The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Su Yu bit the tip of his tongue. An intense pain washed over him, dispelling the dizziness.

"Careful," Su Yu grunted. "It's an illusionary technique."

His grunt harbored the aura of the Buddhist Saint's Eight Characters, assaulting the ears like a large gong.

Long Feiyu and Qing Zhu felt a chill in their hearts, and a strange event transpired. The pain they had felt started to dissipate, and they began to regain their senses. In the blink of an eye, there were no injuries on their bodies.

"What a powerful illusionary technique, to be able to conjure such realistic feelings of pain!"

They stared at Su Yu. In terms of ability and cultivation level, they were far above Su Yu. How, then, was Su Yu unaffected?

Their senses cleared, and the group looked once again at the Dragon Abyss Fruit, this time clearly seeing the ghastly half-dog, half-bat figure in place of the Demonic Dragon Abyss Fruit. The straight pillar beneath it was not the trunk of the Dragon Abyss Fruit plant but instead, the body of the ghostly figure!

It was an eerie, pitch black skeleton different than that of any normal living being. It had a thin neck, and its bones tightly packed similar to the body of a human.

"Wicked beast!" Long Feiyu let out a loud grunt, striking out a palm from a long distance away. His spirit energy took the form of a tiger as it struck toward the creature.

Suddenly, the ghostly object let out a laugh. Its laughter was chilling. "Hehe! A long-distance attack. One to test my abilities. The second to ensure your safety. Hehe! You are not stupid."

It could speak…? What kind of creature was this?

The ghostly object moved its body, pulling itself out of the ground.

Crack, boom—

The earth split open as a three-zhang tall black skeleton grew up from deep within the soil! It was a bizarre sight—a body that looked like a giant monkey with a head as small as a man's fist.

The ghostly object stopped moving, allowing the tiger to strike it. The three-zhang tall ghostly object shook lightly, but it did not sustain any injuries. What strong defense! The group was shocked.

Long Feiyu's eyelids twitched wildly. "Xianer, let's go. We will give up on the Dragon Abyss Fruit for now."

This creature was mysterious and powerful. It was unwise to fight it head-on. Lord Qing Zhu also retreated.

Su Yu was much faster than the rest of them, flying several hundred zhang away in the other direction. The three of them had decided to retreat in separate directions in an instant.

"It's too late to leave now…" The ghostly object let out a ferocious laugh and a shrill shriek.

Boom, boom—

Hairlike roots erupted from the ground, entangling the three of them.

"A portion of his body is still underground!" Qing Zhu's expression changed drastically, pointing with his toes as he took to the skies.

Creak—

Three roots broke out of the earth, shooting toward him. The attack was sudden and unexpected, but he was still a Lord of Darkness. His reaction speed and battle abilities were not to be scoffed at.

"Breeze Sword!" Clenching his fist, three half-zhang-long daggers of wind sliced down.

An attack from a Human King could invite the power of the heavens. Its power was horrifying.

Crack—

The roots cracked. But at the same instant, 1,000 new roots erupted from the ground, shooting up at Lord Qing Zhu like a waterfall.

Lord Qing Zhu's hardened expression faltered. He utilized both of his palms as nine wind daggers struck down at the same time.

Rumble—

The 1,000 roots merged to form one, deflecting the wind daggers as though made of tough steel. The mass of roots entangled Qing Zhu, dragging him to the ground.

"Heaven Water Seal!"

At the critical moment, Xia Jingyu reached down with her fingers, and the 1,000 roots trembled. A dull red liquid was forcefully drained from the roots. The roots became withered, resulting in a roar from the ghostly object.

Seizing the opportunity, Qing Zhu forcefully broke free and took to the skies. Upon inspection, he noticed with a chill in his heart that the area on his body where the mass of roots had grabbed him had withered and transformed into a hard, green scar.

"This ghostly object can devour the life force of humans!" Qing Zhu gasped.

Xia Jingyu shot out a veil of water that radiated with a crystalline, white glow, nourishing his injury. In the blink of an eye, the scar regained color.

"It can only heal your injuries," Xia Jingyu said, raising her brows. "It cannot recover the life force you lost."

"Thank you." Qing Zhu was embarrassed and thanked her in shame. He had clearly wanted to protect her but had ended up needing Xia Jingyu's help instead. "Let's speak after we fly even higher up."

Long Feiyu protected Xianer as they shot themselves several hundred zhang away.

The roots were in hot pursuit, nearly wrapping around Long Feiyu multiple times. The situation had become dire, but finally, they escaped several hundred miles away, returning to the peace of the Messy Rocks Ruins.

The group gathered again.

"Where is Brother Black Snow?" Xianer asked. She was concerned about Su Yu. Only the four of them had returned.

Qing Zhu was confused. "It was chaotic just now. I did not notice."

Long Feiyu's gaze flickered. "We need not worry. The Black Snow Devil King's abilities are shocking, and he has extensive battle experience. His reaction speed is even faster than ours. I think he should be fine."

Only Xia Jingyu creased her brows. "How can you be so certain? You are Human King-level fighters. It's little wonder you escaped the roots, but the Black Snow Devil King's abilities might not be enough to combat them! Furthermore, our agreement with him stipulated that we were to protect him while he searched for Dragon Abyss Fruits. Now that there is a crisis before us, we are forsaking him!"

Shame welled up in their hearts.

Long Feiyu flinched. "Why don't I take the risk and go see?"

"Sir Long," said Xianer, "please save Brother Black Snow." She was grateful to note that Long Feiyu was still a man of his word and not as irksome as she once made him out to be.

