The True Immortal Palace

Qin Sang and the others arrived beneath the passage. This place was a barren hilltop without a single trace of ancient restrictions, yet within the peril-laden Sin God Palace, such an absence seemed distinctly abnormal. Qin Sang swept up to a peak and saw that the space directly ahead was riddled with spatial tears, turbulent spatial currents, and fragments of ancient restrictions everywhere. They were already nearing the edge of Sin God Palace. He sank his mind into his sea of qi. The Killing Sword fragment lay quietly in the embrace of his Nascent Soul. He had traversed Sin God Palace, yet the sword spirit had shown no reaction at all; evidently, there were no other Killing Sword fragments here. *It can be basically confirmed that there is no second Killing Sword fragment in the Beichen Realm. In the future, I must leave the Beichen Realm to search the other three realms or the Demon Sea,* Qin Sang thought to himself. A wisp of five-colored mist drifted before him. He reached out to touch it, and the mist dispersed without showing anything unusual. The five-colored mist permeated their surroundings, gushing continuously from within the lightning ring. Daoist Canghong flew cautiously beneath the lightning ring. After investigating for a moment, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise, an unexpected look appearing on his face. Everyone had been watching Daoist Canghong's movements; seeing this, their hearts tightened, and they pressed him one after another to ask what had happened. "Everything inside the passage is normal," Daoist Canghong said in an odd tone. "These five-colored mists seem to be drifting in from the other end of the passage..." The opposite side of the passage was Ziwei Palace. Could some upheaval have occurred in Ziwei Palace? Everyone looked at one another in dismay. "Since the passage is normal, we'll know once we go in and look!" Daoist Zhenyi said in a deep voice. The crowd gathered toward the passage entrance. Unlike other passages, as long as everyone executed the corresponding secret technique, they could pass through together and reach Ziwei Palace. The exit lay at the Demon Cave on the edge of the Outer Hall, so they did not have to worry about Old Demon Ye lying in wait to pick them off one by one. Summoning their magic treasures and ready to react at any moment, the cultivators sat cross-legged in the void. Qin Sang brought out the Demon Binding Rope; Qingjun had handed this treasure to him earlier. He looked back over his shoulder. Qingjun and Jingyu had not yet arrived. At this time, Qingjun and Jingyu were still inside the forbidden area. *This woman's attainments in the Dao of Puppetry have likely reached the absolute pinnacle!* Jingyu thought as she looked at Qingjun. At least among all the cultivators she had ever met, none could rival Qingjun in puppetry. Because of Qin Sang, they were friends rather than foes. Yet for some inexplicable reason, a vague, indescribable wariness toward Qingjun lingered in Jingyu's heart. Nowadays, Qin Sang was immensely renowned in the cultivation world, closely pursuing Old Demon Ye and even showing signs of surpassing established powerhouses like Daoist Zhenyi and Demon Monarch Tongyou. Even rarer was that he was very young; barring unforeseen circumstances, the future of the Beichen Realm would belong to Qin Sang. Qingjun, on the other hand, was far more low-profile. Disguised as Leng Yuntian, she had only displayed her edge at the Blood Lake, holding her own against Old Demon Ye without falling into a disadvantage. In the end, however, she had still been outmaneuvered, having the jade bones and brocade skin snatched away by Old Demon Ye, her brilliance overshadowed by Qin Sang's battle achievements. However, Qin Sang's strength was laid bare in plain sight, and his personal cultivation realm was not very high. The Thunder Escape technique, top-tier magic treasures, formidable demonic fire, puppets, refined corpses—these trump cards could not be concealed; once used, they would be remembered. Recalling her few encounters with Qingjun, Jingyu always felt that Qingjun was unfathomable and quite mysterious. She had no definitive evidence; it was purely an instinctive feeling. *It must be an illusion. Hiding one's strength before Old Demon Ye would be nothing short of courting death,* Jingyu mocked herself inwardly, thinking she was merely making a fuss over nothing after being trapped for two hundred years. Just as her thoughts wandered, Qingjun stowed away the Green Luan puppet and flew out from the seal, shaking her head lightly with nothing to show for her efforts. ... At the passage entrance. Qin Sang and the others formed hand seals simultaneously. Talismans composed of spiritual power materialized before them, glimmering with silver light and establishing a connection with the passage. "Break!" The instant the talismans were completed, everyone struck toward the passage together. *Snap!