Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou thus arrived at the great gates of the Stone Hall.
As the stone-carved gates detected their arrival, with a loud rumble, the heavy doors slowly opened.
“Let’s go in.” Wu Yan tried to use her Divine Sense to probe, but in front of the Stone Hall, her Spirit Soul was forcefully suppressed, and her Divine Sense could only extend within one meter of herself.
As the two entered, the doors closed heavily with a dull grinding sound, completely cutting off the lively clucking and quacking sounds outside.
The situation inside the Stone Hall was much more normal than they had expected. From the floor to the stone walls to the ceiling, everything was carved with murals of monster beasts, deeds, sword techniques, and formations. If one could record all of these, even a second-rate sect might leap into the ranks of top-tier sects.
The Stone Hall was not dark, as twelve Night Luminous Pearls were embedded in the ceiling. Although the space was bright, the silent atmosphere still transformed into an invisible pressure hanging over their hearts.
Divine Sense was completely restricted here. Their original plan to probe with Divine Sense now had to change to physical exploration. Even though a Golden Core stage cultivator’s physical constitution was not bad, in such an unknown Secret Realm, caution was still paramount.
“Dead wood, be careful. Inside here is not as simple as outside.” Even Wu Yan (Inner), who had reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage in her previous life, felt an extraordinary pressure and couldn’t help but remind Wu Yan.
This sudden concern gave Wu Yan a trace of comfort in the oppressive atmosphere. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and she softly hummed in acknowledgment.
Wunian was raised in her hand. As Spiritual Power entered, an invisible wind blew through the Stone Hall, surging in all directions. Ji Xuerou knew that Wu Yan was using the wind’s direction to determine the next path, so she held Bixiao and guarded by Wu Yan’s side.
Not long after, Wu Yan found the direction. She tilted her chin toward the northwest: “Over there.”
Since the goal was clear, what they needed to do next was simple. The two walked very slowly, constantly focusing on their surroundings, alert for possible traps in every corner. They reached the destination without encountering any danger, which made them both sigh in relief.
The place guided by the wind was a spacious hall. There were no complex structures, only several load-bearing stone pillars and a high platform made of white jade.
As soon as they entered the hall, Wu Yan’s gaze locked onto the white jade platform. On the platform was precisely the target of Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou’s trip.
“Xuerou!” Wu Yan subconsciously wanted to rush out, but then Ji Xuerou stopped her.
“Be careful.” Ji Xuerou was not as closely connected to Yu Qingyao as Wu Yan was, so under these conditions, she could remain calmer.
Yu Qingyao was currently enveloped by a rainbow membrane that completely isolated her from the outside. On the surface of the membrane, fine runes exuding an ancient aura flowed. Yu Qingyao, trapped inside, was not in as bad a state as the two had imagined. She was curled up within the membrane, eyes closed, brows relaxed, breathing even and long, complexion rosy, lips not lacking color. It didn’t seem like she had encountered danger, but rather… sleeping.
Wu Yan stepped forward slowly, lightly tapping her toes, landing steadily on the white jade steps. Ji Xuerou stayed below to support her.
Wu Yan slowly came before Yu Qingyao, her dark eyes lowered, looking at the sleeping Yu Qingyao. “Wu Yan (Inner), is there a way to see through this membrane if Qingyao is in danger?”
“Tch, you dead wood, always bossing me around for others!” Wu Yan (Inner) complained, but still prepared to do as Wu Yan said. Who asked her to be her person? No choice, had to spoil her.
Wu Yan (Inner) closed her eyes, trying to examine Yu Qingyao’s condition. But after just a few minutes, she suddenly opened her eyes wide. “Something’s wrong, dead wood.” Her voice was not as relaxed as usual, but carried a hint of the caution she had previously despised. “This membrane is not an ordinary barrier. It’s an Inheritance Barrier.”
“Inheritance Barrier?” Wu Yan was surprised. “Isn’t that something created after the fall of a Mahayana realm or even higher cultivator?”
“Correct.” Wu Yan (Inner) nodded seriously. “And the owner of this barrier is not an ordinary Mahayana realm cultivator. He might even be a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator like this seat.”
