Chapter 1007: Shen Ruyan's Encounter
This ignited a fury in him like never before. While he usually disregarded the mundane affairs of the Sacred Skeleton Sect, he did pay attention to matters concerning his lineage and bloodline.
The individuals he had brought to the Immortal cave abode were his confidants, some even his descendants. Now, their sudden and complete demise was a colossal blow to the sect.
Such a loss was even more devastating than their previous suppression by the Haoran Sect, stripping away their elite disciples and potentially relegating the Sacred Skeleton Sect to a third-rate force.
“Damn it! Damn it all!” Demon Ancestor Skeleton cursed, an ancient rage burning within him.
He was convinced that their deaths were caused by an enemy, not by the dangers of the Immortal cave abode itself.
His eyes filled with a terrifying murderous intent, he unleashed a surge of deadly energy and divine laws, probing the cosmos to trace the cause and culprit. However, his efforts were fruitless.
Jiang Chengxuan, who was responsible, was well-protected by layers of divine concealment and talismans that even Immortals might struggle to penetrate, let alone a Mahayana ancestor like himself.
Ultimately, Demon Ancestor Skeleton could only swallow his anger and frustration, causing destruction in the Immortal cave abode before retreating helplessly.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chengxuan, having already collected his spoils, continued his search for Shen Ruyan and others within the cave.
Simultaneously, in another part of the Immortal cave abode, amidst thunderous echoes and lightning strikes that tore the ground apart, several green-robed demonic cultivators were surrounding a slender woman.
This was Shen Ruyan, Jiang Chengxuan’s beloved, who, unluckily, had encountered a group of demonic cultivators from the Ghost Hall while searching for her own fortunes.
Luckily, these cultivators from the Ghost Hall did not include any ancestor of the Mahayana Realm.
Shen Ruyan’s command of the Five Elements Divine Thunder, which greatly countered the Ghost Hall’s techniques, enabled her to remain unharmed despite being outnumbered.
“A disciple of the Thunderclap Valley, the opportunity here has been claimed by us. Surrender the treasures and you may leave,” rasped a strangely shaped cultivator among the green-robed group, evidently the most powerful among them and a master of the Ghost Hall.
Despite his superior strength and realm, he was unable to defeat Shen Ruyan due to various factors and thus resorted to deception, planning to seize the opportunity first and settle scores later.
“Prattle all you want. The Spirit of Thunder and Lightning is not something you demons can covet so easily,” Shen Ruyan retorted dismissively.
The location they were fighting over concealed the Spirit of Thunder and Lightning, a treasure that was a godsend for her.
She could easily claim it without any trial, far luckier in this regard than even Jiang Chengxuan.
Regrettably, just at the crucial moment, these Ghost Hall cultivators had blocked her path and startled the spirit of lightning into hiding.
“Bluster all you want, you know nothing of death. Attack! Kill her!” incensed by Shen Ruyan’s mockery, the Ghost Hall cultivators manifested their rules of the netherworld and launched a fierce attack.
Their combat method shared similarities with that of the Sacred Skeleton Sect, relying on nurtured souls of famished ghosts infused with netherworld power.
Like many demonic paths, they used external entities to temporarily boost their power.
In an instant, massive ghosts emerged from the bodies of the Ghost Hall cultivators, their nether powers erupting furiously.
Some ghosts resembled hungry ghouls, their faces larger than their bodies and grotesquely bloated with gaping sores; others were covered in wailing human faces, incredibly horrifying to behold.
These ghostly attacks typically included damage to the primordial spirit, making them formidable.
However, in the face of Shen Ruyan, their effectiveness was significantly diminished, only real pressure coming from direct Dharmic power and rules.
Armed with the Five Lightning Immortal Slayer and enveloped in five-colored divine thunder, Shen Ruyan was untouchable.
Her divine thunder, scorching the void, struck back at the cultivators, its demon-exorcising power undeniable.
Shen Ruyan, the Holy Daughter of the Thunderclap Valley, wielded her abilities with expert ease, her tactics and power rivaling even Jiang Chengxuan’s.
Her agility and strength, along with her mastery of rules and spiritual treasures, allowed her to weave through the enemy’s attacks with grace and ferocity.
As she struck, her Five Elements Divine Thunder roared out without mercy, often achieving impressive results and causing great distress to the opposing demonic cultivators.
Despite the disorderly and desperate attacks by the Ghost Hall cultivators under the direction of their Dao Mastery superiors, they were unable to gain an upper hand.
The battle continued amidst endless thunder, with neither side securing a decisive victory.
This was exactly the strategy of the Ghost Hall: to wear down Shen Ruyan with their numerical superiority, believing that eventually, they could overpower her.
It was a dishonorable tactic of using strength in numbers, which was effective albeit shameful.
The demonic cultivators, devoid of any scruples, fully embraced this approach.
Moments later, Shen Ruyan unleashed another devastating burst of Five Elements Divine Thunder.
A sea of lightning surged with the swing of her Five Lightning Immortal Slayer, forcefully pushing back the attackers.
Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly; she clearly recognized the enemy’s intentions.
With no hesitation, Shen Ruyan then unleashed all her might, calling down a towering bolt of lightning with overwhelming force.
As the Ghost Hall cultivators braced themselves for the impact, she suddenly dove into the lightning, using it as cover to escape.
“No good, she’s trying to flee, after her!” shouted the Ghost Hall’s Dao Mastery cultivator in panic. He summoned his own spectral force, transforming into a streak of green light to pursue her.
The rest of the demonic cultivators followed suit, closely chasing after her in a desperate attempt to capture or kill her.