Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Inside the Palace

Xu Yunfan paid him no mind, instead taking a step forward and pressing his palms firmly against the doors.

The full power of his newly attained Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivation erupted. Strength, born from deep within his marrow, surged forth as the muscles of his back rippled and bunched. This power was channeled rapidly into his arms. His Golden Marrow trembled, emitting a resonant chime like jade as it resonated with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, forming a pale golden film of light over his palms.

With a muffled grunt from Xu Yunfan, the Dragon Scale Armor Leaves rippled like waves. As his Strength burst out, the leaves on his wrists suddenly flared upright, merging with the force to unleash a tremendous power.

The five ancient characters on the lintel blazed with golden light, transforming into five tangible rays of clear radiance that swept toward him.

Xu Yunfan neither dodged nor evaded. The muscles of his back shifted, thrusting the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace forward to meet the attack. As the Heavy Mace vibrated ceaselessly, it became wreathed in crimson flames and blue arcs of electricity.

BOOM!

In the deafening collision, Xu Yunfan was knocked back more than ten steps, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth.

But the fighting spirit in his eyes only burned hotter. Every scale on his Dragon Scale Armor flared up, greedily absorbing the free-roaming Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the air.

Su Zhenhe watched, stunned. He had never imagined someone could withstand the White Jade Radiance head-on.

"Again!"

Xu Yunfan spat. His Red Flood Dragon Force quickly receded as the Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique inside him began to circulate frantically, causing his accumulated Sword Force to erupt.

Just as he was preparing for a second assault, the palace doors suddenly let out a soft CLICK and slowly opened a crack.

A musty, decaying scent washed over him, mingled with an ancient, weathered air that made Xu Yunfan’s breath catch in his throat. He felt a slight sense of relief.

’If the crack in the White Jade Palace’s door had unleashed a wave of Spiritual Qi a hundred times denser than the outside world, I would’ve turned and left without a second thought.’

’There’s no telling what could have spawned in an environment like that.’

Su Zhenhe gasped. "This... How is this possible? The ancient texts clearly state..."

Xu Yunfan understood. "It seems it couldn’t hold out any longer."

’After two thousand years, the White Jade Palace was finally succumbing to the erosion of time and beginning to decay. No wonder Zhou Tianyan and the others were able to get inside with just a single Divine Weapon.’

Glancing at the Nine-Burning Saber that had fallen to the ground, Xu Yunfan slowly picked it up.

CRACK!

A piercing crack shattered the air. The dense, dark-red fire patterns on the blade convulsed as if alive, and then a web of cracks burst from the middle of the edge.

On the spine of the blade, the nine patterns symbolizing "Heaven Burning" dimmed one after another, as if their Essence Qi was being drained by an unseen force.

As fragments of the blade flaked off, they let out a mournful, metallic cry. Upon hitting the ground, they turned to crimson dust and burned away into a final wisp of smoke in the wind.

Xu Yunfan casually tossed the long saber aside.

He strode toward the open palace doors, the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace held horizontally before his chest, ready for any surprises. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Seeing Xu Yunfan step into the palace without hesitation, Su Zhenhe wavered for a moment before gritting his teeth and following close behind.

’Fortune favors the bold. If I miss this chance, I might never have another shot at Longevity in this lifetime.’

’The Heaven and Earth Primordial Spirit has been stirred up by the Earth Veins for now, but what will happen in a few decades when it settles again?’

’A great opportunity lies before me. Even if it means risking my life, I have to take the gamble!’

Su Zhenhe quickened his pace to catch up.

One after the other, the two stepped through the doors. Behind them, the gateway swung shut without a sound, completely sealing them off from the outside world.

The space inside the palace was far vaster than it appeared from the outside. The ceiling was too high to see, and the surrounding walls were covered in the same ancient script as the lintel.

The floor was paved with some kind of translucent white jade. A shifting radiance was sealed within each jade tile, but because the Spiritual Qi inside the White Jade Palace had been depleted, this slowly drifting luminescence was faint and flickering, on the verge of dissipating completely.

Xu Yunfan’s Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace trembled even more violently, and his Dragon Scale Armor let out an excited hum.

