Spirit-Born Artifact

The Six-Story Pavilion was open on all four sides.

Howling wind swept in from beyond the heavens, carrying billowing clouds. Cold starlight pierced through them, and from the pavilion's edges, one could gaze down upon the magnificent, boundless mountains within the Immortal Treasury.

The Mystic Gate Sky Boat slowly flew toward the outer heavens, like a mighty kunpeng demon roaming the skies.

High above the Immortal Treasury, stars hung like diamonds studding a black curtain, breathtakingly beautiful yet somehow unreal.

Xu Yan and Qin Yiren had only just entered when they heard the sounds of a fierce battle.

There were few people inside the Six-Story Pavilion, only twenty-odd in all. Most stood watching from the edges, afraid to approach.

One of the two combatants was a youth in coarse gray hemp robes. Xu Yan recognized him; he, too, had received guidance from the Ziwei Dharma King at Dragon Whisker Ravine. The other was Tuoba Yao, the young man from Nine Star Kui Island at the seventh pulse opening stage.

The two fought evenly, but neither dared unleash his full strength within the Sky Boat, fearing he might trigger restrictions deeper inside.

"The Great Teleportation Token!"

Qin Yiren's lovely eyes flickered as she spotted a palm-sized token suspended in midair, flickering in and out of sight amid specks of starlight.

It vanished one moment, then reappeared ten feet away the next, seemingly without any pattern.

Suddenly, the Great Teleportation Token flashed before Tuoba Yao, trailing starlight. He reacted swiftly and immediately reached out to seize it.

But the gray-robed youth pressed him relentlessly, slashing with a Ring-Pommel Saber, its magical power domineering and its killing intent chilling!

Crack!

Tuoba Yao was forced to withdraw the hand he had just extended. The gray-robed youth's saber energy struck with tremendous force, leaving a clearly visible saber mark in the floor.

"Yang Qian, have you gone mad?"

Tuoba Yao's face darkened as he snapped at him. Earlier, they had both held back while fighting over the token, but now the gray-robed youth threw all caution aside, no longer afraid of triggering restrictions or killing arrays.

That slash had carried his full strength. Had Tuoba Yao reacted even a little slower, his entire arm would have been severed.

"Nothing happened, did it?" Yang Qian replied coldly. "The restrictions here are much weaker than on the lower levels. Neither of us needs to hold back anymore."

"If you want to court death, don't blame anyone else." Tuoba Yao's expression sank. He glanced at the surrounding Nine Star Kui Island disciples, signaling them to join him.

However, these disciples harbored their own private motives. Otherwise, they would have acted long ago.

Although Tuoba Yao was the strongest in cultivation and ability, he was not a direct-line heir, and his age and root bone were already too advanced. Even if he entered the Dao Academy, he would likely achieve little. These Nine Star Kui Island disciples did not submit to him completely.

Seven or eight of them hesitated before finally making their move.

Light from divine abilities immediately flooded the Six-Story Pavilion.

Some other cultivators were studying the gateways leading to the Seven-Story Pavilion.

There were four gateways leading to the seventh level, one in each direction, all sealed by array restrictions.

Beside him, Qin Yiren looked at Xu Yan and whispered, "Should we make our move?"

Xu Yan had already activated the edict script, extending its reach in every direction. He was studying the pattern of the Great Teleportation Token's movements.

They seemed utterly random, but there was actually a pattern to follow.

[Great Teleportation Token: A Mystic Gate magical artifact forged by the Gongsun Clan in the late ancient era. Based on the Thirty-Six Celestial Cycle Shifting Array, it can be activated through spiritual sense and magical power to transform geomantic and mountain configurations, teleporting three thousand li. Its magical power decreases with each use.]

The edict script had identified the Great Teleportation Token.

Xu Yan pushed the edict script's observation to its limit, until the time and space around him seemed to slow.

The Great Teleportation Token was shifting through thirty-six celestial-cycle positions. Each appearance corresponded to a particular position. Though seemingly chaotic, its movements secretly conformed to the numerological principles 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 deductions are correct, the token will appear there in twenty breaths."

Qin Yiren did not hesitate after hearing this. She walked over without drawing attention.

Xu Yan quietly retreated to the gateway in the due west, which led to the Seven-Story Pavilion.

