From behind a cluster of silver-glowing clouds, a woman descended with an elegance that transcended mortal description. She wore a pale purple silk robe that fluttered like the flow of a river beneath the moonlight.

  In her arms, she held an ancient sandalwood lute that radiated a deep aura of wisdom. She was Qin Meiling, the Holy Maiden of the Ancient Qin Clan—the only one among the nine great clans that possessed no Holy Son, yet stood firm due to the majesty of its Holy Maiden.

  The eight Holy Sons fell silent; even the explosive Han Shanshan pressed his lips tight. Qin Meiling’s presence was not merely that of a genius, but that of an entity capable of calming a storm of rage with the mere vibration of her voice.

  Qin Meiling stepped onto the cliff floor without a sound, as if gravity itself were hesitant to pull at her robes. Her eyes, as clear as mountain lake water, looked directly at Zhi Xuan before shifting toward her peers.

  "Holy Maiden Qin," Bai Wuchen bowed respectfully, followed by the other Holy Sons. "We did not expect you to come here yourself. Has the Holy Maidens' banquet encountered an issue?"

  Qin Meiling did not answer immediately. She gently caressed the strings of her sandalwood lute, creating a low note that rippled through the air, neutralizing the lingering killing intent and tension between the Holy Sons.

  "The banquet of the sisters is proceeding well, Brother Bai," Qin Meiling’s voice flowed calmly, cool like morning dew on a bamboo branch. "However, the vibrations here were so strong that my lute lost its harmony. I did not come here to disrupt your gathering, but to ensure that the Nine Plains does not lose a practitioner with the potential to be an ally."

  A heavy silence once again enveloped the cliff peak. The Qin Clan, though represented by only one woman, held immense influence due to their ability to manipulate energy through sound and harmony—a power deeply feared when turned into a melody of death.

  Qin Meiling stepped closer, the soothing scent of sandalwood incense seemingly driving away the fishy smell of the sea and the sharpness of the swords that had previously filled the cliff. She stopped right by the coral table but did not take a seat. She stood like a resilient green bamboo in the middle of a storm.

  "The Holy Maiden of Qin wishes to guarantee this wanderer?" Feng Haoyue of the Feng Clan raised an eyebrow, the Phoenix fire in his eyes flashing inquisitively. "The Qin Clan has always been known as a neutral mediator. Why are you now willing to risk your great name for a practitioner branded as the 'Southern Devil' by the Han Clan?"

  Qin Meiling plucked a single string of her lute. Tring—! The resulting note was so pure that it instantly dissolved the vibrations of Han Shanshan’s anger in the air.

  "Blood and destruction are but one side of the coin of destiny, Brother Feng," Qin Meiling replied, gazing at Zhi Xuan with a depth that seemed capable of reading the melody of his soul. "I hear a different harmony from this man's body. An unfinished symphony which, if allowed to develop, may become a triumphant ally and a benefit beyond imagination."

  Han Shanshan snorted, though he did not dare shout in her presence. "Harmony? There is only the note of death! Holy Maiden Qin, do not let your lute go out of tune by defending the wrong person. The Han Clan will not forget this."

  "The Han Clan may not forget," Qin Meiling countered with a deadly serenity, "but the Qin Clan has a Noble Guest qualification that remains vacant. And I, as the mandate holder of the clan, officially invite Zhi Xuan to enter the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm under our purple banner."

  Zhi Xuan was stunned for a moment. He had never met Qin Meiling before, but he felt a subtle vibration in his mind—as if the voice of the Qin Holy Maiden could wash away every strand of sin or any killing intent about to arise. With laws like this, it was no wonder the Ancient Qin Clan could compete with the others.

  "Thank you for the kindness of Holy Maiden Qin," Zhi Xuan said as he stood up, cupping his hands and bowing sincerely. "This Zhi will certainly not fail the trust given."

  Qin Meiling gave a thin smile and nodded her head toward him. "Qin appreciates your words, Brother Zhi. Moreover, to see one from the mortal world possess the conviction to say that mortals are capable of ascending to the Upper Realms... Brothers, is this not like the tale of the Great Emperor Zhetian?"

