122: Invitation to the Secret Realm of Souls

The fierce winds at high altitude ruffled Lin Gou's newly regrown black hair.

The transcendent and vast Dao rhythm that had emanated from him had, at some unknown point, completely receded.

In its place was a coldness that had almost solidified into substance.

A chilling killing intent, originating from the depths of his Divine Soul.

The warm, soft jade in his arms seemed unable to melt this coldness.

Su Meier, her face buried in his chest, slowly lifted her head.

She clearly felt this change.

A moment ago, this man was her harbor of absolute peace, a treasure lost and found again after facing life and death.

Now, he was like a peerless weapon of destruction, about to be unsheathed, ready to cleave the stars of the Nine Heavens.

His deep eyes were gazing into the distance, towards a certain direction on the Heavenly Vault Fortress continent.

There was no trace of warmth in his gaze.

Only a profound, silent cold, like ten thousand years of profound ice.

"What's wrong?"

Su Meier's voice carried a hint of hoarseness from crying, and a trace of cautiousness she herself hadn't noticed.

Lin Gou did not answer immediately.

The "Seed of the Blazing Sun Domain" was subtly vibrating within his Divine Soul ocean.

It granted him not only an extraordinary perception of the Laws of heaven and earth.

But also a keen ability to capture the threads of Karma.

He could "see."

In the distant center of the continent, a solitary, pure Sword Intent, like a winter plum blooming alone in the wind and snow, radiated.

That was Li Hanyue's aura.

He could also "see."

Several cold, dead, and unnatural auras, not belonging to the normal living beings of this world, were slowly converging like an invisible net, from all directions, towards that winter plum.

Those auras were filled with an absolute sense of order.

Like the coldest gears on the Heavenly Dao machine.

Devoid of any emotion, turning only for one purpose.

Annihilation.

Annihilation of all existences they deemed "anomalies."

"Scavengers."

Lin Gou's lips parted silently, uttering these three words.

His face, little by little, darkened.

The killing intent, which almost froze space, grew even more intense.

Su Meier's heart suddenly clenched.

She followed Lin Gou's gaze, but could only see an endless sea of clouds and a vast expanse of land.

She saw nothing.

But she could feel Lin Gou's emotions.

It was a pure, undisguised fury she had never seen before, a desire to destroy everything.

"Who is it...?"

She couldn't help but ask again, her hand gripping his lapel tightening unconsciously.

Lin Gou slowly withdrew his gaze and looked down at the woman in his arms.

Seeing her still swollen, yet worry-filled peach blossom eyes, the killing intent deep within his Divine Soul receded slightly.

"A friend."

His voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable resolve.

"She is in danger."

Su Meier's heart, for some reason, ached.

A friend?

What kind of friend could make him, after just escaping death, immediately reveal such a stance, as if he wanted to contend against the entire world?

An uncontrollably beautiful figure, cold as the moon, appeared in her mind.

The White-robed woman who stood beside him outside the Ten Thousand Formation Ancient Cave.

Li Hanyue.

A subtle, even to herself, embarrassing pang of sourness quietly spread from the bottom of her heart.

But more than that, there was an overwhelming, bone-deep fear.

She had just wished him back from the brink of death.

She didn't want to experience it again.

Not even once.

"You can't go!"

Su Meier suddenly grabbed his arm, her nails almost digging into his flesh from the force.

"You just came back!"

"Do you know, you just... you really disappeared just now!"

Her voice was tearful again, and her body trembled violently from lingering fear.

"I don't care who she is! I don't care what danger she's in!"

"You can't go to your death! I forbid it!"

She was like a protective female beast, using all her strength to express her resistance and fear.

Lin Gou looked at her, saying nothing.

He could understand her fear.

The despair of watching a beloved thing completely erased before one's eyes, leaving not a trace, was enough to destroy anyone's sanity.

But he had to go.

Those "Scavengers" were coming for the "anomaly."

Li Hanyue being targeted was, in the end, due to her deep entanglement of Karma with him.

This was his responsibility.

Moreover, Li Hanyue was one of the few people in this world he recognized as a comrade, someone he could fight alongside.

He looked at Su Meier's tear-stained face, sighing in his heart.

He slowly raised his hand and gently wiped away her tears with his fingertip.

"I..."

He was about to explain.

