At the Taiyue Sect.
The celestial anomaly grew increasingly intense.
A vast hole had been torn open in the heavens, and the immortal abode was manifesting into reality.
The storm inside the passage showed no signs of abating, yet the rate at which its perimeter expanded was gradually slowing. Just as Zhu Wudao had said, the passage was steadily stabilizing.
However, the altar shook with violence far exceeding before, its concussive force growing stronger and stronger. The cultivators on the periphery were thrown back one after another, leaving only a scant few like Mo Xingdao and Cave Master Qiling able to hold their ground.
After some time, the breathing of Zhu Wudao and the other four also began to grow ragged.
Clenching his teeth, Zhu Wudao wore a grim, ferocious expression, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the passage above without uttering a word. Without his command, Su Zinan and the others dared not let go; they could only grit their teeth and persevere.
Time drifted slowly by.
To them, every second felt excruciatingly long.
Finally, the passage ceased expanding, hovering above the Taiyue Sect. The turbulent currents still surged with terrifying fury, yet it was now possible to enter.
Of course, any intruder would still have to proceed with utmost caution; a single misstep meant doom beyond redemption.
Zhu Wudao barked an order.
"Go!"
With a violent shudder, the altar surged into the sky bearing everyone aboard, plunging headlong into the passage. In the blink of an eye, it was swallowed by the turbulent currents, vanishing without a trace.
The other successors of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect split into two groups.
One group, confident in their own strength, banded together to follow Zhu Wudao and the others into the passage.
The others, favoring prudence, led their disciples in a retreat from Mount Taiyue—both to wait for the turbulence to subside and to guard against retaliation from the Taiyue Sect. Soon enough, they would rejoice in their decision.
Standing in the distance, Qin Sang pushed his vision to its limits, taking in the entire scene.
Su Zinan and the others had entered the passage, while the remnants of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect were retreating.
For a moment, a brief calm settled over the entrance of the passage.
Judging by the terrifying momentum of the chaotic currents, barging inside would be no simple feat, so there was no need to rush headlong into it.
Qin Sang was in no hurry to move. Remaining where he stood, his gaze swept back and forth, searching for Eight Views Abbey. With the immortal abode now revealed, was Daoist Zilei still not going to show himself?
His gaze swept across peak after peak. At the edges of the Mount Taiyue range, streaks of flying light flashed; nearby cultivators had all been alerted by the celestial anomaly and were rushing toward the area, yet there was still no sign of Eight Views Abbey's disciples.
Just then, Qin Sang's attention was drawn to Mount Taiyue's main peak.
When the celestial anomaly had erupted, the Curtain-Heaven Mysterious Array and Mount Taiyue's mountain-protecting grand array had both been shattered from within. However, the mountain-protecting grand array was rooted in the ground and the main peak; its foundation had not been destroyed, so it was not difficult to repair.
Atop the main peak.
Spiritual formations flickered with light, and several figures flew forth, led by none other than Hua Chenzi, the Grand Elder of Mount Taiyue.
The remnants of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect had not gone far, but now was not the time to settle scores with them.
Hua Chenzi looked around and drew qi to form talismans.
Dozens of dense dark-yellow talismans hovered before him. With rapid flicks of his fingers, rays of light shot forth, and the dark-yellow talismans sank into the various peaks of the Taiyue Sect.
The earth rumbled.
The peaks shook.
The mountain-protecting grand array restarted!
No one interfered with Hua Chenzi, and this step proceeded without a hitch.
Immediately following that, an astonishing sight occurred.
Dust and smoke suddenly billowed across the ground. Driven by the grand array, the main peak and several of the Taiyue Sect's most crucial peaks sank deep into the earth. A thick, dark-yellow barrier of light spread over the ground, then gradually contracted until it was the size of a mirror before sinking underground as well.
It was easy to foresee that a bloody, brutal struggle would unfold around the Wuxiang Immortal Sect in the days to come.
There was no telling how many experts would be drawn here.
Unless someone managed to move the Wuxiang Immortal Sect away.
