Chapter 9: Summoning the Soul

  It's done after three more periods of time, seeking recommendation votes. This chapter took 4 and a half hours to write, I'm finally satisfied with it. Dawn is approaching, don't forget to vote!

  Walking in the vast yellow sand, the fierce wind howled, and from time to time, an ancient folk song echoed in my ears, but it didn't appear in the spiritual world. The folk song came from afar, following this ancient song, Xiao Yi walked through one sand dune after another. The chill of the sandy soil almost penetrated through the skin, transmitting into the bone marrow, making the ancient battlefield even colder.

  The sky was dark and the sun and moon were invisible, the dull sky seemed to be shrouded in a layer of haze, there were no clouds, but on the sixth day after Xiao Yi stepped into this ancient battlefield, it started raining.

  Blood-colored rainwater fell from the top of my head, with a strong bloody smell. The desert under my feet quickly became dark red, and the rainwater gathered into streams, flowing between the dark red sand. The blood-colored water reflected not the sky, but corpse after corpse stained with blood. Beside the corpses were broken halberds and shattered long spears...

  Xiao Yi furrowed his brow, the ancient battlefield became even more mysterious. He quickened his pace, blood rain fell on him, his vital energy surged, unable to get close, he walked for half a day before the blood rain stopped. In less than an incense stick's worth of time, the originally dark red sandy soil returned to its original state, yellow sand rose up, and not a hint of bloody smell could be detected again.

  The ancient ballad grew clearer, on the eighth day, a sandcastle appeared on the distant horizon.

  This is a dilapidated ancient city, with unknown years of history, the walls piled up with yellow sand are full of mottled marks, and its body is covered with scars from swords.

  The sand city is very large, and even Xiao Yi was shocked when he walked closer. The old sandy walls are hundreds of feet high, and the entire sand city is probably at least a hundred miles in circumference. A majestic and ancient aura permeates the air, and this place seems to be the source of that ancient song. The sound appears to be coming from within the city.

  It's hard to imagine who built this ancient city, buried in the endless years. As for the sand city, Xiao Yi didn't know much about it. Shi Zhuan only told him that there were many tombstones in the sand city, and the city was a place of creation.

  The yellow sand turned into a city, even in the era of great technology, it was hard to imagine. Xiao Yi stretched out his hand and pressed it against the city wall, exerting a slight force, but only a layer of fine sand fell off, and the solidity of the wall exceeded Xiao Yi's expectations. Although it was only one-tenth of his strength, even the three-zhang-high stone stele from before could not withstand it.

  If it were a ordinary high-rise building in the era of technological advancements, this would also shake its foundation.

  But at this moment, Xiao Yi suddenly felt relieved. For him, coming to this ancient land was a miracle. Everything here was legendary, more mythical than myth itself. Xiao Yi didn't know if he could return, or how long it would take, or whether after endless years, in some corner of the earth, a fossilized skeleton of an ultra-ancient human would be unearthed.

  The sand city had only one gate, the massive gate was tens of meters high, but it was missing a plank, and the other plank was also broken. The strong wind rolled up the sand, and as I entered the city from here, that ancient song became even clearer.

  Xiao Yi walked into the city, as soon as he crossed the city gate, he felt a chill that went to his bones, this chill seemed to emanate from deep within his marrow, almost freezing his body.

  He let out a cold snort, and in his body, the blood and energy surged like the Yangtze River, driving away the chill from the depths of his bones. Even within a few feet around him, the air was slightly distorted, with heat rising up. It was as if he were a blazing furnace, even without any cultivation, and in this cold desert city, he seemed like a bright lamp that couldn't be ignored.

  After passing through a nearly hundred-meter-long corridor, what appeared before Xiao Yi's eyes was a vast forest of stele, large and small black stone tablets standing upright in the sandy city. Here, Xiao Yi couldn't see any sand.

  Because in front of him, white bones covered the entire land, and the shape could no longer be seen. The fragments were no larger than a fist, and it was unknown how deep they were. A bleak breath wandered through the city, Xiao Yi took a cold breath, and the white bones piled up. Perhaps this is what people mean when they describe such a scene - only by truly seeing it can one understand what kind of shock it is.

  Xiao Yi could smell the taste of white bones, and he couldn't tell whether they were from a different tribe or his own people. But they all died and were buried here in the same way. This sand city was actually a huge graveyard, where not only lives but also time, even an entire era, were buried.

  Xiao Yi suddenly understood that the ancient song was a soul-calling, summoning the spirits of their ancestors who had passed away and were buried there, and later generations had not forgotten.

  Forcing myself to calm down, I concentrated my mind and looked ahead. In front of me, in this desert city, there were tens of thousands of stone steles, but most of them were below five zhang (about 16.5 meters). Those between five zhang and ten zhang tall numbered less than two thousand, while those above ten zhang were fewer than one hundred. From ten zhang to ninety-nine zhang in height, there were varying numbers, but only nine steles reached a height of one hundred zhang (about 33 meters) in the entire desert city.

  At that time, Shi Gong and Li Huo Qian Fu Zhang broke a stone monument that was over 10 zhang tall. The remains of that year are now untraceable. Fifty years can wash away many things, and also bury lives.

  Suddenly, Xiao Yi's eyes moved slightly, and from the stele forest, a sound of breaking through the air was heard, which was the sound of a fist breaking through the air.

