Would these things let him pass?

｛53 seconds… 52 seconds…｝

Just as Yang Zicang was panicking, the woman’s voice overlapping him spoke softly:

{Brother Feng, it’s Yu’er who wants to take the Gaze-dispelling Sword. }

｛51 seconds… 50 seconds…｝

-｛Distributor May Valkyrie increases the current glorious prelude price for my incubation to 25%.｝

-｛Distributor Loki Tata Mingqi expresses “tension.“｝

Several entities formed of pure ether accumulated over countless years surrounded Yang Zicang. The unreal weapons in their hands exuded a sharpness so keen it almost made the spirit ‘believe’ they were real.

If these energies struck with full force, they would directly destroy the most mysterious source of a person’s spirit and willpower, launching a fundamental attack on one’s psyche and even personality. At best, it would drive them mad; at worst, it would reduce them to a dull, ignorant, and oblivious fool.

{Yu’er…? }

Faint visions flickered before his eyes, and Yang Zicang’s mind wandered for a moment.

… “Traitor! Hand over the Secret Scripture!“

A fragment of illusion quickly twisted into existence before vanishing, followed by another scene emerging…

A beautiful-faced woman, twisted with tears streaming down her face… “Why did you abandon me? Take me with you! “

Next came another scene… A vast shadow of a sea beast thrashed amid the stormy waves of the pale ocean. On the ship, an excited, savage man gripped a broken weapon, seeming to roar something. He swung out a blade aura forty to fifty meters long, which fiercely cut into the sea, splitting off two rows of towering waves.

Yang Zicang cast a long glance at the floating, severed, twisted humanoid form before him, which held a sword.

｛45 seconds… 44 seconds…｝

Is this real or fake? Damn it, time is running out.

Yang Zicang held his breath, struggling silently to recite the few words that had appeared on that ship. But the mere outward release of his psychic fluctuation caused the heart of his true body within its receptacle to pound violently, and his whole body’s skin chaos-churn like ripples on water’s surface.

{Do you no longer remember me? I… must now draw the Holy Sword and cut through the illusions woven from condensed spirit-thought. }

Gritting his teeth, Yang Zicang resisted with all his might, a trickle of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

｛41 seconds… 40 seconds… 39 seconds…｝

Finally, Yang Zicang heard a warped voice within the illusion; it spoke after calming slightly.

{It really… is Yuer… so it turns out… there was a flaw in my memory… go ahead. }

Yang Zicang stepped forward as if receiving a pardon. He dared neither walk quickly nor too slowly. Every step closer to the young man at the overhanging eaves of the Quiet Chamber felt like treading on smoldering embers. His spirit bore immense torment and tearing.

Yu Qingqu’s remnant soul was actually in a worse state.

She was of the same kind as those beacons tainted by aberrant minds. Tainted beacons innately “attract ” and “corrode ” her kind. At this moment, like burning the last remnants of her mental residue, she steered this final—and possibly only—new member of the Drifting Leaf Pavilion toward taking control of the key here, with an immensely clear purpose.

The inheritance… must not be severed…

“The Quiet Chamber is… just a few steps away… ” At this moment, Yang Zicang’s gaze was fixated solely on that room; he neither wished to think about anything else nor had the strength to.

{｛This is…my final task…｝ }

Vaguely, it seemed as if Yang Zicang overheard an inner voice that was not his own.

｛Synchronization rate between Yu Qingqu and me: 89.5%｝

Behind him and in the sky, several figures loomed, drifting left and right in curiosity. At last, they let go of their suspicion and spread out a little.

Yang Zicang, on the verge of stepping into a trance of illusions, finally stumbled—one step deep, another shallow—up to this room—one that had remained stuck here after another failed attempt to seize it.

｛17 seconds… 16 seconds…｝

{Right here! } Yu Qingqu’s thoughts were in a state of utter chaos, {Help me… push it open! There’s a magic seal imprint on the door… Close your eyes and don’t you dare peek… }

The four sides of the Quiet Chamber were engraved with “Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum. ” His hand, trembling with exertion, touched the door carved with “Chrysanthemum, ” a bloom that symbolized untainted grace, renowned as the hermit among flowers.

｛12 seconds… 11 seconds… 10 seconds… 9…｝

How could Yang Zicang be unaware of the terror of advanced magic runes? He immediately shut his eyes, and then felt a faint force trying to take control of his arm. He actively followed the power in his arm to move. His fingertip traced an intricate pattern on the door.

｛5 seconds… 4 seconds…｝

｛Is it done?｝

｛3 seconds…｝

｛2 seconds…｝

｛Is it done?!｝

｛1 second! Synchronization rate 95… 0%.｝

Suddenly, a cold and furious pressure blasted from behind him.

{You deceived me! }

Yang Zicang’s eyes snapped open. He instinctively started to turn his head, but suddenly a powerful push erupted against his body, hurtling him with a deafening crash straight into the Quiet Chamber’s door.

{Control it! }

Feeling as if the sky and earth were spinning on end, Yang Zicang plummeted like falling into a ripple of water into the tiny, palanquin-sized the Quiet Chamber.

Directly opposite its door hung a scroll of calligraphy and painting. To the right was a piece of velvet with many small empty pockets. On the exquisite and ornate weapon rack to the left lay a long, ancient, arm-length sword. Notches on its blade twisted with dim, indistinct energy auras. Upon closer inspection, an instantaneous clarity permeated the surroundings.

“Senior! ” Yang Zicang turned his head.