No one was there. This western gateway bore an especially large number of edict scripts, and its sinister aura was the strongest, so no one dared linger near it.

He climbed the openwork staircase, bringing the thirty-foot-high gateway within arm's reach.

Faintly, Xu Yan could hear rustling sounds from within, like people whispering, making his hair stand on end.

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

It was identical to the locking disk Xu Yan had encountered in the ancient temple's pill chamber, though the locking configuration was different. This object apparently had been very popular in antiquity, frequently used to seal cave dwellings and doors.

Without wasting time, Xu Yan activated the edict script and sent his spiritual sense inside.

Click, click, click—

Several clicks rang out. The array disk unlocked, and the gateway's restrictions vanished!

At the same time, not far away, the Great Teleportation Token flashed before Qin Yiren's face. She had been waiting for it, fully prepared.

In an instant, vast supreme yin magical power roared forth like a surging river, immediately suppressing the Great Teleportation Token.

After taking it, Qin Yiren immediately retreated using her movement technique.

Xu Yan caught her arm, and they stepped into the Seven-Story Pavilion together. At the same time, he activated the Eight Gates Celestial Cycle Array Disk. The gateway closed once more, dense array markings appearing and crisscrossing like a spiderweb to seal it.

The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, completed in barely three breaths!

The gray-robed youth Yang Qian and the Nine Star Kui Island disciples arrived too late, standing outside the gateway with wide eyes.

The Eight Gates Celestial Cycle Array Disk even blocked their voices. Xu Yan calmly watched their furious expressions. One disciple, enraged enough to bombard the gateway with a divine ability, was forcibly stopped by Tuoba Yao.

The group could only stand outside the gateway, staring helplessly at one another.

Meanwhile, inside the Seven-Story Pavilion.

The higher they went, the smaller the interior became. The Seven-Story Pavilion was only three hundred feet across!

It was eerily gloomy within, with only a handful of luminous pearls on the vaulted ceiling shedding dim light.

Xu Yan's expression was tense, his spiritual sense covering their surroundings.

Beside him, Qin Yiren held the Great Teleportation Token. Her magical power had already erased its restrictions. Seeing this, Xu Yan said gravely, "Fellow Daoist Qin, try activating it."

Qin Yiren pursed her lips, her lovely eyes flickering. "Let's wait until you obtain a Great Teleportation Token as well, Brother Xu. If I teleport away, wouldn't that leave you alone in this dangerous place?"

She certainly valued loyalty.

Xu Yan turned back, carefully sensing the interior of the Seven-Story Pavilion. The aura of a Great Teleportation Token was unmistakably present, and the Miaoyuan Edict in his palm was radiating scorching heat.

Vast banks of dark mist rippled like a tide, rising past their knees.

"Brother Xu, over there!"

Qin Yiren had discovered something and pointed at the wall to their right. A Great Teleportation Token was embedded there, seemingly merged with the strokes on the stone wall. Without a close look, it truly would have been impossible to spot.

Xu Yan immediately walked over and examined it with the edict script. Only after confirming that there were no restrictions nearby did he curl his hand and draw the Great Teleportation Token out!

The token was perfectly smooth, like exquisite dark jade. The words "Teleportation" were engraved on its front, while the back bore an exceptionally intricate landscape design.

"Let's go. We shouldn't linger here!"

Xu Yan and Qin Yiren immediately retraced their steps, attempting to activate the Great Teleportation Tokens with their spiritual sense and magical power as they went.

Just then, a voice came from the deepest part of the far end.

"Fellow Daoists, coming and going as you please—how very rude!"

The voice was terribly young, as though spoken by a small child, yet eerily sinister.

Xu Yan's hair instantly stood on end.

He looked back.

A snow-white Great Banner was trembling as it flew toward them at tremendous speed!

It moved incredibly fast, wrapped in a swirl of magical power that inspired dread at a glance. The black mist permeating the Nine-Story Pavilion was pouring out of this very banner.

Upon the Great Banner, they could faintly make out a young Daoist child sitting cross-legged. Like a spirit, the child was naked, appearing and disappearing with a strange smile on his face.

"A Spirit-Born Artifact!"

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

Neither entertained the slightest thought of subduing it. If this Spirit-Born Artifact had been here since ages long past, then after so many years, the cultivation it had accumulated was beyond anything they could imagine.