Chapter 90: The Hidden Hall at the Lake’s Heart

The residual soul from his past life gave a cold snort first, then muttered to itself, “In the end, that is only the natural repulsion of a secluded realm. If such a formidable being had been born and grown here, it would not be constrained. Of course, whether a creature of that level truly exists cannot be determined. After all, such power may not necessarily be produced only by living beings or cultivators.”

Xu Xuan quietly nodded at that. The sword radiance that had shot skyward earlier must have far surpassed the level of a Spirit Refining Immortal Master.

With the spiritual qi in this secluded realm richer than the outside world by more than tenfold, it would not be at all strange for a powerful being comparable to the Condensation Core stage to arise here.

“Heh heh, you’d best pray that no such formidable creature exists. Otherwise...”

The residual soul from his past life even carried a hint of gleeful mockery.

Xu Xuan nearly choked with anger, but he had no time to tangle with him. With a cold harrumph, he said, “If I die, you won’t fare any better.”

The five of them gathered and hurried toward the center of the secluded realm, where the unknown upheaval had occurred.

Not only were they heading that way; the other disciples of Wind Feather Gate, and even the disciples of the Falling Star Sword Sect, were all rushing toward the same location.

“What kind of terrifying existence is in this secluded realm, to produce such a display of power? If it is some powerful creature, it may already have reached the level of the Golden Core path...”

As they advanced, Le Feng wore a trace of worry and exchanged words with Senior Brother Jia beside him.

“Wasn’t it said that no beings above Spirit Refining stage can enter this secluded realm? If there truly is a strong one from that legendary and terrifying level, then even if our two sects joined forces, it would be no different from an egg striking a stone.”

Senior Brother Jia, usually so calm, was now grim to the extreme as well.

Yang Xiaoqian and Yu Qin were both flustered, their hearts full of unease and anxiety for the future.

“No being above Spirit Refining stage can enter this secluded realm, but what if one was born here naturally?”

Xu Xuan suddenly interjected.

At those words, Le Feng and Senior Brother Jia both felt a chill spread through their hearts.

Although this segment of the Star Feather Mountain secluded realm was unstable and strongly repelled outside beings, that did not apply to creatures nurtured within it.

Fortunately, after the earthshaking sword cry and the brilliant glow, the secluded realm gradually returned to calm, though an uneasy restlessness still lingered in the air.

About half an hour later, everyone reached a lake at the very center of the secluded realm, where a palace could be seen faintly in the lake’s heart.

“The signal smoke for help is here!”

Le Feng halted, noticing that more and more disciples from both sects were arriving by the lakeside.

“There’s... such strong spiritual fluctuation in the lake.”

Yu Qin’s clear, immaculate eyes stared timidly at the lake before them.

Xu Xuan and the others looked closely and saw that the water in the lake shimmered under the sunlight with multicolored streaks of light.

A sharp sound rang out.

A tall and upright sword sect disciple leaped to the water’s edge, his expression cold and indifferent, and said in a low voice, “This isn’t ordinary lake water. It’s likely some kind of spirit liquid.”

The speaker was none other than Nie Han of the Falling Star Sword Sect.

Spirit liquid!

The many disciples who had arrived nearby were overjoyed and all quickly took out containers to collect it.

Xu Xuan examined it for a moment. The spirit liquid was of good quality: it could enhance one’s magical power and cultivation, and if used for soaking, it could even improve one’s physique. It would be of great use to cultivators below the Spirit Refining stage.

If it were only a small amount, that would be one thing, but a whole lake of it was truly a heaven-shaking feat.

Xu Xuan only had Yu Qin collect a small amount of the spirit liquid, while he narrowed his eyes and observed the spirit hall at the center of the lake.

The spirit hall on the lake was twenty zhang tall, its whole body radiating purple-silver brilliance. That terrifying, turbulent aura was coming from there.

Moreover, from the top of the lake-center spirit hall, wisps of black smoke curled upward, unusual and eye-catching.

Le Feng flew upward on an artifact, rising slowly into the air to look from afar, and cried out in alarm, “That spirit hall has been pierced by some kind of force, leaving a huge hole—probably several zhang across!”

At those words, everyone grew fearful, staring at the place where black smoke rose from the top of the hall, immediately thinking of the sword radiance that had earlier pierced the sky.

It was easy to imagine that the earlier upheaval had surely originated here.

Suddenly, another sword cry rang out from within the spirit hall, shocking to the soul, and a force like mountains and seas crashed outward.

The lake before them instantly surged into waves ten meters high, the momentum fierce and terrifying.

With a clattering crash, two miserable figures rolled out from the spirit hall’s doors, a man and a woman. The man was extraordinarily handsome, the woman lovely enough to shame the wild geese, yet both were equally bloodless, panic-stricken, and dazed.

“Senior Brother Yun!”

“Senior Sister Yu!”

Everyone was alarmed.

The two figures who had rolled out of the spirit hall were precisely Yun Yuanhang and Yu Mo. At this moment, their robes were in tatters, their faces as white as paper, their expressions frightened and pained beyond bearing.

In the midst of the chaos, disciples from both sects at the fourth level of the refinement realm or above all flew up on artifacts and approached the great hall at the lake’s center.

“Senior Brother Yun, what exactly is inside this hall?”

