He soon finished wearing his armor as he placed the talisman on his chest plate and hung the formation plate at his waist, “Oh, now that we are on this topic, do you know what this weird Qi is?”
Yue Lan paused as if contemplating something before responding,
[I don’t know about the origin of this weird Qi since I can’t analyze it currently, but you should be careful about it nonetheless since this Qi doesn’t seem to be originating from this world.]
“…Do you know anything else about this place?” Shen Yuan asked while looking around.
[No, but you will find that out when you explore it.]
Shen Yuan nodded his head and started walking forward, observing each corner of the cave for any potential threat.
“Hmm…weird, there is no living thing inside, not even a blade of grass,” he muttered to himself while observing the surroundings.
He didn’t stop as he soon came before a large opening inside the cave, where a faint red light flashed and the intensity of the weird Qi increased greatly. ‘What is inside there?’
He stepped forward cautiously, tightly holding his sword. His eyes widened in astonishment at the sight inside the cave.
“Wha-” he couldn’t even speak as the things inside were beyond his expectations.
A giant crack inside the space of the cave, as if infecting the very fabric of reality. It pulsed with black and red Qi as the crack seemed to emit that weird Qi.
“Is this the source of that weird Qi?” he softly whispered.
He extended his hand to feel a bit of that Qi on his hand, and this time he could feel it much more clearly.
The Qi was inherently different from the normal Qi of the world; it was actively fighting against the normal Qi.
Yet they were at a stalemate as neither could take advantage of the other, but Shen Yuan frowned as he saw the tenacity of the weird Qi. “Well…fuck. This is problematic.”
He released a bit more of his Qi before erasing the weird Qi from his palm.
His frown deepened as he saw the cave filled with that Qi, “This is bad…if my pure Qi can only fight this Qi on equal footing, then the others…”
He didn’t finish his words, but the implication was clear, and it spelled trouble for the rest of the sects and clans surrounding this place.
[What do you plan to do now, Yuan’er?]
Yue Lan’s voice echoed inside his mind.
Shen Yuan stared at the crack in space as he thought over his precautions, “I will go inside to see what it has to offer. If I can find something useful, then it will be a gain; otherwise, I can at least gather some information about that place.”
[But are you sure about this plan?]
Shen Yuan nodded, “Yes, with the level of preparations I have made, even death can’t claim me.”
He spoke as he took out an identical talisman that he gave to Wan Ling and pasted it on his shoulder.
“With this, I’m ready for whatever this hellhole has to offer.” He spoke confidently and stepped toward the blackish-red crack.
Yue Lan got silent as she didn’t bother warning him again as he knew full well the consequences of his choices.
He soon came in front of the crack, observing it closely, yet he couldn’t see past it as a thin veil separated the two places.
“I see, the Mystique Realm has itself placed a barrier over this crack. That’s why no entity has passed through it, but the weird Qi still came out.”
He frowned as he extended his hand toward the barrier, gently touching it to see its reaction, but all of a sudden, the barrier pulsed and threw Shen Yuan back.
WHOOSH!
He flew back and hit the wall, BOOM!, raising a cloud of dust as he stood up and looked at the barrier again with a hint of solemnity in his eyes.
“What the fuck! Why is this barrier so strong? It hit me with enough force to send me flying at a mere touch.” He again looked deeply at the barrier, weighing his options as he stood up.
“Any idea, Lan’er?” he asked since he couldn’t think of a solution.
[Just use one of the artifacts you have. If I remember correctly, there was a barrier-breaking formation inside your storage space.]
Shen Yuan felt his eye twitching as he shook his head, “That’s too dangerous. Who knows what kind of monsters will be released from that place behind the barrier?”
[You are underestimating the Mystique Realm. Even if you make a hole in the barrier and cross to the other side, it will heal itself in a few moments, otherwise, this eerie Qi wouldn’t have been able to pass through.]
Shen Yuan paused as he realized he had underestimated this Mystique Realm. He mulled over whether to do it or not for a bit, ‘Hmm… I should go and make sure what is on the other side since whatever is inside of it getting released would be bad news for my sect due to its close proximity.’
He made up his mind as he started looking through the mountains of treasure inside his storage space. His eyes soon twitched as he realized he had amassed so many treasures that keeping count of them was getting hard.
‘Sigh…’ he mentally sighed and spoke, “Take out a Barrier Breaking Treasure from the storage space.”
[Hehe.]
Yue Lan giggled softly and took out a cone-shaped treasure from his storage space.
[Obsidian Spike of Dissolution]
[Grade: Unique]
[Ability: Can Pierce a Dimension]
[Usage: 1]
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow when he saw the details, “Quite the short details you give me—no description, no background, etc.”
[You want me to say all that only for this treasure to be destroyed after a single use?]
“Hmm…fair enough, but what about my return? How will I return if the treasure will break after a single use?” Shen Yuan asked as he glanced below to observe the treasure.
The glossy black surface of the Obsidian Spike of Dissolution gleamed with silver runes etched upon it, emanating a faint, dark aura as if it would pierce one’s soul.
[You can just use another treasure, not like you are short on such treasures.]
Shen Yuan nodded and didn’t talk more, looking ahead at the crack while running the plan he made inside his head again and again to look for any flaws.
“Good, let’s begin then.” He took a deep breath and put the spike in front of him.
[Oh, be careful, the spike is a bit unstable when dealing with the barriers of Worlds or Mystique Realms. You will need to adjust the flow of your Qi according to how much it is draining.]
Shen Yuan almost stumbled forward as Yue Lan interrupted him at the very end. His eyes twitched as he shook his head and started pouring a steady amount of Qi into the treasure without bothering with Yue Lan.
The spike started buzzing as the silver runes atop it began to glow faintly, emanating a sharp aura as he pointed it toward the barrier.
