Chapter 71: Grave Hand


    "Tch."


    The strange man only snorted in Darcel and Ani''s direction for their temporary distraction.


    After all, from what he could sense, it was only two pitiful kids in the fifth level of the Nascent Core realm.


    Darcel and Ani, however, didn''t bother with the man''s disrespectful attitude. They simply ignored it and unhesitatingly kept on walking up to the grave, getting dangerously close to the gravestone.


    As Darcel and Ani got closer to the gravestone, the intenser their soul continues to stir. Both of their eyes focused squarely on this exotic looking gravestone like they never have seen anything like it.


    For a second, Darcel and Ani suddenly stop.


    A very faint vague trace of a familiar essence was gracing their minds. And yet at such close distance now, neither can remember just where or why this familiarity was appearing.


    "Hmm?"


    As Darcel and Ani were only a couple of feet beside him, the strange man couldn''t help but notice this peculiar state of the duo.


    But quickly, even more disdain hazed his eyes, still only believing these kids are merely fooling around.


    Of course, Darcel and Ani didn''t notice the look of continued disdain.


    The unusual markings of this green gravestone pulled all of their attention. Their eyes stared unblinkingly as if trying to piece together the meaning.


    Yet, neither Darcel nor Ani could or would be able to understand no matter how much focus they put it.


    This confusion and allure only pulled Darcel and Ani interest more, barring their souls'' intense calling.


    After a couple of seconds, Darcel and Ani continued their slow, methodical steps towards the green gravestone.


    With every single step taken, the maic tingling sensation from their souls spewed and smoothly course through their bodies like running water.


    Only mere inches apart from the gravestone, Darcel and Ani stopped once again.


    Neither of the two spoke a single word. And abruptly, then Ani was struck with a strongpulsion.


    Almost akin to an emotionless human-machine, Ani began lifting her hand to touch the green gravestone.


    Although, immediately when attempting this, the strange man had finally grown tired of these ridiculous shenanigans.


    "Hey, brats." The strange man began talking, and slowly he surged his fifthyer link True Soul Core aura.


    His initial goal was to scare these annoyances off until he abruptly became entirely still.


    Darcel and Ani didn''t even register the strange man''s words. But they too abruptly became rigidly frozen in ce.


    At the same time, all three were frozen by an overwhelming unfathomable presence of power.


    Though Darcel, Ani, and the man''s body didn''t move, their eyes did dart directly at the ground just before the gravestone. The dirt was eerily moving like there was someone or something down there.


    And then.a bright green glow enriched the dirt!


    ''Chi!''


    Under the widening of three humans'' eyes, a bright green silverish hand popped right out of the ground! The hand was directly in front of the gravestone, generating a haunting curse imagery.


    However, neither the man, Darcel, or Ani had any time to get chills from the haunting scene.


    Right when the hand ominously popped up from the ground, so did a tremendous influx of power burst throughout the whole Demesne Grave!


    "This." The man breathed out as he swiftly jumped back under this abrupt influx of power.


    Darcel and Ani as well quickly jumped back, finding the situation growing, especially odd.


    Admittedly though, this eerie green silverish hand carried a maic allure. Darcel, Ani, and the strange man couldn''t actually take their eyes off the hand once it appeared.


    However, before anyone of three could attempt to move or even talk, a piercing green shine refracted deeply into their eyes. They witnessed a bright, enchanting green glow intensely swirl at three of the green hand fingertips.


    Puzzlement epasses Darcel, Ani, and the strange man''s faces.


    Truthfully, the sudden influx of power wasn''t enough to scare anyone of them. The trio sensed the power to be equated somewhere around the True Soul Core realm.


    It''s why only curiosity and questions ster their faces instead of feeling any real danger.


    And yet, while staring into the soul capturing bright green glow, the hand abruptly sted out three streams of green energy from its fingertips!


    "Wha?!" Darcel, Ani, and the strange man all utter yelps of shock.


    None of them couldn''t react to the hand''s green energy streams, and they were all quickly wrapped up in this strange energy.


    "Ah! What is this?!"


    The strange man shouted as immediately he, Darcel, and Ani all felt intense scorching pain fiercely course throughout their bodies.


