CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 70: ENTERING THE PALACE

Even though Yue Zhao had already explained once, Yun Ran and the others still felt incredibly astonished. They had never known such magical things existed in the world.

"Geng Geng, is your body alright?" Jun Wu had no interest in the so-called empathy phenomenon. He was more concerned about Gu Qingqing, worried that this might cause harm to her body.

"I’m fine, my body is in great shape." Gu Qingqing shook her head.

Seeing that Gu Qingqing’s face was rosy and she showed no signs of injury or discomfort, Jun Wu finally felt relieved.

"Since we’ve all made it here, let’s go in and see what’s inside." Yun Ran looked at the dark golden door in front of her and then turned to the others.

Si Lin and the others had no objections and watched as Yun Ran went to push the door.

Yun Ran extended her hand and gently pushed the door at first, finding it immovable. Then she pushed harder, but it still wouldn’t budge. She used all her strength, but the door didn’t move an inch, and she turned to look at Si Lin and the others with a flushed face.

"What’s the matter? Can’t you even open a door?" Zhuo Tingqiu was surprised to see Yun Ran’s flushed face, taunting her as he approached the door.

"Why don’t you try, and you’ll see." Yun Ran, uncharacteristically unfazed, raised an eyebrow, indicating for Zhuo Tingqiu to give it a shot.

Zhuo Tingqiu looked at Yun Ran doubtfully, then at the door, reached out, and tried to push it, but couldn’t move it. He glanced at Yun Ran, who gave him a fake smile. He turned around, placed both hands on the door, and pushed with all his might, but the result was the same as when Yun Ran had tried; the door remained motionless.

"So? As powerful as you are, did you manage to open it?" Yun Ran asked with a feigned smile while looking at Zhuo Tingqiu.

"What is this door made of? I used all my strength, and it still wouldn’t move!" Zhuo Tingqiu looked at the door in wonder.

During their time in the Secret Realm, his cultivation had improved to the point of nearly reaching the peak of the sixth rank. Even if the door was made of some particularly heavy stone, he shouldn’t have been unable to move it!

"See, it’s not just me; you can’t open it either!" Yun Ran was waiting for Zhuo Tingqiu to say this and immediately commented when he did.

Zhuo Tingqiu wanted to rebut, but the fact couldn’t be denied, so he sheepishly closed his mouth.

Si Lin approached the door, placed his hand against it, and sensed it briefly before releasing his hand.

"This door is made of a stone called Dragon Gold Stone. It is extremely heavy, and a special technique is required to open it. Otherwise, unless one possesses Immortal Rank Cultivation, it’s impossible to push it open!" As an Artifact Refining Master, the most essential skill is familiarity with various refining materials, and Si Lin quickly understood the door’s material.

"That’s right, the door requires a special technique to open. Simply pushing it won’t work. I suspect it might be a matter of timing, and once the time is right, the door will open on its own." Gu Qingqing had witnessed the construction process of the palace and had seen the door’s material firsthand, directly affirming Si Lin’s statement and offering her own opinion.

"I think Geng Geng is right. Since this palace has appeared here, it means we can definitely go inside. Now that we can’t open the door, it must be because the time isn’t right yet." Yue Zhao pinched his fingers and said softly.

The others naturally had no objections, so they simply set up camp on the open ground in front of the palace to wait for the right time.

As time passed, other teams slowly arrived midway up the mountain and were very surprised to see Si Lin and the others there.

No one from these teams was unscathed. Some were gravely injured, even missing limbs, while others were wrapped in bandages that seeped blood. Additionally, some teams they had previously seen were missing members, clearly having suffered losses during their climb.

In comparison, Gu Qingqing and her companions stood out; none of them were injured, and they were all clean and talking and laughing, which was certainly strange.

Some, like Jiang Yingshi, who had followed Yue Zhao and his group, knew how formidable they were and quickly adapted to the scene. After all, if even Yue Zhao’s group had been battered, they themselves probably wouldn’t have survived.

Of course, not everyone had such insight; the few people now standing before Gu Qingqing were evident of that.

Compared to others, these people had suffered relatively minor injuries, none too serious. This wasn’t due to their strength, but rather their good luck in encountering weaker demon beasts, thus making it to the mountaintop relatively unscathed.

