Just as everyone was rejoicing, a sudden change occurred. The surrounding spiritual energy suddenly became violent and chaotic, and as black mist surged, it transformed into countless red-eyed monstrous beasts.
These dark, shadowy demonic beasts had bizarre forms, possessing both the fangs and sharp claws of a demonic wolf and the eerie ghostly aura of a hellhound, as they furiously pounced on the crowd.
The sound of blades tearing through the air instantly echoed throughout the sky, and a bloody, murderous aura permeated the surroundings.
“These abominations are endless!” A frustrated roar came from deep within the canyon.
Five sword cultivators, with their backs against the cliff, had formed a circular formation, their sword light like a wheel, fending off seven monstrous beasts.
The leading cultivator in green robes swung out a cross-shaped sword qi, slicing the demonic beast in front of him into black mist, but unexpectedly, the mist instantly reformed.
The red-robed cultivator next to him used the flat of his sword to repel the beasts, panting urgently, “We got separated as soon as we teleported in! The communication jade talismans are completely useless, and the spatial coordinates in this cursed place are constantly shifting!”
“Concentrate our sword momentum and take turns to annihilate them!” The older Xuanjia sword cultivator in the team suddenly roared, his sword glowing with pure Yang golden light: “Pay attention to the speed at which the mist dissipates, and use the Evil-Slaying Sword Art during the third round of attacks!”
Upon hearing this, the four immediately changed their sword formation, and sword qi of gold, wood, water, and fire intertwined into a net, finally completely purifying the last wisp of black mist.
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they suddenly heard a earth-shattering beast roar from afar.
The Xuanjia sword cultivator immediately formed a hand seal to set up a concealment barrier, and said in a deep voice, “Every spiritual herb here contains ancient aura, but the more precious the spiritual object, the stronger the monstrous beasts nearby. We must make a blood oath.”
He was the first to cut his fingertip, drawing a sword seal in the air: “I swear by my Sword Heart, that all gains in the secret realm will be distributed according to battle merits, and no companion shall be abandoned in danger. Violators shall suffer the tribulation of ten thousand swords piercing the heart.”
The other four looked at each other and nodded, one after another making a blood pact. They knew that in this ancient secret realm fraught with danger, only absolute trust could allow them to contend for the legendary Primordial Sword Tomb inheritance.
Seeing this, the disciples all swore an oath, but a certain cultivator from Dragon Yang Peak secretly clutched the talisman in his sleeve.
His face showed no hint of it, and he followed suit, swearing to the heavens. In an unknown secret realm, forming alliances was always more stable than fighting alone.
After everyone had sworn by their Dao Heart, the atmosphere immediately lightened considerably.
“We will set off after resting.” The leading senior brother divided the Spirit Cores into equal small portions.
Once everyone had finished recuperating, this team, each with their own intentions, began to advance deeper into the secret realm.
Every hundred steps, the Dragon Yang Peak disciples would carve a star-patterned mark on the rock wall using their sect’s secret sign.
At this moment, thousands of miles away, Qing Feng was still sound asleep in the formation core stone chamber of the ancient cultivator's mausoleum. The spiritual energy flowing from the star chart on the dome permeated his body like fine rain, causing an profound Dao rhythm to circulate throughout him.
If a high-level cultivator were here, they would surely be astonished to discover that Qing Feng was actually merging with the aura of the entire grand formation.
Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, a five-petaled golden lotus was bursting forth with brilliant colorful light, and the sixth petal's phantom image was gradually solidifying. When the spiritual energy vortex exploded with a roar in the stone chamber, that phantom image had already materialized, and Qing Feng's aura suddenly surged, as he broke through his shackles even in his sleep.
“How could the formation patterns be so dim?” Qing Feng, after waking, looked around in confusion.
He casually completed a few incomplete formation patterns, completely unaware that nearly half of this ancient Gathering Spirit Formation's thousand years of accumulation had been absorbed by his months of deep sleep. As the formation operated again, the starlight once more transformed into a river of spiritual energy and flowed into his body.
Although this thousand-year-old Imperial Mausoleum was named after Dragon Emperor Ao Pan, it was actually the pinnacle work of Dao Sect's prodigy, Celestial Void Daoist.
At that time, two supreme figures of the cultivation world collaborated perfectly.
Ao Pan possessed the rare treasures of the four seas, and Celestial Void Daoist controlled the profound mysteries of creation, fusing alchemy, formations, and artifact refining into one, ultimately creating this unprecedented secret realm of eternal life.
