Zhi Xuan, who was now standing five steps away from the Immortal Jade coffin, watched the neutralizing light from the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll fade back into the Scroll. He felt the essence of the surrounding Formation collapse, and the Crystal Gate behind him trembled.

  WHUUM!

  The gateway where he entered spun back, and at the same time, the five other Crystal Gates around the Immortal Jade Hall suddenly glowed with a disturbing silvery light.

  In a split second, gates two through six opened. Five cultivator figures emerged almost simultaneously, their strong Consciousness Transformation auras now mixed with a thick smell of spiritual death and paranoia.

  Elder Su was the first to emerge from the gate on the left. He stumbled out, his clothes ragged, and a stab wound in his robe leaked black blood. His eyes were wild, his gaze sweeping the Hall with suspicion. He did not see Zhi Xuan, but he saw the Immortal Jade coffin and immediately activated the Poison Talisman in his hand.

  "That Scroll belongs to Young Master Gu! Anyone who touches it will die in five breaths!" Elder Su roared, his voice hoarse and choked, as if he was still arguing with the illusion in his head.

  From the gate on the east side, the River Dragon Sect Leader emerged. His aura was violently unstable. His poison-afflicted left arm was now trembling fiercely. He saw the magnificent Jade Hall, and greed burned in his eyes, overriding the pain and fear.

  "The Legacy!" he roared, but as he stepped, he suddenly flinched backward, punching the air in front of him. In his mind, he might still be seeing one of his disciples falling into the void, and he was afraid of falling into the same trap. "Be gone! Do not block my way!"

  From the gate on the north side, the Shadow Hunter Leader emerged. He moved the slowest, one hand holding his sword, while the other tightly gripped his iron mask, as if afraid the mask would be ripped off. He had seen the horror of his own slaughter. His eyes, visible behind the iron mask, stared coldly, full of guilt and hatred.

  He did not shout or attack; he merely channeled essence into his sword, and a cold killing intent filled the Hall, directly targeting everyone there, including Elder Su and the River Dragon Sect Leader—he trusted no one.

  From the Gate on the right, Lin Yuan emerged, followed by her sole loyal Guard. Lin Yuan looked tense, but her eyes shone with a pure light of hope. Unlike the other Consciousness Transformation cultivators, the trauma of the illusion only strengthened her resolve.

  "We made it!" Lin Yuan whispered with a trembling voice. "Grandfather is innocent! We must save this Legacy from those devils!"

  A suffocating silence for a split second enveloped the Immortal Jade Hall. The six remaining cultivators, six focal points of the Ancient Formation, now stood in the same room. All eyes of the remaining Consciousness Transformation cultivators immediately focused on one point: the Immortal Jade Coffin in the center of the Hall—and the Golden Core figure standing in front of it.

  "A child? You?!" the River Dragon Sect Leader shouted, forgetting the fear of traps and focusing on the unexpected sight before him. He saw Zhi Xuan, a weak Golden Core cultivator, who should have died or fled long ago, standing right in front of the treasure he coveted.

  "A low-level Golden Foundation? You broke the Formation's rules!" Elder Su hissed, the Poison Talisman in his hand trembling. His paranoia prevented him from clearly thinking that Zhi Xuan was an enemy.

  Lin Yuan was shocked; she briefly recognized Zhi Xuan, the cultivator who looked like a walking corpse on the east path of the cliff of death. Her tone turned sharp and full of warning. "You... Get out of the way! This is not your place!"

  The Shadow Hunter Leader remained silent, merely tilting his head, assessing whether Zhi Xuan was the next Formation trap or just bait; his mind was already disturbed and considered Zhi Xuan a Formation puppet.

  Zhi Xuan stood tall, but could not hide the trembling in his hands. Amidst the spiritual pressure from four Consciousness Transformation cultivators and one Peak Consciousness Transformation expert, he was the most fragile and easily killed if he confronted them directly.

