novelzi Chapter 44: Hollow Skull
Chapter 44: Hollow Skull
Chapter 44: Hollow Skull
On Central Lake Island, the white pagoda emitted a faint light, giving off an eerie and sinister aura.
As everyone in the group focused their senses, they heard the wailing of departed souls. A shiver ran down their spines.
Looking back at the white pagoda, Pang Jian could not help but feel that the white pagoda was harmless as it had not caused him any discomfort to him whatsoever.
The white pagoda belonged to the mysterious Sinister Soul Temple and had the ability to seek out souls and spirits. However, it seemed to ignore him and refrained from probing his soul.
"I'm so happy you came to rescue me," Luo Hongyan said, pursing her lips as her bright eyes shone with happiness and satisfaction.
Pang Jian knitted his brows and coldly said, "If you had treated me this well when we first entered the Solitary Mountain Range, I would not have turned a blind eye to you at the bottom of Blackwater Pond."
Luo Hongyan was startled.
Meanwhile, in Ning Yao's sea of consciousness, she proudly addressed Ning Yao's faint soul, "See that? He didn't rescue you when you fell into Blackwater Pond, but he saved me."
Ning Yao hung her head in regret as she said, "If only I'd known he was so remarkable, I would've treated him better."
Luo Hongyan shook her head with a mocking smirk. "You lack insight. Both you and Zhou Qingchen are from the seven major clans. Zhou Qingchen saw his potential and reached out to him early on. But you? Although you met him first, you failed to see his true worth and treated him like an ordinary hunter."
Ning Yao fell silent.
Luo Hongyan's words struck a chord within her. Although Ning Yao had initially ventured into the Solitary Mountain Range with Pang Jian, Zhou Qingchen was the one who extended an olive branch and worked to earn Pang Jian's trust.
When Ning Yao realized this, she resorted to threats instead of trying to win Pang Jian back to her side.
Ultimately, Pang Jian had thrown the pouch of silver she had paid him onto the ground, ending his employment.
As he gazed at Divine Spirit Pagoda from the sideline, He Rong found it difficult to put down his pride and approach Luo Hongyan. Instead, he turned to Pang Jian and coaxed, "Little brother, since you're unaffected, why don't you go to the top floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda and destroy the array?"
With an awkward smile, Su Yuntian nodded in agreement.
Their fear of the Divine Spirit Pagoda prevented them from helping Luo Hongyan when she was in danger, leaving them feeling ashamed in her presence.
Luo Hongyan, however, seemed unperturbed. She was only concerned with Pang Jian. With a smile, she said, "Whether you can destroy the array doesn't matter. I trust that you'll be fine. The Divine Spirit Pagoda of the Sinister Soul Temple can't hurt you.
"I saw it with my own eyes. The moment you set foot on this Central Lake Island, it plummeted from the sky. It seemed to be...afraid of you."
Hearing these words, the crowd could not help but recall how the white pagoda had fallen from the sky, nor how the ground had trembled.
They looked at Pang Jian with deep confusion.
Maybe what had happened was not a coincidence after all.
"I'll go take a look," Pang Jian said solemnly.
Pang Jian also had an inexplicable feeling that the Divine Spirit Pagoda could not harm him. However, this was just a gut feeling, and he had no evidence to back it up.
Having made up his mind, Pang Jian no longer hesitated. He walked toward the white pagoda with his Dragonwood Spear in hand.
His pace quickened and he no longer paused to cautiously observe his surroundings.
A moment later, he arrived at the front entrance of the white pagoda.
All eyes were on Pang Jian. They all seemed more nervous and uneasy than Pang Jian himself.
Luo Hongyan remained calm and composed. Her small white hand rested on her waist, her expression inscrutable.
"This is my body!"
As he approached, a surge of pure Profound Yin energy rushed toward him.
The hollow skull was made of jade stones imbued with Profound Yin energy.
These jade stones were not gray, but pure white. The Profound Yin energy in these jade stones was much purer than the gray stone he had found in the stone pile.
These jade stones contained only Profound Yin energy and not spiritual qi or other energies.
Pang Jian continued to approach the skull, cautiously aware of its eerie, chilling aura. Meanwhile, the door-shaped bronze pendant on his chest started to warm.
As the bronze pendant warmed, the black turtle inside the skull suddenly seemed to sense something.
The spirit turtle struggled to regain its awareness and made great efforts to adjust itself to face Pang Jian.
Eventually, it caught sight of the young man, wielding a spear as if preparing to face a formidable enemy. At first, its eyes flickered with confusion before abruptly turning into a look of ecstasy!
However, as the black turtle studied Pang Jian, it soon realized that he was not the person it had expected. A deep disappointment filled its expression.
Even though it existed in an ethereal form and did not possess a physical body, the black turtle's complicated and ever-changing gaze as it watched Pang Jian betrayed its innermost thoughts.
Even without verbal communication, Pang Jian could read the black turtle's thoughts by looking into its eyes.
"I will destroy this skull and set you free," Pang Jian promised without hesitation. After all, his sole purpose in coming here was to dismantle the array.
He grabbed his Dragonwood Spear and thrust it at the skull.
Clang!
The resounding clang of metal echoed as the spearhead struck the jade stone. However, not even a spark flew from the seemingly inconspicuous jade stone.
Pang Jian was stunned. He tightly gripped the Dragonwood Spear with both hands once more. A surging tide of brute strength flowed through his arms and the rest of his body.
He thrust the spear at the jade stone again.
Clang!
As before, a resounding clang of metal echoed out and the jade stone remained undamaged.
Is this jade stone just special? Pang Jian was undeterred. He knew how terrifying his physical strength could be, so he tightened his grip on the Dragonwood Spear and targeted the other jade stones instead.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Even after dozens of attempts to hit different jade stones, none of the stones that made up the array were damaged. There was no sign of them even moving from their positions.
The spirit turtle at the center of the skull closed its eyes in disappointment. It no longer seemed to hold any expectations for him.
Pang Jian was not discouraged. After many attempts, he put down and tried to push the jade stones with both hands. However, in the end, not a single one moved.
"Let me think of another method. I'll definitely destroy this thing," Pang Jian declared before departing, paying no mind to whether or not the spirit turtle heard him.
Pang Jian did not bother to retrieve the Dragonwood Spear or descend the tower via the stairs. Instead, he jumped directly out of one of the open windows.
Boom!
Pang Jian fell heavily from the five-story white pagoda. Landing on the lush grass-covered ground, he rushed over to Luo Hongyan.
The onlookers watched him with a mix of astonishment and uncertainty.
1. The Chinese character for return is 回 ☜