After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 144

After leaving the Black Desert, the allied forces headed west, the sense of dead silence and desolation in the air growing increasingly heavy. The terrain gradually shifted from yellow sand to hard, cracked black g*obi, and all vegetation disappeared; not even the most tenacious sea-buckthorn could be seen. The sky was perpetually gray, as if covered by a thick layer of dust, difficult for the sunlight to penetrate, creating a suffocating sense of oppression.

The closer they drew to the Myriad Bone Cave, the stranger the surrounding environment became. Sparse, massive, and twisted bone remains began to appear on the ground. Some resembled the ribs of an ancient giant beast, standing like archways; others were broken, faintly glowing skulls, with what looked like ghost fire flickering in the eye sockets. A cold, chilling wind, like invisible blades, swept across the g*obi, making a whining sound. The wind carried subtle noises, like the low sobs and whispers of countless people, disturbing the minds of the approaching cultivators.

Even with the protection of Qin Yixuan’s Profound Goddess Radiance and the universal light of the Buddha emanating from Master Huijue, the cultivators in the allied forces could still feel the bone-deep, soul-freezing aura of coldness and deadly stillness. The air was permeated with an overwhelmingly thick, pungent odor of decay mixed with sulfur. Vaguely, they could hear the spine-chilling sounds of chewing, bone scraping, and ferocious roars echoing from the direction of the giant rift valley in the distance.

“Amitābha.” Master Huijue’s pace of turning his prayer beads noticeably quickened, his expression as grave as cast iron. “What an intense aura of death and resentment! This place is saturated with soaring resentment and profound demonic energy. It is no ordinary demon territory, but rather a fissure leading directly to the Nine Nethers! The Myriad Bone Cave truly lives up to its name.”

Qin Yixuan floated in the air before the allied forces, her Nine-Colored Divine Eyes fixed on the distant giant rift valley—the Myriad Bone Cave—which looked like a scar across the earth. The chasm stretched out before them, its width immeasurable, its edges steep as if sliced by a knife or axe. The valley bottom was unfathomably deep, filled only with swirling, churning grayish-black death energy mist, writhing like living things. Her brow furrowed slightly: “The valley entrance and surrounding areas are set up with extremely complex and powerful spatial restrictions and illusion formations. These formations are intimately connected with the death energy and demonic energy permeating the ground, forming a vast, self-contained defense system. The internal entanglement of death and demonic energy is so dense that it severely interferes with divine sense probing; even my Profound Goddess Eyes struggle to completely penetrate it.”

She paused, her tone becoming even more solemn: “Moreover… I sense an extremely wicked, ancient aura, filled with the consciousness of destruction and hunger, slumbering—or perhaps, sealed—deep in the bottom of the valley. This aura is of the same origin as the core of the ‘Erosion World Plan’ and Ling Hao’s power, yet it is purer and more terrifying! It seems to be… the very thing the Erosion World Plan seeks to summon or release!”

Ye Li closed her eyes in concentration, fully sensing the intense throbbing transmitted by the fragment of the Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror in her Sea of Consciousness. The throbbing was several times stronger than it was in the Black Desert. It was not merely a guide to the existence of other fragments but also a powerful rejection and warning against a power of the same origin being polluted and twisted. Simultaneously, it carried a strong revulsion toward the massive evil formation that was currently operating. “There is indeed an aura of the Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror fragment at the bottom of the valley, but… it has been contaminated by an extremely filthy and powerful demonic source, and its state is highly unstable. Furthermore, a Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation, far exceeding the scale of the one in the Black Desert, is operating there at full capacity, and its energy fluctuations are astonishing! We must stop them as quickly as possible!”

The situation was a hundred times more severe than anticipated. The Shadow Demons had clearly made this their core lair, not only utilized the naturally formed environment of extreme Yin and absolute desolation of the Myriad Bone Cave but also deploying layered and interlocking formidable defenses.

The allied forces attempted to breach from several seemingly possible entrances marked on the map, but they met with unprecedented fierce and bizarre resistance.

