While everyone was still reeling in shock over what Qing Wenting had obtained, Ruoshui’s heavenly voice rang out clearly: “It is exactly this!”
Ye Chu focused his gaze. He wanted to see what had truly brought this transcendent woman to the general’s tomb. He saw Ruoshui reach into the jade and draw out a seven-coloured silk ribbon. Although the ribbon emitted no aura at all, the moment everyone laid eyes on it, an instinctive urge to worship rose in their hearts.
“Five-Coloured Cloud Immortal Ribbon!”
Qing Wenting cried out in astonishment, staring at the item before her in disbelief.
Qing Wenting had only ever heard rumours about this object. Legend said it had been refined by an invincible supreme being of the nine heavens and ten lands. Though it was not a supreme artifact itself, anything even remotely connected to a supreme figure was invariably terrifying beyond measure.
Moreover, this was something crafted with a supreme being’s heart’s blood. According to the tales, it could bind all things, capable of restraining gods, ghosts, and demons alike.
Qing Wenting still remembered her elders sighing in admiration over this peerless supreme treasure, and even doubting whether such an item still existed in the world. Yet no one had ever imagined that this treasure, which could drive the entire outside world mad with desire, was actually one of the great general’s burial goods.
This only confirmed Qing Wenting’s conviction: the great general must have had some profound connection with a supreme figure. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to obtain such a thing.
The Five-Coloured Cloud Immortal Ribbon was in no way inferior to Qing Wenting’s Primordial Spirit True Source or Ji Die’s golden page. If word of this item existing in the general’s tomb spread outside, even those peerless powerhouses would probably rush here to seize it.
Ruoshui had long calculated that this item would be here. Obtaining it did not come as a surprise. The seven-coloured ribbon of cloud-like radiance wrapped around her slender waist, accentuating its delicate yet resilient lines. Her otherworldly beauty became even more soul-stirring, so captivating that no one dared meet her gaze directly.
Qing Wenting felt curious. Such a peerless supreme treasure naturally possessed its own spirit. When unleashed, its power would be enough to annihilate them all. Yet this woman had tied it directly around her waist. Was the spirit of the Cloud Immortal Ribbon still dormant, or did she possess some method to subdue its spirit?
Having obtained what she came for, Ruoshui once again turned her gaze to the interior of the jade coffin. There was no trace of the great general’s corpse inside. This confirmed her earlier suspicion. For a figure like the great general, his true resting place was probably impossible for ordinary people to find. It simply would not permit the world to disturb him.
Ruoshui sharply lifted the black cloth covering the jade coffin. Instantly, the items beneath flew outward: weapons, jade bottles, command tokens… every single one was extraordinary. Taken outside, each would be worth a fortune.
This drove the other great cultivators into a frenzy. One after another, they lunged towards the radiant artifacts, desperate to seize them.
Only Ye Chu, limited by his meagre strength, failed to claim anything at all.
“Clang…”
A piece of black iron, lifted along with the black cloth by Ruoshui, fell to the ground. The iron was covered in rust, only the size of a finger, shaped like a small rod. It rolled to a stop at Ye Chu’s feet. No one paid it the slightest attention.
Ye Chu casually picked it up. It felt ice-cold in his hand. He noticed a bolt hole on the jade coffin and thought to himself that this piece of black iron was probably used to secure the coffin lid.
Ye Chu gave a bitter smile. After coming all this way and expending so much effort, in the end he had only made wedding clothes for others. All he could pick up was a piece of worthless black iron that no one else cared about.
“Retreat!”
Just as Ye Chu was feeling helpless about his own weakness, Ruoshui suddenly shouted loudly. While everyone was still going mad over seizing the various items, a spider shot out from inside the jade coffin. The spider was not large, only about the size of Ye Chu’s palm.
Yet the moment everyone saw this spider, their expressions changed drastically. Horror filled their eyes, and their faces turned deathly pale.
