Chapter 600 - 539: Entering at Last

Chapter 600: Chapter 539: Entering at Last

As Chu Mu watched, Xie Yu and Zhao Yu followed Zhao Shuang, stepping one by one into the black-and-white passage.

Just as it had been with Zhao Shuang, right as they were about to vanish from sight, it was as if his vision blurred or space itself distorted. When he looked again, they were gone without a trace.

Logically, the situation seemed straightforward enough.

It was simply a matter of entering the rift to officially set foot in the Ruins Cave Mansion, only to be randomly teleported away.

But no matter how clear it seemed, this clarity didn’t come from his own understanding. It stemmed from the information recorded in the Jade Scroll.

He himself knew nothing about this Ruins Cave Mansion.

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, any unknown always meant unforeseeable danger.

This was, without a doubt, the first time he had ever faced such a situation.

In the past, whether facing a fortuitous opportunity or a perilous trap, he had never felt so completely in the dark, so shrouded in uncertainty.

He paused before the rift, weighing the pros and cons. After a long moment of contemplation, he took a tentative step and submerged himself in the intertwining black and white passage.

Chu Mu’s pace was unhurried, almost slow.

The view from the square looking into the passage was identical to the scene he witnessed now that he was inside it.

Black and white colors intertwined. The ground was made of flawless white Jade Stone, and walking on it felt like treading on solid ground, with no hint of anything unusual.

Chu Mu tried to observe his surroundings, but it was exactly as it had been when he peered in from the square. The roiling white mist was like a series of eggshells. If he couldn’t crack them, all he would ever see was their surface—this deceptive Illusion Array.

It was impossible to get even the slightest glimpse of what lay within.

’And to crack these layers of shells,’ he thought, ’I first need to understand their purpose, their function.’

’The problem is, at least for now, I don’t.’

’It’s a vicious cycle.’

After proceeding eighty zhang into the passage, Chu Mu stopped again.

Based on the Jade Scroll and his observations of Xie Yu’s group, the ninety-zhang mark seemed to be some kind of threshold.

The random teleportation had occurred only after all three of them crossed that ninety-zhang distance.

The only difference was how much farther each of them walked beyond that point before being teleported.

’There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play here.’

Chu Mu contemplated for a moment, then turned to Wangcai, who was shadowing his every step. With a wave of his hand, two palm-sized Jade Talismans, one large and one small, materialized and hovered above his palm.

The Mother-Child Unity Order.

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, it was a fairly common yet special type of treasure.

However, the most common variant was the Mother-Child Unity Talisman, a one-time-use consumable.

Its greatest function was to create a bond.

Once the mother and child talismans were activated, they created a connection between the bearers that ignored distance.

However, with a standard Mother-Child Unity Talisman, this connection was limited to mere Telepathy.

This meant one could roughly sense the other’s general direction, a perception that grew clearer as the distance between them shrank.

But his Mother-Child Unity Order was far more profound than the common talisman.

Telepathy was only one of its many wondrous abilities.

Through the paired Orders, one could sense the other’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit to determine if they were in danger. It also acted as a tether; during teleportation, if one bearer was swept into Spatial Turbulence, the other could pull them to safety, preventing a fatal accident.

Furthermore, Chu Mu had nurtured a Sword Intent Origin within the child Order. Around this origin, he had manifested a layer of Divine Protection Domain.

With this Order, Wangcai’s Heart Spirit would be protected to some extent, ensuring it wouldn’t be swayed or bewitched by outside influences.

Chu Mu casually tossed the child Order, which fell right into Wangcai’s mouth. The pup whimpered twice before swallowing the Token.

The Token had been specially refined for Wangcai; a wisp of Wangcai’s own Spirit Soul Origin had been incorporated into it during the Refining process.

A treasure like this naturally didn’t require further Refinement.

The moment Wangcai swallowed the treasure, a faint, almost imperceptible connection was established between them.

Within a few breaths, the connection strengthened from a faint whisper to a clear link, finally solidifying into an unbreakable bond between them.

"Let’s go."

Chu Mu patted Wangcai. With a flick of his sleeve, a faint ripple of Magical Power enveloped the pup. Wangcai seemed to sense it, lifting its head to glance at Chu Mu before lowering it again to survey their surroundings with renewed vigilance.

He took a step, crossing the ninety-zhang threshold. Chu Mu continued forward, one slow step at a time.

Ninety zhang, ninety-one zhang, ninety-two zhang...

One hundred zhang...

One hundred and one zhang...

At one hundred and eight zhang, Chu Mu paused once more.

He deliberated for a moment, a look of certainty on his face. He took another step, and this time, events unfolded just as he had anticipated.

As he completed the step, an overwhelming sensation of the world spinning crashed down upon him.

This time, the dizzying feeling of teleportation was far more violent and turbulent than before.

It felt less like an orderly teleportation and more like uncontrolled spatial chaos.

The world spun violently. The connection between his Divine Soul and his physical body felt as if it were being torn away. Chu Mu fought to remain conscious, but in the face of the nearly uncontrollable torrent, he only managed to hold on for a few short breaths.

In the final instant, a flash of color—neither black nor white—appeared before him. But before he could make it out, his vision went black. He nearly lost consciousness, his perception of the outside world completely severed.

But the loss of consciousness lasted for only a brief moment.

As his feet touched solid ground again, the violent, spinning sensation vanished, and his consciousness slowly returned.

"ROAR!"

"ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!"

A deafening roar suddenly exploded beside his ear. At the very instant his feet touched the ground, a wave of bloodthirsty, violent energy flooded his mind through the Telepathic link of the Mother-Child Unity Order.

Combined with the sudden roar of a Demon Beast, it was painfully obvious what was happening.

"Rise!"

Chu Mu didn’t even have time to see his surroundings. With a low shout, his immense Magical Power surged, and in an instant, a scorching crimson light radiated out for dozens of zhang.

Nine Fire Dragons shot into the sky, circling around him. A towering Ancient Tower materialized at his back, and in that same instant, a terrifying pressure swept across a radius of several hundred zhang.

Only then did Chu Mu get a clear look at his surroundings.

Yellow sand filled the sky beneath a blazing sun.

He was in a boundless Desert Sea with rolling sand dunes. Fire Attribute Spiritual Qi surged like a tide, mingling with the searing heat waves rising from the sands and causing space itself to warp.

On a dune not far in front of him, the sea of sand roiled as if it were alive. With every surge, faint glints of metallic coldness flashed within the churning sand.

The yellow sand swirled like a vortex. At its center was Wangcai, its Demon Body now swollen to a towering height of dozens of zhang.

Every roar, every swipe of its claws, tore gruesome gashes into the sandy vortex, and glimpses of crimson blood could even be seen staining the sand.

But these gruesome gashes would often vanish without a trace in the very next instant.

The violent aura churning within the sea of sand grew clearer and more intense...

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