Over by Heavenly God Mountain's group, several Divine Servants immediately stepped forward when they saw Bear Child approaching, watching him warily.
This strange Bear Child was dangerous. Aside from Yun Ying, probably no one here could keep him in check.
"What are you doing here?" Yun Xi demanded through gritted teeth.
Bear Child glanced at her, then at Yun Ying behind her, his face wreathed in smiles. "Visiting old friends, of course."
"Who's your old friend? Shameless!" Yun Xi snorted coldly.
"How are we not old friends? Back in the Yang Extreme Cave and Mystic Ice Abyss beneath the sea, we..."
"Shut up! Stop spouting nonsense!"
Yun Xi interrupted Bear Child just as he was about to say more.
Everyone turned toward Yun Xi's sharp shout. What Bear Child had just said sounded a little... questionable.
And with Yun Xi so eager to interrupt him, had something happened between the two of them?
"Sister, don't let him lead you around by the nose." Yun Ying had figured it out: Yun Xi and this Bear Child were at odds, and whenever they met, she lost her composure and sense of restraint.
At Yun Ying's words, Yun Xi immediately calmed down and steadied her emotions. She said nothing more, merely warning Bear Child not to talk nonsense with a murderous glare.
Bear Child chuckled and said no more.
Then he looked at Yun Ying and studied her closely. "You changed your hairstyle. It looks pretty nice! But why are you still not wearing shoes? Aren't you afraid of hurting your bare feet on the stones?"
Everyone's faces twitched slightly at Bear Child's words. Since when did cultivators fear stones hurting their feet?
Still, Yun Ying did always leave her jade-like feet bare. It was something of a signature of hers, and many people were quite taken with it.
Yun Ying glanced at Bear Child and slowly rose, crystalline Sword Blossoms blooming beneath her feet. Ignoring his words, she looked toward the enormous Kunpeng Nest and parted her red lips. "It's almost time."
At that, Yun Xi and the people from the Primordial Sacred Mountain all seemed to realize something. Their expressions immediately grew solemn as they looked toward the Kunpeng Nest.
Bear Child felt annoyed once again. He had been ignored yet again.
Boom!
Suddenly, heaven and earth seemed to shatter. The azure sea surged backward, the entire island reef trembled, and the golden Kunpeng Nest rapidly split open.
Everyone watched the Kunpeng Nest break apart and unfurl like flower petals, revealing the radiant Dao Arena within. Dazzling light blazed, auspicious mist rose, and runes filled the void, giving off waves of sacrificial chants.
The Kunpeng Nest opened completely. The Dao Arena within shimmered with flowing colors, captivating everyone.
"It's open! The Kun Peng Precious Technique is inside!"
In the next instant, everyone went mad, charging toward the shimmering Dao Arena.
"Let's go." Yun Ying nodded to Yun Xi, then took a single step. Heaven and earth flipped, and her figure appeared within the golden Dao Arena, ahead of everyone else.
"Of course it's her! What incredible speed!"
Seeing Yun Ying enter the golden Dao Arena first, everyone was both astonished and deeply wary. But with the Kun Peng Precious Technique right before their eyes, they refused to fall behind and immediately accelerated.
Yun Xi and the people from the Primordial Sacred Mountain immediately followed, charging inside. The other factions and powerful cultivators did the same, pouring in together, and fighting erupted at once.
The central Dao Arena of the Kunpeng Nest was vast, worthy of being called an immortal's cave abode, with a whole world within.
Ignoring everything else, Yun Ying made her way to the deepest part of the cave abode's outer region, where she saw a golden divine sea. She glanced at it, then plunged in without hesitation.
"She went down! The Kun Peng Cave is below! The divine trove is underground!"
Seeing Yun Ying's actions, those behind her immediately understood something and hurried after her, pouring into the golden divine sea like dumplings dropped into a pot.
Beneath the golden divine sea lay the true Kun Peng Cave Abode, immensely spacious and filled with the luster of pearls and treasures, like a divine palace.
Even after arriving here, Yun Ying paid no attention whatsoever to anything else. Though these were all objects Kun Peng had used in daily life, she remained utterly indifferent and sped straight toward the deepest part of the cave abode.
Only when she encountered spirit herbs along the way did she slow slightly to gather them before continuing deeper.
The others, however, were immediately drawn to the cave abode's myriad treasures upon rushing inside and began fighting madly over them.
By then, Yun Ying had already reached the deepest part of the cave abode.
The Ancient Hall stood here, grand beyond measure. Above it lay a hazy river of stars, seemingly connected to the starry sky beyond the world, while below, primal chaos energy permeated the entire hall.
Mist also filled the hall, rising to knee height, making it resemble an immortal palace in the heavens.
Through the mist, an ancient, unadorned path could be seen leading into the depths of the hall. Yun Ying followed it at tremendous speed, yet it still took her quite some time to reach its end.
At the end of the path stood the Ancient Altar, suspended in the void, with a flight of stone steps leading up to it.
The altar resembled a towering mountain, built from one massive gray-brown stone after another. Ancient and plain, it bore no sacred splendor, yet it blended with heaven and earth, its presence majestic.
Higher up, in a crevice beside the stone steps, grew a stalk of star grass with seven leaves. The pointed tip of its eighth leaf had already emerged; it was on the verge of becoming a Sacred Medicine.
Standing below the altar, Yun Ying could profoundly sense this Dao resonance that harmonized with heaven and earth.
At that moment, she even felt traces of scorching heat rise along her back. Had anyone stood behind her, they would have seen purple-gold light shining through, forming a mysterious pattern.
The purple-gold radiance flickered a few times before disappearing. Yun Ying paid it no mind and looked toward the top of the altar.
Many weapons were displayed atop the altar, wreathed in divine radiance: daggers, fans, rulers, and more.
Most striking of all, however, was the divine weapon at the center, flowing with primal chaos energy-a great halberd broken into three pieces, emanating a terrifying aura.
"Kun Peng's weapon, Heavenly Desolation."
Yun Ying recognized the great halberd's origins and was astonished to find it broken. It seemed Kun Peng had experienced a truly terrifying battle during his lifetime.
Otherwise, his weapon, Heavenly Desolation, would never have broken into three pieces.
"I am Yun Ying, a junior. Please forgive my presumptuous intrusion, Senior! Your legacy stands unrivaled beneath the heavens, and I yearn for it. If I could earn your favor, it would be a blessing earned over three lifetimes. If I fail to gain your approval, I will harbor no resentment. Please judge me clearly, Senior."
Standing beneath the altar, Yun Ying bowed to Heavenly Desolation upon it and spoke in a clear, ringing voice.
The broken Heavenly Desolation trembled faintly atop the altar, but made no further movement and gave no response.
Then Yun Ying began ascending the stone steps toward the top of the altar, neither hurried nor slow. Sure enough, she encountered no obstruction along the way.
Thus, Yun Ying reached the top of the altar. She looked neither at the star grass nor at the weapons, instead turning her gaze toward a stone platform in the center.
The stone platform resembled a coffin. Upon it lay a bone, golden with black stripes, densely covered in runes and shimmering with divine light!
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