The River Dragon Sect Leader staggered backward after enduring the clash with Elder Chu. They both vomited blood from the explosion that wounded them.

  "Damn it!" the large Leader roared angrily, his left arm partially blackened by the corrosive poison.

  Elder Chu fell back to the ground and weakened, his energy completely drained after forcing out that devastating attack. The Rare Artifact he held slipped, flying into the air and landing with a cling near the trembling Black Jade Gate.

  A suffocating silence for a split second enveloped the valley. A silence that lasted only a moment before the black gate heavily trembled.

  "Retreat! That gate is going to shatter because of the formation!" one of the Shadow Hunters shouted, his members immediately backing away.

  "Yuan, quickly retreat to a safe distance!" one of Lin Yuan's protectors shouted, Lin Yuan, without thinking, immediately mounted her flying sword and retreated to a safe distance.

  Meanwhile, in front of the turbulent gate, Elder Su and the three hooded men stared at the gate that was about to explode. "We retreat," Elder Su said, his voice sharpening.

  Elder Su glanced at Elder Chu's body lying weakly, blackening blood flowing from his lips. A cultivator of the Consciousness Transformation level, yet now no more than a pile of trash waiting to be disposed of.

  "Elder Chu is finished," Elder Su hissed, his thin and cruel face showing not the slightest regret. "He completed his task of blocking the fool from the River Dragon Sect. Our task now is to ensure this legacy does not fall into anyone's hands. We will wait at the entrance."

  "But... Elder Su," one of the hooded men hesitated, looking at Elder Chu's body. "He is our comrade—"

  "A useless comrade is a burden!" Elder Su cut in coldly. "That Black Jade wall is releasing unstable essence shockwaves. Let him clear the path for us! If this Gate explodes, he will be the first ashes to open the way inside. We will not waste our essence on him. Retreat! Quickly!"

  Without waiting any longer, Elder Su and the three remaining Evil Sect hooded men darted backward, not to the cliff, but behind the Black Jade boulder on the Evil Sect's side, taking cover from the inevitable explosion.

  Elder Chu, still semi-conscious, heard the betrayal. He wanted to scream, wanted to unleash his last Poison Talisman, but his body no longer obeyed his will. He could only watch Elder Su's shadow disappear, leaving him alone in front of the rumbling Black Jade Gate.

  "Young... Master... Gu..." Elder Chu's voice was hoarse, swallowing bloody saliva. He realized the painful irony: he died not because of an enemy, but because of his own sect's greed.

  KRUMMM!

  The Black Jade Gate, having lost the protection of the Formless Immortal Realm Formation, could not withstand the repeated essence clashes. Its jade surface cracked, and the ancient runes in its carvings released an explosion of spiritual light.

  The explosion was not fire or physical essence, but a pure spiritual shockwave—the accumulated power of the Ancient Formation for thousands of years, released all at once.

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM!

  A purplish-black shockwave swept the crescent valley. the River Dragon Sect and Lin Yuan's group, who were already at a safe distance, felt their shields tremble violently. They stumbled backward, spiritual pain piercing their Sea of Consciousness.

  "Hold on!" The Shadow Hunters who created a spiritual shield around them yelled.

  Meanwhile, the River Dragon Sect Leader's spiritual shield was slightly shaken because his left arm was no longer functioning properly.

  "We will help you, Leader!" The River Dragon Sect members shouted, strengthening the protective spiritual shield.

  But Elder Chu, who was right in front of the Gate, had no time to react.

  The spiritual shockwave slammed into him. In an instant, his Consciousness Transformation aura disintegrated. His flesh and bones did not burn, nor freeze, but melted into fine spiritual dust. The Poison Talismans in his pocket, the remaining essence, even the artifacts he hid within his robe, all vanished into ash.

  In just the blink of an eye, Elder Chu, a Consciousness Transformation cultivator, disappeared as if he had never existed.

  The shockwave continued to spread, sweeping over Elder Su's Rare Artifact lying near the Gate. The artifact trembled violently, and its poison energy was immediately neutralized by the pure essence of the Black Jade explosion. The bronze dagger fell into a rock crevice, losing most of its aura, now no more than damaged ancient metal.

  When the explosion subsided, all that remained was a partially opened Black Jade Gate, emitting a mysterious gray light from within. The gate was now ten feet high, and above its threshold, the carving of an ancient dragon looked as if it was opening its closed eyes.

  The River Dragon Sect Leader spat, clearing his mouth of the disgusting black blood. He glanced at the spot where Elder Chu had vanished and growled, "The stench of the Evil Sect is not worthy of becoming Immortal Jade ash."

  He did not waste time laughing at the death of his enemy. With a swift movement, he reached into his spiritual pouch and pulled out a small pill that emitted a warm jade light—a Blood Restoration Pill, a very valuable pill he usually saved for life-and-death situations. He swallowed the pill without hesitation.

