Chapter 156: Collapse of the Secret Realm

At that very instant, a terrifying thought crossed everyone's mind: if the mystic realm were to collapse, would it still send them back to their original world, or would it simply abandon them to fend for themselves amidst the turbulent spatial currents?

Yet, no matter how worried they were, none of them possessed the ability to shatter the void and could only remain where they were, leaving their fate to the heavens.

Right then, standing at the center of the turbulent currents, Hong Jian had already realized that all of this was caused by her. The spiritual energy throughout the entire mystic realm was violently agitated, converging toward her and scrambling to drill into her body. Logically speaking, her meridians should have been instantly blasted apart by the pressure, but she felt not the slightest bit of discomfort. The wood-element spiritual seed emitted a faint white light within her sea of consciousness. Hong Jian clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking, "Such a huge appetite! Is it going to have one last hearty meal before leaving?"

Only now did she realize how naive and ridiculous her thoughts had been when she used the "Myriad Streams Return to Source" technique to draw the wood-element spiritual seed into her body.

For now, she could only take it one step at a time. If the wood-element spiritual seed constantly required this much energy, supplying it would be impossible, even if it meant sucking her dry into a desiccated corpse.

Winds rose and clouds surged; the turbulent currents disrupted the world they all inhabited. The first crack appeared directly above Hong Jian, and from there, the fissures grew longer, deeper, and rapidly spread into the distance.

Soon, the entire sky shattered into several massive fragments, as if violent gales were pouring in from beyond the heavens. The sun, moon, and stars emerged one by one, only to be dragged instantly into a black hole.

By this point, the white light on Hong Jian's body had gradually dimmed. It was undoubtedly too late for the wood-element spiritual seed to restrain itself now. The last sight everyone beheld was indeed the sky collapsing. The vault of heaven shattered tumultuously into fragments of varying sizes, and everyone was cast off the ground, flying uncontrollably toward the outer expanse like shooting stars.

Such an ordeal was a first, not just for Guan Xian, but even for the disciples of the three major sects, who could not help but wail miserably all the way through the air.

Time passed differently inside and outside the mystic realm. One day inside was merely half a day in the Dao Cultivation Continent, and it was still daytime. It was just past noon, and nightfall was still a long way off.

The few Nascent Soul experts were the first to sense the anomaly. Sect mystic realms were of paramount importance to major sects, to say nothing of the fact that people were still inside at that moment.

Yin Quan, the master of the Xianyun Sect, personally arrived at the entrance of the mystic realm to investigate.

Not long after the mystic realm had opened, the entrance had closed, and spiritual energy had ceased leaking outward. At that moment, a rumbling sound echoed from deep within the mountain, and the entire mountain mass trembled slightly. Yet, spiritual sense probes could find no apparent cause. Yin Quan had no other choice but to wait and watch how the situation unfolded.

Before long, all the Nascent Soul elders of the Xianyun Sect arrived, save for Guan Yibai, who was away in the Immortal Garden. Even Xi Xu of Lesser Yingzhou had arrived. Unable to conceal his worry, Xi Xu hastily exchanged formal greetings and said to Yin Quan, "Sect Master Yin, it seems the birth of the rare treasure has had a massive impact on the mystic realm. If there is an unforeseen change, what might happen?"

Yin Quan replied, "The worst-case scenario is naturally the collapse of the mystic realm. The cautionary tale of the Mingchuan Sect's mystic realm from two thousand years ago is still there for all to see."

At the mention of the Mingchuan Sect's mystic realm, the several Nascent Soul experts fell silent in unison. It was said that the Mingchuan Sect had once enjoyed a glorious era, its status in the Dao Cultivation Continent no less formidable than the Danya Sect's decades ago or the Futu Sect's today. However, one year, due to unknown causes, the Mingchuan Sect's mystic realm suddenly collapsed from within. Not a single one of nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment disciples made it out alive.

