C222 The Strong Wind Blows!
"Many have already entered. Take care."
Chen Qingyan made no move to stop them, standing with an air of confidence. "Sacred Hands didn't extend an invitation to us. It wouldn't be proper to intrude uninvited, so we've been lingering outside."
She silently berated Yu Yuan. Her attitude was just as nonchalant.
True to her words, she was indifferent to the fate of the Hu family or Liu Zaihe.
"Many people?"
Hu Xuan was startled, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. "How could there be so many? And what sort of people are they?"
Chen Qingyan gave a slight shake of her head. "Unclear."
Yu Yuan, standing off to the side, turned slightly and gave a respectful bow, gesturing for Hu Yue to proceed.
When Hu Yue faced him again, the warmth and smiles from their lakeside encounter were gone, replaced by visible contempt.
Seeing him step aside, Hu Yue boldly went ahead.
"Much appreciated."
Hu Hang wasn't convinced of any real danger in Gloomhollow. As he passed by Yu Yuan, he nodded in acknowledgment.
Yu Yuan offered a smile and a word of caution. "Stay safe."
Following the siblings, Hu Xuan, along with the Hu family clansmen and counselors, walked past Yu Yuan.
Liu Zaihe, bringing up the rear, approached Chen Qingyan. "Won't you join us?"
Chen Qingyan smiled. "No, thank you."
"It's better to have company for mutual support," Liu Zaihe pressed.
But Chen Qingyan's smile faded, and she shook her head firmly.
Liu Zaihe, resigned, sighed inwardly, gave a respectful gesture, and parted ways.
He joined the Hu family members on their journey to the perilous Gloomhollow in the Serpent Spine Mountains' forbidden area.
Once the group had vanished from view, Yu Yuan spoke with a detached tone, "The journey of cultivation is fraught with peril. One misstep could lead to ruin."
Chen Qingyan agreed wholeheartedly, "On this path, you may encounter those harboring ill will, yet they appear benevolent. They might send you to your death, and you'd be none the wiser."
"Why do I get the feeling you're insulting someone?" Yu Yuan gave her a sidelong glance.
"I'm just reflecting," Chen Qingyan remarked.
"Unless something unexpected happens, I fear we may never see the descendants of the King of Wraiths or the members of the Hu family again." Yu Yuan didn't probe further. After a moment of contemplation, he settled down on the spot.
He withdrew several soulstones and began to silently draw the spiritual energy from them, engaging in his cultivation.
Chen Qingyan stood by, refraining from practicing Evil Body Refining or Soul Forging through Enlightenment to avoid revealing his exceptional nature to this formidable woman.
Having endured the Soulforge Pool, his body had been tempered by the sword's will, and he had reached the late period of Soul Awakening.
His current focus was on breaking through to the lower elixir field of the Golden Sanctum. Once the Golden Acupoint opened, he could harness a continuous flow of spiritual energy, storing it within the lower elixir field.
The Golden Sanctum was a crucial phase among the three lower realms.
Only by advancing to the Golden Sanctum could one amass spiritual energy, ready to be summoned at any moment to deploy a variety of sophisticated spiritual spells.
At the Soul Awakening stage, one's physical prowess was formidable, with immense strength and resilient sinews.
Put simply, combat at this level depended on the brute force of the flesh.
Most human cultivators didn't place much emphasis on this stage, not prioritizing the rigorous forging of their physical form. It was primarily those who practiced the dark arts who would linger long in this state.
Yu Yuan had not only practiced Evil Body Refining but had also undergone bone and marrow cleansing in the Soulforge Pool within the forbidden area. The formidable nature of his physique had reached incredible heights.
Crossing this threshold and opening the lower elixir field would signify his true initiation into the path of cultivation.
For cultivators from the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea, the Golden Sanctum represented a pivotal step, marking the true beginning of their journey.
It was commonly said that without entering the Golden Sanctum, one could not be considered a genuine cultivator.
"Chi! Chi! Chi!"
Nine dazzling points of light, akin to a fierce miniature sun, coalesced into radiant streams of spiritual energy, assaulting the lower elixir field.
Meeting resistance as if against an iron barrier, the luminous energy scattered in a spray, leaving Yu Yuan once again without success.
The soulstone in his grasp crumbled into a fine, ash-brown dust that sprinkled to the ground.
"Kowtow to the Golden Sanctum, kowtow to the Golden Sanctum, the Golden Sanctum is hard to open."
Yu Yuan muttered a curse under his breath. Rousing from his meditative state, he took several deep breaths and regained his poise, shaking off any hint of discouragement.
Scanning his surroundings, he noticed Chen Qingyan was nowhere to be seen. He was taken aback, wondering if the young woman had a change of heart and had ventured alone into Gloomhollow or some other place.
Feeling no sense of loss, he rose leisurely, preparing to employ a mystique in hopes of tracking the elusive presence within the miasma using the power of the heaven soul.
As he was about to proceed, a piercing shriek from the direction of Gloomhollow violently rent the air.
The cry was as sharp as a cold arrow, seeming to penetrate the heart in a mere moment.
Despite the distance, Yu Yuan felt a stab of pain in his chest, his expression subtly shifting.
Then, with the discreet use of the heaven soul, he acutely sensed the presence of powerful beings with Soul Power, desperate to break free from Gloomhollow.
Alas, it was as if these formidable souls were colliding with an unseen barrier, each one repelled back into the valley.
He could sense their terror and despair.
Faintly, he heard the cries of Loong Tianxiao, "Yu Yuan, save me, flee..."
In the throes of despair, Loong Tianxiao, with his human head and dragon body, seemed to be babbling incoherently within Gloomhollow.
Initially baffled by the abrupt turmoil in Gloomhollow, Yu Yuan struggled to comprehend.
Until...
Chen Qingyan appeared abruptly, swift as a flash of lightning. The panic in her eyes, visible through her cyan veil, was unmistakable. "Yu Yuan, it's the Nightstorm! It emerged suddenly from some cavern within Gloomhollow. Strangely enough, the arcane rune circle that once vanished, now spontaneously reformed, shielding the valley once again!"
At her words, Yu Yuan's face turned grave.
He now grasped the reason behind the frantic escape attempts of the experts who had poured into Gloomhollow.
The Nightstorm was upon them!
"It's the source; it fears not the Nightstorm and may even have the power to command it!" A spark of realization lit up Yu Yuan's thoughts. "Yes, that must be it. It couldn't have grown strong enough in three hundred years to instill such dread in so many powerful beings."
"It, combined with the Nightstorm and that rune circle..."
Yu Yuan's brow furrowed as he gazed intently at Gloomhollow, his mind wrestling with indecision.
"I suggest we make a swift exit from here and inform the Sacred Hands," Chen Qingyan proposed, a retreat in her thoughts. "From a distance, I witnessed several deaths. The Hu family members who ventured into the valley are likely all dead. Those who haven't entered are already fleeing desperately in our direction."
Anyone trapped in the valley by the rune circle was doomed.
Those who had not stepped foot within had a chance to escape with their lives if they moved quickly.
"I'm heading into Gloomhollow!"
Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, then suddenly picked up the pace, charging toward Gloomhollow. "There's no need to alert the Sacred Hands; they lack the means to resolve the chaos within Gloomhollow. You'd better head back to Euwrea immediately, return to the Sword Sect, and seek guidance from your master in your cultivation."
Chen Qingyan stood rooted to the spot, watching in disbelief as he plunged into the valley with a mix of hesitation and resolve.
