Chapter 727: Rumors

Less than three breaths after the spatial restrictions were restored, a blur of movement appeared on the second floor of the main hall, and Gui Mu's figure materialized out of thin air.

He was about to head to the third floor when his brow furrowed slightly. He glanced toward the left side hall, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

But then he shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and with a flicker of his body, stepped into the passage to the third floor.

Meanwhile, in a remote alley, a blurry flash of light passed, and Han Li and the others emerged.

As soon as he appeared, Han Li couldn't help but frown, a look of discomfort on his face.

"Separated by just one wall, how can the difference be so great? The air in the Luosheng District is not only turbid, but the baleful aura is also much heavier than before," Hu San said, wrinkling his nose.

"Not only that, the temperature in the Luosheng District seems to have risen as well," Shi Chuankong added.

"Fellow Daoist Baili, does the Reincarnation Domain have any news about the situation in Asura City?" Han Li asked Baili Yan.

"The Gray Realm is different from the Immortal Realm. There are deep barriers between domains, and information is relatively scarce. The Jiuyou Domain is extremely xenophobic, so even less news comes out of it," Baili Yan shook his head and said.

"Regardless, let's head toward the border first. Once we cross this threshold, we can enter the Soul-Washing District," Han Li said after a moment's thought.

"The layout of the Luosheng District is somewhat strange. There are many ring-shaped buildings of peculiar design, but they are not marked on the map. I don't know what they are used for. If we head straight for the border, we'll have to pass by these buildings along the way," Mo Guang said.

"We can't worry about that now. Let's carefully avoid them and pass through as quickly as possible," Han Li said.

With that, Han Li and his group, guided by Mo Guang, headed toward the border.

Along the way, the processions of ghost slaves became denser, and in many fortress-like buildings, cultivators with cultivation comparable to mid-stage True Immortals could be seen. The defenses here were even tighter than in the Baizang District.

After considerable effort, Han Li and the others finally reached the border area near the Soul-Washing District.

"Stop, don't go any further," Mo Guang suddenly halted them just as they were about to use Hu San's techniques to conceal their approach.

"What's wrong?" Han Li and the others stopped abruptly, first tensing up, then asking.

"Look over there," Mo Guang pointed ahead and said.

Han Li focused his gaze and immediately furrowed his brow.

Embedded in the ground near the city wall was a scarlet eyeball as large as a watermelon. Further away, at intervals, there were more identical eyeballs on the ground.

What was even more unsettling was that the black city wall in the distance was also densely covered with scarlet eyeballs.

"Damn, so many Asura Ghost Eyes..." Baili Yan sighed and said.

"Asura Ghost Eyes? Are they troublesome?" Hu San asked, puzzled.

"These are strange eyes from the Asura great demon. Each one has three thousand six hundred eyes, capable of seeing through all illusions and transformations. Your illusion techniques would be useless against them," Baili Yan shook his head and said.

"That means we have no way to approach the city wall silently, nor can we cross it using spatial laws," Shi Chuankong said with a frown.

As soon as he finished speaking, the nearest Asura Ghost Eye suddenly rotated and looked in their direction.

Han Li and the others immediately fell silent, suppressed their auras, and retreated.

After finding another secluded spot to hide, Han Li opened his mouth to speak when a loud "boom" suddenly came from not far away.

Thinking they had been exposed, the group was startled and quickly looked around.

"Over there..." Baili Yan pointed in a direction, his expression strange.

Han Li followed his gaze and saw one of the nameless ring-shaped buildings Mo Guang had mentioned. Above it, a black mushroom-shaped cloud rose and lingered for a long time.

"Fellow Daoist Mo Guang and I will go investigate. You hide yourselves and wait here," Han Li said after a moment of frowning silence.

"I'll go with you. Something seems unusual over there," Baili Yan said in a low voice.

"Alright, then Hu San and Fellow Daoist Shi will wait here," Han Li hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Be careful," Shi Chuankong said, his gaze sharp.

Han Li and the other two flashed out, leaving blurred traces in the streets as they dodged the watchtowers scattered around. They soon reached the high wall of the ring-shaped building.

Up close, Han Li found the ring-shaped buildings even taller than they had appeared from a distance. The walls were engraved with complex runes, but fortunately, they were only reinforcement arrays and had no warning function.

