Chapter 320

After hearing Cangxuan's explanation, Wang Ping's grasp of the Azure Profound Heaven Realm suddenly became much clearer, and he also gained a deeper understanding of that Chaos Immortal Palace (which was very likely the outer part or another section of the one he had received the inheritance from).

Four keys, four extreme powers—this is both a test and faintly aligns with the true meaning of the Chaos Dao, which embraces and evolves all things.

"In that case, to enter the Immortal Palace, one must first gather the four keys." Wang Ping mused, "These four keys are likely also the focus of contention among all factions in this realm."

"That's certain." Yuliuli softly sighed, "Inside the Immortal Palace, it is said there is not only a complete inheritance possibly left by the Chaos Immortal King, but also a method to control or safely leave this fragment. For the various cultivators trapped here, the latter may be more attractive than the former."

After all, even if the opportunity is good, one needs the fate to enjoy it; being able to return to one's own world is fundamental.

Youying said coldly, "The people of the Dark Star Realm and the Ancient Barbaric Continent surely also target the Immortal Palace and the keys. They entered this realm better prepared, possibly with greater numbers. Spirit Realm cultivators each fight on their own, putting us at a disadvantage."

Cangxuan looked at Wang Ping, light flickering in his starry eyes: "Fellow Daoist Wang Ping, the situation is thus. The four keys are located in the Four Great Perilous Lands, each extremely dangerous. For one person or a few to gather them all is as hard as climbing to heaven. Even if we four join forces, we must plan long-term and choose the safest route."

His meaning was clear: since we have temporarily allied, our next operational goal should be to gather the keys and enter the Immortal Palace. Naturally, the first step is to start from the Immortal Fall Battlefield where we currently are, seeking the "Key of Balance".

Wang Ping's thoughts raced. Seeking the keys and entering the Immortal Palace aligned with his own purpose.

The Chaos Immortal Scripture he obtained is only a fragment; the core of the Immortal Palace may contain the continuation; moreover, the method of leaving is of utmost importance.

Cooperating with Cangxuan and the others will indeed greatly increase efficiency and safety. As for how to distribute the keys after finding them, and how to contend for opportunities inside the Immortal Palace, that is a matter for later; when the time comes, each will rely on their own abilities.

"The three fellow Daoists' analysis is sound." Wang Ping spoke slowly, "Since we are here, the first step is naturally to seek the 'Key of Balance'."

Wang Ping has no objection to that. However, regarding concrete clues for the 'Key of Balance,' could the three of you provide more detailed information? We cannot blindly search this vast battlefield.

Upon hearing this, Cangxuan flipped his palm, and an ancient-looking bronze compass appeared in his palm.

This compass resembles Wang Ping's previously obtained "Boundary Stabilizing Compass" in some ways, but is more refined and complete; its central needle is not an ordinary magnetic needle, but a small section of crystal-clear jade-like bone with nebulae flowing inside.

"This is the 'Star Guide Disk,' one of the secret treasures of my Heaven Azure Clan; it has a faint sensitivity to special stellar forces, spatial fluctuations, and... a certain 'balance' field."

Cangxuan explained, "After entering the battlefield, I have been trying to activate it. Just before we were besieged by demon souls, it pointed in this direction,"

He pointed to the north-northeast, "It once produced an extremely brief but clear throb, pointing toward a certain position deeper in the battlefield. That place is very likely the potential area of the 'Key of Balance'."

Yuliuli added, "Combining vague records on battlefield steles about the 'Life-Death Origin' and 'Two Worlds Mountain,' as well as the offset pattern of killing intent and residual immortal spirit energy at certain special nodes here, we preliminarily judge that the 'Key of Balance' may exist in a strange region deep in the battlefield called the 'Yin-Yang Realm'."

There, during the ancient great war, an Immortal Venerable who cultivated both yin-yang and life-death ways, and a demon lord who mastered destructive power, perished together; the two opposing forces offset each other over time, forming a relatively stable balance region.

Youying said succinctly, "Dangerous. That place is certainly a haunt of top-tier demon souls, and may also attract other forces seeking the keys."

