For now, he could not see any catch to the puzzle. As they attacked the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal, Wu Yu also joined in the fray!
He went all-out this time. After all, there was no one else around, and it did not matter that the Ancient Ink Camp knew that he was an "immortal beast." Therefore, he did not use the Lawful Embodiment of Heaven and Earth this time, but instead reverted to the original form of the Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast!
The Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast was even larger than the opponent. Combined with Wu Yu"s mystiques and destinable immortal treasures, the Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast was elevated to even deadlier heights.
Even the Lawful Embodiment of Heaven and Earth had an effect on the Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast. Wu Yu could control it, and even though his body did not change in appearance, his strength grew. Of course, his speed was penalized because of it, but this was quite a marvelous change. Because before, Wu Yu had depended on the physical growth to obtain his strength, at the cost of his speed.
As for the Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast, it could make the mystique into a speed-for-strength trade-off.
This was a milestone change that had been brought about by the merge between the real body and the second primordial spirit.
Of course, this was not Wu Yu"s first time experiencing it. Back when he fought the Tian Ming Dragon Lord, he had used the power of the Heaven Devouring t.i.tanic Beast to win.
"Time Warp Immortal Design!"
This was Wu Yu"s other important weapon.
As the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal was being subdued, not just Wu Yu, but the other Ancient Ink Camp members were also free to act now. Wu Yu used his time warp control to support them, and occasionally chipped in with his own attacks. His Meteoric Mirror and Sky Cloud Realm had terrifying power, especially when paired with the slashes of the Floating Dreams Sword. In this battle, Wu Yu"s contribution was even higher than before!
Especially since the Floating Dreams PaG.o.da controlled time so marvelously!
The yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal"s brutal attacks were completely scrambled by the time warp, and its threat level was mitigated. The Ancient Ink Camp had more time to marshal their attacks and unleash their autonomous realm power on the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal.
"All together now, smash it to pulp!"
"Alright!"
They did not relent, but continued to attack in a frenzy. Wu Yu eased off the offense, focusing his energy on the Floating Dreams PaG.o.da. It allowed him to disrupt the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal even more precisely. Even though it was wielding destinable immortal treasures, it was hard-pressed to connect with its attacks!
It was fairly draining for Wu Yu to maintain the Time Warp Field amidst such changes. Towards the end, he was forced to burn some immortal energy and buddha energy to sustain it. Otherwise, if the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal broke free of the Time Warp Field, the Ancient Ink Camp members would be doomed.
Luckily, he was able to hold on, and after about an hour, the Ancient Ink Camp finally destroyed the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal completely, to the point that it could no longer regenerate. They all gasped for breath, dropping to the floor with fatigue. They looked around, wild joy barely concealed behind their grimaces.
"Who would have thought that you were actually an immortal beast. No wonder you"re so talented." They looked at Wu Yu, their admiration renewed.
BOOM! RUMBLE~
Just as they spoke, another pa.s.sageway opened up behind the Yellow Ghost Hall. Their expressions tightened because this might imply that yet another challenge awaited, and probably one that was even harder to deal with than the yellow Zombie Ghostly Immortal. Besides, the Mark of an Immortal King had yet to appear. Who knew how many more challenges awaited them? That was the most terrifying doubt of all.
The unknown was the greatest fear.
"When will this ever end? It"s a nightmare!" Yang Wenlan groused.
"Don"t despair, Little Sister. The harder it is, the higher the grade of the Mark of an Immortal King. Maybe this third place is the final trial. And maybe the Mark of an Immortal King is just ahead, and the trials are already behind us. We might just have to retrieve it." Wu Xiao grinned.
"Don"t rush in yet. Let"s recuperate a little." Although the Mark of an Immortal King might be right before their eyes, the past two encounters had taken quite a toll on them. Therefore, Xu Zidong wanted to play it safe and recover their strength first. They could use their Genesis Mystical Pills to recover their autonomous realm power.
Wu Yu needed some rest too. He had expended the most energy in the last battle.
"Wu Yu, we pa.s.sed that trial thanks to you as well. Without you, we couldn"t have made it through safely." Xu Zidong smiled.
Wu Yu smiled slightly in response, but did not speak.
"If we find a Mark of an Immortal King, take it. It belongs to you. You should have it," he said, clapping Wu Yu on the shoulder.
Wu Yu shook his head. "That won"t do. I was just doing what I could. For now, I don"t need a Mark of an Immortal King. I"m not even at the Immortal Lord Realm."
Xu Zidong laughed and said, "Don"t try to bluff us. How could you have such strength without being at the Immortal Lord Realm? Besides, I saw your autonomous realm power."
He a.s.sumed that the Sky Cloud Realm was Wu Yu"s autonomous realm power.
Wu Yu could not say anything about that. But he would not accept the Mark of an Immortal King, because it was his repayment to Xu Zidong and the others.