  In an instant, the piercing pain in his left arm subsided, and the blackened layer of poison on his skin began to evaporate into thin vapor. Although the pill could not fully heal the spiritual wound from the clash, it was enough to restore his fighting strength and essence stability.

  "The gate is open! Do not let those rats get ahead of us!" he roared, his eyes blazing with greed.

  Elder Su from the Evil Sect, who was hiding behind the Black Jade boulder, immediately leaped out, followed by his three disciples.

  "River Dragon Sect, you will not escape!" Elder Su hissed.

  At the same time, Lin Yuan, whose essence shield was trembling but still intact, immediately shouted to her guards, "Go! Now! We must not let them get the Ancient Immortal Jade Legacy!"

  Lin Yuan's group darted forward. Meanwhile, the Shadow Hunters group, whose maroon robes blended with the shadows, were the fastest to react. They made no sound, but their leader, with the iron mask reflecting a dim light, gestured and their five members immediately moved in unison.

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  Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

  Four groups of cultivators—the Evil Sect, the Sky Cloud Sect, the River Dragon Sect, and the Shadow Hunters—all moved toward the open Black Jade Gate. They no longer attacked each other, but raced toward the ancient legacy.

  In the midst of the chaos, in the darkest shadow of the Black Jade, Zhi Xuan finally opened his eyes. Zhi Xuan released his grip from Zhuwei's Pure Jade which was now completely dull. His body was still weak, but his Heavenly Samsara Wheel had stabilized. He activated the Law of Summer just a thread thin, enough to neutralize the remnants of the Black Jade in the suffocating air, but not enough to emit light.

  Zhi Xuan channeled essence into the Silent Mantle, becoming a truly undetectable ghost. He saw the blurry silhouettes of the River Dragon Sect Leader, Elder Su, Lin Yuan, and the Shadow Hunters, all rushing toward the Gate, their essences screaming with greed and fear.

  After making sure their silhouettes disappeared behind the gate, Zhi Xuan got up and quickly stepped calmly toward the rocks.

  'I must preserve my essence as best as possible,' Zhi Xuan thought, 'I no longer have any pure jade left.'

  Zhi Xuan reached the area where Elder Chu had melted. The remaining smell of death was so strong, yet now enveloped by the pure spiritual aura of the Black Jade.

  Zhi Xuan set his foot on the blackened ground, positioning himself next to the path the River Dragon Sect Leader had taken. With a calm and unhurried movement, he bent down amidst the fast-moving energy storm.

  His hand reached out. Zhi Xuan grabbed the damaged bronze dagger, the smell of burnt metal still thick in the air, carrying the horror after the explosion.

  'The price of greed.' Zhi Xuan murmured, he looked back toward the black gate waiting there. 'I was lucky to be far enough from the explosion.'

  He had no time to examine it. The dagger felt warm and dead, but the lingering feel of Pure Black Jade on its surface felt familiar and strong. Zhi Xuan hid the dagger beneath his robe.

  Ruo Xianxue laughed slowly in the Sea of Consciousness. "A dirty piece of iron from that rat sect, well at least it is enough to stab a tree branch."

  Zhi Xuan ignored Ruo Xianxue. His moment had arrived. On the threshold of the Black Jade Gate, whose ancient dragon carving now seemed to stare at him, he stood alone. He took a deep breath, tightened the Silent Mantle, and stepped forward.

  Zhi Xuan walked with such light and silent steps, as if he had no weight. He walked over the spiritual dust that was the remnants of Elder Chu, the smell of destruction did not make him shudder, but rather reminded him of the cruelty of the cultivation world. He was the only person in the valley who was not in a hurry, moving with precise calculation.

  As he reached the threshold of the Black Jade Gate, the dragon carving above it suddenly trembled subtly.

  Rumble.

  The Gate seemed to voice its objection. Although the ancient runes of the Legacy had been opened, the Gate itself, made of Pure Black Jade, emitted an extraordinary ancient spiritual pressure, resonating with the Law of Winter. The aura emitted by the Gate felt as if Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness was about to be frozen.

  However, Zhi Xuan was not deterred. His thin Law of Summer, although barely visible, served as a stake holding his Soul. The Heart-Nourishing Jade in his hair and Zhuwei's Pure Jade that he had just gripped, although weakened, had created a kind of temporary balance.

  'Summer against Winter,' Ruo Xianxue hissed in his mind, 'Balance is the way the Devil controls the Dao. If you are fragile, you will be destroyed. If you are stable, you are the master.'

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw, absorbing Ruo Xianxue's cruel philosophy. He did not try to fight the pressure of the Black Jade; he simply let the energy flow around him, making it seem as if he was part of the darkness.

  Through the ten-foot open gap of the Gate, a strange sight was visible: not a dark cave, but a dimly lit corridor, its surface adorned with twisting spiritual patterns, as if the room was made of dreams and essence. The air inside was thick, filled with overflowing Pure Spiritual Essence, intoxicating and pure—a sharp contrast to the Black Jade outside.

