Chapter 48: Inheritance Cave

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In the square before the White Jade Palace, a brief alliance was forged by the inner demon's oath, but the tension in the air remained undiminished, instead growing like a bowstring under increasing pressure. Everyone's sights were fixed on the tightly closed palace door, radiating a powerful, forbidden light.

However, just as everyone was doing their best, studying the trajectory of the starry sky, or testing the forbidden nodes, trying to find a way to open the palace door, something strange happened again!

It did not come from the palace, but from the suspended white jade square beneath everyone's feet!

Rumble——!

A corner of the square collapsed without warning, revealing a pitch-black hole leading to an unknown depth! An energy wave, far older and more desolate than the palace itself, even carrying a hint of barbaric energy, emanated from the hole, like a giant beast awakening from its eons of slumber!

The fluctuation was so strong that it instantly attracted everyone's attention!

"What's going on?"

"Is there something down there?"

"What an ancient aura! Could there be another hidden paradise beneath this white jade square?"

Exclamations erupted everywhere. Even the usually composed female cultivator leading the Bishui Pavilion and several top talents of the Xuanyun Sect cast doubtful glances at the suddenly appeared cave entrance.

Different from the sacred and majestic aura of the white jade palace above, the aura emanating from this cave entrance is more primitive and restrained, yet it seems to contain a deeper secret.

Ye Li's heart stirred. The fragment of the Samsara Mirror deep in her soul once again transmitted a throbbing sensation that was even clearer and more eager than when she had sensed the Ice Soul Spirit Fruit and the mysterious beast skin before! It was pointing to the dark cave entrance!

"Under here... there is an extremely important item, a pair of samsara mirrors!" She made a judgment instantly.

Almost simultaneously, many perceptive geniuses also sensed the extraordinary aura emanating from below the cave entrance, their gazes growing fiery. Compared to the seemingly magnificent yet powerfully restricted white jade palace, this suddenly appearing cave entrance, imbued with an ancient aura, might hold a more direct and easily attainable opportunity!

"Let's go down and take a look!" Someone shouted, and immediately seven or eight figures couldn't hold back, turned into streams of light, and rushed into the dark cave entrance!

With someone taking the lead, more people were eager to make their move. After all, breaking the palace's restrictions was a distant prospect, while this ready-made cave was right before their eyes!

Gao Sheng's eyes flickered as he exchanged glances with the Tiansha Sect disciple beside him before rushing down with his men. Shi Feng followed closely behind.

Su Wanyun, Han Li, Chen Mo and other disciples of Xuanyun Sect hesitated for a moment, but seeing that many people had gone down, they decided to go and take a look.

Qin Yixuan looked at her fellow disciples from the Bishui Pavilion. The leading female cultivator nodded slightly and said, "Opportunities depend on one's own ability. It's better to be careful." Everyone from the Bishui Pavilion also jumped into the cave.

In a blink of an eye, more than half of the people in the square were gone.

Ye Li didn't hesitate at all, and in a flash, she also fell into the darkness. After her, a few more people followed.

Below the cave entrance, there was no vertical drop, but rather a wide, deep corridor sloping downward. The stone walls on either side of the corridor were as smooth as a mirror, engraved with various ancient murals and runes that had long been lost. They emitted a faint light, barely illuminating the path ahead. The air was filled with the scent of dust and time.

After walking down about a hundred feet, the view suddenly opened up!

A vast underground cavern appeared before them. The ceiling was inlaid with countless self-luminous night pearls, illuminating the cave like stars. In the center, instead of the imagined treasures piled high, there lay a plain, even somewhat dilapidated, azure stone hall. The door was tightly closed, devoid of any ornate decorations, save for two simple, large characters: "Inheritance"!

These two words seem to contain some profound truth, which makes people feel awe when they see them.

The stone hall is surrounded by a thin, transparent light shield that gives people a feeling of indestructibility - it is this light shield that emits the powerful prohibition fluctuations!

"The inheritance cave!" someone exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement and greed!

Inheritance! This could mean a Taoist tradition, technique, or secret technique left behind by an ancient great being! Its value, to some extent, might even exceed the physical treasures that might exist in the White Jade Palace!

Everyone's breathing became heavy, and the greed in their eyes almost became real!

However, that seemingly thin barrier of light made everyone hesitant to act rashly. The lesson of the previous attempt to force their way into the White Jade Palace was still fresh in their minds.