  Stepping into the vast expanse of white bones, those bones stretched all the way to his waist. Immersed in the endless white bones, Xiao Yi felt a sense of unreality, but soon, his eyes became sharp and piercing. His cultivation was sealed, his spiritual world was locked down, making him extremely susceptible to the influence of everything around him. Unbeknownst to him, he had already been drawn in by the aura of this desert city. If he really became obsessed, it could harm his heart and spirit. By the time a month passed and he left this ancient battlefield, there would definitely be great turmoil in his spiritual world, possibly even leading to madness, chaotic qi and blood - all very likely possibilities.

  "Since I'm already dead, how can you still try to control my will? Even if my spirit is sealed away, it's not something that you can control!"

  With a cold shout, Xiao Yi's blood and energy surged, he took one step forward, the numerous white bones in front of him suddenly shattered into powder. He didn't worry about hurting the remains of his ancestors, as far as he was concerned, since someone had erected these stone monuments, most of the scattered bones were not left by human ancestors, they were all... aliens!

  At this moment, there were two black shadows in the distance outside the sandy city. They gritted their teeth and had a surge of murderous intent in their eyes, but it was ultimately extinguished.

  "Let him live another moment, it needs their help."

  "Hum! At that time, let him have no bones left!"

  Forest of Stele

  Xiao Yi's blood was boiling like a furnace, wherever he passed, white bones turned to ashes. He had no reverence for these alien tribes, and even after death, they wanted to influence him, only to be trampled underfoot. Soon, he found the person who hit the stone tablet.

  "Easy!"

  Shi Taiyi let out a low shout, and he was facing a ten-zhang-high stone monument with all his might. On the pitch-black stone monument, cracks had already appeared.

  I knew it!

  Xiao Yi's heart moved, Shi Zhi Xuan had said that the stone stele in this desert city would weaken by a fraction every fifty years. Fifty years ago, even a strong warrior like Qian Fu Zhang wouldn't have been able to break a ten-zhang-high stone stele within a month using his own strength alone. As for Shi Gong and Huo Li Qian Fu Zhang back then, they were only able to do it because they had obtained a broken Bone Soldier. As for Shi Tai Yi, although he was now close to the realm of Blood Refining Small Circle, compared to the seniors within the clan fifty years ago, he still wasn't quite up to par. Being able to achieve this much was already proof that Shi Zhi Xuan's words weren't empty.

  Looking at the stone monument in front of him, Xiao Yi sighed that even the strongest object could not withstand the erosion of time. Time is the world's first killer, letting you die unknowingly.

  "They've all arrived!" Shi Ta said in a low voice.

  Xiao Yi nodded, not thinking that the four of them would be one step ahead of him. He didn't think much of it and walked among the stele forest, soon seeing the figures of Tuoba Feng and his two companions. Each of them had chosen a stele for themselves, none of which were under ten zhang in height. Among them, Mu Xue stood in front of a fifteen-zhang-high stele, her qing iron sword dancing in her hand. Although there was no fluctuation in the battle aura, relying on her powerful blood energy, every sword strike left an inch-deep mark on the stele.

  Her swordsmanship had become even more refined, and Xiao Yi could vaguely sense a hint of sharpness in the air. The Qing Tie sword emitted a cold glow, and when Xiao Yi arrived, Mu Xue hadn't even turned her head back. She was trying to shatter the stone tablet while also honing her sword skills. Originally just an average Clear Wind Sword Style, it had transformed entirely in her hands, with hints of a rebirth-like change. The flow of her sword movements was majestic and powerful, and in Xiao Yi's eyes, this sword style could already be considered top-notch. Clearly, during this period, not only he but also Mu Xue and the others were undergoing transformation.

  From Taoba Feng, Xiao Yi learned that Jian Qing was indeed in the center of Bei Lin, but he had not moved for a long time, simply sitting cross-legged, his body buried among many broken bones.

  In the forest of steles, Xiao Yi saw the Vermilion Flame Thousand Husband Elder, the Fire River Tribe Elder, and the Ancient Wind Tribe Elder. Each had their own choices. The Fire River and Ancient Wind Elders stood before a massive twenty-zhang-high stone stele, its surface a deep, mysterious blue and radiating a cold, metallic luster. They regulated their breathing, occasionally punching out with a fist, their vital energy surging like a great river, striking the stele with a deafening crash, sending shards of stone tumbling down.

  Before long, Xiao Yi saw the Red Dragon, who was also standing in front of a 17-zhang-high stone stele. The Red Dragon let out a bitter smile at Xiao Yi's appearance, his gaze falling on something 30 zhang away.

  Following the gaze of Chi Long, Xiao Yi's heart trembled slightly. He saw Huo Li Qianfu standing still in front of a pile of broken stones, which was a heap of fragmented stele pieces scattered all over the place, with many already sinking into the rubble. The Chi Tong Hun Tian Chui was placed on this pile of broken stones. Huo Li Qianfu's breathing was somewhat heavy, clearly audible in the stele forest.

  As if he hadn't heard the footsteps behind him, after a dozen or so breaths, Huo Lian Cheng took a deep breath and reached out to grab the Red Copper Heaven Crushing Mace. (Three updates are complete, seeking recommendation votes! This chapter was written in 4.5 hours, I'm finally satisfied with it. The early morning is approaching, don't forget to vote!)