Chapter 112: The Giant Skeleton

Some people chose not to step onto the moonlight path, opting instead to walk across the moonlit ground toward the Immeasurable Jade Wall. Yet, for some reason, the further they walked, the slower they moved. After a while, they remained within sight of the crowd, as if they would never reach the wall. With no other choice, they had to obediently step onto the moonlight path.

Before long, the dense crowd that had gathered at the edge of the cliff dispersed, leaving only two or three people behind, among them Hu San and the elderly man in white.

Unlike the others, Hu San did not cross because his entire focus was captivated by the Immeasurable Jade Wall. To him, the jade wall seemed to conceal something, or perhaps it contained two massive characters; yet, upon closer inspection, it gave him the feeling of encompassing all things and evolving all existence.

In contrast, the elderly man’s gaze toward the jade wall was complex and inscrutable. He glanced at it only briefly before shifting his eyes away, searching the crowd for someone.

Once most people had left, Hu San finally pulled himself away from the wall’s enchantment. Facing the Immeasurable Jade Wall left him with a sense of clarity in body and mind. His past experiences, especially the Fish Steps and Bird Strike techniques he had practiced, seemed clearer in his mind than ever before.

The two men exchanged a look and chuckled, then stepped onto the moonlight path. Only they knew the true meaning behind their laughter.

The moment he saw the Immeasurable Jade Wall, Hu San knew he had come to the right place. Regardless of whether the Immeasurable Scripture proved useful to him, the jade wall alone was enough to help him reach a new realm.

By the time Hu San and the elderly man reached the platform, it was already packed with a dense crowd. Perhaps because the platform itself was illusory, the large number of people did not feel overwhelming; they were distributed in a surprisingly orderly and scattered fashion.

Just then, those who followed behind stepped onto the platform. After some time, the platform retracted its extended paths like an octopus. Those who arrived later had no way to cross and could only sigh in frustration or curse loudly.

However, the thousands of martial artists on the platform felt no joy, for they suddenly realized they could not go back.

Shen Fang, who had been using all his focus to decipher the Immeasurable Hidden Map, suddenly trembled. Looking again, he saw that the two lines of poetry previously floating above the map had changed, with four more lines added beneath them. Together, they read: *Immeasurable immortal light falls upon the jade wall, bones dissolve into formlessness as heaven and earth open; the moon shines, bones break, and the Nine Underworlds appear, the path ends in blood sacrifice as the floating light emerges, linking the ages to the path of ascension, the Immeasurable hidden within the Immeasurable.*

After murmuring the lines, Shen Fang looked up abruptly to see Black Giant Spirit, Chu Qian, the Bald Old Man, and others wearing thoughtful expressions, while Zhou Ba and his ilk revealed murderous intent.

"Heh, 'Immeasurable immortal light falls upon the jade wall, bones dissolve into formlessness as heaven and earth open'—these two lines have already come to pass. While I don't know if 'the moon shines, bones break, and the Nine Underworlds appear' has been fulfilled, it is clear our path ahead is blocked. That abyss before us is likely the Nine Underworlds mentioned in the poem. According to the text, crossing this requires a blood sacrifice. Since there are plenty of people on this platform, what do you think?"

Black Giant Spirit licked his white teeth, his demeanor as ferocious as an ancient beast.

"There are many martial artists gathered here. If we let them get on guard, it is we who will be sacrificed. In my opinion, we should keep this secret for now, occupy our own corners of the platform, and split the crowd up. It won't be too late to kill them once they are isolated."

For the first time, Chu Qian abandoned the hypocrisy of a righteous sect leader, hitting the nail on the head.

"And if someone disagrees or leaks the news early?" The Bald Old Man’s gaze drifted toward Fairy Feng and Daoist Qingxu, his target clear.

"Then we shall not be blamed for attacking them together and sacrificing them first!" Zhou Ba sneered, scanning the group. "What do you think?"

After a moment of silence, Fairy Feng smiled. "I have no objections. Brother Qingxu, what about you?"

