118: Guided by the moonlight, the entrance to the secret realm is revealed.

A biting wind sharp as a blade swept across the lake, whipping up the accumulated snow into swirling veils of mist. An absolute dead silence enveloped the area; not a single trace of birds or beasts could be found. Only the mournful howl of the wind skimming the icy surface remained, adding layers of desolation and mystery.

Li Muchen released his Divine Sense, letting it flow out like quicksilver, spreading slowly across the Tianchi waters and the surrounding mountains. The complexity of the Spiritual Qi here and the activity of the earth veins far surpassed that of Black Water Ridge.

Where his Divine Sense reached, he could clearly sense several powerful undercurrents deep within the lake, as well as the intricate network of subterranean rivers and hollow structures inside the mountain. Deeper still, everything became a blurred Chaos, as if obscured by some powerful force field or natural Formation, making further probing difficult.

"Truly extraordinary," Li Muchen murmured to himself. There was definitely another world beneath this Tianchi. The "Hidden Dragon Lair" mentioned by Daoist Master Xuangu was likely concealed at some intersection point within this vast body of water and the complex mountain structure.

He took out the iron-gray "five immortals secret key." After approaching Tianchi, the key seemed to have a faint reaction; its surface temperature had risen slightly, and the bizarre Fusion totem on it faintly shimmered with an extremely pale luster. However, it did not provide any clearer direction.

"It seems we need to wait until midnight when the Moonlight is at its peak, combined with a specific observation method," Li Muchen said, looking up at the still overcast sky devoid of stars or moon. Tonight likely wasn't the right time.

With Chen Feng in tow, he followed the markings on Old Man Han's map and found a narrow rock crevice on the southern side of Tianchi, backed against a cliff face, which could barely shield them from the wind and snow. This would serve as their shelter for the night.

The interior of the crevice was dry and relatively windproof. Li Muchen cleared a space and set up simple Restrictions to ward off the cold and conceal their presence. Both of them took Medicinal Pills, sat cross-legged to regulate their breathing, and waited for the night to deepen.

Time passed bit by bit. The wind and snow outside seemed to lessen somewhat, but the sky remained shrouded in thick clouds, not a single starlight visible.

Just as midnight approached and Li Muchen thought they would return empty-handed tonight, a sudden change occurred!

It wasn't a change in the weather, but the "five immortals secret key" in his sleeve began to tremble on its own, without any warning! Immediately after, the bizarre Fusion totem on the key's surface suddenly lit up with a dark red glow, pulsating rhythmically like breathing!

At the same time, Li Muchen keenly sensed that in the Void Realm above a certain area of water to the west of Tianchi's center—where Moonlight should have been shining but was blocked by thick clouds—the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence suddenly began to fluctuate in an extremely subtle, yet remarkably regular pattern!

It was as if an invisible giant hand was stirring the space and Spiritual Veins there!

"It's happening!" Li Muchen's spirits lifted. Signaling Chen Feng to stay silent, his figure flashed as he soundlessly whisked him out of the crevice. They hid behind a nearby wind-sheltering boulder, concentrating their gaze in the direction of the disturbance.

Initially, to the naked eye, there was only the dark lake surface, accumulated snow, and the howling wind and snow. But in Li Muchen's fully activated Divine Sense perception, the scene there was completely different!

The space there seemed to have become "thin" and "distorted." Although no actual Moonlight shone, a pure and vast conceptual power of "Moonlight" was being "guided" down from the Void Realm by some ancient Formation or earth vein field. It was interacting in an extremely intricate and subtle manner with the Gui Water Spiritual Qi of the Tianchi waters below and the Dragon Vein Evil Qi deep underground!

Gradually, above that area of water, a "Spiritual Qi Vortex" appeared! It was barely discernible to the naked eye but could be clearly captured by spiritual senses. The vortex slowly rotated, its center dark and profound, as if leading to another space. Its edges flowed with a strange, beautiful, yet heart-palpitatingly eerie and dangerous halo—a blend of silvery-white (Moonlight), ink-black (Gui Water), earthy-yellow (earth veins), and dark red (Evil Qi).

