245: Chapter 245: If you're too afraid to make a move, what are you staring at?

By the time Xiao Ran arrived, the barrier had already shattered.

He landed on a patch of open ground, frowning as he looked at the faintly visible scene within the pillar of light.

He was a step late; everyone else had already entered.

"Forget it, entering late has its benefits. Let them clear the path ahead."

Xiao Ran comforted himself, then took out the yellow spring banner from his Storage Ring, gripped it in his hand, and stepped into the pillar of light.

The moment he stepped into the light, his vision blurred, and the ground beneath his feet changed.

It was no longer the grayish-black wasteland of the ruins, but a world of silvery white.

The ground was made of silvery-white sand, soft to the touch as if stepping on cotton.

The sky was deep blue, with a massive bright moon hanging low overhead, its moonlight illuminating everything as bright as day.

In the distance stood a majestic palace, with a giant osmanthus tree in front of it.

Beneath the osmanthus tree was a statue of a Jade Rabbit.

Further away, there were rolling mountain ranges and a silvery-white river.

A cold, crisp aura filled the air; a single breath made his Divine Soul tremble.

"taiyin essence." Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes.

He could feel the dense taiyin essence drifting in the air.

This essence had miraculous effects on Cultivating the Divine Soul, but for ordinary Cultivators, absorbing too much would cause the Divine Soul to freeze.

However, he was not afraid; his Guixu Body could devour everything, including taiyin essence.

He tried to activate the Guixu Vortex, drawing the surrounding taiyin essence into his body.

As the essence entered his body, a cool sensation flowed through his Meridians, eventually gathering in his Sea of Consciousness.

The Divine Soul in his Sea of Consciousness felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring, warm and comfortable.

"Good stuff." Xiao Ran's eyes lit up.

But he did not continue absorbing it himself; instead, he released the Yellow Spring Army from the yellow spring banner.

With a flash of black light, over a thousand corpses appeared on the silvery-white sand.

In their eye sockets, eerie green ghost fires looked particularly sinister under the moonlight.

They stood in perfect formation, Long Halberds pointing to the sky, awaiting orders.

Xiao Ran gripped the Tiger Tally in his hand, and with a thought, the Yellow Spring Army began to operate.

They simultaneously absorbed the surrounding taiyin essence.

The Yellow Spring Army required yellow spring qi to function, but since there was no yellow spring qi now, they could only use taiyin essence as a substitute.

Although taiyin essence was not as compatible as yellow spring qi, it was barely usable.

Over a thousand corpses opened their mouths at once, beginning to absorb the surrounding taiyin essence.

Visible strands of silver light surged into their bodies, and the ghost fires in their eye sockets gradually turned from eerie green to silvery white.

Xiao Ran sensed that the speed at which each individual corpse absorbed the taiyin essence was not fast.

But with over a thousand combined, the amount was quite considerable.

He didn't need to absorb it himself; as long as he maintained the operation of the Yellow Spring Army, he wouldn't need to consume his own spiritual energy in the Secret Realm.

"Alright, time to explore this Secret Realm."

Xiao Ran put away the Tiger Tally and led the thousand-plus corpses toward the palace.

...

People had already gathered in front of the palace.

Zhao Wudi, Sword Dust, and Li Qingyun each stood before the palace gates with their respective teams.

Shi Haokong, en own source text reference to mythology mythology, Feng Qingyin, and the other Six Great Yao Sovereigns also stood on the other side with the Yao Race Prodigies.

But none of them had entered.

Because the palace gates were tightly shut, and two rows of silvery-white statues stood before them.

The statues were in the likeness of soldiers, wearing armor and holding Long Halberds, completely motionless.

The statues' eyes were silvery-white without pupils, yet everyone could feel them staring.

"This palace can't be entered."

Zhao Wudi smashed a fist into a statue; the statue didn't budge, but his fist throbbed with pain.

Sword Dust drew his sword and struck a statue, but the blade didn't even leave a white mark.

"Incredible defensive power."

Sword Dust sheathed his sword and spoke indifferently.

Li Qingyun walked up to a statue and observed it closely.

He discovered runes at the base of the statues, which connected in a line extending to the knockers on the palace gates.

"A key is needed," he said in a heavy voice.

"A key?" Zhao Wudi frowned.

"What kind of key?"

Li Qingyun shook his head.

He didn't know either.

Shi Haokong's side was also attempting to break through.

He slammed a claw onto a statue; the statue remained unmoved, but his claws felt a dull ache.

"What hard stone."

He gave a cold snort.

en own source text reference to mythology mythology's nine heads simultaneously spat out venom; the venom hissed as it splashed onto the statue, but the statue showed no change.

