The Burial Shroud of Suiren

The little dragon had brought back cloth—black-red cloth, stained by blood!

“Are you trying to tell me this is Suiren’s burial shroud?!” Xiao Chen stared at the small dragon in disbelief. It was an utterly astonishing thing. Even if it was not the burial shroud of the Ancestral God Suiren, the fact that the little dragon could find such a shroud was already miraculous.

Keke had already begun conversing with the little dragon in babbled cries while they ate. Xiao Chen examined the black cloth carefully. It seemed to be a genuine relic from endless ages past, radiating a sense of boundless antiquity. Unlike the shroud from the City of the Dead, this cloth held no evil or chilling aura. It felt like nothing more than an ancient artifact, with nothing else remarkable about it.

Yan Qingcheng heard Xiao Chen’s exclamation and came over. When she saw the burial shroud, her mouth fell open in shock.

The two little beasts were feasting on roasted meat. The Little Defiant Dragon, having apparently never eaten cooked food before, was no longer stubborn, eating with great relish while responding to Keke’s babbling.

Finally, Keke pointed at the divine stele, then at the burial shroud, and then in the direction of the Dragon Clan’s Sacred Mountain.

“You mean this burial shroud was originally at the divine stele, and then the dragon clan moved it to the Sacred Mountain?” Xiao Chen asked in astonishment.

Keke nodded, then pointed at the stubborn and proud little dragon, indicating that it had told her all this.

Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng looked at each other, then both exclaimed. It was a truly unexpected conclusion. The two little beasts also looked at each other blankly, then buried their heads in their food again.

“Hey, hey, leave some for me! I haven’t eaten yet!” Xiao Chen called to the two beasts as he studied the shroud.

They paid him no attention and ate even more vigorously.

When Xiao Chen reappeared in the snowy mountains, the demon stared at the burial shroud in disbelief. “It seems… real. I can feel the scent of sacred blood. Even if it’s not Suiren’s shroud, it might belong to Laozi or the Buddha.”

What kind of comparison was that? Xiao Chen was speechless.

The demon said, “Good. Those who wish to leave Dragon Island must refine this shroud with their mind and spirit every day. When you ride the King Ship, you will not lose your soul.”

“How do you refine it with the mind and spirit?” Yan Qingcheng asked earnestly. Neither she nor Xiao Chen had ever refined a sacred artifact before; they knew nothing of the process.

“Simply enter meditation and project your divine thought into the shroud, imagining that you are becoming one with it. Go now. In two months, I will no longer need the Little Sacred Tree. I will return it to you then and help you summon the King Ship.”

“You will really help us summon the King Ship? What will you do afterward? How will you leave?”

The demon laughed. “Both the Ancestral Dragon Ship and the King Ship, after completing their mission, will automatically return to the Forbidden Sea. The important thing is having the power to summon them.”

Two months passed in a flash. Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng concentrated single-mindedly every day, refining the Ancestral God’s burial shroud. Keke and the three skeletons were also forced by Xiao Chen to spend some time each day before the shroud.

Finally, the day came for the demon to emerge from seclusion. The reclusive demon’s sinister aura had indeed vanished. He almost seemed to have become a normal person, though his face was still very pale.

Keke was the happiest. Recovering the Little Sacred Tree, the snow-white little beast rolled ecstatically in the snowy mountains.

“I will repay you handsomely in the future,” the demon said with a smile to Keke.

Then, he led Xiao Chen and the others like a whirlwind to the seaside.

“Summoning the King Ship is quite troublesome. It will take about seven days. You must wait patiently.” Having said this, the demon began to carve constantly on the beach. Mysterious, inscrutable patterns were etched into the sand. Then he took out dozens of tattered ancient pennants and planted them at the key points of those patterns.

In an instant, a chill wind began to blow between heaven and earth, followed by dark clouds gathering thickly. Ghostly thunder roared in the ears, and great waves of blood surged within the dark clouds. The scene was unspeakably eerie and terrifying—and this was only the beginning.

In a daze, Xiao Chen sensed the reappearance of the scene from when the City of the Dead had emerged. Yin energy filled the world; roiling black clouds seemed to press down upon the earth. Bloody light flashed, and a fierce killing aura pervaded all creation, as if the end of the world had come.

Did the demon truly have only the power of a demigod? Xiao Chen was filled with doubt. He did not believe it. The demon had been free for endless ages—could he really have made no progress at all? Although Dragon Island was sealed, he might have found some way to improve his strength. Otherwise, how could he have caused such a terrifying scene?

Yan Qingcheng also had her suspicions and grew even more afraid of the demon’s power. In the demonic clouds, where people could not see even a few meters ahead, she watched the demon alone laying down the formation on the golden sand with awe.

The three skeletons were calm, though the soul-light flickering occasionally in their skulls showed that they were warily observing.

Keke was full of curiosity, its large eyes blinking. It did not understand where the demon had gotten those tattered banners—it was as if he had conjured them out of thin air.

The snow-white little beast, fearing nothing, ran over without hesitation and babbled questions around the demon, seemingly unconcerned by everything.

“It’s a simple matter. You will understand naturally when you grow up. This is merely a minor divine art—opening your own domain to store things.”

“Ya-ya…” Keke still did not understand, crying out in dissatisfaction.

The demon paused his work and slashed lightly before him with a “ripping” sound. A yin-laden spatial gate appeared before him, startling Keke into backing away.

Behind, Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng vaguely saw that the yin spatial gate truly contained terrifying things. In a blur, they glimpsed several enormous skeletons and some flowing black liquid…

The demon quickly closed the spatial gate and said to Keke with a smile, “You see? That’s the kind of space it is. For you in the future, it will be a minor divine art. You’ll master it without a teacher when the time comes.”

