As a wave of heat descended, the scene around the Sacrificial Altar changed in an instant.
The broken walls twisted and swayed like reflections in water, gradually disappearing beneath another scene—
A Dao Sun hung high overhead. Wherever its light reached, a faint image appeared.
It was a Palace of slick, icy crystal, steeped in a salty, fishy smell.
The three figures on the altar trembled, as though struggling to rise. But an invisible force held their bodies fast. Even when they summoned surging power, they could not break free.
An aged voice said urgently, "The sacrifice at the Qiu Ruins was meant to suppress and stabilize the exit of the Heavenly Realms. Then, decades ago, someone severed the connection between Beyond the Mundane and the Mortal World, strengthening the Seal. Even our souls and thoughts could no longer roam outside. But if someone from Beyond the Mundane can enter now, the Seal must have loosened. How can an outsider get in while we still cannot get out?"
A cool voice replied, "If we cannot break free, our first priority is to resist the corruption. Otherwise, once this Mansion erodes the foundations of our bodies, we can only become puppets or sever ourselves from the Dao!"
A clear voice said mockingly, "If we had the resolve to sever ourselves from the Dao, would we have sat here wasting away all these years?"
As the three exchanged thoughts, a cracking sound came from within the Dao Sun. Rifts spread across it, and a figure burst out.
His face resembled an ordinary man's, but his eyes were sharp as a hawk's and his brows swept toward his temples. He wore a red brocade robe, yet scales covered his hands and feet, and both ended in four claws!
At a glance, he hardly