Chapter 55: Beyond the Sealed Doors
"Treat your injuries and rest." Rhain looked at the Azure Cloud Sect and Graves family mbers, and instructed calmly in the heavy silence.
Among the ten people he had brought with himself, all of their realms were above the fifth level of Essence Condensation Realm.
Therefore, there weren’t any fatalities on their side.
Yet, most of them had grave wounds on their bodies.
Roderick and the others gave a heavy nod.
Roderick sheathed his broadsword and imdiately began directing everyone.
They scattered, moving efficiently to gather the spoils of war and tend to the half-dead Torin and the other wounded elders.
Leaving them to recover, Rhain turned and walked toward Seris.
She stood quietly near a golden pillar. The grisly slaughter had left her flawless face a bit pale.
As soone who, just a month ago, had been an outer disciple whose greatest concern was whether the congee in the cafeteria would be warm enough — she had never witnessed such a ruthless, one-sided slaughter up close.
The sheer brutality of thirty lives lying in blood, dismbered and hacked apart had completely overwheld her fragile state of mind.
Rhain stopped half a pace in front of her.
His eyes softened as he looked at her colourless face.
"It’s over," he said gently.
Seris blinked, as she slowly focused on the face in front of her.
"Are you afraid?" Rhain asked.
Seris bit her lips tightly but then woodenly shook her head.
Her trembling body clearly revealed that she was lying.
Rhain extended his hand and hugged her head against his chest.
"You do not need to look at them," Rhain whispered in a low voice. "In this world, if we do not kill them, they will slaughter us without a shred of rcy. I only did what had to be done to protect you."
"If I had shown them sympathy, you and I would not be having this conversation right now."
Seris leaned her head slightly against his chest to block out the grueso sight of the bloody hall, and gave a stiff nod.
With the crisis resolved, Rhain stilled for a long ti as he slowly cald down and settled his thoughts.
He had reached the absolute core of the Hollow Realm.
Yet... Why hasn’t the Location Sign-In triggered?
Rhain’s gaze finally fell onto the far end of the hall.
There, standing tall and imposing, was a pair of massive, heavily sealed stone doors, and the wooden puppet guarding it.
The Sign-In location wasn’t this antechamber.
It was whatever lay beyond those doors.
He took a step forward.
"Rhain!"
A sharp, panicked voice ca from behind him.
Rhain stopped, turning his head to look at Seris in slight surprise.
"Do not get close to that puppet!" Seris pointed a trembling finger at the wooden figure in the distance.
"When we were forced into this hall by Vargas and the others... Fourth Elder Torin tried to approach that stone door, and the puppet nearly killed him on the spot."
At that mont, one of the four rescued Azure Cloud elders also spoke up, "She is right, Rhain! Do not be reckless! That puppet possesses the Strength of the Spirit Manifestation Realm! Torin couldn’t even take a single strike from it!"
Rhain gave a nod as he looked at the puppet with so solemnity, but he still didn’t care much..
"Don’t worry," He said in an easy tone. "I’ll be careful."
But Seris suddenly stepped forward and tightly grabbing onto his sleeves, "Rhain.... Atleast listen to once."
Rhain smiled and gently patted her soft hand, loosening her grip
"Just take a rest," he said calmly. "Even if it really is at the Spirit Manifestation Realm, I have my ways to retreat safely."..."
Without another word, he turned around and strode straight toward the towering stone doors.
The mont he crossed the ten-foot threshold, the puppet’s chanical eyes snapped open.
A oppressive aura imdiately rolled off its wooden fra.
It raised its heavy wooden staff, preparing to strike.
But Rhain suddenly frowned.
He had braced himself to face the Spirit Manifestation expert.
But the aura radiating from this thing?
It felt strangely off.
At best, the pressure it was emitting was barely at the peak of the Essence Condensation Realm.
It didn’t even co close to the boundary of Spirit Manifestation.
Did it run out of battery?
Whatever it was, Rhain wasn’t about to take any chances.
He had said he would be careful.
He drew back his right arm, and punched with full force.
Void Fist.
BANG!!!
Before the puppet could even swing its staff down, Rhain’s fist slamd against the wooden puppet.
Crack—!
The supposedly Spirit Manifestation puppet shattered into hundreds of pieces, scattering like broken toys.
Behind it, the massive sealed stone doors slowly rumbled open.
The four elders watching nervously were left speechless.
A Spirit Manifestation Realm puppet... shattered into pieces just like that?
As the doors parted, Rhain easily stepped through the threshold.
Watching Rhain enter safely, the group in the antechamber exchanged bewildered glances.
"Should we... follow him?" Maren asked, already moving forward.
Despite her injuries, her expression was resolute.
Roderick nodded. "We go together."
The group surged forward — Roderick, Noran, Maren, the Azure Cloud elders, and Seris, all moving toward the open doors.
But they had barely taken three steps past the puppet’s remains when a sound halted them in their tracks.
Click. Click. Click.
The scattered fragnts of wood littering the golden floor began to tremble.
Pieces of shattered staff, splintered gears, and crumbled lacquer suddenly levitated off the ground, drawn together by an invisible force.
Like ti itself was being reversed, the fragnts flew back, and reassembled.
In the span of two heartbeats, the puppet stood whole once more.
Its vacant eyes reignited once again.
And the aura it released was no longer at the Essence Condensation Realm.
Spirit Manifestation Realm!
A mountainous pressure slamd down against the group.
"FALL BACK!" Roderick hastily instructed.
The Azure Cloud and Graves experts scrambled wildly backward.
Nobody else was getting through those doors today.
.....
On the other side of those doors, Rhain had already stepped through.
His dark grey eyes swept over the new environnt.
It looked like a paradise.
In the center was a serene, small lake filled with crystal-clear, shimring water that radiated liquid essence.
Surrounding the lake was a vibrant garden.
Countless glowing spiritual herbs, exuding fragrances that Rhain had never seen in the sect garden, swayed gently in breeze.
And standing silently at the far end of the garden was a majestic grand hall.
Right then, the chanical voice echoed in his mind.
Ding!
[Location Sign-In detected: Ancient Black Hollow Realm — Core Sanctum.]
[Sign In?]
"Yes."
[Location Sign-In Successful!]
[Sign-In Reward: Heaven-Grade Fire — Red Tribulations Heavenly Fla.]
Rhain felt a rush of heat in his chest which quickly spread in his entire body.
It wasn’t painful, rather it was pleasent like a warm spring.
Another Heaven-Grade reward?
Eyes of Truth is already so powerful, how powerful is this fla?
But before Rhain could even inspect this Heavenly Grade Fire, an ancient voice that sounded like it had lived for thousands of years suddenly echoed from the depths of the grand hall.
"You are quite a mysterious lad. Even I can not see through you."
It paused.
"How very intresting."
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