Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

”Look, a new opening appeared!”

”That is great and all, but its behind that skeleton, with the suppression it exerts on the surrounding space, it’s impossible to bypass it... And I doubt we have the strength to contend with this kind of terrifying skeleton.”

Around the same time Xuan Hao discovered the new opening that had emerged on the other side of the hall following the skeleton awakening, the group of weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators also discovered the opening leading into a brand-new hallway of a far smaller size compared to the one they had to pass through to reach the hall they now found themselves trapped inside of. Unsurprisingly they also realized the problem that stood before them when it came to moving past the towering skeleton to reach the hallway that had just opened up.

”Well... At least we aren’t the ones facing this skeleton first...” But even with this, one of them couldn’t help silently letting out a few relived words of comfort while looking towards the city lord and Peak Void Integration Realm cultivator who now found themselves right next to the towering skeleton that had just awakened.

Of course, the worst part wasn’t this, but instead the fact that the suppression of the surrounding space had made it impossible for them to turn tail and escape even if they wanted to. Making it clear that the suppression in question was far greater up close compared to what Xuan Hao and the group of Void Integration Realm cultivators were facing standing right next to the large pair of carved wooden doors leading into the large hallway they had originally passed through to enter this place.

””...””

The city lord and the Peak Void Integration Realm cultivator could only silently stare at one another as the towering skeleton slowly began reaching out towards the two of them using one hand for each as the space around them twisted into a cage that made even simple movement impossible-

Bang! Bang!

And without the slightest bit of hesitation, the two came to a mutual understanding and attacked the spatial cage that had silently trapped them. Using all their strength to forcibly break the spatial cages and just barely break free before the two skeleton hands descending from above could grab hold of them, causing the soul fire that had ignited within the empty eye sockets of the towering skeleton to flicker briefly before the two towering skeleton hands moved out once again to capture the two insects that had just escaped its grasp.

Something that in turn allowed the two figures just enough time to group up. Allowing them to face this attack head on-

BOOOOM-!

Something the two did without hesitation, as they combined their strength into a single powerful attack that just barely managed to block the two descending skeletal hands once again before they shot backwards at a terrifying speed in a clear attempt to escape from the skeleton and rush towards the new hallway that had just opened up behind it.

A turn of events that seemed to finally anger the skeleton, as it took its first step forward towards the two escaping cultivators-

Rumble~

Something that didn’t go as the two escapees predicted, as the second the skeleton’s foot hit the ground, countless bone spikes surged up from the ground beneath them at a terrifying speed that forced the two to work together and forcibly block those terrifying bone spikes. Forcibly holding on for a grand total of a quarter of a second before a bone spike made it through their combined defensive efforts and the two were sent flying upwards by the impact-

BANG!

Crashing into the ornaments and intricate carvings of the ceiling tens of thousands of meters above that had replaced what should have been the sky, a situation that the skeleton didn’t bother take advantage of, as it instead just took another step forward and reemerged directly beneath the place where the two had crashed into the ceiling. Showing to everyone present that they were the only ones whose usage of the Dao of Space had been restricted, while the skeleton could still move around freely using the Dao of Space, something that undoubtedly made escaping from this hall far harder than Xuan Hao and the group of weaker cultivators had originally anticipated.

Still, even with this, Xuan Hao and the group of Void Integration Realm cultivators had no intention of giving up, as the two sides each chose a different path to circle around the edge of the hall towards the hallway that had emerged on the other side.

Xuan Hao ultimately deciding against using the Illusory Light Steps for now and instead deciding to move while concealing himself using the Dao of Illusions and the Dao of Formations mixed with the Dao of Light in an attempt to not stand out and hopefully allow him to sneak past the towering skeleton.

After all, his Illusory Light Steps wasn’t exactly a movement technique that was easy to hide and the second he used it, he would undoubtedly become the center of attention and would likely also end up drawing the attention of the skeleton that had seemingly dealt with the two powerful figures at the Late Stage and Peak Stage of the Void Integration Realm respectively.

No matter how confident he was in the speed of his Illusory Light Steps, he understood that there would be no way to outpace the terrifying movement that the skeleton had just shown that utilized the Dao of Space.

Instead of that, he kept his movement in pace with the group of weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators on the other side to hopefully not stand out in case the skeleton had already seen through his illusions and spotted him. Hoping that the skeleton would first target the larger group before it set its sights on him after it finished dealing with the two powerful Void Integration Realm seniors now firmly attached to the ceiling. Planning to go all out rushing towards the small hallway the second, the skeleton engaged the group of weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators as there would be no point in keeping himself hidden after that happened.

Who knew, those weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators might even be able to put up more of a fight than those two seniors using the artifacts they had managed to steal from the skeleton.

In fact, this was exactly what the group of weaker cultivators were thinking about doing, as they were all trying to figure out what the different artifacts they had picked up did, though, unfortunately for them, the artifacts in question were all of the ornamental and weren’t exactly simple to understand.

Outside of the oversized interspatial ring, they had little to no clue about what the other artifacts they had ended up grabbing did.

An earing one picked up could just as well channel a powerful shield that might allow them to survive the onslaught of the giant skeleton when it attacked them, as it could ignite a world spanning inferno that would incinerate them alongside it. After all, these artifacts all belonged to the Void God Realm in their eyes and held power beyond their belief. Reckless usage could just as well kill them all as it could save them and none of them dared to gamble with their own lives. Attempting to understand the inner workings of the different artifacts with all their strength before the skeleton deemed them to have gone too close to the smaller hallway and decided to kill them or just finished dealing with the two senior cultivators stuck in the ceiling that had yet to emerge even after a few seconds passed.

Speaking of those two, the group of weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators along with Xuan Hao couldn’t help growing somewhat suspicious about what had happened to them. After all, the blow just now didn’t look lethal and crashing into a stone ceiling shouldn’t have been enough to kill them. Especially the one who had already reached the Peak of the Void Integration Realm and merged with the void.

Killing a figure like that was difficult even for someone who reached the Void God Realm- or would at least require a bit more effort than what the skeleton had put in so far-

Whoosh~

And seemingly sharing their sense of wonder over what had happened to the two, the skeleton gently waved one of its large skeletal hands, causing the debris and dust that obscured the place they had crashed into to disperse.

”Huh?”

”That is... Another way out!?”

”So that’s why they didn’t reemerge...”

Revealing only a large open hole leading outside with the two senior Void Integration Realm cultivators having clearly already escaped out through the hole in the ceiling. An escape method nobody had thought about given how the hallway from earlier was practically indestructible thanks to the formation that guarded it, a formation that didn’t seem to be present around the ceiling of this massive hall. Presenting the group of weaker Void Integration Realm cultivators below, along with Xuan Hao, with another path out.