Chapter 464: The Truth of Yage

At this very moment, low chanting sounds suddenly arose from all directions, and over a dozen black shadows emerged from every corner of the underground space. These black shadows were dressed in black robes, wearing silver masks on their faces, and each held a staff inlaid with a purple gemstone in their hands.

"It's the Void Believers!" Zhang Daoqing shouted sternly, "And they are all masters at the Elder level!"

Without waiting for the group to react, these Black-robed Men chanted in unison, and beams of black-purple energy shot out from the tips of their staves, weaving into a massive energy net that descended to envelop Lin Xuan and his party.

The seven Nascent Soul masters immediately formed a formation, each unleashing Secret Techniques to resist. The five-colored light and black-purple energy collided in the air, producing deafening explosions and blinding light.

"They were prepared! This is an ambush!" Luosang Renboqie held his Vajra Pestle, performing Tantric spells to block the attacks.

Lin Xuan quickly shielded Xiao Yuan behind him, flipped his right hand, and a Long Sword shimmering with white light appeared in his hand. This was a Spirit Energy Weapon specially crafted by the Cultivation Science Headquarters, capable of automatically adjusting according to the user's energy attribute. In Lin Xuan's hand, this sword glowed with a dual-colored Yin and Yang halo.

Three black-robed Elders separated from the crowd and charged directly at Lin Xuan. Their speed was astonishingly fast, leaving afterimages in the air with every step, and the staves in their hands emitted sharp whistling sounds as black-purple energy surged forward like a tide.

Lin Xuan met them with his sword, the Void-Reality Dual Power within his body erupting instantly. The sword light was like a rainbow, carving arcs in the air as it precisely struck the attacks of the three Elders. When the sword edge touched the black-purple energy, Lin Xuan felt a powerful suction; those Void Energy were actually being partially absorbed by his sword.

"Is this the origin of Void Power?" A thought stirred in Lin Xuan's heart, and he suddenly understood something.

Stimulated by the life-and-death crisis, the Void Power and Nature energy within his body began to fuse in a brand-new way, and a brand-new mental cultivation method formed naturally in his mind—"Void Purification Art".

Lin Xuan immediately circulated this new mental cultivation method, and he saw his sword blade begin to glow with a peculiar five-colored light; every swing could absorb the enemy's Void attacks, then purify and Zhuanghua them into his own power to counterattack.

"So that's it! Void Power itself is not evil, it is just a special form of energy; the key lies in the method of control and guidance!" Lin Xuan's heart suddenly cleared.

With this epiphany, Lin Xuan's combat power instantly rose to a new level. He no longer defended passively but took the initiative to attack, every sword strike precisely aiming for the vital points of the black-robed Elders. The three Elders were forced to retreat repeatedly, the eyes revealed beneath their black robes filled with shock.

However, during the exchange, Lin Xuan discovered a strange phenomenon—the eyes of these Void Believers were abnormally hollow, and their movements carried a certain mechanical quality, as if they were puppets controlled by some higher will.

"They are not acting on their own," Lin Xuan said to Xiao Yuan and the two Nascent Soul masters beside him, "They are being controlled by some kind of will!"

Before he could finish speaking, the crack at the top of the Jin Zi Ta suddenly expanded significantly, and a blinding purple light shot out from it, heading straight into the sky. Immediately after, a massive suction erupted from the crack, and the surrounding space began to twist and deform.

"No! Spatial collapse!" Zhang Daoqing shouted, attempting to cast a spell to stabilize the space, but the suction grew stronger and stronger.

The attacks of the Void Believers suddenly stopped; they turned in unison, as if having received some order, and quickly retreated to every corner of the underground space.

"Evacuate! Evacuate immediately!" Lin Xuan shouted to everyone, but it was already too late.

The crack at the top of the Jin Zi Ta opened completely, forming a massive vortex, and the powerful suction pulled Lin Xuan, Xiao Yuan, and Zhang Daoqing and Luosang Renboqie, who were closest to the Jin Zi Ta, directly into it. The remaining team members were blocked outside by a suddenly appearing energy barrier and could only watch helplessly as the four disappeared into the vortex.

Lin Xuan felt everything around him twisting; space and time seemed to lose their meaning. In this brief, seemingly eternal moment, he only had time to tightly grasp Xiao Yuan's hand, and then the two, along with the two Nascent Soul masters, fell into an unknown abyss.

Outside the Jin Zi Ta, the vortex vanished, the crack closed, and everything returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened. Only the traces of battle left on the ground and the horrified expressions of the team members left outside proved that everything just now was not an illusion.

After a long sensation of weightlessness, Lin Xuan felt his feet finally touch solid ground. He quickly steadied himself and looked around vigilantly, confirming that Xiao Yuan and the two Nascent Soul masters had all landed safely beside him.

"Where... is this?" Xiao Yuan asked softly, her voice carrying undisguised shock.

The scene before them was unbelievable: they were standing on a massive Floating Island, and in the distant sky, hundreds of islands of varying sizes floated, dotting the boundless Void like stars. On each island stood buildings of different styles—some were Jin Zi Ta, some were spires, and some were circular temples, clearly from different eras and civilizations.

The entire space was shrouded in a pale purple light; there was no sun, no moon, and not even a clear sense of up or down; the only light source seemed to come from the Void itself.

"We must have been transported to some special space," Zhang Daoqing of Longhu Mountain said while observing his surroundings, "The energy fluctuations of the space highly match Void Power; it is very likely a domain created by Yage."

Luosang Renboqie closed his eyes to sense for a moment and nodded slowly: "The flow of time here is different from the outside; I can feel a subtle sense of displacement."

Lin Xuan noticed that the island they were on was the largest of all the Floating Islands, located at the very center of the space. The island was covered with a layer of soft silver grass, and in the center stood a crystal-clear Crystal Palace, shining brilliantly under the illumination of the purple light.

"That should be the Core of this space," Lin Xuan pointed toward the Crystal Palace, "Let's go over and take a look."

The four walked cautiously toward the palace. As the distance shortened, Lin Xuan felt the Void Power within his body become increasingly restless, as if responding to some kind of call.

The palace had no door, only a semi-circular opening. The four passed through the opening and entered a circular hall. In the center of the hall floated a pulsing dark purple energy mass, about the size of a human head, emitting a faint but ancient aura.

"That is... Yage's origin consciousness!" Zhang Daoqing gasped, "The Void Creature that was rumored to have been completely destroyed actually still retained fragments of consciousness!"

As if it had heard Zhang Daoqing's words, the dark purple energy mass trembled slightly and then slowly drifted toward Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan did not retreat but stood calmly in place, staring directly at this entity that had once nearly destroyed the human world.