Just then.

A streak of light, at an almost frantic speed, shot towards them from within Heavenly Vault Fortress City.

Before the person arrived, an anxious voice, burning with urgency, had already reached them.

"Little Friend Lin! Little girl Su! Are you alright!"

It was Elder Ji Xuan.

The Grandmaster of Formations was now disheveled, his hair unbound, his face filled with lingering shock and fear.

He had just witnessed the world-destroying strike outside the city from his Immortal Cave.

Old Ancestor Chiyang's finger, imbued with the power of Law, instantly shattered his "Great Universe Shift Formation."

The violent energy backlash caused him no small internal injury.

He rushed out immediately, fearing to see an unacceptable scene.

When he saw Lin Gou and Su Meier standing together, safe and sound, he was stunned.

He rubbed his eyes hard, his face full of disbelief.

"You... you... Old Ancestor he..."

Elder Ji Xuan pointed at Lin Gou, his lips trembling, unable to complete a sentence.

He had personally watched Lin Gou, along with the space itself, being erased by that terrifying finger!

How could he still be alive?

Lin Gou nodded slightly at him.

"By chance."

He used only two words to lightly dismiss this miracle, which was enough to overturn the common sense of the Cultivation World.

Elder Ji Xuan opened his mouth, wanting to ask more.

But looking at Lin Gou's overly calm eyes, he suddenly swallowed all his questions.

The secrets of this young man were even more unfathomable than he had imagined.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart, and his expression became solemn again.

"This Old Man is here with an extremely urgent piece of intelligence!"

His tone was hurried and serious.

"Just now, a spatial anomaly suddenly appeared in the central core area of Heavenly Vault Fortress!"

"According to the highest Rank warning issued by Tianji Pavilion, it is an ancient Secret Realm that has never been discovered before!"

"The Secret Realm of Souls!"

When these four words came out of Elder Ji Xuan's mouth.

The surrounding air seemed to grow heavier.

Su Meier's attention was also drawn by this sudden intelligence, temporarily forgetting their previous argument.

A complex expression, mixed with apprehension and fanaticism, appeared on Elder Ji Xuan's face.

"The Secret Realm of Souls, as the name suggests, is a Trial Grounds specifically for the Divine Soul!"

"According to scattered records in ancient fragments, there are no physical entities, no Spiritual Qi inside, only the purest Soul Power storms in various forms, and countless powerful ancient Soul Cultivators!"

"Upon entering, the Physical Body will be repelled, and only the Divine Soul can enter."

"That place is devastating to the Divine Soul!"

He held up a finger, his voice trembling.

"It is said that even the Divine Soul of Nascent Soul Old Monsters cannot last more than an incense stick's time inside!"

"Therefore, it is also called the burial ground of Divine Souls!"

Hearing this, Su Meier's face turned even paler.

Such a Forbidden Ground among Forbidden Grounds was simply unheard of.

However, Elder Ji Xuan's tone changed, and a burning light burst forth in his eyes.

"But! Risk and Opportunity coexist!"

"The ancient texts also record that if someone with great perseverance and great Opportunity can emerge alive from the Secret Realm of Souls."

"Their Soul Power will undergo an unimaginable qualitative leap!"

"They might even obtain the legendary ancient Soul Cultivator techniques within!"

Elder Ji Xuan became more and more excited as he spoke.

"The Secret Realm will only be open for three days!"

"Now, all the powerhouses in the entire Heavenly Vault Fortress are going crazy! They are all rushing towards the central area!"

He finished speaking and looked at Lin Gou, his eyes questioning.

He believed that no Cultivator could refuse such a once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity.

However.

He saw.

There was no excitement or fanaticism on Lin Gou's face.

Only an extremely cold calm.

But in his eyes, a dazzling light instantly burst forth.

As if a traveler dying in the desert had seen a vast oasis.

The Secret Realm of Souls.

A place where he could die "efficiently and with high quality."

A place where he could frantically accumulate rewards and increase his strength in the shortest possible time.

This was simply like someone delivering a pillow when he was sleepy.

It was the only shortcut to resolve Li Hanyue's crisis!

His current strength, facing those "Scavengers" in a direct confrontation, would still be suicide.

But this kind of suicide was meaningless.

He needed a more valuable death.

He needed stronger power!