Entering the Island
When Sang Ying stepped off the boat, she immediately sensed the island's strangeness.
The crimson earth beneath her feet felt like a furnace, the scorching heat instantly engulfing her entire body. Had she not immediately enveloped herself with her ice-attribute Spiritual Qi, she would likely have been melted.
Turning around, the seawater along the shore was crimson red, and bubbles would occasionally rise and churn, as if it were being boiled.
Fang Chi was overjoyed to see this and took her black gold knife to stir it in the seawater. However, when he pulled the knife out again, the tip of the blade had been melted away.
No wonder only the Golden Summit dared to come to Gleaming Gold Island; if it were any other ship, it would probably have been melted by the seawater here long ago.
Carrying half a large sword, Fang Chi retreated to Sang Ying's side with lingering fear. "I didn't expect that even the surrounding seawater of this Gleaming Gold Island would be so powerful!"
Let alone her, even Sang Ying, who knew the plot beforehand, was somewhat frightened when she saw it.
This means that if they want to leave Gleaming Gold Island, they can only do so via the Golden Summit. After all, flying on a sword on a sea teeming with Demon Beast make it easy for them to be swept away and swallowed.
As for the Golden Summit, a ship forged from the teeth of a previous demon emperor, which naturally restrains Demon Beast, there is probably only one like it in the entire Twin Orchid Realm.
Thinking of all this, Sang Ying let out a soft sigh. A complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
"Gentlemen, I will return to the island to fetch you two months from today. Until then, you must do your best to survive!" the white-bearded man said from the bow of the ship, a cryptic smile on his face.
The enormous ship slowly retreated, stirring up crimson waves that crashed towards the people on the shore. But just as the red seawater was about to reach their heads, it was blocked by a transparent barrier.
This is the barrier of Gleaming Gold Island. Once the barrier is raised, it means that the Shimmering Gold Island Secret Realm has been fully opened.
A dense Spiritual Qi rapidly spread from the center of the island outwards, and the sky above everyone's heads was instantly replaced by darkness—this was the Shimmering Gold Island Secret Realm, a complete second world!
Almost immediately upon noticing these changes, the Nascent Soul Realm stage cultivators swiftly disappeared into the dense forest. The others naturally followed suit, and soon only a handful of people remained on the shore.
Hai Pingge already had a goal in mind, so unlike the others who were wandering around aimlessly like headless flies, he leisurely led Su Fuyun and his followers toward the center of the island.
Before leaving, Su Fuyun didn't forget to give Sang Ying a smug look.
After they had all left, Hai Tingzhou asked, "Fellow Sang Ying, where are we going now? Should we explore the dense forest like them?"
Although Hai Tingzhou had visited Gleaming Gold Island before, it wasn't when the secret realm opened. Anyone familiar with the Gleaming Gold Island Shimmering Gold Island Secret Realm knows that the island is completely different before and after its opening.
Even though he knew very well the original terrain and distribution of Gleaming Gold Island, he was now completely clueless.
Sang Ying shook her head upon hearing this. "We don't need to follow them. Since there's a shortcut, there's no need to go the long way around."
Although curious about what the "shortcut" Sang Ying mentioned was, Hai Tingzhou wisely refrained from asking.
Fang Chi, who hadn't left either, also came over. "Fellow Daoist Sang Ying, would you mind if I came along too?"
"That's possible, but I'm curious why you want to come with us?" Only after clarifying the situation could Sang Ying make the necessary arrangements.
Hearing her question, Fang Chi scratched his head, a sheepish smile on his face, "I just can't tell which way is which. If I venture in alone, I'm afraid I'll never get out of this dense forest in my lifetime."
She was honest and directly pointed out her weaknesses.
However, because of this, Sang Ying thought for a moment and then agreed to her request.
Instead of heading into the dense forest that clearly concealed many treasures, the three bypassed the forest and headed in the opposite direction towards the sea of sand.
Dense forests meet sand dunes, two completely opposite landscapes appearing on the same island, looking both magnificent and strange.
As soon as they stepped onto the sandy sea, Sang Ying clearly felt that the surrounding temperature was hotter than before. Fortunately, Hai Tingzhou promptly threw out the defensive array plate he had carved, and the temperature dropped significantly, making the three of them feel much better.
"This desert looks empty. Fellow Daoist Sang Ying, where are you taking us?" Fang Chi asked.
Looking at the seemingly endless sea of sand before her, Sang Ying tried hard to recall the entrance to the underground palace from the original book, "We came to Gleaming Gold Island to explore the secret realms, simply for training and the treasures within. In the dense forest, we might only encounter Demon Beast at most, but all the secret realms on Gleaming Gold Island are hidden in one place."
Hai Tingzhou immediately asked, "Where?!"
"Great Yang Underground Palace!" Sang Ying paused, "And to enter Great Yang Underground Palace, you must first find its altar."
Hai Tingzhou and the other man were savoring Sang Ying's words when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The two followed her gaze and saw an altar with twelve jade pillars standing tall on the yellow sand in the depths of the night, where the stars and moon shone brightly.
The sand, which seemed to penetrate every crevice in the eyes of Sang Ying and her companions, did not dare to linger on the altar. The jade-white altar was simply the most dazzling splash of color in the sea of sand.
Without a second thought, the three quickly arrived at the altar and climbed the twelve clean, dust-free steps. The true face of the altar was then revealed to them.
"There seem to be some runes engraved on it." Perhaps due to the passage of time, the pictures carved on the altar were no longer legible. Hai Tingzhou was very interested in these things and wanted to study them carefully, but unfortunately, he couldn't see anything clearly.
Sang Ying was not surprised by this. "If it were so easy for us to figure it out, this altar wouldn't have stood here for hundreds of years without anyone visiting it."
While listening, Fang Chi didn't forget to poke the jade pillar with the hilt of his knife.
"We've found the altar, so what's next?" Fang Chi asked without turning his head.
Sang Ying: "Since it's an altar, we should naturally prepare offerings!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Sang Ying's spirit sword was instantly drawn and slashed her palm, blood gushing from the wound and dripping onto a raised area in the center of the altar.
The white jade was quickly stained red, and then a thin layer of white stone was immediately applied over it, making it look as if the stone was blinking.
Without bothering to explain to the two, Sang Ying pulled them away from the altar quickly. The next second, they saw a huge object writhing and struggling to emerge from the altar. With a powerful flick of its long tail, it soared straight into the sky.
After a long dragon's roar, the surrounding yellow sand was churned up and carried away for hundreds of miles.
After all the strange phenomena disappeared, Sang Ying and the others brushed the sand off their faces and looked ahead, only to see a large hole in the altar.