573: Chapter 573

The Stone Tablet area had not yet quieted down.

Those four words, 'Number One Throughout the Ages,' were still etched into many people's minds.

After being sent back from the core area, Qin Yun only stopped in front of the Stone Tablet for a moment before turning to leave.

Many people were staring at him.

Some wanted to know what he had obtained in the core.

Others stared at his back with dark expressions.

"He stayed inside for so long just now; he definitely wouldn't come out empty-handed."

"But there are no unusual phenomena on him."

"True great Opportunities—how could they all be written on one's face?"

Discussions continued incessantly.

Some still hadn't given up and continued to stand before the Stone Tablet to try.

But the result didn't change.

The Stone Tablet didn't open.

The ancient gate didn't appear.

After failure after failure, the atmosphere in the Stone Tablet area began to change.

Some had ugly expressions.

Some turned and left immediately.

Others brought up that dead-end path that many had long deliberately ignored.

The Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain.

"We can't get through the proper path of the Stone Tablet."

"And we can't get the Ancient War Token."

"Then only Corpse Mountain is left."

"Not going means death; going might still offer a sliver of hope."

The voices of those saying this were tight with tension.

Yet, some were pushed to consider it.

However, not many actually moved toward the rift valley.

Most people still stood in the Stone Tablet area, watching and waiting.

They were reluctant to leave, but also didn't dare to truly gamble with their lives.

Over by the rift valley, the atmosphere was even colder.

Those lingering near the entrance of the ancient path were still hesitating.

They saw a figure approaching.

It was Qin Yun.

The few people were stunned at first.

Then their expressions all changed.

"Why is he here?"

"Hasn't he already taken the proper path of the Stone Tablet?"

"Could it be that he also wants to brave Corpse Mountain?"

No one dared to believe it.

But Qin Yun didn't even stop his pace.

He stood by the edge of the rift valley and glanced at the grey-white ancient path.

He didn't think much.

He stepped directly onto it.

As this step landed, the entire ancient path seemed to be startled awake.

Grey mist surged from the ground.

Withered bones by the roadside trembled slightly.

The Evil Qi that had been suppressed in the depths of the rift valley for unknown years suddenly surged up.

Those few people near the entrance felt their scalps go numb.

They could still vaguely see the first half of the ancient path.

As soon as Qin Yun entered, the Death Qi around him began to pounce on him.

Further in, several blurry corpse figures stood up as well.

In the next moment, the grey mist closed in.

Their line of sight was cut off.

No one could see what was happening in the depths of the ancient path.

Those few people stood for several breaths, their backs cold.

Soon, they turned and ran, bringing the news back to the Stone Tablet area.

When the first wave of people heard it, they didn't quite dare to believe it.

"Who went in?"

"Qin Yun."

"You must be crazy."

But after the second wave of people went to the rift valley to confirm, the Stone Tablet area still fell into chaos.

It really was Qin Yun.

He had entered the Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain.

Many people were speechless on the spot.

Others were shocked at first, then sneered.

"He just got the Stone Tablet's recognition and then goes to touch Corpse Mountain; he's looking for death."

"The ancient path isn't for people to brave; it's for people to bury their bones."

"No matter how much of a Prodigy he is, it's the same."

At first, some were still waiting.

They felt that Qin Yun might still be able to hold on for a while.

But time passed bit by bit.

There was no new movement from the direction of the rift valley.

So the voices began to change.

"No result means he's gone."

"Entering Corpse Mountain and not coming out for half a day is no different from being dead."

"What a pity, a ruthless character just appeared, only to turn around and play himself to death."

"It's for the best; one less person to compete for the core."

Such talk became more and more frequent.

Later on, many people had already accepted one thing as a given.

Qin Yun had most likely died within Corpse Mountain.

But at this moment.

Deep within the Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain, things were not at all as they imagined.

Qin Yun moved forward all the way.

He didn't stop.

When ancient corpses rushed up, he smashed them with a punch.

When corpse balefulness formed a tide, he suppressed it with his Taihuang Holy Venerable Sun Body.

When the remnant thoughts of ancient war corpses blocked the way, he directly suppressed an area with the Heaven-Sealing Seal, then used his Double Pupils to find the weakest point and forcibly broke through.

He wasn't undergoing a trial.

He was carving out a path.

Whatever was in front, he would strike.

In the middle section, a corpse general clad in tattered heavy armor charged out of the mist, the broken blade in its hand still dripping with black blood.

As soon as it appeared, the entire ancient path shook.

Qin Yun didn't bypass it.

He crashed directly into it.

The broken blade slashed down.

Qin Yun raised his hand and caught it.

The blade snapped.

The corpse general raised its fist.

Qin Yun smashed a punch into its chest.

Armor shattered, bones cracked, and corpse Qi exploded.

The corpse general wanted to rise again, but Qin Yun joined his fingers into a sword, and a Heart Sword swept past, directly shattering the remnant will within its body.

Deeper in the mist, more tides of corpse balefulness pressed forward.

Qin Yun raised his hand, and the Heaven-Sealing Seal suppressed a large area.

His feet didn't stop.

Pushing forward all the way.

Fighting all the way.

The Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain didn't trap him.

It only made him use his fists a bit more.

An unknown amount of time passed.

At the other end of the ancient path, there was suddenly movement.

By then, back at the Stone Tablet area, no one was waiting for a result anymore.

