"Rise!" Wang Xuan shouted, not for the first time. He had tried lifting it three times, but it didn't budge. It was as if the object was rooted at the bottom of the pool.

He finally understood why other mortals who had entered with spiritual bodies to change their fates couldn't take it. If even he, who had formed a spiritual domain, couldn't move it, there was no chance for anyone else!

"Come out!" He gave it his all, his spiritual body glowing, drawing in the surrounding mysterious energy to his advantage. The energy in the area was boiling.

However, the object still didn't move an inch. It felt like he was trying to move a mountain!

The object was a container. It looked like a bowl but was deeper than one, and inside, there were densely packed tiny characters!

This made Wang Xuan feel moved. Any writing engraved on an object of this level was bound to be extraordinary—most likely an incredible, world-shattering secret.

Perhaps the immortal beings fought over the object to obtain the writing engraved within it!

Wang Xuan started digging downward. It seemed like there was a base. Could it be something akin to the Holy Grail?

"Does it... have a special fragrance?" Wang Xuan was stunned. He was currently in his spiritual body, yet he could smell a medicinal fragrance on his fingertips.

For a moment, his face showed shock and awe. What kind of herb could affect the spirit? He had only experienced this once before!

He recalled the time when he, Old Chen, and Qingmu had flown their ship into the thunderclouds to gather herbs. That was when the red-clothed demon fairy had lured them in with an aromatic bait—an actual Heavenly Herb!

Had this object refined a Heavenly Herb? Or had it once stored one? Or could it actually nurture some kind of astonishing "spiritual medicine"?

His mind raced with wild thoughts, but one thing was certain: this was an extremely rare treasure.

"Come up!"

Wang Xuan felt like he was about to cough blood. He had tried his hardest seventeen times, but still, the object didn't move. He felt like his spiritual body was on the verge of shattering, yet the object stayed in place.

The mysterious energy in the pool was as thick as a liquid, churning violently. Wang Xuan found a lid beneath the object, which felt like it was made of the same material.

On its surface were densely packed characters as well.

Finally, just as Wang Xuan felt his spiritual body about to split apart, he managed to shift the lid slightly, causing it to knock against the main container.

Dong!

In an instant, the slight vibration alone made him feel like he was going to explode.

He quickly backed away.

A hazy light blossomed, slowly expanding. The object was awakening.

Wang Xuan retreated at high speed.

He had a gut feeling: if he were touched by that light, he might die!

What kind of monstrous thing was this?

Even though he had retreated far away, his spirit was still being suppressed, as if it was about to disintegrate, and his mind felt like it was being torn apart!

Boom!

Suddenly, under this extreme pressure, just as Wang Xuan's spirit was on the brink of shattering, his Inner Landscape unexpectedly opened.

He had almost forgotten about this place, having not visited it in a long time.

Outside, the mysterious energy surged like an avalanche, pouring into the Inner Landscape, which now seemed like it was on the verge of breaking apart!

"Could it be that you can't open the Inner Landscape inside an Inner Landscape artifact?" Wang Xuan was utterly confused.

He watched with his own eyes as, the moment his Inner Landscape opened, the artifact began to disintegrate, cracking continuously as if it wouldn't last much longer.

At that moment, two hazy lights, one large and one small, floated up. They were the object and its lid, and with a swoosh, they both shot into Wang Xuan's Inner Landscape.

Wang Xuan stepped back, fearing it might suppress him. The situation had been extremely dangerous just moments ago.

However, as he backed away, the Inner Landscape closed immediately!

"Damn it!" Wang Xuan cursed internally. What was going on? The treasure had taken over his Inner Landscape! He had finally managed to open it, only for the object to barge in, and now it had locked him, the rightful owner, outside!

He stood there silently, lost in thought.

Eventually, he lifted his head, realizing there was nothing to be upset about. He had just missed out on a rare opportunity to enter the Inner Landscape—he could always try again later.

The most important thing was that the treasure coveted by the immortals had now fallen into his hands!

However, he would have to keep this a secret. The red-clothed demon fairy and the female Daoist priestess were already after him. If they found out that such a priceless treasure had ended up with him, they might go mad!

Wang Xuan continued to search through the Inner Landscape artifact, looking for any other opportunities.

