Chapter Eleven: A World of Wonders

This pocket world stands alone, detached from the mundane realm. Sun, moon, and stars shimmer overhead, all genuine and true. Beneath the celestial dome, palaces rise in dense clusters, yet they are desolate and decayed, devoid of life. Inside and outside the palaces, weeds flourish unchecked, webs stretch across every corner, the earth is cracked and gnarled with ravines, and only a thread of verdant green meanders through the barren landscape.

Thousands of palaces, resplendent with treasures, soar skyward, merging into a colossal canopy above. Around this canopy, strings of pearls hang, bathed in radiant light, dazzling and imbued with a mysterious vitality.

"Those don't seem to be pearls," Xu Zhong felt a tremor in his heart.

Under the canopy, the pearls connected by the light are manifestations of external treasure energy, but within them lie true treasures of immense value.

"So many precious artifacts!"

Just then, the pearls were obscured by a silhouette. The white serpent had entered the pocket world before them, charging wildly across the ground straight toward the palaces. Before the palace gates, the clay-gold statue of the City God of Chen County turned its head sluggishly. Then, it transformed, manifesting a spiritual form as enormous as the serpent itself, and suddenly struck out with a mighty fist, like the sun descending from the heavens, a massive fireball shaking the entire pocket world.

The serpent struck back with its tail, channeling its blood and energy throughout its body, meeting the City God's blow head-on.

Violent explosions echoed between their strikes, sending a shockwave sweeping in all directions. Tens of thousands of towering trees were uprooted, countless stones larger than a person scattered outward.

Xu Zhong and You Sujue were swept away in the shockwave. Xu Zhong employed the Wind Borrowing Technique, riding the surging wind beneath his feet. Yet the wind crested like waves, each surge higher than the last; before he could steady himself, he was swept away again, forced to leap from peak to peak, dodging trees and stones.

Meanwhile, the serpent and the City God exchanged several more blows. Their power was so immense that the entire pocket world seemed unable to withstand it. Xu Zhong saw space collapse, fissures appear, reflecting glimpses of the outside world.

Stones and trees were hurled into the cracks, then shredded and annihilated by the violent forces of space...

Xu Zhong's eyes widened in horror. In his arms, You Sujue dropped her pretense, summoning a whirlwind to carry them away.

At that moment, the stars overhead began to flicker, drifting like schools of fish, shifting positions, the sun and moon moving with them. The torn fissures closed, and the space became extraordinarily stable, impervious to the ongoing battle between the City God and the serpent.

The wind gradually died down.

Xu Zhong and You Sujue hurriedly slipped into the palaces.

The palace complex, protected by the canopy above, was bathed in treasure energy that dissolved the shockwaves.

Inside the palaces, the scenery shifted.

Wild grass grew rampant, desolate and neglected. A single stalk, as tall as Xu Zhong and You Sujue combined, stretched across the halls, forming a sea of grass. Great trees blocked out the sky, myriad spiritual flowers and herbs blossomed, each radiating vitality, each petal imbued with spiritual power.

Fragrance filled the air, refreshing and invigorating.

These spiritual flowers and herbs were of normal size.

"If this truly is the ancient capital of Yue, two thousand years of wind and frost would naturally foster such wonders," You Sujue leapt from Xu Zhong's arms, darting through the grass sea, pausing before spiritual flowers and treasures beneath the trees.

"Quick, Xu Zhong, come here!" she called excitedly, biting into a spiritual flower, crunching through its leaves and petals, finally sucking the nectar from its heart.

Xu Zhong approached, only to have You Sujue stuff several petals into his mouth.

The nectar dissolved in his mouth, transforming into pure spiritual energy that coursed through his body.

Within Xu Zhong, the secret fire chamber activated on its own, devouring spiritual energy, transmuting it into divine light.

In an instant, spiritual energy surged through him, echoing in every acupoint.

Black smoke was expelled from his pores, the gloomy energy swirling and dissipating, absorbed by the surrounding plants.

"These are just ordinary spiritual flowers," You Sujue said, no longer interested in leaves and petals, but instead sucking nectar from the flower hearts.

As soon as she finished one, she eyed the next.

---

Xu Zhong hesitated to eat, but You Sujue reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm a fox demon. I know which are poisonous and which are beneficial. Just eat."

Xu Zhong nodded dumbly, following You Sujue in collecting nectar.

He picked a flower, consumed its nectar, and discarded it, repeating the process.

Eventually, You Sujue stopped. She had accumulated too much nectar and needed to refine it. Her demon core churned within her, like a vortex, drawing spiritual energy into itself.

Xu Zhong, however, continued to expel gloomy energy. As more of it was driven out, he felt lighter, as though he might float away if he couldn't find something to hold onto.

"Once all the gloomy energy in your acupoints is expelled, you can start unlocking the other hidden chambers in your body," You Sujue glanced at him.

But for now, Xu Zhong's body remained clogged with gloomy energy, especially in the acupoints around his heart. As he absorbed more nectar, more acupoints began to expel black smoke.

