Passing through the light door communicated by purification power, everyone stepped into an unusually wide corridor. Beneath their feet were polished, lustrous black jade slabs engraved with star trajectories. On both sides, high walls bore continuous murals depicting magnificent scenes of ancient ancestors conducting rituals, great powers expounding on the dao, and battles with various hideous demons. Despite endless ages, the colors remained bright, an ancient, weathered aura rushing forth. The dome was not solid but a deep, simulated starry sky with countless stars slowly moving according to abstruse trajectories, casting down clear radiance that illuminated the corridor.
The spiritual qi density here far exceeded the outside, almost liquefied. With each breath, spiritual power spontaneously grew. However, beneath this intoxicating opportunity, an invisible, heavy pressure permeated the air, as if the entire hall itself were a slumbering giant, every breath affecting rules, making everyone involuntarily soften their steps and breathe carefully.
"What terrible pressure... is this the foundation of an ancient sect?" a disciple whispered in amazement, his eyes filled with awe.
Mu Qingfeng looked grave, speaking lowly: "Constrain your auras, don't touch anything, stay close." He could sense this corridor itself might contain unknown restrictions.
The team maintained a tight defensive formation, proceeding cautiously along the corridor. The passage wasn't straight but had branches leading to unknown darkness. Mu Qingfeng, relying on his keen perception of qi and some understanding of ancient formations, chose a main path where spiritual qi flow was most concentrated and murals were most solemn and magnificent.
After proceeding for about the time to burn an incense stick, they encountered no danger, but that invisible pressure grew stronger, making several weaker disciples' foreheads break out in sweat. Finally, after turning a huge curve, the view suddenly opened up.
At the corridor's end was an incomparably vast circular plaza. The plaza ground was paved with flawless white jade, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the starry sky on the dome. At the plaza's end, twelve dragon-coiled golden pillars requiring several people to embrace stood supporting a hundred-zhang-high giant hall door!
That hall door was entirely dark gold, neither gold nor jade, of unknown material. The door leaves were tightly closed, engraved with grand patterns of sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and all spirits paying homage. Every stroke contained ineffable dao significance. Above the hall door hung a huge plaque with three majestic characters in ancient cloud script—**Ten Thousand Laws Hall**!
Merely gazing at that plaque and hall door, everyone felt their souls shaken, as if countless great dao sounds echoed in their ears, and as if infinite mysteries lay hidden within, waiting for the destined to interpret.
However, the path to opportunity remained blocked. Before that magnificent Ten Thousand Laws Hall door, a solid, chaotic-colored light film like the most loyal guard tightly sealed the entrance. On the light film, rather than simple energy barriers, countless fine, sand-like, constantly evolving runes circulated. These runes formed twelve relatively independent yet interconnected huge nodes, like twelve miniature stars, slowly orbiting the hall door according to some abstruse trajectory. A vast pressure ten times stronger than in the corridor emanated from this chaotic light film, making one feel insignificant, hardly giving rise to thoughts of forcefully breaking through.
"This is the true guardian restriction..." Liu Yun took a deep breath, gripping her sword tightly. She could feel this light film's strength far exceeded the seven-colored light film outside; even if a Spirit Transformation cultivator personally came, they might not be able to forcefully break it.
Mu Qingfeng carefully observed those twelve slowly circulating rune nodes, his brow tightly furrowed: "This seems to be... some ancient variant of the 'Twelve Earthly Branches Spirit-Locking Grand Formation'! Borrowing Zhou Tian star power and earth vein dragon qi, it locks all portals, requiring specific methods or 'keys' to open. Its nodes circulate endlessly, containing the meaning of life and creation, but also absolute exclusivity..."
He tried carefully extending his own upright, peaceful spiritual power toward one node. However, before the spiritual power could touch it, that node suddenly lit up. A vast rebounding force surged, shaking Mu Qingfeng back half a step with a muffled groan, his face slightly pale.
"No good!" Mu Qingfeng shook his head, his tone heavy. "Though my spiritual power attribute isn't violent, compared to the 'purity' required by this formation, it falls far short. I cannot gain recognition at all and will instead trigger the formation's counterattack."
Everyone's hearts sank upon hearing this. Even Eldest Senior Brother couldn't affect it in the slightest—were they truly to stop here?
All gazes once again involuntarily turned to Tang Xiao Qi. If anyone present could possibly open this door, it was probably only Xiao Qi, who possessed strange purification power.
