16: Bronze Secret Box, the Core of the Immortal Abode

The bronze lid of the casket opened slowly. There was no expected sky-piercing treasure light, only a vast and ancient aura flowing out.

Inside the casket, lined with soft, deep purple velvet, lay a palm-sized token, neither gold nor jade, and an ancient scroll made of an unknown beast hide.

The token had a rustic design; its front was engraved with a pattern of an immortal palace shrouded in clouds and mist, while the back featured a complex rune that seemed to contain the movement of the celestial stars.

It emitted an aura that was of the same origin as the "Demon Suppressing Token," yet deeper and more central.

As for the beast hide scroll, its material was tough and felt icy to the touch, covered in dense, ancient immortal script.

Lin Xuan first picked up the token and probed it with his Divine Sense.

[Ding! Special item 'immortal abode pivot token' (core fragment) detected.]

[Information: A fragment of the Misty Immortal Abode's control hub. The holder can obtain partial authority over the immortal abode, perceive its overall state, and control some undamaged Restrictions.]

[Status: Severely damaged, energy depleted, authority restricted.]

[Detected that the Host possesses a token of the same origin (frost silence immortal sword), meeting the basic binding conditions. Bind?]

The immortal abode pivot token! The core item for controlling the immortal palace!

Lin Xuan was overjoyed; truly, when one thinks the path is blocked, a new way emerges!

He chose to bind it without hesitation.

The token vibrated slightly, turning into a stream of light that merged into Lin Xuan's palm, forming a faint mark of an immortal palace.

In an instant, Lin Xuan felt as if his Divine Sense had connected to a vast, broken network.

Countless blurry fragments of information flooded into his mind—the general structure of the immortal palace (most areas dim and dark), a few Restriction nodes that could still faintly operate, the location of the "demonic source" that was everywhere, eroding the immortal palace like a tumor (located in the deepest part of the immortal palace), and the entrance to the backup "Void Realm passage" (located in a side hall on the east side of the immortal palace)!

More importantly, he clearly "saw" the crumbling golden light barrier outside the Scripture Pavilion, and that the "Demon Suppressing Token" had less than 10% of its energy remaining!

"How is it?" Su Wanqing asked with concern upon seeing the change in Lin Xuan's expression.

Qu Feiyan and Gongsun Yu also watched him nervously.

Lin Xuan suppressed his inner excitement and said quickly, "I have obtained partial authority over the immortal palace, found the location of the Void Realm passage to leave, and also know the location of the demonic source. But the barrier outside won't last long; we must act immediately!"

He picked up the beast hide scroll and scanned it quickly.

What was recorded on the scroll was not a Cultivation Technique, but an outline for Cultivate named "Primordial Soul Cleansing Light," as well as the method to set up a "Celestial Star Purification Array"!

The Cultivate requirements for the "Primordial Soul Cleansing Light" were extremely harsh, requiring the perfect Fusion of two extreme powers—the Ultimate Yin and Ultimate Yang—and it also had extremely high requirements for the Divine Soul, making it impossible to master in a short time.

However, the "Celestial Star Purification Array" that followed made Lin Xuan's eyes light up!

This array could draw upon the Power of Stars to form a purification light field, which had an extremely strong inhibitory effect on Devilish Qi.

Although setting it up required a large amount of precious Materials, the scroll mentioned that the remaining Restriction nodes throughout the immortal palace could to some extent replace part of the array base, greatly reducing the difficulty of the setup!

And this perfectly complemented the immortal abode pivot token authority he had just obtained!

"There is a way!" A gleam flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes. "We are not going to the Void Realm passage!"

"What?" Gongsun Yu was stunned. "If we aren't going to the escape passage, then where are we going?"

Su Wanqing and Qu Feiyan also looked confused.

Lin Xuan pointed to a location on the immortal palace's structural map that was not too far from the Scripture Pavilion and had several functional Restriction nodes around it—it was marked as "Star Observation Platform."

"We are going there to set up the 'Celestial Star Purification Array'!" Lin Xuan said with a decisive tone. "If we flee passively, once the demonic source erupts completely, the consequences will be unimaginable. Moreover, the situation of the Void Realm passage is unknown and may not be safe. It is better to take the initiative and, with the help of the immortal palace's remaining power, attempt to purify or reinforce the Seal of the demonic source!"

He looked at the three women, his gaze burning: "This is our only chance of survival, and also... a huge gamble!"

Su Wanqing barely hesitated, her cold, clear eyes meeting Lin Xuan's gaze: "I will go with you."

Qu Feiyan smiled seductively, her eyes shifting: "Sounds exciting, big sister will accompany you to the end."

Gongsun Yu looked at the increasingly dim golden light outside the window and gritted her teeth: "Fine! This Young Miss will risk it too! We can't just sit here and wait for death!"

"Good!" Lin Xuan nodded, wasting no more time. "Follow me! I know a relatively safe path!"

Relying on the vague perception provided by the "immortal abode pivot token," he was able to avoid some areas where the Devilish Qi was particularly dense and traps that had completely failed.

The four rushed out of the Scripture Pavilion and once again stepped into the immortal garden already shrouded in Devilish Qi.

The golden light extinguished completely behind them, and endless darkness and demonic shadows surged like a tide, their shrill howling instantly engulfing them!

"To the left!" Lin Xuan shouted in a low voice, taking the lead and rushing in one direction.

Su Wanqing followed closely behind, the Moonlight Power blooming; wherever the clear radiance passed, the Devilish Qi retreated slightly.

Qu Feiyan and Gongsun Yu guarded the flanks, with blood-colored lotuses and thunder light silver rings constantly blasting out, repelling the demonized creatures that pounced on them.

The path was not smooth sailing. From time to time, powerful demonized guards rushed out from the darkness. Once, they even mistakenly entered an area with chaotic space and were almost swallowed by a suddenly appearing spatial rift.

Lin Xuan used the authority of the "immortal abode pivot token" to the extreme, sometimes forcibly activating a broken Restriction to temporarily block pursuers, and sometimes distorting the space around them to narrowly avoid fatal attacks.

His spiritual power and Bloodline power were being consumed at an unprecedented rate, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

This feeling of controlling the situation in a desperate plight and fighting side by side with his companions made his blood boil.

Finally, after defeating a wave of sieges composed of dozens of demonized immortal cranes, a towering white jade circular platform with a wide stage appeared before everyone's eyes.

Several broken coiled Dragon stone pillars stood on the edge of the circular platform, and there was no dome above, directly corresponding to the gray, Devilish Qi-shrouded sky outside.

The Star Observation Platform, they had arrived!

However, the center of the platform was not empty.

A skeleton wearing magnificent silver armor, though the armor was covered in black stains, and holding a broken long spear, was standing there silently with its back to them.

The aura it emitted far exceeded all the demonized creatures they had encountered before, reaching the Peak of the False Core Realm, or even... half-step Golden Core!

It slowly turned around, and in its hollow eye sockets, two clusters of scarlet Soul flames burned violently, locking onto the intruders' aura.

The final obstacle had appeared.