Shen Haoran moved cautiously through the corridor, his senses on high alert, terrified the Godslaying Crossbow would fire without warning. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Soon, Shen Haoran reached the dead man’s side. The others held their breath, afraid to break his concentration. The air in the corridor seemed to freeze, the atmosphere thick with tension.

"I feel it. The Godslaying Crossbow is gathering Spiritual Power!" Changmao had shed its usual lazy demeanor and grown serious, its fur bristling as it focused all its senses on the crossbow’s activity.

"Right." Shen Haoran let out a long breath, stopping on the same line as the corpse.

’Be careful!’ Elder Yan cautioned him mentally.

"I know." With that, Shen Haoran lifted his right foot and gently stepped forward...

The instant Shen Haoran’s right foot moved, a frantic roar from Changmao echoed in his mind. "Danger! Move!"

The words had barely faded when a blinding light flared at the end of the corridor. An instant later, it was right in front of Shen Haoran!

’Damn it, I can’t move! Elder Yan!’ As the light flared, Shen Haoran found his body was no longer under his control. He was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle. He immediately screamed for Elder Yan’s help in his mind.

The instant Shen Haoran was immobilized, Elder Yan sensed the danger. An immensely powerful surge of Spiritual Thought flooded into Shen Haoran’s body, brutally shattering the force that held him.

Freed from the binding force, Shen Haoran’s body instinctively arched backward, the movement as swift as lightning.

SWISH!

In the instant Shen Haoran leaned back, a bolt of Spiritual Power shot past his face. The razor-sharp energy sliced open his cheek, and blood sprayed from the wound.

"Quick, the Godslaying Crossbow is recharging!" Changmao shouted, having barely dodged the first attack.

This time, Elder Yan didn’t hold back his Spiritual Thought. He took direct control of Shen Haoran’s body and surged forward, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.

Watching Shen Haoran’s death-defying dodge of the Godslaying Crossbow’s attack, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief. However, when they saw the speed he unleashed afterward, they were utterly stunned. ’Is that kind of speed truly something a Spirit Pupil can produce?’

While the others were still reeling in shock, Shen Haoran had already reached the end of the corridor.

At the end of the corridor, a stone platform covered in ancient runes came into view. A small, exquisite crossbow mechanism rested upon it. White light glowed at its tip as streams of pure Spiritual Power rose from the platform and converged into the mechanism.

As he watched the Spiritual Power glow ever more brightly, Shen Haoran sensed a lethal threat building.

’Quick, knock it off the stone platform!’ Changmao yelled frantically in his mind. If the Godslaying Crossbow fired again at this range, not even Elder Yan could save him!

Hearing Changmao’s warning, Shen Haoran snapped back to his senses and reached for the Godslaying Crossbow on the platform.

However, it wasn’t that easy. Just as his palm was about to touch the Godslaying Crossbow, a Spiritual Barrier materialized, blocking his hand.

’Damn it!’ Shen Haoran cursed inwardly, watching the light grow ever brighter. He marshaled all the Spiritual Power within his Spirit Sea and viciously struck the Spiritual Barrier.

CRACKLE... Under Shen Haoran’s ferocious assault, tiny fissures appeared on the Spiritual Barrier. They spread rapidly, covering the entire barrier in a spiderweb of cracks.

BANG! With a sharp crack, the Spiritual Barrier shattered. Shen Haoran shot his hand through, grabbing the Godslaying Crossbow and yanking it from the platform the very instant its attack finished charging.

Once separated from the platform that supplied its Spiritual Power, the light on the Godslaying Crossbow slowly faded, and the gathered energy dissipated. Staring at the now harmless crossbow, Shen Haoran let out a long breath. ’That was a true walk through the Ghost Gate! If Elder Yan hadn’t forcibly taken control of my body, I would’ve been sliced to pieces back in the corridor!’

Looking at the small, dark Godslaying Crossbow in his hand, Shen Haoran found it hard to imagine such a powerful attack coming from such a tiny object.

After examining the Godslaying Crossbow Mechanism for a moment, Shen Haoran placed it into his Storage Ring with satisfaction. ’This trip wasn’t a waste after all,’ he thought happily. ’I got a powerful Spiritual Artifact!’

After stowing the Godslaying Crossbow Mechanism, Shen Haoran yelled back toward the others at the start of the corridor, "It’s safe now! Everyone, quick—"

But before Shen Haoran could finish, disaster struck. The stone slab beneath his feet suddenly shattered. He didn’t even have time to react before plummeting into the darkness below, his unfinished words echoing through the corridor for a long time.

"Was that... Little Brother Shen’s voice just now?" back at the corridor’s entrance, Luo Xiaowen asked Ji Lingxuan, sounding uncertain.

"Yes, that was definitely Brother Haoran’s voice," Ji Lingxuan said with certainty. ’But why did he stop mid-sentence?’

