Chapter 15

As expected, the safest place was also the most dangerous. Beneath such soft soil lurked an even greater threat.

Yin Xianyu moved her sword as she wished; Hanguang Sword flashed out in an instant, cleaving toward the enormous thing in the earth. Sword light flared, and the blade happened to lodge itself in the monster’s mouth.

Yin Xianyu pulled Xie Qingrang back; the two of them retreated dozens of meters. The ground before them caved in at once, blocking their line of sight.

With a sweep of her sword finger, Hanguang Sword burst out of the soil like a gale and landed steadily in her hand.

“Senior Sister, how do we go on?”

The rumbling beneath the soil ahead grew louder and louder, as if that blood-red giant flesh-worm could appear at any moment.

Yin Xianyu could not help feeling nervous. The two of them were now caught between advance and retreat, with only one path left.

Xie Qingrang decided at once. “Down.”

A fierce halo of light appeared in her palm. Scattered spiritual radiance brushed gently through her hair, yet whipped her robes into a violent flutter.

Xie Qingrang grabbed Yin Xianyu’s hand and shot downward in one burst. “Go!”

Below was an even harder layer of soil. Wherever Xie Qingrang’s light reached, the hardened earth crumbled inch by inch, then closed again.

Yin Xianyu stayed close beside her, doing her best not to force Senior Sister to expend any unnecessary spiritual power.

The two of them plunged at once into endless darkness. The flesh-worm followed, staring blankly at the hollow that was about to collapse before wriggling back inside.

The Xuanxu Mirror’s consciousness found their traces again, but the hard layer of soil in front of it blocked the way; for a moment, it lost its direction.

At this moment, Lingxu’s avatar watched calmly from within the mirror. These two seemed to have run into some kind of opportunity; if anything changed again, searching would be pointless. She could only watch and wait.

The avatar flew all the way back to Lingzhan Mountain; beyond the main peak’s great hall was the sect master’s cave dwelling.

Amid the misty ancient pavilions and seas of cloud, the immortal energy everywhere seemed ethereal. Once the sunlight filtered through, the immortal residence took on a warm, pearly glow, draping over one’s body like a layer of fine silk.

The mountain wind slipped between the stone pillars, carrying the coolness of cloud strands and the bitter scent of pine resin; it made the crystal curtains inside the hall, fashioned from spiritual artifacts, clatter incessantly.

A shadow flickered faintly behind the curtain. She seemed to be lying on a throne, with no sense of propriety at all.

Lingxu unconsciously slowed her steps, instinctively reluctant to disturb the person inside.

“Come in.”

Her voice was not loud, and even carried a lazy trailing note; but Lingxu clearly did not dare be negligent and walked in properly.

“Sect Master.”

She bowed.

“What is it?”

She had a pair of exquisite eyes; narrow, with the outer corners slightly raised. Lingxu always felt as though she were being studied by a fox.

“The records from the Law Enforcement Hall show tracing results for Immortal Lord Qingrang’s situation in the Five Elements Ground.” Lingxu paused, finding that Shi Ling had put down the ancient scroll in her hand. Swallowing, she continued, “There is one thing I think the Sect Master should know.”

“Xie Qingrang?” Shi Ling raised her brows and set the ancient scroll aside. “What could possibly be wrong with her? At most her cultivation has advanced a little more.”

At that, Shi Ling smiled and turned a page. “Are the disciples in the sect able to keep up with her?”

“No. She went together with Qingxu Sect’s Yin Xianyu.”

Shi Ling looked up and fully set down the scroll in her hands. “Tracking stone.”

Lingxu raised a hand. Inside a round, smoothly polished jade stone appeared the figures of the two people; in the image, Xie Qingrang was holding Yin Xianyu’s hand tightly in her own.

Lingxu watched, unable to make sense of the expression on Shi Ling’s face. After a long while, she let out a sigh. “It’s nothing. You may go back; we should trust her. How could the Heartless Dao be so easily bewitched?”

First one had to have a mind before it could be bewitched. Lingxu grew more and more uneasy; she always felt that the Sect Master’s words had a deeper meaning.

This was Xie Qingrang; in these hundreds of years, she was the person at Lingzhan Mountain with the best chance of ascending to true immortality.

Not only was her cultivation advancing by leaps and bounds, her state of mind was also first-rate, unyielding above all else.

But for some reason, this time Lingxu kept feeling an indescribable unease. She only thought that Xie Qingrang’s gaze did not seem entirely aboveboard.

Helpless, there was nothing she could do but hurry back.

The two of them broke through the soil layer and went deeper underground; only then did they finally stop hearing movement above.

After confirming there was no danger nearby, they stopped to plan their next move.

“Senior Sister, when you came here earlier, did you see the formation core of this array?”

Yin Xianyu guessed they should be moving in from the outside toward the center, but the forest was too large; she had not yet had time to explore it.

Xie Qingrang shook her head. At this moment they were beneath the earth in the soil layer, and the only source of light was the bell in Yin Xianyu’s hand.

Looking at that peerlessly beautiful face in the darkness, she did not know what to do for a moment. She herself was fine here; she could not possibly let someone like Senior Sister remain beneath the ground like this.

Yin Xianyu tugged at the sleeve that had been dirtied black by the soil. “Then should we get out from here first? If that doesn’t work, we can only head upward.”

The earth was dangerous, and although moving through the forest was difficult, it was not this dangerous.

After Xie Qingrang nodded, the two of them headed upward.

The black soil layer was like a hard shell, blocking their way.

