33: Outside the Demon Palace, eerie sounds erode the soul.

Before dawn, the small Spiritual Isle was still enveloped in the dim light and the ethereal Spiritual Qi of the Purifying Demon Spring. Lin Xuan's group of four was ready to depart, their conditions adjusted to their Peak. Su Wanqing was as cool and clear as the moon, her aura restrained and profound; Qu Feiyan remained alluring, but her seductive eyes now held a hint of sharpness; Gongsun Yu was full of vigor, with faint flashes of lightning circulating around her; Lin Xuan stood at the forefront, his Golden Core aura as steady as a mountain, his gaze firm.

Daoist Shoujing bestowed the final pure heart purifying talisman's power upon the four, a layer of soft, clear light like a thin veil enveloping their bodies, slightly isolating the pervasive Devilish Qi from the outside world and bringing a rare clarity.

"Remember, the pure heart purifying talisman can only last for twelve hours. This trip is primarily for reconnaissance. If things become impossible, retreat immediately," Daoist Shoujing finally warned, his gaze gentle with a hint of undetectable profound meaning.

"This Junior will remember," Lin Xuan cupped his hands, then looked at the Three women. "Let's go!"

He controlled the white bone boat, made from the skeleton of an ancient giant bird, and slowly steered it out of the Spiritual Isle's light barrier, submerging once again into the suffocating black demon marsh.

As soon as they left the light barrier, the familiar, viscous, and cold Devilish Qi pressure instantly returned. Even with the protection of the pure heart purifying talisman, it still weighed heavily on their minds. The white bone boat, propelled by Lin Xuan's Qi and blood power, broke through the sticky mud and sailed towards the distant, majestic and grotesque black Demon Palace.

The closer they got to the Demon Palace, the more bizarre the surroundings became. The skeletons floating in the mud became larger and more grotesque, and the twisted, wailing demon shadows grew more solid, even attempting to climb onto the white bone boat, only to be easily repelled by Su Wanqing's Moonlight Sword Aura and Gongsun Yu's lightning. The low whimpering sounds filling the air gradually became clearer, as if countless resentful souls were whispering in their ears, trying to burrow into their minds and disturb their Dao Heart.

The clear light emanating from the pure heart purifying talisman rippled slightly, blocking most of the demonic sounds, but threads of it still penetrated, bringing a sense of irritation and disorientation.

"Steady your minds, do not listen, do not believe!" Lin Xuan shouted in a low voice, his voice containing a trace of Golden Core Spiritual Sense power, like a morning bell or evening drum, instantly awakening the slightly disoriented Gongsun Yu and the subtly changed Qu Feiyan.

Su Wanqing, however, remained cool and composed. Her Taiyin Youying Bloodline granted her extremely strong mental resistance, and as the power of the moonlight circulated, it dispelled the influence of the demonic sounds into nothingness.

After about an hour of sailing, the outline of the Demon Palace became incredibly clear and massive before them. It was a palace entirely built from some kind of jet-black giant stone, with a rough and grotesque style. Countless twisted demonic patterns covered the walls, slowly wriggling like living creatures. The palace had no windows, only black holes resembling the nostrils of giant beasts, from which dense, ink-like Devilish Qi spewed forth. Two giant gates, a hundred zhang tall, inscribed with countless struggling demonic images, were tightly shut, exuding a heavy, despair-inducing pressure.

The Demon Palace was not isolated; its periphery was a vast wasteland of black strange stones and twisted metal, as if it had once been a satellite city attached to the Demon Palace, now in ruins. Countless low-level demonic creatures of various forms, exuding a ferocious aura, roamed and fought among the ruins. Most of them had low intelligence, acting purely on instinct, but their numbers were like a tide.

"We can't go any further, or we'll be submerged by the tide of demonic creatures." Lin Xuan maneuvered the white bone boat, quietly approaching a relatively tall ruin and hiding the boat behind it. From here, they could clearly observe the Demon Palace gate and the surrounding ruins.

"The gate is tightly shut, and there are too many demonic creatures around. Forcing our way in is definitely not a good strategy," Su Wanqing observed for a moment, her voice cool.

Qu Feiyan narrowed her seductive eyes, pointing to some more hidden passages deep within the ruins, similar to vents or cracks: "Perhaps we can try to sneak in through those places. We just don't know what the situation is like inside."