* The talismans shattered in response, dissolving into specks of luminous debris. Half drifted toward the passage, while the other half settled upon their bodies. Everyone felt their bodies tighten all over. Everything in their vision abruptly vanished, plunging into darkness. Tugged by a gentle force, they flew upward, initially very slowly, then faster and faster. They were carried an unknown distance. Finally, Qin Sang felt the pulling force dissipate, knowing they had been brought into the Demon Cave. Just as he was about to activate his magic treasure to stay on guard, an earth-shattering rumble suddenly sounded from above. Outside, it sounded as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was tearing apart! Qin Sang's mind shuddered, his expression shifting slightly. Around him, the others also appeared, equally shaken by the tremendous noise. Exchanging glances, they hurriedly flew outside the Demon Cave, discovering five-colored mist floating through the void—it truly was drifting over from Ziwei Palace. The instant they flew out of the Demon Cave, everyone was stunned by the sight before them. There was no trace of Old Demon Ye. Yet that was no longer important. They stared dumbfounded in the direction of Ziwei Palace's Inner Hall, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. Daoist Zhenyi and Demon Monarch Tongyou had entered Ziwei Palace multiple times. Even Qin Sang was entering for the third time. In the past, the Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace had been exceptionally tranquil—less dangerous, in fact, than the Outer Hall. So long as one did not intrude into those forbidden areas, even Core Formation stage cultivators could traverse it unimpeded. Tianshan, Sword Mark Mountain, Xuanpu Palace, the ancient medicinal garden, the Immortal City ruins... These forbidden areas were rife with layers of ancient restrictions, yet they had always been stable, their might never leaking outward. Now, things were entirely different! At this moment, the Inner Hall was exceedingly unstable. Space shook violently, and all the ancient restrictions had been triggered, unleashing their power. Those concealed secret realms and forbidden areas were laid bare before their eyes in their entirety. The Immortal City had once been leveled by a giant hand, leaving a massive palm print where it had stood; now, its residual ancient restrictions were stimulated, projecting a mirage of the Immortal City. Though battered and broken, one could still glimpse the magnificent grandeur of that peerless immortal city! At Sword Mark Mountain, an illusory realm manifested, blanketing the surrounding mountains, yet from within it a startling streak of sword qi soared into the sky, shattering the illusory realm with the momentum to cleave through the high clouds. At the ancient medicinal garden, mysterious light formed barriers, each covering a vast expanse of spiritual fields, with faint treasures gleaming within—evidently peerless spiritual medicines never before discovered. In the center of the ancient medicinal garden, a secret realm emerged out of thin air above. Within the secret realm, a spiritual tree spread a canopy like vast clouds, blotting out the sky and sun as it sheltered this battered realm. Full of vibrant vitality and rolling waves of mist, it appeared profoundly mysterious. Qin Sang recognized it: this was precisely Xuanpu Palace, the mystical place that had nurtured Yunyouzi and the Nine Illusions Heavenly Orchid—a place he had originally intended to explore! Furthermore, he spotted another ruined palace. Jushen Hall had also manifested; it was from the Immortal Terrace in Jushen Hall that he had once obtained the Three Lights Jade Liquid. Atop Tianshan, anomalies flared in succession, shadows of immortal palaces flickering in and out of sight. Whether illusion or reality was impossible to tell, but they bore a strong resemblance to the immortal palaces above the Hall of Seven Kills. ... These were merely the tip of the iceberg in the Inner Hall. Whether previously discovered or forever kept secret, all the secret realms were now reappearing in the world. *This* was the true immortal palace! The true Ziwei Palace! Everyone was shaken to the core, finding it difficult to believe their eyes. A cultivator murmured, "Could this be the work of Old Demon Ye and the devil?"