Chapter 885: One Finger

Soon he arrived at the place that had been covered in bones. Although many suits of armor were scattered on the ground, upon closer inspection, the bones all bore fine patterns, presumably left behind by the Seal Master Hall after receiving recognition from the sages.

That is to say, these were all masters.

Every master was a treasure of humanity. The Master Hall spent countless resources to cultivate them, yet so many were killed here, their flesh and blood dissolved. Just thinking about it was terrifying.

From this alone, one could see the crimes of the Bear-Tiger Beast were too numerous to record. Even dying a hundred times would not be enough.

"Sacrificed for humanity, fearless for righteousness—you are heroes of mankind. Your bones cannot be left exposed here!" Zhang Xuan said, his expression dark.

He pressed his palm lightly on the ground nearby, and a huge pit immediately appeared. True qi surged, gathering the scattered bones and slowly lowering them into the pit.

The bones were already broken, impossible to tell whose they were. It was better to bury them together. Fighting together in life, buried together in death—there would be no regrets.

After burying the bones, Zhang Xuan activated his Eye of Insight and continued looking ahead.

The traces left by the "Emperor" disappeared beneath the spot where the bones had been.

"Could it be underneath?"

Beneath the bones was flat ground with no pits. He reached out and touched it, but found no mechanisms.

Nothing at all. Where had it gone?

The traces seen by the Eye of Insight vanished right here—there was no mistake.

"Could it be..." Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind.

Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a spirit beast rolled to the ground.

"Queen of Thousand Ant Bees, check if there is a folded space beneath this spot!"

Folded space involved spatial laws, which he could not yet probe with his current strength. The Queen of Thousand Ant Bees was naturally sensitive to space and could easily discern it.

The bee queen nodded, pressed her nose to the ground, sniffed, circled around, and then stood up.

"Master, there is indeed a folded space here, but it's not very large. Do you want to go in and take a look?"

"Indeed!" Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up.

He had only guessed earlier. Since it wasn't here and no underground palace or similar structure was found, it was highly likely a folded space. And it turned out to be true.

"Of course I want to see!" He didn't hesitate at all.

The purpose of coming here was to find the "Emperor" the Tiger-Bear Beast had mentioned. Why not enter the folded space?

However, if the other party was inside, given his methods and abilities, it would certainly be very dangerous. After a moment's thought, Zhang Xuan looked up: "Don't come in. Just tell me how to enter."

Inside this folded space, there might well be a Saint realm fourth or fifth layer expert. The Queen of Thousand Ant Bees was only at Mortal Realm ninth layer; entering rashly could put her in danger.

Such spaces all had methods of entry. Without spatial ability, one couldn't even detect them, let alone enter.

Just like the one left by Master Kong in the Sealing Sage Platform—without finding the errors in the insights, it couldn't be opened.

This one was surely the same, but... since the Queen of Thousand Ant Bees could detect it, she must have a way to enter.

"Alright, I'll open the entrance for you, Master. Just go straight in!"

Not knowing what existed in such spaces, and seeing that her master didn't want her to enter, the Queen of Thousand Ant Bees didn't insist and nodded.

Zhang Xuan acknowledged.

After sniffing the ground again, the bee queen suddenly grabbed with both hands.

Rip!

As if something was torn, a hole over one person's height appeared before him.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Xuan flicked his wrist, and a book appeared in front of his chest. He had the ruthless man guard him, then shook his body and stepped inside.

Entering the hole, he immediately saw the situation inside. It was indeed a small space, only seven or eight meters in diameter, much smaller than Master Kong's.

He didn't see the Green-Horned Dragon Beast from before. There was only a small circular platform, about one person tall and half a meter in diameter. Unlike what he imagined, it was empty, with nothing on it.

After circling around and finding nothing, Zhang Xuan frowned.

The Eye of Insight could not be wrong. The "Emperor" had definitely entered here, but why was there nothing?

Even a soul spirit could not escape the Eye of Insight, and besides, he himself was a soul spirit master. If such a thing were present, it would certainly be exposed.

Just as he was about to observe more carefully, a sharp sound pierced his eardrums, as if something was breaking through the air toward him.

Before he could react, he felt a tremendous force slam into his back.

Buzz!

A layer of light film appeared on his body—it was the Air-Strike Talisman he had obtained from Brother Yu, Yu Cheng.

This Air-Strike Talisman could block a full-force strike from a Saint realm first layer expert. For safety, he always kept it close to his body, never in his storage ring. Now, encountering danger, it activated instantly.

Crack!

The Air-Strike Talisman, capable of withstanding a full-force blow from a Saint realm first layer, met the sharp sound from behind. It didn't last even half a breath before shattering. The violent force struck his back, and he was involuntarily thrown forward, as if hit by a train.

