Song Ciwan couldn’t spare much concern for Xie Yunxiang’s condition. All she saw were more and more people passing through the crowd of Wooden Men, heading toward the wooden door at the base of the high tower.

She gave Xie Yunxiang a pull and immediately followed the crowd forward.

Xie Yunxiang hurriedly and carefully kept up. No matter how much the presence of Master Yan Zhu had shaken him, the only thing he could do now was stick close to Brother Xin Mian.

Illusory Nether City was too dangerous and unpredictable. Xie Yunxiang simply didn’t have the courage to act alone.

The whispers of the Wooden Men still swirled faintly in his ears. Terrified, Xie Yunxiang followed Song Ciwan, watching as cultivators weaving through the crowd of Wooden Men would suddenly stumble and charge toward one of them.

These impulsive cultivators all performed the same action. They stood face-to-face and foot-to-foot with a Wooden Man, and then, faster than one could blink, they suddenly plunged forward!

Just like that, they plunged into the Wooden Man’s body, seeming to turn into a wisp of Light Smoke, a cloud of mist, or perhaps becoming the Wooden Man itself...

The sight had been bizarre enough when it happened far away. But now, with a large group of cultivators weaving among them, this grotesque scene repeated itself up close, making everyone’s skin crawl.

Xie Yunxiang was beside himself with panic. The emotions that had run dry surged once more.

The Heaven and Earth Scale collected: [Human desires. The shock, terror, and worry of a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. Seven taels and nine maces. Tradable.]

With a flick of her wrist, Song Ciwan sent a Soft Whip flying from her sleeve. It coiled tightly around Xie Yunxiang’s waist. Gripping the handle, Song Ciwan said in a low voice, "Brother Xie, stay close."

Xie Yunxiang followed closely, and the panic in his heart instantly subsided.

The other cultivators reacted in various ways upon witnessing the Wooden Men’s bizarre nature.

Some cast a cold glance, utterly unconcerned, and simply continued onward.

Others immediately covered their ears and blindly charged forward in a panic. But in their haste, they would lose their sense of direction and end up right in front of another Wooden Man. Finally, they would stand face-to-face, foot-to-foot, and with a WHOOSH, merge into one with it.

Some cultivators tried to save their companions, but this usually resulted in them being devoured by the same Wooden Man, right along with the first victim.

Throngs of cultivators converged with throngs of Wooden Men, and more than half of the cultivators were devoured!

It turned out that while Jiao Zuo, Ye Sheng, Master Yan Zhu, and the others had passed through the Wooden Man Array with ease, it was only because of their exceptional strength. It didn’t mean the array was actually easy to overcome.

Xie Yunxiang was dazed and muddle-headed, completely unaware of how he was even moving. He only knew that the Soft Whip around his waist kept him taut. Every time his mind grew faint and he felt the urge to charge at a Wooden Man, a force would instantly yank him back.

He had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like an eternity, and yet only an instant. At last, he had made it through the Wooden Man Array and its endless whispers.

For a moment, Xie Yunxiang’s mind was suddenly and exceptionally clear. He looked up to see a giant wooden door ahead, a hundred feet high and a hundred feet wide, which boomed wide open under the combined push of over a hundred cultivators!

Someone shouted, "The door is open!"

The scene behind the door, however, was pitch-black. Standing outside, Xie Yunxiang couldn’t see a thing. He could just make out "Xin Mian" up ahead, pulling back her hand.

So "Xin Mian" had also helped push the door!

Farther ahead, Ye Sheng’s voice rang out. "Fellow Daoists, treasures are for the fated! Now that the door is open, we each rely on our own fortune!"

Of course, it was every man for himself. The moment he finished speaking, some people were already rushing forward impatiently.

Among the hundreds of people, some were cautious, and naturally, some were reckless.

Others knew full well that to seize a heaven-sent opportunity, one had to be willing to risk their life to snatch it.

Even if a bottomless Abyss lay ahead, they had to be fearless of being shattered to pieces, all to seize a potential head start.

Before the pitch-black wooden door, cultivators who would be considered figures of extraordinary status in the Mortal World were like a school of fish swimming against the current. They charged into the dark tempest, toward the unknown that lay ahead.

The scene was actually quite shocking to Song Ciwan.

Ever since she began her Cultivation, her guiding principle had always been caution. She had almost never risked her life on an impulse.

’The path to eternal life is so long,’ she thought. ’Is it so wrong to be a little cautious?’

Song Ciwan never knew that cultivators could be so frenzied just to get an advantage.

But on second thought, it wasn’t so strange.

For instance, when the Flood Dragon shed its blood over Bibo Lake, hadn’t the Water Demons at the bottom scrambled madly to the surface? They were willing to have their bodies explode just to bathe in the Dragon Blood!

’On the path to power, what difference is there between Human and Demon, or any living creature?’

Behind them, some cultivators who had fallen behind Song Ciwan and Xie Yunxiang also made it through the Wooden Man Array. They were even more agitated than the cultivators ahead, shouting, "The door’s open! Let’s go!"

"Hurry! Charge!"

More cultivators surged forward from behind, bypassing Song Ciwan and Xie Yunxiang, who stood in a corner by the wooden door. They too plunged into the darkness ahead.

Xie Yunxiang stood there dumbfounded, tugging at the Soft Whip wrapped around his waist.

Song Ciwan silently used her Spiritual Sense to inspect the three Li Wood Puppets she carried. Then, she layered ten Armor Talismans on herself and another ten on Xie Yunxiang.

With that, she had used up all the Armor Talismans she had on her.

She sent a voice transmission to Xie Yunxiang. "Brother Xie, are you going in or staying?"

Xie Yunxiang quickly replied via voice transmission, "I’m with you, Brother Xin."

So, Song Ciwan tightened her grip on the Soft Whip and stepped into the darkness ahead.

Before stepping into the darkness, Song Ciwan had imagined many possible scenarios.

’A pitch-black world filled with bizarre Demons?’

’Or maybe a deep, long, phantasmagorical labyrinth?’ 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

’Or a terrifying Deceitful Realm, like Wealth Village?’

...

She’d imagined so many things, letting her imagination run wild.

But when she actually stepped into this world, Song Ciwan realized her imagination had been far too limited.

What did she see?

Or rather, what had she entered?

This... this was a bustling world, lit by a thousand lamps, filled with laughter and cheerful voices!

Looking up, she saw a sky glittering with brilliant stars. The starlight met the lamplight from below, heaven and earth reflecting each other’s splendor, creating a dazzling, vibrant world of mortal pleasures.

This place... it looked just like Pinglan City!

’Did we leave Illusory Nether City? Are we back in Pinglan City?’

’Was the real Spiritual Treasure never in Illusory Nether City, but in Pinglan City all along?’

’Or did we not enter a world with a Spiritual Treasure at all, but simply return from Illusory Nether City to the Mortal World?’

Song Ciwan turned to look back, tugging the Soft Whip in her hand as she did. But her hand met only empty air...

Behind her, Xie Yunxiang was gone!