As the four discussed in low voices, a strange sound, completely different from the chaotic demonic sounds before, drifted over, sometimes near, sometimes far.

At first listen, this sound was neither like a flute nor a xiao, but rather a mournful and melodious wail, as if carrying some peculiar demonic power. It didn't directly attack the Divine Soul, but rather subtly stirred the various desires and emotions deep within one's heart.

Lin Xuan frowned, immediately sensing something was wrong. His Golden Core Spiritual Sense firmly guarded his spiritual platform, and he lowed: "Be careful of this sound!"

However, it was already too late.

Gongsun Yu, whose cultivation was the weakest, was the first to have her eyes glaze over. She seemed to see the approving gaze of her Family elders, the scene of her cultivation reaching Major Achievement, revered by tens of thousands. A silly smile involuntarily appeared on her lips, and she murmured, "I succeeded... I am the pride of the Gongsun Family..."

"Sister Yu!" Su Wanqing lightly reprimanded, a cool moonlight power entering Gongsun Yu's body, while simultaneously pressing her jade hand on her back to help her stabilize her Dao Heart.

Gongsun Yu shivered, waking up. Recalling the illusion she had just experienced, her small face turned pale, filled with lingering fear.

Qu Feiyan's reaction was even more peculiar. The deceptive sound seemed to amplify her deep-seated desires for power, control, and that complex possessiveness towards Lin Xuan. Her seductive eyes were like silk, her cheeks flushed, and her breathing slightly hurried. Her gaze towards Lin Xuan was almost dripping with water, and she subconsciously took a step closer to him, her red lips slightly parted, as if wanting to say something.

Lin Xuan felt the change in her aura, and that undisguised, fiery gaze. His heart tightened, knowing that she too had been affected. His eyes narrowed, and with a trace of Divine Sense pressure, he swept his gaze towards Qu Feiyan, saying in a deep voice, "Senior Sister Qu, wake up!"

Qu Feiyan's delicate body trembled, the disorientation in her seductive eyes quickly receding, replaced by a trace of shock and annoyance. She bit her red lips, turned her head away, and secretly circulated her Cultivation Technique to calm her restless emotions andFascinating (Mei Yuan), but her heart harbored great apprehension towards the deceptive sound that could stir her inner desires.

Even Su Wanqing, whose Dao Heart was the most resolute, had ripples appear in her cool eyes under the continuous assault of the deceptive sound. She seemed to see a blurred but reassuring figure standing beside her on the Peak of an ice-sealed snowy mountain... She quickly extinguished this ripple, and the power of the moonlight circulated throughout her body, freezing all distracting thoughts.

This deceptive sound was pervasive, directly targeting the Dao Heart, even more dangerous than the chaotic mental attacks before!

Lin Xuan fully unleashed his Divine Sense, tracing the source of the deceptive sound. Finally, his gaze locked onto an inconspicuous, bat-shaped stone carving above the Demon Palace gate. The carving's mouth was slightly agape, and the strange sound waves were emanating from there.

"It's the 'Bewitching Heart Demonic Sound,' a Demonic Path Divine Ability that can amplify Heart Demons and corrode the Dao Heart. Everyone, guard your minds tightly, don't let it take advantage of your weakness!" Lin Xuan quickly determined, reminding everyone. At the same time, he tried to activate the trace of insight into mind-bewitching power he had just gained from refining the seven-colored crystal core, setting up a faint mental interference field around himself. Although it couldn't completely counteract the demonic sound, it could weaken its influence somewhat.

However, the Bewitching Heart Demonic Sound seemed to possess sentience. Sensing resistance, its tone suddenly changed, becoming sharper and more urgent, like countless steel needles, specifically drilling into the weakest points of the four's Divine Sense!

The pure heart purifying talisman's light flickered violently, clearly under immense pressure.

"We can't stay long! We must quickly find a way to enter the Demon Palace, or retreat to the Spiritual Island!" Lin Xuan made a decisive decision. Continuing to stay here, once the pure heart purifying talisman failed, or if their minds were lost, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His gaze sharply scanned the ruins surrounding the Demon Palace, his mind rapidly working, searching for any possible Breakthrough.

At this moment, behind that massive Demon Palace gate, in the depths of endless darkness, a pair of cold eyes seemed to be indifferently watching the arrival of these uninvited guests through layers of obstruction. The true test had just begun.