Dongyang Bo had no objection and led his people over to the other end of the jade ruyi.
Once everyone was firmly seated, Daoist Chongyi spurred the jade ruyi. In an instant, rich azure light washed over the white jade ruyi, swelling outward until it enveloped everyone inside.
With a slight shudder, the jade ruyi darted forward to the restriction barrier.
Daoist Chongyi shouted, "Open!"
A gap tore through the restriction, and turbulent spiritual energy swarmed in. Daoist Chongyi did not hesitate for a second, steering the jade ruyi headlong into the spirit tide.
Boom!
A colossal wave surged straight toward them.
The jade ruyi dodged with remarkable agility, but even being clipped by the outer swell caused it to violently lurch. Its azure light dimmed slightly, and Qin Sang and the others were caught in the turbulence, tumbling and staggering about.
"Steady!"
Daoist Chongyi and Dongyang Bo struck out in unison, finally steadying the rocking jade ruyi.
Next, the jade ruyi flicked like a carp's tail, deftly evading another surge of the spirit tide before its speed suddenly exploded, rocketing straight toward the depths of the spirit tide.
High winds and fierce waves churned around them.
The jade ruyi seemed like a lonely skiff in a hurricane, appearing unimaginably fragile, as if it might capsize at any moment.
Faces drained of color as everyone recoiled, shocked by the terrifying majesty of heaven and earth.
Word had it that the spirit tide had not even reached its most violent stage, yet with two Nascent Soul giants at the helm, both wore grave expressions, daring not let down their guard for an instant.
Qin Sang knew full well that leaving the protection of the jade ruyi now would reduce him to dust without even a scrap of bone left. He sat cross-legged with utmost obedience, not daring to make any reckless moves.
Beside him were Qiu Mubai and the others, five of them seated in a circle at the very center.
Chenyan, Tie Guanzi, Feng Ming, and the others positioned themselves on the perimeter to form a protective ring, with Dongyang Bo standing alone at the tail end of the jade ruyi, utterly unmoving no matter how violently it swayed.
Chenyan sat cross-legged in an unassuming manner not far from Qin Sang. There was no fluctuation of true essence about her; not even Daoist Chongyi had been able to see through her true cultivation.
Qin Sang recalled Granny Jing saying that Chenyan had already passed the Nascent Soul tribulation and was a genuine Nascent Soul grandmaster. Her deliberate concealment of her identity suggested she likely harbored other schemes.
After flying for some distance, the jade ruyi grew increasingly steady. With the azure light keeping them safe and secure, the cultivators gradually put their hearts at ease. Some even found the leisure to observe the surrounding scenery, Qin Sang included.
Looking out, the world was entirely consumed by the wildly violent spirit tide. These chaotic masses of spiritual energy gathered in dense clusters or coiled like giant pythons, wandering through the void with reckless abandon.
The smaller among them were as large as colossal whales, while the larger stretched beyond sight, their full scale impossible to discern.
Restless and ever-shifting, gathering and dispersing unpredictably, they moved with astonishing speed, crossing hundreds of zhang in the blink of an eye. Evading them completely in such an environment was an absolute impossibility.
There was little room to maneuver. Even with two Nascent Soul cultivators jointly piloting the jade ruyi, taking hits from the spirit tide was unavoidable. Fortunately, the jade ruyi was exceptionally sturdy, keeping the journey fraught with thrills but free of real harm.
"Huh? Look over there!" someone exclaimed, pointing into the distance.
Following the finger, everyone saw a marvelous crimson light shooting straight into the heavens far to the northeast. The red pillar of light pierced the sky like a sharp sword, remaining distinctly visible even amidst the chaotic spirit tide.
"A secret realm!"
Spirits soared across the deck.
For such a light pillar to appear out of nowhere, there was only one possibility: the restrictions of a secret realm had been triggered by the spirit tide.
After rapid exchanges among the cultivators from the various sects, they learned that this place belonged to none of them. In all likelihood, a brand-new secret realm had just emerged!
