The process of entering Moli Immortal Mansion was far more plain and unremarkable than many people imagined.
Ever since this Heavenly Absolute Immortal Mansion first appeared three hundred years ago, it had never refused entry to any cultivator who tried to enter.
It did not even have a gate of its own. One merely had to follow the boundary line that countless predecessors had measured with precision, then take a light step forward from outside to inside. That was all it took to go from the Ten Thousand Li Gray Plains to Moli Immortal Mansion.
And that boundary line now lay right on the hillock where Wu Ming and the others stood.
Take one step forward from the top of the hillock, and the boundless gray plains ahead would suddenly be swallowed by a thick fog.
The soft sand beneath their feet gave way to muddy ground like a swamp.
A faint, decaying stench filled the air.
At the same time, the Moli Proverb echoed in their minds, as if someone were slowly reciting it over and over.
Do not talk to strangers.
It was as though the Immortal Mansion were welcoming its visitors in its own way...
"Wake up."
The next moment, Han Gang's voice broke through Wu Ming's brief daze.
Startled back to his senses, Wu Ming glanced around. Not far away, Liu Sanlang and Zhang Miao were also being roused by their respective Immortal Guiding Envoys...
But soon he turned his attention back to Han Gang.
He would follow the other man's instructions: from the moment they had been divided into groups, he was not to concern himself with anyone else's affairs.
Han Gang nodded approvingly, then pointed at the ground beneath Wu Ming's feet. "Remember this spot. This line marks the boundary between inside and outside the Immortal Mansion. When we need to withdraw, as long as we can find this place, we'll have found the exit."
Before he had finished speaking, a shadow swept past them. The tall, masked woman had also entered the Immortal Mansion, and she thrust a crimson banner deep into the muddy ground beside Wu Ming.
A magnificent, proud fire phoenix was embroidered on the banner. Its feathers gleamed, and in an instant, it scattered some of the thick fog around them.
Han Gang said, "There are many illusions inside the Immortal Mansion. Once you venture deep into a particular area, what you see before you may not be real. But this Blazing Feather Flag has the divine ability to pierce delusions, so it can serve as a point of reference."
As he spoke, Han Gang started forward. With each step he took, Wu Ming felt a sudden force surge from behind and push him along, making him follow close behind Han Gang against his will.
"Your cultivation is still shallow. For your safety, I'll use the Solidification Array during this first exploration to lock our positions relative to each other and make sure you don't get lost by accident. You won't need to walk on your own; just follow me carefully. If you feel unwell or have any other problems, don't speak up rashly..."
Before the other man could finish, Wu Ming formed a hand seal and summoned a wisp of breeze to blow toward Han Gang.
"That'll do." Han Gang nodded. "Other than that, don't use any other spells unless I tell you to."
With that, Han Gang took another step. In an instant, he crossed dozens of meters, as if plunging straight into the mist.
"Once you enter Moli Immortal Mansion, don't stay in one place for too long. The longer you stay, the more danger accumulates. Even if you can't see a path ahead, that's still better than standing still."
As he spoke, Han Gang moved faster and faster, his footwork gradually becoming as swift as thunder and lightning... In the blink of an eye, the Blazing Feather Flag behind them had been swallowed by the fog, its glow nowhere to be seen.
Han Gang, however, paid it no mind and continued pressing forward at full speed. Not far to either side, Yi Yi and He Lu grew hazy and indistinct as they raced along.
Though this was merely a brief foray into the outer reaches to get acquainted, these three Immortal Guiding Envoys treated the outer region of Moli Immortal Mansion as if it were their own courtyard. With their respective clients in tow, they charged ahead recklessly, as though they had no intention of returning.
As they raced onward, the Immortal Guiding Envoys' unfathomable strength gradually became apparent.
All three, including Yi Yi, were at the peak of the Qi Refining Stage, yet with the Divine Movement Technique, their speed rivaled Zhu Ying's when she had been at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
After about half an hour, Wu Ming roughly estimated that they had gone nearly three hundred li into the Immortal Mansion when Han Gang suddenly stopped.
The mist ahead of them abruptly parted.
"!?"
The sight beyond the mist made Wu Ming's eyes widen in shock.
Before them lay a small village nestled against the mountains and water, its houses neatly arranged! In this muddy, swamp-like world, it looked like a paradise apart from the world.
Several dozen men and women lived in the village, simple in appearance and content with their lives...
No!
The next moment, Wu Ming immediately shut his eyes and refused to look again.
"Good." Han Gang's approving voice sounded beside his ear. "We'll stop here for today."
As he spoke, he did not even turn around. His figure shot backward even faster than it had come, retreating several li at a time. He did not stop until the paradise ahead was once more swallowed by the mist.
Then Han Gang said, "All right, you can open your eyes now. What you just saw was the outer region's endpoint. No matter how long you walk through the mist, if you see a place where people live, it means you're about to enter the second layer. If you don't want to experience the dangers of the second layer firsthand, turn back the way you came at once and keep going until you can no longer see any sign of human habitation."
