123: Chapter 123 Qingshen Pass

Darkness receded like a tide, and Chen Zhiwen's figure slowly emerged.

He blinked to adjust to the light and observed his surroundings.

This was a completely strange place, silent all around.

Chen Zhiwen looked around and found himself on the mountainside of Qinghua Mountain. The ground was barren, trees sparse, and a breeze made the leaves rustle.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to two corpses nearby.

It was Yang Sheng and that Prodigy of the Human Race. They lay still, devoid of any Life Qi. Chen Zhiwen felt a tightness in his chest and hurried over to check.

Upon closer inspection, he gasped. Their deaths were miserable; their faces were twisted beyond recognition, as if they had suffered extreme agony before dying.

Their eyes were wide open, bloodshot, and terrifying to behold.

Even more shocking, there was a fist-sized hole in the back of their heads, with blood continuously flowing out, staining the ground and forming a horrifying pool of red.

Chen Zhiwen stared at this gruesome scene, having already guessed what happened.

He thought they must have fallen victim to the illusion technique of that mysterious creature and were unable to escape it. The creature had seized the Opportunity to use its tail to pierce their skulls like lightning, ending their lives silently.

Less than ten meters away, the creature Chen Zhiwen had killed in the illusion was lying lifeless on the ground. Its body was just an empty shell.

Chen Zhiwen walked over, crouched down, and observed it closely. He first noticed its eyes.

The eyes, which should have been bright, were shattered as if attacked violently. Only two empty sockets remained, with some blood residue, looking terrifying.

Chen Zhiwen stared at the bloody holes, feeling a chill. Despite many battles, this strange death left him shivering.

He checked the rest of the body. Its cultivation was not high, not even comparable to an ordinary Qi Ling Realm Cultivator.

Yet, such an ordinary creature possessed a unique and powerful illusion technique.

Chen Zhiwen stood up, brow furrowed, lost in thought. He searched his memory for ancient texts, trying to find records, but found nothing.

"What kind of creature is this? Why have I never seen it in ancient books?" Chen Zhiwen muttered, rubbing his chin, confused.

He pondered, suddenly thinking of the "Qingshen Pass" the creature mentioned. "Does this creature only live on Qinghua Mountain? What is this Qingshen Pass it spoke of?"

He stared at Qinghua Mountain, which became even more mysterious. "Why does it call Qinghua Mountain Qingshen Pass?"

After thinking for a while, he gave up.

Chen Zhiwen raised his head, eyes sharp, scanning the surroundings.

He scanned the lush forest and green grass, missing no details.

After confirming there was no danger, he stepped forward towards the mountain.

After half a stick of incense, he met another person in a dense forest. This person was also a Prodigy who had entered the area, seemingly from one of the Nine Great Sects.

Chen Zhiwen had a good memory and recognized him immediately.

He was ranked in the thirties on the hidden dragon ranking, but he was in bad shape, covered in wounds and his breathing unstable, clearly having encountered an accident.

When the Prodigy saw Chen Zhiwen, his eyes lit up as if seeing a savior.

He walked straight to Chen Zhiwen without hesitation, his steps staggering.

"I am Hua Bo, a Disciple of the Guling Sect, greetings, Your Highness Fifth Prince." Hua Bo bowed respectfully.

Chen Zhiwen nodded in response.

His expression softened, as the Guling Sect had a decent relationship with the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Among the Human Race's Nine Great Sects, besides the Zetian Sect, only four kept friendly relations with the Great Xuan Dynasty, and the Guling Sect was one of them.

Since he was a Prodigy from this Sect, he naturally had no malice toward Chen Zhiwen.

"Your Highness, I have a request, I don't know if I should say it…"

"Speak." Chen Zhiwen said.

Hua Bo looked grave, bowing to Chen Zhiwen, and said solemnly: "The situation in this Qinghua Mountain does not seem as simple as we imagined."

"Just when I entered Qinghua Mountain, I and two other Prodigies fell into an illusion technique without warning."

"Fortunately, I sensed something wrong at the critical moment and escaped, but those two died in the illusion technique."

Chen Zhiwen was stunned; Hua Bo's encounter was the same as his.

"Was the illusion technique you encountered performed by a creature you had never seen before?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"Exactly. Could it be that Your Highness also encountered it?" Hua Bo recalled the situation, his face showing a lingering fear.

Chen Zhiwen nodded.

Hua Bo was shocked: "I didn't expect Your Highness to have encountered that creature too!"

"That creature's cultivation is not high, but that illusion technique is extremely profound."

"Your Highness, I have a premonition that this trip to Qinghua Mountain will not be peaceful. May I join you?"

Hua Bo made his request, and Chen Zhiwen thought about it and did not refuse.

After all, as Hua Bo said, the dangers in Qinghua Mountain were manifold, and four people had died just after they entered.

The situation of others was clearly not optimistic, so choosing to travel together was the best option.

"Fine."

Hua Bo was overjoyed, immediately clasping his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Your Highness!"

After they joined up, they didn't linger. Hua Bo took out some Medicinal Pills from his storage ring, took them, and adjusted his injuries.

After resting, they set off toward the summit of Qinghua Mountain without hesitation.

Along the way, they were cautious, not daring to relax. On their way, they met other Prodigies.

These Prodigies looked in bad shape, each more or less wounded.

Clearly, before meeting Chen Zhiwen, they had encountered the same situation.

