Guided by the scorching yet clear pull from the jade pendant on his chest, Tang Xiaoqi pushed his speed to the limit, his figure flitting like a phantom through the increasingly treacherous terrain of the secret realm. The rabbit spirit followed closely behind, its white form leaping nimbly over rugged rocks and through dense foliage, keeping pace effortlessly.
The closer he drew to the source of the guidance, the more peculiar the surroundings became. The once vibrant spiritual plants grew sparse, replaced by gloomy, twisted flora in dull hues. The spiritual energy in the air grew turbid, tainted by a faint, unsettling chill and a whiff of decay.
The land sloped downward, revealing a massive, deep gorge ahead, as if cleaved by a giant axe. Steep cliffs lined either side, adorned with jagged, grotesque stones. The entrance to the gorge was utterly sealed by a thick, impenetrable mass of pitch-black demonic energy!
That demonic energy churned like a living entity, emitting a nauseating stench and a powerful mental-corrosive force. Just by approaching, Xiaoqi felt his mind grow restless; the flow of spiritual energy within him turned sluggish, as if bound by invisible shackles. The interior of the gorge was completely swallowed by darkness, its vistas obscured, emitting only an endless stillness and palpable evil.
This place seemed like a dead zone, utterly corrupted by demonic energy, devoid of life!
Yet the intense, summoning call of the heritage originated precisely from deep within this demonic-sealed gorge!
"Demonic energy... such concentrated demonic energy!" Xiaoqi's expression turned grave as he halted. He could sense that the quality of this demonic energy was extremely high, not something ordinary demonic cultivators could possess. It seemed more like the remnant power of some ancient demonic entity. With his late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, rashly charging in would likely result in instant corruption by the demonic energy, turning him into a withered skeleton.
The rabbit spirit grew visibly agitated, its fur bristling all over. It hissed lowly, threateningly, at the churning demonic energy, its front paws scratching the ground restlessly. Clearly, it loathed this demonic energy to the extreme.
Had the Heritage Hall been contaminated by demonic energy? Or was this demonic energy some sort of trial?
Just as these thoughts raced through Xiaoqi's mind while he pondered a course of action, the jade pendant on his chest—as if intensely provoked by the concentrated demonic energy—suddenly erupted with unprecedented heat! The temperature nearly scorched the skin over his chest!
Then, without Xiaoqi's prompting, the pendant spontaneously emitted a soft, pure white light! The glow wasn't blinding but carried an indescribable sanctity and majesty, like the first ray of dawn that dispels darkness and brings hope.
The white light rippled outward from the pendant like water, shining upon the dense demonic energy ahead.
An astonishing scene unfolded!
The once churning, terrifying pitch-black demonic energy, upon contact with the white light, began to sizzle and dissolve like ice under a blazing sun, rapidly thinning and dispersing! Wherever the white light passed, the demonic energy retreated, forcibly carving out a narrow passage just wide enough for one person, glowing faintly white, through the thick demonic barrier!
Inside the passage, wisps of demonic energy still lingered, but compared to the outside, it was far safer. The passage pointed straight into the depths of the gorge, and the summoning call grew clearer, more urgent.
The pendant automatically protects its master! Purifies demonic energy!
Witnessing this miracle, Xiaoqi felt immense astonishment. He had always known the pendant was extraordinary, harboring purification power, but he never imagined its strength could so easily disperse demonic energy of such caliber!
Indeed! The Purification Source of the Xu family's heritage is the natural bane of such demonic evils!
Tang Xiaoqi (gazing at the pendant): "The bloodline of the Xu family, the wronged souls of Xu Lan Mountain Manor... This power shouldn't be used only for self-preservation. Father, mother, if your spirits watch from above, please guide me..."
As if inspired by divine insight, an idea flashed through Xiaoqi's mind like lightning. He no longer relied passively on the pendant's automatic response; instead, he attempted to actively communicate with and guide the vast, pure power within the pendant!
He closed his eyes, immersing his consciousness fully into the scorching pendant on his chest. He recalled the sensations from practicing the Basic Purification Technique, the pendant's usual gentle warmth, the faint resonance deep within his bloodline...
"Guide it... release it... This is my power..."
Focusing his will, using the tranquil, tenacious spiritual energy of the Long Spring Art as a bridge and his own Xu family bloodline as the catalyst, he cautiously reached out to touch and commune with the slumbering, immense purification source deep within the pendant.
At first, that power remained like a sleeping dragon, unresponsive to his probing. But Xiaoqi didn't give up; he persistently, patiently called with his mind, nurturing it with his spiritual energy.
Finally, after his unrelenting efforts, something deep within the pendant... stirred awake!
An unprecedented, cool yet mighty surge of energy, like a bursting flood, rushed out from the pendant, following the path he guided, flooding into his limbs and bones, ultimately gathering in his right palm!
This power was far purer and vaster than the spiritual energy he cultivated through the Long Spring Art. It carried a supreme essence—cleansing all impurities of the world, purifying the fundamental origin of all things! It wasn't destruction but a return to purity, the natural suppression of order over chaos!
The Purification Source! This was the true Purification Source! Although only a preliminary awakening, a mere wisp of its power had been stirred, the majesty it displayed was enough to make heaven and earth pale!
Xiaoqi snapped his eyes open; within his pupils, a flash of pure white light seemed to fade. He raised his right palm and slowly pushed it toward the passage opened by the pendant's white light, and toward the dense demonic energy still trying to close back in.
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a more condensed, purer stream of purification white light, surging like a tide from his palm, merging into the walls of the passage ahead!
"Hum—"
The white light on the passage walls suddenly brightened and solidified! The wispy demonic energy that had been lingering at the edges, attempting to erode inward, instantly turned to ash under this newborn, stronger purification force! The entire passage became rock-solid, glowing with white radiance, like a sacred path leading straight into the depths of the gorge.
Even the dense demonic energy outside seemed intimidated by this sudden surge of purification aura; its churning slowed, no longer daring to approach lightly.
Xiaoqi maintained the output of spiritual energy from his palm, feeling the surging, cool, and mighty purification power within him, his heart filled with indescribable excitement and enlightenment.
He no longer merely relied on the pendant; he had initially grasped this power belonging to his bloodline!
Though this power was still feeble and consumed tremendously—in just these moments, he felt nearly thirty percent of his spiritual energy drained, and fatigue washed over his mind—this was undoubtedly a milestone breakthrough!
He withdrew his hand; the passage remained stable. He glanced at the rabbit spirit at his feet, somewhat awed by this holy aura, took a deep breath, and stepped into that purification passage he had personally fortified.
His figure vanished into the gorge entrance, where white light and demonic energy intertwined.
The call of the Heritage Hall was now within reach, and the path to it had been opened by the Purification Source he had awakened with his own hands.