Lost

An old rival—an old rival who might even destroy their hope of entering Purple Firmament Dao Lord's Seated Transcendence Land...

On one side was a secret realm that might contain countless treasures.

Even a fool knew which to choose. Xu Shen lowered his eyelids slightly, watched his nose, and let his nose watch his heart, too lazy to spare Dole Ghost King another glance lest it upset him. Secretly, he pondered that Dole Ghost King was ill-fated and could not enter anyway. As long as he gained more benefits inside, and if luck favored him enough to obtain Purple Firmament Dao Lord's Multitreasures Heavenly Wheel, what harm was there in sparing this old rival?

The other party could not enter, while he had a chance. Thinking of it that way, his mood immediately brightened by comparison.

Dole Ghost King acted decisively. Without bothering about Ghost City, he directly took Imperial Concubine De and left the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb to wait outside.

Only Imperial Concubine De still wore a complicated expression, biting her lip with unwillingness written all over her face.

Dole Ghost King patted her shoulder and spoke softly. "Rong Er, do not be unwilling. Figures at the level of Titled Dao Lords were all peerless geniuses, unmatched for a time. Even if we do not know why he transcended here, his tomb must be fraught with danger. Entering it means nine deaths and one life. Even if I could truly enter, I might not be able to emerge unscathed. They are thinking too simply..."

"Father, that is not what I regret." Imperial Concubine De pressed her lips together, her expression complicated. "I saw that little thief earlier. He jumped into the abyss. By now, he is probably already inside ahead of us..."

"Hm? Rong Er, could it be that you truly fancy that little thief?" Dole Ghost King was somewhat surprised, then shook his head and sighed. "You said that little thief was only at Qi Nourishing. In a Titled Dao Lord's tomb, he would not even count as cannon fodder. Nine times out of ten, he is already dead."

Imperial Concubine De pursed her lips and said nothing. She felt that her father was right. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would be cannon fodder in that place, let alone someone at Qi Nourishing. Yet when she thought of everything that had happened before, she somehow felt that the hateful little thief would not die so easily...

At the edge of the abyss, the cultivators under Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and the disciples of Boundless Dao Academy had all arrived.

As far as the eye could see, the weakest among them were all at Foundation Establishment; there was not a single Qi Nourishing cultivator. Nothing much could be discerned from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce's side, but judging from the markings embroidered on the Boundless Dao Academy disciples' robes, there were twenty-eight inner disciples and three true disciples.

All three true disciples were Three Origins cultivators. Compared with the two elders, Xu Shen and Bai Yunfei, they were merely one major realm lower.

Once everyone had gathered, one person from Boundless Dao Academy stepped forward, carrying a ghost soldier trussed up like a zongzi and wrapped all over in chains of spiritual light. With a casual motion, he threw it into the abyss.

In an instant, rosy light bloomed across the cylindrical stone walls. A hazy aura of peaceful yet vast righteous energy rippled like waves, gentle and ethereal. Merely as its aura surged forth, it made people feel considerably calmer.

Yet when that ghost soldier was lightly swept by the gentle rosy light, it instantly exploded into powder. Its surging Ghost Qi had not even erupted before it was already annihilated within the gentle rosy glow.

"As expected of a Titled Dao Lord's tomb. The rosy light leaking from it is vast and righteous, supple yet strong. Any yin and evil thing that falls into it, even a Ghost King, would likely die on the spot. Dole Ghost King was truly blessed by great fortune to escape alive..." Treasurer Qian said with a trace of terror on his face.

"Hmph, that little Dole ghost did tell the truth." Xu Shen stood to one side with a cold sneer. Throwing down a ghost soldier to test the waters had been his idea as well...

"Enough, do not waste time. Let us go down. This rosy light has no effect on people like us." Treasurer Qian stepped forward, taking the lead as he leaped down.

Unexpectedly, after falling only several zhang, gentle rosy light once more flowed from the stone walls and held him up. Spiritual light erupted around Treasurer Qian, vast and surging like roaring waves, yet it could not affect the gentle rosy glow in the slightest.

This was fucking awkward...

Treasurer Qian flew back up, his expression rather unsightly.

"This is probably a safeguard left behind by that person. No wonder this entrance is completely unguarded. None of us at the Divine Sea realm can enter, unless a powerful expert personally acts and forcibly breaks open this entrance."

"Even forcibly breaking it open may not allow us in. There is a ninety-nine percent chance that the place where he transcended has evolved into a secret realm. If he truly left behind safeguards, once the entrance is forcibly broken, the secret realm will slip into the void and vanish without a trace." Bai Yunfei's expression was also extremely grim...

"Everyone, try together." Xu Shen's face darkened as he gave a low shout, ordering the Boundless Dao Academy disciples to act. He himself jumped down as well, clearly distrusting Treasurer Qian and fearing that he was being led by the nose...

Unfortunately, after Xu Shen jumped down, he was held up by the rosy light just like Treasurer Qian and could not descend at all. The three Three Origins cultivators were likewise held up. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators were ignored by the rosy light and allowed to fall.

A group of Foundation Establishment cultivators fell into the abyss and vanished from sight. The remaining few stood at the abyss's edge, their expressions exceptionally ugly...

At the entrance to the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb, Dole Ghost King's eyes gleamed as he focused his vision to the utmost. As though he were personally present, he saw the situation at the abyss with perfect clarity. Witnessing this, he could not help but laugh in schadenfreude.

Thinking that although he himself could not enter, he had gained three High-Grade Spiritual Items for nothing, while Xu Shen could not enter either and would not gain so much as a fart, his mood became exceedingly fine...

Inside the secret realm, Qin Yang did not know that at least thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators had already entered. He was still carefully studying the map, matching it against everything within the secret realm.

His earlier discovery of the Banyan Tree Demon, and confirmation that there truly was one there, had been thanks to the high-definition map. The human-skin tattoo map obtained by Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce could absolutely not have been this clear.

Whether it was clear or not might not matter much to powerful experts, but to him, it could mean the difference between life and death.

The map had an obvious route marked out, but unfortunately, many places along the way contained immense dangers. Qin Yang could only avoid them as best he could.

After crossing mountains and ridges, he reached a marshland. Qin Yang stopped and gazed at it, frowning slightly.

The marsh looked ordinary, but it was shrouded in thin mist and bred miasma. Merely standing at the edge and taking a sniff gave him a faint feeling of dizziness.

When he focused his eyes and looked ahead, however, he could not see the slightest trace of life within. Even the sparse water plants exuded a deathly stillness.

Based on his previous experience, a place like this definitely concealed tremendous danger. Either the marsh itself was extraordinarily perilous, or something terrifying lurked within it.

Qin Yang skirted around the marsh, circling past it from the side.

Half a day later, he finally bypassed the marsh's boundaries. But when he looked up, Qin Yang's expression froze.

The several trees to his left, the faintly visible traces, even the distribution of the marsh's water plants and puddles, were exactly the same as before.

He had actually returned to the very place where he started!

Qin Yang silently observed the map in his mind, then looked at the marsh before him. A sudden flash of understanding arose in his heart.

Having gotten my first small recommendation, everyone, please bookmark and vote. Throw recommendation tickets at me like your life depends on it—do not be polite.