Worse still, from that time until the present day, no matter how many methods the Mingchuan Sect tried, the sect's mystic realm never opened again. Consequently, the Mingchuan Sect quickly relinquished its position as a top-tier sect.

Yin Quan was a sect master; naturally, when trouble arose, he considered things from the sect's perspective first. Zhu Xian, deeply concerned for his beloved disciple and knowing what Xi Xu was worrying about, comforted him, saying, "The fact that we can still hear the commotion here is the greatest misfortune among fortunes. It indicates that the passage between the two realms has not closed. If things truly collapsed over there, our side would be the first to break through, so the people inside are not in mortal danger."

Yin Quan nodded. Given his temperament, he naturally did not wish to see so many people perish in the unknown void, let alone with one of his own people, Jiang Yan, trapped inside.

Since the Xianyun Sect had put it that way, Xi Xu had no choice but to wait anxiously for the final outcome.

Zuo Qiancheng of the Sanqing Gate and Fei Chengji of the Danya Sect arrived one after another upon hearing the news, and finally, even Qi Xiuning and the Duan family mother and daughter arrived. Madam Duan felt immensely fortunate that she had not allowed her daughter to enter the mystic realm. Glancing at Qi Xiuning's unsightly expression, she managed with great difficulty to swallow back words that were unsuited for the occasion.

At that moment, the rumbling sound no longer seemed confined to the vicinity of the mystic realm entrance. It was as if an invisible and intangible curtain hung in the air, and on the other side of that curtain, a massive cauldron of water had been brought to a boil, constantly bubbling upward. Moreover, as the water boiled more fiercely, the bubbling sound grew increasingly louder.

The expressions of several Nascent Soul experts shifted slightly. Yin Quan said, "Everyone, step back and be careful of accidents."

The "accident" he referred to was the sudden appearance of a wind tunnel at the intersection of the two realms. Even Nascent Soul cultivators, if caught off guard too close by, might be sucked in—and that would be fatal. Who knew where the spatial currents would send a person? If they could never return to the Dao Cultivation Continent and were left to slowly await death in a barren wasteland, the mere thought of it made one's blood run cold.

Understanding his intent, the crowd retreated together, clearing a vast open space.

The boiling water suddenly quieted down at its most violent peak.

The mountain before everyone's eyes remained unmoved, meaning the exit of the mystic realm had failed to open. However, several gaps were violently torn open in the void a few dozen feet high, filled with billowing dust and surging turbulent currents. The night of the other side could be faintly glimpsed flashing and vanishing, followed by boulders and large trees tumbling down through the fissures into the Dao Cultivation Continent. Appearing alongside them were two living human beings.

"That brat from the Danya Sect!"

"It's Zhang Yu!"

"Who is the other one? Don't recognize him. A rogue cultivator, probably."

Everyone's gazes converged simultaneously upon the two survivors. Sure enough, one of them was undeniably Zhang Yu, the Foundation Establishment cultivator who had previously remained by Fei Chengji's side, while the other was an unfamiliar face. Before landing, the two had already adjusted their trajectories and touched down steadily, though both wore somewhat dazed expressions on their faces.

Immediately, four or five voices rang out, all questioning Zhang Yu: "Where are the others? What happened inside?"

Before Zhang Yu could recover his wits, Yin Quan shouted, "There are more over there!"

Sure enough, a good half-mile away from the entrance, another long tear was ripped across the void, and several figures were bounced out and dropped.

This was merely the beginning. Centered around where the crowd stood, within a radius of about a mile, it was as if the heavens were treating the Xianyun Sect like a giant cauldron of boiling water, dumplings being tossed in haphazardly, raining down a massive pile of debris. Mostly consisting of flying rocks and soil, occasionally interspersed with one or two corpses, there were naturally also those who had ultimately survived within the mystic realm.

