Cultivating immortality relies on spatial abilities; defying fate to become the protagonist.

Chapter 173

Gu Shihan and the others waited for a while, but no one else came out. They whispered, "This Ghostly Peak must be hiding a big secret. We should carefully sneak in and investigate."

"Junior Sister, could this be the lair of the black-robed men? But then again, it seems absurd. Could they be natives of the secret realm?" Mo Yu frowned and whispered.

"Who knows? Let's go and see for ourselves!" Shi Qinghan was the first to walk towards the distant vines.

They cautiously approached the vines, casting spells to conceal their presence, and slowly crawled into the entrance behind the vines.

It was dark and damp inside, filled with a putrid stench. After walking along the narrow passage for a while, they heard a series of low, roaring sounds.

Suddenly, a hidden door appeared before them. Peeking through the crack, they saw a huge black crystal floating in the air, from which countless streams of black energy surged. This was the source of the demonic transformation in this place.

Just then, the alarm sounded, and the three men in black robes spotted them.

A chaotic battle broke out, with Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan standing in front, while Gu Shihan and Yu Tong tried to destroy the black crystal.

After a fierce battle, Gu Shihan poured all her strength into the black crystal with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. The crystal gradually cracked and eventually exploded and dissipated.

As the black crystal exploded and dissipated, the surrounding darkness quickly faded, and the originally dark and damp passage gradually became bright.

The leader of the black-robed men let out an angry roar: "You destroyed our sacred artifact, today is your death day!"

Although Mo Yu and Shi Qinghan were exhausted, they still gritted their teeth and persevered in resisting the attacks of the man in black robes.

Gu Shihan and Yu Tong exchanged a glance. In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the black crystal was enveloped in flames. Countless black mists within the flames dissipated until nothing remained.

The moment the black crystal was destroyed, the three men in black robes collapsed to the ground, turning into talismans that fell to the earth.

"Is this a talisman person?" Mo Yu asked in surprise as he stepped forward to examine it.

"What talisman? This is the first time I've ever seen one!" Shi Qinghan asked, puzzled.

“Junior Brother Shi, the talisman is a special kind of talisman. The method of making it has been lost. Even our Wuhua Sect does not have the inheritance of making talismans. I did not expect to see it in the Tianshui Secret Realm. This world is really hard to be peaceful.”

Gu Shihan picked up the talisman papers and examined them carefully. She knew about these things, but had never successfully drawn one.

She felt uneasy, sensing that there was a bigger conspiracy behind this.

The four decided to leave the passage first. However, they hadn't gone far when they found that the path they came from had become blurry and a thin layer of mist had spread around them.

"Oh no, it seems there's a maze formation here." Gu Shihan frowned. She tried to use her spiritual power to dispel the fog, but the fog only dispersed briefly before quickly gathering again.

Yu Tong suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, "Look there!"

As everyone looked, they saw a figure, barely visible in the mist, slowly walking towards them.

As they drew closer, they could see that it was an elderly man with white hair. "You little brats, you ruined my plans, and you think you can leave? Dream on!" the old man's voice was icy.

Mo Yu stepped forward and questioned, "Who are you? Why did you lay such an evil thing here?"

The old man sneered, "I am a heart of the evil god Mo Lika, who was sealed here ten thousand years ago. I finally found a chance to be reborn with the help of that black crystal. Now that the crystal has been destroyed, my plan to return to the world will be postponed for another thousand years. You all deserve to die! None of you will leave here alive today." With that, the old man waved his hands, and black light blades shot towards them.

Mo Yu and the others could only fight back with all their might, but the old man was powerful and they gradually found themselves at a disadvantage.

The old man's strength was definitely not at the Golden Core stage. Just when the group was about to be overwhelmed, Shi Qinghan suddenly remembered that his master had given him a life-protecting jade pendant, saying that it might be useful in life-or-death situations.

He quickly took out the jade pendant, chanting incantations. Instantly, a golden light shot out from the jade pendant, transforming into a barrier that enveloped the four of them. The old man's attack struck the barrier and was deflected.

"Hmph, a mere trick." The old man sneered, and a black magic wand appeared in his hand without his knowledge. He stuck the wand into the ground, and the surrounding dark aura became even denser, constantly eroding the golden light barrier.

At this moment, Gu Shihan suddenly felt a familiar power fluctuation. She looked down at the storage bracelet, which contained an ancient book. She had obtained this book by chance and had never understood its meaning. Now, however, it was emitting a warm feeling.

She hurriedly took out the ancient book and opened it. The book automatically turned to a page and released powerful spiritual energy that rushed towards the old man.

The old man seemed to be restrained by something, letting out a painful roar and moving slowly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mo Yu unleashed his ultimate move, and the other three joined forces to attack, finally eliminating the old man completely.

The fog dissipated, the road became clear again, and the ancient book turned to ashes, as if it had completed its final mission.

"Junior sister, is that a book? What kind of book is it? It's amazing!"

"I don't know either. It must be a book. I got it by chance, and I never knew what it was. It looked like a book, but I couldn't open it no matter what I did. I never expected it could do this; it saved our lives. It turns out that many times, gains and losses are predetermined. I got it, and today it has fulfilled its mission. It truly proves the saying, 'There is a will in the universe!'"

Shi Qinghan and Mo Yu both seemed to be deep in thought after hearing Gu Shihan's words.

Mo Yu patted Gu Shihan on the shoulder and said seriously, "No matter what, we owe you a lot this time. Otherwise, even if we could withdraw, we would definitely have paid a heavy price."

"Perhaps! Let's move on, Yu Tong, let's destroy all those things that make us uncomfortable!" Gu Shihan said quietly.

"Okay, sister!" Yu Tong's phoenix fire swept quickly through the passage, and as it swept through, some evil spirits in the passage were burned.

The group continued on their way and soon arrived at a huge palace, where many cultivators had already gathered, most of whom Gu Shihan did not recognize.

The palace exuded an ancient and mysterious aura, its gates tightly shut.

"Hey, you're from the Five Flowers Sect, right? We found this place first." A male cultivator reached out to stop Gu Shihan and the others.

Shi Qinghan asked with a smile, "Yes, you found it correctly. Can you go in?"

At this moment, a white-robed male cultivator smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "Fellow Daoists, I am Situ Tinglang from the Tianyi Sect. We are all here for the opportunity, but this opportunity is also predetermined. Since we are all here for the opportunity, let's work together to open the palace gate. What kind of opportunity we can obtain will depend on our own abilities, how about that?"

"Fellow Daoist Situ, I am Mo Yu, this is my junior sister Gu Shihan, and my junior brother Shi Qinghan. Greetings! We have no objection to what you said."

"What do you mean no objections? They're clearly here to seize the opportunity. I've been waiting for three days and three nights!" someone muttered.

(End of this chapter)