What made Li Muchen's gaze sharpen even more was that as this Spiritual Qi Vortex appeared, the icy surface of Tianchi below began to faintly reflect some... images that shouldn't exist!

These were not reflections of snow peaks and sky, but vague outlines of an ancient altar seemingly shrouded in a bloody mist! Around the altar stood massive totem pillars, with giant serpentine shadows coiled around them! At the center of the altar was the faint shadow of a massive stone stele exuding a vast, heavy aura interwoven with both sacred and evil energies—the covenant stone!

The reflection vanished in a flash, like an illusion, but the shock and information from that fleeting glimpse felt utterly real!

"That's the place!" Li Muchen was certain in his heart. The lakebed corresponding to the area below that Spiritual Qi Vortex was one of the entrances to the Secret Realm where the "covenant stone" was located! And this "five immortals secret key" was precisely the key artifact for sensing and locating this "gateway"! Only during the midnight hour of Moonlight, when the local Spiritual Qi resonated with the key, would the gateway reveal a trace!

Just as he was focusing on memorizing the vortex's location, its Qi characteristics, and the surrounding environmental reference points, another change occurred!

From within the Spiritual Qi Vortex, without any warning, a massive, bluish-black scaled claw shadow suddenly reached out! The claw viciously grasped at the Void Realm, as if trying to tear something apart, yet also seemed like an unconscious movement. It then retracted deep into the vortex and disappeared.

Immediately after, a low, angry roar filled with boundless majesty and ferocity seemed to emanate from the extremely deep underground, or perhaps directly from within the vortex itself. Though faint, it directly shook the Divine Soul!

"ROAR—!!!"

This roar was not transmitted through the air but was a pure mental impact!

Chen Feng, though at a distance and under Li Muchen's protection, still felt his head "buzz," his vision darken, his Qi and blood churn, nearly causing him to faint! The newly sprouted "Tongyou" spiritual sense within him trembled violently, transmitting an instinctive, immense fear born from the gap in life hierarchy!

Li Muchen's mind also shook. A flash of golden light in his eyes dispelled the mental impact brought by the roar.

The Old Ancestor of the Liu Family! Or rather, a powerful wisp of intent, or even a projection of a portion of his power! The bluish-black scaled claw, the icy, venomous, and domineering aura contained in the roar—it perfectly matched the characteristics of the Liu Family as described by Daoist Master Xuangu!

It seemed to be in a state of restlessness and impatience. Perhaps it sensed the approaching full moon, perhaps it detected the abnormal fluctuations at the Secret Realm entrance, or perhaps... it was merely an unconscious stirring during its slumber.

Regardless, this fleeting appearance had given Li Muchen a more intuitive understanding of the power level of the "Five Immortals Ancestors" he was about to face. Just a distant projected wisp of intent and roar possessed such might; the true body's strength likely approached the Nascent Soul level, or even... surpassed it in certain aspects!

The Spiritual Qi Vortex lasted for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before gradually weakening and dissipating. The fluctuations of Spiritual Qi in the sky also slowly calmed. The "five immortals secret key" ceased its trembling, its glow dimmed, returning to its original cold, iron-gray state.

Heaven and earth returned to darkness and dead silence, as if everything just now had been merely an illusion.

But Li Muchen knew it wasn't.

He had already found his target and glimpsed a fraction of the enemy's strength.

Supporting the still shaken Chen Feng, he returned to the rock crevice and set up more stringent protective measures.

"What... what was that just now?" Chen Feng asked, his voice trembling, heart still pounding with fear.

"A mere shadow of one of the five immortals, the Old Ancestor of the Liu Family," Li Muchen replied calmly. "You felt it?"

Chen Feng nodded vigorously, his face pale. "Too terrifying... Just hearing that sound, I felt my soul was about to freeze and be torn apart... Muchen, are we really... going to confront such an existence?"

Li Muchen didn't answer directly. He just looked out at the pitch-black night sky beyond the crevice and said slowly:

"Having seen it, we are prepared. Fear won't solve the problem."

"Rest well and regulate your breathing. Tomorrow we need to formulate a detailed plan. Before the night of the full moon, we must infiltrate that Secret Realm."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a resolute determination that severed all hesitation.