Deep within the mausoleum lay hidden mysteries, and its operating principles were exquisitely ingenious: the spiritual Pulse Hub nourished thousands of wondrous flowers and exotic grasses, and the heaven and earth spiritual energy that was fed back was then transformed by the Nine Luminaries Heaven Circulation Formation, forming an endless cyclical system.
Such an interconnected layout should have allowed the blessed land to maintain its vitality forever, but it just so happened to encounter Qing Feng, who did not play by the rules.
Contemporary cultivators who explored ruins all scrambled for opportunities, but this anomaly set his sights on the entire spiritual pulse lifeline.
His self-created “Lying Cultivation Great Method” actually treated the mausoleum as a cultivation quiet room, continuously absorbing primordial spiritual energy like a parasite on the spiritual pulse.
If the two builders were to know of such rebellious behavior, they would probably break out of their coffins to question: How could a junior cultivator be so laid-back?
However, the person in question was currently in deep meditation, with the “Great Void Heart-Guarding Art” quietly operating in his Sea of Consciousness.
Since that incident at the Nine Bends Frigid Pool, Yun Qingrao's fleeting reflection had often invaded his dreams, and recently, the hazy figures of multiple celestial maidens had begun to intertwine and appear.
Fortunately, cultivators could preserve their essence, otherwise, he would probably need an extra change of clothes every morning when washing up. After such soul tempering, his Dao Heart had instead become even clearer.
The spiritual energy tide deep within the mausoleum gradually weakened, but Qing Feng's body emanated a golden-purple Dao rhythm. As time flowed, his cultivation rose steadily:
Three years after entering the mausoleum, his seventh layer of Nascent Soul was broken through.
After another three autumns, he reached the eighth realm's profound barrier.
And after another cycle of cold and heat, the nine-layered Heavenly Gate roared open.
Qing Feng, in his slumber, was completely unaware that he was, in the most leisurely manner, turning the trial ground meticulously designed by the senior mighty figures into his exclusive celestial ladder.
The outer perimeter of the underground palace welcomed new explorers.
Yun Qingrao hovered in mid-air, her feet on flowing clouds, her snow-white skirt fluttering in the strong winds.
Gazing at the colossal architectural complex spanning heaven and earth before her, a rare smile appeared on her usually cold face. After seven hundred days and nights of life-and-death struggles, she had finally found the resting place of the Dragon Emperor Ao Pan, the supreme ruler of the dragon race.
Her crystalline fingertips brushed over the damaged sword tassel at her waist; the fierce battles with mutated monstrous beasts felt like yesterday.
The shattered formation eyes in the Four Symbols Immortal Slaying Formation, the stars cut down by sword qi in the Sea of Clouds Maze, all now transformed into shimmering inscriptions in her Sea of Consciousness.
Looking at the hundred-zhang jade steps that had reappeared, the female cultivator sighed softly and tightened her grip on her 본명 spiritual sword, its blade reflecting the pulsating battle intent in her eyes.
When the last jade step crumbled beneath her feet, her cloud-patterned robe was already stained with blood.
The heart demon illusion in the depths of her Sea of Consciousness was still surging, but it was ultimately shredded by her 본명 sword intent.
Yun Qingrao leaned against the bronze tomb door, adjusting her breath for a moment, when she suddenly felt an unusual fluctuation in her palm. The Innate Eight Trigrams formation array emerged from the door, and the Yin and Yang fish had already opened halfway.
“Someone actually got here first?”
Her clear, cold voice echoed in the passage. Yun Qingrao flashed into the formation eye, not noticing that the star trajectory behind her had quietly shifted by seven degrees.
At the same time, deep within the underground palace, at the core of the spiritual pulse.
Nine dragon-shaped spiritual energies circled Qing Feng's body, and a Four Symbols star chart floated above his Nascent Soul's phantom image. Feeling the surging and powerful true essence within his meridians, he opened his eyes with a bitter smile.
Two years and six months had pushed his cultivation from the mid-stage Nascent Soul to the Great Perfection, but the chasm from Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation was far greater than anticipated.
The ancient inscriptions flowing on the stone wall suddenly flickered erratically, and Qing Feng vigilantly crushed the spiritual stone in his hand.
The Yin and Yang energies violently collided deep within the underground palace, and the entire Dragon Emperor's sleeping palace began to slowly rotate, the dome's star chart transforming into a brand new formation pattern trajectory.
Before the morning dew had dried, an unusual movement suddenly came from the earth's veins.