In the ancient ship, silence prevailed, with void-crossing winds battering the hull, bringing a "feeling of being in the raging tides of the Vast Sea," and the departure of three of the nine cranes made the voyage less stable.

Amidst the turbulence, Song Yan gazed at the distant star raft market.

His mind flashed images of the ghost gate opening with white bones grasping people, and terrifying beasts devouring the sky and city.

Sights of horror appeared and disappeared, coming fast and leaving faster, he couldn't grasp how they truly happened.

Song Yan stared out the window, lost in thought.

In the far distance, six black immortal cranes were clearly agitated, fleeing in panic, while the three cut chains wildly danced in the void-crossing wind, occasionally striking the hull's sturdy wall, emitting cracking sounds of "thwack, thwack."

This sound further accentuated the quiet, deathly silence, and eeriness inside the cabin.

In Song Yan's eyes, the distant darkness was no longer empty, but crowded, terrifying.

Not seeing doesn't mean it's nonexistent, but possibly due to insufficient ability, too weak, lacking the qualification to even detect danger.

That invisible celestial specter hides within this "unseen."

It exists!

Perhaps... it's always been there!

It could appear anytime, anywhere!

Having faced life and death often, Song Yan was not afraid, but... every part of him was tense, and his mind constantly reflected on the disaster seen in the market earlier.

Suddenly, Hua Linglong's voice reached his ears.

"What a pity."

In such a situation, hearing a voice felt pleasant to Song Yan, so he replied, "Still thinking about the stone slab?"

"Yes." Hua Linglong honestly responded, then continued, "Brother Song, not knowing the script really puts us at a disadvantage. The script must have contained some peculiar divine rhymes, requiring insight through understanding the words. We saw the script but didn't comprehend its meaning, naturally, we couldn't grasp the divine rhyme within. Alas..."

Song Yan said, "Let's wait until we reach the Sword Palace to learn it."

As soon as the words fell, a voice suddenly descended from above.

"Haven't the junior learned cosmic language?"

Song Yan hurriedly stood respectfully, saluted, "Senior sister, we all came from the fringe worlds, this cosmic language we have not learned, nor have we seen it before."

After speaking, he appeared enlightened for a moment, slapped his forehead, and said, "Oh, right, senior sister. Earlier, we saw from the ship's window a flipping black stone slab outside, with some strange script on it, but unfortunately, it came and went quickly. Haha, we are indeed frustrated about not understanding the script, leading us to talk about this cosmic language."

"Black stone slab?"

Swish!

The silhouette of the middle-aged female cultivator floated down, appearing beside Song Yan, "Junior brother, do you recall the words on the stone slab?"

Song Yan replied, "Of course, I remember."

Immediately, he subtly moved his divine sense, as profound qi gathered within the ship's cabin, forming the script from the stone slab.

Ning Yunmiao solemnly gazed at those words, softly reading aloud.

"The ghost gate opens, do not disregard.

The crack widens, peering into the Netherworld.

White skeletal hands, rejoice at human fate.

Before the hands reach, the soul hardens first."

After reading, Ning Yunmiao exhibited a slightly grave expression, immediately raising her hand with a wave, as those words in profound qi were instantly destroyed.

"Enchantment of the heart, evil sect deviancy! At first thought to be a celestial calamity, now appears to be human misfortune! Upon returning, I will report to the sect to investigate this matter!"

...

...

Thwack.

Thwack...

Thwack thwack...

The eerie black stone slab rolled over dense ground, its weight in this void akin to a scrap of paper, flitting everywhere in the street amidst fierce wind.

A green armored poison cultivator hiding within a concealed array suddenly raised his head, gazing at the stone slab flying overhead, his eyes gleaming sharply, raising his hand to capture the black stone slab, while murmuring, "Seems a bit mysterious, presumably flying out from a demolished shop. The ghost gate opens, do not disregard, the crack widens, peering into the Netherworld... hmm, is there a cultivation technique hidden within?"

After some observation, he only found the script mystifying, couldn't comprehend it momentarily, and thus revealed joy, "Indeed, disaster locations do provide opportunities."

As he spoke, he suddenly sensed something amiss.

Quickly glancing down, he found the array core underneath his seat had unknowingly transformed into a dark abyss, beneath which white skeletal arms resembling a spiraling, blooming Dalia rapidly ascended.

Those hands twisted, climbing, interweaving, overlapping, resembling a horrific bloom.

The green-armored cultivator wished to escape, but it was already too late.

Those hands quickly caught his legs and feet, torso, arms, neck, bounded his body, and sealed his soul thought...

The hands grew more abundant, more dense, the green-armored poison cultivator struggled madly, but despite employing every deep-seated power, he could not slow the speed of those hands.

Soon, the hands enveloped him entirely, each skeletal, skin-tight white hand firmly grasping every part of him.

The poison cultivator was embraced from head to toe by those skeletal hands, his struggle gradually slowed, finally...

Only a pair of extremity-frightened eyes despairingly stared outside.

But, the next instant, those eyes were engulfed by more approaching white hands.

Poof!

The green-armored poison cultivator was dragged into the black abyss.

...

...

"The ghost gate opens, do not disregard. The crack widens, peering into the Netherworld. White skeletal hands, rejoice at human fate. Before the hands reach, the soul hardens first."

Hua Linglong murmured, regretful, "Such deviancy, better not to comprehend! Luckily, we don't know the cosmic language, otherwise, it would really have tainted our eyes!"

Despite saying this, she quietly conveyed a soul thought to Song Yan, lamenting, "Brother Song, it's really a pity, this cultivation technique seems very strong. If we knew the cosmic language, utilizing the contents to comprehend the divine rhyme within, then covertly learning this technique, later discarding it, would be ideal. Alas, now, we've missed a great opportunity."

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