Spirit Vessel

Feiyun's spine turned into a black dragon. The surface veins became visible on his body, also turning black in the process like vines. He looked especially ferocious right now just like a devil.

He was naturally aware of this transformation but his thoughts became increasingly chaotic. His red eyes were full of bloodthirst and evil desires stemming from the spine, not his blood.

There seemed to be an evil soul hidden in the spine that kept on sending his murderous intent and desires to Feiyun.

His evil affinity suppressed by the Buddhist Jade Bead and Tan Qingsu erupted for the second time. He quickly put on the Nine-doves Gown to try and stop it.

The evil runes receded and turned fainter. Alas, it wasn't a complete stop.

Formless saw this and made a mantra while chanting the "Calm Heart Mantra". White runes flew out of his mouth and fused with Feiyun.

"Boom!" The spine sent out a mightier energy, seemingly irritable. This energy flew out of Feiyun's mouth, issuing a loud roar. It sent Formless flying as a result.

This force shattered Formless' Buddhist energy and made him lose control. When his feet touched the ground again, he was already outside the cave. The stone slabs acting as doors have been smashed by the impact.

"Ugh…" Formless spat out a mouthful of blood; his eyes filled with disbelief. Feiyun's evil power earlier was just as strong as a pseudo Enlightened Being.

"Rumble!" The entrance of the cellar collapsed right as Nalan Xuejian and Luo Yu'er got there.

The two of them were having a contest but the explosion earlier got their attention.

"Master Formless, you're wounded?! The heretics are here?!" Xuejian knew how strong this monk was more than anyone. His cultivation even exceeded the ten supremes from Beastmaster. Monk Jiu Rou viewed him very highly, thinking that he could become a sacred monk and herald the second golden age of Buddhism.

That's why she was afraid to see him wounded.

"Not the heretics." He shook his head while being slightly pale.

"Where's Feng Feiyun? And who did this to you?" Yu'er was very worried about Feiyun because of the collapsed cave. It gave her a terrible feeling.

She didn't know why she cared about his well-being or why she agreed to fight Nalan Xuejian. Maybe because she needed him for protection? She unconsciously became dependent on him.

"Feng Feiyun… turned evil… Ugh…" Formless pointed at the cellar before vomiting blood again.

This injury was grievous so he assumed a meditative pose to heal. Otherwise, this evil affinity would devour his Buddhist form.

"Turning evil!" Xuejian was shocked, aware of the demon blood within him. He could lose his mind and become a murderous monster.

Yu'er didn't know any of this, only that something bad was happening to Feng Feiyun.

She raised her silver staff and swept the heavy boulders away to make a path. Xuejian quickly helped her.

***

At the same time, a group of heretics in black was several hundred miles outside of the cave. There were a few dozens of them - each extremely powerful.

"This path was something else, too many powerful beasts and even spirit beasts. We might have been annihilated if it wasn't for the venerable Life Walker." The sixth protector of Senluo spoke.

He was a late-stage Giant but this wasn't much compared to the monstrous spirit beasts in Endless Land.

"What else can we do after losing the goddess? Of course we are selected for this dangerous task." The nineteenth protector named Tuo Bahong was exasperated.

The other experts from Senluo merely waited outside. Only their group needed to enter Endless Land as punishment for losing the goddess.

Even Giants became frightened after recalling the terrible rumors of this land.

Fortunately, their Life Walker took the vanguard and found the safest path or they would be food in some beasts' stomach right now.

This group was led by four protectors - the fifth, the sixth, the nineteenth, and the sixty-seventh.

The four of them were responsible for the failure at the altar.

"I'm so annoyed, that Feiyun guy just had to run here out of all places, so suicidal. He can go die by himself instead of dragging us down with him too." The sixty-seventh protector was a middle-aged man with a pair of hawk eyes.

He was an early-stage Giant and had a deep wound on his back thanks to the claw of a spirit bird. He would have been torn to pieces if he didn't have a protective talisman earlier.

Feng Feiyun's move was suicidal and they could have waited for him outside.

However, everyone knew about the match between the Divine King and the heretical young lord. They were the number one sect of the heretical faction. If Feiyun dared to come in and they didn't, they would suffer ridicules and derision from all sides.

Thus, they were forced in here for a chance to redeem themselves. They wanted nothing more than to find and teach Feiyun a good lesson.

"Oh? The venerable Life Walker just sent us another message. There is a small village three hundred miles ahead containing the aura of the goddess." The fifth protector received this information and quickly used a strange movement technique.

He darted through the air like a phantom with lightning speed. The others followed right behind him. Giants could clear this distance in just a few seconds.

***

Inside the cave, evil affinity spewed from Feiyun. He roared and clawed at the ice layer, causing crystals to go flying.

The layer cracked, exposing the bronze drum beneath. It flew straight into his grasp.

This drum was stained with blood with a fusion between Buddhism and evil. It exploded with a resounding ring almost like thunder in the nine firmaments. The void started shaking as Buddhist visual phenomena and chants emerged. However, a bloodthirst aura turned the harmonious chants into battle cries. Hell replaced the harmonious images.

"Boom!" Feiyun had a connection with the drum and suppressed its evil affinity.

He crazily drummed and a destructive power destroyed the layers of ice nearby. The Vajra and Bell of Nature also left their seal and issued deafening explosions.

"Witchcraft Goddess, down with you!" His voice became hoarse and terrifying as if it came from hell.

His robe disintegrated, leaving only the Nine-doves Gown on him. His chest and arms bulged with muscles as he walked deeper into the cave along with the three evil artifacts.

Each of his steps made the ground crack. His evil affinity crushed the ice crystals around him, including the fierce ice essences.

Who knows how long he has been walking forward? He crossed an ice barrier with seven colors along with an endless plane before reading the end of the cave.

This was a massive area, more than a thousand feet tall and several thousand feet wide. Numerous pillars covered in ice far thicker than the layers outside scattered around the area. Feiyun wasn't strong enough to break through them right now.

It looked like a massive palace with a platform made from white jade in the center. There sat a holy woman with hair draping to the ground. Her skin was as white as snow, pink lips, and perfect features - definitely only a tiny bit inferior to Nangong Hongyan or Dongfang Jingyue.

She was also sealed in the thicker layer of ice in the meditative pose. Red clouds floated around her and formed the shape of a divine tree.

She has been in this state for more than ten thousand years. Her eyes shut tight, seemingly dead.