Chapter 0256: The Crystal Palace at the Bottom of the Lake

Chapter 0256: The Crystal Palace at the Bottom of the Lake

Qin Yun had been in the lake for so long that he was less afraid of the lake bottom, especially after discovering the warm undercurrent, which put him even more at ease.

Over the course of this dozen-hour descent, Qin Yun felt as if his body was slowly sinking without any strong pressure.

"I've reached the bottom!" Every so often, he would release his mental energy to scan the depths. Now, he realized it was no longer bottomless; there was something he could detect below.

He hurriedly took out a very bright glowing stone and threw it down.

The glowing stone lit up the area below.

Seeing the lake bottom, Qin Yun was pleasantly surprised.

The lake bottom was very clean, a flat surface made of crystal, which was highly peculiar.

"Could this be man-made?" Qin Yun looked at the crystal ground below, filled with doubt.

He expected to land on the crystal floor, but instead, his body passed through it and entered the crystal itself.

"What's going on? Could there be more below?" Qin Yun recalled stories of many divers encountering a barrier during their descent.

However, he had already sensed that he had passed through that barrier.

Penetrating the thick crystal floor, he fell into a dark stone room.

There was no water here.

Qin Yun took out the glowing stone to illuminate the stone room and found that the walls were made of crystal stones.

On the crystal room, there was a door. He walked over and opened it.

As he opened the door, Qin Yun was thrilled because this door would lead him to the secrets of Wanxing Lake!

Behind the crystal door was a beautiful crystal corridor. The crystal walls had glowing stones inside that emitted light continuously.

The crystal corridor was long. Qin Yun carefully stepped onto it, worried that there might be traps. After walking for a few kilometers, he finally reached the end, where there was another crystal door.

"Is the secret of Wanxing Lake inside?" Qin Yun took a few deep breaths, his heart racing with both curiosity and fear.

He was worried that opening the door might lead to danger or perhaps a thousand-year-old ghost.

In the end, he pushed open that crystal door.

He thought that if he had come all this way and didn’t take a look, he would think about it every day afterward.

Pushing open the crystal door, he saw a spacious, circular hall inside, all made of crystal, bright and beautiful.

The crystal hall spanned hundreds of meters wide, and in the center lay a giant bull covered in golden armor. The bull was dozens of meters long, like a small hill, with its eyes closed and lying there.

The bull's horns were not curved but like the double horns of a dragon, and its scales were dragon scales. This was the legendary Dragon Bull!

However, it differed significantly from the legends. This Dragon Bull wasn’t supporting the island; it was sleeping beneath it.

The spacious crystal hall contained only this Dragon Bull, seemingly sealed here.

Qin Yun wondered how such a massive Dragon Bull could have been brought inside.

"Although I haven't gained anything, I can confirm that the legendary Dragon Bull does exist." Qin Yun was now very curious about who had built this underwater crystal palace.

He didn’t dare to enter, so he stood at the entrance. If the dragon-ox was very aggressive, he could retreat back into the crystal corridor.

Just as he was carefully observing the crystal hall, the dragon-ox suddenly opened its huge eyes.

Qin Yun was startled and hurriedly retreated back into the corridor.

"Weak human… how did you manage to get here?" The dragon-ox spoke, its voice slow, ancient, and rough.

Qin Yun calmed himself and replied, "I… I saw a stellar array above Wanxing Lake from the sky. There were eight routes in the array, and I followed one of them to get here."

"I see. Discovering that array requires various conditions. It shouldn’t be something a weak person like you could achieve." The dragon-ox was very puzzled, its dragon-like eyes filled with majesty as they stared at Qin Yun.

"Maybe it’s just luck!" Qin Yun forced a dry laugh, not expecting to be so deeply despised by the dragon-ox.

"Although this crystal palace wasn’t prepared for you, the fact that you’ve arrived here is indeed your fate. You must have some skills." The dragon-ox didn’t pursue the matter of how Qin Yun arrived and asked, "How much do you know about this crystal palace?"

Qin Yun shook his head and replied, "I don’t know anything! There’s a small island on the lake, and on that island is the Star Profound Martial Academy. I am a student there."

"Star Profound Martial Academy was probably created by that brat Lan Xiao. He’s obsessed with the Way of Star Patterns. Just hearing the name tells me it was him." The dragon-ox said.

Star Profound Martial Academy was indeed built by Lan Xiao Wu Wang!

Lan Xiao Wu Wang had lived for ten thousand years, but to this dragon-ox, he was just a brat!

"Dragon-ox elder, can you tell me about this crystal palace?" Qin Yun asked.

"Has Wanxing Lake started to wave? If it doesn’t wave, you wouldn’t have seen the star diagram." The dragon-ox asked.

"Yes, it’s been waving for about a year." Qin Yun nodded.

"The ancient Nine Sun is finally about to fall." The dragon-ox sighed deeply. "The land of Jiuhuang will forever be plunged into darkness!"

"Why will the Nine Sun fall? Is it related to the Nine Sun Spirit and Nine Yin Spirit?" Qin Yun asked hurriedly. The legends were true. There’s a unique grand array at Wanxing Lake that can sense the changes in the stars.