Of course, the Mark of an Immortal King was not yet obtained. The road ahead was fraught with danger, and there was little meaning in debating this right now. Therefore, Wu Yu did not harp on the issue. He instinctively felt that there were still more trials ahead.
100 million immortal lords had come into this contest. How could a Mark of an Immortal King be that easily obtained?
"On your feet. We"re going in," Xu Zidong said to them.
"Alright!"
"Let"s go!"
They had pa.s.sed two trials and were all recovered to peak condition now. They were buoyed up by success, and galvanized to face the remaining unknown trials with confidence.
"Let"s go."
"I wonder what"s inside...."
When they pa.s.sed though, they reached a new hall. This hall was small, perhaps only a tenth of the Green Ghost Hall"s size. The walls were lit with red candles, casting a sinister, red pall on the hall.
The hall was rather small, and one glance was enough to take it all in.
There was a signboard on the hall, but it was blank.
But none of them were paying attention to this, because their eyes were all riveted on the elevated platform in front, where a certain object lay on the stone pillar.
It was a black jade seal-like object. It was divided into two parts. The bottom half was a square seal and the upper half was carved in the image of a beast!
"Mark of an Immortal King!"
Wu Yu was taken aback. He had seen a Mark of an Immortal King before, so he knew what it looked like.
"What!?"
Their faces changed.
Wu Xiao laughed gaily. "Didn"t I tell you? We"ve already pa.s.sed the trials. We could have taken the Mark immediately. What scaredy cats we were, spending so long on our recovery!"
Everyone laughed happily. The Mark of an Immortal King was right before them! This was something that they would never have even dreamed of!
"Big Brother, go on, take the Mark of an Immortal King," Qin Chuan said.
Even he, who was usually reticent, was smiling now. They were all unusually excited.
Xu Zidong nodded, but he looked over at Wu Yu, intending for Wu Yu to take it as he had said before.
"Big Brother, I think you should take it. After all, you are the strongest. Wu Yu does not need it for now," Yang Wenlan suddenly said.
These were strange words, but Wu Yu also shook his head. "Sister Yang is right. I don"t need it for now. No need to stand on ceremony. Take the Mark first, and we can talk about it later." "Alright." Xu Zidong walked up, moving quickly towards the Mark.
"Might be dangerous. I had better go along," Qin Chuan said, pulling out the Mountains and Rivers Sword as he went.
"Me too."
Soon, they were all crowding forward eagerly, while Wu Yu remained behind. He suddenly felt a little drowsy. As he looked back, he saw that the pa.s.sageway had been sealed off, and they were trapped in this hall.
Ming Long asked, "Strange place. Could there be something hidden?"
"I think so too. Something"s off." As for what was off, Wu Yu could not tell. His own brain felt a little foggy.
Even his footsteps felt sluggish, and he could not hear Ming Long"s words clearly. Because in his eyes, there was nothing but blood. As he saw the others move forward, he was seized by a manic urge to devour them!
He was extremely famished, and all he saw were juicy delicacies.
At this time, his food suddenly began to fight amongst themselves.
"Why should the Mark of an Immortal King be yours? So what if you"re the eldest?"
"The Mark of an Immortal King is mine! I"m the youngest! You have to give way!"
"Don"t think I don"t know the dark thoughts you"re thinking!"
"Go to h.e.l.l!"
They were actually fighting amongst themselves, and very savagely at that, aiming to kill one another.
Wu Yu remained behind, not partic.i.p.ating. But a desire was growing within him, to kill them all!
"Wu Yu, look up!" He heard an anguished voice that cut through his muddled mind. He lifted his head to look at the signboard. "Heart Ghost Hall" had appeared on it.
These three words had not appeared before.
"Heart Ghost Hall, Heart Ghost Hall, what does it mean...."
He calmed down slightly, but the impulsiveness within him could not be reined in. It was as though there were demons in his heart, and the blood flying fast and free from the scuffle was only feeding his need to devour.
Weng!
Suddenly, he felt a jolt of clarity. Although he did not know what had happened, Wu Yu guessed that the Ruyi Jingu Bang had helped him subdue his inner evil.
"Quickly! If you don"t act, those people will tear each other to bits!"
Ming Long urged him.
Wu Yu was startled. He looked carefully and saw that a few people had already been grievously injured, including the surrounded Xu Zidong. They were all mesmerized by the Heart Ghost Hall!
This Heart Ghost Hall was also a test, and the Mark of an Immortal King was the test! This test could ensure that they all killed each other in a short time. If not for the Ruyi Jingu Bang, Wu Yu would probably also have entered the mad killing!
Losing oneself completely was very dangerous indeed!
"What to do? They"re still not themselves."
"Judging by my experience, destroy the source. Destroy the Mark of an Immortal King," Ming Long said.
"Alright!"
Wu Yu immediately complied without hesitation. He had no more time left to think.