Eight Divine Transformation talismans formed a sealing array, isolating the eight mirrors from the pagoda. Jade Shura moved like lightning, swiftly collecting all eight mirrors. The speed was so fast that Bao Gu and Yu Mi only sensed the energy fluctuation of the Divine Transformation talismans and instinctively prepared to defend, but by then, Jade Shura had already taken the mirrors.
Bao Gu looked up at the pagoda and saw its light becoming softer, the entire structure now as clear and flawless as glass. She noticed the pagoda seemed to be trembling, the sensation so faint that she wondered if she was dizzy from the talismans’ energy. She asked, “Senior Sister, do you see the pagoda shaking?”
Yu Mi replied, “I don’t think it’s the pagoda that’s shaking!”
Jade Shura raised her hand, retrieving her small demon pets and the eight Divine Transformation talismans into her storage jade, then released a wave of energy to take the pagoda.
Yu Mi shouted, “Don’t!”
Bao Gu felt not just the pagoda, but the entire cave hall and ground shaking, with cracks appearing on the rock walls and floor. Though she couldn’t see it, she could clearly sense an invisible force or spatial power vibrating, as if it could collapse at any moment. She suddenly realized she had misjudged; this pagoda might not be for nirvana but for suppression.
Bao Gu urgently shouted, “Jade Shura, don’t touch that pagoda!” She stepped on her flying sword to stop Jade Shura, but it was too late.
The originally nine-foot-tall pagoda rapidly shrank under Jade Shura’s manipulation, finally becoming a three-inch-tall nine-story miniature pagoda in her hand.
The entire cave shook more violently, with rocks of various sizes falling. If Bao Gu hadn’t dodged quickly, she would have been crushed.
Yu Mi shouted, “Run!” grabbing Bao Gu and following the little Celestial Fox towards the cave exit below the pagoda.
Jade Shura ran even faster than the little Celestial Fox, saying as she rushed forward, “Bao Gu, you were right, this is indeed the exit!”
Bao Gu shouted, “Not necessarily!” Though annoyed that Jade Shura hadn’t stopped in time, she understood that without moving the pagoda, they had no other way out, but moving it was too reckless.
A huge rumbling sound echoed as the surrounding rock walls exploded piece by piece.
Spatial fragmentation waves emerged.
Bao Gu felt as if she were being swept into a massive torrent, struggling to resist despite her best efforts. Her senior sister tightly held her, protecting her as they rushed forward. The little Celestial Fox had already hidden inside the blood oath token.
Bao Gu was covered in wounds, her clothes shredded, and her internal organs aching, with a strong smell of blood. She took out a fifth-grade monkey wine and handed it to Yu Mi, then hastily fed herself a bunch of healing pills and some second-grade monkey wine.
Suddenly, the pressure around them vanished, and the chaotic and damaging forces disappeared.
Bao Gu’s divine sense clearly detected that Jade Shura had used a precious Divine Transformation talisman. The powerful talisman energy formed a circular energy shield around the three of them.
Jade Shura’s face was pale, blood dripping from her tightly pressed lips. The immortal skirt her master had given her was torn to pieces by the powerful forces.
Yu Mi’s face was also grim, but she was in slightly better condition than Jade Shura. She took a few gulps of fifth-grade monkey wine and threw the rest to Jade Shura without looking back.
Jade Shura didn’t mind that Yu Mi had just drunk from the wine gourd, gulping it down before tossing it back to Yu Mi. Her face regained some color, but her expression grew more serious. The precious Divine Transformation talisman she had used was about to be exhausted in just a few breaths! This talisman wasn’t a one-time use; it could be used multiple times. She said with a pale face, “I only have one such defensive talisman…” If this talisman was destroyed, they would perish here.
Yu Mi looked around solemnly. She didn’t dare extend her divine sense beyond the talisman’s light shield, as the outside was filled with spatial tearing forces.
Bao Gu weakly uttered a word, “Pagoda!”
