Chapter 89: Chapter 87: The Youth and the Skeleton
The Little Skeleton began to move, still as wobbly as ever. But this time, its swaying was so fast that even with Jiang Jichen’s sharp eyes, he could barely follow its movements.
In an instant, it wobbled its way onto the massive frame of a Red Soul Bone Beast.
The Red Soul Bone Beast sensed it and swatted with a giant claw, but it only hit empty air. Instead, the claw struck its own body, cracking its massive frame.
But the Red Soul Bone Beast’s intelligence was pitifully low. It paid no mind to its own cracked bones and didn’t control its strength, striking with full force every time.
Besides, a Bone Beast’s bones feel no pain, so this one continued swatting at itself, from its huge toes all the way up to its skull!
And each time, the Little Skeleton would wobble just one step ahead, narrowly avoiding the giant claw.
BOOM!
With one final swat, the Red Soul Bone Beast’s frame finally gave out. It collapsed with a crash, scattering bones across the ground, leaving only its massive skull rolling about.
As fate would have it, the skull rolled right to the Little Skeleton’s feet. It suddenly lowered its head, and with a single inhale, the cluster of Soul Fire floated out of the skull and merged into its own gray Soul Fire.
The Little Skeleton’s gray Soul Fire seemed to brighten a fraction, but it remained gray, the change almost imperceptible.
Normally, an Undead Creature with gray Soul Fire would only need to absorb one hundred gray souls or two red souls to advance to the Basic-level Red Soul Realm!
But after absorbing a Red Soul, this gray-souled Little Skeleton showed only the slightest change, let alone any sign of advancing.
The Little Gray Skeleton now seemed very excited, wobbling about without a pause. After instantly absorbing one Red Soul, it swayed over to another Red Soul Bone Beast.
It repeated this process, wobbling from one Red Soul Bone Beast to the next.
And so, Jiang Jichen didn’t have to lift a finger. He just stood there watching the gray Little Skeleton wobble and sway before his eyes until he grew dizzy. By the time it was done, the ground was littered with scattered bones, and all fifteen Red Souls had been devoured.
The strange thing was, even after devouring fifteen Red Souls, the Little Gray Skeleton’s Soul Fire was still gray. It had only grown brighter than before. Jiang Jichen also noticed that the damaged bone on its left kneecap had actually repaired itself ever so slightly.
These were subtle changes Jiang Jichen would never have noticed under normal circumstances. But with his Seven-Colored Spiritual Vein unsealed, his Divine Sense had become incredibly powerful, and no minute detail in his surroundings could escape its perception.
After finishing its work, the Little Gray Skeleton wobbled over to Jiang Jichen’s side, tilted its head, and gazed up at him blankly.
The Little Gray Skeleton only came up to Jiang Jichen’s waist, making for a rather bizarre scene.
A small skeleton, head tilted, gazing up at a young man. The world was utterly still, as though they were engaged in a silent conversation.
The truth was, Jiang Jichen didn’t understand the world of skeletons at all. He sighed in resignation and said, "Little Gray Skeleton, I have to leave this place now. Let’s part ways here. Goodbye!"
After witnessing the Little Gray Skeleton’s wobbly movements, Jiang Jichen was no longer worried for its safety.
Besides, the Little Gray Skeleton surely held many extraordinary secrets, but Jiang Jichen couldn’t be bothered to investigate them. He was in a hurry to leave the Forest of Lost Souls.
Without waiting to see if the Little Gray Skeleton understood, Jiang Jichen waved his hand and turned to leave.
However, Jiang Jichen hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he heard a wobbling sound from behind.
Jiang Jichen stopped. The wobbling stopped.
Jiang Jichen started walking. The wobbling started again.
And so it went. The boy and the skeleton, one in front and one behind, one walking and one wobbling.
After a long while, Jiang Jichen stopped and turned around. The Little Skeleton stopped wobbling, tilted its head at a forty-five-degree angle, and gazed up at him.
"Alright, Little Gray, are you sure you want to keep following me?"
Jiang Jichen said with a sigh of defeat, completely bested by the wobbly Little Skeleton.
The Little Skeleton didn’t answer, merely continuing to gaze up at him with its head tilted at that forty-five-degree angle.
It looked dazed and silly, a far cry from the creature that had just wobbled fifteen Red Soul Bone Beasts to their doom.
Jiang Jichen felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t bring himself to chase the Little Skeleton away. And as for trying to lose it?
’Well, I can’t underestimate that wobble,’ he thought. Even with his Seven-Colored Spiritual Vein and using the Void Shadowless technique from his Shadow Step, he probably couldn’t outrun the wobbling Little Gray Skeleton.
"Fine, Little Gray. Follow me if you must," Jiang Jichen relented. "But where I’m going is very dangerous. I might not even be able to look after myself. When that happens, you need to remember to wobble away immediately. Don’t be a fool and rush in!"
Jiang Jichen could only offer this warning, regardless of whether the Little Gray Skeleton understood him.
And once the Little Gray Skeleton began following him, Jiang Jichen noticed that the persistent gaze he had felt on him had vanished.
’What a strange Forest of Lost Souls, a strange Little Gray Skeleton, and a strange... gaze!’
Jiang Jichen mused to himself as he walked onward, with the Little Gray Skeleton wobbling along behind him.
In the shadows, the powerful Undead and terrifying lost souls that had been lying in ambush—some even at the Grandmaster Realm—silently retreated the moment the Little Gray Skeleton began following Jiang Jichen. He passed through the rest of the Forest of Lost Souls completely unimpeded.
It was almost unbelievable.
But it had happened nonetheless. And now, Jiang Jichen had a wobbly little skeleton trailing behind him.
Just before leaving the Forest of Lost Souls, Jiang Jichen sealed his Seven-Colored Spiritual Vein, then led the Little Gray Skeleton out.
Outside the Forest of Lost Souls was a sheer cliff, with no way forward.
From this vantage point, however, the entire landscape ahead was visible.
Isolated peaks, a Giant Lake, and a light mist. All that was missing was a full moon to complete the bleak, desolate scene.
The Giant Lake was immense, surrounded by eight isolated peaks. And at this moment, there were people standing on them.
Night had just begun to fall. The moon had yet to rise, plunging the world into dim twilight.
But at the center of the lake, an astonishing light bloomed, illuminating its entire surface.
Four beams of incomparably tyrannical power shot out from four of the isolated peaks, striking an Ancient Hall at the center of the lake.
The Ancient Prohibition covering the hall was now riddled with countless cracks, looking as if it might shatter at any moment.
It was only then that Jiang Jichen finally noticed the people on the four isolated peaks to the east, south, west, and north.
’Above the Grandmaster Realm... the Foundation Establishment Realm! And wait, the Swordsman is here too!’
Jiang Jichen’s eyes narrowed. He knew this had to be an extraordinary place. Even experts beyond the Grandmaster Realm were making a move. This could be the Moonlight Forest’s most mysterious Land of Creation.
Jiang Jichen’s arrival, naturally, did not escape the notice of the Foundation Establishment Realm experts. Bai Zihua of the Ghost Blood People fixed his gaze on Jiang Jichen, his voice filled with surprise. "Oh? A young boy and a little skeleton actually made it through the Forest of Lost Souls!"
"The full moon is about to rise. Kill the stragglers."
Daoist Cangsong of Lingxu Temple spoke with chilling indifference. With a wave of his sleeve, countless Spirit Pattern Light Blades tore through the air, slashing toward Jiang Jichen and the Little Skeleton.
