When the elder burst out from the entrapment of the giant net, his figure fell directly to the end of the bridge, collapsing in a pool of blood.
“Elder Guo Kui, are you alright?” The others rushed over to check on the white-haired elder.
“I just burned my own blood essence to unleash the secret technique of our Misty Illusion Sect. Now I’m barely clinging to life,” the white-haired elder said weakly.
“I’m done chasing opportunities here. I only ask that you all spare my life, our Misty Illusion Sect will be forever grateful.”
“Don’t say that, Elder Guo. The situation is unclear, and we’re all in this together. We should stick together,” the green-robed man replied, shaking his head.
“That young man hasn’t come over yet,” the seductive woman said.
Everyone looked up, there had been six of them earlier. Now only four remained. Xu Zimo and the burly man were presumed dead on the bridge.
Even the four who made it across were severely wounded.
The white-haired elder had basically lost all combat strength, the scholarly man had lost half an arm, and the other two were bleeding all over, with little strength left for a fight.
After crossing the bridge, the group began to take in their surroundings.
Directly ahead stood a massive palace.
The hall was also constructed from white bones, its gates tightly shut.
Above the gate, a massive and grotesque white skull was embedded into the structure.
The large characters “Bone Hall” came into view.
“What kind of place is this?” the seductive woman asked, shivering and hugging her arms.
“No idea,” the green-robed man replied, shaking his head. “Let’s rest here until our wounds heal before moving forward.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, before they could make a move, the sound of creaking echoed out.
That sealed, ancient bone gate slowly opened.
As though for the first time in countless ages, the door groaned open.
The sound was grating, like teeth grinding, unbearably discomforting.
The group stared in horror toward the dark hall, which was shrouded in black demonic energy.
Only at the far end could they make out a bone throne.
On the throne sat a man in a black robe, his expression indifferent.
His body was completely covered by his robe, his bald head blood-red, eyes like sharp hawk eyes, gloomy and piercing.
He had a tall nose, but no ears.
Behind the robe was a blood-red cape, embroidered with the image of a skull.
“Why have you disturbed my slumber?” came a low, raspy voice from within.
The black-robed man stood, and at that moment, demonic energy surged violently within the hall.
Roars echoed from the twisted faces formed of that energy.
“Th-this…” The group gasped and stumbled back.
But the bridge was behind them, there was nowhere to retreat.
In their current state, just setting foot on the bridge could cut off someone else’s escape.
They swallowed hard.
The black-robed man took a step forward.
Each step he took felt like it was stomping on their hearts.
Their heartbeats quickened involuntarily.
The demonic aura grew stronger and more turbulent.
His red cape billowed, and when he stepped out of the hall, he raised his right hand gently.
With two sharp cracking sounds, countless white bones erupted from the ground.
The sharp bones pierced through the four people, pinning them to the jagged spikes.
Blood dripped steadily down the bone spikes. They weren’t killed instantly, but left to suffer in agony, only dying after struggling in torment.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the bridge.
The group forced their eyes to look.
Xu Zimo approached slowly, his body surging with demonic energy.
The aura around him was even more overwhelming than the palace itself.
The entire demonic lake was engulfed in his presence.
“H-he…” the seductive woman muttered, blood trickling from her lips, her eyes filled with terror as if she'd seen a ghost.
…
Xu Zimo stared at the black-robed man, who looked back at him.
As Xu Zimo stepped closer, the man's body began to tremble uncontrollably.
His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at Xu Zimo in disbelief.
“M-my Lord…”
“Though there are things I still don’t fully remember, as you can see, I’ve returned,” Xu Zimo said calmly.
“Kneeling before my Lord, the first vanguard of the Nightmare Demon Legion under Lord Seven-Face, Bone Demon greets the Supreme One!” The black-robed man dropped to one knee, his voice booming with reverence and awe.
From the demonic lake, the waters churned. A massive head slowly surfaced from the depths.
It was a demonic octopus. Its dark eyes locked on Xu Zimo, and countless tentacles intertwined, also bowing in submission.
“Rise, my first vanguard,” Xu Zimo nodded and said.
“I-In… Infernal Lord…” the scholarly man on the bone spike barely managed to croak out before finally dying.
Bone Demon glanced at the corpses on the spikes and, fearing they’d disturb Xu Zimo, waved his hand.
The bone spikes instantly crushed the bodies into powder, which scattered into the surrounding demonic energy.
Xu Zimo walked step by step into the Bone Hall, Bone Demon following reverently behind.
“Are you the only one here?” Xu Zimo asked.
“I was ordered by Lord Seven-Face to guard his Seven-Faced Lotus,” Bone Demon replied with a nod.
“The Seven-Faced Infernal Archon, huh…” Xu Zimo muttered.
In fragmented memories from the past, he had seen many scenes.
The Infernal Lord had ten Infernal Archons, Paimon was the Archon of Despair, and the Seven-Faced was among them.
Arriving at the Bone Hall, Xu Zimo saw the place was empty, nothing but endless demonic energy and the throne.
But with a wave of Bone Demon’s hand, the hall's demonic mist parted, revealing a hidden chamber.
The chamber was small, containing a pond.
The pond was filled with thick, black demonic water, sticky and ominous.
At the center of the pond, a lotus flower was growing.
It had five petals, along with leaves and roots.
Xu Zimo’s eyes narrowed. The lotus instantly reminded him of someone.
When he left the God Demon City, he had seen a statue of a demon.
The man wore a black robe with a tight waist and held a lotus just like this.
Xu Zimo felt as though he was starting to understand something.
He looked at the lotus and said to Bone Demon, “Come with me.”