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Chapter 439: Entering the Hall

Chu Liang knew he was on the right path.

The crimson sun blazed fiercely, its flames burning with unrelenting intensity, casting a fiery aura around Chu Liang, who stood closest to its radiance.

This was an overwhelming and intense energy, capable of both illuminating the world and reducing it to ashes. It mirrored the duality of the Great Dao of Fire—one side embodying the Incinerating Heaven, the other, the Heavenly Radiance.

It was the strongest and most dangerous kind of energy. The Celestial Talisman Master had likely concealed it in the deepest depths, perhaps as a warning for those who sought to wield it—to proceed with the utmost caution.

Moments later, Chu Liang fully grasped the essence of the talisman.

Immediately after, he saw the palace that emerged in the center of the land once the floodwaters receded.

On the vast, flat ground, the lone palace stood out, even more so because a massive nine-headed python was guarding it.

Xiangliu...

Chu Liang flew swiftly to the front of the palace, with Situ Guanhai and Xi Miaoxian close behind. Both had also completed their comprehension of the talismanic script. Almost at the same time, Ye Yongxing appeared, arriving just as the clouds parted, revealing the presence of the elusive Li-Character Talisman.

Now, everyone had fully comprehended the Talismanic Script of the Eight Trigrams, gaining much from it.

Well, except for Feng Chaoyang.

Though Feng Chaoyang finally understood the process, starting from scratch to comprehend all eight talismanic scripts had left him far behind the others.

Monk Pushan comforted him from the side, "Young Hero Feng, don't worry, take your time. Every moment of contemplation here brings its own rewards. There's no need to keep pace with others."

"Good thing you're here with me," Feng Chaoyang said, his voice carrying a trace of emotion. If he had been left alone, the awkwardness and pressure would have been unbearable.

Immediately, Monk Pushan said, "This is as far as I can accompany you. If I don’t make my way over now, I’ll miss out on being part of the first group to enter the palace. Young Hero Feng, I’ll be heading ahead."

With that, he activated the Xun-Character Talisman and soared toward the center of the land.

While flying, he didn’t forget to call back to Feng Chaoyang, "Young Hero Feng, take it slow! There’s really no rush!"

"..." Feng Chaoyang stared after Monk Pushan's retreating figure in grief and indignation, feeling utterly betrayed. Now I’m the only fool left behind, he thought bitterly.

Moments later, the group of five gathered at the entrance of the palace without Feng Chaoyang.

Looking at the massive Xiangliu before them, Chu Liang spoke up, "When we enter the palace to search for the golden talisman, let’s cooperate where necessary and compete when needed, but let’s not harm our camaraderie in the process."

"Rest assured, Young Hero Chu," Xi Miaoxian responded with a nod. "We’ll each rely on our own abilities. Wins or losses here will be left behind once we depart."

Ye Yongxing, not one for unnecessary conflict, remained silent as he stared at Xiangliu.

With its nine enormous heads, Xiangliu's eighteen vertical pupils gleamed with a fierce, menacing light. It stood utterly motionless as it guarded the palace.

Having reached an agreement, everyone began casting their Eight Trigram Talismans one after another.

Qian, Kan, Kun, Dui, Gen, Li, Xun, Zhen... Each talisman floated into the air one after the other. With every talisman cast, one of Xiangliu’s nine heads lowered, and its eyes gradually closed.

After the eight talismans were cast, only the third head of the python remained raised, its fierce glare still exposed and burning with defiance.

If this were a Xiangliu at full strength, they wouldn’t stand a chance. But now, with only a fraction of its power remaining, the fear that once gripped them had faded. The beast was still dangerous, but no longer invincible.

Having been chased earlier, Situ Guanhai’s fury flared at the sight of Xiangliu. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, casting the Li-Character Talisman with his left hand and the Zhen-Character Talisman with his right. The two talismans fused as he fiercely launched his attack. "The Fire and Lightning Devours!"

Boom, boom, boom—

When it came to sheer destruction, nothing rivaled the power of the Li Fire! A massive black flame ball with streaks of lightning formed in mid-air and slammed violently into Xiangliu's raised head.

"Roar—"

Xiangliu was struck by the talismans, its scales half-charred and shattered. In a fit of rage, it immediately retaliated, spewing a torrent of black flames in a furious counterattack!

But in an instant, two talismans merged from the side. The Kun-Character Talisman traced with the left hand and the Kan-Character Talisman traced with the right formed a dense water sphere that blocked the black flames entirely.

"Earth and Water Mastery!"

The person who cast this talisman wasn’t Chu Liang but Ye Yongxing. He had also mastered the fusion of these Eight Trigrams Talismans. Whether he had figured it out on his own or learned it after watching Situ Guanhai once was unknown.

Meanwhile, Chu Liang's attack had also landed squarely on Xiangliu's head!

Boom—

The Fire and Lightning Devours again!

