Over a hundred zhang above the altar, a thirty-zhang-long arc of light appeared.
This arc was white, its widest point spanning four to five zhang, shaped like a crescent moon—an extremely rare, massive spatial rift. However, the rift had been concealed by some unknown restriction earlier, and none of the mighty Nascent Soul cultivators present had detected such a terrifying presence above them.
Could this be the entrance to the so-called Spirit Void Garden?
Watching the visible spatial distortions and warping, even someone as formidable as Wei Wuyan would never dare to recklessly charge into this rift. After all, the slicing force of spatial energy was beyond the resistance of any cultivator in this realm. No wonder Wei Wuyan couldn’t help but erupt in fury!
“The Spirit Void Garden exists between the Spirit Realm and our human realm. To enter this space, we naturally must rely on this spatial rift. With a slight twist and adjustment, we can directly open the entrance to the Spirit Void Garden. Rest assured, I won’t have you charge in recklessly—I have another method to temporarily send you inside. However, there are risks involved, and I only have about a sixty to seventy percent chance of success. As for these Core Formation cultivators, they shouldn’t go. Their cultivation is insufficient, and they’d only be walking to their deaths.” The scholar swept his gaze over the group and spoke indifferently.
“Sixty to seventy percent? Before coming here, why did you never mention this?” The Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s expression darkened.
“What difference would it make? Even if the odds were only twenty to thirty percent, none of you would give up the chance.” The scholar sneered.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s eyes flashed coldly as he stared at the scholar. Suddenly, he raised his hand, revealing a blood-red token.
“What are you doing?” The scholar’s face paled in shock, hastily retreating while shouting.
Without a word, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master lightly shook the token, causing a surge of bloody light to erupt. The scholar let out a blood-curdling scream and plummeted from mid-air to the ground. At the same time, eerie crimson runes emerged on his skin, swirling incessantly as if embedded deep within his flesh—a truly bizarre sight.
“Soul-Shattering Curse?” Wang Tiangu gasped in shock, his expression turning grave.
Wei Wuyan’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.
“So this is the Soul-Shattering Curse, one of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s secret arts? I’ve heard this technique is even more vicious than ordinary soul-binding spells. Any cultivator afflicted with this curse can have their soul scattered with just a thought from the caster.” Wei Wuyan stared at the writhing scholar and asked calmly.
“Heh! Brother Wei is indeed knowledgeable. This is indeed the curse I used. This spirit is merely a remnant of the past Frost Li the Transcendent’s incarnation, yet it dares to act as if it were the invincible Frost Li of old. Since it doesn’t know its place, I naturally had to discipline it.” The Ghost Spirit Sect Master smiled faintly in response.
Wei Wuyan nodded and said nothing more. To them, no matter how significant the remnant soul’s origins, they wouldn’t tolerate such arrogance.
Meanwhile, the scholar seemed to be enduring immense torment. With every pulse of the crimson runes, his body convulsed violently. Clutching his head, he rolled on the ground, his face twisted in agony.
The torture lasted for the time it took to finish a meal, until even his ghostly form began to blur and destabilize. Only then did the Ghost Spirit Sect Master wave the token and casually halt the curse.
“You should have learned your lesson by now. Even if your memories are identical to Frost Li the Transcendent’s, you are now just a remnant soul. Don’t do anything foolish again, or the next punishment won’t be so light. I am determined to enter the Spirit Void Garden, but I refuse to be led by the nose. However, rest assured—if you guide us honestly, I will honor my promise.” The Ghost Spirit Sect Master alternated between threats and reassurances.
“Understood. I will open the entrance now.” The scholar stood up, his body solidifying as green light flickered across him, his expression eerily calm.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master was taken aback by the scholar’s demeanor. Just as he narrowed his eyes to speak further, the scholar’s body glowed green, and he floated upward, slowly ascending toward the spatial rift.
The words on the Ghost Spirit Sect Master’s lips were swallowed back. After all, securing the entrance to the Spirit Void Garden was far more important than disciplining the scholar.
