"Inside?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ji Xue was startled, not understanding what Ye Ling meant.
She had been sealed within Fulong Mountain for over two thousand years and knew the interior of Fulong Mountain better than anyone. There was nothing inside, so what could be gained from entering?
Ye Ling chuckled, "Not the 'inside' you're thinking of. Just follow me."
Seeing Ye Ling suddenly so mysterious, Ji Xue became even more curious. However, she didn't ask further and followed Ye Ling towards the summit of Fulong Mountain.
Soon, Ye Ling reached his destination.
Beside a hot spring.
Snow covered the surroundings, but the hot spring continuously emitted steam. A soak here would surely relax one's entire body.
"Master, here?"
Ji Xue's confusion deepened. She scanned her surroundings, truly unable to discern where Ye Ling's supposed "inside" was.
Ye Ling didn't play coy any longer. "The space here is much thinner than the surrounding area. I initially thought it was a natural phenomenon and didn't pay it much mind."
"However, after a careful examination just now, I discovered that behind this thin space, it connects to another mountain."
"Another mountain?" Ji Xue asked, feeling increasingly bewildered. "Where else could there be a mountain here?"
"To put it simply, beneath this Fulong Mountain, there's another inverted mountain, roughly the same size as Fulong Mountain, essentially its reflection."
"A reflection... there's such a marvel beneath the mountain?"
Ji Xue was astonished. She had grown up in Fulong Mountain and had been sealed within it for over two thousand years. Having spent so much time here, she had never known of such a thing beneath the mountain.
Ye Ling said, "I'm not entirely clear on the specifics. We'll know once we go in."
With that, Ye Ling didn't hesitate. Demonic energy surged from his palm, transforming into several threads that extended towards the center of the hot spring, coalescing into a dark door above it.
Ji Xue stared blankly at the door in the middle of the hot spring, sensing a considerable power contained within.
Ye Ling opened the space and, after perceiving the existence pattern of the other side, his eyes narrowed. "It's a semi-spirit realm..."
The semi-spirit realm was a transitional zone between the mortal world and the underworld, equivalent to the junction of the two worlds.
Generally, after death, if a soul was not escorted by the Black and White Impermanence, it would proceed to the semi-spirit realm, from where it would autonomously travel to the underworld.
Upon returning to Earth, Ye Ling had learned the basic structure of this world from the Heavenly Dao and was aware of the existence of the semi-spirit realm.
However, with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth now sparse, the connection between the underworld and the mortal world had weakened, and the overlapping areas of the two worlds had decreased, causing the semi-spirit realm to virtually disappear.
It was estimated that across the entire country, the number of existing semi-spirit realms could be counted on one hand.
He hadn't expected Fulong Mountain to be an entrance to a semi-spirit realm!
"But... I observe that the spatial channel here formed less than a century ago. Could this semi-spirit realm be new?"
"Has there been a change in heaven and earth?"
Ye Ling muttered softly, harboring doubts but not dwelling on them. He stepped onto the water and entered the opened spatial gate.
Whatever secrets lay within, they would be discovered upon entry!
"How many more secrets does Fulong Mountain hide?" Ji Xue also murmured, closely following Ye Ling as they passed through the spatial gate.
...
The entire world inverted.
After passing through the spatial gate, Ji Xue found herself still at the summit of Fulong Mountain, standing on the hot spring. However, everything here was upside down. It took her a moment to adjust to the scenery.
"The sky is hazy, with a faint aura of death. Could that be the underworld?"
Ji Xue glanced at the hazy sky and murmured, her eyes filled with curiosity.
This was, in fact, her first time seeing a semi-spirit realm.
Although the era she was active in had abundant spiritual energy, the only known semi-spirit realm was the legendary Buzhou Mountain. Even though Buzhou Mountain was northwest of Kunlun Mountain, it was guarded by deities, making it difficult for ordinary people and demons to approach. She had never seen what Buzhou Mountain looked like.
With the celestial realm now in seclusion, Buzhou Mountain had naturally vanished, and the world no longer knew its whereabouts. She had even less opportunity to witness the semi-spirit realm.
Yet, today, her eyes were greatly satisfied.
Ye Ling surveyed the surrounding environment, his divine sense spreading outwards, encompassing the entire semi-spirit realm.
This space was not very large, its entire extent being about the size of Fulong Mountain.
Beyond this, it became hazy, and passing through it would lead to the underworld.
Ye Ling had no intention of going to the underworld at present, so there was no need to investigate beyond the haze.
"There's still the residual aura of a person within this space. The treasure they fought over was indeed obtained from here. Follow me!"
Ye Ling sensed an aura similar to that within Fulong Mountain and said to Ji Xue before heading directly towards the area where the aura was strongest.
There was no concept of time in this semi-spirit realm, nor were there any living beings.
As long as no spiritual entities were active here, nothing would change even after ten thousand years.
Therefore, within this semi-spirit realm, the residual aura left by that mortal immortal was far more potent than that within Fulong Mountain.
Ye Ling quickly found a spacious cave.
In the center of the cave, there was a spring emitting a fluorescent glow.
Within the spring, there was a gray lotus. In the center of the lotus was a hollow, indicating that something from within the lotus had been taken.
"This isn't where I was sealed?"
Ji Xue followed and, upon seeing the interior of the cave, her eyes were filled with astonishment.
In Fulong Mountain, she had been sealed within this very cave!
That cave also had a spring in its center, but that spring did not have a gray lotus!
Ye Ling's gaze swept across the interior of the cave. "The residual aura is strongest here. That mortal immortal must have stayed here for a considerable time."
Ji Xue looked at the gray lotus in the center of the spring. "Looking at that lotus, it seems something has been taken from it."
"What those mortal immortals were fighting over, could it be something from that gray lotus?"
With that, Ji Xue leaped towards the gray lotus, intending to pluck it and bring it back to Ye Ling.
"Come back!"
Ye Ling's voice echoed in Ji Xue's ears. Instantly, Ji Xue felt an overwhelming sense of danger!
Without daring to think further, Ji Xue quickly retreated!
Boom!
A black beam shot out from the spring, narrowly missing Ji Xue!
"This!!!"
Ji Xue's pupils contracted sharply as she saw the person within the black beam, her heart churning with immense shock!
"She, how could she..."
Ji Xue landed back beside Ye Ling, her voice trembling, her face filled with disbelief, her body quivering slightly.
The person within the black beam looked exactly like her!
Ye Ling, however, was not surprised by the "fake Ji Xue" that rushed out. He said calmly, "That is not a living being. Although its aura is the same as yours, it is an aggregation of some form of energy."
The moment he entered the cave, he knew that a mass of energy was hidden beneath the spring.
Glancing at the fake Ji Xue, Ye Ling said to Ji Xue, "It likely has no consciousness, merely passively guarding that lotus and attacking anyone who approaches it."
"Why does it look exactly like me?" Ji Xue was utterly perplexed, her emotions unable to calm down for a long time.
The thought of someone with her appearance existing in this semi-spirit realm filled her with dread!
It was too bizarre!