The Yellow Emperor summoned a small seal, the Little Jin, its surface intricately carved with Nine Dragons Playing with Pearls.
Each golden dragon was sculpted with lifelike precision, every whisker clearly visible, vibrant and extraordinary.
With a swift motion, the Yellow Emperor flipped his palms upward, sending the seal flying toward the barrier formed by the hurricane.
The seal suddenly expanded, transforming from the size of a hand into a colossal object, resembling a palace shimmering with golden light.
A deer spirit grasped Li Xiaonan's wrist firmly and transmitted a message, "Stick close to me!"
Li Xiaonan nodded, and as the golden seal collided with the barrier, a thunderous sound erupted, prompting everyone to rush toward the opening created by the crack.
The grayish space was devoid of air and direction, only the oppressive force brought by the swirling winds could be felt.
In an instant, the crack opened by the Yellow Emperor, consuming nearly half of his Celestial Energy, began to close once more.
Yet in that fleeting moment, everyone managed to safely enter the hurricane, arriving at what was known as the Celestial Buddha War Ruins.
"This is the Celestial Buddha War Ruins? Why is there nothing here?" The Crimson Emperor frowned, his expression fierce.
As if responding to his words, strange lights flew in from afar, accompanied by booming drums that reverberated closer and closer, stirring everyone's blood and energy.
"What is happening? Is this an illusion?" Li Xiaonan touched his earlobe and focused his Mental Power in his eyes.
In the distance, mist swirled as colorful streams of light pierced through the gray sky, heading toward them.
Li Xiaonan furrowed his brow in surprise. "Are they immortals?"
"Kill!" A roar echoed as each beam of light revealed an immortal standing upon it—both men and women, all exuding an extraordinary presence.
On the other side appeared a group of people clad in uniform yellow robes; their heads gleamed brightly, clearly indicating they were followers of Buddhism.
"Amitabha..." The leader held a golden Zen staff, his expression calm.
"This is indeed the Celestial Buddha War Ruins," the Yellow Emperor said, gazing at the illusions battling in the sky.
Li Xiaonan shook his head repeatedly, a sudden feeling of helplessness rising within him.
The Celestial Buddhas were supposed to be allies; why must they turn against each other?
He was unaware of how unique his thoughts were in the Celestial Realm and the entire Cultivation world.
In the blink of an eye, the sounds of battle faded away, and all the celestial beings of Buddhism vanished into dust.
Heaven and earth disappeared, leaving only an endless expanse of gray.
Only Li Xiaonan's mind remained filled with fragmented images, too shattered to comprehend.
Inside a Zen Room, a monk said, "As long as the elder eliminates the Inner Demon, our cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds. Then we can turn the tide."
Another sighed helplessly, "We have no choice but to do this..."
The figures twisted and blurred, and the Zen Room vanished into thin air, leaving behind a pool of bright red. Was it blood?
Whose blood?
Ah, it was the blood of the monks, staining their yellow robes a deep brown.
They lay quietly on the ground, their faces indistinguishable, as the blood pooled into a lake.
The still surface of the blood emitted a foul odor, rippling unexpectedly with a hint of disturbance.
Yes, the blood was writhing; the earth trembled.
Dark shadows rose from the blood pool. They had wings but lacked the serene and gentle faces of angels; instead, they bore cold, mocking grins.
A breeze swept through, lifting their silvery long hair, and in an instant, everything turned to nothingness.
Li Xiaonan suddenly fell to the ground, his eyes wide open but hollow and devoid of spirit.
"Xiao Nan, what's wrong?" the Sika Deer asked with concern.
Li Xiaonan snapped back to reality, looking at the puzzled expressions of the others, and couldn't help but ask, "Did you not see it? The demon..."
The White Emperor furrowed his brow and interrupted, "What demon? How did we get back to demons when we're talking about the Celestial Buddha War?"
Li Xiaonan, shocked, lowered his head and muttered, "It's nothing, I must have been seeing things..."
He stood up, his legs feeling weak as if he were walking on cotton. Taking a deep breath, he focused his gaze around.
There wasn't a trace of Celestial Aura; if this continued, not to mention finding the treasure, even getting out alive would become a problem.
"It seems we'll have to force our way through..." the Yellow Emperor said helplessly, shaking his head and waving his hand to signal everyone to spread out a bit.
He formed a hand seal and pointed towards the ground. A flash of golden light appeared, but there was no explosion or loud noise.
The soft ground easily swallowed the Yellow Emperor's attack.
"What’s going on?" the Azure Emperor asked as he touched the ground with both hands. There was nothing—no cracks, no scorch marks.
The Sika Deer frowned and took several steps back as if examining something.
Li Xiaonan also scrutinized the ground beneath him; the gray surface was made of an unknown material—soft yet elastic. He tried jumping a couple of times.
Suddenly, a glimmer of white light shone from below. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a thin crack that was growing longer and splitting more.
Correspondingly, the white light intensified, making his face grow even paler.
Li Xiaonan finally realized what was about to happen and exclaimed in terror, "Run! Quick! The ground is going to crack!"
"Fly! Fly upwards!" the Azure Emperor warned, sensing something was amiss.