    For the strange man, specifically for all of his higher prowess, this scorching pain was excruciating unbearable.


    In this situation, the only logical option was to erupt their Qi and escape this entrapment.


    Darcel snorted a bit and attempted to will his Nascent Qi. Only for his pupil to dte upon trying to do so.


    "The hell.are really that unlucky that we''re under a suppression trap?"


    A grave tone slithered out Darcel as he, Ani, and the strange man all quickly realized their Qi was entirely suppressed!


    "Ok.let''s be calm here! At least this burning pain isn''t so bad."


    Ani did manage to say since really, the pain wasn''tpletely unbearable to the point of it being torture. Darcel, too was inclined to agree with Ani, though they both swiftly realized why.


    Their powerful, mysterious souls were continually wriggling about, surprisingly providing Darcel and Ani''s bodies with enough power to barely resist the burn.


    Only the strange man couldn''t believe her words and thought Ani was putting a tough front. After all, something he, a fifthyer link True Soul Core has trouble resisting surely would be fatal to Nascent Core youths.


    And it was then, a slight realization hit the strange man.


    His eyes briefly nce over to Darcel and Ani in a slight shock. Just.how the hell were they surviving this pain?!


    These kids, ever since they first appeared, are this odd, strange anomaly.


    But for now, the strange man had no time to focus on these kids. Wanting to escape as soon as possible, the strange man at least tried to move backward.


    Only to immediately mutter a silent curse under his breath when it was quite literally impossible to move back.


    Darcel and Ani as well realize this little problem by their failure to walk backward.


    Going back was out of the options; none of them could even turn sideways as well. Which left the three with only one choice.


    That is to take whatever this mysterious hand was head-on!


    Otherwise, without ess to their Qi, they would ultimately be sitting ducks here for god know how long.


    Gritting his teeth, forcing down the scorching unbearable pain, the strange man''s eyes haze in a determined glint.


    He didn''t think much woulde of it at first, but immediately the man was surprised when he could actually lift his leg forward!


    And right then, the man''s eyes burst further open like two saucers.


    What apanied this single step of movement was the horrifying sensation of mind-breaking burning pain! Whatever course through him frantically torched his organs, bloodstreams, and bones at an excruciatingly slow rate.


    Because of the man''s powerful True Soul Core body, of course, having his inside burn wouldn''t be enough to kill him.


    But that doesn''t mean the pain still wasn''t torture like!


    Hastily the man savagely bit down his teeth, nearly shattering a row of them.


    In all of his concertation, the man willed a tiny portion of his soul to see it could affect this hellish situation he was unfortunately wrapped into.


    One of the primary and most crucial aspects of the True Soul Core realm, as the name already implies, is to extensively train and develop one''s soul.


    This was the starting foundation that''llter y a significant role in future realms and cultivation levels.


    However, even in all the agonizing efforts of the strange man, he could only just barely put his foot down under this torturous pain. Using his soul powers was pathetically negligible.


    Observing the man''s struggle got Darcel and Ani to gain the same idea. Although with them, they haven''t had any training with their souls, unlike the strange man.


    But also, just unlike the man, Darcel and Ani could at least mobilize a tiny portion of their souls'' powers, even beginning at the Qi Foundation Realm.


    In a literal sense, the knowledge of using this power was engraved into them ever since birth.


    At the same time, Darcel and Ani lifted their foot and then raised their eyebrows.


    "This.this isn''t too bad? At least not too bad in it being too much pain." Ani lightlymented though her face was still focused.


    "Let''s just take it slowly at first." Darcel calmly said while still bearing the brunt of raging burning pain.


    From Darcel and Ani''s side, the strange man watched in disbelieving awe as the duo finally got moving.


    For the first five steps, Darcel and Ani truly did take it slow and easy. The suppression didn''t make it that hard to move their bodies, being the only thing ease about this situation.


    Though the scorching pain was still ever-present, at least there was some sort of light Darcel, and Ani could see now. At their distance, they had only jumped back a few meters from the green ming hand.


    And inspired with a newfound confidence Darcel and Ani were ready to keep on moving.


