Spirit-Born Artifact

Inside the Six-Story Pavilion, all four sides stood open and clear.

Howling winds carried rolling clouds in from beyond the heavens. Chilly starlight streamed through, and from the pavilion's edge, one could overlook the vast, desolate mountain ranges within the Immortal Treasury.

The Mystic Gate Sky Boat, like a great Kunpeng demon soaring across the skies, slowly flew toward the heavens beyond.

Above the firmament of the Immortal Treasury, suspended stars dotted the black curtain like diamonds—magnificent beyond compare, yet carrying an unreal quality.

The moment Xu Yan and Qin Yiren entered, they heard fierce sounds of battle.

There were few people in the Six-Story Pavilion, only a little over twenty. Most stood at the edges watching, not daring to approach.

One of the two fighting was a youth clad in coarse gray cloth. Xu Yan recognized him; back in Dragon Whisker Ravine, he too had received guidance from the Ziwei Dharma King. The other was Tuoba Yao, the Seventh Pulse Opening Stage youth from Nine Star Kui Island.

The two were evenly matched, but within this Sky Boat, neither dared go all out, afraid of triggering deeper restrictions.

"Great Teleportation Token!"

Qin Yiren's beautiful eyes trembled as she spotted a palm-sized token floating in midair, wrapped in specks of starlight and flickering in and out of view.

It vanished one moment and appeared ten feet away the next, seemingly without any pattern at all.

Suddenly, the Great Teleportation Token flashed before Tuoba Yao in a burst of starlight. He reacted swiftly and immediately reached out with a hooked palm.

But the gray-robed youth refused to let up, hacking down with a Ring-Pommel Saber. His Dharma power was domineering, and his killing intent surged!

Crack!

Tuoba Yao had just extended his hand when he was forced to pull it back. The gray-robed youth's blade aura slammed down, leaving a clearly visible saber mark on the floor with terrifying force.

"Yang Qian, are you insane?"

Tuoba Yao's face darkened as he berated him. The two had held something back while contesting this item before, but now this gray-robed youth was throwing all caution aside, unafraid of triggering any restriction or killing formation.

That strike had been delivered at full strength. Had Tuoba Yao reacted a fraction slower, his entire arm would have been severed.

"Isn't everything fine?" Yang Qian replied coldly. "The restrictions here are much weaker than those on the lower floors. Neither of us needs to hold back anymore."

"If you want to court death, don't blame anyone else." Tuoba Yao's expression sank. The corner of his eye swept over the Nine Star Kui Island disciples around him, signaling for them to attack together.

However, those disciples harbored their own thoughts as well. Otherwise, they would have acted long ago.

Though Tuoba Yao possessed the strongest cultivation and power, he was not a direct-line successor. Moreover, he was already too old, and his innate foundation was lacking. Even if he entered the Dao Academy, he likely would not achieve much. These Nine Star Kui Island disciples were not wholly convinced by him.

After hesitating, seven or eight people finally made their move.

At once, divine power radiance overflowed throughout the Six-Story Pavilion.

Some other Daoists, meanwhile, were studying the gates leading to the Seven-Story Pavilion.

There were four gates leading to the seventh floor, each stationed in one direction and all sealed by formations and restrictions.

At the side, Qin Yiren looked toward Xu Yan and asked quietly, "Should we make a move?"

Xu Yan had already activated the Edict Script, blanketing the surroundings. He was observing the Great Teleportation Token's pattern of movement.

It seemed utterly disorderly, yet there was truly a pattern to follow.

[Great Teleportation Token: A Mystic Gate artifact crafted by the Gongsun Clan in the recent ancient era. Based on the Thirty-Six Celestial Cycle Shifting Array, it can be activated with divine sense and Dharma power to manifest the terrain of feng shui and mountains, shifting three thousand li. Its Dharma power decreases with each use.]

The Edict Script had identified the Great Teleportation Token.

Xu Yan activated the Edict Script and observed it to the utmost limit. It was as though time and space around him had both slowed.

The Great Teleportation Token was shifting through thirty-six Celestial Cycle positions. Each appearance corresponded to a specific direction. It appeared chaotic and without order, yet secretly accorded with the numerical transformations of heaven and earth.

Xu Yan opened his eyes, countless thoughts turning through his mind.

He whispered to Qin Yiren, "The Li position in the southeast corner. If my deduction is correct, this token will appear there in twenty breaths."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yiren did not hesitate. Without drawing attention, she walked over.

Xu Yan quietly retreated instead, heading to the gate leading to the Seven-Story Pavilion in the due west.

No one was there, because that western gate bore an abundance of Edict Scripts and had the densest sinister aura. Thus, no one dared approach it.

