Chapter 1511: Sect Secrets (Part One)
To explore this region, the old Sect Master had spent a full six hundred years just to clear a path through the red desert that Li Yan and the others had just traversed on the flying sword.
According to the old Sect Master’s speculation, that place was likely the chest cavity of the Dream Return Ant, filled with the poisonous miasma left from its breath, as well as various malevolent entities that had materialized after its death.
However, after breaking through the red desert, he had gotten stuck at the location of these two red mountains. It had then taken him another four hundred years to clear the crevice passage before them.
In the end, the old Sect Master had only ventured a hundred li inside before retreating. He said that the interior was filled with a vast fog. This fog was harmless to living beings, but it made it impossible to distinguish north from south, east from west.
One moment you could be moving forward, and the next you might actually be moving sideways or backward, or you could be stuck in one place, walking in circles for eternity.
Even he was no exception. Fortunately, the old Sect Master’s cultivation was profound, and he had not gone too deep, so he was able to retreat safely.
After coming out, the old Sect Master pondered for a long time before coming up with a solution: to establish a formation behind the mountain crevice.
Then, by continuously expanding the grand formation, he could advance bit by bit, ensuring that every place he passed was covered by the formation’s umbrella, preventing him from losing his way.
By slowly covering the area with the grand formation, he could also explore in different directions, eventually clearing the entire region.
In the years that followed, the old Sect Master made preparations for a full two thousand years. Then, he led five of the Soul-Suppression Palace’s Void Refining cultivators into the area behind the two mountains.
He needed these five Void Refining cultivators to assist him, to guard the foundational points of the grand formation in the four cardinal directions and the center, so that he himself could continuously expand the formation.
However, after the group of six entered, they never came out again. They vanished completely from that point on.
This incident subsequently led to the first rebellion in the Earth-True Domain, as the old Sect Master’s disappearance and long absence from the outside world created a power vacuum.
It was not until later, when the second Body Integration Realm Supreme Elder appeared, that the rebellion was finally quelled.
And one day, the old Sect Master’s soul lamp was completely extinguished. This dealt the most severe blow to the higher echelons of the Soul-Suppression Palace.
Although the old Sect Master had disappeared, his soul lamp had remained lit. Even after the soul lamps of the other five Void Refining elders had long since gone out, his remained.
The old Sect Master was still alive. As long as a person was alive, there was hope they would return. But unexpectedly, in the end, the old Sect Master’s soul lamp was also extinguished.
After this incident, the second Supreme Elder, who had been hesitating about whether to enter and search for the old Sect Master, now dared not enter rashly.
At that time, he was only at the initial-stage Body Integration Realm, far weaker than the old Sect Master. Entering that place would be more perilous than promising.
The matter was thus put aside. It was not until later, when the third Supreme Elder appeared, that anyone considered entering the area behind the mountains again.
After an unknown number of years, the cultivation of the two Supreme Elders had greatly increased. One was at the late-stage Body Integration Realm, and the other was at the mid-stage.
Thus, the two of them decided to join forces and enter that perilous land once more to investigate.
One of their objectives was to find the old Sect Master. They felt that with the old Sect Master’s cultivation, he might not have truly perished.
Perhaps, upon encountering an insurmountable danger, he had simply used a secret art to seal his soul from heaven and earth, entering a state of suspended animation.
Alternatively, as the old Sect Master and his group ventured deeper into the perilous land, they might have lost their connection to the soul lamps outside the mountain, which was why the lamps had gone out one by one, from weak to strong.
This was not an impossible scenario. After all, the rules of the Earth-True Domain already defied common sense. No one knew what the situation was like behind the two mountains, nor what the laws of heaven and earth were there.
Another reason for the two of them to enter was to seek an opportunity for their own future breakthroughs.
They had been preparing for this for a long time. They were two Body Integration Realm experts, unlike the old Sect Master who had only brought a few Void Refining elders with him on his second entry.
In comparison, their combined strength was naturally greater, and the chances of encountering danger were greatly reduced.
Thus, after making their preparations and entrusting some sect matters, the two of them once again entered the foggy region behind the two mountains.
But after they entered, year after year passed, and the two of them, like a clay ox entering the sea, never returned. They too vanished without a trace.
The only thing that gave the sect a sliver of reassurance was that the soul lamps of the two Supreme Elders had never been extinguished. This kept a flicker of hope alive.
But year after year went by, and the two Supreme Elders remained in this state, neither dead nor returned to the sect.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, due to their prolonged absence and the deep covetousness of others for that precious land that could lead to the Body Integration Realm, undercurrents began to surge once again.
Thus, Xue Tieyi on one hand dispatched elders and core disciples to gather intelligence on the various powers; on the other hand, they constantly tried to find ways to locate the two Supreme Elders.
