Chapter 10: Dark Invasion

Senior Brother Qu's forehead was slick with cold sweat, and his voice was hoarse as he said, "No wonder these treasures have remained untouched. Junior Sister Qing, these treasures have become sentient. Anyone who isn't their true owner will be harmed by them!"

Senior Sister Qing felt a shiver run down her spine and nodded repeatedly.

Qin Mu said coldly, "These treasures have always been here, and no one, not even the monstrous beasts, has dared to take them. There must be danger. You knew the risks, yet you still sent your junior brother into harm's way. Your heart is malicious; *you* are the true demon!"

"The demon is trying to corrupt minds again!" Senior Brother Qu's face was filled with utter grief as he shook his head and said, "How could you understand the bond between us senior and junior brothers? A little devil remains a little devil. You judge my heart with a demonic one, so naturally, you'd think my heart is also demonic. I won't argue with you now. At dawn, I will send you on your way."

Qin Mu frowned. This Senior Brother Qu was insidious, ruthless, and capable of using even his own junior brother. He would certainly not let Qin Mu leave alive. However, this person was incredibly strong, and Qin Mu was no match for him, not to mention Senior Sister Qing who was also formidable.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook, causing the entire ruin to tremble violently. Muffled roars of monstrous beasts echoed through the air. The beasts within the ruins shivered, retreating nervously and fixating on the ruins' portal with extreme fear.

"What are these beasts so afraid of?" Just as Qin Mu thought this, an incredibly dense darkness suddenly surged like a tide from the tall portal! Qin Mu's heart lurched. He saw that the portal seemed to have an invisible barrier, holding back the darkness. The darkness, however, furiously slammed against this barrier, trying to break through its seal!

The portal's barrier was twisted and warped by the impact of the darkness, yet it remained unbroken. The darkness itself contorted along with the distorted barrier, at times resembling sharp claws, then straight plumes of smoke pulled by the wind, and then countless sharp spikes, constantly shifting in form.

Suddenly, the darkness ceased its assault, and the portal's invisible barrier also quieted. After a moment, the barrier slowly bulged outwards, continuously pushed backward and extended.

The darkness stretched the portal's barrier into the shape of a face—a colossal face whose forehead touched the canyon ceiling and whose chin rested on the ground. All the monstrous beasts in the ruins lay prostrate, not daring to move or even look up at the face.

The face had three eyes of pure black. Seeing these three eyes, Qin Mu felt a chill run through him, as if his soul was about to be sucked into the darkness! The face suddenly opened its mouth, speaking in a low, buzzing voice, in a language no one understood. "Qikedoo, Samoyed, Boruo Boruo Samoyed, Qikedoo Boruo Samoyed…"

The buzzing sound seemed like countless voices blended together, filled with an eerie power that made the ground in the ruins continuously vibrate. Palace walls became mottled and cracked, stone pillars collapsed, and fissures grew wider and wider. Even the portal itself trembled, shedding stone fragments, clearly unable to hold out much longer.

Just then, a bright light suddenly emanated from the plaza. The luminous pearl in the hand of the skeleton leader shone brilliantly, growing ever brighter. Qin Mu quickly turned to look and saw that the pearl had actually floated into the air. Its bright light resembled a glow, its vibrant colors appearing somewhat viscous. This viscous glow enveloped the over two hundred skeletons on the plaza, and in that light, each skeleton suddenly came alive.

Qin Mu was utterly stunned. He saw that the skeletons in the glow were no longer skeletons, but rather vibrant young women! Maidens with rosy cheeks, crimson lips, and clothes as bright as fire! The girls sat in the plaza, with a woman at the head, who held up the slowly ascending luminous pearl.

From the girls' mouths came a strange language, equally abstruse and difficult to understand. "Yi Po Xiu Po Sa Nan Jun He Xi, Guan Ming Duan Jing Wu Si Jiang You…"

The voice from the darkness gradually grew louder and more imposing, shaking the canyon as darkness invaded the ruins from all directions. However, the girls' voices became increasingly clear and resonant, and the light emitted by the luminous pearl burst forth in waves, illuminating the darkness and causing it to dissipate like smoke!

These two sounds, like the voices of a god and a demon, clashed continuously, sometimes one overpowering the other, while darkness and light also collided and contended.

This was an inconceivable battle, a duel that shook Qin Mu to his core. Although he lived in the Great Ruins, this was the first time he had witnessed such an eerie sight.

"This sound…" Qin Mu froze. The girls' voices were somewhat similar to the divine voice he had heard when attempting to break through the Spirit Embryo Wall. They shared the same cadence. Vaguely, he felt that although the words were different, the essence of the two sounds seemed identical. Whenever he tried to use his vital qi to impact the Spirit Embryo Wall, he would faintly hear a sacred, solemn voice coming from beyond the nine heavens. Each time this voice sounded, his vital qi would instinctively retreat, preventing him from breaking through.

The two sounds continued their fierce confrontation, each gaining and losing ground, but neither could completely overwhelm the other. The demonic voice from the darkness was powerful and terrifying, while the girls' voices carried a divine quality—clear, melodious, resilient, and sacred. They always emerged unexpectedly to counter the demonic sound when it gained an overwhelming advantage. Conversely, the demonic voice would suddenly erupt when it had lost all advantage and was at its lowest point, like a galaxy pouring down or a flood bursting forth, grand and exhilarating.

Both sounds possessed their own unique brilliance and extraordinary qualities.

Qin Mu listened intently, then suddenly came to a realization and became excited: "The demonic and divine sounds are attacking each other. This divine sound is similar to the one that stops me from breaking through the wall. So, can I use the demonic sound to counter the divine sound that blocks my breakthrough?" He grew even more excited; this was definitely a good idea! If he could learn this demonic sound, he could chant it at the moment the divine sound appeared during his breakthrough attempt, resisting the divine sound from beyond the nine heavens and allowing his vital qi to shatter the Spirit Embryo Wall!

Once he successfully broke through the wall, relying on his "Overlord Body" and "Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique," he would no longer need to fear Senior Brother Qu or Senior Sister Qing!

As he thought this, he suddenly froze, as if doused with a bucket of cold water. If the voice from beyond the nine heavens was divine, and he used a demonic sound to break it, wouldn't that imply he was a demon sealed by a god? Could it be that Senior Brother Qu and Senior Sister Qing hadn't been wrong, and he really was a little devil?

"No, no!" Qin Mu shook his head. If he were a demon, wouldn't that mean all other "Overlord Bodies" were also demons? Why would they still be called "Overlord Bodies"? Wouldn't "Demon Body" be more fitting?

"Forget about 'Demon Body' or 'Overlord Body' for now, I need to break through the wall first!" He acted on the thought immediately. He began to silently memorize and recite the dark demonic sound's intonation, tone, inflection, rhythm, syllables, and timbre, committing every rise and fall, every nuance, to memory. Only when he was certain there were no errors did Qin Mu activate the "Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique," channeling his vital qi. As he silently chanted the demonic sound, he directed his vital qi towards the Spirit Embryo Wall in his glabella.