The three concealed themselves and slipped into the building. Inside, it was quite spacious, with a large black square in the center. Scattered haphazardly across the square were several black boulders, each several zhang tall, riddled with holes and battered.

One boulder in front of Han Li and the others was relatively intact, but a piece the size of a human head had been blasted off, and the broken edge was still emitting wisps of white smoke.

As they wondered, a rumbling sound came from the ground on the other side of the square. The ground split open, revealing what seemed to be an underground passage.

Then, several figures slowly ascended from below and stepped onto the square.

These figures were quite short, only about half the height of an average human. Their upper bodies were bare, revealing greenish-black skin without scales. Their faces were ugly, with pointed ears, protruding fangs, and bald heads except for a tuft of black hair in the center.

Though short and stocky, their muscles were bulging, and their arms were exceptionally thick, each wrapped in rings of bronze bands, giving them a fierce appearance.

Han Li frowned slightly, feeling that these aliens looked familiar, as if he had seen descriptions of similar races in ancient texts, but he couldn't recall at the moment.

"Such a strong aura of karmic fire!" Baili Yan suddenly frowned and muttered to himself as he looked at the crack in the ground.

"What?" Han Li's attention was on the short aliens, so he didn't hear clearly.

At that moment, the leader of the short aliens, who had the most bronze bands on his arms—five in total—scanned the entire square with a furious expression and shouted at those behind him:

"Such power is far too weak. It's completely useless. How could the lords of the Jiuyou Clan find it acceptable? Go, test the one with the largest dosage for me."

As he spoke, one of the short aliens stepped forward timidly, holding a black ball shaped like a sweet potato.

"Elder, please take shelter underground," he said, stopping after a few steps and turning back to the leader.

The latter, with a gloomy expression, turned and walked down the passage underground, followed by the others.

Han Li and the other two frowned, watching the alien with confusion.

The alien silently chanted for a moment, then suddenly pressed something on the "sweet potato" in his hand and threw it toward the center of the square.

Seeing light patterns emerge on the surface of the sweet potato, Han Li sensed danger and quickly raised his hand. A shield shaped like a green tortoise shell appeared in front of him.

Then, a loud explosion rang out.

A massive black flame burst from the black sweet potato, first contracting sharply, then suddenly expanding into a sea of black fire that surged in all directions.

The short alien who had thrown the sweet potato tried to run back to the underground passage, but just as he reached the entrance, he was engulfed by the rolling black flames. His body instantly melted into a pool of liquid on the ground.

The surfaces of the huge black boulders on the square were also rapidly eroded by the black flames, turning into magma-like black liquid that flowed down and melted away.

The black boulder in front of Han Li and the others was no exception; it soon melted into a pool under the scorching flames.

The tortoise-shell light shield in front of the three held firm against the black flames, but it also hissed and emitted smoke.

"Let's go," Han Li said in a low voice, frowning deeply.

As he spoke, the three immediately withdrew and leaped over the high wall.

Inside the square, no black stones remained. Only the black flames surged against the surrounding walls, producing a rumbling sound. Above, another black mushroom cloud rose, several times larger than before.

At the same time, the various runes engraved on the square and walls began to glow with black light, emitting strange fluctuations that countered the black flames, gradually wearing down their momentum until they were completely consumed.

Han Li and the other two returned to where Shi Chuankong and Hu San were hiding. Hu San immediately asked with confusion, "What happened? Why such a commotion? We thought you had been exposed and were about to come looking for you."

"That ring-shaped building is a training ground, apparently used for testing Gray Realm treasures," Han Li waved his hand and said.

"Then that thing just now..." Shi Chuankong frowned and asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be an explosive treasure made from karmic fire. Its instantaneous power is not weak and can pose a considerable threat to ordinary True Immortal cultivators," Mo Guang said, his gaze sharp.

"It seems those short aliens are the legendary Wo Jing Clan, who are highly skilled in artifact crafting," Han Li said thoughtfully.

"Wo Jing Clan? According to the ancient texts I've seen, weren't they wiped out thousands of years ago?" Shi Chuankong suddenly recalled something and exclaimed in surprise.

"It seems the extinction was a lie. The truth is that the Jiuyou Clan hid them away to forge treasures for themselves," Han Li shook his head and said.

"If that's the case, then that rumor must be true..." Baili Yan suddenly said, his eyes flashing.

"What rumor?" Hu San quickly asked.