Therefore, upon seeing Gu Qingqing and her companions, they assumed they were the same—lucky and thus took them lightly.

"You there, give up your tents for our Senior Brother!" A man in a yellow brocade robe pointed at Si Lin and shouted.

Si Lin glanced at him, pressed his fingers slightly, and a surge of Sword Qi suddenly appeared, directly severing the man’s index finger!

"Ah!" The man clutched his severed finger, looking at Si Lin in terror and resentment. He hadn’t even seen how Si Lin made his move, yet his finger had been taken off, making him realize he might have underestimated a formidable opponent!

"Scram." Si Lin turned his head and coldly uttered the word to the man.

The man, as if granted amnesty, clutched his hand and hurriedly retreated, rolling and crawling away, followed quickly by the men who had come with him, fearing their fingers might be severed by Si Lin!

Those unfamiliar with Si Lin and his companions saw this scene, their eyes flickering, quickly averting their gaze from them.

"Senior Brother Si was so cool just now!" Yun Ran clasped her face and looked at Si Lin with a dreamy expression.

Gu Qingqing glanced at Si Lin, nodding proudly, "Senior Brother has always been cool!"

Their voices were not deliberately lowered, allowing others to overhear. Upon hearing Gu Qingqing call Si Lin cool, Si Lin’s lips curled slightly, while Yue Zhao and Jun Wu frowned simultaneously. Nan Hua raised an eyebrow, while Mu Chen and Rong Ye merely pouted.

Not far away, Qiu Yuyan, hidden in the crowd, witnessed Si Lin’s actions, her eyes filled with an almost uncontrollable obsession. It was the first time she saw Si Lin make a move, realizing just how powerful he was!

Thinking back to when she proposed an alliance, only to be refused, it now seemed the other side had nothing to fear, while she had become embarrassed and angry, throwing out harsh words.

Despite this, her fascination with Si Lin never wavered. Even though Si Lin never treated her kindly nor spoken much to her, she remained infatuated with him. Now, however, she couldn’t tell whether her feelings for Si Lin were more about genuine affection or merely a desire to possess.

...

As more people gathered on the open ground, the previously quiet place suddenly became lively, especially after nightfall, when people gathered in groups of three or four, making it even more bustling!

Of course, everyone was here for the treasures within the Secret Realm, maintaining only a veneer of calm, while each faction arriving at the mountain’s midpoint attempted to push the palace door, only to find it would not open, thus settling down quietly outside to wait.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. Early the next morning, when they woke up, they saw the gate wide open.

Inside the gate was a pitch-black darkness, nothing was visible, like a giant beast with its mouth wide open, waiting for people to jump in willingly.

The crowd looked at the open gate, unsure whether to enter.

They all hoped someone would go in first to explore, yet feared that the person would seize the opportunity to get treasures, so for a while, no one moved.

Just as everyone was hesitating, the scene before them suddenly changed. The surroundings transformed from open ground into a grand yet slightly old palace. Judging by the decorations, it was clear they were inside the palace!

Since they were already inside, the crowd stopped hesitating and began exploring the grand hall. Some, eager, immediately found a passage to leave the hall.

Gu Qingqing and his companions were not in a rush and wandered leisurely inside the grand hall, observing its decorations.

"The grand hall I saw yesterday was much more luxurious than this; many things have disappeared." Gu Qingqing glanced around and whispered to Jun Wu.

"Besides this grand hall, do you remember anywhere else?" Jun Wu looked around without speaking, and instead sent a voice transmission to her.

"There’s also the sleeping quarters of that particularly beautiful woman I mentioned, which had many good things inside." Gu Qingqing knew Jun Wu’s concern and transmitted this to him.

Hearing this, Jun Wu frowned.

From the outside, it was apparent the palace was quite large inside, likely with multiple chambers. Gu Qingqing only remembered the inside of the sleeping quarters but didn’t remember how to get there, making it difficult for them to search.

"Forget it, let’s just search around here ourselves." Jun Wu looked at Gu Qingqing and said softly.

Gu Qingqing nodded.

During their conversation, other factions had almost left the grand hall. Although the items left in the hall were luxurious, they were not valuable and of little use to Cultivators, so no one took them!