"Poison is useless."

Feng Qingyin descended from her multicolored auspicious clouds, walked to a statue, and gently touched it with a wing.

The runes on the statue's surface lit up briefly and then dimmed again.

"It needs taiyin essence."

She spoke calmly.

"Only those who have absorbed enough taiyin essence can enter this palace; the more taiyin essence one has, the higher the floors they can access."

"taiyin essence?"

Quae Wangmang opened his massive beak and swallowed a mouthful of the surrounding air.

"What use is this stuff?"

"To Cultivate the Divine Soul," Feng Qingyin said.

"When you all entered just now, you should have absorbed some, but that amount is far from enough."

Hearing Feng Qingyin's words, Zhao Wudi's eyes lit up.

"Needs taiyin essence? That's simple, we just need to find it."

He turned to the Zhao family Prodigies behind him.

"Scatter and find taiyin essence. Find as much as you can."

The fourteen Prodigies scattered and began searching the Secret Realm.

Sword Dust and Li Qingyun also dispatched their own people.

On the Yao Race's side, Shi Haokong also ordered the Yao Race Prodigies to disperse and search.

The Human and Yao Races had a temporary truce, both searching for taiyin essence.

When Xiao Ran arrived, this was the scene he witnessed.

He stood on a sand dune outside the palace, watching the busy humans and Yao in the distance, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

He was in no hurry to go over; instead, he first observed the surrounding environment.

On the plaza in front of the palace, there were two rows of statues.

There were quite a few statues, at least a hundred, each possessing the aura of the Peak Soul Transformation Stage.

They were not living creatures, but they were more terrifying than living things.

They knew no fatigue and felt no pain; they would only stubbornly guard the palace gates.

"Need taiyin essence to enter?"

Xiao Ran understood in an instant.

He sensed the taiyin essence within his body.

He had absorbed some just now, but the amount wasn't much—likely only enough to activate one or two statues.

To activate all the statues and open the gates, the amount needed was likely hundreds or thousands of times more than what he had.

"Fortunately, I have the Yellow Spring Army." Xiao Ran smiled faintly.

With a thought, the thousand-plus corpses stepped forward simultaneously, advancing toward the palace.

The sound of synchronized footsteps echoed across the silvery-white sand.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The sound was dull and powerful, beating like a drum against everyone's hearts.

The humans and Yao searching for taiyin essence all stopped what they were doing and looked toward the sound.

They saw a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Under the silvery moonlight, over a thousand corpses marched toward the palace in a neat phalanx.

They wore tattered battle armor, held rusted Long Halberds, and silvery-white ghost fires flickered in their eye sockets.

Their steps were in perfect unison, each foot hitting the ground on the same beat, making the earth tremble.

Walking at the very front was a young man in a black robe.

Xiao Ran.

He stood with his hands behind his back, a faint, non-committal smile on his face.

His gaze swept over the humans and Yao on the plaza, then landed on the palace gates.

"Sorry, I'm late."

The plaza fell into a dead silence.

Zhao Wudi's eyes widened as he looked at the thousand-plus corpses, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.

"This kid... where did he get so many undead?"

Sword Dust gripped his sword hilt, his expression solemn.

He could sense that among those corpses, there was no lack of Peak Soul Transformation Stage existences, and the numbers were absurdly high.

There were over a thousand of them.

If they charged together, even he wouldn't be able to stop them.

Li Qingyun narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on Xiao Ran.

This Patrol Guard captain was even more unfathomable than he had imagined.

Shi Haokong's golden vertical pupils were full of wariness.

He could feel the threat from those corpses; although an individual one was nothing to fear,

if over a thousand attacked at once, even he would lose a layer of skin.

en own source text reference to mythology mythology's sixteen eyes narrowed simultaneously, and his nine heads pulled back slightly.

Snakes were born with an instinctive fear of the undead, especially the yellow spring qi emanating from these corpses, which made him very uncomfortable.

A flash of surprise crossed Feng Qingyin's amber eyes.

She glanced at Xiao Ran, then at the corpses, looking thoughtful.

Quae Wangmang's blood-red eyes were full of greed. He could sense that these corpses contained dense taiyin essence.

If he could devour them, he could directly activate the palace gates.

But he didn't dare move.

Because Xiao Ran was looking at him from across the way, a smile on his face, but none in his eyes.

"What? Want to make a move?"

Xiao Ran's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Quae Wangmang snorted coldly and looked away.

"If you're afraid to act, what are you looking at?"

"Are you looking for a slap in the face?"