Wei Wuyan and the others remained silent, coldly observing the scholar’s actions, wondering how he planned to help them traverse such a terrifying rift.
When the scholar reached a point about twenty zhang from the spatial rift, he halted. Gazing up at the massive tear in space, a strange expression crossed his face. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and spat out a sphere of green light, within which floated a thumb-sized, pitch-black pearl, spinning steadily before him.
After expelling the pearl, the scholar’s face turned deathly pale, his vitality seemingly drained.
“Go!” Despite his weakened state, he forced himself to point at the pearl and utter the command. The black pearl flashed with spiritual light and shot toward the rift.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and the others watched in astonishment. Could such a small pearl really have any effect?
Just as doubt crept into their minds, the moment the pearl neared the rift, it was sucked in by the spatial distortion. A flash of white light, a twist in space, and the pearl vanished without a trace.
For a moment, the spatial rift remained unchanged, showing no signs of abnormality. But then, the scholar, who had been hovering near the rift, suddenly plummeted downward, putting distance between himself and the tear.
Before Wei Wuyan and the others could react, a deep, thunderous rumble erupted from the rift. At its center, a flicker of green light appeared, rapidly expanding into a dazzling emerald radiance the size of a zhang, accompanied by a piercing screech.
“Now, it’s up to you. Pour your spiritual power into that green light to fully open the passage to the Spirit Void Garden.” The scholar landed on the altar and spoke impassively.
Wei Wuyan and Wang Tiangu exchanged uneasy glances at this bizarre sight.
“Let’s give it a try and see if it really works,” the Ghost Spirit Sect Master said decisively after a brief hesitation.
Wei Wuyan frowned but, after glancing at the emerald light, remained silent. Wang Tiangu naturally had no objections.
The three positioned themselves apart, formed hand seals, and unleashed three beams of spiritual energy—each a different color—toward the emerald radiance in the rift. The difference in their cultivation was immediately apparent: Wei Wuyan’s green beam was as thick as a bowl’s mouth, while the Ghost Spirit Sect Master and Wang Tiangu’s beams were noticeably smaller.
As the torrents of spiritual power poured in, the emerald radiance’s screech intensified, and its form began expanding outward. Soon, a pitch-black hole formed at its center, initially only a foot wide, its depths unfathomable.
The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and the others were overjoyed—this phenomenon confirmed the scholar hadn’t deceived them. They redoubled their efforts, their beams thickening as the emerald light grew denser.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the black hole expanded to three feet in diameter—just enough for a person to pass through. However, the scholar suddenly spoke calmly, “Though you can enter now, the entrance is unstable. I don’t have a second Boundary-Breaking Pearl to reopen the passage. If you don’t want to be trapped inside, you’d best continue channeling energy until the spatial passage stabilizes completely.”
Hearing this, Wei Wuyan and the others hesitated but, seeing the still-trembling black hole, dared not withdraw their power. They gritted their teeth and persisted.
However, stabilizing the passage proved far more taxing than opening it. After a while, the black hole still hadn’t fully settled.
Growing impatient, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master barked at the three Core Formation disciples, “You three, lend your power! Weak as you are, it’s better than nothing!”
“Yes, Sect Master!” The disciples complied immediately, channeling their spiritual energy into additional beams aimed at the rift.
The scholar stood silently, watching without expression.
Time passed slowly. By the time Wei Wuyan and the others had expended nearly half their spiritual power, the black passage finally stabilized, ceasing its tremors. Relieved, they withdrew their beams.
“Does this passage truly lead to the Spirit Void Garden?” the Ghost Spirit Sect Master asked skeptically, narrowing his eyes.
The scholar ignored him, but Wei Wuyan answered, “It should. I can sense a vast space on the other side.” He licked his lips, visibly moved.
The others, unable to extend their spiritual sense through the passage, were overjoyed at his words.
“If Brother Wei says so, it must be true. But to be cautious, let’s test it first.” Wang Tiangu suppressed his excitement and flicked his sleeve, releasing a wisp of black mist containing a small ghostly figure, which darted into the passage.
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