Wang Ping listened carefully, his eyes falling on the Star Guide Disk. This object partially overlaps in function with the Boundary Stabilizing Compass, but focuses more on sensing special fields. He secretly thought that perhaps after Chaotuo Daren absorbed the Boundary Stabilizing Compass, it could also provide similar guidance in the future.

"Since we already have a rough direction, we should not delay." Wang Ping declared decisively, "The situation in the Immortal Fall Battlefield changes moment by moment; external forces may also be acting. We will set out immediately, heading to the Yin-Yang Realm to investigate. Along the way we must be extra careful, avoid unnecessary battles, and preserve our strength."

Cangxuan and the three others nodded in agreement. With the plan set, the four said no more, did a quick check, and set off again. This time, the goal was clear and their actions became even more cautious.

Wang Ping continued to lead concealment with his Chaos Domain, while Cangxuan held the Star Guide Disk, occasionally adjusting direction; Yuliuli fully extended her perception to monitor energy anomalies within several li around them; Youying, like a true shadow, wandered in the outermost shadows of the party, responsible for clearing any possible traps or hidden posts.

The deeper they went into the core of the Immortal Fall Battlefield, the more the environment showed strange and deathly stillness. The bloody thick mist almost turned into a viscous liquid, reducing visibility to less than ten zhang.

The ground beneath their feet was no longer solid, but covered with a thick layer of dark red 'blood mud' formed from bone powder, metal rust, and condensed killing intent; stepping on it gave a soft, silent feel, yet emitted a nauseating stench of decay.

The fragments of shattered laws drifting in the air grew darker and deeper in hue, their power also greater; Wang Ping had to slightly expand the range of his Chaos Domain to better defend against these invisible killing threats.

Along the way, the skeletons and remains they saw became increasingly astonishing in scale. They once passed a skeletal remnant spanning tens of li, resembling a giant kun; its vertebral column rose and fell like mountain ranges, and even after countless ages of death, it retained a lingering aura of devouring heaven and earth, causing the four to detour far around it.

They also once saw a 'Weapon Tomb' entirely piled with broken giant swords, spears, and halberds; though those divine weapons had lost all spirituality and were mottled with rust, the lethal aura gathered together still formed a region that stabbed the soul with pain.

The needle of the Star Guide Disk trembled with increasing frequency, its direction steadily pointing north-northeast. Yet Cangxuan's expression did not ease; instead, it grew ever more solemn.

"The needle's fluctuations have become chaotic," he said, "it seems the balance of the Yin-Yang Realm area is not absolutely static, but changes under some cycle or condition."

"Moreover... we may have already entered the territory of some powerful beings."

As if to verify his words, after traveling less than a hundred li, an anomaly suddenly arose.

Youying, walking at the forefront in the shadows, suddenly halted without any sign and sent a sharp mental warning backward!

Almost simultaneously, Wang Ping felt at the edge of his Chaos Domain a cold, viscous, malicious scrutinizing feeling coming from a thick, seemingly inseparable black mist of killing intent on the left side!

"Be on guard!" Cangxuan shouted low, his starry robe stirring without wind, points of starlight lighting up around him. Yuliuli pressed her hands together in the air, sending out an invisible ripple of sound waves centered on herself, attempting to discern the true from the false in the mist.

Wang Ping's thoughts raced, his domain power gathering to the left, forming a thick chaos barrier.

"Screech—!"

An ear-piercing sharp screech exploded from the black mist! The sound did not travel through air but directly acted upon the soul!

A purple flash from Wang Ping's Purple Thunder God-Protecting Token on his chest, and Yuliuli's sound wave instantly shifted to a soft, defensive rhythm, barely offsetting most of the impact. However, Youying seemed to bear the brunt, his black robe-clad form visibly trembling.

Immediately afterward, the black mist surged like a living creature; several tendrils formed of pure, extreme black killing intent condensed, their surfaces flowing with dark gold strange runes, shot out at lightning speed, directly striking Youying on the party's flank and Yuliuli in the center!

Before the tendrils even arrived, a chilling killing intent that seemed able to freeze souls and corrupt all things had already enveloped them!

