**Xu Mu…**

Beyond the immediate circle of Tang Yanfeng and his companions, all those cultivators dwelling within a thousand fathoms, still laboring in the initial stages of their cultivation, etched this name into their very souls. They would never forget it, not in this lifetime nor the next.

“A Xu?” The woman beside Tang Yanfeng arched a delicate brow, her expression hardening.

Tang Yanfeng, his face a mask of impassivity, fixed his gaze on the sealed array ahead, the entrance to a shadowed abyss. He spoke slowly, each word measured, “You suspect it as well…”

The woman nodded, her voice low. “Within the Luo Tian Starfield, many bear the surname Xu, but most are figures of little consequence. For one of such strength, a cultivator who has attained the Yang Solid realm, to emerge… it can only be the Xu family of the Eastern Lands Star! It has been many long years since the heir of Eastern Lands has walked among us. Could this be…?”

Her eyes widened, but she left the thought unfinished, hanging unspoken in the air.

Tang Yanfeng considered this for a long moment, then spoke with chilling calm. “He is strong. Even if he is not the heir, he walks close to that path. Our Tang family will not lightly cross swords with this one.”

“And the two who perished?” The woman inquired, gesturing towards the abyss.

“They are dead, and that is the end of it!” Tang Yanfeng’s gaze was like ice as he turned and strode away, abandoning even the mysterious array and the potential riches it guarded.

The woman nodded in agreement, following behind her lord. The young cultivator who had barely entered the Yin Void realm hurried after them as well, secretly relieved that he had made the correct decision.

“One who can inspire such caution in our lord… he is beyond my touch. Xu Mu…”

As Tang Yanfeng’s party departed, the remaining cultivators hesitated. Though Wang Lin had already vanished into the shadowed abyss, none dared cross the thousand-fathom line. It was as if the area remained cursed ground, a place of death, even though the source of the terror had passed.

At last, one by one, they retreated, scattering into the heavens. None chose to risk the unknown. The events they had witnessed were too horrific, too deeply ingrained in their minds.

The name Xu Mu, carried on the winds of whispered tales, spread like wildfire amongst their fellow cultivators, a warning echoed in every celestial haven.

Only the arcane runes etched into the ground remained, radiating a faint, waning light. Slowly, inexorably, the light dimmed, until nothing remained but a dead array.

Li Yuan, when he had woven the intricate design, had foreseen this end. A ward against intrusion, one that would dissolve into inert nothingness. A trap sprung and spent.

Below the dead array, the entrance to the abyss was narrow, but within it opened into a twisting passageway, shrouded in absolute darkness. Yet to eyes that could pierce the veil, it was as clear as day.

Li Yuan led the way, Wang Lin following close behind. They ventured deeper into the passage.

“Brother Xu, I can state with certainty that we are the first to tread this path since the sundering of the Celestial Realm! See the walls around us, they still shimmer with residual Celestial power. Had others passed this way, had the passage been opened for any length of time, this remnant would have long dissipated!” Li Yuan’s eyes gleamed with excitement as he spoke, his voice hushed in reverence.

Wang Lin remained silent, his divine sense probing ahead, reaching as far as he dared. This was a legacy of the Celestials, and caution was paramount. To stumble carelessly could awaken forgotten wards, unleash ancient powers.

“Brother Xu,” Li Yuan continued, his voice laced with curiosity, “Within the sealed chamber, I discovered three items of power, though of a strange nature. I will show them to you soon, and perhaps together we can decipher their purpose.”

“Very well,” Wang Lin replied, his senses continuing to probe the depths ahead. The passage stretched on, a single, winding path leading ever downwards.

It seemed endless. For half an hour they journeyed, yet still no end was in sight. Li Yuan grew uneasy.

“How deep does it run? Perhaps it is a shard of overlapping dimensions!” he muttered, quickening his pace.

Wang Lin followed, his brow furrowing. As they descended, he felt a peculiar sensation, as if an unseen finger pressed against the space between his brows, sending a throbbing ache through his mind.

The deeper they went, the stronger the feeling became. After a quarter of an hour, Wang Lin’s eyes sharpened, and he seized Li Yuan, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

Li Yuan, startled, turned to face him. “What troubles you, Brother Xu?”

“Do you feel anything unusual, Brother Li?” Wang Lin asked, his voice low.

Li Yuan shook his head. “I feel nothing. What do you mean?”

Wang Lin paused, studying Li Yuan’s face, his gaze settling on the center of his forehead. “Release your Mind Seal,” he instructed.

Li Yuan nodded. His Mind Seal, a defensive barrier, originated from that very spot. He relaxed his will, allowing it to dissipate. The moment the seal faded, Li Yuan’s face turned ashen. His eyes bulged, blood vessels erupting within.

He gasped, swiftly reforming the seal, the color slowly returning to his face. “I feel it now!” he whispered, shaken.

Wang Lin’s eyes flashed. “So I am not the only one.” He raised his right hand, channeling a sliver of his essence, and began to draw in the air.

