Chapter 1033: A Skyward Anomaly

Han Li followed the sound and frowned.

He saw that on the white jade cushion where he had been sitting, a crack suddenly appeared, and then with a "crack," it shattered.

However, strangely enough, after the cushion shattered, it did not break into several pieces but instead turned into a layer of white powder, scattering throughout the hall.

At the same time, the entire golden hall began to tremble violently, and a strange fluctuation spread from within.

Han Li felt a slight surprise, then, as if thinking of something, he abruptly retreated, flying directly back to the white stone square.

Once outside the hall, he discovered that the shaking was even more intense than inside.

"Master, what's happening..." Ti Hun, seeing this, hurriedly flew over with the Essence Fire Bird.

"I don't know. It seems I triggered some mechanism in this immortal mansion's secret realm. Something is about to change within this realm." Han Li glanced at her and said thoughtfully.

"In that case, we should leave here quickly first." Upon hearing this, Ti Hun said hurriedly.

"What a pity..." Han Li nodded and sighed.

Clearly, there were still many secrets hidden within this immortal mansion secret realm, but there was no time to explore them further.

With that, the two turned around and were about to fly toward the rift in the high sky, but the moment they turned, both of them froze in place.

The void rift connecting the inside and outside of the secret realm had actually disappeared!

"How is that possible? The rift was just there a moment ago! If you don't believe me, ask Little Jingjing." Ti Hun's expression changed slightly as she said hastily.

The silver flame child still sitting on her shoulder quickly stood up upon hearing this and nodded heavily, the seven-colored flame on his head also bobbing up and down violently.

"I believe you. Something must have happened to this secret realm's space." Han Li nodded and said.

He had long noticed the changes in the Essence Fire Bird, but simply had no time to inquire about it now.

"By the way, during your seclusion, the secret realm experienced over a dozen tremors. The strongest one was when you broke through to the late stage. And this month, including this time, there have been four. With each tremor, the mist around the secret realm receded a little, and some new areas were revealed." Ti Hun added.

"Have you ever gone to investigate those places? Is there anything strange?" Han Li asked with a frown.

"I only went near them once and found nothing unusual. But after that, the tremors became more frequent, and I dared not leave without permission, so I have been waiting here," said the Soul-Devouring Beast, shaking its head.

Upon hearing this, Han Li frowned deeply. As he was pondering what this meant, the hall before him suddenly trembled with a loud bang, and a golden beam of light, a hundred zhang thick, blazed up from the hall and shot straight into the nine heavens.

Afterward, the tremors around the hall gradually subsided.

Seeing this, Han Li was filled with doubt. He leaped up, intending to approach the hall again for a closer look, but was repelled by an invisible force, unable to get near the door at all.

"Master, do you feel that the ground is slowly rising?" the Soul-Devouring Beast suddenly asked.

Han Li had been focused on the golden light earlier, but upon hearing this, he immediately became alert.

He flew up and looked around, only to see the gray mist at the edge of the secret realm churning violently, and inch by inch, new territories of land began to appear in his sight.

……

Outside the immortal mansion's secret realm, in the central part of the Jinyuan Mountains, at Green Silk Hollow.

The ground shook incessantly, emitting a tremendous noise, as if an earthquake were occurring.

"This, this is a dragon turning over!" The villagers of Yuliang Village rushed out of their homes to the open ground outside.

At that moment, a thunderous roar erupted from underground, and then a massive golden pillar of light suddenly rose from the direction of White Head Valley, shooting straight into the sky, piercing into the clouds, dyeing the clouds within hundreds of li golden.

The pillar of light was immensely thick, making even the nearby peaks seem insignificant in comparison.

Centered on the golden pillar of light, the primordial qi of heaven and earth fluctuated violently. The golden clouds in the sky churned unceasingly, emitting a rumbling sound like ten thousand horses galloping.

The villagers of Yuliang Village were dumbfounded at the sight.

"This is a divine miracle, the gods have manifested!" someone shouted. The villagers of Yuliang Village fell to their knees one after another, prostrating themselves toward the golden pillar of light.

Not to mention the ignorant villagers of Yuliang Village, to the southeast of Green Silk Hollow, seven or eight streaks of遁光 flew over, arriving nearby in an instant. They stopped in midair over ten li away from the hollow, and after the light converged, several cultivators appeared.

The leader was an old woman with graying hair at the Golden Immortal stage, holding a yellow snake staff. The others were all young men and women, each only at the True Immortal stage.

The several people were all dressed in uniform earth-yellow feathered robes, appearing to be from the same sect.

Looking at the strange phenomenon before them, the young men and women all showed excitement on their faces.