"Hmph!" Cangxuan gave a cold snort, not unleashing a large-scale spell but pointing his fingers like swords, jabbing into the void! Several beams of starlight, condensed as substance and only as thick as a finger, shot out precisely, striking the joints or rune nodes of those tendrils!

Pu pu pu! The starlight beams contacting the black tendrils burst with a dull, corrosive sound.

The dark gold runes on the tendrils flickered erratically; their forward momentum slowed, and the struck areas were suffused with starlight, attempting to purify and decompose them.

However, the tentacles' toughness exceeded imagination; the starlight beam could not completely sever them, merely creating an effective obstruction.

Taking the opportunity, Wang Ping struck. He clenched his right hand, and the chaotic qi within his domain frenziedly gathered, instantly condensing into several grayish Chaos Spears, edges flowing with annihilating aura, which he hurled fiercely toward the depths of the ink-black killing mist, at the source of the watching sensation.

Roar!

A howl mixed with pain and anger came from the mist, obviously injured by the Chaos Spear. Those several tentacles twitched violently and quickly retracted into the mist.

But the ink-black killing mist did not dissipate; instead, it churned more violently, as if some colossal thing were awakening within it.

It's a Soul-Eating Devil Sigil! At least Nascent Soul Grand Perfection, approaching half-step Spirit Transformation devil soul! Yu Liuli spoke rapidly, "It excels at soul attacks and killing-mist corrosion, hidden within the killing mist, its tentacles have extraordinary regenerative ability, making it hard to eradicate completely. We shouldn't get entangled!"

Go around! Cangxuan made a swift decision; the Starlight Guidance Disk showed that the target direction did not necessarily require passing through this ink-black mist.

The four immediately turned; Wang Ping, using his domain, forcibly carved a temporary passage through the chaotic bone pile to the side, opening it at full speed, intending to shake off this troublesome devil soul.

However, the Soul-Eating Devil Sigil obviously would not relent. The ink-black killing mist followed like a shadow, relentlessly pursuing; although its speed was slightly slower, it always trailed behind.

From time to time it shot out a few sinister soul spikes or killing-mist poison to harass, forcing Wang Ping to divert his attention to maintain a stronger domain defense, greatly increasing his consumption.

"This can't go on; we'll be worn down by it." Youying's voice came, carrying a faint, hardly noticeable weakness; the previous soul-piercing screech had obviously affected him somewhat.

"We must give it a heavy blow to make it retreat." A cold glint flashed in Wang Ping's eyes. Passively taking hits isn't his style; since this devil soul has locked onto them, they won't escape without paying a price.

While maintaining his domain and escape speed, he quickly communicated with Cangxuan: "Daoist Cangxuan, can you temporarily hold the core of that killing mist with starlight power for an instant? No need for long—just a half-breath will do!"

Cangxuan pondered briefly, then nodded: "Sure! Fairy Liuli, help me!"

Yu Liuli understood, her fair hands rose lightly; a string of ethereal sound that held strange soul‑sealing power rang out — not an attack, but turned into rings of gentle sound‑wave halos that swept toward the black killing mist behind!

These sound‑wave halos have no killing power, but they can make the energy fluctuations within their range sluggish and chaotic, interfering with the demon souls' perception and control.

At the same time, Cang Xuan formed seals with both hands; stellar light blazed all around him, condensing above his head into a miniature star‑map phantom. He shouted low: "Celestial Star Lock, seal!"

The star‑map phantom suddenly expanded, projecting onto that churning black killing mist! Wherever the starlight reached, the rolling mist seemed pressed by an invisible hand, its speed sharply dropping; even the evil will within seemed briefly "solidified".

Now!

Wang Ping turned abruptly, chaotic light bursting from his eyes! He no longer held back, taking his recent insight into the Primordial Chaos Seal and unleashing it in a more direct, violent way!

Without any complicated seal changes, he simply compressed the wisp of chaotic immortal essence nascent within him, the five‑element spiritual power, and the vast chaotic qi gathered in his domain, all onto his right fist!