  Upon hearing the name of Great Emperor Zhetian, the silence at the cliff peak turned into a pressure that seemed capable of cracking space itself. The Holy Sons, who usually possessed pride as high as the heavens, appeared transfixed. The legend of an emperor who crawled from the dust of mortality until he could cover the sky with his palm was a deep taboo as well as a source of profound pride in the Nine Plains.

  "Emperor Zhetian..." muttered Wang Mingshen of the Wang Clan, his gray pupils trembling. "You compare this wanderer to the figure capable of overturning the heavenly order, Holy Maiden Qin? That is a compliment too heavy, or perhaps a dangerous prophecy."

  Qin Meiling did not argue; she merely plucked her lute strings again, creating a resonance that synchronized with the crashing waves below the cliff. "Eras will change, Brother Wang. And every time the gates of the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm open, destiny chooses its own pawns. I merely follow the melody whispered by the laws of sound."

  "Zhetian, the Great Emperor who could rival the Great Emperors of the Ancient Clans," Hua Tianming noted, speaking the name with great caution. "It is said that she was a mortal weaver, without the talent or body suitable for cultivation. Yet, with those mortal hands, she wove the universe until she was respected by all beings."

  "Indeed, Brother Hua," Qin Meiling continued, staring at the darkening horizon, "a mortal without a divine bloodline, yet capable of carving her name upon the monument of eternity. If history once gave birth to such a sun, why should we close our eyes when the same spark might appear before us?"

  Qin Meiling’s gaze shifted, sweeping across the audience with a piercing calmness. The eight Holy Sons were forced to look into a history they had tried to bury with the glory of bloodlines. To them, bloodline was law, but to Great Emperor Zhetian, will was everything.

  Han Shanshan hissed, his blue ocean aura churning and creating water vortexes in the air that refracted the rising moonlight. "Emperor Zhetian is the only supreme one in hundreds of thousands of years! To equate this rat with the legend is an insult to us all!"

  Zhi Xuan, who had remained quiet, slowly looked up. Beneath the moonlight reaching its zenith, the pattern of the Slaughter Seal on his forehead glowed faintly, giving a mystical impression that contrasted with his black-and-white robe. He did not look at Han Shanshan with anger, but with a gaze so flat it was as if the Han Holy Son were merely a speck of dust he would pass over.

  "If Emperor Zhetian is the sun, then this Zhi is merely a burning wood fiber," Zhi Xuan said in a low tone, balancing the increasingly tense atmosphere. "Holy Maiden Qin praises me too much."

  Zhi Xuan’s humble statement did not ease the tension; rather, it seemed to plant a deeper seed of mystery in the minds of the great geniuses. Qin Meiling only smiled thinly, her slender fingers dancing over the lute strings once more, letting her final melody fade with the strengthening sea wind.

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  "Sun or wood fiber, time will tell," Qin Meiling said in a secretive tone.

  At that moment, the sky above the Cang Hai Ocean underwent a drastic change. The silver moon, reaching its zenith, suddenly emitted a blinding radiance, as if a giant mirror were reflecting light from another realm. Below, the surface of the sea, which had been calm, began to spin, forming a massive whirlpool tens of miles in diameter.

  GUMMM—!

  A violent tremor surged from the depths of the earth, shaking the cliff where the Holy Sons stood. From the center of the whirlpool, a gate of sapphire-blue light began to emerge, emitting dense spatial fluctuations. This was the Ocean Chaos Gate, the entrance to the remnants of ancient times buried beneath thousands of fathoms of water.

  "The gate is open!" Bai Wuchen shouted as he stood tall, his water-dragon robe fluttering wildly. "Brothers, the banquet is over. Now is the time to see who truly has the qualification to pluck the Heavenly Ascension Fruit!"

