Chapter 77 Secret Vault

'Hm…? This water… there's something odd about it.'

Xuan could feel it, now that he was actually inside this so-called 'rich cultivation spot'. It was a feeling he knew very well, having once been on the sending end of it.

This, was an Earthpulse point.

None of the others seemed to realize this, however. As a Heavenly Transcendent, Xuan had once made use of multiple Earthpulses across the realms to funnel Qi into himself. It was a method used by many high-level cultivators due to how much Qi they needed to advance, and was part of a larger module known as 'passive cultivation'.

These Earthpulses disguised themselves as rich cultivation spots, when really all they were was a bait for cultivators to cultivate in a certain location. All the Qi they obtained would then be sent straight to the host cultivator who owned the Earthpulse, thus letting them 'passively cultivate' without having to even do anything.

What Xuan never expected, however, was to find one here, in the Flaming Sands Field. Normally, Earthpulses existed in the outside world, because it didn't exactly have a World Master. Small worlds like the Flaming Sands Field, however, always had a Master, and if someone wanted to create an Earthpulse inside a small world, they'd have to first get the permission of the 'Master'. Otherwise, it would never work.

So then… how was there an Earthpulse here?

Xuan furrowed his eyebrows and decided to keep the question to himself. No one else noticed this, so there was no reason to tell them either. All he did was soak in the water and pretend to be cultivating, when in reality all he was doing was 'waiting'. He saw no reason to tell anyone else here about the existence of the Earthpulse, seeing as how he didn't exactly have any connection with any of them.

When the next batch of cultivators entered the pool, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the amount of Qi in the water was still as abundant and rich as ever, despite Xuan having soaked for so long already. Assuming it was because Xuan was a kind-hearted man, the Thousand Swords Sect disciples rejoiced silently as to not disturb their benefactor's cultivation.

Of course, in reality, that was far from the truth.

As more and more cultivators settled in one by one, it became easier and easier for Xuan to avoid absorbing the Qi in the water. Before long, the Qi in the pool had been completely absorbed, and without even realizing that their efforts had been for naught, the cultivators rose out of the water, satisfied.

"Whew… that was a great cultivation session," one of them mused. "I feel refreshed."

'Yeah… welcome to water,' Xuan thought inside his head. It was strange, how easily humans could bend their own perception without even realizing it. If they didn't know this was a rich cultivation spot, would they still feel as 'refreshed' as they do right now? Probably not.

"Well, it's been a pleasure meeting everyone here. My fellow disciples and I will be taking our leave now and continuing our journey here. Farewell, everyone."

"Hold on a minute," Li Youpeng suddenly interrupted, pausing everyone else in place. "There seems to be… something underneath the water."

At this, everyone stopped, and looked down beneath their feet. The pool, now clear since all the Qi in it had been absorbed, revealed underneath it what looked like a… vault?

The next instant, the 'doors' beneath everyone's feet suddenly opened up, revealing a spinning cyclone that began to rev up in power exponentially.

"What the-"

Panicking, the cultivators quickly tried to escape the suction force, but it was already too late. Any movement techniques they tried using were immediately overpowered, and any attempts to escape were quickly shut down. Even Xuan himself couldn't run from it—but then again, neither did he try. In fact, he wanted to see where this was going to take him. It certainly wasn't a death trap—otherwise, they'd already be dead. Instead, it seemed more like a 'portal'—a gate that was intended to bring them somewhere.

Calming down, Xuan closed his eyes and awaited the teleportation to happen, whereas everyone else panicked like headless chicken. There was a flash of light, a strange warping sound, and then—

"…"

—Utter silence.

A strange, ominous quiet dawned upon Xuan, and he slowly opened his eyes to see a completely white and empty space, stretching out for miles all around him.

"… Huh."

Now where exactly was this?

Confused, Xuan looked around, gawking in wonder at the utter… whiteness of the scenery. He then glanced down at his feet, and saw no shadow. Because of this, he arrived at the conclusion that this was not a real place, but rather a fragment of some virtual dimension.

The question was—why was he here?

His answer soon came to him as a voice called out to him from behind, taking him by slight surprise.

"Bravo, kiddo. Bravo."

Slowly, Xuan turned around, and saw… no one there.

"… May I ask who this senior is?"

"My name is unimportant," the voice replied, still not showing itself to him. "All you must know is that I am the Master of the Flaming Sands Field, and… there has been somewhat of a disturbance, as you may know."

At this, Xuan arched an eyebrow. "A disturbance?"

"Correct. You see, an incredibly powerful Phoenix has taken refuge in the centermost part of my realm to rest, and as a result forced all the other Flame Beasts out, creating damage in the ecosystem. The Phoenix appears to be gravely injured, but it is still far more than enough to deal with any Flame Beasts."

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'Phoenix… could it really be…?'

"And you want me to do what, exactly?"

"Oh, that's easy—get the Phoenix out of here."

Xuan pondered briefly, then gave a nod.

"Alright."

This time, it was the senior's turn to be surprised, pausing for a brief moment before replying.

"W-Wait, you actually agreed so readily?"

"What, did you not want me to?"

"No, I just didn't expect you would take the task on so confidently… ah, well, nevermind. I should be happy you are this willing. Out of everyone I've seen in this batch thus far, you seem the most experienced and shrewd, despite having a low cultivation base. In my eyes, you are the perfect person for the job."

"Of course, I don't work for free," Xuan added, just so the other party knew.

"Naturally. If you do this for me, I'll prepare quite a nice gift for you when you reach the center—that is, given you can make it there in the first place. For now, take this as a token of my trust."

Saying that, out of thin air, a talisman appeared above Xuan, and he caught it with his hand.

"This is..."

"It will protect you from the heat of the later layers. I know you lack the powerful equipment needed to sustain that level of heat, so this should help you with that."

Xuan smiled. The Phoenix was at the center, so if he couldn't even make it to the center, then how was he supposed to get the Phoenix out? This was a test of skill hidden in disguise.

"Very well. I accept the challenge."