On the fist's surface, the gray light was deep as a black hole, yet specks of opening light flickered; the surrounding space emitted strained groans, light warping!

"Break!"

One punch, he blasted toward the core of the black killing mist that had been temporarily halted!

There was no deafening roar, only a dull rumble as space was violently torn and all things returned to chaos! A thick column of chaotic gray light, like a god's spear that split heaven and earth, slammed deep into the killing mist!

"Ao——!!!"

A piercing, extreme wail echoed across the battlefield! The black killing mist, like boiling water hit by a boulder, exploded wildly and dissipated!

Faintly visible in the mist was a hideous black shape covered in twisted tentacles and bearing a huge single eye; struck hard by the chaotic light pillar, its massive body instantly crumbled halfway, the remainder cracking, dark‑gold blood pouring down like rain!

That soul‑devouring demon insignia suffered unprecedented heavy damage; its remaining will was filled with fear, no longer daring to pursue, its ragged body dragging the thin residual killing mist as it fled madly deeper into the battlefield, vanishing in an instant.

Wang Ping slowly lowered his fist, his face slightly pale, his breath fluctuating. That blow had nearly drained thirty percent of his spiritual power and greatly taxed his mind, yet the effect was marked: the demon soul, close to half‑step Nascent Soul, was heavily wounded and driven back in one strike.

Cang Xuan, Yu Liuli, and You Ying looked at Wang Ping, their gazes shifting again — especially Cang Xuan, whose starlit eyes flashed. The meaning and overbearing, world‑splitting and annihilating power contained in that punch made even him feel a pang of palpitation.

This Wang Ping, compared to his strength in the secret realm, has grown by more than just a few folds — how far has his grasp of the Chaotic Dao reached?

"Daoist Wang Ping, your divine abilities are astonishing — I admire you." Cang Xuan said sincerely. This punch completely established Wang Ping as the immovable core combat strength of the temporary team.

"You overpraise me; it was just luck. We still need to leave quickly — the commotion was no small thing." Wang Ping shook his head, suppressed his surging qi and blood, and signaled to keep moving.

The four dared not linger, took pills, and sped out of the area. After this battle, they gained a deeper understanding of the dangers deep in the Immortal‑Fall Battlefield, and their cooperation grew more tacit.

Wang Ping handled offense and stealth; Cang Xuan oversaw the whole situation and precisely broke defenses; Yu Liuli assisted with field control and early warning; You Ying scouted, eliminated gaps, and patched leaks — a prototype of a small combat unit gradually took shape.

The guidance of the Star‑Lead Disk grew ever clearer, and the energy environment ahead began to shift subtly. It was no longer pure killing‑qi stillness, but started to show a strange "mixed" feeling.

In the extreme distance, a low, steady "thud… thud…" like a heartbeat could be faintly heard, as if some colossal beast slept deep in the earth.

In the air, the yin cold of the killing qi and another kind of warm, gentle vital energy (though extremely weak) began to alternate, creating an extremely discordant yet stably coexisting contradictory scene.

"We… may be approaching the Yin‑Yang Realm." Cang Xuan said solemnly, watching the needle on the Star‑Lead Disk jump violently before finally stabilizing and pointing straight ahead.

Wang Ping lifted his gaze and saw only that at the end of the blood‑red thick mist, on the horizon, a blurry, distorted light‑shadow seemed to appear — as if it were the border between two different worlds.

The low, steady "thud… thud…", like the heartbeat of a slumbering beast deep in the earth, penetrated the viscous blood‑colored mist and reached the four's ears clearly.

This sound is not grand, yet it carries a strange penetrative power and rhythmic feel; each beat seems to strike deep in the soul, resonating subtly with the circulation of one's spiritual power, giving the illusion that one's own life rhythm is being pulled by this external rhythm.

The further they went, the stronger the strange feeling in the surroundings became. The air's originally thick, inseparable yin‑cold killing qi seemed to be combed and diluted by an invisible force, no longer a disordered, violent rush.

Instead, it presented a peculiar "flowing" sensation, like a cold dark river rushing within its set channel.

