Newcomers Should Still Carry a Finishing Axe

The process of stepping into the Moli Immortal Mansion was far more plain and unadorned than many had imagined.

Since the moment this Heavenly Absolute Immortal Mansion appeared three hundred years ago, it had never once rejected any cultivator attempting to break into it.

It did not even have a gate of its own. As long as one followed the boundary line that had been precisely measured by countless successors and took a light step forward from the outside in, one could travel from the Ten Thousand Li Gray Plains to the Moli Immortal Mansion.

And this boundary line currently lay exactly upon the small hill where Wu Ming and the others were standing.

Taking a step forward from the top of the hill, the endless gray plains ahead were suddenly shrouded in a thick fog.

Beneath their feet, the ground was no longer soft, loose sand, but mud akin to a swamp.

A faint scent of decay permeated the air.

At the same time, that Moli Proverb echoed in their minds, as if being recited leisurely, reverberating repeatedly.

Do not speak to strangers.

It was as if this immortal mansion was welcoming its visitors in its own way...

"Wake up."

The next moment, the voice of Han Gang shattered Wu Ming's brief trance.

Startled into wakefulness, he glanced around to see that not far away, Liu Sanlang and Zhang Miao were also being roused by their respective Immortal Guiding Envoys...

But he quickly turned his attention back to Han Gang.

According to the instructions given earlier, from the moment the groups were formed, he was not to concern himself with the affairs of others.

Han Gang nodded in approval, then pointed to the ground beneath Wu Ming's feet and said, "Remember this spot. This line is the boundary between the inside and outside of the immortal mansion. When we need to withdraw, as long as we can find this location, it is equivalent to finding the exit."

Before his words had even faded, a black shadow suddenly swept past them. A masked woman with an exceptionally tall figure stepped into the immortal mansion, and at the same time, she plunged a large, crimson flag deep into the muddy ground beside Wu Ming.

Embroidered on the flag was a magnificent and haughty fire phoenix, its feathers shimmering with brilliance, instantly dispersing some of the surrounding thick fog.

Han Gang said, "There are many illusions within the immortal mansion. Once you penetrate deep into a certain node, what you see before your eyes may not be real. However, this Blazing Feather Flag possesses the power to break through falsehoods, so it can serve as a reliance for now."

As he spoke, Han Gang began to walk forward. As he moved, Wu Ming felt a sudden force surging from behind him, pushing him forward involuntarily to keep pace with Han Gang.

"Your cultivation is still shallow. For the sake of safety during this initial exploration of the immortal mansion, I will use a Solidification Array to lock our relative positions, ensuring you do not get lost by accident. You do not need to exert yourself to walk during this time; just follow carefully. If you feel uncomfortable or have any other questions, do not speak rashly..."

Before the other could finish, Wu Ming had already formed a hand seal, summoning a wisp of breeze to blow toward Han Gang.

"Understood." Han Gang nodded. "Other than that, do not use any other spells without my instructions."

Having said this, Han Gang took another step. This step instantly covered dozens of meters, as if he had plunged straight into the fog.

"After entering the Moli Immortal Mansion, do not stay in one place for long. The risks will continue to accumulate as time passes. Even if you see no path ahead, it is still better than standing still."

As he spoke, Han Gang walked faster and faster, his movement technique becoming as swift as lightning and thunder. In the blink of an eye, the Blazing Feather Flag behind them was swallowed by the mist, its glow no longer visible.

However, Han Gang paid it no mind, focusing entirely on pushing forward. Not far beside him, the figures of Yi Yi and He Lu also became hazy and blurred as they sprinted.

Although this was supposed to be a shallow excursion to the outer perimeter for initial coordination, these three Immortal Guiding Envoys treated the outer region of the Moli Immortal Mansion as if it were their own backyard, charging ahead with their respective employers like wild boars, never looking back.

During this high-speed dash, the unfathomable strength of the Immortal Guiding Envoys gradually revealed itself.

Yi Yi and the other two were all at the peak of Qi Refining, but under the influence of their Divine Movement Technique, their speed was almost comparable to that of Zhu Ying during her early Foundation Establishment stage.

After about half an hour, Wu Ming roughly estimated that the group had penetrated nearly three hundred miles into the Immortal Mansion when Han Gang suddenly stopped.

The mist before them cleared up instantly.

"!?"

The scene behind the mist made Wu Ming's eyes widen in shock.

Ahead lay a small village, nestled against mountains and water with orderly houses! In this world of swampy mud, it was like a paradise on earth.

Dozens of men and women were in the village, their appearances simple and rustic, living in contentment...

No!

The next moment, Wu Ming immediately closed his eyes, refusing to look any further.

"Very good." Han Gang's voice of approval rang in his ears. "That's enough for today."

As he spoke, he didn't even turn around, yet his figure retreated backward even faster than he had arrived. In one retreat, he covered several miles, only stopping when that paradise was once again shrouded in mist.

Afterward, Han Gang said, "Alright, you can open your eyes. What you just saw was the end of the outer perimeter of the Moli Immortal Mansion. No matter how long you walk in the mist, once you see a place of human habitation, it means you are about to enter the second layer. At that point, if you don't want to truly experience the risks of the second layer, you must immediately turn back the way you came until you can no longer see any signs of people."