He climbed the hollow-carved stairs, and the thirty-foot-tall gate was now right before him.

Faintly, Xu Yan could hear rustling sounds coming from within, as if someone were whispering softly. It sent chills down his spine.

[Eight Gates Celestial Cycle Array Disk: An ancient Mystic Gate locking disk, capable of endless transformations and boundless wondrous uses.]

It was identical to the locking disk Xu Yan had encountered in the pill chamber of the ancient temple, though the locking method differed. It seemed that this item had been extremely popular in ancient times, often used to seal caves, residences, and doors.

Without wasting time, Xu Yan activated the Edict Script and sent his divine sense inside.

Click, click, click—

Several sounds rang out. The array disk abruptly opened, and the gate's restrictions vanished!

At the same time, the Great Teleportation Token flashed before Qin Yiren's face in the distance. Qin Yiren had long been waiting and was fully prepared.

In an instant, vast extreme yin Dharma power roared forth like rushing rivers, immediately suppressing the Great Teleportation Token.

After taking the item, Qin Yiren immediately retreated with a movement technique.

Xu Yan grabbed her arm, and the two stepped into the Seven-Story Pavilion together. At the same time, Xu Yan activated the Eight Gates Celestial Cycle Array Disk, closing the gate to the Seven-Story Pavilion once more. Dense formation patterns emerged, crisscrossing like a spiderweb and sealing the gate.

This entire sequence flowed as smoothly as water, completed in barely three breaths!

Yang Qian, the gray-robed youth, and the Nine Star Kui Island disciples arrived too late, staring wide-eyed from outside the gate.

The Eight Gates Celestial Cycle Array Disk even blocked out their voices. Xu Yan calmly watched their furious expressions. One disciple was so enraged that he wanted to bombard the gate with divine powers, only to be forcibly stopped by Tuoba Yao.

The group simply stood outside the gate, glaring at one another.

Meanwhile, within the Seven-Story Pavilion.

The higher one went, the smaller the space inside became. The Seven-Story Pavilion was only thirty zhang wide!

Its interior was incomparably gloomy. Only a few luminous pearls hung from the ceiling, giving off dim light.

Xu Yan's expression was taut as his divine sense spread through the surroundings.

At his side, Qin Yiren held the Great Teleportation Token. Her Dharma power had already erased the restrictions upon it. Seeing this, Xu Yan said gravely, "Fellow Daoist Qin, try and see whether you can activate it."

Qin Yiren pursed her lips, her beautiful eyes flickering. "Let us wait until Brother Xu obtains the Great Teleportation Token first. What if I shift away? Wouldn't that leave Brother Xu alone in danger?"

This woman was quite loyal.

Xu Yan turned back and carefully sensed the interior of the Seven-Story Pavilion. There was clearly an aura of the Great Teleportation Token here, and the Miaoyuan Edict in his palm was also giving off a scorching sensation.

A vast black mist rolled like tides, submerging them up to their knees.

"Brother Xu, over there!"

Qin Yiren spotted something and pointed at the wall to the right. A Great Teleportation Token was embedded there, as though it had fused with the markings in the stone wall. Without a careful look, it truly would have been impossible to notice.

Xu Yan immediately walked over. After sensing it with the Edict Script and confirming there were no restrictions nearby, he reached out with a hooked palm and retrieved the Great Teleportation Token!

The token was incomparably smooth, like fine black jade. The word "Shifting" was engraved on its front, while an exquisite landscape image was carved on its back.

"Let's go. We shouldn't remain here for long!"

Xu Yan and Qin Yiren immediately headed back the way they came, while using their divine senses and Dharma power to try activating the Great Teleportation Token.

At that moment, a voice came from the deepest reaches ahead.

"You two fellow Daoists come when you please and leave when you please. How terribly rude!"

The voice was extremely childish, as though it came from a young child's mouth, yet it was incomparably sinister.

Xu Yan instantly felt his scalp prickle.

He turned around to look.

A snow-white Great Banner was trembling as it flew rapidly toward them from afar!

It moved with incredible speed, wrapped in a terrifying Dharma power that made others quail at the sight. The black mist permeating the Nine-Story Pavilion was being emitted from within this banner.

Upon the Great Banner, a Daoist child could faintly be seen sitting cross-legged. Like a spirit body, it was naked all over, appearing and disappearing intermittently, with an eerie smile hanging from its face.

"A Spirit-Born Artifact!"

Xu Yan's eyes widened. Both of them felt goosebumps crawl up their backs.

They had no thought whatsoever of subduing it. If this Spirit-Born Artifact had been here since countless ages ago, then after so many years, the cultivation it had accumulated was simply beyond anything they could imagine.