Chapter 997: Half-Life, Half-Death, Bizarre Divinations
Editor: Henyee Translations

The demonic forces had long coveted certain special inheritances, always ready to meddle in various opportunities. As they say, “thieves have their own ways,” and that was precisely their approach.

Despite being shunned and targeted by various forces, the demonic had managed to devise their own unorthodox and sinister methods for invading the restrictions of various caves.

This time, the cooperation between the Qiankun Hall, the Five Elements Heaven Sect, and the demonic forces included these services.

They were not out of goodwill or brotherhood with the demonic forces, but purely out of mutual exploitation.

After all, these forces, who pride themselves on their noble heritage from the higher realms, held disdain for the demonic forces at heart.

“Let’s start,” commanded Daolord Southbright of the Qiankun Hall coldly, showing no interest in giving any face.

This deprived the ancestor of the Ghost Palace of a chance to flaunt his power, causing him some displeasure.

However, at this moment, they were all in the same boat, so it wasn’t the time to voice complaints.

Moreover, they all shared the sentiment of wanting to enter the immortal cave abode as soon as possible.

Quickly, under the arrangement of the Ghost Palace and the Sacred Skeleton Sect, a sinister altar appeared in the middle of the ancient hall, looking ominously dark and starkly contrasting with the grandeur around it.

“This sacrificial ritual uses the souls of the dead as substitutes for us, to confound the heavenly secrets and infiltrate this ancient gate. This is an ancient method passed down through our sects, requiring the expenditure of soul resources…”

“Enough, we’re not responsible for this. It was all clarified in the cooperation,” interrupted a great Daolord from the Five Elements Heaven Sect, as the Ghost Palace’s ancestor was about to boast about their sinister methods.

The atmosphere turned tense again instantly.

The people from the Ghost Palace and the Sacred Skeleton Sect looked grimly and coldly at those from the righteous sects.

They had long heard of the corruption of Qiankun Hall and Five Elements Heaven Sect but hadn’t expected these ostensibly virtuous people to be so blunt and disdainful.

“Forget it, it’s pointless to talk more. Once we enter the immortal cave abode, life and death are in the hands of fate,” declared the ancestor of the Sacred Skeleton Sect, easing the tense atmosphere and allowing the ritual to continue.

Following this, there was no more interaction; they silently began their invasion of the immortal cave abode.

As the sacrificial ritual progressed, everyone felt an intense coldness enveloping them, as if millions of ghosts were clinging to their bodies.

When the ritual peaked, a strange fluctuation shot out and blasted into the ancient gate.

To their surprise, the mysterious ancient gate slowly opened a narrow, eerie green crack.

“Quick, we only have the time for ten breaths!” shouted the ancestor from the demonic sects as they transformed into streaks of light, not hesitating to enter the crack.

Seeing this, the people from Qiankun Hall and Five Elements Heaven Sect cursed silently at the damned demonic forces; the method indeed only allowed for such a brief moment.

Despite their suspicions and anger, the call to action and the deadly allure of the immortal cave abode left them no choice but to grit their teeth and follow through the crack.

Buzzing sounds filled the air as one after another entered the gate. Moments later, the eerie green crack began to fluctuate violently.

Just as the last figure entered the ancient gate, a terrifying wave of energy burst from within, instantly obliterating the sacrificial altar.

Nevertheless, this group of unscrupulous, rule-breaking dark zealots had silently infiltrated the immortal cave abode.

An invisible crisis was slowly brewing, looming over the members of the Haoran Sect, the Pantheon Sect, and other forces…

Meanwhile, as the demonic forces breached the immortal cave abode, Jiang Chengxuan had already left the previous battlefield. After studying the ninth-level supreme Spiritual Fruit tree for several days, he successfully took it with him. He planned to plant it within the Haoran Sect in the future, where it would surely become a treasure of the sect.

Over the next few days, he continued to explore the immortal cave abode, passing through several trials and collecting treasures, though none as previous as before.

During these days, he neither encountered Shen Ruyan and others nor any other cultivators from the Floodgate Realm.

Jiang Chengxuan could only resign himself to the vastness of the immortal cave abode.

As he wandered, a sudden flicker of insight crossed his mind, signaling a premonition.

As someone possessing the Intuition of the Heavens, he knew that the stirring in his mind was not unfounded.

Something causally linked was undoubtedly affecting him at this very moment.

Without hesitation, Jiang Chengxuan calmed his spirit and expanded his spiritual sense to its fullest, initiating a Heavenly Calculation Technique to probe the underlying currents.

This time, deep within the immortal cave abode, his Heavenly Calculation Technique reached unprecedented heights, swiftly hitting its limits.

Previously, the cave’s constraints had suppressed his divination abilities, but now, they were fully unleashed.

However, the divinations presented were exceptionally strange, showing a clear division between black and white, indicating a mix of life and death energies. This undoubtedly suggested that numerous and unpredictable changes were brewing, complicating any attempts to foresee the future.

“Not enough, let’s employ the Profound Dao Disc,” Jiang Chengxuan muttered to himself, dissatisfied with the vague results.

With a single gesture, he summoned the Profound Dao Disc—a reward from the system that could break through the limits of Heavenly Calculation Technique. Upon its activation, the power of destiny infused into his divination efforts.

In an instant, gusts of cleansing wind swept through the divination images, each gust hastening the transformations and clarifying the images further.

The initially chaotic black and white swirls slowly morphed, eventually stabilizing into an image depicting both yin and yang—half light, half shadow.

“Half-life, half-death…” Jiang Chengxuan whispered, deeply shocked by this divination outcome.

What could possibly happen within the immortal cave abode to suggest such grave danger? Especially considering that he was not currently undergoing any trials, this clearly indicated that some external threat, not part of the trials, was drawing near.

A premonition struck Jiang Chengxuan almost immediately, suggesting only one type of peril that could correspond to such a dire omen.