Tribulation Transcendence stage! Wu Yan had only seen two Tribulation Transcendence cultivators in total: one was herself in Wu Yan (Inner)’s memories, and the other was Yu Qingyao in Wu Yan (Inner)’s memories.
‘That’s not right. In the previous life, this little white-eyed wolf didn’t have such a fortuitous opportunity! Could she really be the Heavenly Dao’s favored child?’
“Will Qingyao be in danger?” While Wu Yan (Inner) was still puzzled why this lifetime had triggered the Tribulation Transcendence inheritance barrier early, Wu Yan only cared about Yu Qingyao’s condition.
“Hard to say. A Tribulation Transcendence inheritance is not easy to obtain! Don’t be fooled by her current good condition; maybe she’ll directly have blood flowing from her seven orifices in her sleep, kick her legs, and die!” Wu Yan (Inner) maliciously speculated. “But that’s fine too. This seat would directly have one less major worry.”
Spurred by Wu Yan (Inner)’s words, Wu Yan made a bold decision. She suddenly raised Wunian and stabbed at an empty spot in the membrane. However, the strike was directly repelled, and the powerful force sent Wu Yan flying backward.
Fortunately, Ji Xuerou had been watching Wu Yan. The moment she saw Wu Yan’s body leaning back, she had already moved into position to catch her.
“Are you okay?” Ji Xuerou asked after steadying her.
Knowing she couldn’t break it by brute force, Wu Yan shook her head. “Hard to say. According to Wu Yan (Inner), this is a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator’s inheritance barrier. Unless Qingyao succeeds in inheriting or dies, we cannot intervene.”
“Tribulation Transcendence?!”
“Mm.”
“This Abyss City looks ordinary, but I never expected it to be the place where a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator fell.” Ji Xuerou had also come here during her Foundation Establishment stage, but she hadn’t expected there to be a true fortuitous encounter, just that she hadn’t encountered it. But it didn’t matter, since if she cultivated normally, Tribulation Transcendence was only a matter of time for her. “So now we can only wait?”
“Mm.” Wu Yan nodded, then simply took out a blanket from her Storage Ring and spread it on the ground. At the same time, she took out a cloth bag, from which she produced some restorative calming pills and handed them to Ji Xuerou.
“Is this the farewell gift from Daoist Lin?” Ji Xuerou recognized the bag in Wu Yan’s hand at a glance.
“Yes.”
“What does it contain?”
“Some normal pills.” Wu Yan swallowed one pill, paused, considered for a moment, then continued, “And some not-so-normal medicine.”
Seeing Wu Yan’s expression of having difficulty speaking, Ji Xuerou could roughly guess what the not-so-normal medicine was. After swallowing the pill Wu Yan had given her, Ji Xuerou sat beside Wu Yan, tilted her head, and looked at her. “By the way, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“It’s about your world. What does ‘odd changes even unchanged, sign depends on quadrant’ mean?” Ji Xuerou had learned this phrase from Wu Yan’s memories and was very curious.
“It’s a—” Just as she was about to explain to Ji Xuerou that it was a special verification code for transmigrators, a sudden change occurred on Yu Qingyao’s side.
The runes on the membrane’s surface suddenly blazed with golden light! As if activated out of nowhere, the dazzling golden light swept through the entire hall, leaving only a blank white in Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou’s eyes.
“Xuerou!” Wu Yan subconsciously tried to grab Ji Xuerou’s wrist, but her fingertips only managed to brush past her silky sleeve. An overwhelming, irresistible force dragged her backward.
Wu Yan’s consciousness became hazy, her body as if thrown into an endless void. After drifting for an unknown time, she felt a soft touch on her back.
Wu Yan’s eyes snapped open. She sprang up and stood, looking around warily.
As far as the eye could see, there was endless white. No Stone Hall, no white jade platform, no sleeping Yu Qingyao, and no sign of Ji Xuerou.
“Where… is this?”
Just as Wu Yan was puzzled, a gentle female voice suddenly sounded behind her.
“Hello there, fellow traveler~”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.