Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 421 The Abnormal Changes of Guixu
In the dark depths of the sea, a realm where even sunlight cannot reach.

A giant, snow-white ship was gliding beneath the surface.

Its bow is raised high, and its hull is sleek and natural, resembling a giant beluga whale. It silently cuts through the cold seawater, its body glowing with a soft white light that dispels the surrounding darkness. Seemingly silent, it is actually diving at an extremely fast speed.

This is the treasure of Tianxin Island, the White Whale Ship.

Tianxin Island is isolated overseas, and its disciples have been dealing with the sea for countless years. Many of them have the blood of merfolk flowing in their veins, and are born with an extraordinary affinity for water.

To cultivators from the outside world, the immense pressure of the deep sea could crush steel into thin sheets—an unstoppable force of nature. But for the disciples of Tianxin Island, it was merely a minor inconvenience.

Previously, Tianxin Island couldn't reach Guixu because they had no idea where Guixu was.

This sea is so vast and boundless that even after generations of exploration, Tianxin Island has probably only covered less than one-tenth of its total area. In addition, the Mirage Sect has always deliberately concealed it, so the world knows very little about the Ruins of Return. Tianxin Island never imagined that such an ancient secret realm would fall into the hands of the Mirage Sect.

But now, everything is different.

Huang Quanzong delivered a handwritten letter from Chen Ye.

The letter not only marked the exact location of Guixu with the most precise nautical chart, but also included a set of formations that could be used for precise positioning in the deep sea.

In his letter, Chen Ye described the situation of Guixu in detail. He drew a simple map of Guixu from memory and even marked several locations where ancient treasures were hidden.

The letter made no explicit demands, only requesting Tianxin Island's assistance in investigating and confirming whether there were any traces of Youluozi and Feilian within the Ruins of Return. At the end of the letter, it also specifically mentioned the unfathomably powerful black dog deep within the Ruins of Return, and the gate that absolutely must not be opened under any circumstances.

The only request that could be considered a request was that Tianxin Island, to the best of its ability, could take care of the Mirage Demons living in Guixu.

When Master Jiaoyue, the leader of Tianxin Island, finished reading the letter, he almost thought it was a forgery by the Demonic Sect, who wanted to use Tianxin Island to commit murder and lure them into some kind of dangerous place.

After repeatedly confirming with Huangquan Sect that there was no mistake, Jiaoyue Zhenren could only let out a long sigh.

"Sect Leader Chen is a true gentleman."

He thought of the Mirage School.

Tianxin Island is clearly more adept at underwater treasure hunting. If the Mirage Sect had shared Guixu long ago, the treasures inside might already be divided between the two sides, instead of ending up in this predicament. The Mirage Sect would rather spend a lot of manpower and resources, even risking their lives to extract some benefits from Guixu, than trust Tianxin Island.

Without comparison, this is just human nature. What about righteous cultivators? They still fight for power and profit. At most, they are more disciplined than the demonic sects.

But now that Huangquan Sect is there as a comparison, Chen Ye is so generous in sharing the location with Tianxin Island, even explaining the location of the treasure and the possible risks in detail, as if he is afraid that Tianxin Island will refuse.

Jiaoyue Zhenren knew very well that Chen Ye didn't need to go to such lengths.

He only needed to relay the news that the Demonic Sect might be hiding in the Ruins of Return, and Tianxin Island would have no reason to shirk its responsibility. Like lips and teeth, the Demonic Sect's calamity would affect the entire world; even if Tianxin Island were isolated overseas, it could not remain unscathed.

Moreover, Chen Ye recently saved those Tongxuan Realm disciples from Tianxin Island. Although they lost their physical bodies, their souls were preserved, and they may have a chance to rebuild their bodies and return to life in the future.

This immense favor alone would be enough to make Tianxin Island risk its life to investigate the so-called ancient secret realm for Chen Ye, but it wouldn't dare to touch the many treasures within the Ruins of Return.

However, Chen Ye deliberately revealed the location of the treasure vault to Tianxin Island, clearly showing that he didn't care about the treasures in Guixu at all. He implied that Tianxin Island could take whatever it wanted.

That's an ancient treasure trove; who knows how many amazing treasures it holds?
Chen Ye sent it out just like that, and the ink on the letter showed no hesitation or reluctance whatsoever.

Master Jiaoyue asked himself, even if he were in that situation, he couldn't be so carefree. This Sect Master Chen's demeanor was indeed unmatched by ordinary people; even he, an old fellow who had lived for hundreds of years, was far inferior.

Since Chen Ye was so generous, and the matter of Guixu was related to the safety of the entire world, Jiaoyue Zhenren would naturally not treat it perfunctorily.

He immediately ordered five Grand Elders at the Nascent Soul Realm to lead thirty elite disciples to Guixu. If he weren't the sect leader and required to stay and stabilize the sect, True Person Jiaoyue would have even wanted to go herself.

In addition to sending out more than half of the sect's top combat power, Master Jiaoyue also brought out the White Whale ship.

