Chapter 391: The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow forever

After speaking, he didn't wait for their reply, walked to the spell formation, placed his palms on it, and softly chanted a line of incantation.

The spell formation suddenly burst into blinding light, a strong surge of magical power nearly knocking the two over.

Moments later, the light faded gradually, and a portal of light appeared before them.

"I've opened the passage for you, please go in." Bai Lang gave a slight bow, gesturing for them to enter.

Lu Yuan and King Qi exchanged a glance, hesitated a moment, then stepped into the light gate.

Their vision blurred, and they suddenly arrived at a spirit-filled utopia. Lush, verdant trees embraced a humble cottage, brimming with vitality at a glance.

"This is the legendary sealing space!" Lu Yuan exclaimed.

Just then, the cottage door creaked open, and a white-bearded elder walked out leaning on a cane.

The old man was exactly the legendary great cultivator!

The two hurried forward, asking the elder to help permanently close the spatial rift and eliminate the monsters threatening the cultivation world.

The elder fell silent for a long time, then sighed: "In my youthful recklessness I used a secret method to create this place, intending to eternally seal demons. I did not expect endless troubles; now I am powerless to turn the tide. Only you young people might change all this. I have a secret manual here—take it; perhaps it will help seal the rift."

Having spoken, the elder produced a heavy stone chest, urged them to make good use of it, then turned into specks of starlight and vanished before their eyes.

Lu Yuan and King Qi returned once more to the turbulent cultivation world; before them loomed a suddenly appearing spatial rift, and terrifying monsters crawling out of it.

They steadied themselves and fearlessly plunged into the battle.

Whether the secret manual's power can aid them in closing the rift and destroying the monsters, restoring normality, will be revealed in the fierce battle to come!

Lu Yuan and King Qi exchanged a glance, nodded, and opened the secret manual. Inside lay an ancient sealing incantation that required both to perform simultaneously to take effect.

"It seems we must split up to restrain these monsters, buying time for the chant," Lu Yuan said.

"Alright, you chant; I'll handle them!" King Qi said without hesitation and charged into the monster horde.

Lu Yuan stepped aside and began chanting. King Qi's figure flickered among the monsters, unleashing spells in all directions.

A low hum resonated in the air as the chant echoed; the rift seemed to cease expanding, and the monsters gradually dared not approach.

The incantation recorded in the manual is called the "Soul-Severing Seal,"

a forbidden spell that separates a target's soul from its body and seals it permanently.

It requires two powerful cultivators to cast it together—one chants, the other controls the spell formation—to be effective.

Lu Yuan stood at the center of the formation, holding a magical implement, and began to chant the ancient incantation softly: "I obey the heavenly law, seize the evil spirits."

"Your flesh shall never recover from this day forth; your soul shall be eternally still, never to return!"

The chant's voice rolled like heavenly thunder; with each line, a golden pillar of light surged from the formation, piercing the sky.

Any monster that so much as touched a pillar emitted a shrill wail and turned to ash.

"Hum—hum—" Lu Yuan continued chanting; the surrounding light pillars grew more numerous, their light ever brighter and blinding.

The rift's expansion slowed noticeably; some monsters even retreated back into it, no longer daring to leap out.

The power of the "Soul-Severing Seal" incantation is significant; even monsters famed as immortal cannot escape its grasp. As long as the chant continues, the rift will remain firmly sealed.

Lu Yuan's face grew ever paler, for the chant drained immense magical power—only a mighty cultivator could sustain it. Yet to save the world, he must grit his teeth and continue.

King Qi, at the side, controlled the formation, continually expanding the pillars' range, turning more monsters to dust.

The two cooperated seamlessly; this life-and-death battle was beginning to tilt in their favor.

Under the combined bombardment of Lu Yuan and King Qi, the monsters pouring from the rift finally suffered heavy casualties, and their successive waves of fierce attacks gradually thinned.

Both grew breathless from prolonged use of great magic.

"Excellent, we've finally cleared an opening." Lu Yuan patted King Qi's shoulder.

But soon their joy was replaced by the sight before them—the void's rift not only failed to shrink, it was slowly expanding, faintly revealing turbulent malign energy within.

"Not good, the rift is still expanding!" King Qi frowned.

"It seems merely slaying the monsters isn't enough; we must find a way to permanently seal the rift," Lu Yuan pondered.

The two opened the secret manual again, carefully studying the sealing method.

"The sealing art mentioned here requires blood as sacrifice and the casting of a taboo-level incantation, at a great cost," King Qi translated the ancient text.

"What can we do? If we can seal the rift, no price is too high!" Lu Yuan declared firmly.

"Very well, since you have resolved, let me cast the forbidden spell; you shall aid me with all your strength to bind the rift's power."

"Be careful, this forbidden inflicts great harm upon the caster," Lu Yuan worriedly gazed at King Qi.

"Rest assured, I'll be fine. For the sake of saving the world, this sacrifice is nothing," King Qi gave a wry smile.

Thus, the two swiftly set up the formation; King Qi conjured a sharp longsword, fiercely slit his own arm, offered his blood, then sat at the formation's center and intoned the mysterious forbidden chant in a low voice.

Lu Yuan directed the other mages to guard the formation's perimeter, fully exerting to restrain the rift's power and prevent its expansion.

Only when King Qi uttered the final line of the chant did the rift emit a deafening roar, as if struck by a massive impact, and began to close slowly.

A massive crimson spell formation spun in the void, firmly locking the distorted space.

Yet at that very moment, King Qi at the formation's center had been weakened to the extreme; he tilted his body and fell from midair.

"King Qi!" Lu Yuan, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught him.

"Cough, I'm fine. Just exhausted my magical power." King Qi forced his eyes open, though his face was already as pale as paper.

"Rest quickly! I'll go find a healer!" Lu Yuan exclaimed anxiously.

Several healers arrived shortly after, treating King Qi's wounds, but their magical power had little effect on him, now on the brink of death.

"His injuries are too severe; we fear we cannot help," the chief healer said to Lu Yuan with a face full of apology.

"No! There must be a way! Even if I overturn heaven and earth, I will save him!" Lu Yuan said, eyes red.

He brought King Qi to visit renowned physicians across the lands for several days, yet none could cure him.

Finally, on a remote mountain path, Lu Yuan at last found a reclusive divine healer.

This hermit immortal had secluded himself for hundreds of years, his cultivation having reached the state of returning to simplicity and truth; even Lu Yuan could not discern his true appearance.

"His life hangs by a thread; if not for his strong spiritual root, he would likely have already gone to the netherworld. I can save him, but the treatment will be extremely painful—be prepared." That divine doctor said indifferently.

Lu Yuan agreed without hesitation.

Then, with the help of the divine doctor, King Qi was finally pulled back from the brink of the Ghost Gate, but he needed to recuperate in this mountain hut for several months before he could restore his mana and return to Xian Jie. (End of chapter)