After breaking free, Wan Lei immediately rushed towards the others, transforming his念力 into blades and slashing through the black ribbons binding everyone, freeing them from their predicament.
"What is this ghostly thing? How is it so bizarre?" Xia Yubing asked, rubbing her sore waist, still shaken.
"The resentment of the dead," Wan Lei replied, his gaze fixed on the tombs. The severed black ribbons, instead of retreating from the pain, lingered around the tomb entrances, swaying unsteadily, waiting for an opportunity. Clearly, they had no intention of giving up their assault on Wan Lei and the others.
"Where did this resentment come from? It can actually attack us, and why is it attacking us?" Xia Yubing, holding Han Xiaoyun with her left hand and Wan Lei's arm with her right, found herself between the person she liked and the person who gave her a sense of security.
Bao Bao, the most timid, clutched Wan Qianxin's arm tightly, his eyes wide with fear. "Never mind these things, let's leave quickly. Let's get out of this dangerous place. Just now, when Bao Bao was entangled, those black things seemed to be devouring Bao Bao's soul."
Wan Lei looked at Bao Bao with surprise and chuckled, "Aren't you usually the bravest one? Won't you fight ten resentments this time?"
"I… you're bullying Bao Bao," Bao Bao protested sulkily, pouting.
Wan Lei's smile faded as he spoke leisurely, "I have a feeling these things might be useful to us. Besides, they attacked us. Should we just let it go without them paying any price? It's not that easy."
Wan Qianxin's face turned ashen. "Brother, what time is it? Can't you change your habit of taking everything you see? These things are clearly beyond our ability to provoke. We should prioritize escaping."
"Look at how timid you are. Why come out to mingle if you're afraid of danger? They say fortune favors the bold; this might be our chance to become prosperous." Wan Lei waved his hand carelessly.
"Those words sound so familiar. It's like you said them half an hour ago, and it resulted in us being chased by countless evil spirits," Qian Niao said with a look of disdain towards Wan Lei. This guy was truly fearless, always stirring up trouble wherever he went.
"Uh… what I mean is, we need to resolve this crisis. Otherwise, if other companions pass through here, they'll still be attacked, right? Not everyone has念力 like me."
"Tian Suanzi and I both have念力," Qi Man Yao stated calmly.
Wan Lei was stunned, then remembered how Qi Man Yao acquired her念力. He couldn't help but smile sweetly, his expression quite smug. Qi Man Yao, seeing his expression, knew exactly what he was thinking. "Hateful! You're smug again, aren't you? Proud of being loved by others!"
"Don't split up this time. Follow me. Let's find a way to deal with these things." Wan Lei waved his hand grandly and led his companions towards a stone wall.
"There's a way over there?" Xia Yubing asked curiously.
"I don't know. But there are words and paintings on that wall. There should be some useful information," Wan Lei replied.
Everyone approached the stone wall and looked up. They saw that this stone wall was covered with many murals and some incomprehensible, strange characters. The murals were ancient and very blurry, but they vaguely depicted a story.
The first painting showed numerous demons, some building tombs, others constructing altars. The second painting depicted the completed tombs, with many demons bound hand and foot, and the coffin lids inside the tombs open. The third painting showed that in each coffin, two entities appeared, converging into a ring. For some reason, although it was just a carving, looking at the ring caused people's eyes to ache, forcing them to quickly avert their gaze.
"What is this? Qian Niao, can you understand those demon scripts?" Wan Lei turned his attention from the ring to the writings.
Qian Niao nodded. "These are ancient demon scripts, used only by a small portion of demons. They were not mainstream, and I have studied much of ancient demon culture in my spare time. Fortunately, I am here. For other demons, it would be difficult to recognize what these are."
"Qian Niao is awesome, Qian Niao is six six six. Tell us quickly."
"This depicts an ancient sacrificial ritual. These ancient demons built tombs and altars to forge… a supreme demonic artifact!"
"Supreme demonic artifact? It sounds very powerful, more powerful than divine artifacts."
"They constructed tombs, arranged sacrificial formations, and then placed living demons into the sarcophagi. After a period, they would open them, and the demons inside would have been sacrificed. Afterward, the demons' remains turned to dust, becoming the band of this ring, while their souls and infinite negative emotions—anger, jealousy, hatred, and so on—coalesced into demonic pearls. The band combined with the demonic pearls formed a complete ring. This ring evolved within the supreme rules, absorbing the flesh and resentment of countless demons over the years. Ultimately, it became… the Supreme Demonic Ring!"
"It sounds very powerful, made from the bodies and souls of countless demons, infused with the power of supreme rules. This Supreme Demonic Ring must be even more powerful than divine artifacts. It would be great to obtain it," Wan Lei muttered quietly, earning him a round of eye-rolls from those around him, finding him to be truly greedy.
"What is the use of this demonic ring?"
"I don't know. It only says one sentence: 'The Supreme Demonic Ring, omnipotent. It can fulfill anything you desire. It can make the light-bearers become light, and the dark-bearers fall into eternal darkness.'"
"Hmph, bragging. Fulfilling anything you think of, huh?" Wan Lei scoffed, then looked at the carving of the ring. "Qian Niao, do you feel that the demonic pearl on the ring looks familiar?"
"Of course, it looks familiar. Isn't it in your hand?" Qian Niao retorted with a roll of her eyes.
Wan Lei quickly took out the demonic pearl, and then, an astonishing scene unfolded before everyone's eyes. The black resentful energy from each tomb unceasingly surged towards the demonic pearl, no matter how they screamed, pleaded, or cursed. They were all in vain.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded.
"You actually managed to refine it successfully? How is this even possible? What are the odds? Where did you get this pearl?" Xia Yubing exclaimed.
"We encountered a demon army earlier, then this pearl appeared, followed by countless evil spirits attacking. I thought this pearl was quite powerful, so I refined and took it, and then we were chased by evil spirits."
Wan Qianxin shook his head in disbelief. "Our captain is truly a 'pluck the feathers of a passing goose' kind of person. If he doesn't pick it up when he sees it, it's a loss. Even a mouse in your house would have its skin peeled."