Why Are You All So Foolish?

Zhao Xuanji led the way, passing through a heavily guarded secret passage deep within the palace, filled with traps and Divine Soul- binding restrictions, before stepping onto a narrow spiral staircase that extended downwards, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

The stairs seemed endless, spiraling downwards for thousands of steps.

When you climb the last step, a bright and open view suddenly appears before you.

Qi Yun's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

This is the core of an upside-down meteorite.

What appeared before them was a huge spherical space, roughly a hundred feet in diameter.

The space exhibited a strange, translucent, dark silver crystalline structure.

The interior of the crystal seemed to contain fragments of billions of stars and magnificent nebula dust, which flowed slowly, emitting a soft and mysterious glow that illuminated the entire space.

The most eye-catching feature is the "top" of the spherical space, where a giant crystal with a diameter of over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) is embedded, and which is extremely clear and transparent.

Within the crystal—a torrent of light and shadow surged and roared.

Countless images, sounds, symbols, and regular lines flashed, flowed, and vanished wildly.

"This place was struck a hundred years ago by a rare, massive celestial earthquake that crashed into our Great Cang territory."

Zhao Xuanji's voice echoed in this strange space, carrying a hint of barely perceptible awe, "Its material and structure are completely unlike any known substance in the Azure Gate Realm."

Even more strangely, once you enter its core area, an absolute isolation is formed.

No Divine Soul fluctuations, Divine Soul messages, or causal connections can be transmitted outwards.

Similarly, all external information, including Heaven's Will intervention, will be completely blocked and distorted.

He pointed to the deep darkness above. "Without this place, even if we had the ambition to defy the heavens, we would never dare to discuss the [Waking of Insects Plan] so intensively."

The slightest touch will be perceived by Heaven's Will, and both body and soul will be annihilated.

He looked at Qi Yun, his gaze filled with inquiry and a trace of lingering doubt. "The cooperation you mentioned involves a great deal of issues."

This is where we demonstrate our sincerity and ensure the safety of our conversation.

However, I wonder what kind of backing you have that allows you to claim you can control the Heaven's Will?

Clearly, despite Qi Yun's previous insightful analysis of the core and loopholes of the plan, demonstrating his remarkable intelligence capabilities, Zhao Xuanji still harbored reservations about whether Qi Yun had the "strength" to become the crucial "variable."

Intelligence capabilities are not equivalent to combat capabilities.

Especially since the opponent is the supreme Heaven's Will of Heaven!

Qi Yun did not answer immediately upon hearing this.

He slowly walked to the edge of a floating platform, his gaze sweeping over the crystal walls that shimmered with starlight, then looking up at the deep darkness and distorted torrent of light and shadow that were isolated from the watchful eyes of Heaven's Will.

His fingers unconsciously traced the cold edge of the platform.

A faint, almost illusory sense of familiarity flashed through my mind like lightning.

Is this material—fallen from outer space—something of Xuanhuang?

The thought flashed through his mind, and he suppressed it for the time being.

He turned around, facing Zhao Xuanji's scrutinizing gaze, a faint smile curving his lips.

"Since Your Majesty wishes to see—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

The disguise of an ordinary aura that had been perfectly integrated into the Azure Gate Realm environment, which he had maintained all along, suddenly receded like a tide!

Instead, a terrifying aura—heavy, vast, domineering, and capable of supporting a whole world—that had never appeared in this realm before, originating from the fundamental rules of another great world, suddenly erupted!

That is a more essential, more profound, and closer to the root of the "Tao"!

"Boom-!!!"

The entire spherical space suddenly trembled!

The dark silver crystal wall, surrounded by flowing starlight, emitted a deep hum, and the nebulous dust on its surface Flowing Light brightly, as if it had been subjected to some kind of strong external stimulus!

The deep darkness overhead seemed to ripple slightly.

A distinct tremor came from beneath my feet.

Zhao Xuanji was the first to be hit!

He felt that the seemingly ordinary young Daoist priest before him had instantly transformed into a domineering and complete world.

The pale golden imperial dragon aura around him reacted and roared, but it was violently shaken by the impact of this powerful aura and almost collapsed!

With a muffled groan, Zhao Xuanji's face turned deathly pale. He staggered back several steps until his back hit the cold crystal wall, barely managing to regain his balance. His eyes were filled with horror and disbelief!

What level of skill is this?!

What power?!

Even the legendary [Yang Spirit] couldn't possibly exert such a despairing sense of oppression!

As the Great Cang Emperor, he had come into contact with many true cultivators, even the most outstanding [Yang Spirit].

