Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"Something's not right," Li Yuan said in a low voice. "The vengeful spirits have dispersed, so why is the space still unstable?"

Ji Fanghua clearly noticed the anomaly as well. She frowned, sensing the surrounding spiritual energy fluctuations: "Indeed..."

"Although the spatial disorder has lessened considerably compared to before, it hasn't completely subsided. There must be... something else affecting the structure of the space."

Just then, the nameless sword in Li Yuan's hand suddenly trembled slightly.

Immediately afterwards, a faint voice echoed in Li Yuan's mind: "Kid... go deeper..."

It is Yan Ji.

It woke up so quickly.

Li Yuan was both surprised and delighted, and quickly asked in his mind, "Senior, you're awake? Your strength has been restored?"

"Restore my ass..."

Yan Ji's voice sounded weak and feeble. "Although the Golden Vein Earth Beast's essence replenished some of it, the consumption was too great, and I am still very weak."

"However... I can sense that deep within this mine, there's something else... related to the Golden Vein Earth Beast..."

Li Yuan's spirits lifted: "What is it?"

"I can't quite explain it, but that feeling...it makes me feel very close to you...you'll see when you go and see for yourself..."

Without further hesitation, Li Yuan said to everyone, "You all rest here, I'll go deeper into the mine to search."

"I'll go with you." Leng Ning Shuang immediately stood up.

"I'll go too." Ji Fanghua also stood up. Her injuries had stabilized a lot thanks to the medicine. Although her face was still a little pale, she could move around without any problems.

Li Yuan nodded, and the three of them walked deeper into the mine together.

Following the guidance of the nameless sword, the three of them walked deeper and deeper into the winding mine tunnel. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the area in front of them suddenly opened up.

They arrived at a huge underground cavern, where a familiar, massive bronze door stood before them, almost identical to the one they had seen in the time-travel photos, but much more dilapidated and ancient.

The runes engraved on the door were mottled and peeling off, and a faint, familiar aura emanated from the crack in the door.

Li Yuan pushed open the half-closed bronze door and went inside.

They found the chasm behind the door, and in the center of the broken array, lay a huge skeleton.

The skeleton was entirely dark silver, clearly indicating it was a golden-veined earth beast, but it was larger and had thicker bones than any they had seen before.

The skeleton's surface was covered with cracks, and in some places it had even broken and collapsed, clearly indicating that it had undergone an extremely fierce battle.

At the heart of the skeleton, a fist-sized crystal core, emitting a faint golden light, floats in the air.

Li Yuan's eyes lit up. It was the core of the Golden Vein Earth Beast's power. Although it had dimmed considerably, it still retained a faint trace of spiritual energy.

Yan Ji's voice echoed in Li Yuan's mind once more: "That's it..."

"This is its true form..."

Li Yuan walked to the skeleton, reached out his hand, and gently pressed it on the golden crystal core.

The crystal core trembled slightly, as if sensing something. Then, a faint thought entered Li Yuan's mind through his finger.

That was the last trace of intelligence remaining in the Golden Vein Earth Beast.

It recognized Li Yuan.

No, to be precise, it recognized the nameless knife in Li Yuan's hand, which contained a part of its original aura, making it feel familiar and at ease, as if a wanderer who had been drifting for thousands of years had finally found its home.

The golden crystal core slowly floated out of the skeleton, hovered in the air, and gently affixed to the nameless sword.

The blade emitted a deep hum, and golden light, like flowing water, surged from the crystal core and slowly seeped into the blade.

The aura of the nameless sword grew stronger at a visible speed, and the crystal core, after its light dissipated, turned into a pile of dust and scattered on the ground.

At the same time, the entire cave trembled slightly, and the sense of spatial distortion completely disappeared at that moment.

Sensing the stabilization of the surrounding space, Li Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

He sheathed his sword, turned around, and walked out of the ravine.

Leng Ningshuang and Ji Fanghua were waiting at the door. They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him come out unharmed.

"Is it resolved?" Leng Ning Shuang asked.

"Resolved."

Li Yuan nodded. "The space in this secret realm has completely stabilized. We can leave now."

The three of them retraced their steps and met up with Han Kuo and the others. The group then walked out along the mine tunnel.

This time, without the obstruction of vengeful spirits or the distortion of space, the road became unobstructed.

Soon, they saw light ahead. The moment they stepped out of the secret realm, the fresh air filled their lungs, and everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The oppressive feeling of being isolated from the outside world for several days vanished at this moment.

After a fierce battle, everyone was exhausted. Since the crisis had been resolved, Li Yuan simply ordered everyone to rest for a while.

The group found a flat spot at the exit of the secret realm, sat down to rest, and tended to their wounds to recover their strength.

Lei Lie sent a disciple back to Taixu Academy to inform them that the secret realm was safe and to ask them to send someone to take over the follow-up matters.

Li Yuan leaned against a large rock, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the rare tranquility. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves onto his face, warm and comforting, making him feel drowsy.

Footsteps sounded.

He opened his eyes and saw Leng Ning Shuang walk over, sit down on the rock next to Li Yuan, and after a moment of silence, ask, "What are your plans next?"

Seeing Li Yuan raise an eyebrow and look over, he added, "Do you want to come with me to Taixu Academy? The dean should see you. You helped us a lot this time."

Li Yuan smiled and shook his head: "I won't go. I need to go back to the Demon Suppression Division to report. I've been out for so long, Lord Ye must be getting impatient."

Leng Ningshuang nodded, and was about to speak when she saw Ji Fanghua walk over. Her face was still a little pale, but her spirits had improved a lot.

"Junior Sister Ji, you..."

Halfway through his sentence, Li Yuan was suddenly overcome by a strong sense of crisis that instantly spread throughout his body.

He suddenly stood up, his right hand already gripping the hilt of the knife at his waist, his eyes flashing as he warily scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.

Everything around me has changed.

The sunlight disappeared, the forest disappeared, and Han Kuo and the others who were resting not far away also vanished.

Even Leng Ningshuang and Ji Fanghua, who were sitting next to him, disappeared from his sight for a moment before reappearing.

The view was dim, as if the whole world was shrouded in a thin, gray veil, and an indescribable sense of oppression filled the air.

Li Yuan had a strange feeling that a pair of eyes were coldly watching them from some unseen corner.

"What's going on?" Leng Ning Shuang also stood up.

Ji Fanghua's body had already lowered slightly, and the short sword silently slid into her palm.

Li Yuan's gaze trembled as he stared intently at the dark void ahead. He could sense that there was someone there.

Sure enough, a moment later, a ripple suddenly appeared in the void.

A white figure slowly emerged, as if walking out of the water.

It was a man.

He wore a spotless white robe, his face obscured by a hazy radiance, making it difficult to see clearly.