As the Seven Realms Stone entered the dark passage, an overwhelming surge of Burial Path principles, violent to the extreme, swept down like a tidal wave.
Even with the Seven Realms Stone’s support, Mo Wuji coughed up a blood arrow, his Mortal Realm ability nearly collapsing.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t hesitate, unleashing several Great Cutting Techniques in succession. The pressure on Mo Wuji eased slightly, but the oppressive force of the Burial Path principles here was still far more terrifying than outside.
Thunder Sage, seeing the near-shattered Mortal Realm, broke into a cold sweat. Watching Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu give their all, he couldn’t stand idle. Raising his hand, he summoned cascading thunder waterfalls.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The thunder waterfalls crashed outside the Seven Realms Stone, further lightening the pressure on both Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji.
Lan Xiaobu glanced at Thunder Sage, inwardly impressed. Creation Sages indeed had their unique trump cards. If those thunder waterfalls were aimed at him, he’d have to retreat. Though the thunder technique’s origin paled compared to his Great Cutting Technique, Thunder Sage’s strength surpassed his, aiding Mo Wuji’s Mortal Realm as much as Lan Xiaobu’s efforts.
With Lan Xiaobu and Thunder Sage’s assistance, Mo Wuji stabilised the Mortal Realm. The Seven Realms Stone’s speed surged.
Half an incense stick later, the surroundings cleared, and Lan Xiaobu halted the stone. They found themselves in a colossal underground palace.
Lan Xiaobu was quietly stunned. The Burial Path Great Tomb’s interior was vast, akin to a small planet. The ten-thousand-foot structure he’d seen outside was a mere fraction of its true scope.
Why does this feel familiar? After a moment of awe, Lan Xiaobu spotted a corpse in a corner of the hall, easily missed without close inspection. Scanning further, he realised there wasn’t just one corpse but over a dozen, arranged deliberately in a specific pattern.
“Qidao Sage?” Thunder Sage exclaimed in shock.
“Who’s Qidao Sage?” Lan Xiaobu asked, puzzled.
Mo Wuji’s voice was grave. “I don’t know Qidao Sage, but I see the Heavenly Mechanism Sage’s corpse.”
Prompted by Mo Wuji, Lan Xiaobu spotted the Heavenly Mechanism Sage’s body in another corner.
“Mo Yuan Sage, Dui Huang Sage, Tian Yu Sage…” Thunder Sage’s voice trembled, each name seeming to drain him.
“Fellow Thunder, what’s going on?” Lan Xiaobu interrupted, his tone heavy.
Thunder Sage stopped reciting names, perhaps not recognising all the corpses. Suppressing his emotions, he said, “The Land of Eternal Life can only sustain nine Creation Sages at most. We became Creation Sages because our predecessors either fell or left the Land. By ‘left,’ I mean departing the vast expanse, not just a universe.”
Calming slightly, he continued, “Qidao Sage, Mo Yuan Sage, Dui Huang Sage, Tian Yu Sage, and others were Creation Sages before us. Aside from a few who fell in battle, most vanished later. I didn’t know why until the Heavenly Mechanism Sage…”
He glanced at the Heavenly Mechanism Sage’s corpse, his voice faltering. He, the Eternal Life Sage, and the Reflective Path Sage had assumed the Heavenly Mechanism Sage had left the Land long ago. Seeing his body here was a shock.
Thunder Sage then realised that without meeting Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu, his own corpse might soon join them.
Could he escape this place now? The odds seemed slim.
“Go on,” Mo Wuji urged as Thunder Sage paused.
Thunder Sage nodded. “The Heavenly Mechanism Sage told us there’s a Fourth Step of the Great Path beyond Creation Sage. We assumed the vanished Sages had left to pursue it. Now we know they never left—they became corpses here. Even the Heavenly Mechanism Sage ended up here…”
Lan Xiaobu’s heart grew heavier. He thought of Qi Manwei, a Creation Sage who had entered the tomb. Yet he hadn’t seen her among the corpses.
“Xiaobu, are you worried about your friend?” Mo Wuji asked.
Lan Xiaobu sighed. “There’s no other path here but the one we entered. Wuji, stay on the stone. I’m going down to look.”
He’d come to save Qi Manwei—how could he not be concerned? Observing from the stone might miss something, so he needed to investigate on foot.
“Xiaobu, you can’t go down,” Mo Wuji said. “Our Creation Path was forged in the Burial Path Great Plain. We don’t yet know if it’s tied to the plain. And you saw the principles in that passage—do you think you could withstand them?”
Mo Wuji left one thing unsaid, but Lan Xiaobu understood. On the Seven Realms Stone, they could advance or retreat. If trouble arose, the stone could break through any planar boundaries to escape the tomb. Otherwise, Mo Wuji wouldn’t have let Lan Xiaobu steer it inside.
Lan Xiaobu fell silent. He knew that without the stone, the passage’s principles would have claimed all three of their lives.
“Then I’ll use array flags to probe for hidden areas,” Lan Xiaobu said, only to recall that his 108 ruleless array flags were left in the space entering the plain.
Without them, he’d have to use the Great Cutting or Great Destruction Technique, risking harm to Qi Manwei if she was nearby.
Lan Xiaobu waved a hand. “Hold off. Let me try something.”
A vertical pupil appeared on his forehead, radiating a charm that seemed to pierce all illusions.
“Path Pupil?” Thunder Sage gasped, stunned. Few cultivators possessed a Path Pupil, and even fewer refined it to Mo Wuji’s level.
Mo Wuji, however, wasn’t relying on a Path Pupil. They were rare but not unique—the Reflective Path Sage they’d defeated had four eyes, and though not Path Pupils, their ability to probe illusions rivalled one. If a Path Pupil could easily unravel the tomb’s depths, others would have noticed long ago.
“Wuji, the Path Pupil is strong, but it likely can’t pierce the illusions here,” Lan Xiaobu messaged Mo Wuji.
Mo Wuji chuckled, messaging back, “I know the Path Pupil can’t break through. I’m using another method. Wait for my signal. If I find something, I’ll message you, and we’ll attack together.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t respond, waiting for Mo Wuji’s signal to act. Saving Qi Manwei and escaping the tomb were his priorities.
Mo Wuji relied on his Spirit Storage Network, undetectable even to those surpassing Creation Sages.
In less than half an incense stick’s time, Mo Wuji messaged Lan Xiaobu. “Xiaobu, I found it. There’s a hidden array gate to our left rear. The anomaly must be inside. We’ll attack together.”
“Got it,” Lan Xiaobu replied eagerly, his divine sense linking to the Longevity Halberd. He held off deploying it, waiting for Mo Wuji’s cue to charge with the stone and strike.
“First, guide the stone to circle the hall. When we reach the spot, we’ll act,” Mo Wuji said, readying his Mortal Halberd.
Lan Xiaobu moved the Seven Realms Stone slowly through the vast hall, which, though immense, was still just a single chamber.
Despite the slow pace, half an incense stick later, they neared Mo Wuji’s specified location. Lan Xiaobu messaged Thunder Sage, “Fellow Thunder, when Wuji and I strike, don’t hold back. Attack the same spot we do with full force.”
Thunder Sage replied, “Rest assured, Fellow Lan, I’ll give it everything.”
Having seen the corpses of numerous Creation Sages, Thunder Sage knew better than anyone that failing to escape with Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji would make him the next body in this hall.