This colossal ship is no ordinary flying magical artifact. It was crafted from a supreme innate treasure passed down through the Merfolk race, and its defensive capabilities are almost equivalent to carrying the entire protective array of Tianxin Island with it.

With this White Whale ship, the immense pressure of the deep sea is no longer a problem, and it is enough to safely transport the cultivators of Tianxin Island to the entrance of Guixu.

Even with Chen Ye's guidance, the White Whale still sailed in the deep sea for half a month before reaching its destination.

Because the ocean is unpredictable, the journey from Tianxin Island to Guixu is extremely long. Along the way, they encountered several deep-sea whirlpools or underwater volcanic eruptions, forcing them to take detours.

The ocean is difficult to navigate, and every time the route is adjusted, it must be recalculated, and it is easy to deviate from the original course.

If it weren't for the help of the merfolk, even with a sea chart, we might not have been able to find the location of Guixu.

However, perseverance pays off. After overcoming countless difficulties, they finally saw the Deep Sea Ruins that emitted a shimmering white light.

Just as Chen Ye had described, this dilapidated ancient realm resembled a cut-open conch shell, its spiral structure clearly visible from above. At its center lay the Gate of Return to Nothingness, a gate that must never be opened, nor even approached.

The White Whale slowly turned and stopped in front of the gate of Guixu.

Originally, the four pillars were nailed with the corpses of four dragons, but the dragons had long been buried by Chen Ye, and now only the four bare pillars remain.

"That should be the entrance to the Ruins of Return."

Inside the White Whale ship, the white-haired, youthful-looking cultivator at the head was the leader of this operation; he was Elder Qinglin, the junior brother of True Man Jiaoyue.

Although he saw Guixu, Elder Qinglin was somewhat puzzled.

Because the appearance of this Ruins of Return differed somewhat from what Chen Ye had described. Chen Ye had mentioned in his letter that Ruins of Return would emit a faint light, but the shimmering white light before them illuminated the seabed for miles around, making it even brighter than the full moon in the sky.

Such an obvious difference cannot be due to a mistake in the description.

Unless, things change in the Ruins of Return!
The elders at the Nascent Soul stage exchanged glances, each reading a solemn expression from the other.

Something unusual must be going on; this is most likely the work of the Demon Lord Feilian or Youluozi.

Elder Qinglin pondered for a moment, then gave the order.

"Send a few of your best swimmers to investigate the situation. Remember, they must not force their way in."

The order was quickly relayed.

Three agile young cultivators leaped off the deck. The moment they entered the water, their forms changed, their legs transforming into fish tails covered in blue-green scales. With a gentle sway in the water, they darted like three arrows, silently swimming towards the light screen.

They are the purest merfolk disciples on Tianxin Island, and in the sea, they are the true rulers.

The three of them quickly reached the edge of the light curtain.

The light was very soft, without any hint of danger.

One of the boldest disciples reached out and carefully manipulated the water flow to touch the layer of shimmering white light.

He was being extremely careful, casting the spell from a distance of several dozen feet.

But just as the magically manipulated water touched the light barrier, a sudden change occurred!
The disciple's body trembled violently, and an expression of extreme pain appeared on his face.

Almost at the same moment, the other two disciples also let out silent screams. Blood flowers bloomed out of thin air around their bodies, which were particularly dazzling under the bright white light.

The countless invisible blades, transformed into countless invisible blades, were alarmed and were frantically slicing through their bodies.

In the blink of an eye, the three of them were covered in countless deep, bone-revealing wounds, and the blood stained the seawater around them crimson.

"Hurry up and save people!"

Elder Qinglin reacted extremely quickly, shouting sharply.

At the bow of the White Whale ship, the enormous whale eye suddenly lit up, and the gentle current of water, like incredibly precise tentacles, instantly wrapped around the three seriously injured disciples, dragging them back from in front of the light screen.

When the three were pulled back onto the deck, they were barely breathing, with almost no intact skin on their bodies. If it weren't for the merman's strong physique and timely treatment, they would probably have died on the spot.

Seeing the miserable state of the three disciples, everyone on the deck gasped in horror.

"What a terrifying restriction." An elder said with lingering fear after casting a spell to heal them.

“That’s not just light, but a great array composed of countless tiny, sharp energies.” Elder Qinglin’s expression was extremely grim. “Each sword energy is incredibly sharp. Such a technique is definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could set up.”

Everyone was silent.

The power of this restriction was beyond their comprehension. They couldn't even get close, let alone send anyone in.

"What do we do now, Senior Brother Qinglin? This restriction is so powerful that we can't get in at all."

"The task entrusted to us by Sect Leader Chen must be carried out. The remnants of the Demonic Sect are among them. If we fail to ascertain the situation and allow them to make their plans with ease, they will surely become a major threat in the future."

Elder Qinglin's eyes were resolute. After discussing with the other elders for a while, he made a decision: "Prepare to activate the 'Whale Fall' formation. Since we can't sneak in quietly, we have no choice but to forcefully break through this shell!"

(End of this chapter)