Peak Immortal Palace

When buying the train ticket to Kunlun Pass, Zhang Dianfeng deliberately used a fake identity.

He knew that Black Skull was definitely watching from the shadows, and any carelessness could be fatal.

Sitting in a hard seat on a green train, the scenery outside the window changed from a bustling city to a desolate Gobi desert, but his mind remained tense.

He didn't dare waste the three days.

During the day, he secretly practiced manipulating psychic powers under the cover of the train's bumpy ride.

From initially only being able to make soda cans float, to later being able to make a pen draw a simple arc in the air, the vortex of Qi in the dantian has also become much more solid than before.

He discovered that although the operation of psychic energy is mysterious, it subtly follows certain mathematical laws—for example, the rotation speed of a cyclone is directly proportional to the weight of the object being manipulated, and the density of psychic energy is inversely proportional to the range of perception.

"If we could build a model to quantify these parameters..."

Zhang Dianfeng took out his notebook and quickly wrote down a series of formulas. His engineer's instincts compelled him to break everything down, analyze it, and optimize it.

In the evening, he continued to study the information about the Black Skull.

After several risky intrusions, he finally found some clues in an encrypted database:

Black Skull has been searching for ancient ruins around the world in recent years, with a particular focus on the Kunlun Mountains. He even organized a large-scale secret expedition three years ago, but it ended inconclusively, leaving behind only a record of "heavy losses".

"What exactly is Kunlun hiding?"

Zhang Dianfeng stroked the words on the notebook. The metal disk was hidden close to his body, and occasionally it would emit a faint warmth, as if responding to his question.

The train arrived in Golmud on the morning of the third day.

Zhang Dianfeng, carrying a simple hiking backpack, walked out of the station with the flow of people.

The air on the plateau is thin and biting, the sunlight is dazzling, and the Kunlun Mountains in the distance resemble a sleeping dragon, stretching between heaven and earth.

He didn't dare take a taxi, but instead walked several kilometers and flagged down an off-road vehicle heading to Kunlun Pass in a secluded corner.

The driver was a dark-skinned Tibetan man who didn't speak fluent Mandarin. He just kept repeating, "The mountain pass has been unsafe lately. Many people have gone there and never returned. What are you going there for?"

"Looking for someone."

Zhang Dianfeng gave a simple answer, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.

He could sense several hidden gazes watching from afar, but his psychic intuition told him that those people were definitely not good people.

After more than four hours of driving on the bumpy dirt road, the off-road vehicle finally arrived at Kunlun Pass.

The altitude here exceeds four thousand meters, the cold wind howls, and apart from a few tourists with cameras, you can hardly see anyone else.

Zhang Dianfeng paid the fare and let the driver leave first. He then walked to a stone tablet engraved with "Kunlun Pass" and pretended to admire the scenery, but in reality, he used his spiritual energy to sense the movements around him.

Within a 100-meter radius, there were seven points where energy fluctuations were relatively obvious—three on the hillside on the left, two behind rocks on the right, and two hidden among the tourists, breathing steadily and moving stiffly, clearly well-trained.

"Seven?"

Zhang Dianfeng sneered inwardly; Black Skull certainly thought highly of him.

He touched the metal disc in his pocket, wondering when these people planned to make their move, when he suddenly sensed an unusual energy fluctuation.

This fluctuation was very weak, yet very pure, like a clear spring in a mountain stream, completely different from the malevolent aura emanating from the Black Skull and his ilk.

The ripples came from behind the stone tablet. A woman in a blue windbreaker was standing with her back to him, gazing at the distant snow-capped mountains.

She wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered most of her face, leaving only a section of her fair neck and long, black hair visible.

Zhang Dianfeng sensed with his spiritual energy that the woman also had a flow of spiritual energy, and it was much more condensed than the vortex of energy within his body.

"Also a cultivator?"

A thought struck him, and he was about to go up and strike up a conversation when a soft sound suddenly came from the hillside to his left.

The seven energy points instantly became active!

"Let's do it!"

With a low shout, seven dark figures sprang out from different places, each holding a gun and pointing it directly at Zhang Dianfeng.

The tourists screamed in fright and crouched on the ground, covering their heads.

Zhang Dianfeng was prepared. He dodged the first bullet by turning to the side and used his spiritual energy to launch several pieces of gravel at the two people in front.

The rubble whistled through the air and struck the two men's wrists precisely, causing the guns to clatter to the ground.

"Grab him! Alive!" The leader, a one-eyed man with a hideous scar on his face, charged forward wielding a military dagger. "Hand over the star map fragment!"

Zhang Dianfeng didn't waste any words with him and turned to run away.

He knew he was no match for them and could only stall for time and look for an opportunity.

Using his familiarity with the terrain, he moved among the rocks and stone tablets, while constantly manipulating the surrounding rubble and ice with his psionic powers to confuse his pursuers.