But in the beginning, they couldn’t even break the membrane at the crevice of the mountain base, let alone enter the area behind to investigate.
It was not until another three hundred years had passed that they finally broke through the restrictive barrier in the crevice.
But the result was a great disappointment. Even the most powerful among them, Xue Tieyi, had to flee almost immediately after entering. He said that after advancing only a few li, he had nearly gotten lost inside.
Afterward, no matter whether they probed with soul power or magical power, their probes were either dispersed or they lost sensation of them.
One day, Great Master Lan came to this place again. She had been persistently researching how to solve the problem of the fog behind the mountains.
On that day, at a certain moment, she suddenly sensed a faint power seeping out from within the restrictive barrier.
This happened very abruptly. She was certain that such a power had never appeared during her previous research.
And she was also certain that this power did not come from the restrictive barrier itself, but was an additional power within the fog.
But just as Great Master Lan sensed it, that power quickly disappeared again. This discovery was a great surprise to Great Master Lan, and she immediately reported it to Xue Tieyi.
After Xue Tieyi listened to Great Master Lan’s description of that power, he asked her a few more detailed questions, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
He knew what that power was. It should be the Power of Stars or the Power of the Cold Moon. It came from a cultivation method called the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art” that the third Supreme Elder of the sect had practiced.
This cultivation method could increase the power of soul art attacks by one to several times. It had been brought up from the lower realm by the old Sect Master. But because it was an incomplete version, not many cultivators in the sect practiced it.
However, back then, Elder Tang had studied this art in detail and felt that it was very useful, as it could significantly increase the power of his soul art attacks, which was exactly what he needed.
Although the progress of cultivating this art was extremely slow, he was the only one who had persisted in cultivating it.
He had even continued to cultivate this art after reaching the Void Refining Realm.
And later, Elder Tang had indeed made a significant breakthrough in this art. Relying solely on the incomplete manuscript, he had actually cultivated the Power of the Cold Moon, which had greatly enhanced his combat power.
At that time, Great Master Lan had found it strange why Xue Tieyi seemed so knowledgeable about this cultivation method. Although she knew of its existence, she had only read its introduction.
Moreover, she was more obsessed with alchemy and artifact refining. When choosing a cultivation method, she would naturally choose a complete one so that it would not take up too much of her time. Therefore, when she sensed that power behind the mountain, she did not know what it was.
After determining this result, Xue Tieyi and the others were ecstatic. This should mean that at least Elder Tang was still alive.
His action was likely an attempt to find a way back.
Thus, Xue Tieyi personally went with Great Master Lan to the mountain crevice. The two of them sat down cross-legged and began to carefully sense again.
However, after that one time, that power never appeared again. The two of them kept sensing continuously, but they never sensed that power again.
However, both Great Master Lan and Xue Tieyi felt that the power had definitely appeared. Great Master Lan had always been very confident in herself and would never think it was a hallucination.
And Xue Tieyi also trusted Great Master Lan very much. Later, he even had several of his most trusted elders take turns to stand guard and sense here.
And their hard work paid off. After waiting here for more than sixty years, finally, one day, when Xue Tieyi happened to be on watch, he really sensed it again. It was indeed a stream of the Power of the Cold Moon. Without hesitation, he tried to communicate with that power!
However, this stream of the Power of the Cold Moon was already quite weak, and although the soul power Xue Tieyi used could penetrate the membrane, he quickly lost his sense of it. Inside the fog, the two sides were like they were in two different spaces, unable to communicate at all.
Soon, that stream of the Power of the Cold Moon disappeared again. This opportunity was missed once more.
After pondering for a while, Xue Tieyi summoned a few of his confidant elders and began to discuss the matter. Combining this with the various pieces of information left by the old Sect Master, they felt that the old Sect Master’s idea of building a formation behind the mountain and advancing step by step had either failed or was only partially successful.
And after Elder Tang and the others entered, they had still gotten lost inside. They had probably been lost inside for all these years.
With their minds intact, they certainly knew they couldn’t find their way out. So they began to constantly try to sense the direction of the exit.
Elder Tang’s use of the Power of the Cold Moon was just one of those methods. He had actually already stumbled upon the correct direction, but he still couldn’t find the location of the exit.
Given the special nature of the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” Xue Tieyi and the others knew that this art borrowed the power of the so-called “Soul-Lodged Star.”
Therefore, when their own soul power and magical power had problems in the fog, neither side could sense the other.
Thus, if someone could release the same kind of soul power using the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” it might be possible for Elder Tang to sense it.
This would undoubtedly be like raising a bright lantern at the exit. Once Elder Tang and the others sensed it, they could follow this lantern and naturally find their way out.