Outside the barrier door, Yu Qingqu had already become unrecognizable. She had transformed into a twisted, phantom shadow, similar to the other energy giants, but unlike their gloomy hue, she flickered with a faint white radiance.

Several energy name-card-like Ether Beacons danced through the air, emitting waves of ruinous destruction as they spread. Yet, however this quiet chamber was constructed, it showed not the slightest abnormality even under such ferocious attacks.

Yang Zicang’s eyes welled with tears. In that brief journey together just moments ago, their hearts seemed to merge as one, each valuing the other. In just over a minute, it felt as though he had found a soulmate who could commune with his heart—something no one else had done in millions of years.

“Friend… ” He subconsciously uttered the word.

His hand grabbed the hilt of the ancient sword in one swift motion!

｛I have touched the “Ether Foundation · Gaze-dispelling Sword “｝

Cold… Pure!

Along with an edge that cuts through all vanity and delusion!

The moment he gripped it, an intangible aura expelled some of the chaotic negative energies surrounding the quiet chamber, lifting Yang Zicang’s spirits!

“Senior Yu! ” Bearing the greatly lessened mental pressure, he rushed to the door.

{Who… are you… Xiao Chen… don’t come out… Urghh! }

A muffled thud shook the air! He tore off the silk banner with a flick, and the giant rug shot toward the silhouettes.

Spotting that strange, looming rug, several grim warriors hammered it with two thundering punches, churning out pure Ether energy that battered the relic like an apocalyptic force, sending it flailing wildly in midair, utterly unable to get close.

{Urgh… }

{Come out! }

Several ferocious phantoms charged to the door, jaws agape and claws outreached, as if they could devour him in a single gulp.

“Master, get down—come inside!“

{I’m but a masterless conduit… I have no right to enter. }

“I can…!” cried Yang Zicang, clutching the sword. “Get down—I’ll bring you in!“

Even the Saint-shed vest—capable of defying the rules of fate—had brought Xue Qi into this world; this tiny beacon would be no different.

But after just seconds of clarity, Yu Qingqu wildly unfurled her demonic torso, tangling with several formidable figures in a chaotic mêlée intermixing shades of white and black, where no one could tell which was which.

｛“Ether Foundation · Gaze-dispelling Sword” is communicating with my Great Tetrad’s ether force field.｝

｛“Ether Foundation · Gaze-dispelling Sword” has accessed the biographical compendium of my membership within the Drifting Leaf Pavilion.｝

｛“The Ether Foundation: Gaze-dispelling Sword ” has compiled the permissions for newly added “Apprentice Disciple. “｝

In an instant, a stream of information flooded into the mind.

｛I have obtained the authority to use the “Pure Mind Force Field ” wartime “Ether Channel. “｝

Above, Yu Qingqu’s white radiance had been torn so weak it was barely hanging on. All this happened so fast that Yang Zicang had no time left to recite those four lines of scripture, even though he was already chanting them under his breath…

｛I have obtained permission for “Break Delusion. “｝

｛I have obtained permission for “Sever Emotion. “｝

He could no longer afford to listen to what those two voices were saying.

“The Channel! ” Yang Zicang shouted, raising the Gaze-dispelling Sword high.

｛I, the Great Quadrilateral, have perfectly communicated to the Gaze-dispelling Sword the coordinates for the channel needed to be opened.｝

Driven by a surge of impulse, Yang Zicang slashed at the rippling force field before the entrance. In an instant, a twisted energy channel was cut open, its other end materializing beside his “Name Card, ” which was precariously trembling high up in the sky.

With a flick of his hand, the returning silk scarf shot in with a “swish,” wrapping itself perfectly around Yu Qingqu’s “Name Card. “. It then gave a sharp, forceful yank. The channel that had only been open for a single second instantly closed from the other end, while the scarf, now wrapped around the card, had appeared safely within the Quiet Chamber.

Rumble! Ratatatat!

The entire Quiet Chamber was rumbling all around. The remaining wills on the various Name Cards, red-eyed and controlled by their emotions, were frantically consuming the pure Ether energy they had gathered over the years. The entire Quiet Chamber was like a firm, unyielding reef amid a stormy ocean.

{Come out… }

{How dare you steal my precious treasure… }

{Die! }

Bang! Bang! One shadowy fist after another crashed against this place.

Yang Zicang was truly worried that if he just left like this, they might follow the path and reach the ship.

“Senior, are you alright? ” He brought the Name Card on the silk scarf close to the Gaze-dispelling Sword, a blade that had absorbed so much of their heart and soul.

The distributors had long been tacitly silent, making not a single sound.

The writing on the Name Card was already blurred and distorted, difficult to read. But as it drew near, a faint, clear voice came through with great effort.

{I… I think there’s a lot I… can’t remember… Are you the… newcomer… Chen? }

“I am… Yang Buchen, also called… “

{I remember now… Don’t… speak your true name… }

Yang Zicang looked at this Ether Beacon, his heart filled with a deep bitterness.

{Traits are… our true… labels in the universe. Names are just… the most… insignificant of… markers… Newcomer… remember us… }

The light on the Name Card faded, and there was no further response. A few dark figures outside the Quiet Chamber were still pounding frantically against it. With a gaze now bloodshot, Yang Zicang turned his head to glance at them, then silently rose to close the door he had knocked open.

Its door crevice was instantly sealed by a fleeting, flash-sealed pattern of demonic glyph lines condensed from Aether. This door… he guessed he wouldn’t be able to open it again himself.