"It's a pity that fragments of blessed land can't be brought in. Otherwise, I could have collected the liquid-like mysterious energy from this pool—it's a substance that can enhance physical vitality and nourish the spirit!"

Wang Xuan kept absorbing it, but he could only consume about one-tenth of the total.

He noticed that the Inner Landscape artifact was no longer cracking. It had stabilized, and with his Inner Landscape closed, it seemed like the artifact wouldn't be destroyed after all.

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Since it was now preserved, he could return at a later time. If it was safe, he might even bring Zhao Qinghan and Grandmaster Ma here.

Wang Xuan walked out, not the least bit worried about being killed by the giant net. After all, the immortal treasure wasn't technically on him.

Sure enough, he safely entered the tunnel without any attacks.

Along the way, he saw more Earthly Immortals explode, the golden-winged roc disintegrate, and the thousand-handed true god shatter. He reflected on how the path of cultivation was full of temptation and trials.

Wang Xuan returned to his physical body, opening his eyes as the black-and-white platform gradually calmed. The mysterious energy had thinned, and the passage had disappeared.

Grandmaster Ma leaned over with a sneaky grin, as if asking, "Did you find any opportunities?"

At this point, it wouldn't leave even if Wang Xuan tried to drive it away.

In just under ten days, it had consumed more than ten types of spiritual medicine, even devouring four demon fruit cores. It had concluded that this human was quite good—a reliable servant and caretaker!

Wang Xuan noticed the odd look in its eyes but didn't know what it was thinking. Otherwise, he would have definitely considered roasting the pegasus' wings!

Suddenly, his hairs stood on end. He sensed a familiar presence—it was that extraordinary spider, but its life force was rapidly diminishing.

"Quick, go!" Wang Xuan shouted as he leaped onto the pegasus' back.

Grandmaster Ma reacted swiftly, flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.

While airborne, Wang Xuan pushed his spiritual domain to its limit, sensing the ground below and discovering something unusual.

Three humans were approaching rapidly. They had killed that terrifying spider in this area, which meant they must be extremely powerful—clearly in the realm of transcendence.

"Quick, fly towards the rising sun!" Wang Xuan clung to the horse's neck, urging it to change direction, for Master Ma had not yet detected the enemy's presence.

Among the three, one drew an arrow, nocked it on a large bow, and began to aim at the horse demon!

Undoubtedly, even though they had entered the Extraordinary realm, they still had designs on the land of creation, having come back from the depths of the Secret Realm, seeking to intercept it.

"That strange mist can alter a person's roots, blood, and organs. If we can absorb it from a person immediately, we might obtain a portion of its creation," one said with a cold gaze.

"I wonder if the person who escaped has obtained the strange mist."

"I'll bring that person and his horse down!" The archer erupted with blinding light, imbuing his bow and arrow with secret power. The arrow flew towards Master Ma like a long rainbow streaking across the sun, trailing an energy tail behind it.

Master Ma was in despair, desperately flapping its wings and shifting positions with electric arcs flashing, but the archer below fired a barrage of arrows, blocking every direction.

Only when an arrow flew past did a terrifying explosion sound, with a sonic boom echoing, and several arrows sped away, creating a fearsome energy wave.

Master Ma fled desperately, dodging several extraordinary arrows that could have obliterated it, but there were some secret arrows it simply could not avoid.

As it dodged the other arrows, one shot straight towards its abdomen, a radiant beam of light; such an arrow could collapse a corner of a mountain!

All the arrows were specially made, engraved with extraordinary runes, and infused with astonishing secret power by the archer, rendering them impossible for a mere mortal to withstand.

Wang Xuan predicted the danger using his mental realm, directly leaping off the horse's back to grasp one of its legs, hanging in midair. His chest glowed, and lightning burst forth to block the arrow.

Then, the runes on the arrow surged, passing through the lightning he emitted, dimming the arrow slightly.

Wang Xuan's body flowed with a faint golden sheen as he wielded a short sword, slicing at the terrifying arrow speeding toward him.

Clang!

The sharp blade cut through the arrow engraved with mysterious runes, altering its trajectory, and it skimmed past the side of the horse's abdomen.

With just a foot to spare, the glowing runes on the arrowhead still tore through the horse demon's skin, leaving a bloody gash nearly a foot long.

