Chapter 964: Priestess Qin (1)

It was Si Kongxue’s face. Her expression was gentle, with a faint smile. It seemed as if she was smiling sweetly at Li Xiaofei through the mouth of the well. She seemed utterly at peace.

Yet Li Xiaofei couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Si Kongxue’s face didn’t seem quite right. He just couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He took a step back, moving away from the well. Clearing his thoughts slightly, he leaned forward again and looked into the well.

But then he was startled once more. The face reflected in the water had changed again. It still wasn’t his own. It was someone else entirely.

Tan Qingying’s eyes sparkled, her dimples showing clearly as she smiled charmingly up at Li Xiaofei through the well’s reflection as if she were about to say something.

Li Xiaofei frowned. There was definitely something wrong with this well. He took another step back. Then he stepped forward again and looked once more into the well. As expected, the mirror-like surface of the water revealed yet another change in the reflected face. It had become Principal Hu, the beautiful fox spirit from the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan.

Could it be that the well only reflects women, and only those who have some connection to me?

thought Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei had calmed down. He thought for a moment, then flicked his finger toward the surface of the water.

Swoosh.

A single gust of finger wind shot out. It shattered the reflection on the water’s surface. The well water rippled like scattered silver, sending out layer after layer of concentric waves. The roaring sound of surging waves grew louder, echoing from the mouth of the well and spreading in all directions like rolling thunder.

When the water finally settled again, the surface, once as smooth as a mirror, could no longer reflect anyone’s face. Not even Li Xiaofei’s.

This well was far too strange. Li Xiaofei stood by the edge, his expression hesitant. He held the Time Jade in his hand. It was something Master Jin had given him before they parted ways.

Only by using this artifact to break the formation could he enter the illusionary array and search for the Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen. He activated the Time Jade according to the technique.

Sure enough, the Dragon-Suppressing Stone Pillars around the well began to emit a faint glow. The chains clamped in their mouths started to tremble violently.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The black chains snapped apart with a series of loud crashes. In that same instant, the Dragon-Suppressing Stone Pillars shattered, crumbling into piles of rubble, marking the end of their historic purpose.

The ground shook as a single jet of water burst from the mouth of the well. It was black water and there was little energy contained within it. The water column exploded outward and it dispersed into mist, spreading around the area.

As the mist spread, the surrounding grey-black fog seemed to grow thinner. Li Xiaofei’s ears twitched. He turned around sharply and his pupils contracted.

He saw white skeletons rushing forth from the depths of the thick, somber burial miasma in the distance. They stirred the grave fog like crashing waves and reached within two hundred meters of the well in the blink of an eye.

Their white bones gleamed, and blue ghostly flames flickered in their hollow eye sockets. They stood there in silence, gazing at Li Xiaofei. An indescribable pressure crashed down upon him like a mountain. For a moment, Li Xiaofei felt as if he couldn’t even breathe.

"These skeletons, once lying dormant in the Burial Sea, have turned into undead warriors? They've awakened?"

The realization shocked him deeply, but Li Xiaofei was not a man easily frightened. Even so, he still felt a chill of dread. Fortunately, the white skeletons appeared bound to the grey-black mist and were unable to step beyond it. It was as if fish could not live without water.

So they simply stood there, not advancing any further. Li Xiaofei turned to glance back at the well. The inside had returned to calm. No strange reflections appeared anymore. Even the thunderous sound of the tide had vanished in that instant.

Li Xiaofei suddenly waved at the distant skeletal army and said, "Bye-bye."

And with that—

Splash.

He turned and leaped straight into the well. The water was icy cold but it posed no threat whatsoever to Li Xiaofei.

He sank rapidly through the water. He could clearly see the well walls around him. The rough black stone showed no signs of human craftsmanship. There didn’t seem to be anything unusual about the water itself either.

After descending roughly two hundred and fifty meters, a transparent water barrier appeared. He passed through the barrier and landed on solid ground. It was an underwater chamber.

He looked around to find himself on a level stone floor. Unlike the black stone walls of the well, the rock here was pale yellow, giving off a faint warmth.

The water above was blocked by the barrier, leaving the ground quite dry. The air held oxygen. Even an ordinary person would have been able to breathe freely in this place. Li Xiaofei began walking forward along the pale yellow stone floor.