  Zhi Xuan thought quickly; he could not sacrifice his life just for this legacy. The coffin and the seven-colored silk scroll behind him still trembled softly, carrying a deep ancient aura.

  "I... I am lost here," Zhi Xuan said with a nervous tone, raising both his hands up as a symbol of surrender. "You all... You can fight for this legacy, I am leaving."

  The Ancient Devil Monument heavily rustled in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, Ruo Xianxue's cold and cruel scream echoed. "What are you doing, fool! You are giving up the legacy just by surrendering?!"

  The Immortal Jade Hall was filled with choking tension. Five Consciousness Transformation cultivators, each with their own ambitions and illusion trauma, stared at Zhi Xuan. Zhi Xuan, a seemingly weak and lost Golden Core, held the key to the Legacy.

  Lin Yuan, holding her pure sword, swung it to the side, her expression turning cold. "Whatever you are doing, child, move aside! I will not let this Legacy fall into the hands of the demon sects!"

  The Shadow Hunter Leader, still enveloped in a killing aura, finally moved. He was not interested in the scroll, but in the chaos that was about to unfold. His slender sword turned into a shadow, aiming at the weak point of the rushing River Dragon Sect Leader.

  "I... I just want to get out!" Zhi Xuan shouted, his voice cracking with fear. He glanced back at the Immortal Jade coffin, truly on the verge of life-and-death fear.

  With a heavy heart, Zhi Xuan slowly walked backward and moved away from the coffin and the seven-colored silk scroll. His eyes glanced fearfully at the coffin and the Transformation cultivators.

  'You said this was still suspicious, red stone!' Zhi Xuan hissed trembling in his mind. 'I cannot sacrifice my life for an uncertain legacy.'

  Seeing Zhi Xuan surrender, the River Dragon Sect Leader and Elder Su exchanged fierce glances that were hundreds of years old, and the two Consciousness Transformation cultivators immediately forgot about Zhi Xuan. The Immortal Jade Coffin and the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll were their sole focus.

  WHIZZ!

  The River Dragon Sect Leader was the first to move, his Consciousness Transformation speed splitting the air. He ignored the injury on his arm, his energy darting forward, trying to grab the Seven-Colored Scroll in one greedy motion.

  At the same time, Elder Su, with a vile poisonous hiss, threw his Poison Talisman. The talisman was not aimed at the River Dragon Sect Leader, but at the coffin itself, trying to cover the Legacy with his poison so no one else would dare touch it.

  Lin Yuan screamed, "Demon Sect! Do not defile this Legacy!" She leaped forward, her pure sword radiating Jade light, directly cutting Elder Su's Poison Talisman in the air.

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  Lin Yuan's Guard, a Peak Consciousness Transformation expert, wasted no time. He channeled essence into a shield, trying to protect Lin Yuan from the inevitable counterattack.

  The Shadow Hunter Leader, whose cynical view proved correct, moved coldly. He was not interested in the scroll, but in the chaos that would ensue. His sword turned into a shadow, attacking toward the weak point of the rushing River Dragon Sect Leader.

  BOOM!

  The clash of four Consciousness Transformation powers and one peak Consciousness Transformation expert daring to pierce the Poison Talisman filled the Immortal Jade Hall. The pure spiritual energy in the Hall surged wildly, forming a fierce spiritual storm.

  "Red Stone! We are going to die!" Zhi Xuan ran quickly to avoid the spiritual clash, his Divine Wheel spinning wildly and chaotically due to the clash.

  RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

  The initial clash not only shook the Hall, but also awakened the main Formation. The Immortal Jade Coffin, which had been defiled by the Poison Talisman, suddenly emitted a blinding Jade light.

  The light was not a gentle aura, but a pure and punishing shockwave, exploding out from the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll.

  CRACK!

  The shockwave hit the cultivator closest to the scroll—the greedy River Dragon Sect Leader, whose arm was almost touching the scroll. Immediately, the Sect Leader screamed in pain; the skin on his left arm, already blackened by Elder Chu's poison, now exploded and vaporized into spiritual steam.

