PCJ – Chapter 734 The Portal

“Mute, quickly scan this entire Spirit Mountain. I need to know the exact locations of the three Holy Lands’ sect leaders right now,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Only the three sect masters themselves could possibly know such a secret. For something this important, even disciples of the three Holy Lands might be sacrificed. No one knew what would happen once the formation was activated—but those three probably did.

Although the mist over Spirit Mountain couldn’t block the detection of the Meishan Sect’s spiritual energy aircraft, the mountain was simply too vast. To completely scan it would take an extremely long time.

“Master, if there really is a teleportation array on Spirit Mountain, what should we do? Should we also enter the Immortal Realm?” Wei Chenguang asked.

“Even if there is a teleportation array, who knows what lies on the other side? With the Meishan Sect’s current strength, what could we even accomplish? The Immortal Realm might not be a paradise—it could be more dangerous than hell itself,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

Wei Chenguang nodded. “If the other side really were a paradise, why would the three Holy Lands go through all this trouble? With their strength, they could have easily activated the array on their own and opened the path to the Immortal Realm.”

Soon after, Mute and Nie Tong reported back with good news. “Jiaohua, we’ve found the three sect masters of the Holy Lands.”

“So quickly?” Zhang Jiaohua was surprised.

“We compared their previous positions and focused our search on the same spots in Spirit Mountain. Turns out, their location stood out clearly. I’m switching the feed to you now—see for yourself,” Nie Tong said.

Everyone turned to the big screen, which showed Liang Dengheng and the others clearly. They were far too conspicuous, standing on a platform atop Spirit Mountain—the very same place they had stood earlier. They hadn’t moved at all, unlike the others whose former positions had vanished.

“Perhaps this is the real teleportation array?” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Seems so. Looks like they’re truly preparing to activate it,” Wei Chenguang nodded.

On the platform at the mountain’s peak, Liang Dengheng sighed. “Who would have thought? In the end, our three Holy Lands still came to this point. If it weren’t out of utter desperation, we would never dare take such a risk.”

Di Muguo nodded. “Now that it’s come to this, there’s no turning back. Once the teleportation array is opened, whatever the result may be, our sects will face it together.”

Zhao Kaiyuan had also made up his mind. “Our Patriarch of Buzhou Mountain once warned: unless absolutely necessary, the teleportation array must never be opened. But now, with no road left to walk, we have no choice.”

The three sect masters exchanged looks and nodded. Finally, one of them placed a massive, crystal-clear spirit stone into the core of the array.

Whoosh!

A gate of light suddenly appeared atop the teleportation platform, within which seemed to exist a vast and boundless world.

“Disciples of Shushan, heed my command! Enter the Immortal Realm!”

“Disciples of Kunlun, heed my command! Enter the Immortal Realm!”

“Disciples of Buzhou Mountain, heed my command! Enter the Immortal Realm!”

The core disciples of the three Holy Lands had long gathered around the platform. Together, the three sects stepped into the light gate.

Their leaders followed at the end, and even after they entered, the light gate remained standing upon the platform.

Inside the Meishan Sect’s monitoring chamber, the sight of the portal was extremely tempting.

“Master, should we also send people inside to scout?” Wei Chenguang asked.

“And if they can’t return?” Zhang Jiaohua countered.

“But the Immortal Realm is, after all, the destined path for cultivators like us. Our Meishan Sect will have to explore it sooner or later. Why not let me go first? If I don’t make it back, then I entrust the Wei family to your care,” Wei Chenguang said.

Kong Jiyuan also spoke up. “Master, let me go as well. Two of us together can at least watch each other’s backs.”

Zhang Jiaohua frowned. “You two are the pillars of Meishan Sect. If you don’t return, it would be an unbearable loss. Besides, the Immortal Realm isn’t urgent for us. We aren’t facing any crisis of spiritual energy right now.”

“Master, you need not worry. Breaking through to the next stage isn’t easy for us anyway. Instead, why not do something more for the generations to come?” Wei Chenguang insisted.

Just as Wei Chenguang and Kong Jiyuan resolved to step into the Immortal Realm, Mute suddenly shouted, “Look—quick!”

A Shushan disciple suddenly stumbled out of the light gate, looking utterly disheveled, his clothes tattered and covered in blood. One sleeve was completely empty. As he staggered out, he screamed, “Help me! Help me!”

But before he could get far, a gigantic claw shot out from the light gate, seizing him once again.

“Ahhh!” His scream was cut short. Blood sprayed from the gate like a fountain, splattering across the platform, as the claw dragged him back inside.

Everyone in the Meishan Sect monitoring room was struck dumb with shock.

“What was that?” Zhang Yuanbao exclaimed.

“An immortal beast! It must be! At least with the cultivation of a Nascent Soul stage, if not higher,” Wei Chenguang said.

“Maybe far beyond that. That’s no Immortal Realm—for cultivators like us, it may well be a Shura Hell,” Sun Jiyuan said grimly. If Zhang Jiaohua hadn’t stopped him and Wei Chenguang earlier, they would have entered already—and faced the same fate.

“That portal… better to shut it down. If any of those beasts cross over, it will spell disaster for Earth,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

“Yes, the Master is right. But once the gate is closed, the people of the three Holy Lands will never return,” Nie Tong said with some reluctance.

“They should have anticipated this outcome. Since they didn’t care about the world’s safety, why should the world take risks for them?” Qi Xia replied.

Wei Chenguang agreed. “If that kind of beast came through, we might not be able to resist it. It would be a catastrophe.”

Kong Jiyuan added, “I also agree with closing the gate. The three sects surely knew this risk before making their move.”

Luo Tianwang nodded. “Then let’s shut the teleportation array.”

Wei Chenguang and Kong Jiyuan immediately piloted their aircraft toward the platform. It was drenched in fresh blood, not yet dry.

They removed the spirit stone from the array’s core, and the portal instantly vanished.

At the same time, Spirit Mountain slowly began descending, sinking back toward the desert. Soon, it was buried beneath the sands once again. Many rogue cultivators, having exhausted their spiritual energy, could not escape in time and were swallowed by the desert. It wasn’t cruelty on Zhang Jiaohua’s part—the mountain simply sank too quickly for anyone to be saved.