Chapter 604 - 335: Evolution of the Celestial Secret

Treasure Mountain Secret Vault.

The female cultivators of Xuannü Palace and the Ye Family had joined forces. Their combined numbers exceeded twenty thousand, and every one of them was a stunning beauty with bright eyes and pearly teeth.

Under the joint command of Ye Xinglan and Meng Qingyu, the female cultivators from both families set up several layers of Grand Arrays, inside and out. They arranged for rotating shifts to stand guard, preventing cultivators from other powers from causing trouble.

Above them, countless stars glittered in the silent, brilliant Celestial Vault. From time to time, magnificent streams of starlight would streak across the night sky and land in the hands of a lucky female cultivator, causing ripples of excitement, or perhaps disappointment.

Most of the female cultivators only obtained Spiritual Artifacts. Only a small portion received Magical Treasures, and Spiritual Treasures were even rarer.

Of course, given their sheer numbers, a few lucky individuals were bound to get their hands on something good. That was their fortune.

"...Sister, it seems the people from the other families have run into some trouble. They’ve gotten separated in the Immortal Mansion Ruins, haven’t they?"

In the private courtyard, Meng Qingyu put away a gorgeous Ink Jade Feather Fan, a Magical Treasure, and turned her head to whisper to Ye Xinglan beside her.

The female cultivators from their two families had been acting together and hadn’t gotten separated, so there was no need for them to worry.

But over the past few hours, more than one group of male cultivators had stumbled in. Their numbers were small, ranging from a few dozen to about a hundred.

Major powers like the Chiying Demon Sect, the Yu Family, and the Li Huo Divine Palace had all mobilized thousands, or even tens of thousands, of cultivators for this expedition. It was unclear what sort of mishap they had encountered, but most of their forces were now scattered.

There wasn’t much to say about it. The moment those straggling cultivators broke into the Treasure Mountain Secret Vault, they were immediately dealt with by the high-ranking Elders from the two families. Not a single one escaped.

"Yes, that’s right. But this is a good thing for us. Every one we can kill is one less to worry about."

Ye Xinglan said with a beaming smile.

To contend for opportunities, the various sects and factions were bound to clash sooner or later. It was only natural to take advantage of their superior numbers to kill and weaken their opponents as much as possible.

The best-case scenario was that those wretched men would suffer heavy casualties in the Immortal Mansion Ruins, giving the women more opportunities to vie for their own fortunes.

Ye Binghua, a peerless beauty as dazzling and grand as a magnificent peony, said in a sweet voice, her eyes shimmering:

"Ever since we met our husband, I feel like our luck has gotten so much better. I’m sure there will be more surprises to come, right?"

"Of course,"

the elegant and charming Qin Yanran said with a light laugh, covering her mouth. "With the blessing of our husband’s supreme Destiny, is there any place left for those wretched men in these Immortal Mansion Ruins?"

Meng Qingyu nodded slightly, her clear, beautiful eyes gazing upward.

"Once we’re done here, we’ll go out and meet up with our husband. I just hope he isn’t found by some hussies from another family."

"Don’t worry,"

Ye Xinglan said. "Across the entire Qingming Continent, what other family’s women could possibly compare to ours? Our husband won’t be charmed by them.

I’m more worried that those wretched men from the other powers will shamelessly try to take him by force. Our husband’s Cultivation isn’t high enough yet, so he might be in some danger."

"That’s also true,"

Meng Qingyu said pensively. "Communication is difficult inside the Immortal Mansion Ruins, and we don’t know what the situation is like outside. Otherwise, we could have called for more support from the Sect."

She was indeed feeling some regret. ’If I had known we would run into Ling Changqing in here, I would have had the Sect’s high-ranking Elders all come out. With their protection, we could have guaranteed his safety.’

Of course, what none of them realized was that ever since Ling Changqing had become intimate with them, the very evolution of the Celestial Secret on the Qingming Continent had begun to shift, developing in a direction favorable to the two families of female cultivators.