Daoist Qingxu looked deeply at Chu Qian, as if seeing a stranger. He took a deep breath and smiled faintly. "Who am I to stand in the way of everyone's great opportunity? Let it be done!"

Iron Invincible, standing nearby, merely chuckled, clearly not opposed to the proposal.

"In that case, lead your disciples and prepare. We act in a quarter of an hour."

Chu Qian nodded, glanced at Daoist Qingxu, and led his followers to one side. Iron Invincible shrugged and followed. With the Chu Mountain Sect taking the lead, the other factions followed suit. Black Giant Spirit with Black Widow, Qingxu and Shen Fang with Fairy Feng, and Zhou Ba with the Bald Old Man all retreated to their respective areas, quietly hiding at the edges of the platform to isolate the crowd.

The martial artists on the platform were still oblivious to the impending danger, busy observing the seemingly close Immeasurable Jade Wall and speculating about the location of the true Immeasurable Cave Abode.

A moment later, just as the major sects were preparing to move, the Immeasurable Jade Wall suddenly erupted with a blinding brilliance. The light was so intense that even Hu San found his vision whited out, unable to see a yard in front of him.

The white light was pervasive. Everyone, including the top experts, screamed simultaneously, covering their eyes. The platform was filled with wails, and those with weaker cultivation had their eyes burst instantly.

*Crack!*

Amidst the chaos, Hu San felt a massive wave of energy from above, followed by a deafening explosion. When his vision cleared, he saw that the center of the platform, which had been blurry and illusory, had now solidified. Standing there were five massive figures.

The leader held a giant white scythe. His skin and flesh were gone, leaving only crystal-clear, massive bones that shone in the moonlight. The bones of his arms were as thick as a man's thigh, and his body stood nearly thirty feet tall. A few tatters of clothing still clung to his skeleton, and looking closely, one could see half of a blood-smeared face still attached to the skull.

"Jiang Nansheng?"

Seeing this, Hu San’s eyes widened. Even with his composure, he gasped at the sight of that horrific face. Who else could it be but the handsome young hero, Jiang Nansheng?

"How did he become like this? Is there a trap?"

Hu San felt a chill. The slight disdain he had felt toward the martial artists vanished, replaced by immense caution. The events of the day were too bizarre, far exceeding the boundaries of the Jianghu world. It felt more like the realm of immortal cultivation, yet, aside from himself, there were likely no other cultivators here.

He began to retreat toward the edge of the platform. Sensing the danger, the elderly man in white followed suit.

Just as Hu San moved, the skeleton that had been Jiang Nansheng changed again. As another beam of light erupted from the jade wall, the crowd recovered quickly, only to witness the unimaginable.

Following the flash, the bones of the five skeletons rattled like popping beans. Moonlight surged into their bodies, and their already massive frames grew even larger, as did their white scythes. Purple flames ignited in their hollow eye sockets; the five skeletons seemed to have come alive.

Hu San and the others had not read the poem in the Immeasurable Hidden Map and felt only tension, but Chu Qian and his group were terrified.

*The moon shines, bones break, and the Nine Underworlds appear; the path ends in blood sacrifice as the floating light emerges!*

Only now did the top experts, including Shen Fang, understand the meaning: it was not they who would sacrifice others, but others who would sacrifice them!

Seeing the skeletons grow stronger with every flash of light, Chu Qian could no longer hold back. "Everyone, unite and attack these skeletons! Do not let them grow, or it will be too late!"

As he spoke, the five skeletons finished their ritual. The purple flames in their eyes shrank to pinpricks. To the shock of the crowd, the five giants leapt into the air and vanished.

When they reappeared, they were in the midst of the crowd. Their massive scythes swept out like the reaper's staff. In that sudden strike, hundreds were cut in half before they could even react.

To Hu San, the dense crowd, once like a neat field of wheat, now bore five gaping pits, each dozens of meters wide. Everyone within those zones had been cut in two, their bodies suddenly dropping in height.