I forge immortality with a pagoda.

"I have lived a life of great achievements, and although I have come to this end, I have not lived in vain. However, my Wu family is facing a shortage of successors. Since me, no one has been able to form a Golden Core. I imagine they are not doing well in Hanmiao Heaven now, not to mention that the Liu and Song families have always been eyeing my Wu family with covetous eyes."

"Senior, do you perhaps wish for me to help the Wu family regain its dominant position? With my meager cultivation, I fear it is beyond my capabilities."

Wu Yan's remnant soul slowly shook his head and said, "That's not it. I only hope that when you pass by Hanmiao Heaven in the future, you will tell my disciples and grand-disciples about my demise, so that they can have their wishes fulfilled and no longer have to wait for me to return..."

After speaking, the remnant soul lowered its eyelids, looking sad and dejected.

Shen Yu pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "I have remembered what you said, senior. If I am fortunate enough to visit Luzhuo Prefecture in Hanmiao Heaven someday, I will definitely seek out the Wu family and convey your message to you."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yan's remnant soul showed a hint of relief on its face. "Good, good, with your words, this lingering obsession of mine can finally find some peace."

He mustered his last bit of spiritual light, pointed a finger, and a divine thought entered Shen Yu's sea of ​​consciousness.

"This is the Pure Void Stabilizing Mantra, which can temporarily solidify the soul and resist ordinary spiritual interference. Furthermore, this eerie realm is not a single, continuous entity. In my remaining memories, I vaguely recall several weak points in the restrictions and relatively safe paths, which I will also give to you. Remember, never go any deeper into the plains. That place gave me the most terrifying feeling, as if it were the source of all the anomalies. With your abilities, stepping into it would mean certain death!"

After the transmission was completed, Wu Yan's remnant soul had faded to almost transparent. He glanced at Shen Yu one last time, as if he had countless unspoken words, before finally turning into specks of light and completely dissipating into the gloomy mist.

With a heavy heart, Shen Yu bowed to the spot where the remnant soul had dissipated, and then without hesitation, activated the Pure Void Calming Mantra he had just obtained.

This method is incredibly effective, but it doesn't require much effort to master. Shen Yu only needed a quarter of an hour to successfully learn the basics.

As it circulated, a cool sensation spread from between his eyebrows, and the invisible pressure of divine consciousness around him was indeed largely eliminated, clearing his mind.

He can now resist the power of the restriction to a certain extent without even activating the power of the Xuanqiong Pagoda.

Without further hesitation, Shen Yu determined the direction and, following the path indicated by Wu Yan, rushed towards the original location of Yue Jianxin and the others.

However, when he broke through the thick fog and returned to that familiar plain area, his heart sank suddenly.

The place was empty. Apart from some traces of fighting and magic, Yue Jianxin, Yue Ling, and Cui Youxin had disappeared without a trace!

"Master! Senior Sister! Brother Cui!" Shen Yu called out, but there was no response.

Only from further away, the howls of the zombies and the whimpers of shadowy figures cutting through the mist could be faintly heard.

He suppressed his anxiety and frustration and expanded the search area. But no matter how hard he searched, he still couldn't find any trace of the three people.

They seemed to be completely swallowed up by this eerie, all-consuming realm, disappearing without a trace.

Shen Yu stood alone in the thick fog, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

With his companions missing, the road ahead uncertain, and a terrifying existence hidden deep within that even Golden Core cultivators dared not speak of, an unprecedented, heavy pressure weighed on his shoulders like a mountain.

Behind them, the black mist churned and rolled, already closing in within a hundred feet. In the mist, shadowy figures could be seen, all of them ferocious demonic soldiers with bloodshot eyes. They roared and charged wildly.

Ahead lay a vast, flat plain, only an even more powerful God-Breaking Restriction force.

Having no other choice, Shen Yu had to bite the bullet and go in. Relying on the Qingxu Dingshen Mantra and the Xuanqiong Pagoda, he traveled for more than ten days and arrived at the deeper part of the Ghost Realm.

Looking out, there was a huge pile of building ruins, broken walls and dark as ink, constructed from some strange stone.

The overall structure of the palaces is strange, unlike the usual palace and temple styles. Most of the walls are dilapidated, and a faint, gray, and deathly aura seeps out from them.

Behind him, several of the fastest demonic soldiers had already extended their claws! Shen Yu gritted his teeth, a resolute glint in his eyes.

Going in might mean certain death, but with the Xuanqiong Pagoda as a trump card, there might be a glimmer of hope. Staying outside, however, would mean being torn to shreds by the surging demonic tide in an instant, with no chance of survival.

"Let's give it our all!"

He let out a low shout, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, rushing straight into a palace in the ruins before the demon soldiers could surround him.

The inside and outside of the hall seemed like two different worlds. The air was stagnant, the light was dim, and there was not a sound at all. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. This extreme silence was more unsettling than the clamor and roar outside.

Shen Yu gripped the Three Lights Jade tightly, held his breath, and carefully explored along the dilapidated corridor.

After passing through several collapsed palace gates, he discovered traces of a simple, man-made cave in a relatively intact corner of a side hall.

The stone door was half-closed, with simple protective barriers remaining at the entrance. Inside, there was a stone bed, a stone table, and the base of an alchemy furnace, indicating that someone had been living and cultivating here for a long time.

"There are actually people living here; they don't seem to have been gone for too long."

Shen Yu slowly approached the stone gate and gently stepped inside. A fragrant aroma of herbs immediately wafted towards him.

"This is the smell of Yin Huo Xuan Zhi and Gui Mian Cao."

Shen Yu took a sniff. He was familiar with these two herbs. Both of them were Yin-type medicinal herbs with the effect of gathering vital energy. They could be used to refine Soul Condensation Pills, which were very precious to body-refining cultivators.

Picking up a Ghost Face Grass, Shen Yu discovered that the soil around the roots of this herb was still heart mud. His heart sank, which meant that the cultivator who had been cultivating here had not gone far!

Just then, a gust of wind came from behind him. Shen Yu quickly ducked and rolled to the side. Looking back, he saw a Xuanhua hammer whistling past his head, smashing the high-grade alchemy furnace in the room to pieces.

"Where did you come from, kid!"

Shen Yu looked up and saw a disheveled, ragged middle-aged man walking angrily toward him.

The man had an old and haggard face, with deep-set eyes and prominent cheekbones, except for his eyes, which occasionally flashed with a sharp light.

Upon seeing this person's face, Shen Yu was momentarily stunned and forgot to reply.

Seeing that Shen Yu did not answer, the man assumed that Shen Yu was an intruder. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with intricate patterns, and an extremely sharp spiritual shock pierced Shen Yu's mind like a needle.

"This is... a terror spell!"

Shen Yu was horrified, his soul was in excruciating pain, and he was even more shocked. This technique was from the same lineage as the Soul-Shocking Curse used by Gu Xuan, but Gu Xuan had already been killed by him and his soul had been destroyed. So who was the person in front of him?

Seeing that Shen Yu was swaying precariously under his terrifying spell but did not fall, the man's eyes revealed a hint of admiration.

"He does have some skill."

He chuckled, then waved his hand, and a vast, boundless magical power surged forth.

"A Golden Core cultivator!"

Shen Yu's pupils suddenly contracted...

......