Five Immortal Sects
Chapter 137: Beyond the Passage

Gazing upon this wondrous and strange space, the light in Li Yan’s eyes grew ever brighter!

In the next instant, a thought stirred in his mind. The spiritual power within his body surged into the blue prism crystal in his hand. Immediately, a powerful suction force erupted from the crystal, as if attempting to ravenously drain all of his spiritual power.

At the same time, the Guishui True Scripture had already begun to operate. But this time, it caused a reverse vortex to form within the wooden spiritual energy vat in his body, which began to draw in the spiritual energy from within the blue prism crystal in reverse.

Li Yan split the spiritual power in his body into two streams, one continuously injected into the crystal through his hand, while the other constantly drew in the four non-wood elemental energies from the blue crystal. In this way, he managed to temporarily maintain a delicate balance.

He extracted the metal, water, fire, and earth spiritual energies from the outer five-elemental world of the blue prism crystal into his body for conversion, and then re-injected them back into the crystal in the form of wood-type spiritual energy.

As a result, the amount of wood spiritual energy within the crystal rapidly increased, while the other four elements steadily diminished. The once dazzlingly multicolored five-elemental space within the crystal now visibly shifted, gradually turning into a pure, clear azure hue.

The conversion process was swift. The moment the other four types of spiritual energy within the crystal were completely transformed, the blue prism crystal in his hand lost all its bluish tint, becoming entirely azure in color.

At the instant the final drop of spiritual energy within the crystal transformed into wood element, the wood energy surged like ten thousand tides returning to the sea, crashing into the cyan core at the center. At the same time, the crystal in Li Yan’s hand flared with a piercing azure light.

Li Yan knew the time had come. He immediately severed his spiritual connection to the crystal. The internal vortex ceased rotating, and the Guishui True Scripture once again activated.

From the four spiritual vats of metal, water, fire, and earth, energy surged like rivers flowing into the wood-element vat. A surge of pure and untainted wood spiritual energy erupted from Li Yan’s body. A radiant azure protective glow rapidly enveloped his form beneath the flickering light of the “Ghost Chariot Talisman.”

Then, with astonishing speed, Li Yan hurled himself toward the cliff wall of the snow-covered mountain...

Suspended in the kaleidoscopic space outside the passage, Li Yan recalled all that had just occurred, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“If I wasn’t sure before whether this secret realm had ties to the Five Immortals Sect, I’m at least sixty percent certain now. The ability to unify or divide the five elements like this…

Other than heaven-defying cultivation methods like the Guishui True Scripture, only the other four branches of the Five Immortals Sect have such techniques, as far as I’ve read in the ancient records.”

Since entering the Wraith Sect, Li Yan had spent all his spare time immersed in a multitude of records and tomes. His obsession with reading earned many eye-rolls from the gray-robed elder guarding the Scripture Pavilion, who constantly grumbled about a mere Qi Condensation disciple wasting his time on anything but cultivation manuals.

Moreover, Li Yan always borrowed the free texts marked with green dots, forcing the elder to tediously imprint those data points into Li Yan’s divine sense again and again without gaining even a shred of benefit in return.

After so much study, Li Yan had become thoroughly familiar with descriptions of mixed spiritual roots, which were basically dismissed as “waste roots” or “weak roots,” rarely even mentioning the five elements by name.

“To temporarily convert the five-elemental spiritual energies inside the blue prism crystal into the same element as the core, even if the three great sects were to uncover the secret of the Wheel of Life and Death, they still wouldn’t escape the constraints of the passage.

Balancing the five elements is one thing but to truly unify them? Unless one forges some heaven-defying magical treasure, I doubt it’s possible. And to refine such a tool, who knows what unimaginable heavenly materials and treasures would be required?

Besides, entering and exiting the passage consumes the spiritual energy within the blue prism crystal. How many times could it even endure such transit?”

Li Yan floated in midair, and the spiritual light in his hand began to flicker…

When he finally withdrew his divine sense from the blue prism crystal, a faint smile formed at his lips. The multicolored radiance of the space cast an almost bewitching glow across his face.

“If I use my own five-element spiritual power to replenish the energy consumed inside the crystal, I can ensure its capacity for repeated passage.”

He then began to probe his surroundings. Though only at the tenth level of Qi Condensation, his divine sense was already comparable to that of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Normally, Qi Condensation tenth-level cultivators could only sense six or seven li around them. By contrast, early Foundation Establishment cultivators could reach fifty li, while mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators could scan as far as two or three hundred li. At this moment, Li Yan’s divine sense could already stretch about fifty li.

Then, the image of Dong Fuyi’s prideful expression resurfaced in his mind. Li Yan couldn’t help but feel a pang of longing for the old man, though they had only met once. A moment later, he gave a gentle shake of his head and resumed probing the area with full concentration.

Presently, aside from the purple ribbon of light trailing behind him, he could also see two more ribbons, one white and one yellow, fluttering in the distance, a dozen or so li to either side.

After a brief pause, Li Yan discovered two more ribbons of light forty li away. However, they were neither purple like those belonging to the Wraith Sect. As the ribbons danced, they steadily drifted closer. Li Yan concluded that they would eventually intersect.

“Other than the dense five-elemental spiritual energy and these dancing light ribbons in the sky, there seems to be no trace of life in this place. If I were to cultivate here, the benefits would surely be immense.