...

At the far end of the plaza were over a thousand Azure Jade Steps. The surface of the jade was covered in intricate, exquisite star patterns. Stepping on them caused ripples of starlight to spread out like rings, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

Despite the passage of an unimaginably long time, every brick and tile, every door, window, corridor, step, and passageway deep within this Immortal Palace was as clean as new, showing no signs of the erosion of time.

However, Sword Flight was impossible inside the Immortal Mansion Ruins. Nearly all Floating Divine Techniques were unusable; attempting to use them would result in being lost in an unknown spatial trap with no escape.

Ling Changqing ascended the steps with his lovely companions, arriving before the magnificent and towering palace gates.

The gilt-bronze gates stood over a hundred feet tall, covered in patterns of nebulae. Their surface was shrouded in a foot-thick layer of iridescent mist, within which a faint killing intent lay hidden.

"I’ll open the gate. Husband, you can just relax and wait."

Xue Qingtan said softly. When it came to the various Restriction Traps inside the Doumu Immortal Palace, no one knew them better than she did.

"This Restriction looks pretty complex,"

Luo Binghu muttered. "If there isn’t a proper way to open it, wouldn’t we have to break in by force? Even a typical Array Dao Grandmaster wouldn’t be able to handle this, right?"

"Of course. If we were to attack it by force, we’d have to pile up bodies to break through!"

Xue Qingtan said with a smile. In her era, when the ruins of the Doumu Immortal Palace first reappeared, all the major powers had indeed sent out their strongest experts and Great Powers, exhausting all means to finally open it.

Ling Changqing, Meng Feiyu, Bai Qingyi, and the other women stood to the side, watching as Xue Qingtan formed Spirit Techniques with her hands, carefully unraveling the layers of Restrictions on the gate.

With each Restriction that was undone, the gate would shimmer with brilliant light, and the thick, iridescent mist would quietly fade by one layer.

Before long, all twelve layers of Restrictions were successfully undone. As the vast rosy mist dissolved into streams of light and vanished, the magnificent palace doors finally began to open slowly.

"Let’s get inside, quickly!"

Xue Qingtan’s expression was grave. "Then we need to seal the gate again. We can’t let any outsiders sneak in after us!"

’It’s not impossible that there are other ways in,’ Xue Qingtan thought, ’but I’m not about to let outsiders freeload off our efforts. You want to take this path? Then you can just pile up your own bodies to get through!’

Ling Changqing nodded, entered with the women on his arm, and then turned back to close the palace doors.

But just as the palace doors were about to close, a great flash of light appeared on the distant plaza. A large group of cultivators emerged. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be disciples of the Li Huo Divine Palace.

"Huh? What’s that over there?!"

A sharp-eyed cultivator immediately noticed the commotion and couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

Instantly, all the Elders and disciples turned to look.

"Hm? Who are they? How did they manage to open this place?"

In the middle of the crowd, Elder Sect Leader Qin Tianyang’s expression changed abruptly.

Ling Changqing gave him a smile from afar. With a low RUMBLE, the palace doors sealed shut, and Xue Qingtan began to reinforce the Restrictions.

"Fellow cultivator, wait!"

An impatient Elder next to him didn’t stop to think and immediately slashed out with his sword. A blazing Flying Sword shot through the air like a bolt of lightning.

But it was too late. The sharp Sword Aura struck the palace doors and vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea, without the slightest effect.

"Go and see!"

Qin Tianyang ordered, his face ashen. This was definitely the correct path to the depths of the Immortal Mansion Ruins, but unfortunately, they were a step too late.

Now that the gates were closed again, breaking through them would likely come at a considerable cost.

Sure enough, when they rushed past the steps to the front of the palace gates, they found the doors not only shut tight but also shrouded once more in a foot-thick layer of iridescent mist, completely blocking their entry.