After walking forward for a thousand meters, he came upon a coral forest. It was a strange sight. There was clearly no water here; at most, there was well water, but the sea corals in this place were thriving, glowing with radiant colors that lit up the entire space with a mysterious and dreamlike brilliance.

Li Xiaofei stepped into the forest and began to examine it carefully.

These corals contain energy needed for cultivation,

thought Li Xiaofei.

A look of surprise appeared on his face. Just like the jade leaves found on the Green Continent, these corals could be used for human cultivation. Moreover, the energy within them was even more refined. Corals of different colors contained different kinds of energy. He could sense metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The five basic elemental forces were all present.

Could these have been deliberately cultivated?

As he looked over the vast coral forest, Li Xiaofei suddenly felt certain they weren’t naturally formed. They had been artificially grown. Which meant someone must be here.

Could the Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen, truly be in this place?

The more Li Xiaofei thought about it, the more possible it seemed. A thrill of excitement rose in him. As a member of the human race, what an honor it would be to meet one of the legendary Five Immortal Emperors. He didn’t touch the corals. Instead, he quickened his pace and continued forward. Suddenly, a bell sounded from ahead.

Dong.

The chime rang out, long and solemn. Li Xiaofei lifted his head. A majestic temple had appeared in the distance. His spirit stirred. This was the first time that he had seen such a grand structure within any of the illusionary arrays . Previously, there had only been stone caves or arrangements like blade and sword forests atop mountain peaks.

The presence of a palace here meant this place was definitely different. More importantly, Li Xiaofei sensed an incredibly powerful aura residing within the temple. It was the aura of a living being. There was definitely someone alive inside.

Whoosh.

His figure pierced through the air as he sped forward. As he approached, he saw an even denser coral forest, forming what looked like an outer wall around a cluster of palaces. The ground was paved with multicolored seashells, glowing brilliantly.

A dragon-shaped archway stood before him. On it, faint traces of four ancient words could still be seen,

Pure Sea Dragon Palace

.

Is this the Dragon Palace?

Li Xiaofei was slightly surprised.

It wasn’t quite how he had imagined it. He passed through the dragon-shaped arch and the coral walls. The surroundings were decorated with great luxury. All kinds of oceanic creatures were carved into stone sculptures, forged from precious gemstones and crystals that shimmered with captivating light.

Gold and silver, by comparison, seemed vulgar and common here. This place truly matched the image of a Dragon Palace that Li Xiaofei had envisioned. He continued walking forward.

In the distance, he could see the palace itself. A multicolored avenue made of shells extended all the way to the temple. But as he walked, a look of confusion slowly appeared on his face.

The sculptures of sea creatures around him were beginning to collapse and fall into ruin. Many had been destroyed, and were far less preserved than those in the outer regions. Giant statues, dozens of meters tall, had toppled over, their heads broken off.

There were signs of battle everywhere. A radius of nearly a thousand meters had been completely ravaged. Li Xiaofei’s nostrils flared slightly as he detected a trace of a Reaper’s aura. It was undoubtedly residual energy left behind by a high-level Reaper, along with another aura filled with divine sanctity.

A great divine expert fought a high-level Reaper here,

Li Xiaofei assessed.

The realization put him on high alert.

Weren’t the Reapers supposed to have abandoned the Blade Ruins and be unable to enter the Burial Sea?

The Blood-Drinking Sword activated in his hand. The Heart of Guardianship pulsed between his fingers, flickering with protective energy. As he walked further ahead, he came upon a massive, towering palace that stretched several thousand meters into the sky, but it had already collapsed.

Standing before the broken remains, Li Xiaofei seemed as small as an ant. Even in ruins, the palace’s former magnificence was impossible to hide. The architectural style bore clear traces of draconic tastes.

Multicolored seashells, crystals, corals, and other rare minerals from the ocean floor had been intricately embedded together, forming the outer walls of the structure with an artistic flair. Its colors were dazzling and vivid. Unfortunately, it had all been destroyed in the battle.

Li Xiaofei leaped over a massive rock more than ten meters tall and moved into the depths of the great hall. The bell sound from earlier had come from within.

All sorts of treasures were scattered across the hall’s floor. Fist-sized luminous pearls glowed with a soft light. Colorful gems lay everywhere like mere dirt. But there also were fragments of broken weapons.

"Hm?" Li Xiaofei’s gaze suddenly sharpened.