This space is even more suited to my cultivation than the rest of the secret realm. But if I stay here, I won’t be able to pass on any message to Senior Brother Bai Liyuan or Senior Brother Gan. I’d be leaving them behind.

The Wraith Sect has treated me well. To act in such a way would be improper. Though I could come up with a reason to fool Sixth Senior Sister, I would be compromising my heart’s path. That could sow a seed of inner demon in the future and that would be no small matter for my cultivation.”

Li Yan thought it over and ultimately dismissed the idea. But to say it was purely for the benefit of Wraith Sect would not be entirely accurate, had it not been for the fear of inner demons, he might very well have abandoned the others.

Perhaps it was simply a shred of fellow-feeling he still held for Gong Chenying within the Wheel of Life and Death. Or perhaps, it was because he had made her a promise. In the end, Li Yan relinquished his selfish thoughts.

He himself could not pinpoint when it happened, when his heart had grown more self-centered, no longer the simple and honest village youth he once was. Bit by bit, he had begun to weigh all outcomes with himself as the center.

“If I haven’t seen the purple light ribbon, could it mean Senior Brother Bai Liyuan and Senior Brother Gan have already met with disaster? Or perhaps, because their passageway was the same color as ours, it repelled them far from this place?”

Glancing around, Li Yan once more locked his divine sense onto a point within the blue prism crystal’s core. His figure swayed and in a flash, he shot off toward that location. Yet after covering some distance, he paused in surprise, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

It turned out he had dashed forward out of instinct. Only then did he realize within this multicolored space, one didn’t need to rely on their own strength to fly. In fact, he soared like a thunderbolt, effortlessly swift.

This discovery filled Li Yan with a sense of boundless freedom, like a bird with the sky as its domain. Truly, the Wheel of Life and Death seemed destined to be a place of great fortune for him. Laughing heartily, his figure vanished like lightning into the distance.

...

Gong Chenying had already advanced several li. She swept her divine sense back toward the place where Li Yan had disappeared but there was no longer any trace of him. After traveling a bit farther, her divine sense still found nothing. At that point, she decisively let the matter go.

At this moment, regardless of whether Li Yan was pursuing them, or had truly exited the passage and fallen into peril, there was nothing she could do. She could not risk the lives of the others for the sake of one man.

Strangely, as they pressed forward, it was as if everyone gradually forgot about Li Yan. Not a single person voiced concern. At most, a few cast an occasional glance behind them, then fixed their gaze on Gong Chenying’s back. Each had thoughts of their own, but none spoke.

And so, fighting their way forward, they advanced several more li. Suddenly, Gong Chenying, at the head of the group, gave a faint shiver but quickly recovered, her movements only slowing slightly.

Because within her divine sense, just over a li ahead, Li Yan’s figure had abruptly appeared.

Then, a voice rang out within her mind.

“Sixth Senior Sister, there’s no sign of the enemy within ten li. Judging by the situation, they’ll appear in about half an hour, it’s likely the Ten Step Court or the beast faction. Be careful. I’ll be back soon!”

Before she could respond, Li Yan’s figure once again vanished without a trace.

Gong Chenying was momentarily stunned. But in the next breath, the corner of her mouth curved into a smile, so dazzling and soul-stirring it was rarely seen on her face, a beauty beyond compare.

“So the passage really does lead to another space. And Little Junior Brother… he can truly come and go at will. But why can I only command the blue prism crystal at a basic level unlike him?”

She gave a slight shake of her head, her hands never slowing, her gaze locked ahead but her thoughts now stirred.

“Little Junior Brother, I hope you find them in time. Heh… Ten Step Court or those demons, you say? Half an hour? Then I’ll cover the remaining distance in a quarter of an hour.”

With a flash of yellow light, a golden axe silently began orbiting around her.

At that moment, Li Yan was once again streaking through the five-colored space, his divine sense scanning nonstop in every direction.

Just earlier, after confirming he could freely enter and exit the passage, he had swept his divine sense across the darkened semicircular archway within the blue prism crystal and the purple ribbon of light trailing behind him.

He chose to reenter the passage at the fifth gate, about a li ahead of Gong Chenying’s current position. Having entered successfully, he confirmed another crucial point:

That to enter or exit the passage, it was only necessary for the five-elemental world within the crystal to be unified into the same attribute as the core. The spiritual energy in one’s body did not need to be forcibly converted into a single element.

In other words, if he wanted Gong Chenying to exit the passage, he only needed to use the Guishui True Scripture to convert her blue prism crystal’s elemental world into pure fire. Purple was, after all, a variant of fire. At that point, she too could pass freely through the gateway.

His transit this time was swift. After entering, he immediately replenished the spiritual energy the crystal had consumed, and again transformed the emerging five-elemental energy back into pure wood.

For the moment he re-entered the passage, he had clearly sensed murderous intent filling the surroundings. His presence had triggered the restrictions within the light band, they had detected an intruder, and an attack was imminent.

Thus, after quickly estimating the distance and speed of the approaching white and yellow ribbons he had observed outside, he immediately transmitted a message to Gong Chenying.

He did not wait for her reply. At blinding speed, he exited the passage once more.

His intuition was clear, had he lingered even a moment longer, he would have been swallowed whole.

(Chapter End)