Chapter 260: Mysterious

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Under the joint efforts of many elders, the six directions within the mountains suddenly shook violently. They emitted thunderous sounds, with immense force, and some of them even contained powerful spatial forces that spread out. Some of the weaker martial artists among the group even turned pale.

At this moment, in the Abyssal Mist Gorge.

Lin Mo slowly opened his eyes. He was still standing in the same place where the Sword Demon Soul had been before. Surrounding him, the natural energy of heaven and earth constantly flowed towards him. However, when this energy reached Lin Mo, it mysteriously transformed into black wisps of air and penetrated into his body. It seemed that this influx had been ongoing even while Lin Mo was unconscious.

"What's going on?" Lin Mo muttered to himself, his confusion not limited to his own condition but also the intense shaking of the mountains around him.

Before Lin Mo could finish speaking, the black air that had entered his body surged like a rampant dragon and violently attacked one of his meridians. In a deafening explosion, the power erupted from within him.

To his surprise, this black air was helping him open up a meridian. Among the countless meridians in a martial artist's body, the most profound were the nine major meridians. Two of them were connected to the martial artist's arms, while the other seven connected to various parts of the body, forming a pattern resembling the Big Dipper.

These nine major meridians existed within a martial artist's body from birth but were not initially open. Ancient records stated that each time a martial artist opened one of these meridians, they gained immense power. This was also the hallmark of a martial artist reaching the Elemental Vein Realm. Opening one meridian meant achieving the first stage of the Elemental Vein Realm.

Now, the black air was autonomously helping Lin Mo open one of these meridians, the one connected to his right arm, and it did so in a matter of seconds.

When the meridian was opened, Lin Mo felt a strong connection between his right arm's meridian and the Elemental Wheel within his Dantian. A surge of incredible power spread throughout his entire body.

What surprised him even more was that, after opening the meridian, the black wisps of air remained inside it. At the same time, the Sword Demon Soul, which had previously caused his demonic transformation, turned into a shadow and entered the meridian as well.

"What is going on?" Lin Mo had numerous questions in his mind. He had unexpectedly opened a meridian while unconscious and had become a first-stage Elemental Vein Realm martial artist. However, he had no control over the black wisps of air within the meridian.

Apart from this, he didn't feel any other abnormalities, and he possessed the strength that a martial artist at the Elemental Vein Realm should have. This series of mysterious events left both Zhao Yun and Nine Lives puzzled.

Boom! Boom!

Before Lin Mo could contemplate further, the surrounding mountains trembled violently once more. After a moment, in the area behind him, a space gate appeared.

On the other side of the mountains, in front of Ye Yuntian and his group, six more space gates opened in different directions. Upon opening these six gates, Ye Yuntian and the others also sensed that there seemed to be another space gate on the other side of the mountains.

"Why do I feel like there's another space gate on the other side of the mountains?" one of the elders said with suspicion.

Ye Yuntian's expression also turned serious. "I feel it too. There was no sign of it before. Could it be that the simultaneous opening of these six gates led to the appearance of a seventh one?"

"If that's the case, we should quickly enter and investigate. After all, it leads to the Abyssal Mist Gorge. If any fierce beasts enter from that side, the consequences would be dire."

"Agreed."

Ye Yuntian's expression grew grave. Even the strongest members of the Xuanli Dynasty were helpless against the Abyssal Mist Gorge. They couldn't afford to be careless.

"Everyone, you should already know the rules of the trial. I won't repeat them here. All the elders will follow me into the first space gate, and the other participants can enter through the remaining five gates."

After Ye Yuntian finished speaking, he and all the elders rushed into the first space gate. Following that, the numerous disciples of the Seven Peaks eagerly entered the other space gates.

This marked the official beginning of the Qingxuan Sect's martial competition.

In the Abyssal Mist Gorge, Lin Mo gazed at the space gate that had appeared before him and muttered, "Why did a space gate suddenly appear? Where does it lead?"

"Could it be a hidden treasure that you've stumbled upon?" Nine Lives speculated boldly.

"I'm not sure," Lin Mo replied, still unable to fathom these strange events.

"Lin Mo, could it be that this is something left behind by the person who possessed the Sword Demon Soul and has since passed away?" Zhao Yun suggested.

Hearing this, Lin Mo nodded. "It's possible, especially considering that he had cultivated to an extraordinary level. He might have left something behind."

"In that case, let's go and see. Perhaps we'll find some treasures," Nine Lives suggested excitedly.

"Yes, but first, you should take a look at what this Sword Demon Soul is," Zhao Yun advised.

Only then did Lin Mo realize that he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. Moreover, this unconscious state seemed to have been caused by the Sword Demon Soul. 

With that in mind, Lin Mo's figure sank into the meridian that had been opened, and he saw the blue sword-shaped Sword Demon Soul faintly residing within it. However, he couldn't control it at all.