Jade Shura quickly took out the pagoda she had just obtained, saying, “I don’t know how to use this pagoda…” Before she finished speaking, the talisman in her hand was exhausted, turning to dust. The light shield around them vanished, and the spatial forces attacked again, causing blood to spray from their bodies. If they hadn’t protected their faces, they would have been disfigured. Jade Shura felt as if she were being cut by a thousand knives, even feeling a gust of wind slicing her cheek. She screamed, “My face—” and, without hesitation, infused spiritual energy into the pagoda, forcibly activating its power.
Bao Gu saw the pagoda in Jade Shura’s hand enlarge and, with all her strength, pulled Yu Mi towards it.
The closer she got to the pagoda, the larger it seemed, and the less the spatial tearing forces affected her. By the time she reached the pagoda’s entrance, it was the size of a mundane Buddhist pagoda.
She climbed the nine steps and stopped at the open entrance, collapsing to the ground and holding onto Yu Mi, saying, “Senior Sister, let’s stay outside, don’t go in.” She felt there was great danger inside the pagoda and didn’t dare enter.
Jade Shura followed closely behind Bao Gu to the pagoda entrance. She glanced inside and saw a blood pool at the bottom, with a white jade coffin suspended above it by thick chains. Jade Shura felt a chill down her spine and quickly agreed with Bao Gu, “I also think it’s better not to go in.” She looked back outside and saw a faint soft light enveloping the pagoda, while outside was a world of destruction, with powerful spatial forces tearing apart everything.
Yu Mi and Jade Shura were covered in blood, their clothes tattered, with deep wounds all over their bodies. Bao Gu was in slightly better condition, as Yu Mi had shielded her from most of the damage, with injuries mainly on her back and limbs.
Jade Shura, barely clothed, sat down and took out a robe to wrap herself in, then began meditating to heal.
Yu Mi, too exhausted to help Bao Gu, sat down beside her. Having reached the mid-Golden Core stage, she had undergone a rebirth process, forming a Golden Core. As long as her Golden Core wasn’t damaged, she could quickly heal even severe injuries with enough spiritual energy. After drinking so much fifth-grade monkey wine, her wounds began to heal visibly. She only needed to sit for a short while to recover. Yu Mi didn’t bother cleaning the blood off her body, instead taking out clothes from her storage bag and slowly putting them on, then holding her Lihuo Sword as she looked back into the pagoda.
Bao Gu, being weaker and more severely injured internally, had to meditate to heal. Even though she sensed Yu Mi might be about to move something inside the pagoda, she couldn’t get up to stop her and could only call out, “Senior Sister.”
Yu Mi glanced at Bao Gu, then sat down beside her to help her heal. Bao Gu’s body, likely strengthened by consuming many heavenly treasures, was much better than ordinary cultivators. Her injuries weren’t as severe as Yu Mi had thought, and her self-healing ability was strong. Yu Mi only needed to realign her dislocated parts, and Bao Gu’s wounds would soon heal on their own.
Jade Shura meditated for half an hour to recover. When she finished, she saw that Bao Gu had already healed, though her lower cultivation level and weaker foundation meant her recovery was limited, and she still looked pale from blood loss. Jade Shura glanced between Yu Mi and Bao Gu, saying, “Your injuries were worse than mine, yet you healed faster?”
Yu Mi ignored Jade Shura, her expression serious as she stared into the pagoda, asking Bao Gu, “Should we go in or not?”
Bao Gu replied, “I think we should see where this pagoda takes us before deciding whether to go in.”
Jade Shura looked outside and saw that the chaotic spatial tearing forces were gone, replaced by a dark void with the faint sound of dripping water. She asked softly, “What’s going on?”
Bao Gu glared at Jade Shura, saying angrily, “I told you not to take the pagoda, but you didn’t listen. Why did you act so quickly?”
Jade Shura shrugged, saying, “We had to take it eventually, right? Besides, once the eight mirrors were removed, the pagoda became unstable. If I hadn’t acted, who knows what might have happened? If it had escaped, we would have been doomed by the spatial collapse.”
Bao Gu snorted, “You always have an excuse!” She thought about the previous situation in the cave hall and the methods of the person who set it up, sighing deeply. She had learned some spatial laws and divine abilities from the Duobao Spirit Monkey, giving her some understanding of space. They had been caught in the forces of spatial collapse, but these forces were much weaker than true spatial forces, likely caused by the breaking of a spatial barrier. She believed the person who set this up must have been at least at the Void Tearing stage. She asked Yu Mi, “Senior Sister, what do you think?”
