Nie Kong’s gaze settled on Tai Yan opposite him; that subtle fluctuation was emanating from her.
After carefully sensing it for a moment, Nie Kong’s face lit up with joy. The dark primal force within Tai Yan was transforming into the Divine Power of Darkness—this meant Tai Yan was on the verge of becoming a Spirit God.
“This is bad!”
The joy vanished, and Nie Kong’s expression instantly contorted in alarm.
Tai Yan’s promotion to Spirit God wouldn’t attract a Spirit God directly, but the aura leaking out during the process would grow stronger and stronger, becoming utterly impossible to conceal—even Nie Kong couldn’t manage it. Before long, the Ninth Tier experts of the Dan Xian Sect, especially Martial Marquis and Zhuang Yu, would notice.
At that point, Martial Marquis would certainly realize Nie Kong had fabricated memories when he used the ‘Heavenly Eye Heart Unveiling Art.’ More critically, they would trace the source of the disturbance through Tai Yan’s aura and discover she was the culprit who infiltrated the Shenxiu Peak valley over twenty days ago and slew Kou Xilai and the others!
“If I’m going this far, I might as well go all the way!”
Nie Kong gritted his teeth, and a mass of dark crimson aura spread out, enveloping Tai Yan’s body. This manifested power could only conceal her temporarily; it would soon be broken through by Tai Yan’s surging aura.
Without hesitation, Nie Kong merged his consciousness instantly into the ball of chaotic divine power within his body. His spiritual sense shot out, piercing through his form and hurtling towards Shenxiao Peak.
When he learned of Tai Shu Yan’s true scheme, Nie Kong had planned to find a safe opportunity to remove the Chaos Jade Scroll. But Tai Yan’s imminent ascension to Spirit God forced him to scrap his original plans.
No plan survives contact with reality!
In an instant, Nie Kong arrived at his destination. The situation on Shenxiao Peak became clear: Tai Shu Yan had returned to the Dan Tian Palace, and Martial Marquis was still seated in meditation on the second floor of the Qianji Hall.
Divine power fluctuations and spiritual sense raced through the passage.
Less than two minutes later, Nie Kong re-entered the secret chamber. He located the familiar wooden box and flung it open. Through the crystalline cover of the jade scroll, he could see the churning, vibrant ‘Chaos Heavenly Fire’ within, spreading a sense of elation as if welcoming his arrival.
His spiritual sense adhered to the scroll, and a strange, flesh-and-blood connection immediately arose. Nie Kong was acutely aware of every subtle movement of the ‘Chaos Heavenly Fire’ inside the scroll.
With a mere thought, the chaotic divine power within him surged even more fiercely, transmitting a powerful summons into the depths of the jade scroll.
As if sensing Nie Kong’s intent, the ‘Chaos Jade Scroll’ trembled slightly, feeding an echoing resonance back to Nie Kong’s spiritual sense. Seconds ticked by, and the scroll’s vibrations grew increasingly violent. After more than ten seconds, it abruptly spun out of the wooden box and shot toward the exit.
“Whoosh!”
Under the guidance of Nie Kong’s spiritual sense, a blazing mass of ‘Chaos Heavenly Fire’ burst forth, enveloping the scroll as it slammed against the heavy stone door.
With a deafening crash, the illusionary runes coating the surface of the stone door were struck, exploding in brilliant, purple lightning.
But in less than a second, these lightning strikes were annihilated by the Heavenly Fire, and countless fine runes began to twist and shatter… In the blink of an eye, the illusion array completely collapsed.
“Boom!”
After the second impact, the stone door completely disintegrated into ash. The fiercely burning scroll transformed into a streak of crimson light, whistling past and rushing toward the second stone door…
“Hmm?”
Inside the Qianji Hall, Martial Marquis, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. His figure flashed like lightning from the second floor to the first. Seeing the entrance to the passage intact, a look of confusion crossed his face.
