Just as the black aura was about to engulf the four, a golden light suddenly descended from the sky, within which ancient runes could be faintly seen flowing.
The light seemed to possess sentience, instantly dispelling the black energy.
As everyone was astonished, a Qilin, exuding an auspicious aura, came riding on the clouds.
The Qilin spoke in human language, "This is Dark Shadow Evil, born from the resentment of the world. Your resistance is futile."
"I have come here on the orders of the Sect Leader to bring Daojun, Fairy and everyone else together."
Xuan Yuan, filled with doubt, asked, "Are we just going to leave these monsters to fend for themselves?"
Qilin said, "Reporting to the Daoist Sect Leader, the so-called opportunity is that each person takes advantage of the situation in a crisis. The arising and ceasing of the opportunity are all in the hands of fate."
Upon hearing what the Xuan Yuan said, Xuan Yuan, though still harboring doubts, did not ask any further questions.
He immediately bowed and thanked them, saying, "In that case, please lead the way."
The Qilin let out a low roar, turned, and flew towards the horizon. The others hurriedly followed.
Arriving at a place shrouded in mist, a magnificent celestial palace could be seen looming in and out of sight.
As they got closer, they discovered that many cultivators were already waiting in front of the palace gate.
The group sized each other up, all having come for this shared opportunity.
At this moment, an immortal dressed in a star-patterned robe stepped out of the palace gate and said loudly, "Fellow Daoists, although the Dark Shadow Evil is a great calamity, it is also a trial. Now the real opportunity lies in the palace."
"I have come here on the orders of the Realm Lord to lend you all a helping hand. However, the palace is heavily guarded, and the treasures will be obtained by those who are destined to receive them. I hope that you will not lose your true intentions."
Xuan Yuan and Caifeng exchanged glances, and then followed the others into the Immortal Palace.
As soon as they entered the palace gates, a strange power rushed towards them, and the scene before them changed unpredictably.
Xuan Yuan steadied himself and found himself in a dense bamboo forest, with towering green bamboos reaching into the clouds and the rustling bamboo leaves sounding like whispers.
However, Caifeng and the others beside her had disappeared without a trace.
Xuan Yuan knew this was the effect of the restriction, so he walked along the path in the bamboo forest.
Not long after they walked, a clear spring appeared ahead, and beside the spring was a stone platform with a book that shimmered with a faint light on it.
Just as Xuan Yuan approached the stone platform to examine the scrolls, the surrounding space distorted, and a gigantic demonic beast appeared, roaring as it pounced on Xuan Yuan.
Xuan Yuan swiftly drew his sword, its light blazing brightly, and engaged in fierce combat with the demonic beast.
On the other side, Caifeng was trapped in the Flame Valley, surrounded by raging flames.
"Strange, this seemingly ordinary flame is actually no less powerful than my South Sea Blazing Fire?"
The Caifeng summoned Seven-Colored Lotus Platform to cover itself, and spewed out the South Sea Blazing Fire, attacking the flames once again.
Xuan Yuan and the demon beast fought fiercely, but the beast had thick hide and flesh, Xuan Yuan's sword could only make shallow wounds each time it pierced through.
Xuan Yuan knew he couldn't fight for long, so he circulated his spiritual power, and the sword gleamed with a layer of azure light.
Xuan Yuan seized the opportunity, leaped high into the air, gathered all his strength into the tip of his sword, and fiercely stabbed it into the top of the monster's head.
The demonic beast collapsed with a crash. Xuan Yuan walked to the stone platform, picked up the scroll, and the scroll transformed into a halo of light, hovering before his eyes.
Xuan Yuan looked over and saw a line of small characters inside the ball of light.
"To break the restriction, we need to find the Five Elements Spirit Pearls."
Xuan Yuan frowned slightly, wondering where the Five Elements Spirit Pearls were and how to find them.
At this moment, the surrounding bamboo forest suddenly shook violently, and five stone pillars slowly rose from the ground.
Each stone pillar is engraved with runes representing the elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth.
Xuan Yuan reached out and touched the stone pillar. A memory flooded his mind, telling him that he had to go to the corresponding Five Elements Land to find the Spirit Pearl.
Following the guidance of his memory, Xuan Yuan first went to an ice lake to search for the Water Spirit Pearl.
The frozen lake is bitterly cold, and is protected by Ice Beast.
Xuan Yuan unleashed powerful magic and, after a fierce battle with the Ice Beast, obtained the Water Spirit Pearl.
Meanwhile, the other cultivators explored the celestial palace on their own. Some got lost in the illusion array and were sent out of the ancient ruins.
Some people only found some rare herbs.
Xuan Yuan gripped the Water Spirit Pearl tightly and headed towards his next destination.
He knew that time was of the essence and he had to collect the Five Elements Spirit Pearls as soon as possible in order to seize the opportunity.
Following the instructions in his memory, Xuan Yuan went to the volcano to find the Fire Spirit Pearl.
Inside the volcano, heat waves surged, lava churned, and the air was filled with a pungent, acrid smell.
