Heaven Beyond.
Listening to Xiao Qing, Xiao Tian Ce nodded. Keeping the news sealed off would indeed give them the initiative, but without entering, how could they know this secret realm truly belonged to the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes?
At that thought, Xiao Tian Ce did not ask whether Xiao Qing had confirmed it. Instead, he smiled. "In that case, let's make the trip. If this really is a secret realm left behind by the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes, we'll have hit the jackpot."
As his words fell, the two vanished from Heaven Beyond.
For Dou Sheng Experts, vast as the Dou Qi Continent was, traveling at full speed meant reaching their destination would not take long.
The secret realm lay in the southeastern part of the Dou Qi Continent, within the Beast Region. It was close to the Nether Serpent Earth Vein, though still some distance away.
After leaving the Heavenly Eye Mountain Range, Xiao Tian Ce and Xiao Qing slipped straight into the spatial void. A day later, they finally appeared at the secret realm's entrance.
"Elder Qing."
The guards left behind immediately went on alert when the two appeared. Only after recognizing Xiao Qing did they hastily bow.
Xiao Qing waved a hand, then asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual?"
"Reporting to Elder Qing, the nearby magical beasts have harassed us a few times, but we drove them all away."
"Good. Keep guarding this place, and don't let anyone approach," Xiao Qing instructed.
"Yes, Elder Qing."
Once Xiao Qing had made the arrangements, Xiao Tian Ce nodded to her. In a flash, the two shot into the space at the entrance and disappeared.
The moment they entered the secret realm, Xiao Tian Ce and Xiao Qing plunged straight down, unable to control their descent. Only several minutes later did their feet finally touch a floor paved with bluestone slabs.
Looking along the bluestone path as it stretched into the distance, they saw rows of white jade pillars standing on either side. Numerous images of Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes were carved into them, and luminous pearls as large as bushel measures crowned their tops, lighting the surroundings as brightly as day.
"Third Uncle, this flight-restricting formation is incredibly powerful. It can actually restrain Dou Sheng Experts," Xiao Qing said, her expression grave.
Xiao Tian Ce nodded at her words, then said solemnly, "Indeed. This flight-restricting formation is so powerful that even an eight-star Dou Sheng cannot fly here.
"However, that only makes me more certain this secret realm was left behind by the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes."
After considering it, Xiao Qing also felt this was only natural, even though the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix race had already vanished into the long river of history across the entire Dou Qi Continent.
No one, however, dared deny the might of this magical beast race.
According to the records, at the height of their glory, even the Ancient Void Dragons-the current overlords of magical beasts-had to retreat three leagues before them.
Moreover, even members of the Dou God Clans had to exercise extreme caution when encountering experts of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan on their travels.
The records stated that this clan was not only powerful, but also exceptionally cruel and savage. Had their refusal to intermarry with other races not kept their numbers scarce, even mighty magical beasts like the Ancient Void Dragons would have fallen short of them.
The present-day Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan descended from the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes, but its incomplete bloodline prevented it from reaching their level.
Even so, apart from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan firmly held its position as the second overlord of magical beasts.
"Third Uncle, what should we do?" Xiao Qing asked gravely.
"We're already here. Naturally, we'll get to the bottom of it."
With that, Xiao Tian Ce took the lead and continued along the bluestone path.
At its end, a bronze gate barred their way, with two bronze statues standing on either side.
The two bronze statues shared one feature: beneath each statue's raised claws, an Ancient Void Dragon was howling in anguish.
"Tsk, tsk. They really were the Ancient Void Dragons' mortal enemies. Even their gate statues didn't miss a chance to drag their names through the mud."
After that remark, Xiao Tian Ce began examining the bronze gate. Although he did not understand its hidden workings, he was certain it could not be opened through brute force.
"Third Uncle, come take a look. There seems to be something here."
Hearing Xiao Qing, Xiao Tian Ce quickly walked over. Sure enough, beneath the leftmost bronze statue was a protruding piece of red jade.
"This should be the switch that opens the gate," Xiao Tian Ce said after a brief look.
Xiao Qing nodded, then stepped forward and pressed the red jade with her hand.
A moment later, the bronze gate began making a series of clacking noises before slowly opening.
"The gate's open."
Somewhat excited, Xiao Qing immediately prepared to enter.
Yet the instant the bronze gate opened, Xiao Tian Ce suddenly sensed danger.
"Move!"
He shoved Xiao Qing aside. A red feather formed from energy abruptly embedded itself in the bluestone slab where she had just been standing.
Boom!
They had only just dodged when more than a dozen red energy feathers came flying toward the spot where the two of them had stood.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The red energy feathers were powerful enough to injure an expert who had just entered the Dou Sheng realm.
But Xiao Tian Ce had already explored hundreds of secret realms across the Dou Qi Continent a century ago. How could these energy feathers possibly hit him?
Pulling Xiao Qing along, he darted left and right, deftly evading them. Then he looked toward the source of the energy feathers and struck out with a powerful palm.
Boom!
His palm strike blasted forward, and a violent explosion rang out from beyond the bronze gate. The energy feathers stopped shooting out.
"Whew."
Letting out a soft breath of relief, he could not help remarking, "A restriction worthy of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan. Had someone else come in and failed to spot that trap in time, they would probably have been blasted to dust!"
"What a terrifying trap. If any one of those attacks landed, even a one-star Dou Sheng Expert would meet a bitter end," Xiao Qing said, still shaken.
"Heh, this is nothing yet. Come on. If my guess is right, this was merely the simplest trial. There should be two more formidable trials ahead," Xiao Tian Ce said with a smile.
As he spoke, he walked in first, with Xiao Qing following close behind.
Beyond the bronze gate lay an enormous plaza. Though called a plaza, it looked more like an ancient Roman arena, with what appeared to be spectator stands all around.
The moment the two stepped inside, the bronze gate slammed shut behind them.
Immediately afterward, four pillars of light shot skyward from the east, south, west, and north. They then formed an inverted, bowl-shaped curtain of light that enveloped the entire plaza.
"Heh, I didn't expect a welcoming ceremony like this the moment we came in."
His words had barely fallen when a loud crack rang out. An arched gate beneath the stands opened, and a lion exuding an aura of death from head to toe slowly emerged.
"Gold Lion!"
Xiao Qing looked over and was immediately stunned. The enormous beast that had emerged was none other than a Gold Lion, a species that had been extinct on the Dou Qi Continent for over a thousand years.
"Don't worry. This Gold Lion has been dead for many years. An Ancient Heavenly Phoenix probably captured it and refined it into a beast puppet for its descendants to practice fighting against," Xiao Tian Ce explained casually after examining it closely.
Many races had once known how to refine such beast puppets. These days, however, powerful magical beasts were difficult to capture. Catching one usually provoked an entire pack, so apart from the foremost magical beast clans, the other races had already lost the method of refining them.
Of course, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes clearly had no such concerns. Since they dared to treat even Ancient Void Dragons as food, they naturally feared no magical beast race.
"What an extravagant undertaking. When this Gold Lion was alive, it was at least a one-star Dou Sheng."
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