"A Heaven and Earth Divine Weapon..."

Xu Yunfan’s gaze was like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the thin, swirling mist within the palace to lock onto its deepest reaches.

The figures of Zhou Tianyan and his group were rushing toward a high platform in the center, their robes fluttering and leaving afterimages. They had clearly used a Secret Technique to increase their speed.

Seeing this, Xu Yunfan was in no hurry and simply observed his surroundings. Su Zhenhe, on the other hand, was growing restless. He wanted to dash over, but then hesitated. ’Zhou Tianyan would even dare to destroy a Divine Weapon,’ he thought. ’If I go over there, I’ll probably just get a brutal beating.’

Xu Yunfan ignored Su Zhenhe, who was beside him, opening his mouth as if to speak.

The entire interior of the White Jade Palace was circular. The dome arched high above like an inverted jade bowl, covered with a dense, star-like pattern of ancient Runes that were now flickering unsteadily as the Spiritual Qi ran dry. The floor was paved with jade tiles, each three feet square, and a wisp of flowing radiance was sealed within every tile. They should have swirled like a river of stars, but now they were like candles in the wind, threatening to go out at any moment. Twelve Coiling Dragon Jade Pillars stood on either side of the circular corridor. The design, with dragon heads holding pearls in their mouths, was extremely similar to the "Spirit-Locking Vein-Suppressing Pillars" Xu Yunfan had seen in the Celestial Craft Atlas, but the surface of these pillars was already covered in a web of cracks.

He couldn’t help but stop to observe them closely. With his knowledge of the Celestial Craft Forging Technique, he could naturally spot a few details.

"An Array..."

’Although I don’t know the specifics of the Array carved into these Coiling Dragon Jade Pillars, its purpose is surely for reinforcement and Spirit Gathering.’

’Coming to this White Jade Palace was the right decision.’

’Unfortunately, the palace’s decay was far worse than expected. Even the foundational materials were crumbling, making it impossible to trace the layout of the Array.’

He lingered no longer and quickened his pace through the circular corridor. The vibrations from his Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace grew even more intense, and the crimson patterns on its body spontaneously burst into flames an inch high.

Xu Yunfan instinctively gripped the Dragon Swallowing Mouth, flaring his Strength to suppress the Heavy Mace’s Anomaly. This was a reaction that only occurred when it sensed a High Tier Divine Weapon.

When the Dragon Scale Armor first appeared, the Red Fire Dragon-Swallowing Mace had reacted uncontrollably as well.

Rounding a bend, the scene before them brought both men to a sudden halt.

Five skeletons lay splayed in a fan shape at the turn of the corridor. Their bones were as translucent as jade, yet covered in fine sword marks.

The foremost skeleton was still in a kneeling position, its right hand clutching a rusted bronze shortsword. The blade was stabbed three inches into the ground, as if it had been resisting even in its final moments.

Half a broken arrow was lodged in the skeleton’s rib cage, its tip gleaming with a faint blue light—clearly coated in a deadly poison.

"It’s someone from the Sword Pavilion!"

Su Zhenhe cried out, pointing at a half-corroded Jade Token on the skeleton’s waist. "Look at this ’Sword Washing Pool’ insignia... This was at least an Elder Level figure!"

Xu Yunfan crouched down for a closer look and discovered a piercing wound at the back of the skeleton’s neck. The edges of the wound were as smooth as a mirror—the tell-tale sign of an injury caused by true Sword Qi, nurtured by practicing the Sword Pavilion’s Triple Jiao Sword Nurturing Technique to a profound level.

’He was at least at the Realm of a Nine Realms Qi Cultivation Supreme Grandmaster.’

His gaze swept over the other four skeletons. A bronze nail was embedded in the Skull of one, its shaft engraved with the unique star pattern of the Jiuyao Sect.

Another’s ribcage was completely shattered, the collapsed area bearing scorched black marks that made it impossible to discern the original cause.

"The Sword Pavilion and the Jiuyao Sect fought a bloody battle here two thousand years ago." Xu Yunfan looked up toward the depths of the palace. "It seems that someone from the Jiuyao Sect must have made it out alive to tell of the dangers within the White Jade Palace."