Unfortunately, the secret realm appeared very far away. Neither Nascent Soul cultivator dared traverse the spirit tide at will, and Ziwei Palace was their utmost priority—diverting their course to explore it was out of the question.
Attentive cultivators memorized the coordinates of the secret realm, agreeing to explore it together upon returning from Ziwei Palace. From the phenomenon of the light pillar alone, it was clear this secret realm was anything but ordinary; it might well contain peerless treasures.
To their surprise, before they could settle on a plan, ripples suddenly disturbed the light pillar, and it collapsed with a tremendous crash.
In an instant, the red light dissipated, and the anomaly vanished entirely.
"Alas!"
Deeply disappointed, the crowd sighed repeatedly.
There was a ninety-percent chance that the secret realm's defensive restrictions had failed to hold out and were breached by the spirit tide.
Even if the realm had not been completely destroyed by the spirit tide, few treasures would survive.
Such occurrences were not uncommon in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, and there was nothing they could do about it.
However, the incident served as a wake-up call for Qin Sang. He stopped meditating and kept his eyes wide open, scanning back and forth in hopes of encountering another secret realm like that.
After forming his core, a new phase of his journey would begin. If he could scour one or two unexplored secret realms, he would surely reap considerable gains.
Nascent Soul masters might look down on such things, but he coveted them.
Even amidst the spirit tide, where they could not travel at full speed and had to constantly detour and evade, the flight speed of Nascent Soul experts remained astonishing.
Qin Sang had heard from Granny Jing that they first needed to reach an agreed-upon location to meet up with the others.
This was because the deeper one ventured into the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, the more potent the spirit tide became. Only by joining the forces of all the Nascent Soul experts would they dare breach the inner layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield and enter Ziwei Palace.
The sky above the Ancient Immortal Battlefield was lit brilliantly by the glow of the spirit tide, making it impossible to tell day from night. Who knew how long they had been speeding forward? The jade ruyi never paused for an instant, and even beings as mighty as Nascent Soul cultivators showed hints of fatigue on their faces.
After shaking off another coil of spiritual energy, a colossal shadow suddenly emerged ahead.
The shadow stretched from east to west without an end in sight on either side, sprawling across their field of vision like a giant dragon crouched against the earth. Only upon closer inspection did they realize it was a towering mountain range, like a natural rampart.
What was even more striking was that atop three of its peaks, lights of different colors shone brightly.
The easternmost peak churned with billowing black demonic energy that blotted out the sky, masking everything within from view.
Atop the central peak stood a palace, resplendent and magnificent, with indistinct silhouettes moving through it.
The western summit was shrouded by a red cloud, blanketing the entire mountaintop.
The three peaks formed a triangle, distinct from one another yet mutually supportive, joining forces to withstand the brunt of the spirit tide. Among them, the demonic energy and the red cloud possessed the greatest momentum, while the golden light appeared somewhat dimmer.
Just as the jade ruyi reached the mountain, four figures suddenly flew out from the red cloud. The man leading them was none other than the Chunyang Sect Master, the Red-Haired Ancestor.
"Haha, the two of you have finally arrived! You've made us wait an agonizingly long time!"
The red-haired old man's laughter rolled over like thunder from afar.
Aboard the jade ruyi, Dongyang Bo and Daoist Chongyi exchanged a glance before calling out clearly, "We were delayed on the road and kept you all waiting. Have the other Daoists arrived?"
The Red-Haired Ancestor replied, "Indeed! The demonic sects and the rogue cultivators of Yinshan Pass are all accounted for. Now we're only waiting to rendezvous with the Daoists from Heavenly Demon Mound, and then send word to those old bastards from the Heaven-Traversing Alliance!"
Dongyang Bo narrowed his eyes slightly. "After searching for so long, have you fellow Daoists still not uncovered the location of the Heaven-Traversing Alliance's ancient teleportation array?"
"Not a trace!"
The Red-Haired Ancestor snapped irritably, "That old Daoist ox is exceedingly vigilant; they only activate it when Ziwei Palace opens, so there's no trail to follow whatsoever."
Chapter 557