A disciple from a small family, skilled in formations, cautiously stepped forward, retrieved a compass and other items, and began to deduce the restrictions. After a moment, he retreated, his face pale, shaking his head. "No! This restriction is completely natural, connected to the entire earth vein. Attacking it forcefully would likely cause the entire cave to collapse, and no one would survive!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's heads.

"What should we do then? Are we going to just sit there and watch as the treasure goes nowhere?"

"There must be another way!"

While everyone was getting anxious, Ye Li quietly observed the light barrier and the stone hall gate. She discovered that although the restriction was powerful, its energy flow seemed to follow a unique rhythm, and... it faintly echoed the longing generated by the fragment of the Samsara Mirror.

She tried to very covertly send a tiny amount of spiritual power from the "Youhuan Emperor Sutra" to imitate that rhythm and slowly reach out to the light shield.

A miraculous thing happened! The spiritual energy didn't bounce off. Instead, it merged silently into the light shield like a drop of water merging into the sea! The light shield rippled slightly, as if... it didn't reject her?

"Could it be that... this inheritance is related to the Samsara Mirror, or to the extremely cold and yin martial arts such as the "Emperor's Scripture of the Underworld"? "Ye Li's heart was filled with shock.

But she didn't dare reveal a single word. She was now the target of public criticism. If it were discovered that she might possess a method to unlock the restriction, she would surely become the target of everyone's attacks!

She calmly withdrew her spiritual power and continued to watch coldly.

At this time, the leading female cultivator from the Bishui Pavilion spoke again, "Everyone, since forcible breaking of the restriction is unacceptable, perhaps we can try to overcome it with ingenuity. I see that the energy flow of this restriction seems to follow a pattern. Perhaps if we pool our strength and input spiritual energy at a specific frequency and attributes to simulate its operation, we may be able to find a way to unlock it."

This proposal has been supported by many people. After all, it is the only feasible method at present.

Soon, the remaining thirty or forty people present reached a consensus, surrounded the light shield, and according to the instructions of several people who were good at formations, began to try to slowly inject their own spiritual power into the light shield, and tried to adjust the frequency in an attempt to resonate with it.

Ye Li also mixed in the crowd, pretending to output weak "Cloud and Water Sutra" spiritual power (surface practice), but secretly carefully sensing the changes in the light shield and the properties of everyone's spiritual power.

Top talents like Gao Sheng and Qin Yixuan also exerted their full strength, pouring pure spiritual energy into them. The light shield began to hum, its light flickering, as if it were actually being shaken!

However, after trying for a long time, although the light barrier's fluctuations intensified, there was still no sign of it opening. Everyone's spiritual energy was greatly depleted, and many people's faces showed signs of fatigue.

"No! The attributes are too mixed! It's impossible to form an effective resonance!" a disciple shouted in frustration.

Just when everyone was about to give up, something strange happened!

The word "Inheritance" on the stone hall's gate suddenly lit up with a soft light! Then, a few lines of ancient text appeared on the light shield:

"When fate arrives, sincerity prevails. Only those who are extremely cold, pure in spirit, and possess a persistent heart are allowed to enter."

The words flashed by and the light shield returned to its original state.

But these few simple words were like dropping cold water into boiling oil, instantly detonating the entire audience!

Extremely cold and yin! Pure soul! Deeply obsessed!

These three conditions, like three invisible sieves, keep most people out!

Many people's faces turned extremely ugly, especially those disciples who practiced masculine and fire-attributed techniques, such as Gao Sheng and Shi Feng, whose faces turned ashen! They obviously did not meet the requirements of "extreme yin and extreme cold"!

"Pure soul" and "obsession" are even more mysterious and difficult to define.

Everyone's eyes began to involuntarily scan the people present, especially those disciples who practiced Yin-cold attribute skills!

Ye Li's heart was shaken! These three conditions seemed tailor-made for her! The "Emperor's Scripture of the Dark World" was extremely cold and gloomy! She had been reborn, and after experiencing reincarnation, her soul had become powerful and special (or even pure!)! Her obsession with revenge and the pursuit of truth was deeply rooted in her bones!

Could it be... that this inheritance is really waiting for her?

She felt several eyes fixed on her. Qin Yixuan's gaze was inquiring, while Gao Sheng and the others' were filled with jealousy and murderous intent!

The situation in front of the cave suddenly became extremely delicate. It seemed that the real test had just begun.

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