Bang!

He slammed heavily into the wall ahead, smashing a large hole.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Even with the protection of the Air-Strike Talisman, he was severely injured.

He circulated Heavenly Way true qi to heal his injuries, then turned around.

There was no figure before him, nor the soul spirit of the Green-Horned Dragon Beast. Only a withered finger floated in the air.

The attack just now must have been the power released by this finger.

"A single finger shattered the Air-Strike Talisman and injured me?"

Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted.

He couldn't sense whether the finger contained power, but the fact that it could easily injure him was terrifying.

"Are you the 'Emperor' that the Golden Bear-Tiger Beast mentioned?" Steadying his breath, seeing that the other party didn't continue attacking, Zhang Xuan asked.

"Heh, finding this place shows you have some skill!"

A thought emanated from the finger, speaking in ancient beast language.

The voice was exactly that of the Green-Horned Dragon Beast soul spirit from before.

"So that's it. I didn't expect the soul spirit of the Green-Horned Dragon Beast to survive by hiding on a single finger!"

Zhang Xuan frowned.

A soul spirit couldn't exist alone. He had been puzzled about how that worked, but now he understood: the other party must have lodged itself on this finger and survived for so long.

Just like Mo Hunsheng had lodged on the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo.

With a good carrier, one could last a very long time.

But a finger was not a living body. To maintain vitality, it needed to absorb flesh and blood energy. Perhaps that was why the Bear-Tiger Beast had been made to sacrifice masters.

Master true qi was pure, and their flesh and blood energy far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators—a great tonic for dead things.

"Good eyesight. So young and with such insight, you're no ordinary student, nor a student of that elder outside!"

Hearing him state its origin at once, the finger snorted.

"Indeed, I am not a student of Elder Mi..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"You tamed the nine kings of Cloud Mist Ridge, so you have your merits. But... what I like most is devouring genius masters like you. Once I devour you, I can replenish the finger's flesh and blood and extend my life by another fifty years!"

The finger chuckled, as if it had a pair of greedy eyes, wanting to devour him.

"Extend life by fifty years?" Zhang Xuan looked at it. "You extend your life by devouring the flesh and blood of masters? What is this finger, that it allows you to evade the Flow of Time Decay?"

Among the five decays of soul spirit power, there was the Flow of Time Decay. As time passed, even with flesh and blood replenishment, soul power would gradually weaken.

Even a soul spirit master could not exist forever and live indefinitely.

Mo Hunsheng was trapped in the Nine Heavens Lotus Embryo, isolated from the world, yet his power had decayed severely—less than a tenth of his peak Mortal Realm ninth layer strength remained.

This creature survived on a single finger. Could there be something strange about it?

"You know about the Flow of Time Decay?" The finger was puzzled.

Many knew about soul spirit masters, but few knew about the five decays of soul power—it was a secret of the profession. This fellow was so clear about it. Could he also be a soul spirit master?

"Of course I know! Not only that, I also know that you haven't received the inheritance of a soul spirit master. Although you survived in soul spirit form, you are actually attached and symbiotic, not possessing!"

Zhang Xuan continued.

When the other party didn't attack, the Library of Heaven's Path couldn't read it. But when it attacked him just now, using power, a book had formed in his mind. In this short time, he had already opened it and turned it into his own knowledge.

He had thought this creature had the inheritance of a soul spirit master to live so long, but now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

It had merely used a special method to bind its soul to this finger and then relied on devouring the blood energy of masters to sustain life. It had nothing to do with soul spirit inheritance.

For its soul to live this long, this finger must be extraordinary.

Unfortunately, the soul of this Green-Horned Dragon Beast was only attached and symbiotic with the finger, not possessing it. The sneak attack just now was from the soul, so the Library didn't reveal the finger's origin.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted words with it—he would have just slapped it with a book.

"You can state my origin at once. Young as you are, you've seen a lot. But... the more so, the less I can let you go! If you hadn't come to my folded space, fine. But since you're here, don't leave today..."

After a moment of surprise, the finger sneered.

Buzz!

Then a powerful force spread out. The illusion of the Green-Horned Dragon Beast that Zhang Xuan had seen in the cave emerged again from the finger, filled with intense killing intent, as if it wanted to devour him.

"I'm talking to you nicely, but why must you eat me? Are you so sure you'll succeed?"

Just as Zhang Xuan was about to throw out the Book of Heavenly Way, he heard the ruthless man's voice in his ear.

"Leave this one to me..."

"Leave it to you?"

Without his command, the ruthless man usually didn't take the initiative to work. Why was he suddenly offering to act?

Before he could wonder long, the man's voice continued.

"It's... that finger bone is mine!"