Chapter 16: The Eerie Spirit-Inhabited Immortal Palace
Su Huan’s pupils contracted sharply; he could hardly believe it.
Noticing the shift in his expression, Qi Zi asked, “What is it? Do you know who that person is?”
Su Huan subconsciously shook his head. “…I just have a vague guess, but I am not certain.”
At the same time, after the spirit talisman was removed, Hua Wuyou groggily woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he noticed Meng Qinghui, who had yet to wake, and cried out in shock, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong with you?!”
Logically speaking, once the talisman was removed, the controlled person should wake up naturally. Yet, Meng Qinghui showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
Frowning, Su Huan stepped forward to check her pulse. He found it floating and weak, like that of a dying person, which startled him.
Just as he was about to examine her more closely, two trails of bloody tears suddenly streamed down from the blindfolded eyes of the unconscious Meng Qinghui. Her weak pulse slowly regained vitality, presenting a pulse reading completely contradictory to the previous diagnosis. It was bizarre in the extreme.
Perplexed, Su Huan was about to ask for details when Meng Qinghui gently brushed away his fingers. “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Su. I am fine.”
But the bright yellow ribbon binding her eyes was soaked in blood, and her fair cheeks were stained with streaks of red. Her face looked shocking, nothing like someone who was “fine.”
Hua Wuyou opened his mouth to speak but was pinched by Meng Qinghui, forcing him to shut up resentfully.
Meng Qinghui, unwilling to be examined further, cast a cleaning spell and straightened up while holding onto Hua Wuyou’s right arm. “Finding the Spirit-Inhabited Immortal Palace is the priority. Let us hurry.”
Su Huan’s gaze shifted between the two of them before he lowered his eyes, tacitly accepting her decision.
The group did not chase after the internal traitor who had saved the prisoner; instead, they continued eastward.
They pushed their sword-flying speed to the limit.
The most urgent task right now was finding a way out. As for who the traitor was, or whether to catch Yin Rong, those were secondary concerns.
Since the Demon Sovereign’s second son had been rescued, their tracks were likely exposed. They had to reach the Spirit-Inhabited Immortal Palace before the Demon Sovereign arrived.
Even if there was no way out within the Immortal Palace, Fairy Yunling had been a True Immortal before her fall. In her former residence, they might find magical artifacts or arrays capable of resisting the Demon Sovereign’s assault, allowing them to hold out until the Secret Realm opened.
On the way, Su Huan was somewhat distracted, wondering where Xiao Jianming was at this moment.
Suddenly, Nangong Yi’s voice transmission echoed in his mind: Fellow Daoist Su, the traitor you suspected… is it Xiao Jianming?
Su Huan was startled, only then realizing that Nangong Yi was flying neck and neck with him. Meeting his gaze, Nangong Yi nodded with a smile and transmitted: When the compass pointed to Fellow Daoist Xiao earlier, I had my suspicions. But the selection for the Chief Disciple of the Xuanji Sect has always been rigorous, backed by the Path of Questioning Immortals, which dispelled my doubts.
He paused before continuing: But Fellow Daoist Su’s reaction just now gave me another thought—is the Xiao Jianming we see truly Xiao Jianming?
Su Huan froze, then replied decisively: No, he is real.
That was the most baffling part.
Xiao Jianming had a grudge against the Demon Race and had passed the severe test of the Path of Questioning Immortals… Would he really collude with the demons?
If it really was him, why would he do this?
Su Huan recalled Xiao Jianming’s words…
…Since you know I am from the Lingxi Clan, you should also know that it was because of this group of high-and-mighty hypocrites standing by and doing nothing that my clan was slaughtered by the Demon Race… until we were extinct…
Su Huan was astonished. Could it be that Dashixiong wanted revenge on the Immortal Sects?!
But he clearly hated the Demon Race too, so why cooperate with them?
Su Huan couldn’t help but close his eyes, his vision blurring with moisture. He accelerated his sword flight.
