Chapter Seventy-Five: Departure from the Ancient Temple

Night Without End found the old man increasingly agreeable! To have such a thick skin, to covet the treasures of the demon clan and yet speak so righteously—truly remarkable! Night Without End also found the monk more pleasing to the eye; this trick of delivering an excuse from a thousand miles away was played with such finesse!

Now, if this fight didn’t break out, Night Without End would feel as if the very laws of heaven were being flouted. The tension mounted; neither side was willing to yield an inch. A battle seemed inevitable.

“Humans! You go too far! How dare you utter such childish lies with a straight face?” the old spirit turtle roared furiously.

He lightly tapped his cane, which sent out a dull, resounding thud! An overwhelming aura surged from the old turtle, endlessly billowing like a mighty river.

Of course, the old spirit turtle didn’t believe a word of their nonsense. Though he spoke as he did, the truth was, once they entered the ancient palace, who could say if even half of the demon clan’s treasures would remain?

“Spirit Turtle Elder, don’t be unreasonable! Though this ancient palace belongs to your demon clan, there may well be human relics inside! If you won’t allow us to investigate, we naturally will not withdraw!” the human elder said again, this time with his mask slipping.

“What’s the point of talking to these humans?” The golden-haired birdman spread his wings.

In an instant, thousands of golden feathers shot forth like a Gatling gun, crazily firing at the old man.

“Hmph!”

The old man snorted coldly. His whole body erupted with boundless, hazy purple energy that formed a misty sea of purple light!

It surged and roared, holding back the endless divine feathers like a vast ocean, stopping them before the purple sea!

“Kill!” The birdman’s voice was icy. Divine light burst from his form, and golden feathers blotted out the sky, dazzling and brilliant, forming a golden net that covered the heavens and dispersed the purple sea, enveloping the old man below.

Suddenly, from the old man’s dantian surged a purple gourd!

From the gourd’s mouth spewed forth torrents of purple energy, so bright that Night Without End’s “titanium alloy dog eyes” were nearly blinded!

Purple divine light surged outward, and every golden feather that touched it snapped instantly.

Unable to withstand the purple brilliance from the gourd, with a loud bang, all the feathers exploded into golden light, the shattering divine plumes forming a blazing golden storm of energy, dazzling to behold.

The birdman’s expression was cold. With a spread of his wings, two golden divine blades flew from his body.

Each blade, half a foot long, gleamed with crystalline brilliance, divine gold shining, wreathed in golden flame, burning fiercely.

They slashed swiftly toward the old man.

The old man, seeing the golden blades coming toward him, extended a withered hand and lightly tapped the purple gourd before him.

The gourd shot into the sky, from its mouth pouring endless purple fire, enveloping the two golden blades in searing flames.

Boom!

The two blades moved as swiftly as lightning, clashing against the gourd’s purple flames.

The shockwaves were so powerful that the very sky trembled and twisted!

“Brother Bird! Let me help you!”

“Kill them!”

As treasures flashed and the duel shook the heavens, the other great demons joined the fray. Instantly, demon energy soared skyward, murderous intent pierced the clouds, and demon power surged like a vast ocean, waves crashing, enveloping the sky!

At the same time, the human cultivators, seeing the great demons all act, stepped forward as well. Their dantians churned, spiritual power boiled, and divine light blazed from their bodies, illuminating the sky and dispersing the encroaching demon aura!

Energy clashed and divine light soared as the great battle erupted—brilliant gold and purple lights shot everywhere, treasures flew across the sky, making the night as bright as day.

The bull demon’s hammer, the spirit turtle’s shell, the flood dragon’s bladed scale, the old human cultivator’s purple gourd, celestial lamps, bronze cauldrons, eight-trigram mirrors, blood knives—all sorts of relics shook the heavens, each exuding life, emitting divine radiance, colliding and clashing, the resounding clangs a constant contest of strength, spirit, and demon energy that made the heavens tremble.

Once again, Night Without End, hiding in a corner, witnessed a spectacular scene! So this is the life of cultivators?

Killing, plundering, open and secret strife, seeking fortunes…

At this moment, the lightning-blue bird, radiant with golden light and crackling with electric arcs, and the bronze-cast lizard and other super beasts arrived at the volcano’s rim.

From the other direction, more human cultivators arrived to stand off against these super beasts.

A powder keg atmosphere permeated the air, murderous intent thick; a clash between these parties was clearly imminent.

Hidden in a corner, Night Without End’s heart was in turmoil as he watched from afar. The battle above the volcano dazzled him, filling him with longing.

Witnessing this scene, it was impossible for Night Without End not to desire the treasures within the ancient demon palace.

But for now, his ambition was powerless. He had hoped to loot something amid the chaos, but as the mighty demons and cultivators clashed, he realized he could not even get close.

If he dared approach, he would be torn apart by the surging powers that filled the sky!

Night Without End longed for the treasures within the ancient palace—so many powerful cultivators and beasts coveted them, how could he be any different?

Apart from the storage pouch he’d stolen from Lu Li, he possessed nothing at all!

Now he could only wonder what lay inside!

The demons, the humans, even the monks wanted a share!

Spirit pills? Mightier artifacts? Immortal cultivation manuals? For a cultivator, little else could move the heart.

From what the monk said, there should also be Buddhist treasures inside!

As for the so-called “Great Compassion Bell” of Buddhist legend, Night Without End knew little of it, and aside from its alluring hum that buzzed in his ears, he felt no particular desire for it.

In his mind, he did hold a few hundred ancient characters, golden with a tinge of blood.

Yet, no matter how he examined them, these characters did not seem to be specific cultivation methods, but rather a general outline, something far beyond his current comprehension.

Ever since the ancient palace began to float, Night Without End felt as if something within it resonated with those ancient characters in his mind, as if summoning him!

All those characters came from the red-clad woman—what connection could she have with this ancient demon palace?