The underground palace stretched with dim, crisscrossing corridors like a labyrinth.
Wen Shuangbai and her five companions followed the route displayed on the tortoise shell, winding their way downward. Along the path, they crossed a suspension bridge, where they wasted some time leaving a "gift" for those who might come after them. After preparing the surprise, they continued forward.
Now, the route indicated that the destination was just ahead. Yet, the path abruptly ended, leaving nothing but empty space.
They stood at the edge of the black line, staring at the distant black dot marking the endpoint—with no visible path connecting them.
The corridor had reached its limit. Wen Shuangbai descended the last stone step and looked ahead.
A dense black mist obscured everything beyond, hiding whatever lurked within its depths.
The silence was absolute, broken only by the faint sound of their breathing.
For cultivators of the Enlightened Aperture Realm, darkness was no obstacle to sight. Yet, this black mist was clearly no ordinary phenomenon.
Li Zhuohua cast the Radiance Art, attempting to illuminate the surroundings.
But the spell, which could turn darkness into daylight outside, flickered weakly here, barely lighting a shallow circle around them.
Wen Shuangbai thought for a moment and said, "Wait a second."
She took out a sheet of Spirit Mountain Gauze talisman paper and drew a Radiance Talisman.
While similar to the Radiance Art, the talisman—being a magical tool—could store spiritual energy, making it ten times more potent.
When the Radiance Talisman flared to life, it illuminated only about twenty square meters of space.
Within that area, there was nothing—just an eerie emptiness.
Yin Xuan examined the stone tiles on the ground and tilted his head in recognition. "This should be the plaza outside the main hall," he said. He had slept in similar places before, so he knew.
Lu Jiayao, both fearful and curious, asked, "Does that mean if we cross this plaza, we’ll reach the main hall?"
Yin Xuan gave a gentle hum. "But the journey won’t be easy."
Around the core of any formation, there were bound to be traps, hidden mechanisms, or other strange things lying in wait.
The Radiance Talisman flickered out after a short while.
Lu Jiayao nervously asked, "So… do we still go?"
Yin Xuan murmured, "I—"
Xie Ziyin cut in, "Obviously."
Wen Shuangbai added, "Of course we go. We’ve come this far."
Shen Hefeng scoffed, "Lu Jiayao, don’t chicken out now!"
Li Zhuohua, who grew more excited the greater the danger, declared, "Forward! A swordsman never retreats!"
Yin Xuan swallowed his initial "whatever" and instead said, "Mm, we go. Junior Brother Lu, stay close. I’ll protect you."
"Senior Brother Yin, you’re the best!!" Lu Jiayao nearly wept with gratitude, quickly scurrying to Yin Xuan’s side.
After a brief discussion to confirm their strategy, they set off.
Wen Shuangbai was running low on the Spirit Mountain Gauze talisman paper she had taken from the village elder—only a dozen or so sheets remained. They had to conserve them.
So, Li Zhuohua led the way, sword in one hand while casting the Radiance Art with the other.
Yin Xuan stayed at the rear, shielding Lu Jiayao, who carried a stove with a chicken and a pig, while also maintaining his own Radiance Art.
The six of them moved cautiously into the black mist, fully alert.
But they hadn’t gone far when a sharp gust of wind tore through the air.
Li Zhuohua drew his Flowing Rainbow Sword and charged forward to meet the attack head-on.
Steel clashed against something hidden in the mist, sparks flying from the impact.
Wen Shuangbai had been watching Li Zhuohua, trying to discern what lurked in the mist, when a sudden chill ran down her spine. Her Fire Phoenix Whip lashed out from her waist, striking viciously into the black fog beside her.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Amid the noise, something clattered to the ground, showering Wen Shuangbai with debris. She leaped back, shielding her face.
The unseen assailant moved fast and relentlessly, unfazed even after being struck repeatedly by the whip.
Wen Shuangbai rolled to evade a crushing punch, then brushed her fingers across her face—only to find them coated in dust.
Dust?
She flipped upright and hurled another Radiance Talisman forward.
Under its glow, the scene around them became clear.
Dozens of massive stone statues, each three times the height of a person, were closing in on them. The statues had limbs like humans but no facial features—just blank, smooth surfaces.
Yet, in the dim light, those featureless faces seemed to be grinning, sending chills down their spines.
[!!!]
[Damn it! Why are you smiling for no reason?!]
[A faceless smile is scarier than the ghost village elder.]
[Wait… there might be more than just these…]
More and more stone giants emerged from the depths of the mist, towering over Wen Shuangbai and her companions like they were mere ants.
[Heavens, is Qingling Mountain about to be wiped out? This is even worse than the ghostly pursuit in the Purple Flame Realm!]
[Ahhh! What can they do? Is there a way out?]
[Just wait to die, I guess.]
Waiting to die was, of course, not an option.
Wen Shuangbai cursed under her breath and bolted, shouting to her teammates, "Run back to the corridor!!"
Not that they needed the reminder.
The moment the situation turned dire, they were already scrambling for safety.
Their strategy was simple:
Yourself first, teammates second.
Everyone had to ensure their own survival before helping others.
