The disc expanded wildly amidst a dazzling display of starlight, quickly transforming into a radiant wheel several feet in diameter. As it spun rapidly, golden specks appeared on its surface, and countless points of starlight converged at its center.
With a tremendous tremor, a golden pillar of light as thick as a water vat shot out from the center of the wheel, piercing straight into the layers of yellow clouds high above.
A deafening roar echoed through the sky, and the clouds near the pillar churned violently. The entire ninth layer of space trembled as if shaken to its core.
Where the golden pillar disappeared into the clouds, the air became transparent and bright, accompanied by the crisp sound of barriers shattering. Several dark fissures instantly appeared at the center of the radiance, multiplying rapidly until they formed a dense web.
After a moment of ethereal celestial music, a massive passageway emerged, with the golden pillar vanishing directly into it. Countless fist-sized orbs of light floated around, each glowing in vibrant, dazzling colors.
At that moment, a foot-wide disc slowly emerged along the golden pillar, pausing at the entrance of the passage. It shimmered incessantly, unmistakably identical to the one Linglong had expelled.
*Could this be the true Inverse Star Disc?* Han Li watched the passage and the disc with an impassive expression, though inwardly, he was deeply unsettled.
Meanwhile, the silver glow around Linglong gradually faded, revealing her figure once more. She tilted her head slightly, gazing at the passage above with a trace of melancholy on her jade-like face. Suddenly, she stepped onto the radiant wheel above her and began ascending slowly toward the sky, her destination unmistakably the colossal passage.
As she and the wheel approached, the passage seemed to respond. The orbs within emitted a resonant hum, and the true Inverse Star Disc trembled slightly before beginning to rotate, as if excited by the wheel’s approach, displaying remarkable sentience.
Seeing this reaction, Linglong allowed a faint smile to grace her lips before turning to cast one last glance at Han Li below. After a brief hesitation, she flicked her wrist, sending three streaks of light—yellow, white, and red—streaking toward him.
Han Li was momentarily startled but sensed no hostility. Instinctively, he swept his sleeve, releasing a wave of azure mist that enveloped the three lights. Upon closer inspection, he found a white jade slip, the Bloodblade, and the final Voidbreaker Talisman in his grasp.
His mind churned with questions, but before he could voice them, the silver-haired woman sighed softly.
*”This contains information about the Inverse Spirit Passage and spatial nodes—more than what I gave the other two. It may prove useful to you in the future. The Voidbreaker Talisman and Bloodblade are of no use in the Spirit Realm, so I leave them to you. Additionally, leaving this mountain with a spirit treasure won’t be easy. Let me help you one last time.”*
Before Han Li could process her words, Linglong extended a slender finger toward the Inverse Star Disc in the passage.
The disc emitted a clear chime, tilting slightly until its center aligned with Han Li.
A golden beam shot forth, arriving before him in an instant as if teleporting. Without warning, it enveloped both him and the humanoid puppet behind him in radiant light.
With no time to react, Han Li and the puppet vanished without a trace, transported away by the Inverse Star Disc to an unknown location.
Having accomplished this, Linglong stepped into the passage without hesitation.
Multicolored lights surged within the passage, swiftly engulfing both her and the Inverse Star Disc. A thunderous roar echoed as the passage trembled violently, and in the next moment, she was gone.
The entrance of the passage shattered into fragments, collapsing completely after a blinding flash of light.
Soon after, the ninth layer of space returned to its original state—utterly silent, as if nothing had ever transpired.
—
Meanwhile, Xiang Zhili, the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear, and Lin Yinping had just emerged from the deep chasm within the Demon-Suppressing Tower.
At the exact moment Han Li disappeared from the ninth layer, Xiang Zhili frowned and glanced skyward, a flicker of doubt crossing his face.
*”What is it, Fellow Daoist Xiang? Did you sense something?”* the Corpse Bear asked. Though his cultivation was far inferior to Xiang Zhili’s, he had survived since the ancient war and had powerful backing. While he dared not provoke Xiang Zhili, he wasn’t overly fearful either.
