Chapter 111: The Mysterious Portrait

As Liang Yan followed the others out of the secret passage, his eyes fell upon a chamber several dozen yards wide. The room was empty and bare, devoid of any furnishings. If there was anything unusual, it was the numerous inscrutable Daoist patterns carved upon the walls.

But no one’s gaze lingered on these carvings, for not far ahead, three figures knelt with bowed heads, their backs turned to the group.

To find three living beings here at this moment was something Yun Xuzi and the others could never have anticipated.

Liang Yan was equally startled. Raising his eyes, he saw that the three were kneeling before a portrait hanging on the opposite wall. The image depicted an elderly man holding a long sword inverted in his right hand, his left hand concealed behind his back.

Yet no matter how intently Liang Yan focused, he could not discern the man’s features.

The sensation was eerie, as if the man stood before you, yet his visage remained an enigma, fading even from memory afterward.

Shaking his head, Liang Yan tore his gaze away from the portrait.

Beneath it stood an offering table, upon which three sandalwood incense sticks curled their smoke upwards. At each end of the table flickered a candle, casting a dim yellow light. The faint illumination seen earlier in the passage had clearly emanated from here.

These incense and candles seemed to have burned here for countless years without ever dwindling, clearly no ordinary items.

Qin Yuan and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators looked on with faces full of suspicion and doubt, unsure how to break the silence and remaining rooted to the spot.

Only the smiling-faced monk wore an odd expression, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the back of one of the kneeling figures, disbelief plain upon his countenance.

Silence lingered for a long moment before Li Zheng was the first to break it. He stepped forward, clasping his fists toward the three kneeling figures without concern if they could see him, and spoke:

“Ahem, we are the sect masters of the Six Sects of Zhao. I am Li Zheng, a scholar afflicted with illness. May I ask your names, esteemed Daoist friends, and when you arrived at this place?”

At his words, everyone held their breath, hands instinctively reaching toward their storage rings, waiting to see how the three would respond.

Yet the three remained motionless, as if deaf and blind, kneeling still without the slightest reply.

Seeing this, Li Zheng cleared his throat again and said, “Why feign deafness and muteness, fellow Daoists? Since you have come to this place, surely you seek the treasures and opportunities it holds. Why not discuss together how we might escape? As for the division of the treasures afterward, that can also be negotiated.”

As he finished, Li Zheng suddenly glimpsed the little finger of the man on the right twitch slightly. Instantly alert, he retreated two steps backward.

Then, the three kneeling figures slowly rose to their feet and turned around simultaneously.

“Brother Huizhi!”
“Daoist Xu!”

Two exclamations rang out simultaneously among the group, spoken by the smiling-faced monk and Yun Xuzi respectively.

“Why? Do you two recognize those before you?” The Crane Lady furrowed her brow and asked them coldly.

Yun Xuzi and the smiling-faced monk exchanged a glance, each wearing a wry smile. The smiling-faced monk pointed toward the large-eared monk on the right and began:

“How could we not? The one on the right is my fellow apprentice brother, the monk named Huizhi!”

“What? How could he be here?” The Crane Lady’s face was incredulous, and the others looked at the smiling-faced monk with puzzled expressions.

“I cannot say for certain about this monk, but Brother Huizhi was among the first group of cultivators to enter this secret realm to explore.”

“That’s right!” Yun Xuzi added, “As far as I know, the man in the middle is surnamed Xu, an old acquaintance of mine who also took part in this exploration. But as everyone knows, those who entered back then all perished here, with only one escaping to ascend. Why he now kneels here, I am equally unaware.”

“No matter what twists lie within, I doubt these three are truly the same people we once knew,” Li Zheng interjected suddenly.

At his words, everyone focused intently on the three figures opposite.

The trio stood motionless, their eyes vacant. Not only did they fail to respond to the discussions, but they also let their arms hang loosely at their sides, expressionless and indifferent.

“Could they have been soul-controlled? Or perhaps their consciousness has been sealed?” The Crane Lady asked, her face full of doubt.

Before she could say more, the man in the middle suddenly extended his right index finger, pointing into the void toward the crowd.

At that point, ripples visibly stirred the air, and an overwhelming pressure descended upon everyone, causing each person to feel as if that suffocating finger hovered above their chest, ready to strike.

“Golden Core Master!”

Someone shouted suddenly, and the group exchanged horrified glances, seeing despair mirrored in one another’s eyes.

The cultivators’ true power was now fully revealed: they were all Golden Core stage!

In the next instant, everyone felt as if their chests had been struck by a heavy blow. Like kites cut loose, they were all hurled backward.

“Bang!”

Liang Yan slammed against the stone wall, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood, his aura rapidly fading. Struggling to sit up, he looked around to see the Foundation Establishment cultivators were far worse off, all sprawled on the ground, unable even to sit.

“This is impossible! Brother Huizhi was only a late Foundation Establishment stage cultivator back then. How could he have condensed a Golden Core in just ten years?” The smiling-faced monk lay on the ground, disbelief written across his face.

“Indeed. These cannot be the Daoist friends we once knew. They must be controlled by some divine power left behind by the master of this place. Back then, Brother Xu was only a late Foundation Establishment cultivator as well. For him to possess such power now means the strength buried here is no ordinary matter,” Yun Xuzi said gravely.

In truth, not only did the smiling-faced monk and Yun Xuzi feel astonished—Liang Yan’s heart was filled with shock as well.

Golden Core Masters were exceedingly rare. Even Yixing Pavilion, the renowned Confucian sect of Zhao regarded as the foremost in the nation, had no more than a handful. Yet here, three appeared simultaneously. Such power could serve as the very foundation of a sect and must not be taken lightly.

As the group struggled on the ground, the cultivator surnamed Xu ceased his divine power and stood still.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief and began to circulate their cultivation techniques to heal their injuries.

But the large-eared monk named Huizhi moved again.

With a flourish of his wide sleeve, he revealed a palm white and smooth as jade. A seven-colored vortex spun in his palm.

Witnessing this strange phenomenon, everyone’s hearts leapt into their throats, but having sustained injuries from the Xu cultivator, they lacked the spiritual power to counter this new threat.

The seven-colored vortex spun faster and faster, suddenly generating an immense suction force from thin air.

The cultivators were lifted off the ground like withered leaves in the wind, helplessly drawn toward the vortex’s center.

Liang Yan was horrified but no matter how he struggled, he could not escape the pull.

As they neared the vortex’s heart, their bodies rapidly shrank until all were absorbed into the vortex, condensing into a single seven-colored orb of light.

The chamber was left empty, devoid of any outsiders.

The large-eared monk, expressionless, held the seven-colored orb carefully, studying it for a moment before waving his right hand.

The orb split into seven streams of flowing light—gold, cyan, blue, red, yellow, black, and white.

These seven-colored streams flashed once in the air, then vanished entirely into the portrait on the wall behind them.

Silence reigned, the light utterly gone...