The First Immortal of Destiny

"If Senior Sister Yao needs it, I have some Grade II Elixirs here that I can sell to you!"

While Shen Mo was resting in Tianshan City, he had purchased another batch of spiritual medicines and refined several more furnaces of Grade II Elixirs.

At this moment, he didn't have many Grade III Elixirs on him, but he had quite a few Grade II Elixirs. It wouldn't hurt to spare some for Yao Ting.

"Then I thank you, Junior Brother Shen!" Yao Ting said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

After the transaction, she didn't leave, her face alight with an eager thirst for knowledge.

"Is there something else, Senior Sister Yao?"

Yao Ting smiled playfully and asked curiously, "These elixirs, Junior Sister Lingyin gave them all to you, didn't she?"

"Back at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, I sensed you two were quite close."

"How did you and Junior Sister Lingyin meet?"

"Is there something romantic between you two?"

Shen Mo barely restrained himself from sending her flying with a Palm technique.

As a cultivator, an elite of Stars Peak, how could she be so fervently gossipy, like some mundane middle-aged woman?

Seeing Shen Mo remain silent, Yao Ting finally left, disappointed.

Shen Mo failed to notice that all the cultivators from the Riverside Sect had pricked up their ears, their faces alight with curiosity.

After all, cultivators hadn't completely shed their human nature, so it was only natural for them to be susceptible to such curiosity!

Unless they were corrupted by demonic influence and transformed into mutated Heavenly Demons. Only then would their minds be solely consumed with the thought of strengthening themselves!

For Heavenly Demons, whether through demonic corruption or devouring living beings, the ultimate goal was to become more "perfect" and more powerful.

In a certain sense, the pursuit of a Heavenly Demon was purer than that of a cultivator.

But this purity was too evil, too cruel!

Having finished refining the elixirs, Chen Mengze gave Shen Mo a subtle glance before quickly looking away.

Who knows what she was thinking!

「After a while, the group finished their rest.」

Li Zhong, relying on his formidable strength, took the lead and charged into the Prohibition.

Shen Mo and the others followed, entering one after another.

As they entered, the dormant Underground Palace seemed to awaken, emanating an ominous aura.

"CLANK!"

"CLANK!"

"CLANK!"

Strange sounds, like iron sheets rubbing together, came from inside the Underground Palace.

At first, the sounds were faint and chaotic, like wind rustling leaves, but they gradually grew louder and more synchronized.

"Be extremely careful. We've likely triggered some arrangement Prince Yongzuo left in this mausoleum." Shen Mo's expression turned solemn, and he readied his various defensive measures.

"SQUEEEAAAK~~~~"

Amidst a long, harsh screech, the main gates of the Underground Palace before Shen Mo slowly creaked open.

Subsequently, lines of figures marched out from the palace gates, arraying themselves in a V-formation to encircle the cultivators.

Numbering over a thousand, their presence was extremely imposing!

Each figure was clad in heavy iron armor and armed with weapons such as spears, shields, great sabers, and bows.

The "CLANK" sound was the friction of their armor plates rubbing together.

However, both the heavy iron armor and the weapons like spears and shields appeared somewhat dilapidated.

This deterioration wasn't the result of battle but rather the decay left by centuries of time.

"Who... are you? Why do you trespass... upon the palace of our Xingwu Dynasty?" the leading general demanded, his voice radiating killing intent.

Its voice was incredibly hoarse and difficult to understand!

It was almost impossible to discern what it was saying without listening intently.

But the killing intent in its tone was unmistakable.

Even if one couldn't make out the words, its murderous resolve to eliminate the intruders was palpable.

"What in the world are these soldiers?" Li Zhong couldn't help but ask.

His words seemed to enrage the leading general.

With a wave of its massive hand!

Instantly, the powerful bows in the hands of the archers in the rear ranks twanged, and hundreds of dilapidated arrows shot towards Li Zhong like a swarm of locusts.