The others exchanged glances and jumped up, only to fall back down like dumplings dropped into boiling water.
"What’s going on?" the Crimson Emperor said, scratching his shiny golden head in confusion.
"Clearly, there’s a restriction suppressing our cultivation," the Yellow Emperor replied, his brows furrowing.
"Damn it! What are we chatting about? Run! You bunch of fools!" Li Xiaonan shouted as he realized the danger and immediately stood up, ready to sprint away.
However, just as he stood, the fissure between his feet completely opened up.
With his left foot on one side and his right foot on the other, Li Xiaonan had no choice but to display his flexible ligaments and perform a split.
"Damn..." he barely finished cursing before he fell into the crack below.
The White Emperor looked up and, with a push of his right hand, jumped toward the fissure after Li Xiaonan's figure.
The rest of them fared no better, each rolling into different cracks.
The bright light was blinding; Li Xiaonan couldn’t see what lay beneath him. He could only close his eyes and wait to figure things out after landing.
With a loud "thud," he collided with something hard.
Li Xiaonan felt darkness envelop him and lost all sense of awareness.
Time is cruel; it does not pause for anyone.
Space is indifferent; it does not change for anyone.
Yet in this moment of time and space, time stopped while space quietly shifted.
"Hey... wake up..." the White Emperor said, enduring the pain in his body as he shook Li Xiaonan, who was drooling on his chest.
"Get up! Damn it, how long are you going to sleep? Cough, cough, cough..." Perhaps he had spoken too urgently, and he choked on his own saliva.
Li Xiaonan felt the vibrations beneath him and frowned slightly, his right hand groping around aimlessly.
The cold ground felt like rock under his touch.
And there was something soft and warm... a person?
"Ah?" Li Xiaonan suddenly woke up, pressing his hand against the abdomen of White Emperor as he sat up.
"Hiss..." The latter gasped in pain from the sudden pressure.
"I'm... I'm sorry..." Li Xiaonan hurriedly apologized, glancing around.
The gray and cold rock walls were lifeless. Looking up along the wall, a crack the size of a bowl was the only place where light could seep in.
Li Xiaonan stood up, feeling along the rock wall. He jumped but couldn't lift off the ground at all.
The Golden Yuan Power within him seemed to be suppressed by some force, completely out of his control.
He glanced at White Emperor lying on the ground and asked, "Soulmate, where are we?"
"How would I know!" His handsome face was pale and weak, yet it did not diminish his imposing presence as an emperor of the celestial realm.
Seeing that he remained motionless, Li Xiaonan asked again, "Where are the others?"
"How would I know?"
"How did you end up falling into this place with me?"
"How would I... know..." Soulmate's words trailed off as he turned his face away.
Li Xiaonan slowly crouched down, gazing at his rugged profile resembling mountain ridges, and for a long time, he couldn't find a word to say.
He let out a light sigh and sat beside Soulmate, memories from before his unconsciousness flashing through his mind.
The light was bright, falling through the air for what felt like an eternity, and he could see the cold rocks below.
It must hurt a lot to fall, but my body is tough; I should survive the fall.
Li Xiaonan helplessly pouted, waiting quietly to hit the ground.
Suddenly, a hand appeared around his waist. Li Xiaonan opened his eyes wide in shock—it was White Emperor!
Then came the impact of his body against the ground...
Li Xiaonan sighed again. He remembered everything; it was Soulmate who saved him, saving him with their own body.
He glanced at Soulmate secretly, thinking: Is this guy not going to move at all? I guess he can't move right now.
White Emperor never looked at Li Xiaonan, but hearing his constant sighs made him think that Li Xiaonan was worried about the future.
He couldn't help but frown and comforted him, "Kid, don't be afraid. I'll protect you."
Li Xiaonan rolled his eyes and replied irritably, "Then why don’t you move? Can you really protect me just by lying there?"
White Emperor lightly bit his lip and tried to sit up, but even just moving his arm caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
Seeing him frozen in place, Li Xiaonan immediately regretted what he had said earlier.
He quickly changed the subject, "Why... why are you so good to me?"
"Have I been good to you?" White Emperor replied lightly.
Li Xiaonan scratched his head and mustered the courage to ask, "Then why did you save me?"
White Emperor fell silent for a long time before slowly turning his head. Their eyes met just in time; his expression stiffened for a moment, but a hint of a smile flickered in his eyes.
"Very similar..."
"Similar to whom? It can't be a woman, right?" Li Xiaonan felt a chill run down his spine.
I already have one person with an unusual sexual orientation, Qing An, by my side. Please don't let you be abnormal too...
I like women! Although you are better looking than Qing An...
Ah, spit, spit, spit! What am I even thinking?
The White Emperor smiled gently, his gaze shifting away from Li Xiaonan's face. "No, it's a man. At first glance, I didn't think you resembled him; it's just now..."
He didn't continue, merely smiling as he closed his eyes.
Li Xiaonan felt a black line appear above his head and decided not to speak to Soulmate anymore, but he couldn't help but sneak glances at him.
Should I become good buddies with Soulmate?
No! Who knows if he's also interested in the Harmony Technique?
Good buddies are supposed to last a lifetime! How could I so easily entrust my life to someone?
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