way to treat their injuries inflicted by the black mists.