Chapter 381: Metaphysical Core

The Mortal World

Following the instructions, Qin Sang quickly walked a few steps, and suddenly the view opened up before him.

It turned out this grassland was merely a corner within a vast expanse, and only here within the grassland was there such peace and tranquility.

Beyond the grassland, brilliant rays of light and chaotic clouds filled the sky. The land was shattered, with treacherous mountains, sheer cliffs, and deep abysses everywhere. Even the space itself gave off a sense of instability.

This feeling was not an illusion; within the visible expanse, more than a dozen places were constantly ravaged by storms, clear evidence of the instability.

Standing in the rock crevice, he couldn't hear the sound of the storms, yet even with the naked eye, he could discern how terrifying their power was.

Such powerful storms, however, were unable to shake the clouds and mist in the slightest, remaining firmly bound in place.

The brilliant light and chaotic clouds intertwined, coalescing without dispersing.

Without a doubt, these were exceedingly dangerous ancient restrictions.

Amidst them, various white, black, and silver threads were distributed. Some couldn't even be called threads anymore, stretching dozens of *zhang* long and several *zhang* wide, floating in mid-air like clouds.

In the ancient cultivator's remains, Qin Sang had seen similar black lines and recognized them instantly: they were spatial rifts!

For Foundation Establishment cultivators like them, danger was virtually ubiquitous, with hardly any safe footing. It was hard to imagine how Yun Youzi had found a safe route.

Seeing the various sights of the inner valley and realizing they had to traverse such a place to reach its depths, Qin Sang, though quite courageous, felt his face subtly pale. The step he was about to take out of the rock crevice, he dared not casually make, retracting his foot as if he had been burned.

"This grassland is a rare peaceful place within the inner valley, Brother Qin, you don't need to worry..."

Yun Youzi led the way out, stood on the grassland, and broadened his gaze, sweeping over the various anomalies. Finally, he fixed his eyes on the space between two storm masses, pointed, his tone subtly excited.

"That's the place. We've been in here for a while, and there's still a considerable distance ahead. Thanks to that senior who cleared the path, we haven't expended too much. To avoid unnecessary complications, let's start moving now. Brother Qin, you must follow me closely; do not deviate from the route, or you could easily trigger restrictions or spatial rifts."

Before his words had fully faded, Yun Youzi activated his escape light and flew directly towards the target.

Qin Sang exhaled and followed without hesitation. Since they had come this far, there was no reason to retreat. He only hoped that no unforeseen changes had occurred on the path Yun Youzi knew.

In the blink of an eye, the two flew over the grassland and arrived before the storms.

The two storm masses stirred up countless sand and stones, forming two towering tornadoes that rose from the ground, extremely close to each other but not merging.

Yun Youzi seemed not to notice the stones torn apart by the storms. His figure flickered, and he directly swept into the gap between the two storm masses. Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then also rushed in.

The powerful destructive force he imagined did not exist; between the raging tornadoes, it was surprisingly calm.

Qin Sang was secretly astonished. He looked around and saw that Yun Youzi's escape light continued unabated, already having flown out of the gap. He quickly followed again.

Thus, the two escape lights, one in front and one behind, traversed through countless perilous areas that could easily lead to their demise.

Their speed varied, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. At times, they had to take several wide detours to find a stable route.

Qin Sang remained constantly vigilant, strictly adhering to Yun Youzi's warnings, following him closely step by step, never taking a single step in any other direction.

What gradually put Qin Sang at ease was that Yun Youzi hardly paused throughout their journey, always appearing confident. Whenever they encountered a seemingly impassable dead end, he always managed to find a way around it, a delightful sense of unexpected breakthrough.

Under these circumstances, Qin Sang dared not relax in the slightest, committing this route firmly to memory.

Upon reaching their destination, if Qin Sang could restrain the strange man and help Yun Youzi enter, the two would then part ways. He couldn't stay in such a place indefinitely, waiting for Yun Youzi.

The two had already agreed that after leaving Boundless Valley, Qin Sang would return to Qingyang Market to wait. If Yun Youzi didn't appear within a month, Qin Sang would deliver the token to Li Yufu.

After a series of twists and turns, they delved deeper into the inner valley. Qin Sang skillfully followed Yun Youzi's route, with enough spare attention to observe their surroundings.

What he was most curious about, naturally, was the origin of Boundless Valley.

Legend had it that the Ancient Immortal Battlefield was formed when space was shattered during a great battle of ancient immortals. Was Boundless Valley also created, affected by that very war?

What might exist within those ancient restrictions? Could there be ancient treasures?

Yun Youzi had mentioned that most restrictions were, in fact, empty.

Some Nascent Soul cultivators would prepare for a long time, spending vast sums to devise ways to break the restrictions, only to gain nothing in the end. Such occurrences were frequent.

Just as Qin Sang was lost in thought, Yun Youzi's figure suddenly paused. He abruptly turned his head, looking solemnly to the left.

Qin Sang, thinking they had encountered danger, was startled. He was about to ask when he saw Yun Youzi make a shushing gesture. Yun Youzi glanced around, then flew to a steep hillside, hiding behind a yellowish-brown stone, and gazed towards the horizon.

Qin Sang followed, looking in the direction of Yun Youzi's gaze. Distant mountains stood tall, and at the edge of their vision, two mountains stood close together, forming a gap that was precisely facing their direction.

The spiritual energy within the gap converged into a mighty torrent, vast and surging. It ultimately formed a river of spiritual energy that suddenly plunged downwards, like a descending Milky Way, powerfully smashing into the depths of the gap.

Lying prone on the hillside, they couldn't see what was being impacted by the 'Milky Way,' but speculated it might be an ancient restriction.

Qin Sang's heart tightened. This kind of spiritual energy anomaly did not seem naturally formed.

Could it be...

No sooner had a thought flashed through his mind than he saw two figures in black robes emerge after the spiritual energy dispersed.

The two stood suspended in mid-air, their bodies enveloped by black robes, their faces unclear. They were looking down, seemingly discussing something.

Yun Youzi turned his head, his expression solemn, and mouthed a word.

"Nascent Soul!"

He then made a gesture to Qin Sang, meaning not to look directly.

Qin Sang remembered that Nascent Soul cultivators had keen spiritual senses and might detect his gaze. He quickly averted his eyes, using his peripheral vision to observe, secretly feeling fortunate. Luckily, they were very far away, and ancient restrictions in between isolated their presence, otherwise they would have been discovered long ago.

This was Qin Sang's first time seeing Nascent Soul cultivators with his own eyes, and there were two of them at once!

He had imagined countless times what it would be like when a Nascent Soul cultivator made a move.

Would the sky crumble and the earth crack, or would rivers flow backward?

Now it seemed that the river of spiritual energy had not caused terrifying destruction. He wondered if they had held back.

Qin Sang made a 'sword' gesture to Yun Youzi.

He was asking if the expert from Wuji Sect who killed the Star Poison Frog was one of them.

Yun Youzi slowly shook his head, indicating he didn't know.