The golden giant gate stood tall and imposing. Dragons and phoenixes were carved into the pillars on either side, while rings of surging spiritual power swirled around it.
Even standing there in complete silence, it radiated a profound majesty.
That majesty pierced straight into the hearts of all who saw it.
The crowd’s uproar gradually died down once the golden gate had fully materialized.
“The last time the Heavenly Gate was opened was a thousand years ago, wasn’t it? It was in the Central Continent back then, and caused quite a stir.”
At the rear of the Luoxian Sect’s group, Shi Shuchen stepped forward, his eyes filled with astonishment.
Shen Jingyuan glanced at him before speaking as well. “You hadn’t been born yet at the time, and I wasn’t even qualified to enter the realm.”
Shi Shuchen smiled. “That’s true. I never expected the Heavenly Gate to open within our own sect this time.”
“I just wonder what kind of world lies beyond the Heavenly Gate Realm.” Shi Shuchen’s voice carried a hint of emotion.
“Judging from the projection just now, it seems to be some sort of underground palace. Perhaps it’s an underground palace located in another world. We’ll know once we go in and take a look.”
“Indeed.”
As they spoke, the communication jade tokens of both men lit up at the same time. When they took them out, they saw that the message had been sent by the sect master, Qu Qing.
[The moment the Heavenly Gate opens, you must enter first and seize the initiative!]
The two men looked up at the same time and met Qu Qing’s stern, somber gaze. They both gave a slight nod.
At the same time, Yao Qianci and Lu Guichen, who were mixed in among the crowd, received the same message.
The Heavenly Gate was difficult to open, perhaps appearing only once in a thousand years. The treasures within were things that did not exist in this world, so naturally they were immensely tempting.
No one could resist the desire to obtain those treasures!
No one except Yuan Shu.
If seeing the familiar projections of the underground palace had merely shocked Yuan Shu and caused her to form a tentative guess, then the moment she personally saw the beauty portrait hanging on the palace wall—and the pair of pink Acacia Bells beside it—she knew for certain.
This was no unknown underground palace.
It was—it was…
The forbidden ground of the Hehuan Sect in the world where she had lived in her previous life, the burial grounds of the successive sect masters of the Hehuan Sect!
She could never have mistaken that painting. It depicted her master, the master of the Hehuan Sect.
The previous sect master of the Hehuan Sect!
And those Acacia Bells were an offensive magical treasure passed down through the generations of the Hehuan Sect.
They were also the magical treasure she had regretted not bringing with her when she perished all those years ago!
Hadn’t she transmigrated into a book?
Why had the forbidden ground of the world she had lived in during her previous life—the forbidden ground of the Hehuan Sect—appeared here?
Was this truly the world within the book, or… or was it the real world?
What exactly was going on?
Could it be that the world she had lived in during her previous life was actually connected to this one?
If so, did that mean she could return to her former world?
Yuan Shu’s gaze abruptly lifted, locking onto the slowly opening Heavenly Gate.
What kind of place lay beyond it?
At that moment, Yuan Shu’s entire body tensed. She did not know whether what surged through her chest was nervousness, anticipation, or fury.
If she could return to that world, would she be able to see the two despicable people who had caused her death?
Would she be able to personally avenge herself?
“Shushu…”
Helan Zhao had been watching Yuan Shu’s expression the entire time. Seeing how pale she had become and how her entire body was trembling unnaturally, he grew deeply worried.
“I’m fine.”
Yuan Shu shook her head without explaining.
She herself did not know whether the reason was even real.
She needed to find the answer herself!
Yuan Shu had originally been uninterested in the opening of the Heavenly Gate.
Hidden spaces within the cultivation world were extremely dangerous. With all the treasures she had stored up, there was no need for her to risk herself just to hunt for more.
But if that hidden realm truly was the forbidden ground of the Hehuan Sect from her previous life, then she absolutely had to go in!
After her death, if those two wretches were still alive, control of the forbidden ground would certainly have fallen into their hands.
