CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 52: A TWIST OF FATE

Western Desert Zone.

Not all cultivators are focused on the battle at Martial Emperor City.

The Ghost Cultivation Demon Sect’s Nether Hall... from beginning to end, they have focused only on finding the artifact ghost.

The battle at Heaven-Reaching City, they did not pay attention.

The battle at Martial Emperor City, they still did not pay attention.

Even the Netherworld Saintess, did not care about her ranking on the golden list, dropping from eleventh to twelfth place.

Because after long efforts, the Nether Hall finally found hope of capturing the artifact ghost!

The artifact ghost is extremely cunning, never colliding with strong cultivators, making it exceedingly difficult to capture directly.

However, by continuously deciphering the relics sealing the artifact ghost, the Nether Hall successfully mastered the method to forcefully summon the artifact ghost.

Within the eerie altar, the Netherworld Hall Master, clad in a black robe and entirely skeletal, had eyes flickering with ghostfire.

The Netherworld Saintess, cloaked in white, revealing only her black hair, had a solemn expression.

Besides them, there was another person, a withered old man’s soul. This soul possessed only Divinity Transformation cultivation, but at this moment, the gaze of both the Netherworld Hall Master and the Netherworld Saintess was fixed on him.

This old man, although his "cultivation level is not high," is considered the foremost Tomb Raider Master in the Western Desert, whose cultivation technique, magic, and experience were all developed to decipher various arrays and seals.

During the search for the artifact ghost, the Nether Hall was also capturing various talented individuals capable of deciphering ancient arrays. The number of cultivators enslaved for their souls is unknown, but even after capturing more than a hundred, they achieved nothing worth noting.

Until this tomb raider... successfully deciphered the array sealing the artifact ghost.

If this damaged array can be restored, this altar will act like an eye of the storm, forcibly drawing in the roaming artifact ghost to be re-sealed!

This altar was specifically designed to restrain the artifact ghost; even the artifact ghost itself cannot completely destroy or resist it.

"The materials you requested are all here. If you can successfully re-seal the artifact ghost here, you will become the deputy master of the Nether Hall, granting you freedom along with a newly crafted body," the Netherworld Saintess spoke.

"Thank you, Hall Master, thank you, Saintess... I will do my utmost. Truth be told, my family has been tomb raiders since the Immortal Palace Era. My grandfather and father were thief cultivators of the Void Profound period. By the time it got to my generation, there just weren’t enough tombs worth raiding, and resources were simply insufficient for me to cultivate to the Void Profound stage, hence the reason I’ve fallen to this..."

"Enough with the nonsense," the Netherworld Hall Master glanced at the sneaky-looking tomb raider, "Get started."

"Yes, yes..." The tomb raider’s heart was filled with desolation. Never had he imagined that after a lifetime of robbing tombs—those of eminent monks, ancient royal families, and Immortal Palace ancients—

He was not caught by the Buddhist Sect, nor by the Ancient Country, nor killed by ancient arrays... Ultimately, it was the Hall Master of the Nether Hall, one of the three great demon sects, with the capability of the Dao query stage, who personally descended to capture him.

Why must bad men make things difficult for each other...

What did he do to deserve this, except rob some tombs, for which he should be reduced to a fragmented soul?

Was this the karmic retribution for his family’s generations of tomb raiding... finally coming to pass?

The tomb raider’s heart remained desolate, hoping that the Nether Hall would keep their promise.

The array before him, he could see, originated from the Immortal Palace Era, profoundly intricate. It was only because his ancestors dealt often with tombs from the Immortal Palace Era that he could barely discern a path forward.

But honestly, he wasn’t entirely confident in restoring the altar to reabsorb and seal the artifact ghost. However, given his current predicament, he had to try regardless.

Otherwise, what awaited him was certain soul obliteration.

"It has to work." Under the coercion of the Netherworld Hall Master and Saintess, the tomb raider began repairing the sealing altar. After an indeterminate amount of time, he unconsciously wiped away sweat, only to realize he was nothing but a soul, with no sweat to wipe.

"How is it?" asked the Netherworld Saintess.

"It feels, it feels like it should work. After this, we just need a large number of magic items as sacrificial offerings, and the sealing altar should be able to be reactivated. This is a targeted seal which, once activated, will emit a force that can draw in the object to be sealed, regardless of its location, to seal it!!"

"However, I estimate that to activate it, at least a ’pseudo-immortal artifact’ level magic item must be sacrificed..." the tomb raider cautiously remarked.

To the tomb raider’s words, the Netherworld Hall Master showed no expression—a mere pseudo-immortal artifact...

Though incredibly valuable, it was nothing compared to the hope of controlling an Immortal Artifact.

It extended its hand, passing a pseudo-immortal artifact to the tomb raider ghost...

The tomb raider ghost nodded and began the nerve-wracking sacrificial ceremony.

After an undefined period, the tomb raider ghost suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Did it succeed?" asked the Netherworld Saintess.

He rejoiced ecstatically: "There was a slight problem, but it should have succeeded. Under the power of the altar, the artifact ghost’s power must now be greatly limited, possibly even unconscious, but because the altar is so archaic, its drawing force might be weaker, unable to swiftly tear open space to summon it. You can now use the altar as a central point to intensify your efforts to capture it!"

"If luck is on our side, it shouldn’t be long before we find it being drawn by the altar!"

"Hurry up, so that others don’t get ahead of us."

"You, very good." The Netherworld Saintess gave him an appreciative glance; truly an exceptional talent.

Meanwhile.

In a certain area of the Western Desert.

The artifact ghost, possessing the Longevity Treasure Tortoise, suddenly sensed a familiar force.

Its jellyfish-like ethereal form, within the Longevity Treasure Tortoise, was stunned.

The force of the seal...

The familiar seal force instantly triggered fear within the artifact ghost.

It felt a wave of unconsciousness, detecting that the sealing altar was forcefully summoning it; however, this altar was designed to restrain it, leaving the artifact ghost powerless, able only to struggle forcefully within the Longevity Treasure Tortoise, continuously spurring and enhancing the tortoise’s power to attempt escape.

However, it ultimately could not withstand the sealing altar’s power and soon lost consciousness.

Once the artifact ghost lost consciousness, the seal altar’s attracting force immediately began forcibly drawing in the artifact ghost, attempting to pull it over.

At this moment, the Longevity Treasure Tortoise, heightened to an extremely advanced state by the artifact ghost’s ultimate artifact spirit power, unexpectedly exhibited behavior different from typical artifacts whose spirit had entered slumber.

Typically, artifacts, even Immortal Artifacts, once losing their artifact spirit, would simply remain in place, subject to manipulation without any awareness.

However, the automaton beast is different; even without the artifact spirit’s control, it will continue to operate...

"Reboot completed, preparing to set off for treasure hunting..."

After rebooting, the Longevity Tortoise’s eyes were vacant. Despite the pull of the sealing altar, it paused for a moment before running toward something more enticing than the altar... the Longevity Body.

...

"It’s said that after reaching the top ten of the Qi Luck Golden List, good fortune comes pouring in and opportunities abound. Even stepping outside randomly, you could stumble upon heavenly treasures, surpassing my Spiritual Luck Body ten times over. I wonder if it’s true. Brother Lin, we’ve traveled this far, how come we haven’t seen you pick up any magic items?" Gao Sheng, within Lin Jing’s group departing from Martial Emperor City, curiously inquired while observing the golden list.