The illusion formation at the valley entrance was not a simple visual trick; it could directly act upon the souls of intruders, arousing their deepest fears and desires, creating utterly realistic illusions. Several small teams of Core Condensation Realm cultivators stepped into it, only to instantly turn upon each other like madmen, or charge toward the sheer cliffs with insane laughter. Had it not been for Qin Yixuan’s timely awakening with her divine sound and Master Huijue’s use of Buddhist light to forcefully break the local illusion, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

The attackers hidden within the dense death energy were even harder to guard against. There were “Soul-Devouring Fiends,” comparable in strength to the Spirit Mansion Realm, condensed from countless vengeful souls; “Bone Dragon Remnants,” with massive bodies and skeletons as hard as profound iron, spewing Netherworld ghost fire; and “Corpse Demon Vines,” capable of burrowing unseen, suddenly emerging to drag people underground… These demonized creatures were not only powerful but also utterly fearless. What was more terrifying was that they seemed to be under the command of a single, unified will, making their attacks highly tactical and perfectly coordinated.

Not to mention the Shadow Demon elites who utilized the terrain, hiding in the dark to launch sneak attacks and set up various malicious traps such as decaying bone poisonous miasma, explosive demon runes, and soul curses. They knew every inch of this land, using the complex terrain to skirmish with the allied forces, causing no small amount of trouble and casualties. During one strong assault, an Elder from the Eastern Star Palace, a Spirit Mansion Realm cultivator, inadvertently triggered a hidden “Nine Nether Soul Erosion Array,” and his divine soul was instantly sucked dry, turning him into a skeleton before rescue could even be attempted.

Repeated forced incursions yielded minimal results and failed to genuinely penetrate the valley, instead costing the lives of dozens of skilled practitioners, including several Spirit Mansion Realm cultivators. This dealt a blow to the morale of the allied forces, and an atmosphere of anxiety and gravity hung in the air.

“We cannot keep charging in blindly like this!” Ye Li calmly analyzed the terrain and the flow of the formation’s energy. Her voice was exceptionally clear amidst the slightly subdued allied forces. “The defense system here is integrated with the Heaven and Earth malevolent energy, the leyline death energy, and the core demonic source of the entire Myriad Bone Cave. Forcing a breakthrough will not only be twice the effort for half the result but may also trigger a complete eruption of the Myriad Bone Cave’s ominous Yin energy, potentially prematurely awakening the terrifying existence at the valley bottom. The consequences are too dire to contemplate! We must change our strategy, find a weakness in their defense system, or… find a way to dismantle it from within.”

Qin Yixuan nodded in agreement, her exquisitely beautiful face also grave. “With my Profound Goddess power, I might be able to forcefully purify and temporarily stabilize a small area of the death and demonic energy, carving out a relatively safe passage for everyone. However, this method is hugely taxing and cannot provide sustained coverage for the entire army. More importantly, such a large movement will inevitably be detected by the demon at the bottom of the valley, alerting the enemy.”

Just as everyone was at an impasse, struggling to find a solution, Ye Li received the latest intelligence, acquired by Lin Feng through the Shadow Pavilion’s most urgent and covert channel at great cost. The intelligence indicated that, based on a deep decryption of the items seized from the Black Desert outpost, repeated interrogation of captured low-level demon cultivators, and cross-analysis of clues gathered by Shadow Pavilion spies across the Western Region, the complex defensive grand formation set up by the Shadow Demons in the Myriad Bone Cave was not supported by a single node. Instead, its energy supply and core operation were jointly maintained by one main node and three critically important secondary nodes!

These three secondary nodes, like the three vertices of a triangle, were located in three extremely perilous specific areas of the Myriad Bone Cave: the “Vengeful Spirit Blood Pool”—an extreme Yin place that gathered the unwilling resentment and polluted blood of countless fallen powerhouses; the “Burial Catacomb”—the core area of an ancient battlefield, burying the remains of the strongest warriors from both sides of the great war, where death energy and unyielding fighting spirit intertwined; and the “Demonic Malice Wind Eye”—the convergence point where the Myriad Bone Cave’s subterranean malevolent energy and extraterrestrial demonic energy surged and erupted, forming destructive Demonic Malice Gang Winds.