That Qin Yun was dead was a consensus among everyone; even the people from the Great Xia Holy Dynasty no longer held any hope.

Right at that moment.

At the other end of the rift valley, Evil Qi suddenly surged up.

The entire ancient path shook along with it.

Those nearby were stunned first.

Before they could react, a figure had already walked out of the grey mist.

It was Qin Yun.

There were battle scars on his body.

His robes were also somewhat torn.

But his Aura hadn't diminished in the slightest.

His entire body still carried the residual Evil Qi from the Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain.

At a glance, it didn't look like he had escaped, but more like he had fought his way through that dead-end path.

On both ends of the rift valley, it was silent at first.

Then everyone froze.

The expressions on the faces of those who had previously asserted he would definitely die were each uglier than the last.

No one spoke.

A moment later, the Stone Tablet area completely erupted.

"He really made it through the Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain!"

"How is this possible!"

The several Prodigies on the Great Xia side were also completely stunned.

Even Xia Qingyue was dazed for a moment.

Qin Yun didn't stop.

He walked into the ancient gate and entered the core area once again.

Following his senses further in, the world suddenly became much quieter.

This place didn't look like a battlefield.

It looked more like an ancient Dao arena that had been abandoned for countless years.

The surrounding stone platforms were dilapidated.

The herb garden was half-withered.

Many places still had faint traces of ancient Dao marks.

The azure pagoda was vibrating.

Chen Yang's remnant soul had also clearly become active.

"The things buried here are of a very high level."

"That medicinal fragrance is no ordinary immortal medicine."

"Be careful, don't touch things randomly."

The two of them followed the medicinal fragrance all the way forward, finally stopping before a shattered herb garden.

In the center of the herb garden, an ancient medicine, half-withered and half-flourishing, was coiled on a stone.

Its surface was grey and defeated, looking as if it should have died long ago.

But its internal undying medicinal properties were extremely strong.

Just with one look, Chen Yang's remnant soul trembled.

"It's this."

"With this thing, reshaping my Physical Body is no longer just empty talk."

Qin Yun raised his hand to take it.

But as soon as his hand reached out, the entire herb garden lit up.

ancient runes rose up layer by layer from the ground.

The ancient medicine didn't flee, but it caused the entire deep region to resonate.

Qin Yun immediately withdrew his hand.

He understood.

With his current cultivation, he could forcibly pluck it.

But in all likelihood, it would directly cause the medicinal properties to explode.

At that time, the medicine would be ruined, and the deep-level Laws would also fall into chaos.

"I can't take it down alone."

Chen Yang said in a deep voice:

"I'll stabilize the medicinal properties; you suppress the outer layer."

No extra words were needed.

Qin Yun immediately circulated the Immortal Sutra to suppress the commotion on the outer layer of the herb garden.

Chen Yang used him as a medium to probe his remnant soul into the depths of the ancient medicine, soothing that undying Origin bit by bit.

One from the inside, one from the outside.

They coordinated extremely steadily.

The ancient runes that had previously flared up in the herb garden gradually calmed down.

The ancient medicine, half-withered and half-flourishing, finally stopped resisting.

Qin Yun closed his fingers, pulling it up completely and placing it into a jade box.

The medicine was obtained.

Chen Yang became significantly quieter.

But within this silence was a hidden excitement that couldn't be suppressed.

This trip was worth it.

After collecting the medicine, the two did not leave immediately.

Because behind the herb garden, there were still remnant tablets and broken halls.

Qin Yun looked all the way through, and combined with Chen Yang's judgment of the Auras, he finally pieced together the Origins of the Ancient Chaos Ruins.

This place wasn't some ordinary Secret Realm at all.

It was a remnant world left behind by an existence at the peak of the Heavenly Emperor realm.

The Stone Tablet was to screen people.

The Ancient Path of Corpse Mountain was to screen lives.

These herb gardens, broken halls, and remnant tablets in the deep core were prepared for those who truly reached the end.

The immortal medicine was not the most core thing here.

It was just one of them.

"There's something else in the deepest part."

Chen Yang suddenly spoke.

Qin Yun looked up.

The azure pagoda in his Sea of Consciousness also vibrated slightly.

The two followed their senses further into the depths, finally seeing a remnant page suspended in mid-air within an ancient hall that had half collapsed.

It wasn't large.

Yet it radiated an extremely deep Dao rhyme.

With just one look, Qin Yun knew that the value of this thing would not be lower than that of the ancient medicine.

He was just about to take it.

But the entire deep space suddenly began to vibrate.

The time limit was up.

The time for the second entry into the core was about to run out.

The edges of the space began to collapse.

The stone platforms crumbled one by one.

The repulsive force of the Laws was also rapidly increasing.

"Quick!"

Chen Yang shouted in a low voice.

Qin Yun did not hesitate and reached out to grab it.

The remnant page above the ancient hall vibrated violently, wanting to fly away.

Qin Yun directly used the Heaven-Sealing Seal to fix it for an instant, then locked onto its trajectory with his Double Pupils, and finally used the Immortal Sutra to forcibly pull it into his palm.

Just as he gripped it firmly.

The surrounding space completely collapsed.

A repulsive force far stronger than before swept in.

Qin Yun didn't even have time to look closely at the remnant page and the ancient medicine before he was forcibly swept away by the deep-level Laws.

His vision blurred.

By the time he landed again, he had already been sent out by the rules of the Ancient Chaos Ruins.