Where is he?
Upon hearing this, Cai Shen did not answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he slowly uttered a name that surprised even Qi Yun: " The Wuji Sacred Sect."
"Um?"
Qi Yun's gaze suddenly sharpened!
Wuji Sacred Sect?
His sect!
The new headquarters of the Wuji Sacred Sect in the Central Land.
The once-powerful demonic force from the harsh northwest now stands tall in the heart of the most fertile and Spiritual Qi abundant Central Land Xuanhuang.
A magnificent mountain range, stretching endlessly like the spine of a giant dragon, was chosen as the foundation of the new sect. Its main peak soars into the clouds, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, layer upon layer, stretching as far as the eye can see.
Beneath the mountain range, several top-tier Spirit Vein, forcibly restrained and modified, roar and surge, supplying an almost inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Qi.
In the sky, the demonic clouds transformed into a massive array phantom covering tens of thousands of miles, slowly rotating and emitting a suffocating pressure. Ordinary cultivators, let alone venturing in, would feel a stinging pain in their Divine Soul and a blockage in their Law Power even if they came within a thousand miles.
This is the Wuji Holy Sect, which rose to prominence and became the Wuji Sacred Sect after the transformation of good and evil into demons, thanks to the overwhelming power of the Qi Yun!
The ancestral vein it occupies was once a blessed land jointly owned by several top righteous sects in the Central Land Plains, but now it belongs entirely to the Holy Sect.
The atmosphere within the clan is more than ten times more prosperous than it was in the northwest!
Every day, thousands of demonic cultivators come and go in their escape lights, whether to carry out missions, pay offerings, or come to seek refuge. The place is bustling and prosperous, and the demonic power is overwhelming.
He had already become the supreme leader of the Central Land and even the entire Xuanhuang Demonic Path.
On this day, a barely perceptible Fresh Breeze silently swept past the layers of guard Formation Art and patrolling disciples surrounding the Holy Sect, enough to kill even a cultivator at the Void Refinement, and vanished into the Great Void Mirror Heaven in an instant.
It didn't trigger any alarms, and it didn't alert anyone.
As the "Acting Sect Leader," Qi Yun possesses the highest authority, second only to the Sect-Presiding True Lord.
The endless restrictions that covered the entire Great Void Mirror Heaven, painstakingly set up by successive True Lord and Formation Art masters, were as insignificant as a threat before him.
Passing through familiar yet mysterious layers of space and secret realms, made even more wondrous by dramatic changes in the Spiritual Qi environment, and traversing halls and pavilions dedicated to past patriarchs and important lineages.
Qi Yun's goal is clearly the highest level of the Great Void Mirror Heaven.
This is the summit of the Great Void Mirror Heaven, and also its end.
There were no palaces, no pavilions.
There was only a boundless, pure space composed of "light," which was supreme, ethereal, and seemed to bear the origin of the Principle of Heavenly Dao.
It seems to borrow the heavens above and have no fixed abode below, making one feel as insignificant as a speck of dust when one is in it.
This place is the supreme secret location where the True Lord resides in the Holy Sect, usually comprehends the Dao, observes the heavens, and deduces profound mysteries!
Its very existence is one of the Holy Sect's most core secrets.
Let alone ordinary disciples and elders, even the "acting sect leaders" of past generations would not be qualified or capable of setting foot here without being personally summoned by the True Lord!
Qi Yun's Fresh Breeze form slowly coalesced within this sea of light, transforming back into its original form, a deep blue Daoist robe.
He stood with his hands behind his back in this vast, radiant void, calmly surveying his surroundings. There was nothing here but the omnipresent "light," seemingly containing boundless information and Daoist essence.
However, the pale golden sword mark between Qi Yun's brows felt slightly warm in this spot, as if it had sensed something.
"It seems this is the place."
Qi Yun muttered to himself. Without further hesitation, he flipped his palm over.
A golden branch, no more than a foot long, appeared in his hand.
This branch may seem ordinary, but it was a small section of the ancient golden tree, known as the " Wealth Connects to the Divine," which he had carefully broken off and which contained the tree's original Daoist essence!
Qi Yun held the golden branch in his hand and gently drew a line across the seemingly empty, vast void of light in front of him.
The movements are free and unrestrained, like the strokes of a brush.
"Buzz-!!!"
A sudden change has occurred!
Where the golden branches swept across, the originally calm and seamless "light" suddenly rippled and twisted violently, like a lake surface thrown with a boulder!
Complex, ancient incantations and runes, radiating a chilling sealing power, suddenly emerged from the deepest and most hidden dimensions of the void!
These incantations intertwined, intertwined, and combined, instantly transforming into a gigantic restriction that covered the entire field of vision and stretched for tens of thousands of miles!
"Really----"
A glint flashed in Qi Yun's eyes; he wasn't particularly surprised by the scene before him.
The golden branches trembled slightly, and a point of even purer golden light shone from their tips, like the most precise probe, slowly pointing towards the giant restriction.
"Laugh----"
Like a red-hot iron wire inserted into ice.
The incantations and talismans froze and became disordered for an extremely brief moment upon contact with the golden branches.
Qi Yun seized this one in a billion moment, completely concealing his aura, as if transforming into a stream of " Dao of Wealth " Flowing Light that shared the same origin as the golden branch, and suddenly burrowed into the almost imperceptible gap created by the disordered node!
"Whoosh!"