Among these Prodigies who broke the illusion technique, some were from forces hostile to the Great Xuan Dynasty.

When they saw Chen Zhiwen, their faces turned gloomy, and their eyes revealed clear hostility.

These people were wary of Chen Zhiwen, as they had just escaped from the tiger's mouth and couldn't be sure if Chen Zhiwen would take advantage of the situation to attack them.

Thus, these hostile Prodigies turned and left without hesitation, keeping a distance from Chen Zhiwen.

In this situation, staying away from Chen Zhiwen was undoubtedly their best choice.

However, there were other Prodigies from forces friendly to the Great Xuan Dynasty. When they saw Chen Zhiwen, they only nodded slightly before quickly turning away, as if Chen Zhiwen were just an irrelevant passerby.

These Prodigies each had unique personality traits.

Hua Bo was the steady, cautious type; he acted prudently and did not take risks easily.

Other Prodigies preferred to travel alone, bravely exploring unknown areas.

This difference in personality led to different choices and ways of dealing with opportunities.

For those Prodigies who liked to adventure alone, they didn't need to consider other factors and could devote themselves to the pursuit of Opportunity.

As Chen Zhiwen and his companion got closer to the summit, they met more people.

After passing through an ancient forest, Chen Zhiwen met Zheng Chen, Zhou Qi, and Ye Hao.

Zheng Chen and Zhou Qi looked very calm, as if nothing had happened, contrasting sharply with the disheveled appearance of other Prodigies.

However, Chen Zhiwen thought about it and felt it was reasonable. After all, Zheng Chen and Zhou Qi were Soul Refining Cultivators, and their spirits and Mental Energy far exceeded ordinary people.

Perhaps the creature's illusion technique worked on other Cultivators, but for Zheng Chen and Zhou Qi, it was clearly not enough.

Chen Zhiwen guessed secretly and asked them about the situation. Sure enough, as he expected, Zheng Chen and Zhou Qi also encountered the creature's illusion technique when entering Qinghua Mountain.

But with their keen Mental Energy, Zheng Chen and Zhou Qi quickly sensed the abnormality.

They immediately realized it was an illusion technique and effortlessly dragged the hidden creature out and killed it quickly.

In contrast, Ye Hao's situation was much more miserable. He was covered in blood and injuries, clearly having gone through a fierce battle before finally killing the creature.

After the three met with Chen Zhiwen, the group became five.

As the five continued toward the summit, Chen Zhiwen suddenly asked the group: "Have you ever heard of Qingshen Pass?"

Everyone looked at each other, faces blank.

"Qingshen Pass? What is this?" Zheng Chen asked, puzzled, clearly having never heard of it.

Chen Zhiwen said: "I heard Qingshen Pass from the creature I killed. If I am not mistaken, the Qingshen Pass they speak of is Qinghua Mountain."

Everyone frowned, thinking about what the three words Qingshen Pass meant.

Just then, Zheng Chen frowned, saying with a serious face: "I once saw a record about Qinghua Mountain in an ancient book of the Great Yu Imperial Family." His voice was low and serious, as if this discovery was very important.

Then, Zheng Chen described the content of the ancient book in detail: "The book clearly records that during the Ancient Era, when the North Sea Demon Clan dominated the wilderness, they regarded Qinghua Mountain as the Demon God Mountain."

"It was not until the end of the Ancient Era, after the Human Race defeated the Yao Race, that this Demon God Mountain was renamed Qinghua Mountain."

However, when talking about calling this mountain Qingshen Pass, Zheng Chen paused slightly, his expression showing a trace of shock.

Finally, he boldly made his own guess: "Could it be that this name Qingshen Pass comes from an era even older than the Ancient Era?!"

As his voice fell, everyone present was stunned by this shocking guess, and some even gasped involuntarily.

However, after the shock, everyone began to think calmly and carefully ponder this guess.

After careful consideration, they found that although this guess was bold, it was not entirely impossible.

"If Brother Zheng's guess is correct, doesn't that mean those creatures come from an era far older than the Ancient Era?" Zhou Qi said with a look of astonishment, as if this conclusion was completely beyond his imagination.

"But… but this is too unbelievable!" His voice trembled slightly, clearly not having fully recovered from the shock.

Ye Hao on the side also echoed: "Yes, this is really too hard to believe. If such creatures really exist, their history is probably much longer than we can imagine."

However, Ye Hao's words sparked another question: "But if such creatures really exist, why did the Cultivators who entered Qinghua Mountain before never mention it?"

Everyone heard this and remained silent, thinking about this question.

For a while, various guesses and assumptions intertwined in their minds, making their thoughts like a mess.

After a while, Chen Zhiwen looked up and broke the silence: "Instead of guessing here, we might as well ask Feng Qingyang. As the Great Master Senior Brother of the Zetian Sect's inner cabinet, he must know much more about Qinghua Mountain than ordinary people."

His suggestion was agreed upon by the others, who nodded in approval.

"Exactly, Feng Qingyang might be able to give us some answers," Zheng Chen said, "And as we continue forward, we should be able to meet Feng Qingyang soon."

Having said that, he looked up at the road ahead, seemingly estimating the time to meet Feng Qingyang.

"Good!" Everyone responded in unison, then continued their journey, all looking forward to getting more information about those mysterious creatures from Feng Qingyang.