  "ARGH! My left arm! Damn Legacy!" he roared, thrown backward and crashing into the crystal gate he entered.

  The jade wave then swept over Elder Su, who was still within close range. Elder Su's Poison Talisman, already split by Lin Yuan, was now completely neutralized. The Pure Jade aura struck Elder Su's lungs, forcing black blood out of his nose and making him stumble backward.

  WHUUM! WHUM! WHUM!

  On the other side, Zhi Xuan looked around in a panic; in front of him were only the walls of the jade hall which were now dimmed and accompanied by intense spiritual pressure. His Divine Wheel trembled violently, as if unable to withstand this incredibly pure spiritual pressure.

  "My calculation was correct!" Ruo Xianxue hissed, her voice filled with a mixture of cold anger and relief. "My suspicion was correct! This Legacy is not a treasure that can simply be snatched away. It is a living Formless Immortal Realm Formation trap!"

  The Ancient Devil Monument heavily rustled in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, and red threads that looked like spiritual roots stretched out from its base. The threads shot quickly out of Zhi Xuan's hand, wrapping around the heavily trembling Jade Hall wall, scanning every rune and energy.

  "That Silk Scroll is not the key, but the main controller of this Formation!" Ruo Xianxue explained quickly, her voice urgent. "The coiled dragon formation is not the main controller of the formation! This is the controller of the four major formations and twenty pseudo-formations—if I had not stopped you just now, you would have died from that purity!"

  "Damn it! Then what should we do?" Zhi Xuan panted, running along the Hall wall, avoiding the spiritual storm now centered around the coffin. The other Transformation cultivators, although injured and stumbling, were still trying to attack, but now they were also targets of the awakened Formation.

  The Shadow Hunter Leader, who was trying to attack the River Dragon Sect Leader, now found his sword parried by an invisible Pure Jade shockwave. Lin Yuan, whose shield weakened, protected her guard from energy fragments.

  "There! The crack on the north side!" Ruo Xianxue shouted, her red threads pointing to an inconspicuous spot on the Hall wall, between the crystal gate where the Shadow Hunter Leader entered and Lin Yuan's gate. "That is the weak point of the Formation! Go now, Zhi Xuan! This Hall is going to collapse!"

  Zhi Xuan did not think twice. He gathered the remnants of his essence, ignoring the pain and trembling in his Divine Wheel. He darted like an arrow toward the crack Ruo Xianxue pointed to.

  Behind him, the River Dragon Sect Leader roared in pain, trying to get up from the cracked crystal gate. Elder Su, stumbling backward, his Poison Talismans now useless. Lin Yuan and her guard held on, but the energy storm around the Silk Scroll grew stronger, tearing the star Formation on the ceiling.

  CRACK! BOOM!

  Jade fragments from the ceiling began to fall. The entire Immortal Jade Hall trembled violently, as if it would collapse in seconds.

  Zhi Xuan reached the crack. He could not see anything with his eyes, but Ruo Xianxue's red threads pointed into the empty air. He did not hesitate. With a final push, he charged forward, disappearing through the invisible crack, just as the Immortal Jade Hall exploded in a devastating spiritual shockwave.

  The explosion did not produce a deafening sound, but a deadly silence. It was an explosion of Pure Spiritual Essence, a punishment delivered by the ancient Legacy upon those who approached it with greed.

  The first and strongest shockwave hit the River Dragon Sect Leader, already injured and stumbling near the crystal gate. The skin on his damaged left arm suddenly turned blue and exploded into spiritual steam.

  "I do not believe this!" the River Dragon Sect Leader screamed desperately. "My Legacy!"

  He screamed once, the sound cut off in his throat. His eyes widened with a blend of greed and horror. His flesh and bones did not burn; he instead vaporized, starting from his fingertips, rising to his shoulder. Within two breaths, only his robe fell to the floor, along with fine Jade dust that was the remnants of the Consciousness Transformation cultivator.