The Taiyue Sect was right next to it, with its very foundations here. If they did not find a way to protect it, any collateral shockwaves could reduce the sect to rubble.
"Without orders from the Sect Master or myself, no one is permitted to take a single step outside!"
Hua Chenzi's voice echoed deep underground.
At the same time.
Outside the Taiyue Sect, dazzling light radiated from a valley.
In the distance, Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. *The true masters are finally showing themselves!*
The radiance, resembling chilly moonlight, arced across the void and landed before Hua Chenzi.
Both sides were well-acquainted and dispensed with ceremony. They nodded to each other, their expressions complex as they looked up at the now-empty passage.
Daoist Zilei was draped in moonlight that flowed like water. Behind the head of each person in his group hovered a bright moon, their qi intimately linked—evidently, they had also been preparing an array.
Gazing at the passage, Daoist Zilei took on a pensive look.
Yue Lingtian said in a deep voice, "The power of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect's grand array is even stronger than anticipated. The Five Phases Tokens and that altar are the keys to opening the ancient abode, and they should also provide protection and guidance through the turbulence. The remnants of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect have numbers on their side. If they get ahead of us, Fellow Daoist Hegao alone may not be able to stop them."
"Indeed," Daoist Zilei replied, unhurried and composed. "Fortunately, we also came prepared. Besides, their Five Phases Tokens are incomplete, so that altar won't hold out for long."
With that, Daoist Zilei produced a spiritual talisman and crushed it.
The moonlight behind their heads flared brilliantly, encompassing Hua Chenzi and the others as well.
Their figures blurred, and, borne by the array, they entered the passage.
"Both sides are well-prepared and boast numerous experts. With only my incarnation by my side, I am somewhat shorthanded..."
Qin Sang sighed softly. Once the cultivators of Eight Views Abbey and the Taiyue Sect had vanished, he finally moved.
Yet just as Qin Sang and his incarnation were about to take off, he stopped dead in his tracks.
From the former grounds of the Taiyue Sect, a plume of black mist abruptly surged forth. It circled the entrance of the passage twice, inspected it closely, and then darted into the passage in a flash.
At this sight, Qin Sang's eyes narrowed in surprise. Though he hadn't gotten close, his spiritual sense detected a faint trace of danger emanating from that black mist.
*Could it be another Great Cultivator? Was this person drawn here by one of the factions, or did they simply chance upon it? Just how many mysterious experts are hidden throughout Zhongzhou?*
When the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole lurks behind.
Just how many mantises were there, and how many orioles?
The waters around the Wuxiang Immortal Sect were muddier than imagined!
No longer hesitating, Qin Sang and his incarnation flew side by side toward the base of the passage.
*Rumble...*
Drawing close, the sheer fury of the turbulent currents became even more palpable.
The interior of the passage was murky and chaotic, packed with visible, wildly disordered qi. Yet this turmoil was not entirely random; waves of layered restrictions and spiritual formations were plainly discernible within it.
However, this was hardly good news. Having to break through formations while simultaneously weathering the violent impacts would only make passage vastly more difficult!
The power and chaos here were in no way inferior to Wuwang Hall. Fortunately, the interior of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect was intact, so a Gray Tide was unlikely to appear.
Qin Sang summoned the Jinchen Sword, cleaving a path ahead with its sword radiance.
His incarnation kept a slight distance from his true self, wielding the Snow-Treading Divine Saber on high alert.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly concentrated its gaze toward the depths of the passage, pushing the power of its heavenly eyes to the limit, piercing through the turmoil to guide his way.
Though Qin Sang had come alone, he was far from solitary.
Not long after Qin Sang entered, the first wave of cultivators drawn by the celestial phenomenon arrived, most of them Golden Core cultivators.
Upon arriving, they were greeted by a sight even more shocking than the skyward anomaly itself.
"Where is the Taiyue Sect?"
They stared dumbfounded at the barren, empty ground.
Most of these cultivators hailed from powers bordering Mount Taiyue—small sects and cultivating clans that had ties of one sort or another with the Taiyue Sect. Some had visited only a few days prior.
