Chapter 126

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Chapter 126: Reunion

An ancient voice suddenly echoed through the air. The entire seventh level shattered as if struck by immense force, stone fragments whirling through howling gales.

Ouyang Wentian and the others paled. This hoarse voice seemed to originate from the distant stars, impossible to locate yet ringing clearly in everyone’s ears.

"Do you believe my Secret Vault permits casual entry and exit?"

Though Ouyang Wentian’s group had reached late-stage Foundation Establishment, the voice’s overwhelming pressure froze them in place.

The master of Hualun Secret Vault… still lived?

Disbelief gripped them. Hualun, the Golden Pill master who established this vault, belonged to an era a millennium past. Could she have survived within this great tomb all this time?

Impossible!

Yet the collapsing Hualun Hall and flying debris forced acceptance. If true, this entire exploration reeked of conspiracy – luring the realm’s most talented cultivators into a trap.

Unlike Ye Yun, Ouyang Wentian possessed keen insight. His face whitened as dreadful realization struck.

Body seizure. Had Hualun lured exceptional cultivators here to steal their physical forms?

The Sixth-layer Foundation Establishment celestial realm granted nine hundred and ninety-nine years of lifespan. But without breaking through to Nascent Soul, none could surpass a millennium. If this voice truly belonged to Hualun, her original body must have crumbled to dust long ago. She’d preserved her consciousness through secret techniques, awaiting new hosts.

"Stay orderly! Follow me back through the starry path!"

Ouyang Wentian’s commanding shout steadied the panicked crowd. They swarmed toward him, scrambling onto the intact sections of the starry path.

Within moments, the group traversed the luminous pathway to the sixth level.

Hualun’s voice didn’t resurface after triggering the hall’s collapse. The crumbling structure offered no resistance as they fled.

The sixth level’s walls webbed with cracks, moments from disintegration. Suddenly, the last figure on the starry path veered into the starry void.

"Du Jianyin! Return at once!" Du Jianming roared.

"That leaper carries sword manuals from Golden Pill masters!" Du Jianyin’s voice faded as he arrowed into the cosmic expanse, his form blurring into sword-like radiance.

Du Jianming seethed helplessly. While vault treasures mattered little, losing the Du family’s prodigal heir meant unbearable consequences. Experts claimed even the Golden Pill Dao couldn’t limit Du Jianyin’s potential.

No time remained for retrieval. The shuddering tomb demanded immediate evacuation before total collapse entombed them all.

Meanwhile, Ye Yun discovered the "starry sky" wasn’t celestial reality but Hualun’s ancient spatial array – an endless illusion meant to ensnare the ignorant until their spirits faded.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the false cosmos above him. Within half an incense stick’s time, lightning-like fractures split the void, thousand-zhang rifts tearing reality.

BOOM!

The starscape imploded. Falling stars streaked meteor trails across Ye Yun’s vision, breathtaking yet harmless. Projectiles phased through his body – mere phantoms of the crumbling Deceptive Array.

This grand spectacle held no more substance than a child’s soap bubble.

Splash!

Ye Yun felt his body plummet into the icy seawater, dark and bottomless like ink.

"Who’s there?"

A sharp shout rang out the moment he fell. Flickers of light and shadow accompanied an attack speeding toward him from the left.

Using the water’s buoyancy, Ye Yun shifted sideways to evade effortlessly. He spun around, ready to strike back.

His raised fist froze mid-swing.

Qu Yiping. The face before him belonged to Qu Yiping.

Qu Yiping’s eyes widened in shock. "Ye Yun?"

"Qu Yiping." Ye Yun chuckled. "Fancy meeting you in this endless sea of the third layer."

Qu Yiping’s expression flickered like he wanted to speak, but he merely nodded stiffly.

Ye Yun missed the momentary shift in Qu Yiping’s face. His own heart raced – though only a day had passed since entering this layer, every breath here carried mortal danger. This single day felt longer than a century.

"Did you come alone, Senior Brother Qu? Or with Duan Chenfeng’s group?" Ye Yun asked casually.

Qu Yiping’s cheek twitched. "Why arrive so late? We’ve been here nearly a day. Nothing but empty ocean – no treasures anywhere."

"I was…" Ye Yun caught himself. "Chased in the second layer. Shook them off before finding the entrance."

He’d almost blurted out his earlier arrival and treasure haul, but bit back the words in time.

Qu Yiping frowned silently.

"Who’d you meet, Senior Brother Qu?"

A familiar voice carried across the waves. Three figures emerged on the water’s surface, led by a slender girl in fluttering robes.

Su Ling?

Ye Yun stared. Shouldn’t she have left the great tomb? Why was she here? And flanked by Duan Chenfeng and Yu Minghong?

Su Ling’s gaze locked onto him across the hundred zhang. She froze mid-step.

"Su Ling!" Ye Yun shot toward her like an arrow.

The girl stood transfixed. Tears suddenly streaked her cheeks as she crashed into his chest.

"Why?" Her fists pounded his back between sobs. "Why come here?"

Ye Yun simply held her, fingers combing through her hair.

"Found him! We found Senior Brother Ye Yun!" Yu Minghong’s excited cry broke the moment.

Ye Yun released Su Ling, nodding at the newcomers. "Senior Brother Duan. Junior Brother Yu."

"We met Senior Sister Su Ling in the second layer," Yu Minghong blurted. "She brought us!"

Duan Chenfeng grinned. "You arrived first, Ye Yun. Find any treasures?"

"Only half a step ahead of you." Ye Yun shrugged. No harm admitting this much to Duan Chenfeng.

Behind them, Qu Yiping’s face darkened.

"You must’ve seen it," Duan Chenfeng pressed. "That Water Cloud Hall floating on eighteen Water Columns – all rippling water. Get anything good inside?"

Ye Yun shook his head. "Peak Master Ouyang’s group already held it when I came. At body refinement stage, I’d get slain for breathing wrong near them."

"Then where’d you go?" Yu Minghong leaned forward.

"Deep diving." Ye Yun gestured at the ocean. "Nothing below but water. All treasures must be in Water Cloud Hall."

Qu Yiping snorted. "Since when can body refinement cultivators plumb ocean depths?"

Ye Yun didn’t bother turning. Qu Yiping’s cultivation wasn’t worth his notice now.

"Azure-eyed crystal beast hide makes fine water garments. Depth means nothing."

Duan Chenfeng’s jaw dropped. "The level eight deep-sea beast?"

"Enough pretending!" Qu Yiping snapped. "But keep your treasures. Senior Sister Su Ling promised rewards for finding you."

Su Ling’s brow furrowed beside Ye Yun.

"What do you want?"

Qu Yiping’s smile turned sharp. "One top-grade spiritual weapon. A Celestial Technique above eighth tier. Hundred Spirit Nourishing Pills."