As long as they found a way out and stopped the demon invasion, perhaps they could learn the truth behind it all.
After encountering two waves of attacks from demon vanguards, they finally arrived safely at the ruins of the Immortal Palace.
Fairy Yunling loved greenery. Although the palace had been abandoned for a long time, one could still see vibrant spiritual grasses and trees through the cracks in the doors. A vine capable of blotting out the sky climbed over the palace gates, its body wrapping almost entirely around the hall. Its leaves were massive, belonging to an unrecognizable species.
Yue Jiusi looked delighted and was about to cut the vine to push the door open. However, when his sword slashed down, the sword energy sank into the vine like a stone into the ocean, causing not a single ripple.
Instead, it seemed to wake a sleeping monster. The massive vine suddenly moved, its tips pointing straight at the sky, its body thrashing violently as if filled with rage. Countless vines shot straight toward Yue Jiusi!
“Watch out!”
Nangong Yi’s expression changed. Beside him, Qi Zi shouted, “I’ll handle this demon plant!”
Before his voice faded, Qi Zi dropped into a horse stance. Twisting the long spear in his hand, countless karmic fires erupted from his body, gathering like a stream at the tip of the Chi Dragon Spear. They twisted into a giant fire dragon and charged straight at the vine!
The entire Immortal Palace instantly ignited with a raging fire. Amidst the scorching, intense flames, the faint sound of a baby’s crying could be heard. The sky-covering vine twisted its branches in agony, gradually withering and drooping to the ground, motionless.
Boom—
The gates of the Immortal Palace swung open with a dull thud.
Yue Jiusi exclaimed in awe, “Your fire is so powerful! It burned that giant demon vine to death in an instant!”
Qi Zi lifted his chin arrogantly. “Naturally. I am the successor of the God Lord of the Nine-Fold Karmic Lotus Nether Fire.”
Yue Jiusi’s eyes lit up immediately. “What?! You’re actually the successor of that legendary founder of the Soaring Sky Sect, the Master of the Wujin Sea?! That’s amazing…”
Calling each other brothers, the two stepped through the palace gates. Yue Jiusi then noticed that the spiritual plants filling the palace were all of ten-thousand-year quality or higher. His eyes widened even further, so shocked he could barely speak.
Nangong Yi smiled helplessly and followed them in with a speechless Jiang Fei.
Su Huan looked at the deadly quiet Spirit-Inhabited Immortal Palace, feeling that something was wrong.
Just as he was about to enter, Meng Qinghui stopped him. “There is something wrong with this Immortal Palace.”
Hua Wuyou looked left and right, then at the medicinal garden full of rare spiritual plants inside the gate, asking, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong with it?”
“Fairy Yunling was known for her benevolence during her life. I suspect that terrifying legend was spread because of this demon vine! This vine was huge; it must have been at the late Golden Core stage. If not for the cultivation restriction here, it likely would have broken through long ago. Without that guy Qi’s Nine-Fold Karmic Fire, it would have been a formidable enemy. Besides, look at Yue Jiusi rolling around in that medicinal garden without encountering any danger.”
Meng Qinghui seemed to want to touch her eyes, but in the end, she only lightly brushed her temples and said, “No, let’s wait a bit longer.”
However, after guarding their spot for about a quarter of an hour and scanning the surroundings repeatedly with their spiritual sense, they detected no movement.
Yue Jiusi, seeing that they still hadn’t come in, ran back and shouted to them, “Hey! What are you guys dawdling for? This Immortal Palace is too big, come in and help search!”
Meng Qinghui exhaled and was the first to step through the palace gate. “Perhaps I was overthinking it.”
Su Huan was still uneasy. He drew his sword and entered with them.
The moment both feet crossed the threshold—Bang!
The vermilion gates behind them slammed shut.
Su Huan whipped his head around, only to hear the cries of infants echoing within the palace. The thin, miserable sounds grew from faint noises to a roar, surging from all directions like a back-flowing tide, becoming increasingly piercing. He sent out his spiritual sense to sweep the area but couldn’t find the source.