The peripheral, minor peaks still stood, but the main peak and all other core areas had vanished completely, flattened overnight in a way that made their hair stand on end!
"Was it caused by the celestial anomaly?"
Someone swallowed hard, voice trembling. "Who would dare go in?"
"Didn't we see people entering just now? Who knows if it leads to a secret realm. The storm ought to weaken—it can't stay this dangerous forever. There must be a way..."
A green-robed man looked toward the passage with longing. But before his words could settle, a shrill, truncated scream rang out.
A cultivator had drifted too close to the passage, caught by an errant strand of the turbulent currents, and was dragged inside before he could flee, torn to pieces without even bones remaining.
Horrified by the sight, the crowd scattered in retreat, lingering around the outer edges without daring to draw near.
Just then, a streak of light shot across the horizon and halted before the passage, revealing a gaunt, refined elderly man. He was the first Nascent Soul cultivator drawn by the celestial phenomenon.
"It's Old Ancestor Queshan!" someone murmured.
Old Ancestor Queshan stared at the passage for a moment, contemplated briefly, then raised his right hand. His thumb ring lit up, and with a flutter of wings, a spiritual crow took flight. It cawed twice and plunged into the passage.
The old man of Mount Queshan stared at the ring, appearing lost in thought, but was actually sensing through the spiritual crow.
Before long.
His expression shifted slightly, his right hand trembling as the thumb ring abruptly dimmed and lost its luster.
"Haha..."
A burst of hearty laughter rang out from behind.
Space warped, and a short, stout cultivator appeared beside Old Ancestor Queshan. "It seems it's even messier inside than out. You suffered a silent loss, you old coot!"
Old Ancestor Queshan's pride took a hit, and he snorted coldly. "Old Ghost Chou, feel free to try it yourself!"
"No need. Even if I forced my way in, I would be hard-pressed on all sides. Why not wait for a few more fellow Daoists and travel together?" Old Ghost Chou glanced sideways at him.
Old Ancestor Queshan did not decline. Lowering his gaze toward the ground, he asked, "Was the Taiyue Sect truly wiped off the face of the earth?"
"Utterly impossible!"
Old Ghost Chou sounded entirely certain. "Yue Lingtian might seem unrefined on the surface, but he is exceedingly shrewd. How could his sect be annihilated so easily? The Taiyue Sect possesses the secret heritage of the *Thick Earth Record*, unsurpassed throughout the realm in the Dao of Earth. He likely used some method to connect with the earth veins and conceal the sect. In all likelihood, this celestial anomaly was orchestrated by Yue Lingtian himself!"
Old Ancestor Queshan nodded, his eyes fixed on the mirage deep within the passage.
Old Ghost Chou asked, "Did you recall something?"
"Didn't you?" Old Ancestor Queshan countered.
The two waited for a while as several more Nascent Soul cultivators were drawn to the site.
Old Ghost Chou and the others attempted to venture inside once, only to discover that the passage was too deep. Disorganized and fighting independently, they could not sustain the effort, so they retreated to deliberate on a battle formation.
Right at that moment, two figures drifted gracefully into view.
"Fellow Daoists, please hold on..."
Old Ghost Chou instinctively called out an invitation, but once he clearly saw the newcomers' faces and cultivation bases, his expression stiffened abruptly. Regret flooded him, and he wished he could slap himself across the face.
Old Ancestor Queshan and the others also paled, treating them like a mortal threat.
The arrivals were none other than the Poison King and Master Huaiyin.
While Master Huaiyin maintained a low profile in Zhongzhou, the Poison King was widely renowned and feared.
With a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes, the Poison King landed before the crowd, glancing at the passage and then at the former grounds of the Taiyue Sect. "Could you fellow Daoists kindly inform me what transpired here at the Taiyue Sect?"
...
Inside the passage.
Zhu Wudao and his companions pushed relentlessly forward, commanding the altar and the Five Phases Tokens. The five-colored light could not project very far amidst the chaotic currents, compressed into an oval barrier of light that enveloped them all.
