She looked back down at the fragment in her hand. Its spiritual glow had not faded, yet it felt markedly different, as though a veil of mist had been lifted from it.
It seems that remnant thought has vanished, Shi Yu thought to herself. This time, when she placed it back into the Fate-Tapping Bell, no further mishaps occurred.
The three beside her gathered around. Ji Yu looked between Qingzhou and her in startled confusion, unable to refrain from asking, “Sister, what was that just now...?”
“There was a remnant divine sense of the secret realm's master inside the pearl fragment. Just now, that remnant thought tried to possess me.” Shi Yu exhaled softly, still feeling a lingering dread. She looked up at Qingzhou. “How did you notice something was wrong?”
The remnant thought had controlled her body, moving normally and talking with ease, yet Qingzhou had seen right through it after only a single sentence.
Qingzhou remained silent for a moment. His feather-like eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he let out a low cough before simply saying, “Ah Yu has never spoken to me in that tone before.” Such a delicate and charming demeanor was something she rarely, if ever, showed.
Shi Yu had never paid much attention to her own facial expressions or demeanor, especially since the face she currently wore was not her original one. Hearing Qingzhou's explanation, she blinked, nodded, and said thoughtfully, “I see.”
Little Seven chirped merrily and squeezed over to Shi Yu's hand. She stroked its head and smiled. “You played a big part in helping just now, too.”
“Chirp—” Little Seven let out two sweet, satisfied calls, rubbing the crown feathers on its head back and forth against her palm.
Seeing that it refused to go back into the Fate-Tapping Bell, Shi Yu let it fly onto her shoulder and nestle there.
After this ordeal, the four became even more cautious. They kept close to one another and maintained constant communication to ensure that if anyone fell prey to an illusion or had their divine sense invaded again, it would be caught immediately.
In this manner, the four walked along the floating bridge for another full day. After a day's journey, the grand halls and pavilions floating midair finally appeared somewhat closer.
Along the way, Shi Yu and her companions discovered several more pearl fragments. Unfortunately, these were broken too thoroughly and contained no cultivation techniques or divine abilities—only residual fragments of images and emotions.
However, the material of the fragments was quite unique. Neither metal nor jade, it was cool to the touch and seemed to possess the ability to channel divine sense. Recognizing its remarkable quality, Shi Yu collected them all to save for future artifact refining or array setup.
After walking for another half a day, a light finally appeared ahead. Turning a corner along the floating bridge, they saw that the end of the path opened onto an immense square. Dozens of floating bridges, entwined like long dragons in midair, all converged on this very square.
Shi Yu looked up and noticed that besides the four of them, nearly a hundred cultivators were gradually coming down from floating bridges in every direction, stepping onto the square.
She still remembered that when the secret realm's grand gates opened, at least nearly a thousand cultivators had entered. Now, only these remained. Those left behind were all people who had resisted the allure of the spiritual flowers, spiritual herbs, and natural treasures along the bridges.
The cultivators exchanged wary glances, rarely speaking to one another, having clearly witnessed many bloody scenes along their journey.
“Since we've made it here, there's no reason to hesitate.” Shi Yu spoke softly as she stepped off the floating bridge and onto the square like the others.
At the far end of the square stood a palace.
This palace was towering and lofty, solemn and majestic, radiating a chilling air of slaughter. Wisps of thin mist gathered around its perimeter, cloaking it in haze and adding an extra layer of mystery in the eyes of the crowd.
Once everyone had stepped off the floating bridges and reached the square, a light breeze blew past, gradually clearing the mist and revealing the full view of the palace.
Compared to the numerous magnificent, floating golden palaces and pavilions throughout the secret realm, this palace possessed a vastly different style. It appeared archaic and simple, unadorned by inlaid crystals or jade, constructed solely of cyan bricks. Yet, a noble ancient air washed over them all the same. Accompanying it was an overwhelming, terrifying pressure—a suffocating blanket of force that left people almost unable to breathe.
Even with Shi Yu's formidable soul strength, she felt an almost irresistible urge to grovel on the ground before this pressure. Among the other cultivators, those with weaker souls or less resolve soon went down with heavy thuds, their knees crashing onto the stone.
No one laughed, for even those still standing were struggling desperately to hold their ground.
Yet right at that moment, a delicate, sweet laugh echoed from all directions.
Shi Yu's expression shifted. She recognized the voice instantly as belonging to the secret realm's master—the very same remnant that had tried to possess her body earlier.
Fortunately, the voice seemed to be merely an echo left behind from the past, lacking any active divine sense or soul aura. Shi Yu breathed a slight sigh of relief, though she remained on maximum alert.
The sweet laughter gradually subsided, turning into a melancholic sigh before giving way to a low, leisurely chant: “Amber wine, jasper goblets, golden goblets, jade plates...”
The singing drifted softly into the air, incomparably graceful and melodious.
As the song slowly faded, with a heavy creak, the palace's two massive stone doors slowly swung open. Inside, two lines of fire burst into flame, spreading rapidly from front to back. By the firelight, one could vaguely make out massive cyan pillars supporting the hall within. Every pillar was carved with immensely complex ancient source runes, which entwined to form lifelike dragon patterns.
Shi Yu narrowed her eyes, studying the scene inside the hall. Sensing that something was amiss, she thought, The entire secret realm—whether the palaces, floating bridges, pavilions, or flower gardens—maintains a unified, extraordinarily exquisite and luxurious style. Yet the style of this palace is so starkly different. It doesn't look like the residence of the secret realm's original master at all.
The surrounding cultivators noticed this as well, and murmurs of speculation broke out everywhere.
“This palace possesses a grand aura, radiating a pure and noble essence. It clearly isn't comparable to those superficial temptations we saw along the way. Perhaps this is the true core of the secret realm!”
“From what we've seen along the way, many signs indicate the master of this underground palace was a senior female cultivator. The place before us might be the residence of her Dao companion!”
“Is that so? I've studied source runes since childhood, and as I look at the inscriptions on those massive pillars, they seem to carry a suppressive intent. To me, it looks less like a Dao companion and more like an enemy!”
Hearing this, Shi Yu lowered her eyes slightly. She could see even more clearly: the source runes forming the dragon patterns indeed held a hint of suppression, but even more than that, they carried...
Consolidating the soul, guarding the mind, soothing, and purifying... Regrettably, most of these source runes originated from ancient times, and she did not recognize many. From a mere fleeting glance, she could only discern this much. If she wanted a clearer understanding, she would need more time to study them.
At that moment, the floating bridges extending in every direction gradually dissolved behind dense clouds, vanishing from sight.
Left with no path of retreat, the crowd stared at the palace before them. One or two bolder cultivators stepped forward and entered the hall.
Their footsteps echoed clearly—tap, tap, tap. Seeing them venture deep inside without encountering any danger, the remaining cultivators suppressed their nervous excitement and surged forward into the hall.
Shi Yu glanced at Qingzhou and the others. “Let's go too.”
With those words, they followed the crowd and leaped inside.
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