Now that everyone could cast the fusion of the Eight Trigram Talismans, their combined strength surpassed anything they had achieved before. Meanwhile, Xiangliu grew weaker with each passing moment, its power halved, and it couldn’t endure much longer under the relentless pressure of their attacks.

After being struck by several talismans, Xiangliu raised its head and let out a mournful wail. "Roar..."

Then, with a final effort, it raised its head to the sky before shattering with a deafening crash!

Bang—

As its body broke apart, Xiangliu transformed into a swirling apparition of black-and-white talismanic energy, revealing that it had never been a living creature, but merely a manifestation of a talismanic spell.

Even this massive beast had been formed from talismanic scripts. Although the group had already suspected this after everything they had witnessed, the technique was still utterly astounding.

As Xiangliu’s mountain-sized form crumbled to dust, it unveiled the grand palace hidden behind it.

...

The palace’s exterior was ancient, far simpler than the grand and ornate halls of the immortal sects. The strangest feature of its design was the row of nine large doors at the front. These were not solid doors but nine pitch-black openings, each with a small serpent head symbol intricately carved along the edges.

A piece of text was inscribed on the wall next to the doors.

"Once you step into this palace, there is no turning back. Choose the wrong door, and you will be immediately expelled from the hidden realm, never to enter again."

Choose?

The group stared at the nine dark doorways, uncertainty settling over them like a heavy fog.

The inscription’s meaning was painfully clear: pick the wrong door, and you would be banished from the hidden realm forever. Each person had only one chance to make their choice, and this decision was of utmost importance to every single one of them.

No one dared to act rashly.

After observing for a while, Chu Liang was the first to step forward. "I'll test the path for everyone," he announced with quiet determination.

Without hesitation, he boldly strode toward the third door on the left.

Whoosh—

Ripples spread across the black void as he disappeared into the darkness, and after a brief moment, the doorway returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened.

"What..." The group stared in astonishment, taken aback by how decisively he had acted.

He had said he would test the way, but they had no way of knowing whether Chu Liang had entered the palace or been expelled from the hidden realm.

Monk Pushan quickly stepped forward and said, "Then I trust Young Hero Chu."

Without further hesitation, he followed closely and entered the same door.

Over the past few days, Monk Pushan had often followed Chu Liang’s lead and had never taken a wrong step. He had come to trust Chu Liang’s path to success, so in this unfamiliar setting, his first instinct was to continue trusting him.

With two already inside, Ye Yongxing silently followed suit. Now, only Situ Guanhai and Xi Miaoxian remained, both of whom had been working together throughout their venture in the hidden realm.

Situ Guanhai glanced at Xi Miaoxian, furrowing his brow, "This..."

The situation was clear: if Chu Liang had chosen the correct path, they would fall behind if they didn’t follow; but if his choice was wrong, blindly following him could lead them all to failure.

"Did you figure out the trick behind these doors?" Xi Miaoxian asked, her gaze sharp.

"I’m not sure," Situ Guanhai replied, "but the doors are marked with serpent heads. These nine doors likely correspond to Xiangliu’s nine heads. Since only the third head was alive earlier, this must be the gate of life."

This was his conjecture, but he was unsure. After all, there was no remedy for choosing the wrong door. He hadn’t expected Chu Liang to charge in without hesitation.

"Then let’s go," Xi Miaoxian said decisively.

She was direct and wasted no time. After hearing Situ’s logic, she leapt forward without hesitation.

Situ Guanhai had no choice but to follow.

A flash of black light enveloped them, and when it faded, they found themselves in a vast space. The others who had entered earlier were already there, confirming they had made the right choice.

Chu Liang stood tall at the front, and Situ Guanhai couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration.

In truth, the puzzle of choosing the door wasn’t particularly complex, but it did test one's courage. Chu Liang's willingness to step forward without hesitation gave him an edge over the others.

But in reality...

The reason Chu Liang had strode forward so boldly was that he had already swiftly gathered all the necessary information, eliminating any lingering doubts. He quickly deduced that the serpent-head symbol carved on the edge of the door was the key to the puzzle, and the most logical solution was to choose the door corresponding to the head of the Xiangliu that had not been subdued earlier.

Spending more time thinking about it would have been a waste of time.

The others hesitated because they were still considering whether there might be other possibilities. They worried they might have overlooked hidden clues, fearing their deductions could be wrong.

It might have seemed like Chu Liang won because of his bravery, but in reality, it was a victory rooted in intelligence and quick reasoning.

...

What lay before them now was not the golden talismanic script they sought, but an expansive hall. Eight doors loomed ahead, each as dark and ominous as the ones before.

At the center of the hall stood a stone sundial, a single beam of sunlight cutting through the shadows and casting the current time with eerie precision.

Above each of the eight doors, the characters of the Eight Trigram Talismans were clearly engraved.

It was unmistakable.

They were now faced with a new choice!