“What’s going on? The ninth door has already collapsed, and the eighth door is under attack?” Martial Marquis was even more puzzled, rapidly sketching and waving his hands in the void.
Streams of fiery red light shot into the illusion array like lightning. In mere seconds, the entrance to the underground passage was revealed, and Martial Marquis flashed inside.
“Swish!”
When Martial Marquis reached the second great door, a white shadow flickered, and Tai Shu Yan, his long beard brushing his chest, suddenly appeared, his eyes wide with shock: “Martial Uncle, what happened?”
“The inner doors are collapsing continuously; they’ve reached the seventh door now!” Martial Marquis spoke at high speed, his hands never pausing their movements as the door ahead immediately opened.
“How could this be?” Tai Shu Yan was stunned, finding it utterly unbelievable.
“It’s highly likely that something stored in the secret chamber has suddenly achieved great sentience and is trying to escape!” Martial Marquis snorted coldly. “Since you’ve entered the Dan Xian Sect treasury, you think you can just leave?”
“Achieved sentience?”
Tai Shu Yan had no doubt about Martial Marquis’s guess. Many items in this secret chamber were over ten thousand years old, and some had already nurtured a form of spiritual awareness; a sudden attainment of full sentience wasn't impossible.
In a flash, a flicker of excitement crossed Tai Shu Yan’s eyes.
A spiritual object was a rare treasure, incredibly hard to come by. If he could refine and integrate it into his manifested form, the benefits to his cultivation would be immeasurable. The fact that the object could break through two inner doors proved its power; absorbing it might allow him to bypass the Triple Spirit Tribulation entirely and become the Dan Xian Sect’s third newly advanced Spirit God.
“The seventh door is also destroyed; it is now assaulting the sixth door!”
As he spoke, Martial Marquis opened yet another door, arriving before the fourth door. His ten fingers danced like butterflies flitting among flowers, mesmerizing to behold.
“Swish!”
Another figure appeared—Zhuang Yu, the Dan Xian Sect’s second newly advanced Spirit God, also rushed over, casting a questioning glance toward Tai Shu Yan. Tai Shu Yan didn't conceal anything, quickly explaining the situation in a few sentences. Zhuang Yu couldn't help but be deeply moved; such a powerful spiritual object was rarely seen!
Crrraaaak! The fourth door opened!
The three figures flickered, arriving before the fifth stone door.
Martial Marquis raised his hands only to lower them again: “It is assaulting the fifth great door now. Prepare yourselves; we will capture it in one swift move!”
Martial Marquis managed the Dan Xian Sect treasury, his consciousness linked to the illusion array here; neither Tai Shu Yan nor Zhuang Yu understood the situation inside the passage as well as he did. Hearing this, the other two immediately took positions on either side of Martial Marquis. The manifested forms within them stirred restlessly, powerful auras spewing out, sealing off the passage tightly.
“Roar!”
The illusion array on the fifth stone door completely disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye. The moment the illusion array failed, the stone door also turned into countless fine specks of ash.
The fiery red light pierced through the dust swirling in the passage, striking the eyes of Tai Shu Yan and Zhuang Yu.
“Hooo!”
An unparalleled wave of heat roared forward, as if intending to incinerate every obstacle ahead. Following close behind this heatwave was a mass of violently burning flame, within which the silhouette of a scroll could vaguely be discerned.
“The Chaos Jade Scroll!”
“The Chaos Heavenly Fire!”
Tai Shu Yan and Zhuang Yu cried out in unison.
Martial Marquis remained silent, but his previously closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Two terrifying, faint, bright beams shot out from his pitch-black pupils, appearing almost substantial. Even he, whose mind was connected to the illusion array, had not expected the so-called spiritual object to be the Heavenly Fire stored within the ‘Chaos Jade Scroll.’
“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss…”
The flames moved faster, the distance of several meters vanishing in an instant. Wherever they passed, even the surrounding space seemed to ignite, emitting a series of sharp crackling sounds.