Yu Mi said, “I want to see what’s inside this pagoda. We can’t wait until we’re free and Jade Shura takes it back to the Soul Chasing Pavilion to find out, right? Fortune favors the bold!”
Bao Gu was speechless, thinking, “Senior Sister, we’re not even out of danger yet, and you’re already thinking about treasure?” She glanced at the white jade coffin, saying, “Didn’t you see there’s a coffin in there? Judging by its size, it’s clearly meant for a person.”
Jade Shura rubbed her arm, saying, “I feel like someone in that coffin is watching me. Bao Gu, let your little Celestial Fox check it out.”
Bao Gu muttered, “I also feel like there are eyes in that coffin watching me. Could it be haunted?” She released the little Celestial Fox, hoping it could reveal the coffin’s secrets. But as soon as the little Celestial Fox emerged, it glanced around, then stared at the coffin, its fur standing on end before it darted back into the blood oath token.
Yu Mi’s face changed instantly.
Jade Shura was also scared stiff.
Bao Gu called out, “Ling’er, come out! Aren’t you a ninth-grade Celestial Fox? How can you be so scared?” She and the others stared at the coffin. If even a ninth-grade Celestial Fox was terrified, whatever was inside must be formidable.
Jade Shura hesitated, “Should we abandon the pagoda and leave? We just need to break through this spatial barrier…”
Bao Gu said, “Do as you wish; the pagoda isn’t mine.”
Jade Shura said, “No treasure is worth our lives!” She turned and walked towards the pagoda’s exit.
Bao Gu watched Jade Shura’s every step, seeing her reach the barrier.
Jade Shura hesitated, then used a substitute talisman to create a decoy.
The decoy disintegrated as soon as it passed the barrier.
Jade Shura shivered, looking back at Bao Gu and Yu Mi in horror, saying, “I couldn’t even probe the outside, and the decoy was destroyed…” If she had gone out herself, she would have met the same fate.
Yu Mi felt the terror of the coffin and the powerful spatial barrier. She wasn’t afraid of fighting anyone, but this overwhelming power left her helpless. She looked at the pagoda and the coffin, then said to Bao Gu, “Bao Gu, if only one of us can survive, it should be you. The responsibility of reviving Lingyun Peak falls on you.” She walked to Bao Gu, smiling softly, “Take care of yourself.”
Bao Gu looked at Yu Mi with bright eyes, smiling, “Senior Sister, are you planning to sacrifice yourself for me?” Her smile was teasing rather than grateful.
Yu Mi, annoyed by Bao Gu’s unserious attitude, poked her forehead and turned to the pagoda, ignoring her.
Bao Gu said, “Senior Sister, we don’t need to die! Haven’t you noticed we’re not the only ones trapped here? If this coffin is for nirvana, why is it chained up like it’s afraid of the occupant coming back to life? Senior Sister, I can’t tell if the symbols on the coffin are sealing symbols. I also didn’t see a barrier at the pagoda entrance.” She continued, “Even if we can’t get out, Senior Sister, do you think I can’t take care of you? I have a few orchards and herb gardens now. We can stay here and cultivate until we’re strong enough to break out.”
Jade Shura stared at the white jade coffin, then looked at Bao Gu, saying, “What if there’s a thousand-year-old zombie in that coffin? You want to release it to help us escape? Remember how scared your little Celestial Fox was?”
Bao Gu forced the little Celestial Fox out of the blood oath token, saying, “Ling’er, even if you’re scared, you should tell us what’s in the coffin.” She thought it was better to ask Ling’er directly.
The little Celestial Fox, upon seeing the coffin again, immediately darted back into the blood oath token, its fur standing on end.
Yu Mi’s face turned pale.
Jade Shura was also terrified.
Bao Gu called out, “Ling’er, come out! Aren’t you a ninth-grade Celestial Fox? How can you be so scared?” She and the others stared at the coffin. If even a ninth-grade Celestial Fox was terrified, whatever was inside must be formidable.
