Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

Everyone sat cross-legged by the spiritual spring, using the warm spiritual energy of the ancient spiritual vein to nourish their cultivation. Lin Yan leaned against the mottled, ancient totem stone pillar, closing his eyes to calm his mind and rest.

The ancient plains are still and dusty, with broken steles and pillars standing everywhere, exuding a desolate and ancient charm that has remained silent for thousands of years.

A moment later, Lin Yan suddenly felt the stone foundation beneath him tremble slightly, and a faint, hidden golden aura slowly rose up along the underground spiritual veins.

The ancient phoenix pattern on the stone pillar, sealed for ten thousand years, radiates fine golden light from within, subtly resonating with the Canglan sword intent within his body.

He condensed a wisp of clear sword energy at his fingertips and gently probed into the interlacing patterns and gaps of the stone pillar.

hum-

A deep, ancient murmur echoed from the depths of the earth, and the ancient pillar suddenly shone with a brilliant golden light. The patterns on the stone seemed to move and spread as if alive, and fine cracks quietly appeared on the stone's surface. A palm-sized, translucent, white jade piece, engraved with half a phoenix pattern, slowly floated into the air along the crack, hovering quietly in mid-air, radiating a soft, ancient glow. The surrounding cultivators all turned to look at it, sensing that the jade's aura was extraordinary and its origin mysterious and unpredictable, yet no one could fathom the depth of its source or discern its mysteries.

Lin Yan's eyes remained closed, but his sea of ​​consciousness was suddenly swept open by a vast and boundless ancient aura.

What enters the mind is not an illusion, but a personal past deeply etched into the very essence of the soul, spanning countless ages.

Beneath the hazy, ancient sky, the majestic and boundless Divine Mountain of the Imperial Ruins stretches across the heavens and earth, with towering jade pillars reaching straight into the clouds. The entire secret realm is shrouded in magnificent and boundless golden imperial runes, with countless phoenix patterns flowing endlessly and the trajectories of stars rising and falling in disarray.

High above the Nine Heavens Platform, a blurry yet majestic ancient emperor's figure stood in the sky, holding a perfectly round ancient jade disc in his palm.

The jade disc is flawless and pure white, containing the secrets of heaven and earth. It is wrapped with complete black bird and phoenix patterns, and countless golden imperial essences emanate from the disc, suppressing the myriad laws of the secret realm and ruling over the entire Shaohao Mountains and Rivers.

In an instant, the heavens and earth shook violently, and the star trails shattered.

The magnificent and unparalleled imperial jade shattered in the ancient catastrophe, with countless jade fragments and flowing light scattering and falling into the imperial ruins, disappearing into the mountains, rivers, and ancient pillars.

The ancient scene vanished in an instant.

However, in the blink of an eye, Lin Yan's soul was already perfectly clear.

The jade piece suspended in mid-air before us is a fragment left behind from the shattering of the ancient Heavenly Emperor's supreme treasure—the Emperor's Heart Jade Disc.

After a brief moment of mental turmoil, Lin Yan quickly suppressed the turmoil in his eyes, his face remaining unchanged. He continued to sit quietly against the pillar, his eyelids lowered, his breathing steady and normal, seemingly no different from the other cultivators around him who were meditating with their eyes closed.

The Imperial Heart Jade Disc shattered during the ancient cataclysm, scattered throughout the secret realm. It is the core treasure that unlocks the origin of the Shaohao Imperial Ruins. This mere fragment, seemingly insignificant, contains authentic Imperial Dao patterns and is the key to unlocking the deeper restrictions of the subsequent secret realm.

If the scheming disciples of the Wang and Hao families notice anything amiss, they will surely try to seize it at all costs, and a fierce battle will inevitably break out again by the Spirit Spring.

With a slight thought, Lin Yan concealed the Azure Wave Sword Intent within his dantian, and a wisp of extremely fine spiritual energy quietly emerged, gently enveloping the shimmering white fragment suspended in mid-air.

The jade piece was docile and unreserved, following the guidance of his spiritual energy, it silently darted towards him, disappearing into his sleeve without a trace. Throughout the entire process, the light was subtly contained, without the slightest hint of anything unusual leaking out.

The surrounding cultivators were still whispering among themselves, their eyes repeatedly scanning the spot where the jade piece had just been suspended, filled with regret.

"That ancient jade was of exceptional quality; it must be an ancient artifact."

"It's a pity I can't see the secrets; there's no burst of spiritual energy, no dazzling light soaring into the sky."

"It's probably just an ordinary historical site, not a top-tier treasure. It's fine if we don't have the chance to find it."

