Published: September 9, 2025
Chapter 834: The Passage
A luminous arc over a hundred zhang above the altar appeared.
This arc was hazy white, about thirty zhang long and four to five zhang wide at its broadest point, shaped like a crescent moon. It was actually a rare, gigantic spatial rift. However, this rift had previously been concealed by some sort of restrictive formation. Despite so many nascent soul cultivators with great supernatural abilities gathered here, no one had noticed such a terrifying presence above.
Could this be the so-called entrance to Lingmiao Garden?
Looking at the visible spatial distortion and deformation, even a supernatural expert like Wei Wuya didn’t dare to rush into the rift. After all, the cutting force of this spatial power was not something cultivators of this realm could withstand. No wonder Wei Wuya had lost his temper!
“Lingmiao Garden originally exists between the Spiritual Realm and our Human Realm. To enter this space, one must naturally rely on the spatial rift here. Just a slight distortion can directly open the entrance. Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone forcefully break through. There’s another way to temporarily send you inside. However, it carries certain risks. Whether we can get through or not, I only have about sixty to seventy percent confidence. Those in the core formation stage need not go. Their cultivation bases are insufficient; it would just be a death sentence,” the scholar said calmly after scanning the crowd.
“Sixty to seventy percent confidence? Why didn’t you mention this before we came?” The sect master of the Ghost Spirit Sect looked displeased.
“Does it matter whether I mention it or not? Even if the chance was only twenty to thirty percent, you wouldn’t give up,” the scholar sneered.
The sect master’s eyes flashed coldly as he stared at the scholar. Suddenly, he raised his hand, producing a blood-red command token.
“What are you doing?” The scholar’s face changed drastically. He hurriedly retreated while shouting loudly.
But the sect master said nothing. With a subtle wave of the token, a burst of blood aura shot out. The scholar screamed in pain and fell from low altitude to the ground.
At the same time, strange blood-red runes appeared on his skin, swirling continuously as if embedded inside and outside his body — truly bizarre.
“Soul-Shocking Curse?” Wang Tiangu was shocked by the scene, his expression turning stern.
Wei Wuya’s expression shifted upon hearing the term.
“This is one of the Ghost Spirit Sect’s secret curses — the Soul-Shocking Curse? It is said this secret art is even more vicious than ordinary forbidden divine techniques. Any cultivator cursed with it will have their soul and spirit dissipate almost instantly at the caster’s will,” Wei Wuya asked calmly as he stared at the scholar rolling on the ground.
“Heh heh! Brother Wei, you sure know a lot. I am indeed using this curse. This vital essence is just a fragment of Master Cangkun’s past incarnation. It actually thought it was the invincible Master Cangkun from those days and dared to act recklessly. Naturally, I had to teach it a lesson,” the sect master replied with a smile.
Wei Wuya nodded silently. To them, no matter how much background a mere fragment of vital essence had, it wouldn’t be allowed to be so arrogant.
Meanwhile, the scholar writhed on the ground in extreme agony. Each time the blood-red runes flickered, his body trembled uncontrollably. Clutching his head, he rolled and twitched, his face full of unbearable pain.
The torment lasted for nearly the duration of a meal. Even the ghostly form of his vital essence began to blur and destabilize.
Seeing this, the sect master finally waved the command token, casually stopping the secret art.
“You should have learned a lesson by now. Even if your memories mirror those of Master Cangkun, you are now nothing but a remnant soul. Don’t do anything foolish again. Otherwise, next time the punishment won’t be so mild. I must enter Lingmiao Garden, but I refuse to be led by the nose. Rest assured, if you lead us obediently, I will not go back on my word,” the sect master said with a blend of kindness and authority.