Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

The cultivator looked coldly at Mu Tianmiao and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is something extraordinary behind this door, as clearly written on the mural."

"Instead of leaving four arrogant fools here to try their luck."

He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, his voice deepening.

"So, you four! Either come with us now, or die here. Don't make a mistake!"

As soon as he finished speaking, an aura of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator erupted from his body without reservation.

The spiritual energy transformed into visible waves of air that pushed outwards, causing the several eerie green flames in the hall to sway violently.

The cultivators standing next to him also released their auras, numbering at least seven or eight at the Golden Core stage.

Although most of them are only at the early or middle stages of the Golden Core realm, their combined influence is already considerable.

Mu Tianmiao thought to herself, "This is troublesome..."

Upon closer inspection, there are already eight people on the other side who intend to make a move: one late-stage Golden Core cultivator, two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, and five early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

If we were to fight in front of this door, even if we won, it would consume a lot of spiritual energy.

Behind the door, the Soul-Stealing Fragrance Flower, which was part of the system quest and had reached the Golden Core stage, was waiting for him.

Damn it, do we have to lose a lot of health and mana before we even get inside?

He's determined to get in. Since there's no way out, he has no choice but to be assertive.

He took a step forward, and his spiritual power was no longer suppressed. The aura of a Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection stage poured out like a storm.

The sheer power and solid foundation of that aura were like the difference between the moon and a firefly compared to the auras of the eight Golden Core cultivators opposite them.

A rogue cultivator at the early stage of the Golden Core realm was struck head-on by this aura, and the color drained from his face instantly.

He took three or four steps back and silently shrank behind the crowd.

He had painstakingly scavenged along the way, and he didn't want to lose his life here because of a harsh remark.

Chapter Fifty-Five: Fight to the Death or Leave it to Fate?

However, the three people behind Mu Tianmiao did not move.

Yun Qingyao gripped the Qing Shuang sword tightly, her brows furrowed; the Third Prince crossed his arms, his fingertips tapping lightly on his bracelet.

Yuantong planted the wooden stick on the ground, deep in thought.

To be honest, they also felt that opening this door might not be a good choice.

The warning on the mural was too blunt; the thought of what was sealed behind that door sent chills down my spine.

They followed Mu Tianmiao here because they trusted him, but trusting him and agreeing to open the door rashly are two different things.

Mu Tianmiao faced off against seven opponents alone. The late-stage Golden Core cultivator had his hand on his sword hilt, his gaze still sharp as a knife.

The air in the main hall was so tense it felt like a string that could snap at any moment!

Then, in the next instant, the string was snapped by a tremendous force from the ground!

The entire secret realm began to shake violently. It wasn't an earthquake, nor a landslide, but a tremor that erupted from the deepest part of the earth's crust, like a heartbeat!

Boom, boom, boom, one after another, the rhythm getting faster and faster!

On the surface of that sealed giant door, countless dark red veins, like the blood vessels of a living creature, gushed out from the cracks in the door!

It climbs wildly upwards along the walls, dome, and stone pillars!

Wherever it went, the lines on the walls that were originally mistaken for cracks of time were lit up one by one!

That wasn't a crack, but a crimson net covering the entire hall and even the entire secret realm, awakening from its thousand-year slumber with the red light!

The late-stage Golden Core cultivator's expression changed drastically. Before he could even draw his sword, a crevice filled with red light appeared beneath his feet, nearly swallowing him whole!

He jumped backward in a disheveled manner, his previous aggressive demeanor completely gone!

Yuantong's gaze sharpened, and he slammed the wooden stick in his hand onto the ground!

A golden halo of Buddha's light spread out from the bottom of the staff, covering the entire hall in the blink of an eye, enveloping everyone in a warm golden glow.

Realm! Worldly vanities!

Amidst the fleeting worldly splendor, the renowned domain-based immortal techniques of Nanshan Temple, centered on the caster, spread Buddhist light into a perceptual field covering the entire space.

Under the golden light, the spiritual energy channels of all friendly cultivators were clearly visible, and their spiritual energy strength and recovery speed were simultaneously enhanced.

The most crucial ability is to make everything invisible to the naked eye appear in the golden light.

At that moment, everyone present saw it.

The dark red veins that emerged from the crack in the door did not spread randomly, but rather followed the blood-red net that had already been laid out on the wall.

These veins precisely pierce through the dome of the main hall and penetrate into the dense plant root system in the cave walls above.

Every vine, every serrated leaf of the Venus flytrap, every seemingly independent mutated plant.

Its roots are tightly entwined, permeated, and controlled by these red veins.

The plants in the entire secret realm were not polluted, but rather held firmly in the palm of the same force from beginning to end.

Every tremor of every leaf is deliberately driven by this force.

Everyone was shocked and understood everything in an instant.

The monster sealed behind that door is trapped in the seal of the Golden Core realm and cannot break through.

Unable to leave the palace, it began to exert its power outwards after being imprisoned for countless years.

It cannot leave, but it can control every plant in the secret realm.

They kill the intruding cultivators, devour their flesh and spiritual power, and then use these nutrients to nourish themselves.

The remaining souls of the cultivators it devoured became its only window to the outside world.

It must have learned about the recent movements of sects in the outside world through some cultivator who was devoured, and then deliberately released the news to lure various forces to come.

It needs someone to break the seal!

After all, if the seal is not broken, the entrance to the secret realm will eventually be broken open by the combined forces of the major sects outside!

Yuantong gave a wry smile, the golden light casting flickering shadows on his round face.

"There are two forces blocking the entrance to the secret realm: one is an external restriction that seals off the entrance, and the other is..."

