Chapter 536

The rotation of the solar terms between heaven and earth resonated invisibly at this moment and in this place with the natural secret array and the altar.

"The time has come."

Chen Mu rose to his full height and walked toward the altar.

Ning Ning Zhixi and Daoist Daoist Zhuqing exchanged a glance, suppressing the excitement and slight nervousness in their hearts, and followed closely behind.

The three of them arrived at the top level of the altar.

Chen Mu’s gaze fell upon the recessed circular platform in the center of the altar and the complex four-colored array pattern on it.

"Place the Keys of the Four Seasons into their corresponding positions according to the pattern." Chen Mu looked at Ning Ning Zhixi.

Ning Ning Zhixi took a deep breath and stepped forward.

She first identified the four differently colored grooves on the array pattern.

Then, she placed the "Spring" token into the cyan groove in the east, the "Summer" token into the red groove in the south, the "Autumn" token into the golden groove in the west, and the "Winter" token into the black groove in the north.

The four keys entered the grooves, fitting perfectly.

Hum—

The altar trembled slightly, as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for ten thousand years had been quietly awakened.

The four tokens simultaneously erupted with dazzling four-colored brilliance.

Cyan, red, gold, and black—four beams of light shot into the sky, intertwining and rotating above the altar to form a four-colored light wheel that was identical to the array pattern below, yet larger and clearer.

The light wheel rotated slowly, emitting the majestic Dao rhyme of the cycle of the four seasons.

At the same time, the altar itself lit up with a warm, cyan-gray glow; those carved patterns of the four seasons and ancient runes seemed to have been injected with life, lighting up one by one and flowing with mysterious luster.

The seven-colored light membrane at the top of the valley, as if drawn by the four-colored light wheel below, also began to fluctuate violently, its center slowly bulging downward to form a vortex-shaped entrance to a passage.

Inside the passage, it was no longer the scene above the valley, but a deep, hazy spatial turbulence that seemed to lead to another world, where faint starlight could be seen flickering, and ancient auras drifted out.

"The portal is open!"

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing’s voice trembled.

"Is this the entrance to the Secret Treasury of the Four Seasons?"

Ning Ning Zhixi’s beautiful eyes were filled with wonder.

Chen Mu stared at the rotating four-colored light wheel and the spatial passage opened above, clearly sensing that the other end of the passage connected to a stable and independent space containing strange rules.

"Let's go."

Without further hesitation, Chen Mu took the first step, entering the area covered by the four-colored light wheel; his figure was swallowed by the light, and he then floated toward the spatial passage above.

Seeing this, Ning Ning Zhixi and Daoist Daoist Zhuqing also suppressed the last trace of anxiety in their hearts and followed closely, stepping into the light wheel and throwing themselves into that unknown spatial passage.

The moment they stepped into the spatial passage, a slight sense of dizziness and pulling came over them.

Immediately, their feet landed on a solid, warm ground that emitted a faint spiritual light.

Before them was a vast, mysterious space independent of the present world.

The firmament was not blue sky and white clouds, but a strange sky that constantly flowed and changed, presenting an interweaving of cyan, red, gold, and black, like an inverted painting of the four seasons.

Soft and bright light spilled down from the sky, illuminating the entire space.

At the core of the space was a majestic and continuous group of grand palaces.

The palaces were not of a uniform style but were clearly divided into four areas, connected to each other by white jade corridors, yet relatively independent.

In the eastern area, the palaces were nestled among towering ancient trees and exotic flowers and grasses, full of vitality, with green flowing everywhere, and the fragrance of plants and a vigorous life aura emanating from everywhere.

In the southern area, the palaces appeared golden and brilliant, with flying eaves, faintly surrounded by red clouds, and the air was filled with a faint heat and dryness; even the bricks and stones paved on the ground seemed to carry residual warmth.

In the western area, the palaces appeared simple and heavy, with dark gold and withered yellow as the main tones, surrounded by patches of strange trees covered with golden leaves, with falling leaves fluttering, carrying a complex artistic conception of killing and harvest intertwined.