Luminous lines appeared before them, twisting and curving under Wang Lin’s hand, forming an intricate symbol. Yet at the base of the symbol, the lines abruptly ended, as if the design were incomplete.

“Do you recognize this glyph, Brother Li?” Wang Lin asked.

“It seems familiar…” Li Yuan stared at the rune, his brow furrowed in thought. He sat cross-legged, delving into the depths of his memory, recalling every scroll and tome he had ever studied, searching for a matching symbol.

After a time, he frowned. “Four glyphs bear a resemblance, but as this one is incomplete, I cannot be certain which of the four it is. Brother Xu, where did you find this symbol?”

Wang Lin did not answer. He focused his divine sense, carefully exploring the tunnel ahead. Then, he lifted his hand and, following the unfinished lines of the glyph, continued the drawing.

Li Yuan watched, his expression growing increasingly grave. Finally, a look of astonishment appeared on his face. He recognized the rune.

“This glyph,” Wang Lin said, his voice barely a whisper, “is the very path we are walking. I have traced it using my divine sense as we journeyed down this tunnel.”
“Good Master Xu speaks true!” boomed Li Yuan, rising to his feet. His own meager cultivation forbade him from piercing the arcane passage with his spirit sense, yet he harbored no doubt in the words of Wang Lin.

“Xu, brother,” he continued, his voice hushed with awe, “this rune, this sigil, is born of the ancient仙禁, the Immortal Banishments. Even amongst those forbidden arts, this mark is obscure. It cannot stand alone, but must weave and bind with others to form a true ward.”

“And what manner of ward might it conjure?” Wang Lin queried, his eyes gleaming with nascent interest.

Li Yuan shook his head. “Alas, until we reach the terminus of this passage, until we behold the final stroke of this rune’s construction, I cannot decipher its true intent.”

Wang Lin pondered this for a long moment, his gaze fixed upon the depths ahead. “Then, descend we shall, and behold the truth for ourselves!”

With those words, he stepped forth, leading the way into the gloom. Li Yuan followed close behind, his left hand a flurry of gestures, attempting to unlock the secrets held within the swirling energies.

Their pace was measured, yet unwavering, driven by a purpose that brook no delay.

As they ventured deeper, Wang Lin felt a mounting pressure between his brows, a subtle yet persistent discomfort that cast a shadow upon his countenance. After what felt like half an hour, his eyes sharpened. His spirit sense had finally pierced the veil of shadows, reaching the end.

What he beheld stilled his breath. With a surge of speed, he rounded a bend in the passage and halted abruptly. Behind him, Li Yuan, having also glimpsed the passage’s end, wore an expression of deep contemplation.

Before them, at the passage’s termination, swirled a vortex of vibrant colors, barely taller than a man. Multicolored light spilled forth with each rotation, bathing the chamber in an ethereal glow.

Li Yuan, his hand still weaving arcane calculations, gasped softly. “Xu, brother! I have it! This rune’s purpose, this ward’s sole intent, is… healing! Moreover, if my calculations hold true, this is not a singular passage. There must be nine such conduits, each bearing a fragment of this rune. Together, they form a colossal healing matrix! A feat of untold scale within this Thunderclap Immortal Realm!”

He paused, his eyes meeting Wang Lin’s, a deeper meaning unspoken, yet clearly understood.

“A healing matrix…” Wang Lin said softly, his voice a low rumble. “Meaning, at the heart of this matrix, lies one who has been, for countless ages, sustained by its power…”

“Precisely! That is the only explanation that fits the evidence. Whether that being truly exists, I cannot say for certain. But if they do, they must be…”

“Immortal,” Wang Lin finished, his eyes burning with a strange light.

“This vortex, though it leads to the matrix’s heart, is sealed from within,” Li Yuan observed, his voice tinged with confusion. “That is… peculiar. However, I believe I can unravel this seal…” He stepped towards the vortex, a strange glint in his eye, raising his left hand.

Wang Lin frowned. Li Yuan was no fool, why such recklessness? With swift strides, Wang Lin intercepted him, seizing his arm.

Li Yuan turned, his eyes burning with a disconcerting light. “Xu, brother! Do you not desire immortal arts? What better source than an Immortal themself? Perhaps they are weakened, vulnerable! We could seize them and learn secrets beyond imagining!” As he spoke, his left hand pulsed with forbidden energies, reaching out towards the vortex.

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. He shattered Li Yuan’s forbidden sigil with a surge of his own power. Then, with a focused burst of Yuan energy, he struck Li Yuan’s meridians, rendering him unconscious.

Turning back to the vortex, Wang Lin pondered, then slowly began to retreat, carrying Li Yuan.

Before he had retreated three paces, the swirling vortex shuddered to a halt. An icy, malevolent energy poured forth, and at the vortex’s center, a single, grotesque eye materialized.

And then, a voice, alien and insidious, echoed within Wang Lin’s very mind.

“You… desire what immortal skills… ?”