The small spirit, glowing with black aura, burst into fragments the moment it entered the passage, emitting a sudden "pffft" sound—unaccountably exploding on its own. Wang Tiangu, whose spirit was intimately connected to the spirit, paled instantly, taking a significant, though not severe, unexpected setback. "What in the world is going on? Does this passage have some hidden mechanism?" Wang Tiangu asked the scholar, startled and indignant. "Do you think the entrance of Ling Miao Garden is just an ordinary corridor? Even a small, formless spirit like this one—let alone a powerful ghost king such as Li Po—would be crushed and disintegrated the moment it entered. As for me, I even needed to use a scroll to temporarily take bodily form. Since I've already opened the entrance, whether you all proceed into this space or not is entirely irrelevant to me." By now, the scholar had grown calm and composed, calmly delivering these remarks before dissolving into a shimmering green light and vanishing into the scroll that had been hovering in midair. Upon hearing this, Wang Tiangu's expression darkened instantly. According to the implication in the scholar's words, it seemed that intangible entities such as ghosts and spirits still couldn't enter the passage directly. He exchanged a glance with the master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, both of them expressing surprise. "I've already used my divine awareness to probe the other side of the passage," said Wei Wuyi, "though the spatial fissure has made the image rather blurred, there's no doubt that it leads into some previously unknown realm. I don't have the patience to hesitate any longer—fear the passage might develop complications or new issues over time. I'll go ahead first." After a brief thought, he directly stated this and then, without paying attention to the two others, transformed into a streak of green light and shot toward the passage. "Master Gui Ling was issuing instructions while coldly observing the scroll hovering before him. Seeing no unusual occurrences, his gaze flickered several times. He then reached out, palm extended, and with a gesture of empty grasp, drew the scroll into his hand, then tucked it into his great sleeve. Together with Wang Tiangu, he transformed into two streaks of brilliant light, racing swiftly toward the passage. The Ling Miao Garden was said to be blessed with abundant celestial herbs; if they arrived too late and fell behind Wei Wuyi, the loss would be substantial. Thus, the figures of Wei Wuyi and his companions vanished in a flash at the black entrance of the passage, directly traversing the spatial barrier and entering the other realm. …… "This is absolutely not the Ling Miao Garden!" said Wei Wuyi, the first to emerge from the passage. He was now surveying the unfamiliar surroundings, his expression clouded with gloom—a space of monochrome gray, devoid of any other hues." Looking up, everywhere were low, dark stone heaps; only gray mist rose high enough to reach tens of zhang. Yet, under Wei Wuyi's divine awareness, the surrounding area stretched out over ten li. If one were to claim this place was the legendary Ling Miao Garden—where the spiritual energy was said to be several times greater than that of the human realm, dotted with rare flowers and herbs—neither Wei Wuyi nor the Ghost Spirit Gate's master, just arrived from the portal, nor even Wang Tiangu would believe it. However, upon seeing this place and surveying their surroundings, the two now displayed a strangely unusual expression—seven parts furious, three parts astonished. This surprised Wei Wuyi, who had just glanced back at them, prompting him to heighten his alertness. He had expected that upon seeing this place not match the legendary Ling Miao Garden, they would be deeply disconcerted, possibly even summoning the spiritual essence of the Cangkun Master from the scroll to question him immediately. "Brother, haven't you sensed it? The magical energy here is at least twice—as much as, if not more than—what we experience in the human realm." "Here, in this place, my magical power can increase by three tenths when I engage in struggles with others." After a moment of silence, the master of the Gui Ling Sect finally spoke. "Brother, we practice the same magical technique. How could I not sense it? If we remain here to train, I believe we have a strong chance of overcoming our current limitations and advancing to the next stage." Wang Tian Gu's eyes sparkled, and he spoke with a similarly complex expression. "You two, shouldn't you bring that person out and question him thoroughly? Don't tell me that I've made all this effort just to come to a place like this." Wei Wuyi watched in vain, then stepped on the scattered stones beneath his feet, his face growing cold and stern as he coldly said to Wang Tian Gu and the others. "Of course. If he doesn't provide a clear reason to us three, I'll have him experience the agony of spirit refinement." Upon hearing Wei Wuyi's words, the master of the Gui Ling Sect also stirred the anger he had felt at being deceived by that spirit, immediately responding with a fierce expression. Then he slammed the scroll onto the ground, intending to unfold it and summon the partial divine presence of the Celestial Kun Master. But before the Master of Gui Ling Sect could cast his spell, a flash of luminous light burst from the scroll, and suddenly a sphere of green light shot out, forcefully propelled from the axis. Wang Tiangu, standing beside him, reacted swiftly and reached out, catching the sphere with a hand-sized black glow. Yet the green light seemed to have anticipated the entire sequence—its speed instantly doubled, and it effortlessly slipped through the phantom black hand, breaking free and racing off toward the distance. Wei Wuya, maintaining his composure and dignity, remained still, neither moving nor intervening. Meanwhile, the Master of Gui Ling Sect, witnessing this, was deeply incensed. He flicked his hand, and the crimson token appeared in his grasp. With a sharp expression, he raised the token and shook it vigorously toward the direction where the green light had fled. Immediately, streaks of blood radiated from the token, and at the same moment, the distant green light momentarily halted, wavered in the air, and trembled slightly. