Chapter 1041 Yaochi Secret Realm
Luo Li stood in front of the window, stroking the patterns on the Lingtian Sword with her fingertips.
Last night she tried to communicate with the sword spirit, but only received a sporadic response: "Demon God Temple... Ninth Heaven... Be careful..."
"A-Li," Xuan Mu knocked on the door and entered, wearing a silver silk soft armor over a moon-white robe. "I just received news that the arena competition has been postponed to the last day. We will enter the secret realm today. Let's get ready and go to the central square."
Luo Li's eyes moved slightly, and she nodded, "Okay, I'll pack up and go downstairs."
After packing up a bit and changing into clothes suitable for staying in the city, he went to the Central Square with Lan Xiaoxiao and the others, while Yue Hanchuan and the others stayed in the inn.
The central square was already bustling with people, and disciples from various factions stood in line, their clothes fluttering in the wind, exuding a solemn and murderous aura.
Luo Li was dressed in a black and red outfit, with a Lingtian sword hanging from her waist, emitting a faint blue light in the morning light.
She noticed that many eyes were looking at her, either overtly or covertly - to be more precise, looking at the sword at her waist.
"It seems there was quite a commotion that day," Song Wanbai lowered his voice. "At least a dozen people from various factions were staring at us. To be more precise, they were staring at the Xuan Yue Sword in your possession. I'm afraid they were curious about what was so special about the sword that was worth the Demon God Temple's efforts to seize it."
Xuan Mu stood calmly beside Luo Li, the silver silk armor on his moon-white robe shimmering in the sunlight. "Well, once you enter the secret realm, it's up to you to figure it out."
Suddenly, the Yaochi Palace Master appeared in a plain white dress. As her wide sleeves fluttered, an ancient bronze mirror floated in her palm.
Ripples appeared on the mirror surface, gradually expanding into a three-meter-high light gate.
"The Yaochi Secret Realm will be open for three days. Whoever retrieves the 'Heavenly Heart Lotus' will be the winner," the Palace Master said in a cold voice. "Life and death are at your own risk."
The crowd became agitated.
Luo Li lightly touched the hilt of Lingtian Sword with her fingertips and felt an unusual vibration.
The sword spirit's consciousness was clearer than last night, transmitting fragmented images—strange patterns on the stone wall, the nine-story palace reflected in the water...
"There might be something wrong with this secret realm," Luo Li suddenly said, "The Lingtian Sword Spirit seems to recognize this place."
Without waiting for his companions to respond, the light gate in front suddenly lit up with a dazzling light.
Disciples from various factions rushed in. Luo Li only felt the Lingtian Sword at her waist suddenly become hot, and an invisible force pulled her forward.
The moment I passed through the light gate, the world started spinning.
When Luo Li opened her eyes again, she was standing in front of an unfamiliar lake. The surface of the water was a strange purple-gold color, and the outline of the mountains in the distance overlapped with the scene in the sword spirit's memory.
"Where are the others?" She looked around and found that only Xuan Mu and Lan Xiaoxiao stumbled to the ground not far away.
"Randomly teleported," Xuan Mu and Lan Xiaoxiao walked over quickly, their brows furrowed. "It seems we've been assigned to the same area."
Luo Li pursed her lips and temporarily put the motionless Lingtian Sword into the Tower of Gods. "The Yaochi Secret Realm will only be open for three days. We need to find the Sacred Heart Lotus. Let's quickly check the surrounding area for any clues."
The purple-gold lake water rippled slightly in front of the three people, and the distorted shadows of the mountains were reflected on the water surface.
Lan Xiaoxiao squatted down, and just as her fingertips were about to touch the water, Luo Li suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Don't touch it!" Xuan Mu spoke first, his voice tense, "Look over there."
Following his gaze, he saw a few blurry ancient characters carved on a rock by the lake - "Soul-Eroding Water".
There are obvious signs of corrosion on the edges of the rocks.
