Chapter 413: The Sign of A Phantasm (2/2)

The man took out a dark-green potion and poured some on the chest of each corpse.

Wisps of green smoke rose from the corpses, and moments later, all of the corpses melted away, not even leaving a bone.

The man gathered the victims’ rings of holding and spiritual tools, divided them up, and handed them to Dong Li, Cao Qiushui, Gu Haofeng, and Qin Yan.

Seeing the corpses being reduced to nothing but blood, Nie Tian felt a numbness in his scalp.

Han Mu saw through his confusion and thus explained to him, “That thing is called a Carcass Melting Potion, a product of the Pill Pavilion Sect. When men die and their spiritual power dissipates, they’re nothing more than piles of meat. Then, a few drops of the Carcass Melting Potion will easily melt their bodies. However, it won’t be so effective on living people, so you don’t need to be nervous about it.”

Nie Tian frowned. “The Carcass Melting Potion will easily melt a man’s body as long as he’s dead?”

“Not necessarily.” Han Mu shook his head. “Some people emphasize the cultivation of their fleshy bodies, and thus possess outstandingly strong fleshy bodies. Even when they are dead, their bones, flesh, and blood will contain significant amounts of power. So for that kind people, the Carcass Melting Potion won’t work so well.”

Nie Tian nodded, showing that he understood.

Cao Qiushui waved at the crowd. “Let’s go back.”

Everyone grew vigilant due to the mysterious deaths of the Spirit God Sect Qi warriors . They rapidly returned to the location where the others were gathered.

Dong Li and the other young leaders informed the Worldly realm experts who had stayed behind of their findings, as well as their speculations.

After hearing their descriptions, Dong Mingxuan’s expression grew grim. “I hope that’s not the work of a Phantasm.”

Dong Li was taken aback. “A Phantasm!”

Dong Mingxuan let out a sigh. “Sucking away their enemies’ souls and turning them into Specters is the Phantasms’ classic attack method.”

Dong Li gasped. “The Phantasms’ classic attack method?!”

“From what I know, the incantations the disciples of the Spirit God Sect practice seem to have something to do with the Phantasms,” Dong Mingxuan said with knitted brows. “Many many years ago, Qi warriors from the Spirit God Sect discovered a few Phantasm relics in the Realm of Dark Underworld. From those relics, they derived the profound truths of souls. After adding in their own understanding and through centuries of modification, they eventually formed their own unique incantations.”

“People from the Spirit God Sect don’t have some sort of relationship with the Phantasms, do they?” Dong Li asked.

“I don’t think so,” said Dong Mingxuan, “After all, by the time the Spirit God Sect was established in the Realm of Dark Underworld, the Phantasms in this realm had already been killed or driven out of the Domain of the Falling Stars by powerful experts from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace. They only separated and studied the part that was fit for human cultivators from the Phantasms’ incantations, and derived their own incantations from it.

“It’s not likely that they have any connections with the Phantasms. Otherwise, the other powerful sects in the Domain of the Falling Stars would have annihilated them.”

At that moment, Cao Qiushui called out, “Alright, everybody be careful. Let’s move out!”

As the team got back on the road, Nie Tian continued to keep a low profile, and they discovered more dead human bodies in a few more locations.

Some of them were from the Flame God Sect, some were from the Spirit God Sect, but the majority of them seemed to be from a few other local sects that were less influential and powerful.

The corpses were almost identical to the first ones they had encountered; every single one of them had their soul sucked away.

The recurring groups of corpses clouded everyone’s mind like a haze, making them gradually realize that unforeseen events might happen during this exploration trip to the Phantasm relic.

A few days passed...

Under Cao Qiushui’s leadership, the team came to a vast mountain valley. The moment they arrived, Nie Tian caught sight of a few of the Specters that Cao Qiushui had mentioned.

A faint, gray, misty layer of phantasm Qi filled the bottom of the valley, within which Specters could be seen floating about, as if they were patrolling.

None of them were in solid form. Instead, they looked like clusters of gray clouds. The more powerful ones were vaguely in human shapes, though their faces were still obscured and distorted.

Strange energy fluctuations spread out from within them, carrying a frigid and gruesome aura as they dispersed into their surroundings.

After a quick glance. Cao Qiushui couldn’t help but exclaim, “There are several times more Specters here now than the last time I was here! What happened during this period of time? Why did so many more Specters pop out so abruptly?”

“Those new Specters are from the dead humans we encountered on our way,” Shen Zhong from the Pill Pavilion Sect said with an expressionless face. “If I’m not mistaken, the miserable deaths of those cultivators were the work of a Phantasm... or Phantasms.”

Just like the others, Nie Tian’s expression flickered dramatically upon hearing Shen Zhong’s words. “Phantasms!”

Aaaahhh!

A bloodcurdling scream rang out from the depths of the misty valley, which sounded like a man’s last scream before death.

“Someone is in there!” Qian Xin exclaimed.