  'The morning sun shines upon the world, shifting the night until it falls back into darkness' Zhi Xuan murmured, with one step, he leaped into the black gate.

  The Black Jade Gate did not close behind him, but its vibration subsided, as if satisfied with the last Cultivator who managed to sneak in amidst the chaos.

  The air inside the corridor felt like inhaling Liquid Jade. The overflowing pure spiritual essence rushed into his nose, so rich it tasted sweet and intoxicating. Zhi Xuan felt his Heavenly Samsara Wheel respond frantically, spinning faster than ever before, trying to absorb every particle of the abundant essence.

  "Damn, do not rush!" Ruo Xianxue snapped, her voice now slightly more tense. "The essence here is too pure! If you absorb it so quickly, your unstable Wheel will be destroyed!"

  Zhi Xuan immediately suppressed his Divine Wheel. He had to control it, this was like trying to fit a river into a cup; the process had to be slow and careful.

  The corridor itself twisted and turned, its walls were not made of ordinary stone, but a Natural Formation. Ancient runes formed intricate patterns, reflecting a silvery light from crystals growing out of the floor. This corridor felt like another dimension, separated from the outside world.

  "The Black Jade Gate is a living Formless Immortal Realm Formation," Ruo Xianxue explained, her tone returning to the cold teaching mode. "You are inside the Ancient Immortal Jade School Legacy. This is a Pocket World created by a cultivator who surpassed the Transcendence realm. Focus, do not get lost in this rune corridor!"

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw, resisting his body's desire to absorb the pure essence. He glanced ahead. The corridor looked branched and felt vague, everything seemed identical, twisting and turning amidst the dim light of essence crystals.

  "They separated," Zhi Xuan whispered, his voice almost inaudible, although no one could hear it but Ruo Xianxue.

  "Of course," Ruo Xianxue hissed. "Great legacies are not always about wonders. Every path must lead to a different 'Trial' or 'Artifact'."

  "I must choose the safest and least suspected path." Zhi Xuan thought quickly. "I feel every step I take here is suffocating my feet."

  "Conserve your essence right now," Ruo Xianxue snorted. "You do not need the silent mantle, this pure jade essence will disguise your aura."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, closed his eyes and shifted spiritual essence back to his Divine Wheel. Cutting off the essence supporting the Law of Summer and the Silent Mantle.

  He opened his eyes, his impure essence was now completely enveloped by the rich spiritual aura of the corridor. He became a hidden stain amidst the light of purity. His eyes stared at the dim corridor that seemed endless and full of branches.

  Just as Zhi Xuan was about to step, Ruo Xianxue's voice stopped him with a firm warning. "Wait! Do not step!"

  Zhi Xuan was startled and pulled his step back, his breath caught in his throat by the sudden warning. "Red stone, what is it?"

  "They are in the other corridor," Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice dripping with profound knowledge. "Everyone who enters will pass through a different corridor, but they look identical."

  Zhi Xuan furrowed his brow. "You mean? It is like they are in a different corridor but share similarities?"

  The Ancient Devil Monument subtly trembled, Ruo gave a mental vision of the corridor, showing a corridor that had only one branch and the branches Zhi Xuan saw were just illusions.

  "See? This corridor does not branch as you see it," Ruo Xianxue said. "If they indeed passed through this before us, the restriction formation must have been active since you set your foot here."

  "This is a restriction formation." Ruo Xianxue continued, her voice now sounding like an ancient bell ringing slowly. "This corridor projects countless branch illusions into your Sea of Consciousness. The more unaware you are that this is an illusion, the more branches you see. They did not pass through different paths, but stepped over illusions created by the Formation. They are all walking in the same corridor, but they are convinced they are alone on their paths."

  Zhi Xuan felt a cold shiver down his spine. This was a much more subtle trap than poison or a sword. They were all only a few steps away from him, but separated by a thin layer of spiritual mirage.

  "Meaning..." Zhi Xuan stared at the branching corridor, which was now beginning to show flashes of the actual single corridor in his eyes. "I can walk straight, and I will be right among them, invisible, because they are busy fighting their own illusions."

  The Ancient Devil Monument rustled, red threads extended from the bottom of Zhi Xuan's sea of consciousness, appearing in his palm and wrapping around the silvery walls, as if searching for the center of the formation that could pose a threat.

  "There are four major formations and twenty pseudo-formations," Ruo Xianxue hissed. "We must find the center of the formation that neutralizes all these formations."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, his eyes now sharpened and emitting a cold blue light. Thanks to Ruo Xianxue's insight, he was now the only person in the corridor who truly saw reality. He could see the blurry shadows of the cultivators around him, Elder Su struggling against the illusion of a poison monster in front of him, Lin Yuan who seemed to be fiercely debating with a shadow of herself on another path, and the hasty River Dragon Sect Leader, trying to break through the illusion of a labyrinth.