Below, after Wang Xuan severed the secret arrow, he faced a life-threatening crisis. The upper half of the arrowhead flew past, while the remaining half of the metal shaft changed direction, piercing into his chest with a soft thud.

During this process, as lightning burst from his chest, he managed to eliminate most of the runes on the arrow shaft. His body also surged with golden light, the secret power of the Golden Body Technique flowing within him.

However, the arrow shaft still stabbed into his chest; this was the might of the Extraordinary!

Though the runes on the arrow had been partially obliterated by the lightning from his chest, he was still a mere mortal, unable to extinguish the power of an extraordinary arrow.

The Golden Body Technique at the late stage of the seventh layer managed to wear down some runes on the arrow shaft.

The archer on the ground, his long black hair flowing wildly, with a fierce and cold gaze, commented, "Even a broken arrow will explode upon striking!"

The other two extraordinary beings nodded. The gap between mortals and the extraordinary was unbridgeable. This arrow could not only kill one person but could also obliterate a line of grandmasters in a single shot!

In the sky, blood fell, and the runed metal shaft penetrated Wang Xuan's chest, piercing through flesh and even entering his lungs, causing him severe injury.

This was the most serious injury he had suffered since embarking on the path of cultivation, as even his organs had been pierced.

Despite the Golden Body Technique breaking through the defense at that moment, he activated the physical technique recorded in the five pages of the Golden Book, resonating with his organs, flames soaring as he once again obliterated many of the runes on the shaft embedded in his flesh.

Yet, the arrow shaft still penetrated him, leaving behind some residual secret power that tore several holes in his lungs, resulting in extremely serious injuries.

He gritted his teeth and climbed back onto the horse's back, the intense pain causing him to cough, spitting out several mouthfuls of blood—blood that had seeped into his lungs. This was the first time in his life he had suffered such a significant setback, nearly being killed!

The horse demon flapped its wings frantically, electric arcs coursing through it as it soared into the sky and fled into the distance.

In that moment, Master Ma's eyes turned blood-red, filled with both rage and gratitude. It knew that if not for Wang Xuan's obstruction, it would have certainly been killed.

"Interesting. He wasn't obliterated. That short sword in his hand is quite remarkable; it can easily sever the extraordinary secret arrows," said one of the extraordinary beings on the ground.

"Indeed, he surprised me. His physique is quite strong, not weaker than yours or mine," said the bow-wielder, his eyes cold as he drew back the bowstring again. "He's beyond my range of precision; I'll switch to explosive arrows and aim to send him off. We don't need his flesh anymore!"

Clearly, he hadn't been able to shoot down the flying horse or obliterate the young man, igniting a bit of frustration and killing intent within him.

Several arrows tore through the air, incredibly terrifying; no matter how Master Ma tried to escape, it couldn't dodge them all.

Wang Xuan released lightning, striking at an unavoidable arrow, resulting in a terrifying explosion that detonated the arrow.

He quickly turned around and lay flat on the horse's back, resigning himself to fate.

Fortunately, the lightning he emitted was powerful enough to ignite the arrow from a distance.

If it had gotten any closer, it would have meant a full-force strike from an extraordinary expert, surely leading to his and Master Ma's obliteration.

The horse demon went wild, exhausting all its strength to escape.

The explosion engulfed them, and Wang Xuan felt a scorching pain in his back. The radiant light of the extraordinary runes caused his armor and clothing to shatter entirely.

The Golden Body Technique once again broke through the defense; his back was a mess of blood and flesh, with some areas nearly exposing his ribs. The only consolation was that this time, his internal organs remained unharmed.

Master Ma had one wing pierced and was bleeding profusely, while one of its hind legs had a horrifying wound torn open, rendering it quite miserable but not mortally wounded.

"I've been a bit rusty; I haven't killed anyone in the past six months, yet I couldn't even kill a mere mortal. He managed to escape," the man on the ground said, lowering his bow, feeling disappointed, shaking his head.

"He's just a mortal. If we encounter him again, we can simply crush him with a wave of our hand!"

"That short sword of his is a good item. I hope to encounter him soon," another said, his eyes sparkling as he chuckled coldly.

The three men walked into the forest.

In the sky, Wang Xuan coughed blood; it was the first time his body had been so severely injured.

He looked back at the land, staring at their retreating figures, and said, "You've forced me to step into the Extraordinary realm. I will soon settle accounts with you!"