The spider was seven-coloured all over. Heart-palpitating light flowed across its body. Although it did not release any particularly terrifying aura, merely looking at it made everyone’s hair stand on end.
“Three-Yin Coloured Pattern Killing Spider!” Ruoshui’s face also turned grim as she stared at this peerless killing creature that had gained spirituality.
When Qing Wenting heard Ruoshui’s words, her face paled even further.
Killing aura was already terrifying enough. When it gained spirituality, it became a true nightmare for cultivators. If one could not resist it, they would be completely eroded. Of course, for killing aura practitioners, such a creature was a supreme treasure. Obtaining one like this would allow their cultivation to surge dramatically.
But even for a killing aura practitioner, subduing such a creature was extraordinarily difficult.
A spiritual killing creature was both a supreme treasure and a cultivator’s worst nightmare. It could erode all things and destroy vitality. Any spiritual energy in its presence would be corroded and completely annihilated. Refining such a thing was essentially gambling with one’s life. Success would bring explosive growth in strength and the ability to wield killing aura. Failure meant utter annihilation, with no remains left behind. And the probability of failure was nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine out of ten thousand!
The Three-Yin Coloured Pattern Killing Spider ranked among the foremost of killing creatures. Wherever it passed, rivers turned to dead waters, forests became barren mountains. When it unleashed its killing aura, it could topple mountains and seas, leaving thousands of li without a cloud. It was a peerless killing entity, capable of making even powerhouses who had reached the level of seizing creation feel dread. But that was not its most terrifying trait. Its greatest horror lay in its ability to seize and devour others’ primordial spirits for its own use.
Yet such a creature now stood right before them.
No one felt any excitement over treasures anymore. Instead, their faces were filled with pallor. Everyone knew this vicious creature was beyond their ability to subdue. Before coming here, they had already overestimated the terror of the killing aura, yet they had never imagined it would be something as high-ranking as the Three-Yin Coloured Pattern Killing Spider.
“Everyone, strike together! Suppress it!” Ruoshui shouted to Qing Wenting and Ji Die.
The two women clearly understood that if they could not deal with it, death awaited them. The three women unleashed their most terrifying power. Vast and majestic force surged forth, pressing towards the coloured-pattern killing spider.
The killing spider had gained spirituality. It emitted a hissing sound. Ferocious killing aura carrying seven-coloured light erupted like a river in flood, surging towards the three women.
The three combined their strength. The power they unleashed was peerless in might. Yet under the spider’s erupting killing aura, they were still forced back. Only by shielding their bodies with spiritual energy did they avoid being eroded by the killing aura, but even so, they were shaken and sent flying several steps backward.
“I will do it!”
The empire’s prince stepped forward. He might not be particularly strong, perhaps only at the Primordial Spirit Realm. Yet what astonished everyone was that he had actually obtained the only heaven and earth artifact from the jade coffin. This artifact obeyed him completely. In his hand, it shone with blazing light.
Seeing everyone’s puzzled looks, the empire’s prince explained calmly, “The Asura Thousand Transformations was originally an item of the imperial family. The imperial family bestowed it upon the great general as an honour for his merits.”
Everyone came to a sudden realisation and finally understood how the empire’s prince had been able to claim such a treasure.
The four of them struck simultaneously. The power they unleashed was even more terrifying, rushing straight towards the coloured-pattern spider in an attempt to obliterate it.
But they had underestimated the killing spider’s terror. Facing the terrifying force coming at it, the spider neither dodged nor evaded. It suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled. The vast power surged straight into its maw and was completely ground to nothing. Meanwhile, Ruoshui and the others felt as though even their primordial spirits were about to be sucked out. Their faces turned deathly pale as they desperately circulated their power to steady their primordial spirits.
Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically at this sight. Their bodies could not help trembling. No one had imagined they would witness the true terror of the killing spider only now. The combined power of these four people was something every one of them looked up to in awe. Yet at this moment, it had been utterly suppressed by the killing spider.