The grounds of the Xianyun Sect had never been this chaotic before. Not to mention the usually unrestrained Xianyun Sect disciples pouring out to see what was happening, there were also quite a few rogue cultivators who had lingered outside the mountain gate. Stunned at the sight of this spectacle, they were left gaping in astonishment, immediately followed by an uproar. In short, it could be summed up in a single word: chaos.

By this time, Yin Quan realized that the Xianyun Sect's mystic realm was likely lost, his mood sinking to the depths of despair. Striving to maintain his composure without losing face, he instructed Zhu Xian, "Quickly muster the head count, find Jiang Yan, and ask about the situation inside."

At that moment, Zhang Yu was recounting his personal experiences inside the mystic realm to his master, Fei Chengji, and Qi Xiuning.

Not long after Zhang Yu had called Pu Pingping away to the lakeside, the rare treasure had appeared, and Zhang Yu had immediately set off to search for it. He was completely unaware of what had happened afterward to cause the collapse of the mystic realm. Consequently, after listening to a rough outline, Qi Xiuning lost interest. She raised her head and looked around, finding it strange that she still hadn't caught sight of Pu Pingping's figure.

Jiang Yan, Chou Feng, and Gao Hongli were all present, along with thirty or forty nameless rogue cultivators, every single one of them alive and kicking.

Compared to these living people, a few corpses attracted more of the crowd's attention. Qi Xiuning could tell at a glance that those rogue cultivators had all been killed by Pu Pingping, but where was he?

More importantly, who possessed the rare treasure? These people emitted their usual auras; truly, not a single one looked like someone who had subdued a rare treasure.

Surrounded by the crowd, Jiang Yan neglected to answer his master's inquiry. He raised his head to survey his surroundings, failing to find Fang Hongjian among the surviving rogue cultivators, nor seeing anyone in the crowd wearing a black cloak. A look of bewilderment crossed his face, and he urged anxiously, "Are these the only people? Search again and see if anyone landed elsewhere!"

Chou Feng and Gao Hongli were also searching for the black-robed rogue cultivator who had taken the rare treasure. However, their mood contrasted sharply with Jiang Yan's. Especially Chou Feng, who had been dispatched to assist; echoing Jiang Yan's words, he began recounting the process of the mystic realm's collapse to his master, Zuo Qiancheng.

He recounted how Pu Pingping had gone on a massive killing spree after entering the mystic realm, how he had injured Gao Hongli and sought to kill them all, and how they had broken through the illusions to reach the cavern where the rare treasure resided. There, they had witnessed that shocking spectacle: Pu Pingping had been killed while trying to seize the treasure, and a mysterious figure had subdued it, triggering the spiritual energy turbulence within the realm before its ultimate collapse.

As Chou Feng narrated, the crowd gradually grew utterly silent.

When he finished, many wore expressions of disappointment. Xi Xu sighed, "So that means the person who acquired the rare treasure likely didn't make it out alive and was left behind in the mystic realm."

People looked at each other in dismay. Even Sect Master Yin Quan dared not be certain; the commotion just now had been simply too chaotic, and he feared that the mysterious rogue cultivator, skilled in the arts of concealment, might have hidden away amidst the chaos.

Yin Quan immediately issued an order to seal the mountain. If that person had already gone into hiding, he must absolutely not be allowed to escape.

Having given his orders, he looked toward Zhu Xian, sighed, and transmitted his voice mentally, "Junior Brother Zhu, the fact that so many rogue cultivators caught wind of this and rushed here means this person must have orchestrated it. I blame myself for failing to perceive it in time and falling heavily into his trap."

Zhu Xian replied, "We can only blame the Futu Sect for pushing us step by step, forcing us to resort to this desperate measure, only for someone else to seize a massive windfall in the chaos."

The two exchanged a bitter smile, both knowing that against such a person, simply sealing the mountain in hopes of flushing him out held very little hope of success. Investigating through other means was likely even less feasible; as many as eighty rogue cultivators had entered the mystic realm this time. Although a roster had been kept, because more than half had ultimately died inside without leaving behind corpses, trying to match them up one by one was utterly impossible.