"Uncle Lin, such a phenomenon seems to indicate some treasure or a secret realm appearing. Let's go down and take a look quickly; it will be troublesome if others come later," a fair-skinned male disciple said excitedly to the gray-haired old woman.

The others also nodded in agreement, eager to try.

"Don't act rashly. This sight indeed signals a treasure's emergence, but the object hasn't fully appeared yet; going down now is useless. Moreover, this phenomenon is extraordinary and not something we can handle alone. Quickly send a message back to the sect and inform the sect leader of the situation here," the gray-haired old woman said, though also excited, she remained calm.

Hearing this, the young men and women behind immediately took action, each taking out communication arrays to contact the sect.

At that moment, two beams of light flew over from afar, arriving near the mountain hollow, revealing two sinister-looking black-robed cultivators, both with Golden Immortal cultivation.

"They are from the Black Fiend Sect," a young man behind the old woman said in a low voice.

"Pay them no mind. All of you come over here," the gray-haired old woman glanced at the two, then led the group to land on a nearby mountain peak.

The two black-robed cultivators looked at the gray-haired old woman's group, then withdrew their gaze, also flying to land on another peak, and took out communication devices to contact others.

The strange phenomenon of a massive golden pillar of light shooting into the sky in the central Jinyuan Mountains spread rapidly, and soon most forces within the mountains learned of it, with more and more people arriving.

In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed. The golden pillar of light not only weakened but showed a trend of growing stronger.

Inside the secret realm, Han Li stood within, his eyes bright.

As the realm trembled, the gray mist at the edges receded rapidly.

Now the space within the realm had expanded by about half, gradually revealing its true appearance.

On the left and right sides of the dense forest, two vast, towering golden mountain ranges emerged, soaring into the sky, like two heavenly walls forming a huge canyon that enclosed the dense forest.

The golden peaks on both sides, from halfway up, were shrouded in thick gray clouds, obscuring the true form of the mountains.

Most peculiarly, countless gray chains as thick as water vats hung down from the gray mist, reaching the foot of the mountains, like waterfalls.

Gray arcs of electricity flickered along the chains, crackling, looking quite terrifying.

Han Li flew down to the base of a peak, looked at the gray chains, hesitated briefly, then reached out and touched one.

A bolt of gray lightning shot out from the chain like a snake, striking him.

Han Li grunted, stepped back, and the spot where he was struck was charred black.

He circulated his immortal power, and the charred area quickly healed. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. The gray lightning was extremely powerful; even with his formidable physical body, he could barely withstand it.

And that was just a single bolt. If more lightning struck, he could not guarantee he would remain unscathed.

Han Li withdrew his gaze from the mountaintop. The space entrance behind him was a stable void. He looked toward the depths of the canyon formed by the two peaks, where the gray mist was steadily receding, revealing a path leading deeper into the realm.

He moved and flew toward it.

……

Meanwhile, within a thousand li around Qingsi Hollow, the area was densely packed with cultivators, numbering tens of thousands.

With many sects and forces, various territories, large and small, began to be demarcated. Lone cultivators could manage by finding a spot to stand, but sects with many members needed considerable space.

The area closest to the pillar of light was now unabashedly occupied by seven or eight sect forces.

The mountain peak originally occupied by the gray-haired old woman's group had been taken, and they were now pushed to the rear.

Three more had joined them: a sallow-faced middle-aged man, a seductive young woman, and a white-haired old man.

All three were Golden Immortals, especially the sallow-faced man, who had reached the late Golden Immortal stage. He stood at the front of the group, appearing to be the leader.

"Lingxiao Sect, Wangyou Pavilion, Lieguang City, Moxiang Tower, Qingsuo Valley, Lingyue Hall, Baiyun Villa! The top forces in the Jinyuan Mountains have all come, and they've taken our territory!" the gray-haired woman said, staring coldly at the foremost sects, especially those from Lingyue Hall, her voice heavy.

The territory they had previously occupied had been taken by Lingyue Hall.

"There's no help for it; we are weaker. Those sects have Taiyi realm experts. Our small Huangfeng Sect cannot compete with them," the sallow-faced man sighed.

"Based on our investigations these days, this phenomenon should be the emergence of a secret realm or immortal mansion. In treasure hunting, strength isn't everything; luck matters more," another middle-aged woman snorted, saying.

The others, though knowing these words were mostly self-consolation, still nodded in agreement.

"Strange, the Tongtian Sword Sect and Tianshui Sect are not in the Jinyuan Mountains and are too far away, so it's understandable they haven't come. But why haven't we seen anyone from the Immortal Palace?" the white-haired old man said with a frown.