Gu Qingqing and his group also began exploring the palace like the others.

Exiting the grand hall where they had been, outside was a garden, though now it was devoid of any Spirit Flowers, overgrown with weeds. The lotus pond nearby had dried up, and Li Man was filthy, repulsing anyone from looking further.

"Wait a moment, don’t rush." Just as they were about to leave, Mu Chen suddenly spoke excitedly, stopping everyone.

He suddenly jumped into the lotus pond, disregarding the mud smearing his clothes, and dug out a lotus-like object the size of his palm from the mud. His eyes sparkled, indicating that what he held was something valuable, even making Mu Chen, who was used to seeing good things, unable to restrain himself.

As he was about to walk back, a sudden change occurred. The bottom of the lotus pond suddenly cracked open, and Mu Chen, caught off guard, fell straight down. The crack quickly closed, leaving Senior Brother Si, who wanted to help, with empty hands!

"What just happened? How did Senior Brother Mu Chen disappear in the blink of an eye?" Yun Ran looked at the now empty lotus pond, then at Senior Brother Si with a gloomy face, and whispered to Gu Qingqing.

"Just now, a crack appeared below, and Senior Brother Four fell into it. Senior Brother One tried to grab him, but the crack closed quickly, and Senior Brother One was left grabbing at air!" Gu Qingqing simply explained.

Hearing this, Yun Ran suddenly understood the reason for Senior Brother Si’s anger.

"Elder Brother, what do we do now?" Gu Qingqing looked at Senior Brother Si with concern and asked.

"With Little Four’s cultivation, he should manage. We also don’t know what the situation is below; acting recklessly might harm Little Four. Let’s continue exploring." Senior Brother Si pondered and said.

Given Mu Chen’s cultivation level, his ability to refine pills, and his possession of many good items, ordinary people or demon beasts couldn’t easily deal with him. Moreover, they didn’t know how to rescue Mu Chen. It was better to keep exploring, as they might find clues to rescue him.

"Indeed, since this is the Immortal Secret Realm, and we don’t know Mu Chen’s current state, it’s better to quickly explore the palace and perhaps find a way to save Mu Chen." Yue Zhao also agreed from the side.

The others naturally had no objections, so the group continued forward from the garden.

Passing through an archway, they arrived at a Martial Arts Arena.

On both sides of the arena stood about forty bronze men, with various high-quality weapons still untouched on the weapon racks beside them.

Senior Brother Si and the others walked towards the weapon racks, observing, and discovered a treasure sword of the Immortal Rank, a long spear of the same grade, and a whip of Immortal Rank; all were treasures.

"These are for you two." Senior Brother Si glanced and directly tossed those items to Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu.

With Senior Brother Si around, Gu Qingqing and the others were not short of weapons at all. Their sect lacked nothing as well, so acquiring these items was unnecessary, hence giving them to Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu.

Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu carefully caught the weapons, feeling a bit at a loss, when they suddenly heard a "crack" sound.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw it was the bronze men on both sides of the arena moving.

Possibly having stayed idle for a long time, they emitted creaking sounds as they moved, making the onlookers’ teeth ache.

However, they moved quickly, directly charging towards Gu Qingqing and the others with weapons.

"These bronze men are probably the guardians here, and by touching these weapons, we activated them, hence they want to teach us a lesson!" Yue Zhao promptly explained, enlightening everyone.

Senior Brother Si and the group were not surprised, having encountered similar situations in the Sub-immortal Realm, but it was different for Gu Qingqing, Yun Ran, and Zhuo Tingqiu, who felt as though a year’s worth of surprises had been used up in one day!

The bronze men quickly reached Gu Qingqing and the others, and upon engagement, Senior Brother Si and the others’ expressions changed.

"These are eighth-rank bronze men, damn it!" Senior Brother Si looked at Gu Qingqing with a stern face.

Presently, only Senior Brother Si, Yue Zhao, Nan Hua, and Rong Ye had eighth-rank cultivation. Jun Wu was seventh-rank, Gu Qingqing was peak sixth-rank, Yun Ran and Zhuo Tingqiu were near peak sixth-rank. Facing eighth-rank bronze men was quite a challenge for them!