    That is until they both heard a crazed and demanding voice shout from behind them,


    "Im-impossible!! Ju-just wha-what are you two damn brats?!" The strange man struggles to utter out under intense, fiery pain.


    This just had to be a trick!


    No way two Nascent Core juniors could possibly surpass him, a mighty True Soul Core warrior!


    Darcel and Ani, however, merely took a slight nce behind them. No matter the pain she felt, Ani offered a pleasant but seemingly mocking smile.


    "Us? Just two brats at the Nascent Core realm~."


    With those simple yet underlying words utter, the duo had then turned their attention back on the green ming hand. Truthfully, they had zero reasons to care about some weird man disbelief delusions.


    Though hearing Ani''s answer made something inside, the strange man snap a little. Practically speaking, it really was all of their faults that he was put into this grueling situation!


    "Heh.al-alright. Le-let truly sees then." The strange man silently utters under his breath.


    He couldn''t ept this bizarre reality transpiring in front of him. And he sure as hell wouldn''t simply roll over and die here!


    Inside the strange man, his soul was violently churning. Throughout the strange man body, frantic, wild surges of power spewed providing him a much higher resistance to the pain though at a severe cost.


    This process, the strange man was undergoing, is the dangerous risk of overtaxing his soul. If failure were to ur, the strange man could very well blow up in a horrifying mid mist explosion.


    Althoughpared to the Yoderine True Soul Core youths Darcel and Ani had encountered previously. This strange man obviously had far more experience utilizing his soul.


    Quickly some of the burning pain of the strange man gruel through lifted up.


    Just one small error could be the fatal end for him now.


    But under this highly unstable state of his body, the strange man began hurriedly walking!


    "Eh?" Ani mouthed a short breath of mild shock once seeing the man abruptly walk at a faster pace than her and Darcel.


    Although Darcel instead had a disdain smirk seeing the man get ahead of himself.


    Swiftly the strange man crossed a couple of meters between the green gravestone, stopping just several feet from it.


    Without even fully turning around, the man managed to say,


    "No matter what, you freaks can''t live up to his." Now the strange man''s voice sounded clear and even held a hint of awe-inspiring power.


    Though the man was struggling to keep to this over-taxation of his soul, he was able to clear up even more of the scorching pain.


    Without waiting for a response from Darcel and Ani, the man carefully continued his trek.


    While walking up here, the man did try to go back only to once again find it impossible. Meaning this green ming hand will all the answers he needs!


    However, once he got merely a few inches near the green ming hand,


    "GAHH?!?"


    The strange man abruptly copsed right to his knees! Overwhelming pain, dominating suppression crushed his body like several tons of mountains.


    Even under his soul state, whatever energy that flowed in his body had just dramatically shot up to ridiculous degrees. Moreover, the strange man felt the slipping of his life as his soul became unbearably frantic.


    From behind, Darcel and Ani curiously watched on.


    That is as they obverse wisps of green mes suddenly continuously spew from the strange man. It was as if the green mes were revving up and then,


    "AHHHHH!!!"


    Blood-curdling shrieks echoed from the strange man as his body erupted in brilliant, beautiful green mes! To his body, Spirit Sense, and soul, the man felt everything get scorched under the intensity of the zing sun.


    His dying shrieks of pain onlysted about a few seconds.


    Darcel and Ani watched as the man was incinerated to mere green ashes on the ground with slight weariness.


    Neither Darcel nor Ani dared to move then. After witnessing such horrifying events, they couldn''t help but worry about their own lives if they approach those spots.


    But, just like the strange man found it, going back was utterly impossible at this point.


    "What happened to him. couldn''t possibly happen to us! We were quite literally called here!" Ani reminded herself and Darcel with rising confidence.


    Feeling inspired by Ani, Darcel confidently nodded, reaffirming with, "It would make no sense for our souls to call us to somece to get killed. Let''s go, Ani!"


    Both Darcel and Ani gathered their courage. Cautiously and slowly, the duo walked towards the same spot; the strange man was incinerated.


    Each step, the familiar sensations in their souls got stronger, but their weariness didn''t lessen in the slightest.


    And with one final step, Darcel and Ani walked right into the same spot of the ashes of the strange man.