Chapter 590: Chapter 562: Defender’s Cemetery (Part 2)

Even the wind couldn’t blow in here.

Qin An walked in slowly and approached the closed gate, gazing at it intently.

His Dharma Aspect wrapped around his hands as he pressed against the door, then Qin An pushed hard, but the gate did not budge an inch.

"My unarmed Cultivation Technique possesses the strength of a thousand pounds. No matter how tall or thick this gate is, it shouldn’t be as heavy as a mountain. If I can’t move it, then there must be something special about this gate."

Qin An withdrew his hands, no longer trying to force the gate open, and began to carefully examine the enormous gate.

As Qin An scrutinized it, he noticed a peculiar detail.

The surface of the gate had elaborate and beautiful carvings, but these carvings seemed extremely dried out.

It was as if yellowed grass on a barren field had been swept by autumn winds.

Qin An was no longer the rookie he had been in Ding County; he had fought his way here and seen many secrets in the Confidential Library.

Thus, when he saw this gate, he immediately made connections to many things.

"Dryness signifies the need for nourishment, so the key to opening this gate may lie in resolving its state of dryness. What could provide the nourishment needed?"

Qin An looked around and found nothing, not a single object nearby.

He thought for a moment and pondered, "There’s nothing here besides me, so it must mean I need to nourish this great gate to potentially open it. What do I have? All I have is my strength. Ah, I can try using the Void Essence."

With this thought, Qin An raised his hand and unleashed a stream of Nine-Colored Void Essence into the air.

The Nine-Colored Void Essence struck the door, disappearing as if a clay ox into the sea, rapidly absorbed by the carvings on the gate.

And then, the carvings’ dryness improved slightly, expanding like a sponge.

Seeing this, Qin An knew his guess was correct.

Without hesitation, he unleashed more Nine-Colored Void Essence.

He bombarded the golden gate relentlessly with Nine-Colored Void Essence as if it cost nothing.

Though the gate did not move, the carvings upon it visibly soaked up the Void Essence and lost their dryness.

After about an hour, Qin An pulled a bottle of elixir from his pocket and downed it in one gulp.

The consumption was immense; even someone at the Element Transformation Realm would have trouble nourishing it in such a short time.

After bombarding the gate with Nine-Colored Void Essence continuously for an hour, even Qin An found his recovery capacity unable to keep up.

Fortunately, he had plenty of elixirs to consume as easily as candy.

To him, such consumption required no meditation for recovery.

Once the elixir entered his stomach, it turned into a warm stream, spreading throughout his body and steadily restoring his strength.

In just a few breaths, the Void Essence within Qin An was mostly replenished.

Without hesitation, he faced the now gradually rejuvenated golden gate and raised his hand to unleash more streams of Void Essence.

As the Void Essence struck the golden gate again, the carvings on it became increasingly animate.

After another hour passed.

When Qin An consumed another bottle of elixir and unleashed the final stream of Nine-Colored Void Essence, the golden gate before him finally manifested an anomaly.

The carvings, nourished by the Void Essence, seemed to come alive and twisted incessantly.

The twisting golden carvings slowly converged to form the head of a giant beast before Qin An.

This beast had the semblance of various animals, yet exuded no chaos, instead conveying a sense of harmony and solemnity.

The eyes of the beast stared directly at Qin An, bringing a tremendous pressure to his heart.

Qin An tightened his grip on his Straight Blade, meeting the eyes of the beast.

In just a few breaths, the eyes of the beast scanned Qin An from head to toe.

Then, the enormous beast’s mouth opened, slowly uttering a sentence.

"No anomalies detected, it is indeed a human body, and not a traitor."

Qin An raised an eyebrow slightly; hearing those words, especially the term "traitor," bolstered his already surging suspicions.

This place was definitely connected to the Defenders.

He remained silent, patiently waiting.

For he felt certain the beast head had more to say.

Sure enough, after just a few breaths of waiting, the beast’s head spoke again.

"Welcome to the Defender’s Cemetery."

The Defender’s Cemetery?

Qin An furrowed his brows.

He also uttered the first sentence he had since arriving here.

"Why am I the only one here? Where are the others?"

This question burned in his mind.

According to his understanding, after being drawn in by that powerful force, they should have all arrived here together.

But now, he was alone.

Everything here carried an aura of strangeness.

The beast’s head paused momentarily, its eyes gleaming sharply, and replied slowly, "They are in a different location. You carry the aura of the Defenders and were thus transported here, as only you qualify to visit the Defender’s Cemetery."

The aura of the Defenders?

Rubbing his chin in thought, Qin An quickly realized the reason.

This was likely linked to the presence he encountered earlier at the Ten Thousand Poison Cloud Peak.

Qin An narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "May I enter this gate?"

The beast’s head answered without hesitation, "Of course you may."

Then, the beast’s head vanished from the golden gate.

And as it did, the golden gate slowly opened a crack, gradually widening as an air seeped out, filled with an ancient and old aura.

When the golden gate opened to its maximum, Qin An saw the scene beyond.

Behind the golden gate lay an enormous space, seemingly endless at a glance.

And within this vast expanse were numerous tombstones that sent chills up one’s spine.

Pondering slightly, Qin An stepped through.

Upon entering the vast cemetery, he recalled the words of the beast’s head and instantly understood.

"So that’s it. In those ancient times, after the Defenders and traitors died in battle, their remains were interred in this cemetery."

Having reached the conclusion, Qin An raised his gaze.

Even amidst the dense tombstones, a warmth pervaded, contrary to any feelings of coldness.

He had read before that those who died for justice would become Heroic Spirits.

Heroic Spirits were not terrifying; instead, they protected their descendants, ensuring prosperity for generations.

Qin An approached a tombstone, examining it closely and finding a name inscribed along with various life experiences.

"Practiced swordsmanship in youth, undefeated across the seas in adulthood, attaining ultimate swordsmanship in old age, ruled the world, learned of the great changes in the world, thus joined the Defenders, battled traitors, and died on the Four Seas Battlefield."

The Four Seas Battlefield? Qin An was unaware of its location.

But he understood this described an unparalleled figure, a peerless genius.

Without dwelling on it, Qin An continued to walk among the tombstones.

Each tombstone told a grand tale, and each individual’s life had conquered the world, yet in the end, they fell in battles with the traitors and were buried here.

That lingering sadness permeated the cemetery, even gradually affecting Qin An’s thoughts.

After walking for a while, Qin An had read much of the inscriptions on the tombstones.

However, a trace of doubt crept into his thoughts.

"Is this all there is? How am I supposed to leave this place?"

With this thought, Qin An began examining the cemetery’s surroundings.

As he scrutinized the area, something unusual happened.

In the distance, a figure in a golden robe slowly approached him...