The bowstaves themselves were bare, their bowstrings long rotted to dust. Yet, they somehow still produced the twang of a drawn string and loosed arrows.

"WHOOSH!"

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

Then came a series of CLANGS.

Li Zhong had cultivated the Heavenly Fire Body Refining Mantra to the Perfection realm; his physical body was comparable to a profound-level top-grade magic artifact.

In terms of sheer physical resilience alone, he even surpassed Shen Mo.

Even a peak Qi Gathering Realm cultivator attacking him with magic artifacts would find it difficult to inflict the slightest harm, let alone these tattered arrows that seemed on the verge of disintegrating.

Seeing this, the leading general continued to issue orders. Soon, the thousand-strong force of heavily armored soldiers began to slowly advance, pressing in on the group.

Shields formed the vanguard, with long spears protruding from behind them. Further back was a grim formation of saber-wielders, and finally, the archers.

The military formation was perfectly arrayed, without the slightest flaw.

Shen Mo unleashed a brilliant streak of sword Qi at the leading general, shouting a warning.

"These soldiers are Human Ghosts. They are three parts human and seven parts ghost."

"The leading general is at the peak of Class II."

"The rest of the armored soldiers are all at the early-stage of Class II and possess the ability of Flying Escape. Be extremely careful!"

A cloud of Spirit Stone powder drifted from Shen Mo's sleeve.

Information about these soldiers instantly appeared in his vision.

[Human Ghost: Wei Bai]

[Realm: Peak of Class II]

[Summary: This ghost was originally a native of Zhong State in the Red Flame Country, a Grade II Guard General of the Liewu Dynasty. At the time of the dynasty's downfall, he was saved by Prince Yongzuo, buried alive in his tomb, and transformed into a Human Ghost. This ghost is adept at military combat arts and proficient in army formations. He has awakened his Innate Divine Ability (Rally Troops). He can draw upon the army's momentum to augment his own strength and can also galvanize the power of the military formation.]

[Weakness: This ghost is heavily reliant on the momentum of its military formation. If its army is routed, it can be easily slain.]

[Human Ghost: Niu Dazhuang]

[Realm: Early-stage of Class II]

[Summary: This ghost hails from Niu's Village in Zhong State, Red Flame Country. His physical aptitude is extraordinary. He was abducted by Prince Yongzuo, buried alive in his tomb, and transformed into a Human Ghost. This ghost is versed in military combat arts and excels with the long spear. He can fight in concert with his comrades-in-arms, battling relentlessly to the death.]

[Weakness: This ghost's soul is incomplete and can only move freely under the protection of the army's momentum. If its army is routed, it can be slain with a Soul Curse.]

[Human Ghost: Zhong Shi]

[Human Ghost: Qian Haoyang]

Naturally, Shen Mo couldn't use "Insight into All Beings" to inspect each of the thousand-plus armored soldiers individually.

However, after randomly selecting and inspecting more than ten of them, he confirmed they were all early-stage Class II Human Ghosts.

Thus, it went without saying that this entire contingent of armored soldiers possessed such strength.

It was unknown what methods Prince Yongzuo had employed to transform living people, buried alive, into Human Ghosts. These kinds of beings were extremely rare! Shen Mo himself had only encountered a large number of Human Ghosts in the Abandoned Ghost Zone, within the forbidden land where Zhang Taian resided. There, under Zhang Taian's protection, they lived ordinary lives much like mortals—farming, working, and reproducing. Their ancestors, however, were originally living people who had been tainted by ghostly energy and had miraculously survived. Generation after generation, these characteristics were passed down to their descendants, leading to their gradual evolution into these ghostly beings and the formation of Human Ghost villages. But the Human Ghost soldiers before him now were entirely different from those in the Abandoned Ghost Zone!

"BANG!"

The Sword Light Shen Mo directed at the Human Ghost General, Wei Bai, was intercepted by a wall of shields.