In the northern area, the palaces were entirely ice-blue and silver-white, covered with crystalline ice and snow that never melted, with icicles hanging under the eaves, and the air was bone-chillingly cold, yet extremely pure.

The four palace groups jointly guarded a majestic main hall in the center, which was the tallest and entirely chaotic gray, as if fused from four colors.

Throughout the space, the energy was so dense that it turned into tangible spiritual mist, flowing slowly on the ground and between the palaces.

Plants were lush, spiritual herbs were everywhere, and exotic flowers and fruits emitted alluring luster and fragrance.

However, strangely, in such a vibrant place, there were no traces of birds, beasts, insects, or fish, and it was so quiet that only the rustling of wind through leaves and the faint humming of energy flow remained.

"Is this the secret treasury space?"

Ning Ning Zhixi looked at the magnificent and strange scene before her, her beautiful eyes full of shock.

"Such dense energy, such pure Dao rhyme of the four seasons! This place can be called a blessed land!" Daoist Daoist Zhuqing was also extremely excited; the "Jia Wood Spiritual Core" in his hand shone brightly here, autonomously absorbing the dense wood-element energy in the air.

"Let's look around first."

Chen Mu took the lead and walked toward the Spring Palace area, which was closest to them and located in the east.

Passing through a stone path filled with exotic flowers and spiritual energy, the three of them entered the scope of the Spring Palace.

The palace itself was elegant in style, with carved beams and painted rafters, but what attracted them was not the architecture, but the strange trees growing scattered in the courtyards in front of and behind the hall.

These trees were of various shapes, some with branches knotted like dragons, others with leaves as crystalline as jade.

Many trees bore fruits that were cyan, red, purple, or gold, emitting alluring spiritual light and fragrance.

The fruits varied in size; some were like cherries, some as large as fists, and others even like infants' heads, with mysterious patterns flowing on their skins.

"This is the 'Marrow-Cleansing Jade Spiritual Fruit'! It is rumored that consuming it can cleanse impurities in true Li Yuan and strengthen meridians!"

Ning Ning Zhixi pointed to a few pear-shaped, emerald-green fruits on a dwarf tree and said with pleasant surprise.

"Over there is the 'Dragon Blood Bodhi'! It can temper the body's blood and qi and enhance physical fitness!" Daoist Daoist Zhuqing also pointed to a vine entwined on a corridor pillar, on which hung a few Bodhi seeds as red as blood and crystalline clear.

"And the 'Soul-Nourishing Vermilion Fruit'! It has miraculous effects on nourishing the soul and strengthening spiritual sense!"

"This is the 'Earth Vein Mysterious Ginseng'! Looking at this age, I'm afraid it's no less than a thousand years!"

"..."

In the Spring Palace, various rare spiritual fruits and herbs that had long been extinct or were hard to find in the outside world could be seen everywhere, like melons and fruits in a common vegetable garden.

Moreover, they were of excellent quality and pure medicinal power, obviously nourished by the pure energy and the Dao rhyme of the four seasons here for countless years.

"Great! These spiritual items are of great benefit to our cultivation!"

Daoist Daoist Zhuqing was overjoyed and immediately began to carefully pick the mature spiritual fruits and herbs together with Ning Ning Zhixi.

They knew that Chen Mu had a higher vision and might not care for these, but for the two of them, this was already a tremendous opportunity.

Chen Mu indeed did not care for these.

He walked around the Spring Palace casually, his spiritual sense sweeping over to confirm that apart from these spiritual plants, there were no other special restrictions or dangers, nor were there any clues about the "Four Seasons Inheritance."

Although these spiritual items were good, for him, who had already stepped into the Heavenly Palace Realm and had a solid foundation, their effect was limited, at most adding flowers to a brocade.

Leaving the Spring Palace, they went to the Summer Palace, Autumn Palace, and Winter Palace in turn.

Without exception, each area had precious spiritual items, a few of which indeed had some auxiliary effects for Heavenly Palace Realm martial artists.

But that was all.

The true core inheritance was nowhere to be found.