All those treasures would have become theirs as well.
If she had the chance, she would naturally take every last one of them back!
A ruthless, determined glint flashed through Yuan Shu’s eyes, startling Helan Zhao beside her into a slight change of expression.
Was Yuan Shu really all right?
At the same time, Elder Qiu gazed at the golden Heavenly Gate that was slowly opening under his control. A look of greed also sprang into his eyes.
“This is the most crucial step! Ten elders, assist me in opening the Heavenly Gate!”
With his thunderous shout, the ten elders who had been sitting around the Heavenly Gate Formation and channeling spiritual power into it slowly rose to their feet. They gathered every bit of spiritual power they possessed and poured it into the formation.
Vast spiritual power surged and collided as the Heavenly Gate slowly opened.
Yet the expressions of the ten elders of the Earth Demon Sha Clan instantly turned pale. It was as though all the vitality and spiritual power had been drained from their bodies. Their skin quickly turned ashen and black, their bodies withering and shriveling.
By the time the Heavenly Gate had fully opened in the sky, all ten elders had lost every trace of vitality. One after another, they fell from the air and crashed to the ground.
They were clearly beyond saving.
Elder Qiu did not even spare them a glance. He withdrew his hands from the surging spiritual power and loudly issued an order.
“Everyone, guard the Heavenly Gate Formation to the death!”
The moment he finished speaking, he seized Helan Ying from within the formation, turned around, and, controlling Mo Yi’s body, became the first to charge into the wide-open Heavenly Gate!
“He went in! Come on, let’s go in too! There must be countless valuable treasures inside!”
“Let’s go! Charge!”
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos.
Whether they were from the Luoxian Sect, the demon clan, or the Wanjian Sect, they all rushed toward the Heavenly Gate Formation in unison.
The Earth Demon Sha Clan members who remained immediately fought back with all their might, trying to stop the others from entering the Heavenly Gate Formation.
The formation also radiated a dark golden light, forming a barrier that blocked the crowd.
However, with Elder Qiu no longer presiding over the Heavenly Gate Formation, its power had already been greatly diminished.
Even without the intervention of the Luoxian Sect’s Supreme Elder or the powerful expert from the demon clan, there were hundreds of Void Refinement cultivators and thousands of Deity Transformation cultivators among the crowd.
The combined force of so many people was not to be underestimated.
No matter how powerful the Heavenly Gate Formation was, it could not withstand the simultaneous attacks of so many cultivators.
Finally, with a resounding clang, the Heavenly Gate Formation shattered like a silver vase struck by a hammer. Its broken formation patterns disintegrated completely.
The crowd surged forward and poured into the golden Heavenly Gate!
Yuan Shu took advantage of the opportunity to slip in with the main group.
After all, she was only a minor Nascent Soul cultivator at present. Facing such a powerful Heavenly Gate Formation, she would accomplish nothing by charging in alone.
The instant she stepped through the golden Heavenly Gate, an enormous suction force suddenly swept over her.
Yuan Shu’s expression changed slightly. She instinctively tried to steady herself, but it was completely useless.
Even Helan Zhao, who had been following closely beside her, was rapidly pulled away by the immense force!
The world spun around her. By the time Yuan Shu’s senses returned and her consciousness cleared, she had already found herself in a quiet, dim underground palace.
Familiar blue-gray bricks. Familiar power of the Hehuan Sect. A familiar layout and arrangement.
Yuan Shu stood where she was, her eyes widening as she carefully examined every corner.
Then she suddenly smiled.
This really was the forbidden ground of the Hehuan Sect where she had perished in her previous life—the burial grounds of the successive sect masters!
Just a few years earlier, she had personally buried her master, Crimson Immortal Venerable, in this forbidden ground.
Yet she had only just inherited the position of Hehuan Sect Master when she was betrayed and killed by her Dao companion and her closest family member.
Before her death, she had not even had the chance to offer her master a single stick of incense.
And now, this Heavenly Gate had actually sent her here!