So, the Nine Sun was going to perish, and Wanxing Lake had foreseen it, giving out a warning.

"The Nine Sun Spirit was taken from the Nine Sun, but as long as the Nine Sun Spirit remains, it won’t affect the safety of the Nine Sun! The reason the Nine Sun is in crisis is that the nine Yang souls within the Nine Sun have all separated from it." The dragon-ox let out a long sigh. "The nine Yang souls of the Nine Sun are its foundation. It’s like the martial soul within your inner dantian. What would happen if your inner core had no martial soul?"

Qin Yun took a deep breath. "Then where did the Nine Sun souls go?"

"There are only two possibilities: either they dissipated on their own or were taken." The dragon-ox said. "It’s also possible that the souls of the Nine Sun sensed the crisis and were dispersed throughout the lands of Jiuhuang."

The souls of the Nine Sun—they must be extremely powerful. If one could obtain them, their strength would undoubtedly increase greatly.

"Elder, who built this crystal palace? Anyone who built this incredible crystal palace must have been incredibly powerful." Qin Yun said.

The dragon-ox chuckled. "Building the crystal palace is nothing compared to the person who built the Burial Immortal Ground."

The Wanxing Crystal Palace was actually connected to the Burial Immortal Ground, which shocked Qin Yun!

The Burial Immortal Ground had a lot to do with Xie Qirou! And Qin Yun’s mother, because she obtained the Burial Immortal Diagram, also allowed him to gain the recognition of the Nine Sun Spirit.

So, Qin Yun was certain that the Nine Sun Spirit was connected to the Burial Immortal Ground.

He just hadn’t found the relevant clues yet because he was too weak, and now with demon beasts running rampant, he couldn’t even cross the Yunlong River to the other side.

"The master of the crystal palace, who was also my master, has already passed away. I remain here to protect this lake from being invaded by demon beasts." The dragon-ox’s voice was filled with sorrow.

"Elder, demon beasts are rampaging outside now. They never appeared before—what’s causing this?" Qin Yun hoped the dragon-ox might have some insight.

"The Demon Beasts come from the Demon Wasteland. The demons within the wasteland want to find the Burial Immortal Ground, so they have released a large number of Demon Beasts. This was something my master and I had anticipated," said Dragon Ox. "The person buried in the Burial Immortal Ground is the daughter of the Demon Concubine, who was my young mistress."

The Burial Immortal Ground houses the remains of a woman—the daughter of the Demon Concubine!

Qin Yun didn't know how powerful the Demon Concubine was, but he could guess that the demons in the Demon Wasteland, having released so many Demon Beasts into the Cloud Dragon Mountains just to find the Burial Immortal Ground, must be after something incredibly valuable.

Given the commotion in the Demon Wasteland, the various sects in Wuhuang must be aware of it. They might have already entered the Cloud Dragon Mountains to investigate the Burial Immortal Ground.

"In the Burial Immortal Ground, the daughter of the Demon Concubine is buried, with the Nine Sun Spirit Soul and the Nine Yin Spirit Soul as her burial objects. If this news gets out, all kinds of demons, spirits, and humans will rush to the Burial Immortal Ground," Dragon Ox added.

Qin Yun's heart trembled. The Nine Sun Spirit Soul was in his possession, while the Nine Yin Spirit Soul was in Xie Qirou's hands.

It was Xie Qirou who had given him the Nine Sun Spirit Soul in the first place!

"Xie Qirou, how did she obtain the Nine Sun Spirit Soul and the Nine Yin Spirit Soul? She must have been inside the Burial Immortal Ground!" Qin Yun was extremely puzzled.

Qin Yun looked around the main hall and noticed that apart from eight crystal doors, there was also a light golden door.

He asked, "Senior, where does that door lead?"

The other eight doors led outside, but the golden door seemed to lead somewhere else.

"That door leads to the most core area of the crystal hall. Even I cannot open it. You should go and give it a try," said Dragon Ox. "Since you've managed to come here, you must be very curious."

Qin Yun nodded and quickly walked towards the light golden crystal door.

Arriving at the door, he placed his hand on the crystal and pushed hard.

"It can't be pushed!" he sighed, then released his inner energy.

As he released his inner energy, the crystal door suddenly moved.

"Impossible!" Dragon Ox immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed in surprise.

"But I definitely moved it!" Qin Yun was very surprised and continued to release his inner energy to push the golden crystal door.

As he pushed the golden crystal door, the Nine Sun Spirit Soul suddenly appeared on his right wrist, nine black beads emitting a faint golden light.

The Nine Sun Spirit Soul had been hidden in his flesh and blood for a long time and had never appeared on its own.

However, just when he pushed the door, it actually emerged!

"How is the Nine Sun Spirit Soul in your hands? Have you entered the Burial Immortal Ground?" Dragon Ox was extremely astonished. A burst of light emanated from his body, and his huge figure was enveloped in golden light, gradually shrinking.

Soon, the once-giant Dragon Ox turned into a small old man dressed in a golden robe, with a big nose, white hair, and two small dragon horns on his head.

Dragon Ox suddenly turning into a human also startled Qin Yun!