Shortly thereafter, the enormous pillar of golden light suddenly began to flash erratically, giving the antiquated stone gate beneath it a rather indistinct appearance.
Everyone immediately fell silent upon seeing this, waiting with bated breath for what was about to unfold next.
After flickering for some time, the pillar of golden light suddenly became brighter than ever, only to then immediately shrink down rapidly. Within the span of just a few seconds, the pillar of golden light had vanished entirely, fully revealing the stone gate below.
In the same instant, Su Anqian, Lei Yuce, and the others immediately pounced on the stone gate.
A dull thump rang out as a series of transparent ripples appeared over the stone gate, sending all of them flying back.
Jin Liu was the one that was flying at the stone gate with the most urgency, and the skin on his forehead was split open by the sudden impact, causing him to curse loudly.
Everyone else immediately stopped in their tracks upon seeing this, and only then did they notice that there was a barely visible transparent light barrier over the stone gate.
Lei Yuce's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he swept his left hand through the air in the direction of the stone gate, unleashing five streaks of golden swordlight that were each around a hundred feet in length.
Each streak of golden swordlight was as radiant as the sun, and they struck the stone gate like lightning, but the transparent light barrier was able to withstand them with ease.
"This light barrier may be resilient, but it's not indestructible. There are so many of us here, I'm sure we'll be able to break through it if we all work together," Lei Yuce declared.
"Then what are we waiting for? I've heard that the Azure Lock Valley has an azure lock array that's quite powerful, so hurry up and bring it out. The Spirit Heaven Sect also has a Spirit Heaven Blazing Sun Technique that's quite powerful, and the Rising Moon Pavilion..."
Jin Liu began barking instructions at the people of the nearby sects as if he were ordering around his personal servants, and the cultivators of those sects were naturally not very pleased, but they still obliged.
After all, the top priority was to break open this light barrier so that they could access the secret area.
Su Anqian, Lei Yuce, and the others also sprang into action, and a formidable barrage of attacks and immortal treasures were sent raining down upon the transparent light barrier.
The light barrier appeared quite thin, but it was incredibly resilient, holding itself together with ease in the face of the ferocious barrage, much to everyone's astonishment.
"Don't stop! Keep going!" Lei Yuce yelled.
Qi Mozi was standing further back in the crowd, choosing not to participate in the collective effort.
At the moment, he was only displaying a Golden Immortal Stage aura, so he didn't stand out in the crowd, and the only people attacking the light barrier were the cultivators from a handful of the most powerful sects present.
After all, there was only so much space in front of the stone gate, so only a certain number of people could be accommodated.
"Do you think they'll be able to break the restriction like this? Should we lend them our assistance?" Xiong Shan asked.
"The method that they're employing is a bit barbaric, but it should work. At this rate, it's only a matter of time, so let's not expose ourselves for now," Qi Mozi replied, and Xiong Shan nodded in response.
While the situation was still quite chaotic, She Chan and the Lan siblings snuck away deeper into the canyon, unleashing some self-concealment techniques as they did so.
Elsewhere in the crowd were the black-robed man and woman, and the latter said, "Lan Yuanzi and the others are traveling deeper into the secret area. Let's go as well, we can't let them get too far ahead of us."
The black-robed young man nodded in response, and the two of them vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, everyone else was marveling at the environment within the secret area.
Right at this moment, the sky above suddenly began to tremble violently, and bolts of lightning-like white light appeared up above, giving off bursts of dull yet deafening rumbling, as if there were several bursts of almighty force crashing against each other.
Everyone looked up with alarmed expressions as a series of enormous black rifts appeared in the sky above, and the ground beneath their feet also shuddered violently.
Immediately thereafter, the golden vortex up above abruptly disintegrated with a dull thump, following which the tremors in the sky and the earth gradually subsided.
Deep within the secret area, Han Li flew out of the palace, and a puzzled look appeared on his face at the sight of what had just taken place.
What just happened?
The palace behind him had been completely torn apart, and even the ceiling had been entirely demolished.
Han Li's brows furrowed tightly as he withdrew his gaze before flying deeper into the secret area.
Meanwhile, everyone was still astonished by the abrupt disappearance of the spatial passageway that led to the outside world.
"Fellow Daoist Lei, Fellow Daoist Su, do either of you know what this place is?" the square-faced man from the Spirit Heaven Sect asked, and everyone else immediately turned to Lei Yuce and Su Anqian to await their response.
Lei Yuce exchanged a glance with Su Anqian, then said, "I've heard some things about the Tai Sui Immortal Manor. There was once a Great Encompassment cultivator by the name of Immortal Lord Tai Sui tens of millions of years ago, and he was a cultivator of the laws of time, so I'm sure all of you can imagine how powerful he was.
“However, he was a very reclusive person who kept a low profile, so he wasn't particularly renowned. At some point, he disappeared without a trace, and I wouldn't have heard of him had I not just so happened to have seen some scriptures describing his feats in our Almighty Sword Sect. My guess is that he was the one who left behind this Tai Sui Immortal Manor."
Looks of elation appeared on everyone's faces upon hearing this, washing away much of the unease that they felt from the disappearance of the spatial entrance.
If this really was a cave abode left behind by a Great Encompassment Stage immortal lord who had cultivated the laws of time, then it had to be filled with countless precious treasures. Furthermore, if it really had already been lost for tens of millions of years, then any precious spirit plants in this place had to have been ridiculously advanced in age.
Lei Yuce turned to Su Anqian, then communicated something to her through voice transmission, in response to which she gave a barely noticeable nod.
"In that case, do either of you have any idea of what just happened?" the square-faced man asked.
"That's the extent of my knowledge on this place. My assumption is that this place has been sealed for too long, and we just forcibly destroyed the restriction at the entrance, so this space is already beginning to collapse and won't be around for much longer," Lei Yuce speculated, much to everyone's concern.