RPAGF Chapter 358 Familiar Runes
Chapter 358 Familiar Runes
Mo Ming stared at the ground, a vague unease creeping into his heart. Without saying anything more, he turned and walked towards the southeast area.
His figure quickly disappeared into the night, the faint light emanating from the Demon-Suppressing Sword appearing and disappearing in the darkness, like a flame ready to devour evil at any moment.
The forests in the southeast region appear peaceful, yet they exude an indescribable sense of oppression.
The trees here are more lush than elsewhere, but their branches and leaves are withered and twisted, as if corroded by some force. A faint, suffocating stench permeates the air.
Mo Ming slowly stepped into the woods, his footsteps light and silent. His sharp gaze swept over his surroundings, his hand never leaving the hilt of the Demon-Suppressing Sword.
"The aura here... is even stronger than over there," Mo Ming muttered to himself. He could sense the lingering aura of evil in the air, as if something had once been active here.
He continued walking, his footsteps crunching softly over a fallen leaf. Suddenly, he stopped, his gaze falling on the ground.
There were several deep scratches on the ground, as if they had been scratched by some kind of sharp claws, and the marks extended into the depths of the forest.
Mo Ming squatted down and reached out to touch the scratches, finding them to be quite new, clearly made recently.
"It seems there really is something here." His gaze grew even colder as he stood up and followed the direction of the scratches.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Mo Ming arrived at an open space. In the center of the open space stood a huge, withered tree.
The trunk of the dead tree was covered with cracks, from which a strange black liquid seeped. The ground beneath the tree was pitch black, as if it had been scorched by fire, yet it exuded a strong, malevolent aura.
Mo Ming's gaze fell on the withered tree, his brows furrowing slightly. He could sense that this withered tree was no ordinary tree, but rather the habitat of some kind of evil entity.
"So this is where it is..." he said softly.
Just then, the trunk of the dead tree suddenly emitted a low, cracking sound, as if something was wriggling inside. Immediately afterwards, a thick black mist surged out from the crack and quickly spread across the open space.
A cold glint flashed in Mo Ming's eyes, and the Demon-Suppressing Sword in his hand was instantly drawn. Flames on the blade suddenly ignited, dispelling the surrounding black mist.
"You cowardly creature, come out now," Mo Ming said coldly, his voice carrying an undeniable air of authority.
A low roar came from the black mist, followed by a huge black shadow bursting out from the dead tree.
It was a distorted monster, its body resembling a centipede magnified several times, with countless twisted tentacles growing from its back, and at the ends of the tentacles were hideous human faces.
The monster's eyes gleamed with an eerie white light, emanating a chilling aura of evil.
“It really is an evil thing.” Mo Ming said coldly, the flames on the Demon-Suppressing Sword becoming even more intense.
The monster let out a low growl and its massive body lunged at Mo Ming, its tentacles stabbing straight at his chest like venomous snakes.
Instead of retreating, Mo Ming advanced, suddenly swinging the Demon-Suppressing Sword in his hand. The flames transformed into a blazing sword aura, severing all the tentacles.
"laugh--"
The severed tentacles turned into a pool of black liquid, dripping onto the ground and emitting a pungent stench.
The monster let out an angry roar, its body suddenly swelled, and black mist poured out of its body, trying to completely engulf Mo Ming.
"Useless struggle." Mo Ming snorted coldly, raising the Demon-Suppressing Sword high in his hand. The flames on the blade suddenly erupted, transforming into a blazing pillar of light that shot straight into the black mist.
"boom!"
Flames collided with the black mist, unleashing a deafening roar. The black mist was engulfed by the flames, and the monster's body was also set ablaze, emitting a piercing scream.
Mo Ming gave the monster no chance to breathe. In a flash, he appeared above the monster's head, his Demon-Suppressing Sword piercing straight into the monster's head.
"cut!"
The sword pierced the monster's head, and flames swept down like a raging sea, completely engulfing the monster's body.
"what!!!"
The monster let out a shrill scream, its body rapidly disintegrating in the flames, eventually turning into a wisp of black smoke and dissipating into the air.
After the monster was defeated, the black liquid gushing from the cracks in the withered tree gradually dried up, and the evil aura dissipated. Mo Ming walked to the withered tree, reached out and touched the trunk, and discovered that there was a black stone tablet hidden inside.
The stone tablet was covered with ancient runes, and a faint trace of energy remained within them.
"This is... a sealing stone tablet?" Mo Ming's gaze sharpened.
He carefully observed the runes on the stone tablet and felt that these runes were very similar to those he had seen on the blue stone tablet.
Mo Ming's eyes were sharp. After discovering the black stone tablet hidden inside the withered tree, he silently took out the cyan stone tablet from his spatial ring.
Mo Ming stood quietly beside the withered tree, the blue stone tablet in his hand emitting a faint blue light, which contrasted sharply with the deep, deathly, and sinister aura of the black stone tablet.
Just as the auras of the two stone tablets intertwined, a low, cold laugh echoed in his mind, mingling with the oppressive atmosphere in the air, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end.
"What a familiar aura..." The sinister voice of the Gluttonous Ghost Marquis penetrated Mo Ming's mind, carrying an undisguised excitement and mockery.
Mo Ming felt a chill run down his spine, and at the same time, a hint of anger rose within him: "Ghost Lord Tao Mie, do you know the origin of this black stone tablet?"
The Gluttonous Ghost Marquis chuckled lightly, his tone lazy yet laced with sharp disdain: "So what if you know? So what if you don't?"
Mo Ming's voice was cold and stern, and the faint flames emanating from the Demon-Suppressing Sword suppressed the aura of the Gluttonous Ghost Marquis. "Since this stone tablet makes you so familiar with it, even excited, it seems that it is not just a 'sealed' object. Is it related to you?"
Tao Mie Gui Hou was silent for a moment, then let out a low sneer.
"Heh...It has something to do with me? Maybe." His voice became even lower and colder, carrying a hint of profound etherealness.
Mo Ming's heart sank. Although the Ghost Lord's answer was vague, it gave him a glimpse of a terrifying possibility.
This black stone tablet, along with the cyan stone tablet he obtained from the Eight Gates Ruins, likely possesses a similar function. The cyan stone tablet was used to suppress the power of the Gluttonous Ghost Lord—while this black stone tablet should be used to seal another Ghost Lord.
"The Eight Gates Ruins..." Mo Ming muttered to himself, his mind racing as he pondered the origins of the two stone tablets.
The blue stone tablet in his hand was obtained from the ruins, but he never expected that a similar stone tablet would be hidden on the Sky Island.
“Both the cyan and black stone tablets are sealed objects. If that’s true… then why would the Ghost Lord sealed within this black stone tablet…” His eyes turned colder. “Why would he appear here, in such a remote place?”
Just as this thought came to mind, a sense of unease flashed through his mind, and the clues in his mind began to piece together. A chilling conjecture gradually emerged: if this stone tablet sealed another Ghost Lord, why was it moved here from the ruins?
More importantly, if it appears here now, does it mean that someone, or some other being, is trying to break the seal?
This conjecture made Mo Ming uneasy.
However, at that moment, a familiar figure suddenly flashed through his mind.
“Sun Miaoke…”
Mo Ming murmured the name that had left a deep impression on him, his eyes gradually sharpening.