*”It’s nothing. Perhaps I imagined it. I thought the seal outside Kunwu Mountain was disturbed for a moment, but my divine sense detected nothing,”* Xiang Zhili muttered, stroking his sparse beard.
*”It must have been a momentary fluctuation as the seal weakens. No human could shake such a massive barrier,”* the Corpse Bear chuckled.
*”Perhaps. By the way, you mentioned earlier that this entire incident was orchestrated by the Ye Family. Have all their cultivators perished? The Ye Grand Elder was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator—he must have had some skill. Where is he now?”* Xiang Zhili’s expression turned stern.
*”The rest of the Ye Family were slain by that demon. As for the Grand Elder, I didn’t see him in the ninth layer. He must have fallen to the demon as well,”* the Corpse Bear replied with a dry laugh.
*”No matter. Whether he’s truly dead or not, the Ye Family has caused too great a calamity to remain. Upon our return, the title of ‘First Great Clan of the Great Jin’ shall be reassigned. I trust the Ten-Thousand Demon Valley has no objections?”* Xiang Zhili’s voice was icy, his eyes glinting with cold authority.
The Corpse Bear’s heart skipped a beat, but he answered without hesitation, *”Naturally. Though the Ye Family had ties to our valley, their grave mistake warrants their eradication. A new force shall oversee the mortal realm.”*
*”Good. As for you, Fellow Daoist Lin,”* Xiang Zhili turned to Lin Yinping, his tone frigid, *”once we leave this mountain, return to the Heavenly Grasslands at once. You’ve lingered in the Great Jin long enough. This is not your territory—your temple should refrain from sending envoys here henceforth.”*
*”Understood. I shall depart immediately,”* Lin Yinping replied, her voice trembling slightly under his piercing gaze.
She had no intention of refusing—not only was she bound by Han Li’s restrictions, but she also hoped to return to the Holy Temple and gather its Nascent Soul elders to break the curse.
Seeing her compliance, Xiang Zhili’s expression softened slightly. Just as he was about to speak further, a streak of white light shot down from the heavens, stopping directly above the trio.
The Corpse Bear tensed, his spiritual energy flaring defensively, but an invisible force suddenly immobilized him.
*”Do not panic,”* Xiang Zhili said calmly. *”This is a sword message from Fellow Daoist Hu of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”*
He raised a hand, and the white light spiraled into his grasp, revealing a pale-white miniature sword. The pressure on the Corpse Bear vanished instantly, though the scare had left him drenched in cold sweat.
Xiang Zhili clasped the sword between his palms, pausing briefly before tossing it back into the sky, where it vanished in a flash.
*”Let us go. Fellow Daoist Hu has entered the mountain. We shall regroup with him and then summon the sects of the Southern Border to reseal this place,”* he declared, watching the light disappear.
Neither the Corpse Bear nor Lin Yinping dared object. It seemed as though Linglong and Han Li had already faded from their memories.
—
Elsewhere in the Southern Border, atop a picturesque mountain peak, several Qi Condensation cultivators sat in a pavilion, heatedly discussing the recent upheaval caused by the massive seal.
Just as a white-robed man was speculating wildly about what lay beneath the seal, a golden light flashed above the pavilion. With a thunderous crash, a beam of light sliced diagonally through the structure, obliterating half of it.
Stunned, the cultivators gaped as a green-robed figure and a silver humanoid silhouette materialized within the radiance. The green-robed man staggered slightly before steadying himself, then waved a hand—causing the silver figure to vanish instantly.
*”Where is this place?”* the green-robed man demanded, his tone brooking no refusal.
It was Han Li, transported by the Inverse Star Disc.
The low-level cultivators snapped out of their daze, hastily scanning him with their spiritual senses. Their faces paled—his cultivation was utterly unfathomable.
*”T-This is Golden Chart Mountain. May we ask, Senior…?”* the white-robed man stammered.
*”Golden Chart Mountain? Never heard of it. Are we still in the Southern Border?”* Han Li asked flatly.
*”This is Zhonglou Prefecture!”* a shorter cultivator interjected eagerly.
*”Zhonglou Prefecture…”* Han Li murmured, nodding.
It bordered Puyun Prefecture, where the seal was located. At least he hadn’t been sent too far.
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