Yin Xuan was the fastest, stepping onto his narrow sword and pulling Lu Jiayao onto it as he glided back the way they came—since flying was impossible here.
Shen Hefeng, panting as he ran, yelled, "Catch me, I’m coming!" before vaulting into the alchemy stove with his Spirit-Devouring Banner, hitching a ride.
Wen Shuangbai sprinted and leaped, keeping a decent pace, but her gaze caught Xie Ziyin’s white robes fluttering as he strolled past her with infuriating ease. His steps were unhurried, yet he moved with impossible speed.
He must have already practiced the Nine Shadows Ghost Steps—the technique the original male lead’s rival mastered later!
In the novel, those steps were the pinnacle of escape techniques in the Profound Sky Continent.
No one could outrun him.
Had he not been ensnared by his love for the female lead, Yu Xiaoxiao, the original rival might never have died.
Xie Ziyin extended a hand, offering with mock courtesy, "Need a lift?"
Wen Shuangbai asked seriously, "Will you charge me?"
Xie Ziyin smirked. "Depends on my mood?"
"No thanks." She refused instantly, lashing her whip around a protruding lantern holder in the corridor and using it to swing herself forward—even throwing a challenging glance back at him.
Who doesn’t have their own escape tricks?
Xie Ziyin chuckled and followed.
All of this happened in mere seconds, leaving the cultivators watching through the Mystic Heaven Mirror utterly stunned.
[What the—?!]
[Did they just—?!]
[I can’t even—!]
【Are they... actually doing this?】
【That banner-pole jump—I can only describe it in one word: insane!】
【But the little chicks and piglets in the alchemy furnace got scared by Shen Hefeng.】
【Who cares about chickens or pigs?! Senior Sister Zhuohua hasn’t come back yet!!】
Li Zhuohua was still locked in combat with the first faceless stone statue she had encountered.
Once the battle began, it would only end in death!
After exchanging over a dozen blows, she pierced its forehead with her Liuhong Sword, leaving a hole so large she could see its siblings behind it—yet it didn’t die.
Another dozen exchanges later, she sliced the statue clean in half at the waist, separating its upper and lower body. But damn it, both halves kept moving, even coordinating attacks from left and right to come at her?!
Li Zhuohua was baffled. Li Zhuohua was horrified. Seeing more of these things gathering around her, she swiftly retreated, gliding away on her Liuhong Sword.
Wen Shuangbai used a Radiant Talisman to light the way for Senior Sister Zhuohua, only to see a tidal wave of massive stone statues surging toward them.
The group immediately scrambled back further.
Luckily, the stone statues stopped at the mouth of the passageway.
They seemed to only detect living beings within the black mist, and their range of movement was confined to the plaza.
Their duty was clear: guard the main hall and protect the array’s core.
Li Zhuohua sprinted toward her juniors, her face still etched with shock. "These things are unnatural—they just won’t die!"
Lu Jiayao pointed at the reattached statue, stammering, "I-It-It glued itself back together! What do we do now?!"
Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin stood on the stone steps of the passage, one in front of the other, watching as the statues below restored themselves to pristine condition. Their minds raced for a solution.
---
Meanwhile, above the underground palace.
Lu Ying caught up with the disciples of the Violet Flame Realm and the Celestial Net Sect.
Yu Xiaoxiao spotted him and brightened, rushing over. "Brother Lu, are you hurt?"
"I’m fine," Lu Ying said. "But Bai Li…"
He trailed off, yet Yu Xiaoxiao understood.
Tears spilled from her eyes as she sobbed. "It’s my fault... If I’d been there, Brother Bai Li might still—"
Lu Ying pulled her into an embrace. "Xiaoxiao, this isn’t on you. It’s my failure."
"No, it’s me…"
Not far away, Di Qi glanced at them impassively before turning away and continuing forward with Di Yanran and the others, leaving the two from the Ten Thousand Saints Palace to their grief.
Suddenly, the Celestial Net Sect disciples ahead came to a halt.
One of them cursed loudly, "Those bastards cut the suspension bridge!!! I curse the Qingling Mountain disciples—may their talismans run dry, their toilet paper vanish, and their money fall from their pockets!!!"
Di Qi and Di Yanran exchanged a look before hurrying ahead.
Where the bridge should have spanned the abyss, there was nothing but the severed remnants of its supports on either side.
The chains bore fresh sword marks.
The faces of the crowd darkened like spoiled liver.
【Hehe, a little gift from Qingling Mountain—enjoy!】
【Hahaha, I came just to see this. This generation of Qingling Mountain disciples really has a knack for underhanded tactics.】
With their path severed and spectral entities closing in, the three sects found themselves trapped between a cliff and a horde of ghosts.
The Mystic Heaven Mirror chimed incessantly.
【Celestial Net Sect: One eliminated this round. Five remain.】
【Violet Flame Realm: One eliminated this round. Five remain.】
【Celestial Net Sect: Two eliminated this round. Four remain.】
"Wow, they’re dropping like flies," Yu Xiaoli mused, flipping through the Mystic Heaven Mirror as she chatted with her senior siblings.
