Chapter 687 An Old Friend
Ding Hao also got more information about the ruins of the Sacred Hall from Muying.
He decided to go to the Bone-burying Forest.
It was said that in the ruins of the Sacred Hall, there were countless rare treasures, as well as the legendary treasure of heaven and earth—Jade in Stone. Ding Hao was determined to temper his bones with 17 kinds of Jade in Stone so as to cultivate his undying body, so he decided to try his luck.
The Bone-burying Forest was at the junction of the Divine Central Continent and the Southern Wilderness. It was said that many masters of different sects in the Southern Wilderness also entered it to look for the ruins of the Sacred Hall. Ding Hao fancied that he might be lucky to meet his sister Ding Ke’er there. Even if he met masters of the Muhuang family in the Southern Wilderness, he had a clue.
Early the next morning, he left Huining City and headed for the Bone-burying Forest.
Luo Xiangcai was dead.
He died a miserable death.
A mad Six-winged Vajra Denglong 1,000 miles into the Bone-burying Forest tore him apart into pieces and devoured his soul.
Although the people of the God-slaying Sect finally killed this violent Vajra Denglong, Zhong Qing and the others were also injured. This time, half of the masters sent by the God-slaying Sect were killed, and the Sect suffered heavy losses.
This was only a miniature image of the encounters of human experts who had entered the Bone-burying Forest.
In less than two days, more than tens of thousands of masters of the Human Clan had died in the Bone-burying Forest, including some masters above the Martial Emperor Realm. There were even rumors that a peak Martial Grand Emperor from Gold Silver City had also died on the way to explore the Sacred Hall.
After so many years, the Human Clan entered the Bone-burying Forest, paying a tremendous price.
The Demon Clan that came after hearing the news suffered great losses like the Human Clan.
It was rumored that in just a few days, hundreds of thousands of masters of the Demon Clan died in the Forest.
Although they had suffered heavy losses, many forces of the Demon Clan did not want to miss the ruins of the Sacred Hall― a sect of the Human Clan. After all, if the treasure vault of the Sacred Hall was really here, the divine treasures in it would be immeasurable. Even if the Demon Clan could not use some of the cultivation methods, they did not want them to fall into the hands of the Human Clan.
This was the treasure house of the Sacred Hall.
It was said that the Sacred Hall was almost invincible on the Divine Central Continent. Except for the Super Heaven Pavilion, no sect could compete with it. It was so powerful that it almost reached the peak that the Human Clan could reach.
Later, when this giant sect was at its peak, it was destroyed overnight, mysteriously disappeared, and became an unsettled case.
Later, some people said that it was because the Sacred Hall had overestimated its strength and wanted to challenge the status of the Super Heaven Pavilion on the Divine Central Continent. Finally, it irritated the supreme being. The Central Region Supreme God of War threw out a punch from millions of miles away and directly annihilated it from the Central Region.
In addition, it was said that the leader of the Sacred Hall had survived the earth-shattering attack. He used his great magic power to transfer the divine treasures of the Sect and buried them in a mysterious place. He hoped that in the future, the destined person could get these divine treasures and revive the Sect to avenge the Central Region Supreme God of War.
These were all later stories.
No one could tell whether all these legends were true or false.
In the past thousand years, there had been constant news of the appearance of the ruins of the Sacred Hall.
However, in the end, it proved to be groundless. It was all fake.
But this time, it was different. An expert in the Martial Sage Realm came out of the Bone-burying Forest alive with the broken Divine Scepter in his hand. It proved to be the authentic one at the peak of the Sacred Hall and to be very powerful. When the news got out, it immediately caused an uproar among countless forces and experts.
It was a pity that this Martial Sage Realm expert had lost his mind since he came out of the Bone-burying Forest. He could not tell what had happened to him in it. It seemed impossible to get any information out of him.
When the sun was high in the sky, Ding Hao appeared in an area of about six hundred miles into the Bone-burying Forest.
He frowned and looked a little embarrassed.
Along the way, he encountered many behemoths and fierce beasts. With his strength, he was in danger several times.
The Bone-burying Forest was indeed worthy of its reputation.
In the endless primeval forest, countless unknown ancient trees had grown for many years. Dozens of people could not hold one of them in their arms. The dense branches and leaves completely obscured the sky and the sun. The rotten leaves piled up on the ground for god knows how many years, turning into stinky mud. There were countless poisonous insects, snakes, and ants.
Many poisonous insects were only the size of a finger. One bite of any of them would make anyone die in an instant, even if the person was a Martial King.
Of course, these were not the most terrifying things.
The most terrible thing should be the ancient, giant beasts―an Surviving Species of the Untainted Land, living in the vast forest. They had strong bodies and terrifying innate magic skills. They could control the power of the five elements of heaven and earth. Although they were not from the Demon Clan, they were fiercer than demons. If it were not for the fact that their population and reproduction ability were not as good as that of the Demon Clan and the Human Clan, the Land of Infinity might have already become their territory.