Within the killing qi, the original tangled endless resentment and fragmented murderous intent seemed also to have been settled and soothed by some force; though not gone, it lost some ferocity and gained a heavy, abyss‑like stillness.

At the same time, another utterly different breath — warm, gentle, with a hint of pure spirit — seeped out from an unknown source like a thin trickle, beginning to intertwine and run alongside the thick killing qi.

This breath is extremely thin yet remarkably tenacious, like a star‑fire that never dies in a dark night, stubbornly emitting the light of life and order.

The two breaths — one yin, one yang; one death, one life; one turbid, one clear — formed here an extremely fragile yet stably coexisting contradictory scene, their boundaries distinct, neither invading the other, yet strangely harmonious together.

Underfoot, the dark‑red "blood mud" ground began to show mottled changes in color and texture.

Some areas turned a deeper, near‑black dark red, exuding pure death, decay, and finality; stepping on them felt ice‑cold and piercing, as if they could suck the warmth from living beings.

Yet other areas faintly revealed a dim jade‑white luster — not bright, but like an essential gleam stubbornly showing through heavy filth; though weak, it resisted the surrounding killing qi's erosion, revealing a trace of immortal vitality that has endured myriad tribulations without fading.

The two‑colored lands interlocked like the finest puzzle, together forming the road ahead. "The yin‑yang qi… is beginning to show." Yu Liuli's iridescent halo on her gauze robe shifted slightly; her perception, the keenest and most delicate among the four, said: "The killing mist pervading here belongs to 'yin turbid,' governing death, the abyss, and chaos.

That thin yet tenacious vital breath belongs to 'yang clear,' governing creation, order, and growth.

These two, after countless ages of collision and wear in this place, have actually formed an extremely rare dynamic equilibrium, like the yin‑yang fish in the Taiji diagram that chase each other while rooted together.

Cang Xuan held the Star‑Lead Disk; its needle, no longer jumping, now pointed steadily straight ahead, the disk warming slightly, while the nebula‑bone at its center emitted an ever‑softer clear radiance, even resonating with the surrounding thin yang‑clear qi.

"The Star‑Lead resonance has strengthened; the place where yin and yang converge is not far ahead. This heartbeat… is very likely the core rhythm maintaining this balance zone, or in other words, the vital sign of an 'existence' that depends on this land."

He said gravely, "Everyone be careful — this balance zone forged from extreme opposing forces often has the strangest rules and the greatest concentration of danger.

Any external disturbance could shatter the fragile balance and trigger unpredictable chain reactions."

Wang Ping maintained his chaotic domain within a five‑zhang radius around himself, compressing and refining it to maximize concealment and defensive ability.

He keenly sensed that his domain here seemed to become more "active" and "sensitive.

Chaos inherently embraces yin and yang, giving birth to all things; here, the clearly separated yet coexisting yin and yang qi seemed to become the best "supplement" and "touchstone" for his domain.

Within the domain, the gray‑mist airflow circulated and accelerated on its own, more efficiently decomposing and assimilating invading yin‑turbid killing qi, while showing a peculiar "affinity" and "guidance" toward the thin yang‑clear qi.

He could even faintly feel the rotation of the chaotic star‑xuan on his chest resonating subtly with that distant low heartbeat.

For him, this environment actually felt somewhat like a fish in water, and the consumption to maintain his domain decreased slightly.

"This place seems beneficial to my cultivation," Wang Ping remarked briefly, without elaboration. Hearing this, Cang Xuan, Yu Liuli, and You Ying each flashed a look of realization and contemplation.

The four proceeded along the increasingly distinct yin‑yang boundary line, advancing toward the direction of the heartbeat. The sound grew louder and deeper, as if it were not coming from underground but directly echoing in their minds, shaking their nascent souls.

The surroundings grew ever stranger; the blood‑red thick mist thinned, the view widened, yet the light took on a weirdly distorted feel.

At times bright as day (when the yang‑clear qi was slightly stronger), at times dark as night (when the yin‑turbid killing qi prevailed), light and shadow alternated without pattern, yet there was an inner rhythm.

After advancing another roughly ten li, the view suddenly opened up, a breathtaking scene unfolding fully before the four.