Wu Ming opened his eyes as instructed. The thick fog around them was still gray and hazy... Farther away, the glow of the Blazing Feather Flag seemed to light up the sky.
Not far from him, Zhang Miao sat cross-legged on the ground. He Lu stood behind her, holding a snow-white talisman and waving it gently. Each time it swayed, faint gray smoke rose from Zhang Miao's head and turned into ink marks on the talisman.
After several waves, no more gray smoke came out. He Lu folded the talisman, recited the True Fire Art, and burned it up.
Han Gang said, "Zhang Miao reacted a beat too slowly and got tainted by a little filth, but it wasn't deep. A White Talisman was enough to cleanse it completely. Heh, the three of you performed far better than most of those so-called prodigies. I once brought along a noble young master from an Aristocratic Clan who claimed to possess a top-grade Dao Seed. He only had to glance at the second layer from the outside before he needed someone to risk their life to save him."
After a pause, Han Gang continued, "That's right. I gave you no warning this time because I wanted to see how you'd react in the moment. Even an Immortal Guiding Envoy can't calculate every danger in the Immortal Mansion. Even if you only circle around the outermost layer without venturing farther in, lingering too long can bring on the Tribulation of Lost Souls..."
"Training in the Immortal Mansion means living with danger at every moment. I can cover for you, but I can never eliminate the danger entirely. So if you're a dull-witted waste who can't sense danger at all, you might as well use up all three of your lives in the outer region... At least here, trading a life for a life really can get you another life."
"So here's the next question: If the Immortal Mansion is so dangerous, why have people flocked to it for hundreds of years? Why has Luohuang Immortal Sect poured so much effort into cultivating generation after generation of Moli Immortal Guiding Envoys to work here?"
Wu Ming blinked but still did not answer.
Han Gang turned to look at Yi Yi. Only after Yi Yi confirmed it did he say to Wu Ming, "The three of you performed exceptionally well today, so I'll make an exception and take you to find something."
With that, he paused in thought, then suddenly drew the tip of his left index finger across his right wrist. His nail split the skin, and blood welled up.
Han Gang stretched out his arm and let the blood drip. A moment later, a figure vaguely appeared in the mist.
The figure had only a rough human outline. It moved extremely slowly, its stiff, twisted body resembling a zombie. Yet in the blink of an eye, it broke through the mist and appeared before them!
This time, Han Gang did not stop Wu Ming from looking, so Wu Ming saw it clearly.
It was a shadow shaped like a human. Though it walked in a grotesque manner, when it drew near, one could even make out that it was a woman, not very tall but with a curvy figure. Looking closer, one could see that she had once possessed a charming face. Her red lips moved as if she had countless things to say...
This was a Li Yao. Anyone who became lost in Moli Immortal Mansion would eventually mutate into one.
They lost all their intelligence but retained the cultivation they had possessed in life, while also developing a potent corrosive poison... Since most cultivators who came to explore the Immortal Mansion were outstanding among those of the same realm, every Li Yao could be considered a top enemy of the Qi Refining Stage!
Their only weakness was their relatively slow movement, which meant that there was still a chance to escape if one encountered one.
But the next moment, the three Luohuang Mountain cultivators attacked in unison. Han Gang led with a straight punch, unleashing a dazzling, blazing dragon.
The fire dragon slammed into the Li Yao, folding it backward and knocking it onto the ground.
He Lu flung out a golden talisman that stuck to the Li Yao's forehead. In an instant, countless threads blossomed from its head and seeped into every part of its body, making it writhe in unbearable pain.
Yi Yi formed a sword seal with his fingers and condensed his Mana into a sharp sword. He cut off the Li Yao's hands and feet... Then he thrust the sword forward, striking the Zhongting acupoint precisely.
In an instant, the Li Yao lost all power to struggle and lay motionless.
"Attack!"
All three Immortal Guiding Envoys shouted the command at once.
The next moment, Liu Sanlang spat out a streak of cold light. It was the Lijin True Qi he had tempered through countless trials, as sharp as a sword and swift as a shooting star. It struck straight at the Li Yao's vital point between the brows... Yet this blow, powerful enough to pierce metal and shatter jade, barely broke through a single layer of its skin.
This Li Yao had been a ninth-level Qi Refining expert in life. Its body alone had been tempered until it was harder than steel.
Zhang Miao summoned a magical treasure: a branch of red jade Wutong. A spark of scarlet True Fire drifted lightly from its tip onto the Li Yao, only to go out in an instant!
Yi Yi and He Lu exchanged glances, disappointment showing on their faces.
It was already asking the impossible to expect a few youngsters with less than half a year of cultivation, barely at the third level of Qi Refining, to break through the body of a ninth-level Qi Refining Li Yao.
But fortune lay within their grasp, and still they could not seize it...
At that moment, a Golden Glow Sword Light, brilliant as the sun, suddenly burst forth!
Faint sword cries rang out from within the golden glow, like a dragon's roar and a tiger's growl. Even through the Art-Sealed Wax Pill, the sound seemed to reach straight into the heart!
And when the sword light faded, the mud on the ground had dried, while the Li Yao's entire head had been blown to pieces!
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