Guarding the Fire Spirit Pearl is a Huo Feng, its body engulfed in flames, shrieking as it charges toward Xuan Yuan.
Xuan Yuan used his fire control technique to temporarily block the flames, but the Huo Feng was too ferocious.
Xuan Yuan acted decisively, summoning the Water Spirit Pearl he had just obtained. The Water Spirit Pearl emitted a cooling power, weakening the Huo Feng's flames.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xuan Yuan leaped into the air, using his spiritual power to weave a net, trapping the Huo Feng for a moment, and successfully retrieved the Fire Spirit Pearl.
Then, he rushed to the next location— the Divine Wood Forest— to find the Wood Spirit Pearl.
Here, ancient trees reach for the sky, and vines entwine.
Xuan Yuan carefully avoided various traps and mechanisms, and finally found the Wood Spirit Pearl hidden in the tree hole.
He then successfully obtained the Metal Spirit Pearl and the Earth Spirit Pearl.
Xuan Yuan placed the five spirit orbs he had collected into the corresponding stone orbs.
The five stone pillars automatically flew up and merged together, transforming into a magnificent gate of light.
Seeing the portal open, Xuan Yuan stepped inside.
On the other side, although the Caifeng was protected by the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform, it was constantly being eroded by the flames.
She gritted her teeth and increased the output of the South Sea Blazing Fire, trying to break through the valley of flames.
Suddenly, she discovered a faint source of spiritual energy fluctuations within the flames.
She concentrated and unleashed a powerful spell in that direction.
After breaking through the flames, they discovered a brownish-red Source of Flame at the center.
Caifeng was overjoyed, sensing that the Source of Flame contained an extremely pure and powerful force.
She carefully reached out her hand, wanting to take it.
But the moment her fingertips touched the Source of Flame, a surge of intense energy spread along her arm.
She was horrified and tried to pull her hand back, but it was too late.
Suddenly, an aged voice came from the Source of Flame: "How dare you covet my source of power."
Before the words were finished, the Source of Flame transformed into a human-shaped Flame Old Man.
Caifeng was greatly surprised, never expecting that the Source of Flame could actually take human form and that its cultivation level was no lower than hers.
Caifeng quickly stepped back a distance, watching the Flame Old Man warily.
The Flame Old Man sneered, "Little girl, I'll teach you a lesson today."
With that, he waved his hands, and countless flaming arrows shot towards the Caifeng.
Caifeng hurriedly manipulated the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform to rotate, forming a barrier to block the flaming arrows.
But the Flame Old Man's attacks were relentless, and cracks gradually appeared in the barrier.
At this moment, Caifeng thought of the treasures she had previously obtained, and she secretly took out an Ice Soul Divine Needle.
Taking advantage of the moment when the Flame Old Man launched another attack, she suddenly threw out the Ice Soul Divine Needle.
The Ice Soul Divine Needle, carrying a chilling aura, hurtled towards the Flame Old Man.
Caught off guard, the Flame Old Man was struck by the Ice Soul Divine Needle, and the flames on his body weakened somewhat.
Seeing this, Caifeng mustered her courage and rushed forward, chanting incantations as she unleashed her strongest spell.
The Flame Old Man roared in anger, his body swelling several times in size.
Just as he was about to retaliate, a suction force suddenly came from the depths of the Immortal Palace Flame Old Man changed his expression and was forcibly pulled away by that suction force.
"Hmph, who dares to steal my opportunity!"
Caifeng snorted coldly and unleashed a powerful strike towards the bottom.
After the blow landed, a deep hole appeared in the ground.
Curious, Caifeng decided to explore the cave.
The cave was dark and damp, and emitted a foul stench.
Caifeng carefully released her spiritual power to illuminate the path ahead and walked deeper into the area.
She saw many mysterious murals on the cave walls, depicting an Ancient Sacrifice ritual that looked sinister.
Suddenly, Caifeng sensed something amiss behind her. When she turned around, she saw a group of dark creatures with sharp teeth.
She immediately unleashed a spell, but the creatures were too numerous to kill.
In that critical moment, she remembered a glimpse she had gained from the Source of Flame and tried to use that flame power. Instantly, a red light flashed, and the dark creatures vanished.
Caifeng breathed a sigh of relief and continued deeper into the cave.
The further you go in, the stronger the stench becomes, mixed with a suffocating, sinister aura.
Before long, she arrived at a Secret Chamber, the door of Secret Chamber was covered with complex runes.
Caifeng examined it carefully and tried to infuse some of the runes with her spiritual power. The door to the Secret Chamber slowly opened.
In the center of the room was a stone platform, on which sat a box that emitted a faint light.
Just as she approached the stone platform to open the box, she suddenly heard a low laugh behind her.
Caifeng suddenly turned around and saw a Black Robed Man standing there.
"Do you think this opportunity is so easy to come by?" the Black Robed Man said sinisterly.
Caifeng asked warily, "Who are you?"
The Black Robed Man laughed and said, "Who I am is not important. What's important is what's in this box. You can't touch it."