  Elder Su, neutralized by the first wave, tried to flee to his gate. The paranoia in his eyes was replaced by pure fear. "I knew it was a trap! Young Master Gu! I failed! ARGH!"

  He only managed to reach the doorway when a second, more concentrated spiritual shockwave hit him from the side. His poison aura was completely useless against the purity of the Immortal Jade. Elder Su did not vaporize; he froze in place. Pure Jade liquid flowing from the walls suddenly crystallized around his body. He became a hissing Black Jade statue, and in the next split second, the collapsing Formation dropped a jade roof slab directly onto the statue.

  CRACK! Elder Su's statue shattered, turning into sharp jade fragments, mixed with crushed bone shards. Lin Yuan and her guard stood further away. The guard, with a full essence shield, tried to protect Lin Yuan.

  "Young Miss! Run!" the guard shouted.

  However, Lin Yuan had stopped running. She stared at the Immortal Jade coffin in the center of the Hall. Her guard's shield began to crack under the immense pressure. Suddenly, Lin Yuan, with a terrifying resolve, turned around.

  "No! I will not let those devils..."

  Lin Yuan, whose soul had been strengthened by the illusion, tried to fight the Formation. She pointed her pure sword at the Seven-Colored Silk Scroll, not to take it, but to destroy it. She thought the Scroll was the source of evil.

  The Shadow Hunter Leader, whose gaze was fixed on the River Dragon Sect Leader who had just vanished, saw Lin Yuan's movement. "Fool!" he hissed, but too slow to react.

  A third, much more focused spiritual shockwave hit Lin Yuan. The pure sword in her hand did not break; it was instead enveloped by a Pure Jade aura, and then that aura, instead of attacking the Formation, turned against Lin Yuan.

  Lin Yuan only managed a sound of surprise. Her pure sword, the symbol of her righteousness, pierced her own chest, driven by the will of the Formation turning against her. She fell to the floor, the sword emitting a soft Jade light, trapping her startled soul.

  Her guard, devastated by the sight, lost focus. His shield exploded, and he was swept away by the spiritual storm. In a final act of desperation, he screamed, "Sky Cloud Sect will never fall!" Then, he melted into an essence mist that was immediately absorbed by the jade floor.

  The Shadow Hunter Leader, the furthest away and calmest, reacted the best. He did not attack; he tried to flee, running toward the gate where he entered. However, the Formation, now releasing its final energy, had closed all the Crystal Gates.

  "Impossible! I was too careful!" he roared, swinging his sword at the now-solid Crystal Gate.

  The spiritual shockwave sweeping the Hall now swirled and concentrated in the center, forming an energy vortex. The Shadow Hunter Leader was dragged toward the center of the Hall, even as he tried to embed his sword into the Jade floor.

  "At least I will die with dignity!" he growled, trying to activate a Forbidden Technique.

  But before he could finish, the vortex tore at his aura. His iron mask came off, revealing his face full of horror. His flesh and skin were slowly peeled away, drawn by the spiritual vortex, until only a skeleton stood upright. The skeleton trembled for a moment, then collapsed into dust mixed with his bent iron mask.

  The Immortal Jade Hall became deathly silent. The spiritual storm subsided, and the Pure Jade light returned to its softness. In the center of the Hall, the six crystal gates became solid again, and the Immortal Jade coffin now emitted a peaceful and warm light. The Seven-Colored Silk Scroll on top of it now radiated a calm light.

  However, the entire floor of the Immortal Jade Hall, covered with spiritual dust, bone fragments, and Elder Su's black bloodstains, suddenly glowed. All the physical and spiritual remnants of the deceased Consciousness Transformation cultivators—poison essence, blood dust, and even the remnants of their weak souls—were pulled downward.

  The Legacy that was supposed to be a dream, a dream of the five-element scroll, now left a majestic silence. No one suspected that the legacy they saw was only an illusion of their greed.