After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 48

In the square before the white jade palace, a brief alliance had been forged with the Heart Demon Vow, but the tension in the air hadn’t dissipated; rather, it felt like an ever-tightening bowstring. Everyone’s goal was fixed on the tightly shut palace gate, which shimmered with the powerful light of an ancient restriction.

However, just as the crowd was employing all their skills—some studying the celestial trajectories, others testing the restriction’s nodes—trying to find a way to open the palace gate, another anomaly occurred!

It didn’t come from the palace, but from the suspended white jade square beneath their feet!

Rumble!

A corner of the square’s edge abruptly and without warning collapsed downwards, revealing a pitch-black opening leading to unknown depths! A surge of energy, far more ancient, desolate, and even carrying a hint of wild antiquity than the palace’s aura, permeated from the opening, like a behemoth that had slept for eons awakening!

The fluctuation was so intense it instantly drew everyone’s attention!

“What’s happening?”

“There’s something down there?”

“Such an ancient aura! Could it be that beneath this white jade square, another Cave Abode is hidden?”

Exclamations arose. Even the usually composed leading female cultivator of the Azure Water Pavilion and the top geniuses of the Profound Cloud Sect turned their suspicious and questioning gazes towards the suddenly appearing hole.

Unlike the sacred and majestic aura of the palace above, the aura emanating from this opening was more primitive and restrained, yet it seemed to contain deeper secrets.

A thought stirred in Ye Li’s heart. The fragment of the Reincarnation Mirror deep within her soul transmitted a yearning and a more distinct tremor than when it previously sensed the Ice Soul Spirit Fruit and the mysterious beast skin! It pointed directly at that dark hole!

“Down there… is something extremely important to the Reincarnation Mirror!” She made an instant judgment.

Almost simultaneously, many perceptive geniuses also sensed the extraordinary nature of the depths of the hole, and their eyes became heated. Compared to the seemingly magnificent but strongly restricted white jade palace, this suddenly appearing, ancient-aura hole perhaps contained a more direct and more easily obtainable opportunity!

“Let’s go down and see!” Someone shouted, and immediately seven or eight figures, unable to restrain themselves, turned into streaks of light and rushed into the dark hole!

With someone taking the lead, more people became eager to move. After all, the palace restriction seemed indefinitely unbreakable, and this ready-made cave abode was right before their eyes!

Gao Sheng’s eyes flickered. He exchanged a glance with the Heavenly Fiend Sect disciples beside him and led his people down. Shi Feng followed closely.

Su Wanyun, Han Li, Chen Mo, and the other Profound Cloud Sect disciples hesitated briefly, but seeing many others descend, they also decided to go and investigate.

Qin Yixuan looked at her Azure Water Pavilion companions. The leading female cultivator nodded slightly: “Opportunities depend on individual ability; proceed with caution.” The Azure Water Pavilion group also leaped into the opening one after another.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the people in the square had left.

Ye Li did not hesitate for a second. With a flash of her figure, she too plunged into the darkness. Following her, a few more stragglers caught up.

Below the opening, it wasn’t a vertical drop but a broad, deep, inclined passage. The stone walls on both sides were smooth as mirrors, engraved with ancient murals and runes that had long been lost, emitting a faint light that barely illuminated the way ahead. The air was filled with the scent of dust and the passage of time.

After descending about a hundred zhang, the view suddenly widened!

A colossal underground cavern appeared before the crowd. Embedded in the ceiling were countless luminous pearls that glowed on their own, like stars, illuminating the cavern. In the center of the cavern, there was not the imagined scene of piled treasures, but a simple, unadorned, and even somewhat dilapidated cyan stone palace. The stone palace’s gate was tightly shut, without any lavish decoration, only two ancient characters—”Inheritance”!

These two words seemed to contain some great Dao truth, inspiring awe at a glance.

And surrounding the stone palace was a thin, yet seemingly unbreakable, transparent light barrier—it was this light barrier that radiated the powerful restriction fluctuation!

“The Inheritance Cave Abode!” Someone cried out in surprise, their voice filled with excitement and greed!

Inheritance! This meant the possible legacy, cultivation methods, and secret techniques left behind by an ancient Great Power! Its value could, in some respects, even surpass the physical treasures that might exist in the white jade palace!

Everyone’s breathing became heavy, and the greed in their eyes almost materialized!

However, that seemingly thin light barrier made everyone dare not act rashly. The lesson of trying to force their way into the white jade palace was still fresh in their minds.