Wu Ming opened his eyes as instructed, seeing only the gray, thick fog all around... Further away, the glow of the Blazing Feather Flag seemed to be illuminating the sky.

Not far away, he saw Zhang Miao sitting cross-legged on the ground. He Lu stood behind her, holding a snow-white talisman, gently waving it. With every wave, a faint gray smoke was drawn from the top of Zhang Miao's head, turning into ink-like marks on the talisman.

After a few times, the gray smoke stopped rising. He Lu folded the talisman, silently recited the True Fire Art, and burned it to ashes.

Han Gang said, "Zhang Miao's reaction was still a beat slow, so she was tainted by some filth, but it wasn't deep; a White Talisman is enough to purge it completely. Heh, the performance of you three is indeed much better than the so-called talents I've seen before. I once brought a young master from a noble family who claimed to possess a high-grade Dao Seed; he only had to glance at the second layer before he needed someone to risk their life to save him."

After a pause, Han Gang continued, "That's right, I didn't give you any warning this time to test your immediate reaction. Because even an Immortal Guiding Envoy cannot calculate every danger within the Immortal Mansion. Even if you only circle the outermost layer and refuse to advance, you will eventually face the Tribulation of Lost Souls if you stay too long..."

"Training in the Immortal Mansion is always accompanied by risk. I can provide a safety net, but I can never eliminate the existence of risk itself. Therefore, if you are a dull piece of trash who is completely unaware of danger, you might as well use up your three lives on the outer perimeter... At least here, trading life for life is actually possible."

"So, the next question is: since the Immortal Mansion is so dangerous, why do people still flock here for hundreds of years? Why does the Luohuang Immortal Sect expend such great effort to cultivate generation after generation of Moli Immortal Guiding Envoys to toil here?"

Wu Ming blinked, still not answering.

Han Gang turned to look at Yi Yi, and only after receiving confirmation from the latter did he say to Wu Ming, "The performance of you three today was excellent, so I will make an exception and take you to find one more thing."

After speaking, he pondered for a moment before suddenly slicing his right wrist with the tip of his left index finger. His nail broke the skin, and blood began to flow.

Han Gang held his arm straight, letting the blood drip down. A moment later, a figure vaguely appeared within the thick fog.

The figure only possessed the rough outline of a human. Its movements appeared extremely sluggish, stiff, and twisted like a zombie, but in the blink of an eye, the figure broke through the mist and appeared before everyone!

This time, Han Gang did not stop Wu Ming from looking, so Wu Ming saw it clearly.

It was a shadow—a shadow with a human silhouette. Although its gait was deformed, when it drew closer, one could even tell that it had once been a woman. She was not tall, but her figure appeared quite curvaceous. If one looked even closer, they could see she once possessed a charming face; her vermilion lips moved as if she had countless words waiting to be told...

This was a Li Yao. Those who became lost in the Moli Immortal Mansion eventually mutated into this form.

Having lost all intelligence, they still retained the cultivation they had in life, while gaining a potent, corrosive toxicity. Given that most cultivators who came to explore the Immortal Mansion were the elite of their respective realms, every Li Yao could be considered a top-tier enemy at the Qi Refining Stage!

Their only weakness was their relatively sluggish movement, which offered a chance to escape if encountered.

But the next moment, the three people from Luohuang Mountain struck simultaneously. Han Gang took the lead with a straight punch, blasting out a scorching, dazzling fire dragon.

The fire dragon collided violently with the Li Yao, slamming it backward and knocking it onto the ground.

He Lu released a golden talisman paper from her hand, sticking it onto the Li Yao's forehead. In an instant, thousands of threads bloomed from the head, seeping into the Li Yao's limbs and bones, causing it to struggle in agonizing pain.

Yi Yi pinched a sword seal, condensing his magic power into a sharp blade, and severed the Li Yao's hands and feet... He then thrust the sword forward, striking precisely at the Dantian position.

In an instant, the Li Yao completely lost the strength to struggle and lay motionless.

"Do it!"

This command was issued by all three Immortal Guiding Envoys in unison.

The next moment, Liu Sanlang spat out a cold light from his mouth. It was a strand of Lijin True Qi he had tempered a thousand times, resembling a sharp sword and a shooting star as it struck directly at the Li Yao's vital forehead... Yet, this strike, capable of piercing metal and shattering jade, only managed to break through a single layer of the Li Yao's skin.

This Li Yao had clearly been a master at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Stage in life; its physical body alone had been tempered to be harder than steel.

Zhang Miao sacrificed a magic treasure—a red jade Wutong Branch. A speck of Red Glow True Fire from the tip of the branch drifted lightly onto the Li Yao, only to be extinguished in an instant!

Yi Yi and He Lu exchanged a glance, both showing signs of disappointment.

Admittedly, asking a few youngsters who had been cultivating for less than half a year and were barely at the third level of Qi Refining to break the physical body of a ninth-level Li Yao was a tall order.

But with the opportunity right before their eyes, they were unable to seize it...

At this moment, a Golden Glow Sword Light, as brilliant as the sun, suddenly exploded!

Within the golden glow, there was a faint sound of a sword humming, like the roar of a dragon or the growl of a tiger. Even through the Art-Sealed Wax Pill, it seemed to reach straight into the depths of one's heart!

And when the sword light dissipated, the mud on the ground had dried, and the Li Yao's entire head had been shattered into pieces!