Keke was quite interested, watching the demon continue to carve the ancient formation, and occasionally ran happily around Xiao Chen. Its mood was clearly good.

Half a day passed, and the demon had completed part of the ancient formation. The yin energy in the sky grew even denser, nearly liquefying. The fierce killing aura made it difficult for Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng to stay. If they continued any longer, they feared they would be slain by the nether mist.

They quickly unfurled the burial shroud of the Ancestral God Suiren and held it before them. Yan Qingcheng found this rather awkward—she and Xiao Chen had to share the same cloth.

The effect was obvious. The seemingly ordinary black-red cloth, without any fluctuations, blocked all the yin and killing aura, preventing it from approaching them.

“Wooo…”

The yin wind howled. Suddenly, ghost shrieks came from the sky, drifting down through the pressing black clouds—unspeakably terrifying.

The demon looked up at the lightless void and muttered, “Has it come?”

“What… what is coming?” Yan Qingcheng’s voice trembled. Her heart was filled with unease; from beginning to end, she had never fully trusted this demon.

“They have come…” The demon did not specify who, which made Yan Qingcheng even more uneasy.

Though Xiao Chen knew the demon should not harm them, he also felt some anxiety. After all, this whole affair was too eerie and dreadful.

The lightless void boiled with clouds, blood light flashed, and the ghost shrieks grew even more savage, seeming to be right above their heads.

“Do not be afraid. You have the burial shroud of an Ancestral God—they will not attack you.” The demon turned back to them and said, “These are the demon war-souls drifting between heaven and earth. Only by gathering these remnant souls can we summon the King Ship.”

The spine-chilling shrieks drew closer and closer, as if howling right at their ears. This kind of situation was hard to endure calmly. Even the snow-white little beast Keke let out a low hum, as if resisting the sounds. Only the three skeletons remained relatively calm; the ghost shrieks did not affect them much.

“Rumble…”

With each peal of ghostly thunder, the dark sky seemed to tear open, revealing streaks of blood-red light. In a haze, Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng saw a gigantic black shadow standing between heaven and earth, roaring directly above them. It was almost unbelievable.

“Seven days… do we really need seven days?” Yan Qingcheng’s voice trembled. Having to stay here for seven days would be a terrible ordeal.

The demon looked back at them and said, “Hmm, indeed it takes seven days. But you do not have to stay here. Only on the last day must you be present for the summoning ritual. However, do not wander too far. I may need you in the interim. This Nine Abyss Heaven-Reaching Formation has vast and unfathomable power; I cannot fully control it.”

“Nine Abyss Heaven-Reaching Formation?!” Yan Qingcheng exclaimed. “I think I have heard of this ancient formation. It is said to be one of the most mysterious formations in legend, but… I cannot recall the details.”

“Little girl, you know quite a bit. It was created by a certain King in the ancient past, the sacred formation of the Dark Clan. Though what I obtained was only a fragment, I owe my present achievements to it. I hope it will help me recover my lost memories.”

Xiao Chen and the others quickly withdrew from the beach area. Gazing from afar, demonic clouds coiled around that place, from the sky to the ground, everything was dark. Ghostly shadows occasionally appeared, and fierce shrieks could be heard. The monstrous beasts around the island’s edge were all fleeing from that area, staying far away.

In the following days, Xiao Chen and the others prepared to leave the island, gathering large quantities of coconuts. On a voyage across the sea, fresh water was essential. Though with their cultivation levels they could endure hunger and thirst for long periods, why suffer when they had the time and means to prepare?

During these days, the dark nether mist on the beach grew heavier. Without the burial shroud of the Ancestral God Suiren, Xiao Chen and the others could not have entered that area at all. The black fog had nearly liquefied; walking inside felt extremely viscous. Yan Qingcheng had once tested it, driving a wolf into the mist, and it had vanished in an instant. That showed how terrifying the place was.

Even Keke and the three skeletons had to take shelter under the shroud. Fortunately, the cloth was long enough.

Thunder claps echoed constantly by the sea, and the golden ocean itself seemed to tremble. The area near the beach had become a forbidden zone.

During these days, phantoms appeared frequently, and their scale was enormous. This place seemed to have become a temporary realm of death. Though Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng knew it could not compare to the City of the Dead, they still sensed immense danger.

Finally, on the seventh day, the demon’s formation was complete. The yin energy accumulated over several days was enough, and many remnant souls wandering on Dragon Island had been summoned, satisfying the requirements to call the King Ship.

Dragon Island, seemingly peaceful, had seen countless powerful beings fall in the distant past. The power of the remnant souls was sufficient.

“I need one of you to provide blood as a guide to begin the true summoning ritual.” The demon looked at Xiao Chen and Yan Qingcheng through the nether mist. His complexion was somewhat pale. Carving the ancient formation, gathering yin energy and remnant souls had consumed his mind greatly. In the last few days, he had almost exhausted himself.

“Wait. Keke has not come yet,” Xiao Chen said, looking back.

In the last few days, the little beast had been coming and going mysteriously, always wandering alone deep into Dragon Island. Xiao Chen did not know what it was doing, but he let it be, as long as it did not cause too much trouble.

“I told it to come back early today. Why has it not appeared yet?” Xiao Chen gazed suspiciously into the depths of Dragon Island.

Just then, a violent sound of shattering came from deep within the island, as if a mountain peak had collapsed.

“Boom!”

The ground around the beach trembled, as if an earthquake had struck. One could imagine how violent the fluctuations in that distant area were now.