"Bang!" A bullet grazed his arm, drawing a trail of blood. A sharp pain shot through him, but he dared not stop.

The one-eyed man gave chase, grinning maliciously, "Run! Let's see where you can run to! Today is your death day!"

Just then, the woman who had been standing behind the stone tablet suddenly turned around.

She took off her hat, revealing a stunningly beautiful face with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like autumn water, though her gaze was somewhat indifferent.

She glanced at the one-eyed man who had caught up with her and said calmly, "How dare you act so presumptuously in the sacred land of Kunlun?"

Before she finished speaking, she raised her right hand and gently gestured towards the one-eyed man.

There were no earth-shattering actions, not even a burst of spiritual energy.

But the one-eyed man seemed to have run into an invisible wall and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A pained expression appeared on the one-eyed man's face. The dagger in his hand clattered to the ground, and he slowly knelt down, his knees hitting the hard frozen ground with a dull thud.

The other Black Skull members were stunned, not knowing what had happened.

The woman stopped looking at them and instead turned her gaze to Zhang Dianfeng, a hint of doubt in her eyes: "You... have the aura of the Star Chart on you?"

Zhang Dianfeng, clutching his bleeding arm, was also stunned.

"Who is this woman? How does she know about the star map fragments?"

Just then, the one-eyed man suddenly pulled a black sphere from his pocket and slammed it hard onto the ground. The sphere exploded, releasing thick smoke.

"Retreat!" The one-eyed man's voice came from the smoke, tinged with fear.

The seven dark figures vanished into the smoke in an instant, their speed astonishing.

As the smoke cleared, only trembling tourists and a shocked Zhang Dianfeng remained at the scene.

The woman walked up to him, looked at the wound on his arm, took out a small bottle of ointment from her backpack, and handed it to him: "Apply this to stop the bleeding."

Zhang Dianfeng took the ointment and asked hesitantly, "Who are you? Do you know about the fragments of the star map?"

The woman didn't answer his question; instead, she pointed to his pocket and asked, "Can I see that thing?"

Zhang Dianfeng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took out the metal plate.

Upon seeing the patterns on the metal disc, the woman's pupils contracted slightly, and she exclaimed, "It really is a fragment of a star map... Where did you get it?"

"An old man sold it to me," Zhang Dianfeng briefly recounted Old Wang's story, omitting the process of his own awakening of psychic powers. "He has already been killed by Black Skull."

The woman's face darkened, and a hint of anger flashed in her eyes: "It's the Black Skull again... They've been searching for the star map for ten whole years."

"Who exactly are you?" Zhang Dianfeng pressed.

The woman sighed and slowly said, "My name is Ling Xue, and I am a disciple of the Kunlun Sect. We have been protecting Kunlun for a thousand years, and the fragment of the star map is the key to unlocking the Kunlun Secret Realm."

"The Kunlun Sect? The Kunlun Secret Realm?"

Zhang Dianfeng's mind was starting to malfunction. These terms, previously only seen in martial arts novels, actually existed?

Seeing his shocked expression, Ling Xue continued, "The Black Skull wants the star map to enter the secret realm and seize the ancient inheritance inside. If they succeed, the consequences will be unimaginable."

She paused, her gaze falling on the metal disc: "Since you obtained the fragment and can draw upon spiritual energy, perhaps... you are the chosen one that Master spoke of."

"The chosen one?"

Before Zhang Dianfeng could process this information, Ling Xue's expression suddenly changed, and she looked up at the distant snow-capped mountains: "Oh no! They're not retreating, they're going to get reinforcements!"

Following her gaze, Zhang Dianfeng saw a dozen black dots appearing on the distant snow-capped mountain peaks, flying towards them at an extremely fast speed.

As the black dots drew closer, he realized they were actually more than a dozen armed helicopters, far more advanced than the three that had attacked his apartment last time, and their fuselages were also emblazoned with black skulls!

"It's the main force of the Black Skull!" Ling Xue's expression turned serious. "They brought heavy weapons!"

Zhang Dianfeng's heart sank to the bottom. He couldn't even handle seven people, let alone a dozen helicopters?

Ling Xue suddenly grasped his hand. Her palm was cold, yet it carried a calming power.

"Come with me!" She grabbed Zhang Dianfeng and ran towards the back of the stone tablet. "Only by entering the Kunlun Secret Realm will you have a chance to survive!"

Zhang Dianfeng was pulled along by her, staggering as he ran after her.

He looked at Ling Xue's resolute profile, then turned to look at the approaching helicopter, his mind filled with questions:

Why is this mysterious Kunlun Sect woman helping him? What lies within the Kunlun Secret Realm? Why is the Black Skull so obsessed with the fragments of the star map?

Countless mysteries swirled in his mind, while the roar of the helicopter behind him grew closer and closer, and bullets began to fall on the ground around them, raising clouds of dust.

He was unaware that he was about to step into a world far wider and more dangerous than he had imagined.