Their Divine Soul pressure is indeed terrifying, but it manifests more in the erosion, manipulation, and destruction of the mind.

The aura emanating from the person before them, however, was a purer and more vast one, imbued with boundless principles and energy!

It's like an ordinary person facing a towering, collapsing mountain with their own flesh and blood!

It has nothing to do with skill; it's purely a difference in essence and sheer scale!

The mere release of his aura, without even an attack, caused this emperor, who was blessed with the dynasty's fortune, to feel his Divine Soul tremble and almost suffocate!

This is a level that no known cultivation system in the Azure Gate Realm could achieve!

Qi Yun's aura was released and then immediately withdrawn, just as abruptly as it had appeared.

Calm returned to the spherical space, with only the lingering Flowing Light on the crystal walls and Zhao Xuanji's heavy breathing testifying to the terrifying nature of that brief outburst.

Qi Yun remained calm, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

He looked at Zhao Xuanji, whose face was still pale but whose eyes were now completely filled with shock, and said calmly, "Now, does Your Majesty still doubt whether I, Qi, am qualified to be that variable?"

Zhao Xuanji stared intently at Qi Yun, his chest heaving violently.

After a long silence, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his voice hoarse and unusually solemn. "I... believe you."

Just three words, yet they carry immense weight.

He looked at Qi Yun with a complicated expression.

This mysterious person not only brought revolutionary information, but also possessed revolutionary power.

To negotiate with a tiger for its skin is fraught with endless risks.

While sensing Qi Yun's domineering power, a sense of worry also arose in his heart.

Qi Yun nodded slightly and said no more.

Seven days later, at the edge of the Cloud Dream Great Marsh.

The sky was a sickly leaden gray, merging seamlessly with the boundless, churning, grayish-white sea of fog below.

A strange, faintly sweet and fishy smell filled the air.

The smell is pleasant at first, but upon closer inspection, one can sense a subtle, eerie quality hidden within its sweet and fishy aroma, which can be slightly Divine Soul.

Qi Yun on a slightly dry mound, followed by three people.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue official robe and wearing a black gauze winged crown. He had a thin face, three long strands of beard hanging down to his chest, and held a folding fan. He was none other Mo Wenxuan, the chief of the Great Cang Imperial Dynasty's Attendant Court and a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Yin Spirit Realm.

Behind him were two attendants, a man and a woman, both dressed in tight-fitting clothes, with refined auras, and both possessing the cultivation level of [Possession Realm].

"True Person Qi, we are now in the core fog zone of the Cloud Dream Great Marsh." Mo Wenxuan unfolded his folding fan and gently fanned himself. The landscape patterns painted on the fan surface shimmered with Flowing Light, pushing away the thin fog that was trying to invade from the surrounding area.

According to the royal secret records, the [Heaven-Deceiving Grand Formation] is located about three hundred miles deep in this misty sea, beside the [Abyss of No Return].

However, this sea of fog is eerie; it not only obscures vision and distorts direction, but also harbors many dangers.

The mist demons and miasma spirits that breed within are all malevolent.

What's even more troublesome is----"

He paused, his expression grave. "The fog here has a strong interference and erosion effect on the detection of the Divine Soul."

Even for us, our Divine Soul cannot leave our bodies for more than a hundred feet, and we must constantly resist the invisible and intangible corrosive force within the mist.

The consequences would be unimaginable if the Divine Soul were damaged.

Qi Yun nodded slightly, his gaze piercing through the churning gray-white mist wall before him.

He could indeed sense that a unique "field" of its own was permeating this sea of fog.

"It's alright, let's proceed according to plan," Qi Yun said calmly. "Elder Mo is familiar with the route, so he will lead the way. If anything unusual happens, I will handle it."

Seeing Qi Yun's composure, Mo Wenxuan recalled the Emperor's private words, "This man's abilities are unfathomable," and said no more. He closed his folding fan and pointed forward. "In that case, please follow me."

There is a "fog reef" ten miles ahead, a temporary resting place left by previous inhabitants.

A faint glow emanated from the four of them, a sign that they were activating their Divine Soul power to protect themselves.

Mo Wenxuan's protective divine light was bluish-white, shaped like an unfolded scroll; his two attendants had more ordinary pale golden halos.

Qi Yun his mind, a faint blue halo appeared around his body.

During this time, he has been practicing a Divine Soul cultivation method called [Fresh Breeze Transforms the Heart].

As Xuanhuang True Person excels in comprehending the Dao and mastering the Dao.

The methods in the [Azure Gate] Realm are not particularly difficult.