A disciple from a small family, skilled in formations, cautiously stepped forward, took out a compass and other items, and began to deduce the restriction. A moment later, he retreated, his face pale, shaking his head: “It’s no use! This restriction is naturally formed, connected to the entire underground leylines. Forcing an attack will likely trigger the collapse of the entire cavern, and no one will survive!”

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the crowd’s heads.

“Then what do we do? Do we just watch the treasure without being able to enter?”

“There must be another way!”

Just as the crowd was growing anxious, Ye Li quietly observed the light barrier and the stone palace gate. She noticed that although the restriction was powerful, its energy flow seemed to follow a unique rhythm, and… it faintly resonated with the yearning produced by the Reincarnation Mirror fragment.

She tentatively, and extremely discreetly, released an imperceptible thread of her Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture spiritual energy, simulating that rhythm, slowly probing the light barrier.

Something miraculous happened! The spiritual energy was not repelled; instead, it silently merged into the light barrier, like a drop of water dissolving into the ocean! The light barrier rippled slightly, seemingly… not rejecting her?

“Could it be… this inheritance is related to the Reincarnation Mirror, or perhaps to extremely Yin and cold cultivation methods like the Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture?” A storm raged in Ye Li’s heart.

But she dared not reveal the slightest hint. She was already a target of suspicion; if it were discovered that she might possess the key to opening the restriction, she would surely become the target of everyone’s attack!

She nonchalantly retracted her spiritual energy and continued to observe with cold eyes.

At this moment, the leading female cultivator from the Azure Water Pavilion spoke again: “Everyone, since forceful breaking of the restriction is not advisable, perhaps we can try to use skill to overcome power. I observe that the energy flow of this restriction seems to have a pattern. Maybe by combining the strength of everyone and inputting spiritual energy with a specific frequency and attribute, simulating its operation, we might find a way to open it.”

This suggestion was approved by many. After all, it seemed to be the only feasible method for now.

Soon, the remaining thirty or forty people reached a consensus. They surrounded the light barrier and, under the direction of a few experts in formations, began to cautiously channel their spiritual energy into the light barrier, trying to adjust the frequency to resonate with it.

Ye Li also mingled in the crowd, feigning to output a weak stream of Cloud Water Art spiritual energy (her surface cultivation method), but secretly sensing the changes in the light barrier and the attributes of the crowd’s spiritual energy.

Gao Sheng, Qin Yixuan, and other top geniuses also gave their all, their pure spiritual energy constantly surging in. The light barrier began to hum, its glow flickering, seeming to be genuinely affected!

However, after a long attempt, although the light barrier’s fluctuations intensified, there was still no sign of it opening. Everyone’s spiritual energy consumption was immense, and many faces showed fatigue.

“It’s no good! The attributes are too mixed! We can’t form an effective resonance at all!” A disciple cried out in frustration.

Just as the crowd was about to give up, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

The two characters “Inheritance” on the stone palace gate suddenly lit up with a soft glow! Immediately after, a few lines of ancient text appeared on the light barrier:

“The fated one shall arrive; sincerity of heart shall lead the way. Only those of Extreme Yin and Cold disposition, with Pure Divine Soul, and holding Deep Obsession may enter.”

The text flashed and disappeared, and the light barrier returned to its original state.

But these few simple phrases were like cold water dropped into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire scene!

Extreme Yin and Cold! Pure Divine Soul! Deep Obsession!

These three conditions were like three invisible sieves, blocking the vast majority of people outside the door!

Many people’s faces turned incredibly grim, especially those disciples who cultivated Yang and Fire attribute methods, like Gao Sheng and Shi Feng, whose faces were livid! They clearly did not meet the “Extreme Yin and Cold” condition!

As for “Pure Divine Soul” and “Deep Obsession,” they were even more mysterious and difficult to define.

Everyone’s gaze began to involuntarily sweep across the people present, especially those disciples who cultivated Yin and cold attribute methods!

Ye Li’s heart pounded! These three conditions seemed tailor-made for her! The Nether Sovereign Emperor Scripture was Extreme Yin and Cold! She had been reborn and passed through the cycle of reincarnation, making the essence of her divine soul powerful and unique (which could be called pure)! Her obsession with revenge and the pursuit of the Dao was deeply ingrained!

Could it be… this inheritance was truly waiting for her?

She felt several gazes fall upon her. Qin Yixuan’s gaze was probing, while Gao Sheng and the others’ gazes were filled with jealousy and murderous intent!

In front of the cave abode, the situation instantly became incredibly delicate. The real test, it seemed, was only just beginning.