After Yin Xianyu hacked at it with her sword, her expression changed. Hanguang Sword struck it, yet it did not move at all.

Xie Qingrang stepped forward and motioned for her to retreat.

Chiling came out of its sheath and cleaved at the soil layer in one stroke, but the soil layer remained unscathed. Xie Qingrang’s brows also furrowed.

Yin Xianyu walked up in disbelief to look. “What’s going on? Senior Sister, you can’t do it?”

Xie Qingrang sheathed Chiling again, then raised her sword and struck the soil layer with nearly all her strength. Wherever the sword wind swept, there was not the slightest damage.

An old voice seemed to come from all directions and entered their ears. “No need to waste your effort. You’ve entered this venerable one’s body; there’s no need to rush to get out.”

Xie Qingrang reached out to shield Yin Xianyu at her side. “Who are you?”

The voice seemed irritated. “How rude. You don’t even know to address me as senior.”

Yin Xianyu was still a little bewildered when she heard Xie Qingrang continue, “You’re a spirit artifact?”

The voice fell silent at once, as if it had been exposed and no longer dared speak.

Xie Qingrang made a swift judgment. “This is a treasure vault. It should have been left behind by some great power.”

The two of them had accidentally stumbled into this treasure vault. By rights, when cultivators entered a treasure vault left behind by an ancient mighty figure, they could obtain some inheritance.

But this spirit artifact seemed to have trapped them instead, without offering any inheritance. Otherwise, Xie Qingrang would not have known at the outset what this place was for.

Treasure vaults were fraught with danger. One had to pass the trials left by the former owner before obtaining the inheritance, but judging from the earlier situation, it was hard to say whether this place was truly a trial or simply a trap.

Yin Xianyu asked, “We don’t want the inheritance. Can you let us out?”

Only then did the spirit artifact speak again. “It’s possible, but how can you guarantee that once you leave, you won’t tell anyone about this place?”

Yin Xianyu vaguely sensed that something was off. As the guardian spirit artifact of a treasure vault, it should not be this resistant to outside challengers.

In that way, it could both fulfill its mission and break free from its present predicament.

After all, over the long years, a spirit artifact’s lifespan would eventually run out too; in the end, it would dissipate into heaven and earth. A magic artifact without a spirit artifact would also perish. Only by finding a successor could both sides be preserved.

Yin Xianyu could not understand why it would reject such a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Unless it had developed its own will and wanted to claim the secret treasure for itself.

Yin Xianyu guessed the spirit artifact was probably in just such a state. There were no shortage of such examples outside; when a spirit artifact cultivated itself into a spirit, it could become more formidable than many cultivators, though the path was also far more difficult.

She had no objection to such a spirit artifact; it was just bad enough that it had trapped them here.

“We already don’t want your magic treasure. Why would we go around telling people about it?”

She patiently explained it to the spirit artifact. The other side seemed not to have expected such an answer, but still retorted, “Who knows whether you’re just saying that because you can’t beat me? For safety’s sake, you two might as well stay here forever. After all, dead men keep the tightest lips.”

With that, it gave a strange, cackling laugh. It actually wanted to kill the two of them outright.

Yin Xianyu felt that was not all there was to it. It was extraordinarily difficult for a spirit artifact to cultivate; it must have taken a liking to the cultivation of the two of them and wanted to swallow them.

Sure enough, the next second the solid soil layer around them began to shrink, as if it wanted to crush and digest the two of them.

Cracking sounds came from all around, as though many bones were being squeezed together.

A secret realm inheritance could also be the inheritance an ancient great power left behind for the self that had perished. In general, it would not set up a dead end.

Unless this treasure vault had originally been built to slaughter cultivators and enrich the array.

Clearly, this place should be the former.

The two of them drew closer and closer, until in the end they were almost pressed together. Throughout it all, no matter how they hacked and slashed, it was useless.

This seemed to be a magic treasure shaped like a turtle shell; no wonder it was so hard.

Yin Xianyu felt the ancient patterns pressing against her side as she tried her best to brace herself with her body, not quite daring to wrap completely around Xie Qingrang.

Xie Qingrang was extremely calm at this moment, constantly scanning their surroundings. This seemed to be a defensive magic treasure, and weak in offensive power; otherwise, the two of them would already be dead by now.

The spirit artifact’s gloomy voice came from above their heads. “For the sake of the two of you being rather clever, I’ll generously say a few words to you. Others die still thinking they’re about to obtain an inheritance, only to be stupidly eaten. Cases like yours are really rare. I even find it a pity.”

Listening to it made Yin Xianyu extremely uncomfortable. She really wanted to punch the spirit artifact until its soul scattered into nothing, but there was no way she could break open this turtle shell. She rolled her eyes and let the artifact admire itself.

But the spirit artifact did not take it to heart at all and continued speaking to the two of them with great enthusiasm:

“Cultivators under suppression are truly great nourishment. Today, as long as I devour the two of you, my cultivation arts will be perfected. You should be grateful that you can accomplish my grand ambition, hahahahahaha!”

It laughed wildly, as though it could already see its own future.

Yin Xianyu was being crushed all over with pain, yet she still gritted her teeth and endured. The spirit artifact seemed to very much enjoy torturing people like this, making them die slowly.

She gave a stifled hum and felt a hand brace behind her back, lightly and almost absentmindedly stroking it. “Senior Sister, protect yourself.”

Yin Xianyu buried her head against Xie Qingrang’s shoulder, not seeing the smile curling at the corner of her mouth at all.

Her voice came in broken bursts, each word forced out with all her strength. “I’ll go all in with my golden core against it!”