Chapter 134 – The Task Is Complete, Drawn into the Mass Grave’s Ghost Domain - Part 4
In the swirling, rain-soaked gloom of the pit, a blood-stained figure stood, gaze brimming with venomous hate as it watched them depart. Beneath its feet, the muddy ground quivered with soft tremors—the last desperate struggle of Blood Scissors and the six other martial artists, who were now trapped below.
Their bodies were smothered by piles of bones—ghastly, silent remnants whose eye sockets and mouths were black voids like melted wax. These eerie shapes clamped their hands over Blood Scissors’ mouth, dragging him deeper.
Summoning his seventh rank power, Blood Scissors whipped his flattened arms about like blades, slashing furiously. But every swing simply passed through the skeletal limbs as though they were mist. Meanwhile, the bony grip on him held fast.
Though he fought with every ounce of strength, he advanced only an inch or two. The others, weaker than he was, had already been hauled into the pit’s darkest depths. With a final jolt, Blood Scissors also sank beneath the churning mass of corpses, his screams cut short in the silent darkness.
By the time his pouch dangled at his side once more, it had turned into a bleached-white hand bone, and the 50 taels of gold inside proved to be nothing more than mud clotted with blood.
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Deep in the mountains, Li Yuan drew out his spear and began questioning Zhao Xiantong about the secrets of advancing to sixth rank. Fully aware of Li Yuan’s superior power, Zhao Xiantong answered with the utmost respect.
He explained that a life chronicle was composed of many overlapping lines, but there were three vital points to understand.
One was the sequence. Each line had to be traced in order, from the first stroke to the final one. The last stroke often looped back to the first in a strange cycle—but crucially, it wasn’t just a loop within the body. Rather, it focused on shadow blood circulating around the heart.
Second was the choice. Not every line in a life chronicle was truly useful. Different cultivators perceived different paths within the same diagram, so the starting stroke and ending stroke varied from person to person. One had to interpret them to find the route that resonated with their own nature.
Third was visualization. Everyone who studied a life chronicle experienced a unique scene in those lines. One had to grasp the nature of that scene to discover their personal path. Only when a martial artist perceived both form and essence did the life chronicle properly reveal itself.
Aside from these insights, breaking through to sixth rank also required devouring the flesh and blood of seventh rank or higher demonic beasts. This heightened the power of one’s shadow blood, making it grow thick as mercury.