They were in a sealed chamber, the soft glow of moonlit gems casting an illusion of tranquility.
Yu Qianli clutched his sword, trembling slightly.
Not only was he afraid of the dark—he also had claustrophobia!
Still, he managed to ask, "What about Qingling Mountain?"
"All good! Sister Wen and the others still have all six members!"
"Miss Xiaoli," spoke the lead monk of the Divine Evolution Temple, a portly man sitting across from them. "Amitabha. If we wish to leave, how might we do so?"
"Leave?" Yu Xiaoli scratched her fox ears. "No can do. We’re stuck here until Elder Tortoise comes to let us out."
What?!
The monk’s composure cracked. "Ami… WHAT?!"
Yu Xiaoli explained, "This is Senior Brother Tortoise’s shell space. Once activated, he enters hibernation. Nothing gets in or out until Elder Tortoise wakes his precious tortoise son—aka our Senior Brother Tortoise—and reopens it."
Yu Qianli looked at the monk. "Do you also have claustrophobia?"
The monk: "..."
The monk was suffering. The monk had no words.
The Divine Evolution Temple had originally… Never mind. Let it be.
All things unfold as fate decrees.
The monk closed his eyes. "Amitabha. No."
Yu Qianli, who’d thought he’d found a kindred spirit: "...Sigh."
---
Deep within the underground palace.
Xie Ziyin watched the retreating stone statues, a plan forming in his mind. "I’ll lure one over. The rest of you figure out how to drag it onto the passage."
Perpetual motion machines didn’t exist—not even in the mystical world of cultivation.
Cultivators needed spirit meals and absorbed spiritual energy. Every array required a core for sustenance.
Even ghosts fed on spiritual consciousness.
If these statues could regenerate, there had to be a mechanism inside.
He wanted to dissect one and find out.
Wen Shuangbai agreed. "Do it."
Xie Ziyin descended back into the black mist, drawing a swarm of statues toward them.
Wen Shuangbai’s Fireplume Whip lashed out like a viper, coiling around the nearest statue as she yanked with all her might.
…It didn’t budge. Not even a millimeter.
The other four grabbed the whip, leaning back and pulling with everything they had.
Xie Ziyin rejoined them, adding his strength to the effort.
Six people, united in their struggle, finally managed to move the statue…
Half a step.
The statue loomed like a mountain, immovable as ever.
It turned its featureless face toward them, and though it had no eyes, the mockery was palpable.
Shen Hefeng felt insulted. "Outrageous! How dare this pebble laugh at me? Death before dishonor—PULL, MY FRIENDS!"
The statue pondered for a moment, then gripped the Fireplume Whip and tugged with all its might.
It couldn’t break the whip, so it simply held on tight—and yanked.
The next moment, the audience watching through the Mystic Heaven Mirror saw—
The six individuals, their faces twisted with exertion, were being relentlessly dragged down the corridor by the stone statue, utterly defenseless.
Yet Shen Hefeng, leading the charge in pulling the statue, continued shouting with undying fervor: "One, two, three, pull! One, two, three, pull!"
The others: ["……"]
Lu Jiayao, positioned toward the back of the group, watched helplessly as his feet slid backward. "Why does it feel like we're the ones being pulled?" he muttered, nearly in tears.
Li Zhuohua had had enough. She abruptly let go and stepped aside. "Hold on for a moment—wait for me!"
With that, she leaped off the corridor, sliding swiftly down on her Flowing Rainbow Sword, deep into the black mist. Just as the distant stone statues began closing in, she pivoted and slid back up the corridor, circling the pulling team once before diving back into the mist.
Round and round she went, faster and faster, until she was nothing but a blur.
Just as Wen Shuangbai and the other four were on the verge of being yanked off the corridor, Li Zhuohua shot forward like a meteor, slamming into the stone statue with unstoppable force.
In an instant, the crimson-clad woman struck like a falling star, her momentum sending the statue crashing onto the corridor.
The impact sent Wen Shuangbai and the others flying, their bodies smashing against the corridor walls before sliding down.
Wen Shuangbai felt as if every bone in her body had shattered. She pushed herself up from the ground, her vision swimming, and looked ahead.
Good news: Thanks to Senior Sister Zhuohua’s collision, the stone statue had been immobilized, now nothing more than an inanimate rock at their mercy!
Bad news: Senior Sister Zhuohua had hit it so hard that she was now embedded inside the statue!
Lu Jiayao blinked in confusion. "Where’s Senior Sister Zhuohua?"
Shen Hefeng shrieked, "Are you blind? She’s inside the statue! Senior Sister Zhuohuaaaa—I’m coming to dig you out!"
Yin Xuan stood frozen, all drowsiness gone, murmuring, "What a terrifying swordswoman..."
"Senior Sister!" Wen Shuangbai rushed forward, joining the others as they frantically pried Li Zhuohua free.
Dazed and covered in blood, Li Zhuohua wobbled as she shook off her juniors’ supporting hands. Staggering toward the statue, she planted her foot on its chest and declared with unyielding pride, "You—utter loser!"
The others: ["…………"]