In the past few days, the Human Clan and the Demon Clan had suffered heavy losses because they had encountered dozens of such giant beasts.
When Ding Hao came to the area about 800 miles into the Bone-burying Forest, he saw a wide campsite. Nearly a thousand Human Clan martial artists had opened up a relatively safe area where they set up camps and refreshed themselves.
In less than one day, this place looked like a small city.
Ding Hao looked at it from a distance and had an idea. He used the method of disguise taught by the Saber Master and slightly changed his bones and appearance. He became a rough, strong man with a square face. He changed into a white shirt and grabbed a handful of black soil. Ignoring Evil Moon’s desperate opposition, he smeared it into a black cat, and then strode toward the campsite.
Before he entered the campsite, he was attracted by a voice—
“Maps! Selling maps of the ruins of the Sacred Hall! One Precious Weapon for one map! Maps are limited. First come, first served…” A man shouted at the top of his lungs in a hoarse voice.
There was actually a circle of people, wanting to see the so-called map.
“One top-grade magical weapon for one look. You can’t look at it for free…” The man with a hoarse voice was extremely stingy.
“If we don’t look at it, how can we know whether your map is real or not?” Someone protested.
The man replied rudely, “You can’t tell if it’s true or false even after seeing it. Give me one top-grade magical weapon or get lost. One top-grade magical weapon for one look and one top-grade Precious Weapon for one map. Come here and take a look. With my map, there will be a bigger chance for you to survive when you enter the ruins of the Sacred Hall!”
Ding Hao was also attracted by this conversation and squeezed into the crowd.
“I’ll give you a top-grade magical weapon. Let me have a look…” Finally, someone chose to stand out and try. It was a fierce-looking strong man. He took out a pair of bronze boots. The boots had a pair of silver wings covered with magical inscriptions, looking extremely extraordinary. The pair of boots was indeed a top-grade magical weapon. The brawny man stared at the stall owner and said, “If you dare to cheat, I’ll pinch you to death.”
The stall owner with a hoarse voice was a skinny old man. He took the bronze boots with a big smile, took out a piece of light-black beast hide, and asked the others to move away. Then he shook it violently before the strong man and then carefully put it away again.
“Ah? That’s it?” The muscular man was somewhat dazed.
“Of course.” The skinny old man nodded with certainty.
“But I didn’t see it clearly at all.” The muscular man was dumbfounded.
The skinny old man chuckled and said, “I told you. You can only take a look at it. Not being able to see it clearly is your own business.”
The strong man was angry. “You damned old man. Are you fooling me? What a goddamned map! Give me my bronze boots back. Otherwise, I will break your old bones today…” As he said this, he stretched out his hand to grab the boots.
“Little bastard, are you playing rough with me?” The skinny old man waved his hand casually. The strong man at the peak of the Martial King Realm flew out like a scarecrow and fell hundreds of meters away. He struggled but failed to stand up.
Everyone was astonished.
This skinny old man with messy hair was dressed like a beggar. No one expected him to be a well-hidden master.
Ding Hao was also shocked, because he had just glanced at the animal hide map and vaguely felt that there were extremely strange patterns on it, just like ancient inscriptions. The mere sight of it made him feel a little dizzy. It was definitely not an ordinary item.
“I’ll give you a Precious Weapon. Give me a map.” A young man with an extraordinary bearing came out and took out a top-grade Precious Weapon.
“Haha, good. Sure enough, the people of the Sun Moon Manor have good taste. It’s a map. Take it and goodbye.” The skinny old man called out the identity of the young man, took out a black animal hide map, and handed it over at lightning speed.
The young man took the map without saying a word. He turned to leave without taking a look.
The Sun Moon Manor was also one of the super sects on the Divine Central Continent.
This youngster’s appearance was unordinary, and his strength was unfathomable. It was clear that he saw through something.
“I also want one.” Another expert stepped forward and offered the old man a top-grade Precious Weapon.
This time, everyone else was shocked.
That was because this expert was at the peak of the Martial Emperor Realm. He was very famous and came from the Tongtian Divine Sect. He was one of the leading experts sent by the Sect this time, but he actually believed in this wretched, skinny old man.
In the end, he took away a map.
This time, it created quite a stir among the crowd.
Could it be that the map was real?
“I want one…”
“I want one too…”
Everyone began to fight for the maps. Those who were able to reach this region were all experts in their places. They were able to take out a Precious Weapon. If the map was real, then it was indeed a priceless treasure. It was many times more precious than a Precious Weapon.
Ding Hao did not have a top-grade Precious Weapon on him. He took out a top-grade magical elixir and said, “I’ll use this to exchange for a map.”
The skinny, wretched old man grinned from ear to ear. He took the magical elixir and said, “Okay, okay. It will do too…” He looked up at Ding Hao and suddenly changed his expression. “Damn, it’s you…”
After that, he turned around and left.
Ding Hao’s mind went blank, and he suddenly sensed a familiar aura. He couldn’t help but think of a person. Shocked, he immediately followed the man.