Xiao Qi felt everyone's expectation. He stepped forward a few paces, approaching that chaotic light film. Closer up, that vast pressure was even more substantial, oppressing his spiritual power circulation. But the jade pendant at his chest again transmitted clear warmth—not a warning, but a kind of... intimacy and calling like a wanderer returning home. Those twelve circulating rune nodes became exceptionally clear in his perception. He could even faintly "hear" the dao sounds they emitted when circulating, like the breathing of heaven and earth.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, I want to try again." Xiao Qi took a deep breath, looking resolutely at Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun.
Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun exchanged a glance, both seeing determination in the other's eyes. At this point, there was no retreat.
"Good! We'll protect you!" Mu Qingfeng nodded heavily, then turned to order: "Everyone, form the 'Small Five Elements Guardian Formation,' protect Xiao Qi, isolate inside and outside interference! Junior Sister Lin, guard the formation eye with me, ready to respond to emergencies at any time!"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison, quickly moving into position. With Mu Qingfeng and Liu Yun as the core and other disciples each taking positions, their spiritual power connected, instantly forming a circulating five-element formation that firmly protected Xiao Qi in the center. The formation's halo rose, temporarily isolating part of the outside pressure and creating a relatively safe spell-casting environment for Xiao Qi.
Xiao Qi sat cross-legged in the formation's center, concentrating his mind and breath. He didn't immediately act but first fully circulated the "Yimu Ningxin Art," bringing his mind into an unprecedentedly empty state. Simultaneously, he guided the cool breath from the jade pendant at his chest to slowly flow throughout his body, adjusting his condition to the best.
After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, clear as springs, reflecting those twelve circulating "stars." He extended his right index finger. On the fingertip, a soft white light of extreme purity, containing no impurities, slowly condensed. This white light wasn't blazing but carried a significance of cleansing all things and returning to the source—the manifestation of the purification power within him.
He locked onto a rune node that had just circulated to directly in front, with the weakest breath connection to other nodes. That point of purification white light, as if having life, detached from his finger, transforming into a fine yet extremely condensed white line, silently pointing toward that node!
No earth-shattering collision, no energy explosion's roar.
That point of purification white light, upon touching the rune node, was like a water droplet merging into the sea, instantly penetrating!
Instantly, that node originally emitting chaotic luster and slowly circulating suddenly stalled! The runes upon it suddenly lit up with soft white light of the same origin as Xiao Qi's purification power! This white light quickly spread, covering the entire node, making it break away from chaos, becoming crystal clear, as if thoroughly purified and activated!
"Weng—"
A low yet seemingly ancient hum sounded from the hall door, echoing across the entire vast plaza.
Immediately after, like triggering a chain reaction, the second, third... when Xiao Qi, enduring the weakness from rapidly consuming mental energy and spiritual power, continuously injected purification power into the sixth node, making them all light up with pure white light—
"Hong long long..."
That dark gold Ten Thousand Laws Hall giant door, silent for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, emitted a muffled yet huge rumble! The sun, moon, stars, mountains, and rivers patterns on the door seemed to come alive, circulating with vast divine light. That chaotic light film spanning before, like being parted by an invisible giant hand, slowly retreated to both sides and dissolved!
The hall door did not completely open but cracked a gap barely wide enough for one person to pass through!
A surge of spiritual qi far more pure, ancient, vast, and majestic than in the corridor roared out from that door crack like the first breath of a slumbering dragon awakening after ten thousand years! This spiritual qi contained ineffable great dao fragments and life essence, instantly filling the entire white jade plaza!
Merely being washed by this spiritual qi wave, the Qingxu Temple disciples felt their pores open and their spiritual power spontaneously circulating at high speed. The fatigue and hidden injuries from earlier battles were recovering at a visible rate! Even cultivation bottlenecks faintly loosened!
"The hall door has opened!" a disciple excitedly whispered, his voice trembling.
Everyone's faces showed ecstasy and shock. They had succeeded! Under Tang Xiao Qi's miraculous power, they had opened this ancient core hall's great door!
Mu Qingfeng forcefully suppressed his excitement, maintaining the formation's stability, saying gravely: "Don't relax your guard! Xiao Qi, recover quickly! Others, prepare to enter!"
Xiao Qi, under the nourishment of the spiritual qi wave, quickly recovered his consumed mental energy and spiritual power. He gazed at that opened door crack and the unknown darkness behind it radiating seductive opportunity and potential danger, taking a deep breath of that vast spiritual qi, determination flashing in his eyes.
The true secret realm core exploration had only just begun!