Cinnabar

The Empress Secret Realm Trial, which lasted for a full year, has finally come to an end.

All of this had little to do with Yi Yun and Lin Xin Tong, as they had never planned to come out in the first place.

At this moment, Yi Yun and Lin Xin Tong stood on the long white jade steps, and in front of them was an ancient and heavy gate.

The gate was cast from an unknown metal, and its surface was covered with delicate patterns and reliefs.

On the left side of the gate is a carving of the Sun Diagram, while on the right side is a carving of the moon.

This large door is the entrance to the sixth floor of the God Descending Tower.

What lies on the sixth and final level of the God Descending Tower is unknown to Yi Yun.

"Can't open it."

Standing in front of the gate, Yi Yun shook his head. Even with the Qingyang Token in hand, he had no way to open the gate.

Beside Yi Yun, Lin Xin Tong carefully looked at the reliefs on both sides of the gate. She gently stretched out her fingers and traced the patterns one by one.

After a long while, Lin Xin Tong said, "There is an array engraved on the surface of this door. This array is the lock on the door. Perhaps it will take the two of us working together to open it."

Lin Xin Tong's words reminded Yi Yun, and he calmed down and touched the sun on the left side of the gate.

This Sun Diagram bears a striking resemblance to the Sun Diagram in the Tai'a Sacred Law, though of course, the level of mystery involved is far beyond theirs.

As his senses immersed themselves in the Sun Diagram, Yi Yun slowly touched the core of the formation and understood its principles.

This sun and the moon need to be infused with pure yang and pure yin energy simultaneously to be activated. At that time, the formation will naturally start to operate, and the gate to the sixth floor of the God Descending Tower will open.

It seems that the first five levels of the God Descending Tower require passing an examination to gain entry, but the sixth level is different. It probably requires cultivating the <Empress Heart Sutra> to a certain level before one can enter...

Yi Yun hesitated for a moment, then tried to inject the energy within his body into the Sun Diagram.

Lin Xin Tong understood immediately, and she also extended a slender hand to press against the Cold Moon Painting.

The two of them placed one hand on the formation, while their other hands were clasped together.

Hearts in harmony, yin and yang complementing each other.

The two energies, pure Yin and pure Yang, surged into the gate, illuminating the ancient patterns one by one.

In an instant, the bronze gate shimmered with light, and the two relief sculptures, the Sun and the Moon, came to life. The world within the sculptures seemed to project onto the surroundings, becoming a real world. As the Sun appeared, wisps of clouds filled the sky, while the rising Moon brought forth a vast starry sky...

The yin and yang scenes alternated until Yi Yun and Lin Xin Tong had exhausted seven or eight tenths of their vital energy, and sweat beaded on their foreheads. Yet, the gate remained firmly closed, showing no sign of opening.

Finally... their energy waned, and as their vitality was exhausted, the dazzling light and shadows around them vanished, and the shimmering array patterns slowly subsided. Darkness returned to the area around the white jade steps, as if nothing had ever happened...

Yi Yun and Lin Xin Tong exchanged a helpless glance. Lin Xin Tong sighed softly and shook her head, saying, "The gap is too wide. Our strength is far from enough to open this door."

"Indeed..."

Yi Yun withdrew the pure Yang energy from his body, feeling slightly unwilling.

What lies on the sixth level of the God Descending Tower? If we could unlock it, it would give us more means of self-protection in the face of the impending upheaval in the Tianyuan Realm...

As Yi Yun gazed longingly at the sixth-floor gate of the God Descending Tower, a similar scene unfolded millions of miles away: a figure slowly ascended a long flight of stairs...

This is a vast and boundless land. In the very center of this land stands a magnificent altar. The altar is entirely black and hundreds of feet high. The stone walls of the altar are not smooth, but covered with countless protrusions. These protrusions vary in size, some as large as a winding dragon, and others as small as a baby's finger.

These protrusions are not decorations, but rather the bones cast into the altar.

These endless skeletons are all imbued with the aura of laws and energy. They are not ordinary remains, but rather the remains of powerful wild beasts or great beings from ancient times.

This is an altar made of divine bones!

In the center of the altar, there is a long and straight staircase, which is a faint red color, as if it has been stained with blood.

The steps descended from the top of the altar to the bottom like a red ribbon.

A woman's figure slowly walked up the steps towards the top of the altar...

Around the woman and the altar, countless wild beasts gathered on the earth, silently witnessing this scene.

These wild beasts ranged in size from mountains to ants, stretching endlessly to the horizon. Looking as far as the eye could see, they formed a dark, dense mass, extending into the distant, billowing smoke and dust. The illusory figures of these beasts vanished within this smoke and dust, their boundaries lost to time...

All the wild beasts, whether powerful like Ancient True Spirit or as weak as ordinary poultry, remained silent. They submitted to the Divine Bone Altar, their expressions filled with awe, like statues.

The woman wore a heavy, dark red robe and held a staff about half her height. The staff was like a pointed cone, slightly thicker at the top and sharp and slender at the end. At the top of the staff, an unknown totem was carved.

A long cloak cascaded down the woman's back, trailing on the steps. Ancient patterns were embroidered on the cloak, and the woman's black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, obscuring the patterns...

The woman was tall and slender, with bright red lips and an exquisitely beautiful face. Between her eyebrows were three vermilion dots, which added an indescribable charm to her.

She was like a red plum blossom blooming between heaven and earth, so beautiful and vibrant that it took one's breath away.

Looking at him, one can't help but recall a line from a poem, "A painting of a land stained with blood, how can it compare to the single dot of vermilion between your brows..."

This woman was not yet twenty years old, and her name was...

Jiang Xiaorou.

She was the most important girl in Yi Yun's life, yet even if Yi Yun stood here, he might be stunned for a few seconds before recognizing his sister...

Compared to the simple and beautiful girl she was back in Yunhuang, the Jiang Xiaorou before us has undergone a complete transformation.

As she walked step by step to the center of the altar steps, a faint sense of melancholy inexplicably welled up between the girl's brows, and her steps unconsciously slowed down...

Among the countless wild beasts surrounding the altar, members of the Wild Clan also stood, watching this scene.

"Rou'er, what are you hesitating about?"

Just then, a kind and pleasant voice reached the girl's ears.

No, Mother.

Jiang Xiaorou gently shook her head, the melancholy between her brows vanishing. She gripped her cane tightly and continued walking step by step towards the top of the Divine Bone Altar...

...(To be continued~^~)