It was then that Ying Xiantian, the Demon Lord of the Underworld, and a host of cultivators from both righteous and demonic factions entered from outside the pocket world.

Rustling footsteps sounded behind them.

Xu Zhong grew alert, grabbed You Sujue by the neck, and hurried through a door, not knowing which side hall they entered.

The first cultivators to arrive stared wide-eyed at the palace's wonders.

Among them, an alchemist snatched up a spiritual herb and flower, examining them closely: "Celestial Cloud Grass, Sun-Birthing Flower—I've only seen these in ancient records. Who would have thought such things truly exist here?"

"With these, many sealed prescriptions in the sect can finally be used."

He began collecting Celestial Cloud Grass and Sun-Birthing Flowers.

Then they saw the mess scattered across the floor.

"Who could be so reckless..." the alchemist lamented, "So many Sun-Birthing Flowers ruined! If I find the culprit, I'll turn them into medicine!"

Meanwhile, the one human and one demon responsible for the mess had wandered off.

The grass sea stretched endlessly, disorienting them, so they stumbled about like headless flies.

They found themselves before a palace.

The dark red doors were rotting wood, torn paper windows letting in a faint breeze.

Xu Zhong discarded a drained flower; by now, his whole body was expelling black smoke.

He reached out, pushing the door.

A strange sensation greeted him.

The door opened.

Inside, unexpectedly, it was clean—none of the usual signs of neglect, the materials neat and untouched by dust.

Xu Zhong did not step inside.

He stood on the threshold, seeing within the room twelve stone statues, standing, sitting, reclining...

They were lifelike, their expressions vivid, even the embroidered patterns on their robes were intricately carved, stitches tight and precise.

"They can't possibly be alive, can they?" You Sujue, having refined her inner spiritual energy into demon energy, a flower in her mouth, tilted her head for a peek inside.

"I don't know," Xu Zhong replied, "I have a bad feeling."

"I think I feel it too," You Sujue spat out the flower.

"Could they... come to life?" She cautiously took out her rattle, surveying the surroundings, "Maybe you should close the door..."

As she spoke, screams erupted, quickly silenced.

Bang! Xu Zhong shut the door decisively.

Though he didn't know what had happened, the screams were certainly not of joy.

"Let's go!" You Sujue leapt into Xu Zhong's arms, "That feeling is getting stronger."

Xu Zhong nodded, unsure where to go, but certain they should leave.

---

They hadn't taken a single step when violent explosions thundered nearby.

"I'm not feeling well," You Sujue's body trembled.

Xu Zhong forced himself to remain calm, willing his shaky legs to move.

Boom! The walls were pulverized, clouds of dust rising and swiftly vanishing.

Figures darted overhead in rapid succession.

They had barely flown any distance when green vines erupted, wrapping around their feet.

The vines sprouted countless mouths.

The cultivators' vital energies, blood, and spiritual power were sucked out by these mouths.

Drained of life, they became dried corpses, discarded by the vines. The moment they hit the ground, they turned to dust, merging with the earth.

Their souls fled their bodies, but were swiftly absorbed by the pursuing vines.

Xu Zhong's eyes burned with horror.

He recalled the refining of spiritual herbs into monsters at Shiyao's estate—three hundred years could birth a spirit, and this pocket world had existed for at least two millennia. There was no reason spirit monsters would not emerge.

Perhaps the spiritual flowers and herbs had not failed to become monsters, but a single monster had blocked their path, absorbing all spiritual energy and preventing them from awakening wisdom.

Countless green vines swept down.

The light behind Xu Zhong flashed as he summoned his sword energy. At his command, countless blades erupted.

Yet the dense sword energy could not sever the vines—only deep scars remained.

Fire!

Xu Zhong spat out spiritual fire to burn the vines.

They remained unscathed.

Seeing this, You Sujue summoned a demon wind, carrying them away.

But the vines seemed to gain intelligence, chasing them skyward.

Vines covered the heavens, forming a vast web, densely packed with cultivators.

The cultivators were drained, discarded, just as Xu Zhong had discarded Sun-Birthing Flowers after draining their nectar.

In an instant, the roles of gatherer and herb were reversed.

To the spirit monster lurking in these palaces, they were nothing more than potent medicine to increase its power.

"We can't escape," You Sujue steered the demon wind, Xu Zhong rode the wind, dodging in every direction.

Yet more vines emerged from the ground.

Every ravine was a vine.

The earliest spirit monster seemed to hide beneath the palaces.

Countless vines seized countless people; Xu Zhong and You Sujue would soon be next.

At that moment, Xu Zhong changed direction, eyeing the palace they had opened before: "Let's gamble."

He burned his inner spiritual energy, flying toward the palace, pushing open the door and entering.

The vines followed, not slowing for a moment.

Xu Zhong's heart sank, but in the next instant, it was the vines that turned to dust.

They seemed safe.

Yet the sense of unease only grew stronger.