Lan Xiaoxiao took out a piece of ore from the storage bag and gently threw it into the lake.
The moment the ore touched the water surface, the purple-gold liquid suddenly boiled and swallowed up the ore in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace of smoke.
"This isn't lake water at all," Lan Xiaoxiao said, her face pale. "If the Lord goes in, he'll turn into water."
Luo Li stood up, and the Tower of Gods on her waist suddenly vibrated.
She used her spiritual sense to explore and found that the Lingtian Sword was vibrating violently inside the tower, and the dark blue light on the sword flickered.
"The sword spirit is responding." Luo Li whispered, taking out the Lingtian Sword.
As soon as the sword was in hand, the unusual pulling force appeared again, and the tip of the sword pointed directly towards the center of the lake.
Xuan Mu frowned: "It wants us to go to the center of the lake?"
"But how do we get across? This water..." Lan Xiaoxiao looked at the strange lake surface uneasily.
Luo Li stared at the sword and suddenly found that fine lines appeared on the hilt, which were exactly the same as the lines on the stone wall she saw before being teleported.
She slowly injected her soul power into the sword, and the sword spirit's consciousness surged in like a tide.
This time, the picture was much clearer than before—the reflection of the nine-story palace was not reflected on the water surface, but rose from the bottom of the lake.
An ancient bronze mirror is hung at the main gate of the palace, exactly the same as the one used by the Master of Yaochi Palace to open the secret realm.
"There's something at the bottom of the lake," Luo Li looked up, "The entrance might be underwater."
Xuan Mu and Lan Xiaoxiao exchanged glances.
Xuan Mu took out a deep blue bead from his bosom and said, "The water-repellent bead can last for half an hour. But if there really is an entrance at the bottom of the lake, I'm afraid it won't be easy for us to find."
"The Lingtian Sword will guide us." Luo Li gripped the hilt tightly, and the light on the sword flickered with the rhythm of her heartbeat, as if responding.
Lan Xiaoxiao sighed: "Since I'm already here, I have to go and take a look, whether it's the Sacred Heart Lotus or not."
Luo Li took out three vermilion pills from her space ring. "Breath-holding pills, use with the water-repellent beads, just in case."
The three of them took the pills, and Xuan Mu threw the water-repellent beads into the lake.
The bead drew an arc in the air, and the moment it touched the water surface, it unfolded a transparent barrier, displacing the purple-gold lake water and forming a channel with a diameter of about two meters.
"Let's go." Xuan Mu stepped in first, followed closely by Luo Li and Lan Xiaoxiao.
As they went deeper, the color of the lake water changed from purple-gold to dark red, and finally to ink-black.
The barrier formed by the water-repellent beads made a slight "sizzling" sound, obviously under tremendous pressure.
The Lingtian Sword in Luo Li's hand shone brighter, illuminating an area several meters ahead.
"This lake is much deeper than it looks." Lan Xiaoxiao's voice sounded dull in the enclosed water barrier.
After diving for about a quarter of an hour, the Lingtian Sword suddenly vibrated violently, with the tip of the sword pointing diagonally downward.
Luo Li looked in the direction and vaguely saw a huge shadow.
"There!"
The three adjusted their direction and when they got closer they found that it was a huge bronze door embedded in the rock wall at the bottom of the lake. The door was carved with intricate patterns of the sun, moon and stars, and in the center was the relief of the ancient bronze mirror.
Nine thick chains were wrapped around the crack in the door, and each chain was engraved with sealing symbols.
"This doesn't look like something from the Yao Chi Holy Land," Xuan Mu frowned, and lightly stroked the patterns on the door with his fingers. "These runes are at least from ancient times."
Luo Li approached the bronze door, and the Lingtian Sword suddenly flew out of her hand and pierced into the mirror relief in the center of the door with a "clang" sound.
In an instant, the nine chains trembled at the same time, and the array symbols lit up with scarlet light one after another.
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