Chapter Seventy-Six: The Path of the Cultivator
This made Ye Wuyá unable to suppress his curiosity about the identity of the woman in red! His arrival in this world was also because of her.
As Ye Wuyá’s thoughts churned, a few deep chimes rang out from within the ancient temple.
“Dong,” “dong,” “dong…”
At that moment, the muffled peals of the bell resounded unceasingly. Five-colored radiance erupted from the volcano’s crater, piercing the heavens and shattering the overwhelming demonic aura and vast divine fluctuations in the sky.
It was terrifying beyond words!
The lava, red as blood, boiled and surged outward from the crater, setting half the sky ablaze with crimson light.
The magnificent ancient temple floated and trembled above the molten river. It glimmered brilliantly, its entire structure crystalline, emanating the breath of ages.
Slowly, the ancient temple rose from within the magma. Intricate, mysterious demonic patterns shimmered faintly across its surface, yet they could no longer confine it, allowing the temple to ascend freely.
“Rumble—”
The volcano erupted. The majestic temple burst from the crater, its dazzling light illuminating the entire ruin as if it were midday. The stars overhead faded into obscurity, and five-colored divine light coiled around the scene.
The great shapeshifting demons and human cultivator elites, upon witnessing these omens, immediately ceased their battle. All rushed toward the magnificent temple, each desperate to be the first to open its doors and claim the treasures within.
Of all the mighty present, none could rival the speed of the golden-haired birdman and the blue electric bird.
With wings beating, the two monstrous birds streaked across the sky, one as a golden, the other as a blue bolt of lightning.
The birdman reached the temple first, spreading his wings to push against the tightly sealed five-colored jade doors.
“Dong!”
Before the doors could be opened, a surge of five-colored divine light blasted from the temple, flinging both the birdman and the blue electric bird trailing behind him clear away!
The blue electric bird fared somewhat better. But even a peerless demon of the Golden Core stage like the birdman was sent tumbling through the air, flipping five or six times before he could regain himself.
The other powerful contenders who had rushed to the temple’s vicinity drew sharp breaths at the sight, not daring to be careless for even a moment.
Each summoned their magic treasures, launching themselves skyward in a thunderous charge, striving to force open the ancient temple.
This temple, forged from five-colored divine jade, had lain dormant for countless eras, as if it had traversed time from the distant primordial age. It exuded a palpable sense of antiquity and the traces of endless years.
On the surface of the ancient temple, dazzling demonic script blazed, radiant with divine power, awe-inspiring in its dominance.
The script was both ancient and wild, like dragons soaring or phoenixes dancing. Every stroke—hook, sweep, horizontal or vertical—held tremendous force and extraordinary meaning.
It was as though the words themselves formed a barrier of mystical power. No matter how the great demons or human elites attacked, their assaults were instantly repelled by the five-colored light conjured by the demonic script.
“Boom!”
Several shapeshifting demons and human Golden Core experts joined forces, unleashing a barrage of treasures and spells.
Their combined might finally shook the great doors of the temple, which, with a thunderous crash, creaked open a sliver.
At once, an ancient aura surged out to meet them, a powerful, primordial force roaring like a boundless sea, waves crashing with terrifying fury. All those outside were hurled back a hundred meters by its onslaught.
“Dong—”
That deep, resonant bell now carried an even more mysterious and compelling force—far more terrifying than what Ye Wuyá had heard on the outskirts of the ruin.
A change swept over the faces of all present. Murderous intent condensed wildly. Bloodshot eyes blazing, they steadied themselves and, without hesitation, charged toward the magnificent temple.
“Boom!”
“Clang!”
“Dong!”
Divine brilliance burst forth. Weapons of every kind shone with celestial light, clashing in a cacophony of metallic ringing. Demonic and human powerhouses pressed together before the five-colored temple, and battle erupted anew. No one wanted to let the other seize the advantage; all were determined to be first inside.
Before the grand temple, radiance dazzled and demonic energy soared. All were affected by the bell’s hypnotic pull, driven to madness and true, searing fury. The war escalated to a struggle of life and death, with no one holding back.
Blazing light flickered as the very sky trembled. Weapons flashed, divine power surged, and murderous intent pierced the heavens. The area before the temple seethed on the verge of explosion.
The battle was fierce beyond compare. In less than half a quarter of an hour, a human cultivator began to falter and, unable to continue, was run through the chest by a great demon. Half a shattered heart was torn from his body, blood spraying, staining the demon’s flesh and making him appear even more savage.
An old man, expression icy, conjured a series of mystical gestures, tracing strange patterns in the sky. He activated his purple gourd, which hummed and released endless violet mist, instantly sucking two great demons inside.
“Boom—”
Waves of violet divine fire roared skyward. Agonized, soul-rending screams echoed from the gourd as the two demons were instantly melted alive, until only two wisps of smoke drifted out from the purple vessel.
In the distance, Ye Wuyá watched, his heart pounding with terror. Such brutal slaughter was beyond his comprehension. Though he had been a grave robber on modern Earth, he found this bloodshed hard to stomach.
Even so, he knew he had to grow stronger!
Because—
They were still waiting for him!
And at that very moment, atop the volcano, more than a dozen demonic beasts and human cultivators broke into their own ferocious battle, just as intense and merciless.
A hideous beast with a broad maw and fangs, covered in half a foot of coarse fur, tore a human cultivator in two, blood spraying, viscera falling—too ghastly to behold.
Nearby, a clever human cultivator summoned a square celestial seal, crushing a demon beast into a bloody pulp. For dozens of meters around, the ground was pressed several meters deep by the weight of the seal.
The mighty celestial seal hovered in the air, dazzling with divine light, fresh blood dripping—a shocking sight.
Among the dozen or so super-beasts, the blue electric bird, which Ye Wuyá recognized, was the most terrifying. With incredible speed, it soared skyward, golden talons outstretched. In an instant, it shattered the magical treasure of a charging human cultivator. As it dove, hundreds of bolts of lightning intertwined behind it, thunder roaring and electric light flashing, like dozens of gleaming blades tens of meters long falling from the heavens.
“Crack!”
The human cultivator tried to escape on a rainbow of spiritual energy, but could not outrun the lightning. Struck by hundreds of bolts, his body was charred black, convulsed a few times, then plummeted into the crater, swallowed by the surging magma.
This battle between humans and demon beasts was a frenzy of blood and slaughter, with casualties on both sides. All fought desperately, seeking to be the first to enter the ancient temple.
“So this is what cultivators are like?” Ye Wuyá muttered from his hiding place.
This was nothing like the cultivation life he had imagined—riding swords, roaming the world in carefree freedom.
“My path has long been set—blood staining the sky, corpses strewn across the wasteland!” At these words, his gaze hardened with unyielding resolve.
“Even so, what of it? Since I have chosen this path, I will walk it step by step. My fate will not be held in another’s hands. I must become strong—so strong that no one would ever dare harm those I care about!”
The pain of losing the two women struck at Ye Wuyá’s heart once more.