The Five Phases Tokens truly lived up to their reputation as treasures of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect.
Sheltered by the light barrier, their burden lessened substantially.
The formations and restrictions within the passage dissipated soundlessly upon touching the light barrier without posing any obstacle, and even the turbulence stirred up by the formations was weakened.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last.
As time wore on, the flaws of the replica tokens began to show. Previously, Zhu Wudao had utilized other methods to forcibly sustain the balance between the tokens, but he was now powerless to keep it up.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The altar lurched and jolted violently from side to side. The radiance of the Five Phases Tokens fluctuated wildly, their power growing unstable.
In particular, the two replica tokens had become the weakest links!
"Withdraw!"
Seeing that the situation was unsalvageable, Zhu Wudao shouted a warning, pulled back his hands, and retreated swiftly.
Su Zinan and the others were no slower, separating from the altar in an instant.
With a thunderous crash, the altar blew apart.
Debris flew in all directions, immediately devoured by the turbulent currents and reduced to fine powder.
The Five Phases Tokens were blasted away simultaneously.
Within the chaotic currents, five streaks of light were strikingly conspicuous.
Just as they were about to be swept away by the turbulence...
Golden light flared brilliantly in Zhu Wudao's eyes, and beams of gaze as solid as physical substance shot toward the Metal Phase Token. The Metal Phase Token froze in place, enveloped in a small orb of golden light, and was reeled back into Zhu Wudao's grasp by the pulling golden rays.
The strange-faced man and the sword-bearing man acted in kind.
The sword-bearing man was even a step faster than Zhu Wudao. As he retreated, he unleashed a saber beam that disrupted the flight path of the Earth Phase Token, sweeping it into his possession with ease.
The strange-faced man transformed his arm into a wooden vine, wrapping it around the Wood Phase Token and pulling it back to him.
However, the two replica tokens were not so fortunate. Crafting replica tokens capable of serving as keys to open the ancient abode of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect had already pushed Zhu Wudao to the absolute limit of his abilities.
Just as Su Zinan and the white-robed man moved to grab their respective tokens, on the verge of success, the replica tokens exploded right before them—whether triggered by the altar's destruction, exhausted of their power, or both.
The white-robed man could only watch helplessly as the fragments were swept away by the turbulence, letting out a resentful snort from beneath his mask.
Su Zinan caught a handful of shards, but restoring them was out of the question.
His face darkened slightly before returning to normal in a flash. He cast a quiet glance over Zhu Wudao, the strange-faced man, and the sword-bearing man. Seeing that all three had already stowed away their Five Phases Tokens and could not individually harness their power to brave the formations, he let the matter rest.
Having lost the altar's protection.
Zhu Wudao and his core cohort were still managing, but the others were finding it increasingly strenuous to cope.
Now that the passage was open and the ancient abode of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect lay just ahead, with no immediate external threat, the foundation for their cooperation had collapsed. Inevitably, selfish thoughts crept into their minds, making wholehearted collaboration impossible.
Though they did not disperse immediately, Su Zinan and the others tacitly maintained a certain distance from one another, each looking out for themselves.
Those of weaker cultivation had no choice but to remain clumped together, gradually falling behind the pace.
A similar situation was unfolding further back.
The forces of Eight Views Abbey and the Taiyue Sect had joined together, advancing under the aegis of an array. Initially unstoppable, their progress gradually slowed as they pushed deeper.
Though the spiritual array guaranteed their safety, it noticeably dragged down the speed of Daoist Zilei and Yue Lingtian.
"Junior brothers, give Sect Master Yue and me a boost first. You can follow behind us!"
Seeing no sign of Zhu Wudao and his group after all this time, Daoist Zilei could hold back no longer.
As sect brothers sharing honor and ruin alike, the Nascent Soul cultivators naturally raised no objection. They promptly adjusted the array's formation, encircling Daoist Zilei and Yue Lingtian at the center and combining their strength through the array to cleave a path forward.
The two surged forward at breakneck speed, their figures vanishing without a trace.
Chapter 1616