"That's the trick of this monster. It doesn't want people to leave. It broke the seal on the outside world to seal us off, and then used the spiritual plants and seeds in the secret realm to lure us here to open the door for it. What a clever scheme."

The monk pulled the wooden stick from the ground, and the light of the Golden Light Mantra shone on his round face, unusually without a trace of smirk.

His gaze swept over everyone present, and although his voice was not loud, it echoed clearly throughout the hall.

"If the powerful figures outside break the seal on the secret realm, this monster can also break free of the seal."

"At that time, the spiritual power it has accumulated over countless years will erupt in an instant, forcefully pushing it from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage, and even causing it to lose its spirit!"

"At that point, it won't be a question of whether we can get out, but whether the people outside can stop it."

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, and even the previously aggressive late-stage Golden Core cultivator's expression changed.

"Therefore, you are actually presented with only two paths."

Yuantong held up two fingers.

"First, stay here and wait to die."

"Once the people outside break through the secret realm, they will release a monster at the Nascent Soul or even the Spirit Transformation stage, and we will all feed it."

"Secondly, we should open this door now and, while it is still sealed and still at the Golden Core stage, help it transcend."

"Whether you fight to the death with a corrupt demon that has reached the Golden Core stage, or wait until it reaches the Nascent Soul stage before fighting it, is the choice for you, benefactors."

He hoisted the wooden stick onto his shoulder, nodded toward the massive gate, and his tone returned to its usual casualness.

"Anyway, I choose the second option. A monk does not lie. I haven't lived enough yet and don't want to become fertilizer for it."

All eyes met in silence, and gradually, more and more people began to nod.

Nanshan Temple is a well-known orthodox Buddhist institution in Xiniu Hezhou. It is an ancient temple with a history of over a thousand years, a legitimate Buddhist sect, and its reputation speaks for itself.

Since the monk used the domain magic of Nanshan Temple to cover everyone and explained the cause and effect clearly in public, he was not exaggerating.

But not everyone is willing to work so hard.

Just as most people were beginning to grit their teeth and make a decision, a thin, rogue cultivator in the corner suddenly spoke up, his voice not loud.

His voice, however, carried a strange, unsettling quality.

"If you want to risk your lives, you can do it. I'll stay far away and hide in a corner."

"Even if that monster really breaks free from the seal and becomes a Nascent Soul cultivator, it's not entirely without a chance of survival."

"What if it's in such a hurry to escape after just emerging that it doesn't care about us little shrimps? Or what if the big shots outside arrive in time and hold it back?"

"But if I rush in and fight with you now, I'm afraid I won't even see the sun rise tomorrow."

He spoke with such confidence that he even shrugged, as if he were discussing a sure-fire deal.

Upon hearing this, the people who had already taken a step forward shrank back.

The unshaven old rogue cultivator was the first to stand next to the thin rogue cultivator, followed by three or four others who hesitantly moved over.

In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so cultivators split into two groups: one group was willing to fight to the death, and the other group wanted to hide and gamble on their luck.

Mu Tianmiao was too lazy to listen to these people's nonsense.

He turned his head, glanced at Yun Qingyao beside him, and then at the Third Prince not far away.

Yun Qingyao's Qing Shuang sword was already three inches out of its sheath, its blade gleaming with a cold light.

The Third Prince circulated the dark golden spiritual energy around him.

The three exchanged glances; no words were needed, and their meaning was already clear.

Chapter Fifty-Six: Facing the Flower Fairy

The Third Prince took the lead, his high ponytail billowing in a neat arc behind him, and stood side by side with Mu Tianmiao in front of the massive door covered with dark red veins.

The next moment, their auras surged simultaneously!

Golden Elixir Perfection versus Golden Elixir Perfection!

Two powerful spiritual energies poured out like a torrent, condensing into a dark golden sword intent around her and transforming into a blazing golden sword light on his sword!

The aura was so strong that even the few independent cultivators who were still observing at the door could not look directly at it!

The few independent cultivators who were still observing at the entrance turned their heads and looked away, forced to take several steps back.

The two of them took action at the same time.

Sword beams and blade energy slammed together towards the giant door!

With a deafening roar, the array patterns on the door burst forth with a blinding red light, actually withstanding the attack!

But the two did not stop; their spiritual power continued to rise, a second time, a third time!

The golden and dark gold light shone like two suns shining together, illuminating the entire hall as bright as day!

Finally, with a deafening roar, the giant gate was shattered, and rubble mixed with fragments of the remaining array patterns shot out into the hall!

Mu Tianmiao and the Third Prince's figures were like two sharp arrows, one golden and one black, rushing into the broken doorway first!

Yun Qingyao and Yuantong followed closely behind, the cold light of the Qing Shuang sword and the golden light on the wooden stick drawing two intersecting trajectories in the darkness!

Further back were the six rogue cultivators who ultimately chose to fight to the death. The light of their various magical artifacts flickered in the darkness. Although their steps trembled, none of them retreated.

As soon as Yuantong landed, he slammed the wooden stick heavily on the ground, chanting a low Buddhist mantra. The Golden Light Mantra exploded in his palm like a blazing sun!

The dazzling Buddha light instantly illuminated the entire space, revealing every detail.

Only then could everyone see the world behind the door!

This is an underground palace several times more magnificent than the outer hall. The dome is immeasurably high, and the ground is covered with writhing dark red vines, as thick as an adult's waist!

As fine as blood vessels, they intertwined densely, forming a huge web of flesh and blood covering the entire underground palace!

The air was filled with a nauseating stench of decay and blood; every breath felt like swallowing something sticky!