As spiritual energy spilled out, the golden light expanded hundreds of times over.
In the blink of an eye, a gigantic circular golden entrance appeared before everyone.
Xuanzhu, Xuanxi, Xuanhan, and Xuanyou immediately crowded forward, each wearing a curious expression.
"So this is what a secret realm looks like!"
"It looks like so much fun!"
"What do you think is inside?"
"I don't know! It's so enticing!"
Lin Xuan stepped forward and asked, "Do you want to go in too?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The little girls immediately raised their hands and cheered.
"Then your father will take you in for a look." Lin Xuan immediately granted his daughters' wish.
"Emperor Consort, please!"
Bai Fengxin and the others stood in two lines before the secret realm's entrance. No one dared to enter ahead of him.
Lin Xuan took two little girls by the hand and entered the secret realm first.
Bai Fengxin and the others followed close behind, while Ling Rong hurried after them.
After entering the secret realm, Lin Xuan saw that the space all around them was completely different from the outside world.
Wisps of ethereal spiritual mist made the secret realm seem like an elusive celestial paradise.
The trees and plants here were astonishingly lush and towering, as though they belonged in the true celestial realm.
"Emperor Consort, we'll go our separate ways now," Bai Fengxin said, stepping forward to salute.
For the time being, they could forget about finding the finest Longevity Flower, but the secret realm was so vast that it still held plenty of treasures.
Bai Fengxin planned to take his sect members and explore freely after greeting Lin Xuan.
Lin Tong and the others also stepped forward to salute.
Ling Rong bowed to Lin Xuan again. "I will never forget the Emperor Consort's great kindness!"
Lin Xuan gave a slight nod.
He could only help Ling Rong this far.
What she did next was no concern of his.
After that, everyone prepared to go their separate ways.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The situation changed abruptly.
Two beams of light, one black and one white, suddenly appeared before everyone.
With their arrival, the secret realm, which had already seemed ethereal and elusive, became even more unfathomable.
The spiritual mist reached an astonishing density.
Surrounded by it, they felt as if their eyes had been covered; they could see nothing around them.
Even Lin Xuan, a powerful figure in the Emperor Realm, could see only as far as a zhang in every direction.
By the time everyone came to their senses, the two beams of black and white light had joined together to form an enormous Taiji diagram.
The black and white halves of the diagram were like two gigantic doors, blocking the path deeper into the secret realm.
Plain as day.
In the center of the black and white light, the characters "death" and "life" appeared, one on each side.
Wang Wenyang, Sect Master of the Mysterious Profound Sect, furrowed his brow. "It's the Gates of Life and Death!"
Bai Fengxin looked at him. "Sect Master Wang, what are the Gates of Life and Death?"
The Mysterious Profound Sect, where Wang Wenyang served, was the most accomplished sect in the Red Firmament Heaven when it came to the arts of divination, feng shui, and deduction.
So even Bai Fengxin had to seek his advice about these so-called Gates of Life and Death.
Wang Wenyang explained, "The Gates of Life and Death are entrances leading to two different secret-realm spaces."
"The world beyond the Gate of Life is relatively ordinary, much like the secret realms we've encountered before."
"But the world beyond the Gate of Death is fraught with unknowable dangers!"
"According to ancient records, if someone mistakenly enters the Gate of Death, they might fall straight into the Ninefold Netherworld Purgatory. Even a powerful figure in the Emperor Realm would meet certain death!"
Hiss—
Wang Wenyang's words made everyone present draw a quiet, sharp breath.
So the Gates of Life and Death hid such a profound mystery behind them.
Xuanzhu pointed at the Gate of Life. "Uncle, it's already marked as the Gate of Life. Can't we just go straight in?"
Wang Wenyang shook his head. "Princess, you may not know this, but the way of Taiji is ever-changing."
"The black and white represent yin and yang. Their cycles and transitions are constantly shifting."
"What's shown on the surface is the Gate of Life, but that doesn't mean the path beyond it will be smooth."
"We need to make precise calculations and deductions to unravel its secrets!"
"It's that complicated?" Xuanzhu asked, looking astonished.
Xuanxi shook her head. "It looks like getting inside won't be easy!"
Wang Wenyang smiled. "Don't worry, Princess. I can find the way in!"
As he spoke, he took a finely crafted golden compass radiating an ancient aura from his storage ring.
Bai Fengxin's eyes lit up. "Could this be the Mysterious Profound Sect's treasured artifact, the Kaiyuan Compass?"
"Precisely!"
Wang Wenyang nodded. "This is a high-grade spirit-rank treasure. It combines the Three Harmonies, the Three Origins, the Qian-Kun National Treasure, the Dragon Gate Eight Bureaus, and many other methods. It will surely reveal the true Gate of Life!"
Bai Fengxin, Lin Tong, and the others all nodded silently.
With Wang Wenyang's skill and the Kaiyuan Compass, he should have no trouble solving this Taiji Gate of Life and Death.
Wang Wenyang then carried the Kaiyuan Compass to the Gates of Life and Death.
The needle on the compass began spinning rapidly.
Mysterious golden light shimmered as profound and intricate ancient characters appeared one after another from the compass.
A golden galaxy seemed to appear before everyone's eyes.
Every star within it was shifting and transforming at incredible speed.
Click!
The needle on the Kaiyuan Compass clicked and suddenly stopped.
"I found it!" Wang Wenyang formed a mysterious hand seal and pointed toward the northwest of the Taiji Gates of Life and Death.
The golden seal shot into the Taiji diagram and, in the blink of an eye, swallowed the entire black-and-white image.
Then a huge golden orb of light appeared before them.
It looked like the true entrance to the secret realm.
"Emperor Consort, please!"
Wang Wenyang was delighted. This time, he had made a grand impression before the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!
To everyone's surprise, Lin Xuan didn't move.
Instead, he raised a hand and said, "Wait a little longer."
Everyone looked surprised. Hadn't the matter been settled?
Whoosh—
The golden entrance to the secret realm changed once again.
A strange golden light, as murky as primordial chaos, burst open in the center like rippling water. It turned into countless slender streaks of light, like swimming dragons, whirling without pause.
Before long, countless golden seals poured out of the chaotic golden light, forming a huge shield of light.
The shield seethed with killing intent. It seemed that anyone who went inside would be torn to shreds instantly.
At that moment, the needle on the Kaiyuan Compass in Wang Wenyang's hand spun wildly, as if it had gone mad.
It wouldn't stop!
"What is this?" Wang Wenyang's expression changed, and he hurriedly backed away a few steps.
He had never heard of such an overbearing and mysterious shield of light.
Lin Xuan stepped forward and smiled faintly. "Someone deliberately created this obstacle. It's called the Mystic Void Flying Dragon."
His words stirred up a commotion among those present.
"Someone created it on purpose? Could it have been the one who made this secret realm?"
"Mystic Void Flying Dragon—it sounds powerful!"
"So if we can't break through the Mystic Void Flying Dragon, we can't enter the secret realm?"
Everyone turned to look at Lin Xuan.
Then they thought it over: even Wang Wenyang didn't recognize it, yet the Emperor Consort had named it at once.
That clearly meant the Emperor Consort knew a great deal about this "Mystic Void Flying Dragon."
Perhaps he had already figured out how to break it.
Before you continue