His figure vanished instantly into the terrifying, sprawling barrier, as if swallowed by it.
The next moment.
The scene before my eyes suddenly changed!
Radiance, Daoist charm, restrictions—everything vanished.
Instead, there was an absolute, deathly, and chilling darkness.
Only a faint, obscure light, seeping from who-knows-where, barely outlined the surrounding contours.
This appears to be a cave.
The cave walls are as smooth as a mirror, exhibiting an unnatural, regular curve.
The rock has a somber blue-black color, and its surface is covered with fine, seemingly naturally formed, yet mottled patterns that contain some profound truths. It is icy cold to the touch.
The air was filled with an ancient, unchanging loneliness and the dust of time, devoid of any Spiritual Qi or vitality.
The cave was not large, only about a hundred feet in circumference.
In the center, there is a small pool of water, no more than a few feet square.
The water was calm and still, like stagnant water.
The edge of the pool meets the black rocks.
The entire cave was completely empty except for the mottled rocks and the eerie pool of water.
Is this the place?
Qi Yun's voice rang out in the absolutely silent space, carrying a slight echo.
He waved his hand, and a golden light flashed in his palm, summoning the spirit Cai Shen once again, still in the form of the middle-aged man in the golden robe.
As soon as Cai Kun appeared, the spirit involuntarily trembled slightly, its face showing extreme discomfort and vigilance.
He looked around the seemingly ordinary cave, and the patterns on his golden robe dimmed, as if suppressed by some kind of aura here.
"What an eerie place—dead silence, emptiness—" Cai Shen murmured, his gaze slowly falling on the deep gray pool of water in the center of the cave.
He couldn't help but take a few steps forward, reaching the edge of the pool. He bent down, stretched out his right hand, a wisp of pure golden light of Dao of Wealth swirling around his fingertips, wanting to touch the dark gray water and try to sense more.
However--
Just as Cai Shen's fingertips were about to touch the viscous water...
"Buzz!!!"
That seemingly lifeless, deep gray pool of water, without warning, suddenly erupted with an indescribable, indifferent, and icy energy.
A terrifying light that seemed to originate from the very end of the ancient void!
at the same time!
"Boom-!"
A blurry, towering figure, seemingly formed from pure "nothingness" and "indifference," suddenly appeared in the center of the pool!
The figure's face was obscured, only a humanoid outline was visible, but the aura it exuded sent chills down Qi Yun and Cai Kun's spines instantly!
The aura of True Lord!
The moment this indifferent figure appeared, without any communication or hesitation, he raised a finger and pointed it at Cai Kun, who was bending down to investigate!
The actions are simple and direct.
The target is Cai Shen's spiritual core; the goal is to completely erase him, the spirit of the Imperial Weapon, from the realm of existence!
"Not good!"
Cai Kun's expression changed drastically. His soul body erupted with an unprecedentedly brilliant golden light in an attempt to resist, but in the face of that indifferent finger's power of nothingness, his golden light of Dao of Wealth was like a candle flickering in the wind, instantly dimming and dissipating!
The only option is to fight back with all your might!
However, that seemingly slow, indifferent finger actually sealed off time and space.
Cai Kun's rapid retreat was like a snail crawling, and he was about to be caught up and swallowed by that invisible force of nothingness!
At the critical moment!
"Clang--!!!"
A clear and resounding sword cry, imbued with the supreme will to sever all ties and annihilate all laws, suddenly exploded in the deathly silent cave, like the first ray of light after the creation of the world!
A figure as tall as a solitary peak and as deep blue as the night sky instantly blocked Cai Shen's retreat!
Faced with that indifferent finger that was enough to obliterate the spirit of Imperial Weapon, Qi Yun's expression remained calm as still water, a flash of blazing white light disappearing from his eyes.
Raising his right hand as well, he joined his fingers like a sword and gently pointed at the spreading, all-consuming power of nothingness. The pale golden sword mark between his brows suddenly lit up!
A pure, refined, and supremely aloof sword Sword Intent erupted from his fingertips!
"Laugh--!"
Two equally simple finger strikes, each imbued with supreme Daoist principles, clashed fiercely in the void!
At the point where the two finger forces clashed, a terrifying singularity suddenly formed, collapsing and twisting as if even "existence" itself was about to be torn apart!
Around the singularity, black rocks silently turned to dust, and countless fine, spiderweb-like pure black cracks appeared in space. The flow of time became chaotic, and faint chaotic energy seeped out from the cracks!
Stalemate!
In just a moment!
"Buzz----"
The ethereal power emanating from that indifferent figure was resisted, torn apart, and ultimately vanished into nothingness by the lofty and unparalleled sword Sword Intent that erupted from Qi Yun's fingertips!
Qi Yun swayed slightly before regaining his footing.
The indifferent figure seemed to glance at Qi Yun; its blurry outline rippled slightly before slowly dissipating.
The grayish-white light that erupted from the pool quickly faded, returning to its deathly dark gray, as if the breathtaking scene had never happened.
"Phew—that was close!"
Cai Kun steadied his spirit body with lingering fear, his gaze towards Qi Yun filled with gratitude and lingering apprehension.
If Qi Yun hadn't intervened in time, he would have suffered a serious injury from that finger strike; even a severe injury to his spiritual body would have been the least of his worries.
Having destroyed the restriction on the pool, Qi Yun lowered his eyes and looked at the pool, his gaze immediately narrowing.
"This is----"
" The True Lord's... corpse?"