He didn't dare to linger, quickly placing the three tokens into the grooves, uniting all nine!
Suddenly, a deafening roar, the sound waves possessing astonishing destructive power, churned up layers of dust, like an ancient beast rolling across the land...
"Boom!"
Endless gray divine light blazed across the firmament, and terrifying auras emanated from unknown sources.
With immense force, it pressed down, preventing everyone from daring to look up!
Suddenly!
"Weng~~!"
The endless gray divine light gradually dissipated, and streaks of lightning-like energy clashed before the mountain gate. A massive, azure spatial vortex gradually took shape, then spread out in all directions. The light it emitted caused everyone to avert their gaze, unable to look directly.
Those divine lights seemed to attack the very souls of beings. Not only Meng Tian, but all present felt dizzy and disoriented, their minds utterly blank.
It was as if they had fallen into a deep sleep, the heavens and earth inverted, the sun and moon vanished, and the void shattered inch by inch, appearing like waves on a vast ocean from afar.
Slowly, Guan Yu and the others began to adapt to this level of soul attack. This attack carried no killing intent; it was merely overwhelming at first. Once they adapted, it was no longer a significant issue.
"General Guan, how do you feel?"
Meng Tian grasped Guan Yu's wrist.
"I'm alright."
Guan Yu swayed precariously.
"This is the first time I've experienced an attack on the soul. If our souls weren't strong, we truly wouldn't have been able to withstand this move," Yue Yun's voice sounded.
"Do you think this is the Gu family's doing, or did this secret realm inherently possess soul attacks?"
"It's truly difficult to judge. If we could capture even a trace of this aura, we might have some clues, but as it stands, this divine light stings the soul but is formless and traceless, making it hard to ascertain."
Zi Hui closed her eyes. Buddhism had considerable understanding in this area.
After an unknown amount of time, the soul-piercing attack gradually subsided, and the endless gray divine light also dimmed...
All the beings immediately stood up, warily observing their surroundings, lest others act against them.
When everything had vanished, this land showed no substantial changes, nor did the spiritual energy become denser.
The originally formed azure spatial channel had completely disappeared. Above the mountain gate, only a carved figure appeared.
The carved figure stood with its back to them, immensely mysterious, its feet treading upon the eighty-seven Dao States of Xibai City, and above its head, endless divine lightning.
It felt as if everything in Xibai City was within its grasp.
"This figure should be the last City Lord of Xibai City, the Great Saint realm Xibai Yushan," Bu Fan Gu said in shock, gazing at the carved figure.
Since the fall of Xibai City's power, this land of eighty-seven Dao States had not produced a single Great Saint realm being.
It was unclear if it was due to a lack of divine power in the region or the inherent aptitude of Xibai City's inhabitants, but no Great Saint realm being had emerged, all stopping at the peak of the Saint realm.
"King Shengyou spoke correctly. I've seen this carving within my clan! It's identical," Yi Ri said, his hands trembling as he reached out in the void as if to grasp the carving. Just then, the old woman who accompanied Gu Duo'er stepped forward.
"For this secret realm to open, one final step is required."
"What step?"
Yi Ri's smile froze. He turned stiffly, looking at the old woman who had emerged.
"It requires the vital blood of your Xibai City inhabitants for this secret realm to open."
"To be frank, although our Gu family has explored this secret realm once, we did not manage to enter its core," she continued.
"Xibai Yushan had some tricks up his sleeve. Only Saints can enter the core. Perhaps he left a way out for the inhabitants of Xibai City."
"Our Gu family did not dare to excavate further, so you can all rest assured, Xibai Yushan's tomb remains completely intact."
"The vital blood of Xibai City's inhabitants?"
"I'll go first!"
Yi Ri regained his composure, walked to the mountain gate, and directly sacrificed a drop of his vital blood. The moment the vital blood flew out, it merged into the carved figure.
"I'll go!"
Zhen Gang followed closely, then Hai Lingyu, Jiao Fan...
Soon, for some unknown reason, these individuals became very proactive, sacrificing their vital blood one after another.
This troubled the old woman watching from the side. She had hoped to use this opportunity to see if the beings from the Great Han Dynasty were from Xibai City, but there was no chance for that.
"Weng!!"
Not long after, the carved figure began to emit streaks of golden light, and a virtual projection appeared above the mountain gate.
"I am Xibai Yushan!"
A hoarse voice resounded.
Instantly, everyone fell silent.
Even the old woman beside them was taken aback. When this secret realm was excavated before, nothing like this had occurred.
"This shouldn't be! We also used the vital blood of Xibai City's inhabitants back then, and this scene didn't appear. Could it be that there's a bloodline from the Xibai family within?"
"Who is it?"
She directly excluded the beings from the Great Han Dynasty, her divine sense lingering on Yi Ri, Zhen Gang, Hai Lingyu, Jiao Fan, and Bu Fan Gu.
"Never mind. So much time has passed. The Xibai family were merely pawns used by the eight great families to propagate their hegemony."
Meng Tian and the others held their breath, watching the projected phantom.
"I am Xibai Yushan, the last City Lord of Xibai City. Alas, at that time, the western territories were in chaos, and I was blinded by the pursuit of hegemony, solely focused on conquering the six hundred and eighty-seven Dao States of the west..."
His voice carried a hint of unwillingness and regret.
"The last decade was the peak of my life. On that day, Beili Jiang, Dongbiyuan, and Nanquan Hai approached me together. The four great powers united, intending to sweep away the Taigu Divine Mountain."
"Who would have thought... who would have thought!!"
"Just as we were about to sweep away the Taigu Divine Mountain, the eight great families of the Central Prefecture intervened. No one could withstand the thunderous wrath of those in higher positions..."
"Xibai City thus met its destruction in my hands. I was unwilling, and I had the intent to rise and seek revenge, but I ultimately could not escape their encirclement. Within this secret realm lies a part of my immortal scripture, which summarizes the cultivation experience of successive City Lords of Xibai City. Those who obtain it will benefit immensely!..."
At this point, Xibai Yushan's voice grew soft and tranquil, as if he had let go of everything. "Xibai City's original six hundred and eighty-seven Dao States were always one. Posterity, do not engage in self-slaughter for the sake of ephemeral hegemony. The rise of Xibai City was not easy; do not follow in my footsteps. Remember... remember."