"What are these runes?"
Ye Ling's eyes flickered as the runes appeared before him. Before he could even grasp the situation, the runes transformed into a prison, trapping him within!
"Brother!!!"
Ye You cried out in alarm, summoning a flying sword from her hand, intending to sever the cage that held Ye Ling!
"Xiao You, stand back!"
Ye Ling called out softly, stopping Ye You, his gaze sweeping over the cage that confined him.
The sudden appearance of these runes had indeed caught Ye Ling by surprise.
However, while these spontaneously formed runes were troublesome, they might also present an opportunity for Ye Ling.
Ye Ling spoke quickly, "These runes are the power of the Creator God. I don't even know what power they contain. Xiao You, you and Bai Wuchang retreat, and let me deal with this alone."
Ye You: "But Brother, you..."
Ye Ling: "These runes can't harm me. You two retreat."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye You opened her mouth, then finally cautioned, "Be careful," before retreating to a distance with Bai Wuchang, away from the altar.
The goat spirit and the Yuan Xiao dragon lay on the ground. After the rune cage appeared, a large amount of black mist surged from the ground, coiling around them, transforming them into blood, and drawing them into the earth.
"This is..."
Ye Ling's gaze sharpened as he watched the blood seep into the ground.
He could feel the power of Shan Bu and Yuan Xiao Dragon being channeled into an unstable space within Mount Buzhou.
There, an aura no weaker than that of a Saint was continuously condensing.
At this moment, the rune cage confining Ye Ling began to slowly contract, as if intending to crush Ye Ling into dust.
Ye Ling unleashed his demonic energy, bracing against the contracting cage.
"Friend!"
Seeing Ye Ling in peril, Chu also rushed towards him, intending to rescue him.
However, upon touching the rune cage, Chu was repelled!
"Chu?"
Ye Ling was even more shocked to see Chu being flung away.
Chu was born from the primordial chaos, an entity that even rules could not define. Yet now, it was repelled by the rune cage...
"These runes are a power even higher than the Great Dao's laws, and these are incomplete runes..."
"What kind of power does the true Creator God possess?"
Ye Ling was horrified. At this moment, the power condensing beneath Mount Buzhou erupted from the earth. A white-haired man, wielding a broken sword and clad in tattered armor, stood in the air, staring indifferently at Ye Ling.
"I am the Spirit of Mount Buzhou from the Shadow Hall, Bu Si Gui."
Bu Si Gui stared at Ye Ling indifferently and said, "Ye Ling, hand over the Creator God's inheritance, and I will spare your life."
Hearing Bu Si Gui's words, Ye Ling laughed, "With just you alone, where do you get such courage?"
"With this."
Bu Si Gui waved his broken sword, and a large number of dark runes condensed in the air, completing his broken sword into a full greatsword.
Seeing Bu Si Gui's ability to use the power of runes, Ye Ling couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You can use the power of runes?"
Then Ye Ling shook his head, "No... the runes you use are a simplified version, vastly different from the runes I saw before, and even the runes that formed this cage."
Although he hadn't fully deciphered the runes, he could still sense their strength.
The runes in Bu Si Gui's hand now were as simplified as they could possibly be, so much so that even Ye Ling could see through them at a glance!
However, even though Bu Si Gui's mastery of runes was a simplified version, it still contained the fundamental principles of constructing runic power.
Ye Ling saw through Bu Si Gui's runes at a glance, and many of his previous doubts about runes were now resolved thanks to Bu Si Gui.
"Even so, it is enough to kill you."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, a hint of gloom flashed in Bu Si Gui's eyes. He swung his rune greatsword, and a black blade slashed towards Ye Ling.
The black light tore through the sky, passing through the cage without obstruction, and aimed for Ye Ling's chest.
Ye Ling caught the black light with his bare hands. Instantly, he felt a peculiar power that ignored his spiritual energy barrier, penetrated his skin, and invaded his body!
"This power can ignore the difference in cultivation realms?"
Ye Ling was astonished. Although the runic power that entered his body was easily erased by him, the mere fact that runes could disregard realms and ignore such disparities was astonishing!
If the one using the runic power wasn't this Saint, Bu Si Gui, but an Emperor or a Supreme, and if the runic power were more genuine, wouldn't that already be a threat to him?
Thinking of this, Ye Ling became even more apprehensive.
While Ye Ling was surprised, Bu Si Gui's heart was churning with immense shock!
Although Bu Si Gui appeared incredibly indifferent on the surface, maintaining a condescending demeanor towards Ye Ling, he had held nothing back in his previous strike!
That strike was infused with runes, and no Saint in the Three Realms could have withstood it!
Yet Ye Ling caught it with his bare hands, without even a change in his expression.
This... was simply monstrous!
'It must be an illusion!'
Bu Si Gui suddenly felt immense pressure. He gripped the runic greatsword with both hands, channeled the power within him, and fiercely slashed towards Ye Ling!
Boom!
Bu Si Gui's sword strike was filled with all his might. The entire Mount Buzhou seemed on the verge of being split by the blade, and the dazzling runic light threatened to engulf the world!
"In this strike, the power of the runes has strengthened further..."
Ye Ling observed the incoming blade with considerable joy.
Bu Si Gui's previous strike had already benefited him greatly, allowing him to grasp the rudiments of runes.
Now, the blade Bu Si Gui unleashed with his full power contained runes that were even stronger than before. Simply by watching Bu Si Gui wield the blade, Ye Ling was gaining immense insights!
'Previously, I struggled to even begin mastering runes. Even if I wanted to decipher this rune cage, it would have taken some time and effort...'
'Bu Si Gui's attacks are practically a beginner's tutorial for me!'
'Is he really an enemy?'
Ye Ling looked at the incoming runes, his heart filled with immense delight. He neither dodged nor evaded Bu Si Gui's attack, meeting the strike head-on with his physical body!
"What an idiot!"
Seeing Ye Ling not dodging his attack, a trace of mockery flashed in Bu Si Gui's eyes.
He was extremely confident in his strike, so confident that he declared, "Arrogant fool, even the Hall Master of the Shadow Hall cannot withstand my..."
Before Bu Si Gui could finish his sentence, the blade he had unleashed had already struck Ye Ling and penetrated his body.
And then...
There was no then.
The scene Bu Si Gui had imagined, of Ye Ling being cleaved in two, did not materialize.
Instead, after taking his full strike, Ye Ling actually sat down cross-legged within the cage, appearing as if he were cultivating!
"This, this is..."
Bu Si Gui's mouth twitched, his face filled with gloom.
How arrogant was this Ye Ling?