  One by one, the Holy Sons shot into the air, turning into streaks of light of various colors. Shen Jiuxiao sped away like bronze lightning, Chen Jianyun cut through the air with his sharp sword intent, and Han Shanshan launched himself with frozen fury, leaving a trail of cold vapor in his path.

  "Zhi Xuan, see you down there," Zhu Yanghai said with a wink before darting off with Hua Tianming. "Don't die before I get to see you face my sister again!"

  Now, only Zhi Xuan and Qin Meiling remained on the cliff peak, which was beginning to crack under the energy pressure.

  "Brother Zhi," Qin Meiling turned, her purple robes waving like flower petals blown by a storm. "The Qin Clan does not have bloodthirsty soldiers, but we have notes capable of guiding you through the chaos. The Qin Clan can only guarantee you until the front of the gate; what follows, let the Heavens decide."

  Zhi Xuan watched Qin Meiling’s back as she began to float toward the giant whirlpool. He felt the truth in her words; the Qin Clan's guarantee was the key that opened the door, but once past the threshold, he would be prey in a sea filled with royal-blooded sharks.

  "The kindness of Holy Maiden Qin will always be remembered by this Zhi," Zhi Xuan murmured softly. He took a deep breath, smelling the salt and the spiritual essence overflowing from the depths. "It is time."

  WUUUUSH—!

  Zhi Xuan shot forward, his body cutting through the night like a shadow chasing the moon. Behind him, the group from the Ancient Qin Clan, consisting of female string-plucking warriors, began to form a flying goose formation, following their Holy Maiden. As Zhi Xuan approached the edge of the whirlpool, he could feel thousands of spiritual consciousnesses from other clans targeting his back.

  Han Shanshan’s hateful glare and the cold gazes of the two Sacred Fairies—Zhu Qinglan and Ye Xishui—seemed to pierce him from a distance. As soon as he crossed the horizon and plunged into the center of the whirlpool, the immense water pressure began to crush him. The laws of space here were unstable, churning like a struggling dragon.

  "I must find a place in this Ocean Chaos Secret Realm," Zhi Xuan thought as he hovered right before the vortex. "The Divine Creation Devil Art might have a chance of success if I obtain something within this realm. For now, I must not be reckless in entering first."

  Zhi Xuan stood motionless at the mouth of the massive whirlpool, letting droplets of seawater containing pure spiritual essence strike his face. Around him, a hundred Qin Clan warriors were ready, each holding a purple-glowing musical instrument. They formed a protective circle with Qin Meiling at the core, plucking her lute to create a resonance bubble that repelled the ocean's pressure.

  "Brother Zhi, why have you stopped?" Qin Meiling’s voice traveled through mental transmission, calm but questioning.

  "Holy Maiden Qin, please enter first with your group," Zhi Xuan replied without looking back, his eyes fixed on the bottom of the whirlpool, which looked like the mouth of an ancient monster thirsty for souls. "This Zhi needs to stabilize his Divine Wheel for a moment so as not to be crushed when colliding with the dimensional wall down there."

  Qin Meiling gazed at Zhi Xuan’s back for a moment. As a practitioner of the path of sound, she could feel that Zhi Xuan’s heartbeat had slowed to an unnatural point, as if he were trying to shut down his own bodily functions. However, she did not push him.

  "Take care of yourself. At the bottom of the trench, harmony will turn to chaos," Qin Meiling said. With a wave of her hand, the Qin Clan group plunged into the center of the whirlpool, vanishing into a glow of purple light swallowed by the darkness of the water.

  Now, Zhi Xuan was truly alone above the mouth of the vortex. Thousands of disciples from other clans had entered, leaving a chilling silence on the sea's surface. Zhi Xuan exhaled slowly before merging into a shadow and sliding into the gate, creating a subtle vibration before it closed completely behind him.

  The moment his body passed the sapphire-blue threshold, the world seemed to turn upside down. The pressure that had been pulling him down suddenly vanished, replaced by a dimensional tug that felt as if it were trying to flay his body and soul simultaneously. Zhi Xuan felt his bones creaking, while the Divine Wheel within his inner center spun at a speed capable of burning his meridians.

