Beast Tamer Ascension-Chapter 52Book 4: : A Twist of Fate

Vol 4 Chapter 52: A Twist of Fate

Western Desert Region.

Not all cultivators were paying attention to the battle at Martial Emperor City,

The ghost cultivators of the Demonic Sect, Netherworld Hall... had focused solely on searching for the Artifact Ghost from beginning to end.

They ignored the battle at Tongtian City.

They still ignored the battle at Martial Emperor City.

Even the Netherworld Saintess didn’t care about her Fortune Gold List ranking, dropping from eleventh to twelfth.

Because after prolonged efforts, the Netherworld Hall had finally found hope in capturing the Artifact Ghost!

The Artifact Ghost was extremely cunning, never clashing with powerful cultivators, making direct capture nearly impossible.

However, by continuously deciphering the ruins sealing the Artifact Ghost, the Netherworld Hall had successfully grasped the method to forcibly summon it.

Inside the eerie altar, the Netherworld Hall Master, draped in black robes and made entirely of bones, had ghostfire flickering in his eyes.

The Netherworld Saintess, dressed in white and revealing only her long black hair, looked solemn.

Besides them, there was another person—an emaciated old man’s soul. Though this soul had only Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, at this moment, both the Hall Master and the Saintess had their gazes fixed on him.

This old man, though "not highly cultivated," was the top tomb raider in the Western Desert. His techniques, spells, and experience were all tailored for dismantling various formation seals.

During their hunt for the Artifact Ghost, Netherworld Hall had also been capturing all sorts of talents capable of breaking ancient formations—countless cultivators were enslaved, their souls used for service, but even after catching over a hundred people, nothing had come of it.

Until this tomb raider... successfully cracked the formation sealing the Artifact Ghost.

If this damaged formation could be repaired, the altar would become like an eye of a storm, forcibly drawing the wandering Artifact Ghost back and resealing it!

This altar had been constructed specifically to suppress the Artifact Ghost—even the ghost itself couldn’t completely destroy or resist it.

“All the materials you requested are here. As long as you can successfully reseal the Artifact Ghost here, you’ll become the Vice Hall Master of the Netherworld Hall. Not only will you regain your freedom, we’ll also reshape a new body for you,” said the Netherworld Saintess.

“Thank you, Hall Master, thank you, Saintess... I’ll give it my all. Not to brag, but our family has been tomb raiding since the Celestial Palace Era. My grandfather, my father—they were all Void Mystical Stage tomb raiders. It’s just that, by the time it got to me, there weren’t enough tombs to raid, and the resources simply weren’t enough for me to cultivate to Void Mystical Stage. That’s why I...”

“Enough nonsense.” The Netherworld Hall Master glanced at the shifty-eyed tomb raider. “Get started.”

“Yes, yes...” The tomb raider felt bitter. He had raided tombs his whole life—those of Buddhist monks, royal families from the Ancient Kingdom, even ancient cultivators from the Celestial Palace...

And yet, he hadn’t been caught by the Buddhist Sect, nor by the Ancient Kingdom, nor killed by ancient formations... In the end, he was personally captured by the Hall Master of the Netherworld Hall, one of the Three Major Demon Sects, a Dao-Seeking expert.

None of them were good people, so why make it hard for each other...

What had he done to deserve this? Just raided some tombs—was that worth being shattered into a fragmented soul?

Perhaps this was the karma of generations of tomb raiding... finally catching up to him.

The tomb raider remained sorrowful, only hoping the Netherworld Hall would honor their word.

Looking at the formation, I can tell it originates from the Celestial Palace Era—very profound. I only figured it out thanks to my ancestors’ long-standing dealings with Celestial Palace tombs.

But to be honest, I’m not entirely sure I can repair the altar and re-absorb the Artifact Ghost, Bao Gui. Still, at this point, I have no choice but to try.

Otherwise, what awaits me is soul annihilation.

“It must work...” Under the pressure of the Netherworld Hall Master and the Saintess, the tomb raider began repairing the Bao Gui altar. Who knew how long passed—he instinctively wiped his sweat, only to realize he was just a soul and had no sweat to wipe.

“How’s it going?” asked the Netherworld Saintess.

“I think... I think it worked. As long as we offer a large number of magical artifacts as tribute, the sealing altar should be reactivated. This is a targeted seal—once activated, it’ll unleash a suction force that can pull in the target no matter where it is and seal it!!!”

“However, I estimate that at least a quasi-celestial artifact must be sacrificed to activate it...” the tomb raider said cautiously.

At his words, the Netherworld Hall Master remained expressionless. A quasi-celestial artifact...

Though incredibly rare, it was nothing compared to the hope of controlling a Celestial Artifact.

He extended his hand and handed a quasi-celestial artifact to the tomb raider’s soul...

The tomb raider nodded and nervously began the sacrificial ritual.

Who knew how long had passed before he suddenly exclaimed in shock.

“Success?” asked the Netherworld Saintess.

He was overjoyed: “A few small hiccups, but it should have worked. Under the altar’s power, the Artifact Ghost’s strength will now be heavily suppressed—possibly even knocked unconscious. But because the altar is ancient, its suction might be weaker, unable to break through the void and summon it quickly. Lords, now is the time—you can search around the altar with more force!”

“If luck’s on our side, we should be able to find it soon as it's being pulled in by the altar!”

“Act fast—don’t let others beat us to it.”

“You’ve done well.” The Netherworld Saintess gave him a rare look of approval. He really was a capable one.

At the same time.

Somewhere in the Western Desert.

The Artifact Ghost, currently possessing the Longevity Turtle, suddenly sensed a familiar power. freewёbnoνel.com

Its jellyfish-like, phantom form trembled in alarm within the Longevity Turtle.

Sealing power...

That familiar sealing power immediately struck terror into the Artifact Ghost.

Its mind faltered—it sensed the sealing altar was forcibly summoning it. But since the altar was designed specifically to suppress it, the Artifact Ghost had no way to resist. It could only struggle frantically inside the Longevity Turtle, continuously channeling and enhancing the turtle’s power in an attempt to escape.

In the end, however, it couldn’t withstand the power of the sealing altar and soon lost consciousness.

Once the Artifact Ghost fainted, the altar’s suction force began forcibly pulling it in.

But at that very moment, the Longevity Turtle—whose strength had been greatly enhanced by the Artifact Ghost using its ultimate artifact spirit power—began acting unlike any other treasure whose spirit had fallen asleep.

Normally, even a Celestial Artifact, once it lost its artifact spirit, would just lie still, devoid of will.

But mechanized beasts were different. Even without an artifact spirit’s control, they could still move...

“Reboot complete. Commencing treasure hunt.”

The Longevity Turtle, after rebooting, looked blankly ahead. Facing the altar’s suction, it paused briefly—then ran toward something that attracted it more than the altar... the Longevity Physique.

“They say once you make it into the top ten of the Fortune Gold List, luck will follow you, opportunities will flood in—you could just walk outside and pick up rare treasures. They say it’s ten times stronger than my Fortune Physique. I wonder if that’s true. Brother Lin, we’ve been traveling for so long—how come you haven’t found a single treasure?” In the group that had left Martial Emperor City, Gao Sheng glanced at the Gold List, curious.