The four kept their hands tightly clasped, never letting go. As they looked around, they found themselves in a vast, boundless paradise. Red walls, green tiles, grand palaces, and lofty pavilions were connected by floating bridges, all arranged in harmonious perfection, as if they had stepped into another wondrous world.
Clear light bathed the realm while spiritual flowers and immortal trees swayed gently in the breeze. The air was rich with the fresh fragrance of blossoms and dense spiritual Qi, making one unconsciously intoxicated by it.
Inhaling the refreshing scent drifting past her nose, Shi Yu felt her mind and body relax. Having suddenly escaped the dire crisis of being swarmed by empty spirits to arrive in such a fairyland without needing to run for her life, she couldn't help but let down her guard for a moment.
She glanced around, seeing no other cultivators aside from Qingzhou and the other two. “It seems that after passing through the secret treasure gate, everyone was indeed teleported to different places.”
Clouds and mist churned in the distance. Gazing through the ethereal haze, Shi Yu's eyes ultimately settled on a grand, towering pagoda. Surrounded by numerous palaces, it rose majestically into the sky. At its peak rested a giant pearl, emitting thousands of rainbow rays in a soft, misty glow.
She looked up at the pearl, which shone as brightly as the sun and moon. Her expression gradually grew dazed, and she felt a sudden impulse to leap onto the cloud-like stairs of the paradise, ascend to the pearl, and look down over the mountains and rivers below... Surely, that pearl atop the tower held the immortal's supreme fortune. If one could obtain it, wouldn't they establish their Dao and ascend in broad daylight?
Within her dantian, the spirit lake flowed incessantly, the Yin-Yang fish pattern alternating rhythmically between light and dark. In a brief instant, a tiny splash of liquid Qi stirred, jolting Shi Yu out of her trance. Only then did she realize that this pearl possessed a mind-bewitching power, much like the source runes on the secret treasure gate.
She let out a soft sigh of relief. Just as she was about to warn the other three, her peripheral vision caught sight of their surroundings, and she froze.
The palaces, bridges, and all the previous scenery were still there, yet the feeling they gave off had drastically shifted.
The hazy, ethereal fairy fog drifted away, and the sky darkened slightly, losing the pristine brightness from before. The immortal trees that had seemed elegant and neatly trimmed now stretched out their branches like swaying, ghostly shadows. Even the breeze brushing past carried a penetrating chill.
Though the scenery remained largely the same, it now seemed veiled under a shroud of black gauze, the atmosphere abruptly turning eerie and unsettling.
“This so-called immortal secret treasure really is strange,” Shi Yu muttered, frowning.
Looking at Qingzhou and the others, she saw that their gazes were also captured by the pearl. They stared up blankly, their expressions varied, deeply lost in whatever thoughts had taken hold of them.
Steadying her mind, Shi Yu gathered a few wisps of icy Yin Qi at her fingertips and tapped their backs.
The chilly spiritual Qi seeped into their bodies, instantly shocking the three out of their dazed state.
Seeing their eyes clear up, Shi Yu warned, “Focus your minds and calm your breath. Don't be deceived by illusions.”
Only then did the three notice the altered surroundings, exchanging bewildered glances.
“H-How could this be?”
“The fiendish Yin energy here is thick and bizarre, and the pearl atop that tower is equally strange. One slip-up and we'll fall victim to it.”
“It's actually not surprising. In a ghost-ridden place like the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts, it would be weirder if an actual pure and righteous immortal cave dwelling appeared.”
Seeing all three with deeply furrowed brows, Ji Yu couldn't help asking, “So where should we go now?”
When her mind had been seized by the source runes on the gate earlier, Shi Yu had already felt this secret treasure was full of oddities and likely no good place. She held no greed for the rumored immortal fortune that promised ascension in broad daylight. Entering the secret treasure now was merely to escape the empty spirits.
Now that they were inside, she truly had no idea where to go.
“We'll take it step by step,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “Let's see if we can find a way out.”
No sooner had her words fallen than a continuous gust of wind blew from behind, making their robes flap loudly. Unconsciously, the four moved forward with the wind, as if an unseen force within the breeze was driving them ahead.
They exchanged looks. Seeing the cluster of grand palaces and pavilions ahead, Shi Yu pondered briefly before walking forward along with the wind. Qingzhou and the others followed close behind.
Leaping forward onto a floating bridge, Shi Yu strolled ahead at a measured pace.
Entwined around the railings on both sides of the floating bridge were alluring spiritual flowers and immortal fruits. The bridge itself was forged from rare spiritual materials, and walking upon it made one feel lightheaded with euphoria.
But having composed their minds, the four observed these items with heightened vigilance and refrained from touching them.
Even when encountering extremely rare and precious treasures that stirred their hearts with the urge to harvest them, they ultimately suppressed their desires by force of will.
“When things are abnormal, there must be foul play. Even if this were an immortal's underground palace or secret treasure, it shouldn't be so lavish that treasures litter the ground everywhere,” Shi Yu remarked softly, shifting her gaze away.
Yet despite her words, even with her keen discernment, she couldn't spot a single flaw in these treasures.
To resist touching them already required every ounce of self-control they possessed.
After walking for a while, despite covering a considerable distance, the various structures ahead still appeared just as distant, drawing no closer. When she turned back to look, the path behind was shrouded in dense clouds, obscuring everything.
Narrowing her eyes, Shi Yu flicked her sleeve, sending out a gust of wind that parted the heavy mist. Yet behind the scattering clouds, the bridge they had come from was nowhere to be seen—at some point, a fathomless abyss had taken its place.
“This path only goes forward, not backward,” she murmured thoughtfully.
“Let's keep going.”
Continuing in this manner for nearly another half hour, they finally caught sight of other figures.
A short distance ahead, a few cultivators lay sprawled on the bridge with ecstatic expressions, muttering incessantly while picking spiritual flowers and fruits from the sides without stopping. Others were frantically digging and prying up the bridge's paving tiles, which radiated brilliant spiritual light.
“Hahaha, we're rich! We're rich!”
“With all these treasures, why worry about lacking cultivation resources in the future?!”
Their eyes were bloodshot, their expressions twisting from greedy ecstasy into sheer madness. Their wild, gesticulating movements carried an unsettling strangeness.
Shi Yu and her group halted, exchanged glances, and stood at a distance, looking on with deeply furrowed brows.
Suddenly, one of the cultivators held up a stalk of spirit grass, weeping tears of joy as he shouted hysterically, “Wonderful! Wonderful! Look what a treasure I've found! Hahaha, Zongling Grass!”
Shi Yu followed his voice and saw the cultivator holding a stalk of silver spirit grass high in the air. Intersecting cloud-like patterns ran along its stem, crowned by a small flower resembling a drifting cloud. Its delicate petals gleamed, bathed in a soft, gentle halo.
It truly was Zongling Grass. This species was nearly extinct, preserved almost exclusively in ancient texts. Its effects were extraordinary—it required no refining and could be ingested directly. Consuming a single stalk granted a dramatic surge in cultivation, making it entirely possible to break through several minor realms at once.
One could easily imagine how irresistible a temptation it posed to any cultivator.
Overwhelmed by wild delight, the cultivator's face twisted grotesquely. Without a moment's hesitation, he shoved it into his mouth, chewed twice, and hastily swallowed it down.
“Mine, it's all mine! Hahaha, no one can steal it from me!” After swallowing it, his face remained locked in a laughter born of relief and frantic joy.
But in the very next second, his smile came to an abrupt halt, freezing on his face.
Rate on N.U.