“If we can successfully destroy these three secondary nodes simultaneously, or within an extremely short time interval, the energy circulation of the entire Myriad Bone Cave’s defensive grand formation will be disrupted, its power drastically reduced, and a brief stagnation or loophole might even appear! That will be our best, and possibly only, opportunity for the main force to break through to the core altar at the bottom of the valley!” Ye Li immediately shared this crucial information with Qin Yixuan, Master Huijue, and other high-ranking leaders of the allied forces.

This intelligence was like a ray of light in the darkness, lifting everyone’s spirits. But with it came greater challenges and risks. A new strategy was quickly formulated: the allied forces decided to split into four groups and act simultaneously!

The First Team, the “Demon Slaying Squad,” would be personally led by Master Huijue. They would select the most highly cultivated Golden Body Arhats and ascetic monks from the Buddhist Sect, who were proficient in various demon-subduing divine abilities, and supplement them with strong cultivators from other factions skilled in defense and assault. Their task was to forcefully purify the millenniums-old accumulated resentment and polluted blood in the Vengeful Spirit Blood Pool using supreme Buddhist Law and destroy the formation energy node located there. This path was the most direct and the most dangerous, and they were guaranteed to face the fiercest resistance.

The Second Team, the “Formation Breaking Squad,” would be led by Envoy Yun Ying. Its members would include core disciples from the Nine Heavens Palace who were adept in both formations and sword techniques, along with several formation masters sent by the Eastern Star Palace. Their goal was to infiltrate the complex and heavily trapped “Burial Catacomb,” utilize their understanding of formations to bypass strong enemies, and locate and utterly destroy the formation foundation stone set deep within the catacomb. This path required extremely high skill and stealth capabilities.

The Third Team was the most unique and perilous. It would be led by the Golden Roc Demon King—a powerful entity from the Southern Barrens whose true form was a swift wind-riding Golden Roc, extremely skilled in manipulating wind-based power. Several cultivators equally proficient in wind-based Dao methods or possessing special stealth divine abilities would be selected to form the “Formation Disruption Squad.” Their mission was to risk entering the “Demonic Malice Wind Eye,” which could tear apart Core Condensation Realm cultivators, and attempt to disrupt the stable energy flow within it, perhaps even guiding a portion of the Demonic Malice Gang Wind to backlash against the formation node. This path was practically a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

The Fourth Team, the true core and main force of the allied forces, would be personally led by Qin Yixuan and Ye Li. They would gather the alliance’s most top-tier combat strength. The moment the three secondary nodes were confirmed to be successfully destroyed and the main defense formation showed drastic fluctuations, they would seize that fleeting opportunity. With the fastest speed and strongest power, they would charge directly to the core altar at the very bottom of the Myriad Bone Cave, engaging in the final decisive battle against the main Shadow Demon force and its leader!

The plan involved immense risks, especially the three teams tasked with destroying the secondary nodes. Each had to delve deep into the dragon’s lair, facing unknown and extreme environments and formidable defenders. The failure of any one team could lead to the complete collapse of the entire operation.

Qin Yixuan’s gaze swept over the people about to split up, her voice calm yet full of power, carrying a divine sense of reassurance: “Fellow Daoists, the safety of the Spirit Realm and the destiny of all sentient beings hinge on this battle. The road ahead is perilous, with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death. I implore you all to use your abilities, support each other, and proceed with the utmost caution. We vow here and now that, regardless of success or failure, we will fight to the very end! May you all… take care, and return victorious!”

There were no grand pronouncements, only heavy responsibility and firm conviction. Soon, the four teams quietly separated in a solemn atmosphere, like four precise surgical knives, carrying a death-defying resolve, plunging toward different vital points of the massive demon formation of the Myriad Bone Cave. The final decisive battle was about to begin its most tragic prelude in this ancient burial ground.