Le Feng, pale with fear, grabbed Yun Yuanhang’s arm.

But by then the two of them were sitting on the ground, looking utterly lost, at times terrified, at times blank-faced, their bodies trembling nonstop.

What kind of condition was this? The disciples were shocked and also deeply puzzled.

Xu Xuan looked thoughtful; with memories from two lifetimes, he could naturally make out some clues.

After a moment, the rest of them stepped across the spirit liquid on the lake and came to the spirit hall.

“Senior Brother Yun and Senior Sister Yu Mo were probably struck by a powerful blow to the mind and spirit, leaving them somewhat delirious.”

Xu Xuan stood beside Le Feng and spoke in a low voice.

“That is our view as well, but such severe damage to the mind and spirit is the most troublesome of all. It may never recover, or it may leave an eternal shadow in the heart, making it impossible to advance any further in cultivation from this point on.”

There was a trace of pity in Le Feng’s brow as he said this bitterly.

Upon hearing that, the disciples of both sects could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

Senior Brother Yun and Yu Mo were the leading figures of the two sects. After entering the secluded realm, their cultivation had both broken through to the upper level of the seventh refinement stage.

If even they could not deal with the enemy, the others likely would not dare have the slightest thought of resistance.

“Nie... Nie...”

Yu Mo’s beautiful face struggled desperately for a long moment, then she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and a trace of clarity appeared in her eyes.

“Senior Brother Nie, Senior Sister is calling you,” Bai Pan of the sword sect said anxiously.

“Senior Sister Yu Mo, what exactly happened?”

Nie Han walked before her and took a deep breath.

“Go in... go in!”

In extreme weakness, Yu Mo stretched out a snow-white jade hand and pointed toward the entrance of the great hall.

After saying those words, she fainted into unconsciousness.

Blood seeped from the corner of Senior Brother Yun’s mouth as he cast a difficult glance at everyone. Trembling, he raised a hand and pointed toward the hall entrance, unable even to speak.

“Senior Brother Yun wants us to go in!”

The disciples of Wind Feather Immortal Gate and the others looked at one another, hesitating.

Go in?

Xu Xuan’s heart gave a sudden jolt.

“Those with courage, follow me in!”

Nie Han’s voice was like thunder, his tall and heroic figure gripping a magical sword as he flew into the broken hall.

The sword sect left two people behind to look after Yu Mo, while the rest followed Nie Han into the shattered hall.

“Junior Sister Yang, Junior Sister Yu, you stay here and look after Senior Brother Yun. Everyone else, if you are timid and afraid, stay behind!”

A stern light flashed in Le Feng’s eyes as he led the others into the broken spirit hall.

Xu Xuan hesitated briefly where he stood, then rose and followed after them.

He thought silently, The first rising figure of the two sects, even with his mind damaged and his reason clouded, still insisted that the disciples enter. What shocking secret could be hidden in this hall?

“Senior Brother Xu!”

Yu Qin bit her lip and suddenly called out to stop him. “I... I’ll go with you.”

“How can that be!”

Xu Xuan’s expression changed as he instinctively shook his head.

“I can help you all.” Yu Qin raised her head, those clear, immaculate eyes filled with sincerity and concern.

“No. Stay here and protect Senior Brother Yun. Otherwise, once we return to the sect, I’ll cut off all ties with you.”

Xu Xuan’s gaze turned sharp as he glared at her. Then he turned and resolutely darted into the hall.

Watching his departing back, Yu Qin’s eyes reddened, her eyelashes trembling lightly. In her slender, unadorned hand she gripped a talisman, and in the end she lowered her head, choking back tears.

A sharp sound rang out.

Xu Xuan moved with graceful ease as he leaped into the ruined hall. His blood and qi within his body flowed like a stream, growing gradually steady and powerful, and a shifting, oppressive aura rose from him.

The space within the hall was vast, likely covering several mu of land. Underfoot were dark silver stone slabs hard as iron; even ordinary immortal arts and sword techniques could hardly damage them, yet now they were left with spiderweb cracks.

A piercing, bone-chilling aura drifted from deep within the hall. With every step forward, that invisible pressure increased by one degree.

It was as though somewhere in the unseen void, a transparent, formless great sword had already touched the skin, and every step taken meant being pierced deeper by that invisible blade.

“Tsk, tsk. You really intend to risk your life? Even if there is no powerful being at the Condensation Core stage inside this spirit hall, just this aura of power alone is not something juniors like you can contend with.”

After a long silence in his mind, the residual soul from his past life suddenly teased him again.

“You seem to know what’s in this spirit hall?”

Xu Xuan’s state of mind was astonishingly calm. If this were truly an utterly perilous dead end, the residual soul from his past life would probably not be so relaxed.

“I can only vaguely smell those auras. If I’m not mistaken, this should be the very source of the entire secluded realm, the place where its spring well lies. There’s bound to be no shortage of treasures here, hehe...”

The residual soul from his past life said with faint anticipation.

Xu Xuan flew swiftly after the group ahead and soon saw Le Feng and the others halt at the entrance to a stairway.

At the stairway lay a somewhat fat figure, curled up on the ground clutching his head, his whole body in tatters and his hair in disarray like a beggar’s: “Help... help me!”

When Xu Xuan finally made out the identity of that wretched figure, his expression turned strange. “Wan... Wan Fushan?”

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