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master was delighted, yet the green light cluster suddenly stabilized, surging forward with a speed three parts faster than before, and swiftly receded, soon fading into a small luminous dot. Now even the Ghost Spirit Sect Master was stunned. Wei Wuyi and his companion stood equally dumbfounded. "Did I missee this? The Master's haunting spell should have had no effect on a single essence thread. That's quite intriguing. I'll seize this fellow and find out what game he's playing." Wei Wuyi suddenly spoke with a cold smile. Then, his form flickered, transforming into a streak of green light, and he broke through the air to pursue. "Master, you—" Wang Tiangu finally recovered from his astonishment, eager to ask something. "You've seen the impact of the haunting spell on him, haven't you? He did indeed suffer from the subtle incantation earlier. But now, why has it lost its effect? That's equally fascinating. Come—let's follow and see." The master of the Ghost Spirit Sect also wanted to find out what scheme he had in mind by bringing them here. With a look of fury and fierce glint in his eyes, he spoke. Then, just as swiftly, he too transformed into a streak of brilliant light and shot off. He didn't fear at all that the other could escape within this relatively small space. Wang Tiangu smiled faintly, only able to rise into the air and closely pursue. Not long after, the two of them reached a spot near the center of this space and found Wei Wuyi, who had halted his flight. At that moment, the spirit within the scroll had once again transformed into a scholar, standing directly opposite him, with no trace of fear on his face—this surprised both of them. However, when Wang Tiangu and his companion raised their heads to look beyond the scholar, some ten zhang behind, they were startled anew. There, in the faint mist, a colossal creature, towering about thirty zhang high, remained motionless within a crystal-like crimson crystal block. This creature has two heads and four arms, a single horn rising from its forehead, its entire body covered in dark, lustrous scales that gleam with an eerie brilliance. Its face is terrifyingly grim, with sharp fangs exposed, truly awe-inspiring in its ferocity. "What is this? The magical aura here is incredibly strong," Wang Tiangu said, his voice catching in surprise as he gasped aloud. He was not amazed by the creature's size or ferocity, but rather by the intense concentration of magical energy surrounding it—so thick and potent that it far surpassed the levels found elsewhere, carrying with it a subtle, unsettling presence that sent a chill through him. "Let's descend and hear what it has to say," the head of the Gui Ling Sect remarked, deeply cautious about the imprisoned creature. Yet after a moment's hesitation, he gently descended with Wang Tiangu, landing beside Wei Wuyi. With Wei Wuyi, a senior cultivator at the Metamorphosis Stage, present, he felt no need to worry excessively. "Both of you have arrived—this is most convenient. I won't have to waste any more words," the scholar said, smiling with ease upon seeing the arrival of "You've brought us here for a purpose—please state it plainly," said the Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect calmly, yet deeply astonished upon observing the scholar. For the scholar's crimson runes still flickered and pulsed steadily, clearly indicating the effects of the Shaking Soul Spell. Moreover, the scholar's exposed skin visibly contracted and twitched with each pulse of the runes, yet he now appeared cheerful and composed, showing not a single sign of discomfort. The ghostly form itself remained remarkably stable, with no signs of disintegration. "Master Wei, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask—your two esteemed companions from the Wang Sect have been practicing an ancient magical technique passed down through generations. Does it not feel as though the ambient magical energy here differs significantly from that of the mortal world?" The scholar's words surprised the three listeners. "Indeed, so what? Are you suggesting that this very place is the Ling Miao Garden?" Master Wang Tiangu remained composed. "Heh, Ling Miao Garden! Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't," the scholar replied calmly. "What does this mean? By now, you still intend to play tricks on us?" Wang Tiangu's face grew icy. "You really think that ancient cultivators, when they settled in fertile lands rich with medicinal herbs and dense with spiritual energy, would have left such places behind for our descendants? Many years ago, there may have truly existed places like Ling Miao Garden—perhaps even several such gardens. But now, all of them have been stripped bare of their medicinal herbs, destroyed in the struggles among the ancient cultivators. This very place might very well be a long-abandoned Ling Miao Garden. That's quite possible. Yet today, it is merely another spatial rift at the boundary between the Human Realm and our Sacred Realm." The scholar spoke with a touch of strangeness, calm and composed. "The Sacred Realm? You're an ancient demon!" Fui Wuyacha, who had been composed all along, suddenly gasped in alarm upon hearing the scholar's words. At once, he pressed his palms together in a series of gestures, and a thick green toxic mist surged upward, engulfing him completely.