Hua Wuyou was startled and nearly jumped onto Meng Qinghui, clinging close to his Senior Sister, his voice trembling. “So scary! Senior Sister, protect me…”
Meng Qinghui frowned but didn’t push him away.
The surrounding crying grew louder, increasingly harsh, crying with earth-shattering force and chaotic noise, causing the entire palace to shake slightly.
One could faintly make out the words—
“They hurt the Fairy…”
“Make them be buried with her…”
“Buried with her!”
What? Was that vine actually Fairy Yunling?
Su Huan was astonished. No, Fairy Yunling was a human cultivator; how could she turn into a demon cultivator?
But this was clearly Fairy Yunling’s residence. Since the “Fairy” these voices referred to wasn’t Fairy Yunling, who could it be?
Suddenly, as if an earth dragon had turned over, the palace shook even more violently. The mountains swayed and the ground moved. A roof beam by the medicinal garden snapped with a crack. Simultaneously, raging fire poured into the hall, filling the sky with flames.
Yue Jiusi stumbled, nearly getting licked by the tongues of fire and dragged into the sea of flames. Fortunately, Nangong Yi pulled him back.
Qi Zi slammed his Red Dragon Divine Spear onto the ground to barely steady himself. Seeing the sudden lotus-shaped firelight, his eyes revealed shock. “Nine-Fold Karmic Fire?! How is this possible! In today’s world, I am the only one who knows the Nine-Fold Karmic Fire…”
Su Huan swung his sword to slash apart a falling beam. With a solemn expression, he pushed against the tightly closed vermilion doors, but as expected, they wouldn’t open.
Even smashing them with the fiercest spiritual seals left not a single scratch.
Nangong Yi frowned. “Since we can’t get out, let’s keep going inward and see exactly what is playing tricks on us.”
The group agreed and followed. Only Jiang Fei was pale, muttering, “I said we shouldn’t have come here. This must be a divine punishment sent down by Fairy Yunling’s remnant soul because we offended the Immortal…”
Meng Qinghui stopped, tilting her head slightly to the left. “If you want to live, keep up.”
Su Huan glanced back, thinking, What ‘Immortal’? Aren’t these titles just honorifics given by the world after cultivators reach a certain realm?
In his heart, only those who did good deeds for the people could be called Immortals.
Gripping his sword, Su Huan moved quickly with the group through the medicinal garden and the winding corridors. The massive waves of fire behind them lunged ferociously but were left behind by the distance.
After many twists and turns, they finally reached the center of the palace. Steps made of crystal-clear green jade led straight up to the main hall. Climbing the stairs, they found the entire hall empty, save for a massive pill furnace placed right in the center. Firelight permeated from within the furnace, shaped like layers of lotus flowers.
Qi Zi was shocked again. “Why is there Nine-Fold Karmic Fire here?!”
At the same time, the crying started again.
But the content had changed—
“Get out!”
“Get out!”
“Wuwuwu, don’t hurt the Fairy…”
The giant waves of fire chasing them relentlessly receded abruptly upon touching the jade steps below the main hall, but they remained watching hungrily from the bottom of the stairs.
A strange fragrance had permeated the hall at some point.
It smelled like the scent of pills refined from spiritual medicine, but unknown as to what kind, smelling it made one dizzy.
Su Huan shook his head vigorously, only to feel dizzier.
He used his spiritual sense to seal his sense of smell, but it was useless; it was as if he could still smell that faint, strange fragrance. Su Huan stumbled a few times and fell to the side.
The sounds of several figures hitting the ground came from around him, but he didn’t hit the floor. Instead, he fell into a burning hot embrace.
Before Su Huan lost consciousness, a light sigh reached his ears—
“Truly stubborn.”
“Clearly, you could have gotten the answer just by begging me, yet you insist on running here to throw your life away.”
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