He had already broken through to the [Yin Spirit Realm] before today.

The group plunged into the sea of fog.

The moment you enter, the sounds of the wind and the faint calls of birds and beasts in the distance vanish instantly, replaced by an absolute, unsettling stillness.

The only sound was the occasional faint rustling of dead branches or mud underfoot.

The fog was so thick that it couldn't be dispersed; even with divine light protecting them, their vision was less than three zhang (approximately 10 meters).

His Divine Sense felt as if it were stuck in a quagmire; it could only extend a few dozen feet before he felt waves of stinging pain and blurred vision, forcing him to retract it.

Mo Wenxuan was clearly not a first-timer. He would occasionally tap the front of his folding fan, and a point of light would light up on the landscape painting on the fan, pointing in a specific direction.

After traveling for about an hour, they estimated that they had penetrated more than fifty miles into the sea of fog.

The surrounding scenery was maddeningly monotonous.

Aside from the gray fog, there was only the swamp where one could walk unevenly, and the occasional twisted, dark trees.

But just as the four of them passed through a foggy area and arrived at a relatively flat region...

However, a considerable commotion came from ahead.

Seven or eight figures were surrounding a strange plant that was entirely crimson and shaped like coral.

These people were all dressed uniformly in moon-white robes, with silver cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs and lapels. Leading them were two elderly men, one tall and one short, with profound auras.

They were now using various methods, some releasing chains formed from condensed Divine Soul, others unleashing magical Law Artifact shimmering with runes, in an attempt to capture the crimson plant.

The plant seemed to possess a spirit, constantly twisting and struggling, releasing rings of pale red light that actually blocked the chains of Divine Soul and the radiance of Law Artifact.

"People from the Moonlight Sect?" Mo Wenxuan's expression changed slightly, and he lowered his voice, "What are they doing here? This place is far from the usual treasure hunting area—"

The Moonlight Sect is a powerful sect in the cultivation world of the Azure Gate Realm, renowned for its expertise in the Dao of the Divine Soul and its skill in refining moonlight and the essence of heaven and earth.

Normally, they keep to themselves and the Great Cang Imperial Dynasty.

The group of the Moonlight Sect cultivators also spotted Qi Yun and his three companions.

The action of collecting the crimson plant paused slightly. The tall, thin old man at the head of the group swept his sharp gaze over, and frowned when he saw the official robe on Mo Wenxuan's body.

"The Great Cang Imperial Dynasty Attendant Court?" The tall, thin old man's voice was hoarse, tinged with a hint of wariness. "This place was first discovered by my Moonlight Sect, and this Blood Jade Soul Coral" is something our sect has been tracking for many days.

Please do me the favor of not disturbing us.

Mo Wenxuan cupped his hands in a respectful but distant manner, saying, "We have been ordered to come to Cloud Dream Great Marsh on other important matters and have no interest in this item. Please make yourselves at home."

He intended to avoid trouble and leave as soon as possible.

The Cloud Dream Great Marsh is fraught with danger; it would be unwise to start a conflict rashly.

However, the short, stout Elder "Hanpo" focused his gaze on Qi Yun, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He couldn't even see through this person's cultivation level.

"This fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. May I ask which sect you belong to?" Hanpo suddenly spoke, his tone inquisitive.

Qi Yun remained calm and said indifferently, "Rogue Cultivator from the mountains and fields, not worth mentioning."

"Rogue Cultivator?" Hanpo narrowed his eyes slightly. "Rogue Cultivator with such cultivation?"

There are established rules in Heaven!

A dynasty can have a maximum of three [Yin Spirit Realm] experts in charge.

"Since you are Rogue Cultivator, why not join my Moonlight Sect? With your cultivation level, you will surely be highly valued." Elder Yinshuang Frost spoke, seemingly to recruit you, but in reality, to test you.

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I'm used to a leisurely life," Qi Yun replied calmly.

The atmosphere became slightly tense.

Just as the two elders of the Moonlight Sect exchanged a secret glance, the seemingly indifferent young Daoist suddenly made his move.

The overwhelming Divine Sense transformed into a visible silver tide, instantly enveloping Hanpo.

A chilling squeezing sound filled the air!

The next second, this elder of the Moonlight Sect was forcibly kneaded into a lump of minced meat.

The surrounding air suddenly froze.

Everyone present stared at Qi Yun in disbelief.

"What are you looking at? Are you keeping them around to go back and report to us?" Qi Yun frowned as he looked at Mo Wenxuan, who was also staring at him with wide eyes, and shook his head slightly.

The people here—they're so silly!