  He landed on an underwater land untouched by sunlight, yet glowing with thousands of coral crystals containing heavenly essence. This was the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm, a dimension separate from the laws of the mortal world, a place where time seemed to freeze in a heavy density.

  Zhi Xuan immediately stabilized his position, his feet stepping on silver sand that made a mystical crackling sound. In the distance, he could see streaks of light from the Holy Sons and Maidens beginning to disperse toward regions with the highest energy concentrations.

  Zhi Xuan moved a finger to his forehead, his right eye glowing gold with his Heavenly Eye technique. In his vision, he could see the Qin Clan practitioners heading toward a specific point along with other Ancient Clans. He withdrew his gaze and crept as a shadow beneath the thick water.

  "This area of the Ocean Chaos Secret Realm is still unknown," Zhi Xuan thought as he left shadow trails, moving from one shadow to another. "I must gather information about this realm before thinking of the Divine Creation Devil Art. Following the Qin Clan for now is a safe bet."

  Zhi Xuan moved like a ghost under the pressure of thousands of atmospheres. His body, merged with the shadows, crept through ancient coral formations as large as sunken city towers. Although he was outwardly following the purple glow of the Qin Clan, his divine sense spread in all directions, combing through the highly unstable spatial fluctuations of this secret realm.

  The Ocean Chaos Secret Realm was not just a deep trench; it was a fragment of a collapsed ancient world trapped in a time bubble. Here, the spiritual essence felt thick yet fierce, like an old wine that had turned into a deadly poison for those without a solid cultivation base.

  Ahead, the Qin Clan group moved with a highly disciplined formation. Every pluck of Qin Meiling’s lute sent out waves that parted the darkness, creating a safe path through the ancient sea creatures that possessed only bones and slaughtering instincts. However, something made Zhi Xuan wary. That purple glow was not only being followed by him.

  "Damn, other clans are also watching the mediator," Zhi Xuan thought.

  He felt a very sharp and cold aura trailing from a distance—a familiar sword trace. Chen Jianyun of the Ancient Chen Clan also seemed to have chosen to stay near the Qin Clan, using the purity of Meiling’s melody to stabilize his own sword intent, which was easily provoked by the chaotic energy around them.

  Suddenly, Qin Meiling stopped her steps on a coral ridge overlooking a vast valley. The valley was not filled with sand, but with giant bones—perhaps the skeletons of dragons or mythical beasts of old—that emitted a terrifying pale blue light. In the center of the valley stood a stone gate that was half-destroyed, adorned with ancient scripts that pulsed in rhythm with the heartbeat of the world.

  "The Immortal World Gate," Qin Meiling whispered, stopping just before crossing the valley. "This is the gate said to be the gateway to the world of ancient times. Long ago, this gate was called the Immortal Gate, used by those who wished to cross into the Immortal World. I did not expect it to now be but remnants of ruins."

  Zhi Xuan, creeping behind the shadow of a giant rib bone, sharpened his divine sense upon hearing Qin Meiling's words. The term Immortal Gate triggered a strange resonance in his sea of consciousness, as if his memory legacy of the Nine Heavens were reacting to the remnants of history buried there.

  "The Immortal Gate..." Zhi Xuan thought, his sapphire-blue eyes staring at the stone ruins. "If this is the door to the Immortal World of ancient times..."

  However, the majestic atmosphere was instantly shattered by a cold snort carrying an incredibly sharp sword intent. From behind the darkness of the coral crystals, Chen Jianyun emerged, his gray robes fluttering despite the immense water pressure. In his hand, an unsheathed ancient sword vibrated violently, emitting a challenging hum against Qin Meiling’s lute melody.

  "Ruins remain ruins, Holy Maiden Qin," Chen Jianyun said, his steps firm upon the expanse of bones. "What you call the Immortal Gate is to me merely the final barrier before we reach the center of the Ocean Chaos. Tell me, does the Qin Clan intend to occupy this place alone?"