"I can’t just wait here. I have to go see!" Ji Lingxuan’s brow furrowed, a sense of unease coiling in her heart.

Seeing Ji Lingxuan’s anxious expression, Luo Xiaowen quickly stopped her. "Whoa, whoa, hold on! We still don’t know what’s going on up there. What if you rush in recklessly and run into danger?"

"I can’t worry about that right now!" Ji Lingxuan dodged around Luo Xiaowen and sprinted forward.

Watching Ji Lingxuan’s retreating back, Luo Xiaowen was at a loss for words. She grumbled to herself, ’I don’t know what kind of spell that brat Shen Haoran cast on her. He’s got this pretty girl so bewitched she’s willing to throw her life away!’

"Ugh, wait for me! I’ll go with you!" With a heavy sigh, Luo Xiaowen hurried after her.

Seeing Ji Lingxuan and Luo Xiaowen run safely past the corpses, Wu Mengqi, Yang Yu, and the others followed them toward the end of the corridor.

When the group reached the end of the corridor, they were stunned by the sight before them. A bottomless pit yawned open where the stone platform had been. No one knew how deep it went. They stood before the chasm, whispering amongst themselves.

"Don’t tell me Little Brother Shen fell in there!" Luo Xiaowen cried out in alarm.

"I’m going down to check!" With that, before Luo Xiaowen’s shocked eyes, Ji Lingxuan jumped right in.

"Holy crap, do you ever think about yourself?!" Luo Xiaowen swore as she stared at the spot where Ji Lingxuan had vanished.

After Ji Lingxuan jumped, the rest of the group was left behind, looking at one another, unsure of what to do.

「Meanwhile, at the bottom of the pit...」

Shen Haoran was sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain. The sudden collapse had caught him completely off guard, and he had landed flat on his face. Now his back hurt so much he couldn’t even straighten up.

’Get up, quickly! Someone’s coming!’ Elder Yan warned him mentally as he was groaning.

’Someone? Who else would be in this godforsaken place?’ Shen Haoran wondered, but he gritted his teeth against the pain, scrambled to his feet, and hid behind a large boulder.

TAP. Just as Shen Haoran concealed himself, a soft sound echoed nearby. He peeked out from behind the boulder to look. When he saw who it was, however, he breathed a sigh of relief. The newcomer was none other than Ji Lingxuan, who had jumped into the pit to find him.

"Ling Xuan!" Shen Haoran called out softly.

Hearing his voice, Ji Lingxuan turned. Seeing that Shen Haoran was unharmed, she finally let out a breath she’d been holding.

"What are you doing here? Where are Sister Xiaowen and the others?" Shen Haoran asked, noticing she was alone.

But when he heard that Ji Lingxuan had jumped into the pit, disregarding her own safety out of worry for him, a warmth spread through his chest. Still, he spoke to her sternly. "Don’t you ever do that again! You can’t be so impulsive!"

Watching the two’s public display of affection, Elder Yan couldn’t stand it any longer. "Alright, alright, that’s enough of that," he interjected. "This is a perfect chance to split off from the main group. Let’s go. Time to find the Fire Elemental Spirit!"

"We’re leaving already? I wanted to see what other treasures are in this Spirit Emperor’s Tomb!" Having just acquired the Godslaying Crossbow, Shen Haoran was now filled with anticipation for the tomb’s other secrets.

"Don’t forget why you came here. You can look for treasure after you’ve obtained the Primordial Spirit!" Elder Yan rolled his eyes at him and flew ahead to lead the way.

Shen Haoran could only pout as he took Ji Lingxuan’s hand and followed.

They encountered no further dangers as they followed Elder Yan. The path continued until they stopped at the edge of an underground cliff.

"The Fire Elemental Spirit is down below," Elder Yan said, pointing over the edge of the cliff.

At his words, Shen Haoran peered over the edge into the bottomless abyss. From the depths, he could indeed feel an incredibly potent and pure wave of Fire Element Spiritual Power.

"Then let’s go down," Shen Haoran said.

"Well..." Elder Yan hesitated.

"My Spiritual Thought can only carry one person down, so..."

Hearing Elder Yan’s words, Ji Lingxuan smiled. "Don’t worry about me, Elder Yan. I have my own way!"

WHOOSH! As she spoke, a soft sound came from her back, and a pair of stunning, ethereal wings unfurled. White feathers drifted down through the air, making her look like an angel descending to the mortal realm.

"This... This is..." Shen Haoran was too shocked to speak.

"It’s a Flying Martial Skill. I didn’t think I’d ever need to use it," Ji Lingxuan said with a sweet smile.

"Ah, right. I’d forgotten you come from *that* place. In that case, let’s go down!" Elder Yan gave Ji Lingxuan a profound look. Then, before Shen Haoran could ask any questions, he enveloped him in Spiritual Thought and flew down from the cliff. Ji Lingxuan quickly followed behind...