Chapter 122: Moonlight Forest, Starfall Abyss

A pinpoint ice arrow shot forth, striking a lava tentacle dead-on; its extreme cold erupted, instantly freezing and shattering the limb!

But more tentacles surged from the river, and at its center, a massive bulge of magma rose—a colossal lizard-like beast, entirely forged from molten rock, slowly lifted its burning gaze to lock onto the two, then unleashed a searing torrent of lava!

“It’s a Lava Crystal Beast! Peak Wang Jie!” Jiang Xia recognized the elemental creature.

“Don’t block it—use speed to get past!” Jiang Xia grabbed Ye Lingxi’s hand, his left eye’s Eternal Mangekyō pattern flashing, “Kamui!”

Kamui activated; their bodies instantly phasing out of reality, the lava breath passed through empty air. Seizing the opening, Jiang Xia targeted the opposite bank and hurled a kunai!

“Flying Thunder God Technique!”

The next instant, their figures appeared beside the kunai on the far shore. Turning back, the Lava Crystal Beast roared in fury—but could not leave the river of molten rock.

Having crossed successfully, the two took brief rest, then pressed deeper into the inner zone.

The second trial’s environment shifted into a dark forest, its trees’ leaves glowing a cold, silvery-white, while a hazy moonlight flowed across the sky, rendering the entire woodland serene yet eerie.

This was the Moonlight Forest.

As soon as they stepped inside, both felt dizzy and disoriented; the surroundings twisted and overlapped.

“It’s a genjutsu!”

Jiang Xia instantly alert, his Sharingan’s high resistance to illusions allowed him to instantly perceive the moonlight permeating the forest carried intense mental interference.

He turned to Ye Lingxi and saw her eyes already glazed—clearly affected.

“Lingxi, hold your mind!” Jiang Xia snapped, his left Sharingan pulsing with power; a cool aura enveloped Ye Lingxi, dispelling the illusion’s influence.

“Thank Itachi,” Ye Lingxi breathed, still shaken. “This genjutsu is terrifying—silent and unseen.”

“Stay close—I can see through illusions with my Sharingan.”

Jiang Xia took her hand, his Sharingan fully active as they moved swiftly through the forest.

In his vision, the twisted illusions were crude theater; the true path stood clear.

Yet the Moonlight Forest’s trial went deeper. As they advanced, strange creatures called Mirror Shadows began appearing.

They had no fixed form, flowing like mercury, perfectly replicating the appearance, aura, and even partial abilities of intruders!

“Shhh!”

A figure identical to Ye Lingxi suddenly darted from behind a tree, ice spikes Ningju in hand, stabbing toward the real Ye Lingxi!

“Watch out!” Jiang Xia reacted instantly, drawing Kusanagi; Chidori surged along the blade as he slashed at the mirror image.

The mirrored Ye Lingxi moved just as swiftly, forming an ice shield to block—but her copied abilities fell short; the Chidori tore through the shield effortlessly, and the mirror image dissolved.

“It even replicated my Xuanming ability to seven or eight percent…” Ye Lingxi’s face darkened.

Immediately, more mirror images emerged—copying Jiang Xia, Ye Lingxi, even their combined combat stances—attacking from all sides.

“We must find the original—or locate their core!” Jiang Xia parried the mirror image of his Susano’o skeleton while scanning meticulously with his Sharingan.

“There!” Ye Lingxi suddenly pointed to the trunk of a massive Moonlight Tree, where a crystal, shifting colors like an eye, was embedded—“All these mirror images draw power from that!”

“Cover me!”

Jiang Xia understood; Ye Lingxi immediately unleashed her full power, the Ice Phoenix Feathers blazing brightly, “Xuanming—Absolute Zero Domain!”

Instantly, a vast area was engulfed in absolute zero cold; every mirror image’s movements slowed drastically.

Jiang Xia seized the moment, his body blurring like lightning, Kusanagi thrust straight at the strange crystal!

“Crack!”

The crystal shattered on impact; all mirror images froze, then vanished like bubbles.

Having broken the Moonlight Forest’s illusions and mirror shadows, the two finally reached the edge of the secret realm’s core zone.

The entrance to the core zone was a bridge spanning an endless abyss.

The bridge was not solid—it was woven from countless tiny blue starlight fragments, resembling a river of stars.

Beneath it yawned a bottomless darkness that swallowed all light, radiating a chilling, soul-rending aura.

And the bridge was anything but calm—violent starstorms swept across it at intervals, chaotic currents of highly condensed star energy capable of shredding the spiritual defenses of Wang Hou cultivators.

“This bridge is unstable—stepping on it demands extreme balance and precise control over energy,” Jiang Xia observed the flow patterns of the star bridge.

“I’ll go first,” Ye Lingxi whispered, her toe lightly touching the star bridge; her ice spiritual energy condensed beneath her feet, stabilizing her stance.

She stepped forward slowly, her form graceful as if dancing upon a river of stars.

Jiang Xia followed closely, his Sharingan locked onto the energy flows, predicting gaps between the starstorm fragments; they moved in tandem, cautious and deliberate.

Midway across the bridge, the fiercest starstorm struck! Blue star fragments, like billions of razor blades, howled toward them!

“Susano’o!”

Jiang Xia didn’t hesitate—he instantly activated the half-body skeletal form of Susano’o, shielding them both. The starstorm slammed into the Susano’o’s bones, screeching with friction, leaving behind streaks of white marks.

“Move! This storm drains my spiritual energy fast!” Jiang Xia growled, forcing forward against the storm.

Ye Lingxi, ahead, continuously formed ice walls to ease the pressure on Susano’o.

Finally, as their spiritual energy neared depletion, they crossed the Meteor Bridge unscathed and stepped into the core zone of the Three Lights Secret Realm.

The core zone was a relatively tranquil valley, its center holding a spring no larger than ten square feet.

The spring did not flow with ordinary water—it poured forth a liquid interwoven with gold, silver, and blue, radiating immense life energy and soul vibrations!

Three Lights Holy Water!

Above the holy spring, three extraordinary flowers floated silently, rotating slowly, each radiant with shifting light.

Sunlight Flower: shaped like a blazing sun, its petals golden, faint golden flames dancing upon them, radiating Jizhi light and heat.

Moonlight Flower: shaped like a crescent moon, entirely silver-white, shrouded in cool, hazy moonlight, serene and mysterious.

Starlight Flower: resembling the night sky, its deep blue petals speckled with countless tiny glimmers, brimming with vast stellar power.

At this moment, factions from all sides arrived, surrounding the spring.

Akatsuki Jin, Du Gu Yun, and Cui Jue were among them, alongside elites from other clans and sects, and several powerful hermits.

All eyed each other warily; the atmosphere crackled with tension.

Jiang Xia and Ye Lingxi’s arrival immediately drew every gaze.

Cui Jie nodded to him; Du Gu Yun stood with arms crossed, eyes sharp; Akatsuki Jin regarded Jiang Xia with a grim expression.

The struggle for the spring was about to ignite!

Someone struck first—a spell shot toward the holy spring, instantly triggering chaos across the entire scene.