Whoosh—

Without wasting any time, Long Feiyu moved. He stood several miles up in the air to prevent any sneak attacks. The rest of the group were silent.

"This explains why there are so few Dragon Abyss Fruits this time around," Qing Zhu sighed.

Xia Jingyu nodded. "That ghostly object seems to feed on Dragon Abyss Fruits for sustenance."

Qing Zhu's thigh was in pain as he said, "More importantly, its cultivation level is incredibly terrifying! The attacks of two Human Kings were not enough! But the aura it gave off was only at the level of a Heaven Master. How could it be so powerful?"

Xia Jingyu thought for a moment, opening her eyes slowly as she thought of something. Her eyes took on a severe glow as she said, "We may have met the legendary Rakshasa!"

Qing Zhu was not surprised to hear that Xia Jingyu had a theory. She had read millions of scrolls in the Empire of Darkness. Her memory was also exceptional, able to recall everything she had ever read. There was nothing much she did not know.

Xianer was lost. "Sister Yi Yu, what is the Rakshasa? Is it very powerful?"

Yi Yu was stone-faced, but she shook her head. "The Rakshasa is not powerful. After its body dies, however, its soul becomes contaminated by evil energy for ages until it finally seeks host in a ghostly object. It is adept at soul techniques and has a strong physical body. Its weak point is that it fears water as well as things of masculine energy. If you can tame it, Heaven Masters from the human race can defeat it easily. It is the weakest of the ghost objects. Things above it include Half God level creatures like the White Asura. In fact, above the White Asura is a legendary Heavenly Ghost, a creature that is more powerful than anything in this world. Its power reaches the level of the Fairy Realm!"

There was a Fairy Realm level ghost in this world! By comparison, the Rakshasa was indeed quite weak among ghosts. The fact that they had escaped so easily said a lot.

"In summation, the Rakshasa is not strong," said Yi Yu, "but I am worried. According to the historical annals, Rakshasas do not act alone. They either form pairs or… packs!"

******

Su Yu had plunged deeper into the Banished Abyss, moving in the opposite direction as the rest. He moved to a huge rock in the depression before he stopped running, turning back.

"Hehe…! Not going to run anymore?" The ghost's massive body rumbled as it suddenly came forward, its gaze sweeping across the surroundings with squinting, crafty eyes. "It seems to me that you did not choose this direction by mistake because you panicked. Rather, you deliberately lured me here. You seem to be confident in your ability to deal with me!"

Su Yu was calm. "I think it's all right. Dealing with you should not pose a problem."

The ghost laughed. "A mere Immortal Realm human wishes to compete with me. What a joke!"

Creak—

Su Yu flicked his wrist. A bolt of lightning traveled under his leg, and a burning smell could suddenly be detected.

The ghost's face contorted, its gaze filled with a merciless glow. "You…"

"If you are so confident, why do you need to launch a sneak attack?" Su Yu said, letting out a cold laugh.

"Do you think that these little powers of lightning can overcome me?" The ghost a bit cautious now, not daring to step forward.

Su Yu's gaze flickered. He calmly said, "It's just me and you here. You can say whatever you want to say. You only chased after me, despite there being several people around. There must have been a reason."

In terms of life force, Su Yu could not hold a candle to the Human Kings. It was not easy to understand why it would refrain from attacking Su Yu now after chasing him so far.

"Hehe! So what if you know? It's still a dead end for you!" The ghost let out a low grunt as tens of thousands of roots manically sprouted.

Su Yu wore a calm expression. "Thousand Thunder Finger!"

A glowing ring of purple lightning flew out from the tips of his fingers, imprinting itself on the roots!

Creak—

The thousands of roots were instantly destroyed.

Lightning was a masculine energy and was more than suitable to counter this sinister evil. The ring of lightning did not lose its power as it struck toward the main body of the ghost. With a pathetic howl, streaks of black stone emerged from the ghost's body. A faint flame continued to burn over it.

"So, you are a fighter that specializes in lightning-based techniques!" The ghost became even more cautious, its merciless intent growing. "Unfortunate that you are at such a low level. If you became a Heaven Master, I might actually be worried…" The ghost suddenly had a cold smile.

The strike just now had been to test the abilities of his opponent. Seeing as how that lightning-based technique was not at Upper Class, its worries were eased.

With a sinister laugh, the massive body of the ghost charged toward Su Yu, but Su Yu's expression did not change. His Thousand Thunder Finger was at the Lower Class and could deal with an Immortal Realm Level Four Peak with ease, but it did not have enough power to deal with a Heaven Master. It was only because it had countered the ghost that he had managed to inflict any injuries in the first place.

Once again gathering the Thousand Thunder Finger, the ring of lightning rumbled, imprinting itself on the other party's body.

The ghost let out a pathetic cry but forcefully attacked, jabbing at Su Yu with a ten-zhang black bone. Su Yu moved his shoulder, deftly avoiding the blow. But another sharp black bone erupted out from the ground beneath him, almost piercing through him.

At this moment, Su Yu was flying in retreat. It was the moment when his actions were at their slowest.

"Give me your life!" the ghost screeched, letting out a ferocious laugh.

But just then, the ghost suddenly let out a loud roar, turning its head and looking to the side. A second Su Yu had been formed out of spirit energy, and its body erupted with a fiery red color, radiating a scorching heat. Second Grade Clone Technique! He held a bottle of azure flames, pouring them on the ghost's body.

That azure flames were searing and instantly devoured the ghost's body, enveloping it in the intense flames.

"When did you use your clone technique without me noticing?" the ghost cried, letting out roars of injustice as it was consumed by the flames.