The crowd discussed it amongst themselves, all believing that the ancient jade had disappeared into the stone pillar's veins on its own, and that it was just a fleeting, mysterious phenomenon. No one suspected that Lin Yan had secretly taken it.

Not far away, the disciples of Laoshan were quietly adjusting their breathing, completely unaware of what was happening. The cultivators of the Wang and Hao clans were each guarding their respective camps, their minds focused on cultivation and breathing adjustments, and no one noticed this fleeting, subtle change.

The entire ancient plain of Lingquan has returned to its former tranquility. The wind is still gentle, the spring still flows gently, and the ancient pillars stand silently.

The jade piece in his sleeve was slightly cool, and a faint imperial aura slowly traveled along his meridians, quietly nourishing Lin Yan's cultivation foundation and subtly echoing the aura deep within the Shaohao Imperial Ruins.

Suddenly, a disciple of the Hao clan, not far away, frowned slightly, glanced at the ancient pillars standing all around, and asked in confusion, "Just now I clearly saw a golden light flash from the stone pillar, and something float in the air, how come it disappeared in an instant?"

Some glimpsed the phantom from afar but couldn't see it clearly; others were too busy meditating and cultivating to notice it. Many more simply assumed it was an illusion formed by the occasional fluctuation of spiritual energy from the ancient ruins' ley lines, not worth investigating further.

Within the Wang clan's camp, several core disciples exchanged subtle glances, their fingertips subtly channeling spiritual energy as they quietly probed into the earth's veins. They also tentatively traced the patterns on the totem stone pillars beside them, secretly deducing and investigating.

They came for the opportunities and ancient treasures of the Imperial Ruins, and were unwilling to miss the slightest anomaly. However, after several investigations, they found no trace of residual spiritual energy, so they could only suppress their greed and doubts.

"It's just the condensation of the earth's spiritual energy, a floating light formed by its accumulation and leakage. There's no need to make a fuss about it." Wang said casually, but her eyes were filled with calculation.

Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm and undisturbed, revealing no trace of emotional turmoil. He calmly stood up and spoke lightly to dispel everyone's doubts: "This place is an ancient ruin. It is common for spiritual veins to be disordered and for spiritual light to appear intermittently. These are merely fleeting phenomena and there is no need to investigate them too deeply."

With just a few words, the matter was glossed over.

He moved slowly, seemingly casually surveying the broken steles and ruins around him, but his divine sense spread out along the veins of the earth. Fragments of memories from the Imperial Ruins buried deep within his soul sea kept flashing, and he clearly knew that the Qingwu Ancient Plain was the outer gateway to the Shaohao Imperial Ruins, and these towering totem stone pillars were originally the foundation of the ancient Heaven-Sealing Array.

The Jade Wall of the Emperor's Heart shattered and scattered, with countless fragments hidden in the mountains, rivers, and ancient pillars. Their auras resonate with each other, and only by collecting the key fragments can one break through the barrier of the deep imperial ruins and step into the true core of the secret realm.

As darkness fell, the fog in the depths of the ancient plain grew thicker and thicker; beyond that lay the ruins of an ancient altar.

Yunxi walked slowly with a graceful figure, her voice calm: "We still have no clue what treasures are hidden in the Imperial Ruins. The area around the altar is densely covered with restrictions and fraught with danger. All the major forces have their own ulterior motives. The journey we take together from now on will never be safe."

On the surface, everyone is resting and recuperating in the ancient plains, but in reality, the various factions are wary of each other and suspicious of one another, with undercurrents already surging. The competition is not yet over, and the opportunities in the secret realm have appeared. As soon as any treasure is revealed, it will instantly trigger a fierce battle for it.

Lin Yan nodded slightly, and the fragment of the Imperial Heart Jade Wall in his sleeve suddenly trembled slightly, as if it were responding to the vast Daoist charm deep in the ancient plain and at the core of the Imperial Ruins Secret Realm.

He knew it in his heart.

The Qingwu Ancient Plains are merely the beginning of this game. The legacy of Shaohao, the secrets of the imperial path, the fortunes of sects, and the ambitions of aristocratic families—all the entanglements and conflicts will unfold completely within this ancient secret realm.

"Let's set off, heading deeper towards the altar."

Lin Yan spoke calmly and took the lead, walking into the depths of the ancient plains shrouded in mist.

With his profound spiritual power at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment concealed around him, he moved with ease. The remnant jade of the Emperor's Heart, hidden in his sleeve, lay dormant, carrying the secrets of countless ages, accompanying him step by step into the turbulent Imperial Ruins Secret Realm.

The disciples of Laoshan followed closely behind, and various factions also set off one after another, their figures disappearing into the misty ancient plains.