Qian Kun’s face was now completely filled with terror and confusion, with large beads of sweat continuously rolling down from his forehead, tracing a path down his cheeks.

His lips trembled violently as he struggled to speak: "This... this Mystic Spirit Pavilion must be hiding an unimaginable great secret. That Xu Wendong is definitely not someone we can easily provoke!"

"This time, we were utterly reckless, like blind fools crashing headlong into an unyielding iron wall. Now we’ve gotten ourselves into a massive trouble."

He was utterly perplexed, unable to comprehend why that cultivator just now died so mysteriously on the spot.

However, one thing was clear before him, and that was this matter definitely had countless close ties to Xu Wendong.

Moreover, they already had a certain suspicion in their hearts that Xu Wendong was no ordinary mortal, and his identity must be hiding an astonishing secret.

Zhao Qi swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, trying hard to calm his emotions, and murmured in a very low voice: "If I’m not mistaken, our high-priced master we hired might have suddenly caught some bizarre illness, leading to such an outcome."

"Otherwise, how could he just glance at the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque and die bleeding from his seven orifices?"

"This simply defies all reason! It’s just a plaque, what kind of magic power could it possess to cause instant death with just a glance?"

"This is truly incomprehensible."

Gradually snapping out of extreme shock, Qian Kun thought carefully and felt that Zhao Qi’s words seemed to make quite some sense.

Their gazes met in the air, seemingly reaching some hidden consensus in an instant.

Though anxious, they were driven by intense curiosity, slowly opened an umbrella, and braced themselves to enter the ink-black night, heading toward the location of that Foundation Establishment Stage expert’s body.

With the intention to find out the truth and determine the real cause of his death.

Just as they approached the body of that Foundation Establishment Stage expert.

Both of them could clearly feel that, from the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque, an unfathomable, indescribable mysterious power was continuously emanating.

This power seemed to have a soul-ensnaring magic, deeply attracting their gaze and spirit, causing them to involuntarily turn their heads, directing their sight toward the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque.

And at the exact moment their gaze landed squarely on the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque, a bizarre and horrific event occurred.

The three characters [Mystic Spirit Pavilion] seemed suddenly imbued with life, twisting and transforming, quickly turning into a frosty, sharp Sword Qi.

These Sword Qi, seemingly containing earth-shattering energy, instantly tore through the void, emitting a sharp whistling sound, shooting towards the two people like arrows leaving the string.

In an instant, an intense, icy-cold sense of crisis surged over them like a tidal wave.

Until this moment.

They finally awoke as if from a dream, fully realizing that the mysterious cause of death of the beside Foundation Establishment Stage expert was undoubtedly closely linked to the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque.

However, everything happened too suddenly, before they could recover from this massive shock, the Sword Qi dove into their pupils like phantoms.

Then, their bodies seemed to be manipulated by an invisible massive force, with blood gushing out like a fountain from their seven orifices, forming a vivid blood mist in this rainy night.

Soon afterward, their bodies slowly collapsed, hitting the ground heavily, splashing water that mixed with the rain, gradually spreading, leaving behind only two cold corpses.

Xu Wendong never thought of killing.

But he would also never allow himself to be bullied, facing those who wished to kill him.

He never showed mercy.

That was why he infused Daoist charm into the plaque.

Not long after Qian Kun and Zhao Qi fell, an elderly man with an immortal demeanor, with white hair and beard, appeared amidst the distant rain. He wore a linen robe, with a thin, haggard face giving an air of malnourishment and unkemptness.

He did not carry an umbrella, yet the pouring rain did not wet his clothes, which were shielded by a thin layer of True Qi emanating from him.

"Why are there three corpses here?" The elder questioned, full of bewilderment, then glanced around before his eyes were deeply drawn to the mysterious plaque of Mystic Spirit Pavilion.

The profound power seemed like an ancient call, seeping into his Sea of Consciousness like a magical key, unlocking shackles hidden deep within his soul.

Some questions about cultivation that he initially couldn’t grasp now found answers.

Daoist Lingxu’s pupils trembled intensely; he never imagined that merely looking at this plaque would unravel all the confusions he had on his cultivation path.

This left him with a tingling scalp and a sense of creeping fear.

The next moment.

The Golden Core within him began to tremble violently, glowing brightly, as if it wanted to break free of some constraint.

On the Golden Core, the originally stable spiritual power patterns twisted and transformed like lively Spirit Snakes, while purer and more powerful Spiritual Power surged out, rushing like a roaring river through his meridians.

Lingxu Taoist felt an unbearable heat throughout his body, as if he was engulfed in roaring flames, or struck by endless thunder, his body trembling slightly, and his bones crackling as if being reshaped and transformed.

As that power poured in endlessly, his soul seemed to break free of mundane shackles and the confines of the physical body, gently soaring and spreading amidst dazzling spiritual light.

The Golden Core, originally the size of a soybean, was visibly expanding and deforming, gradually turning into the image of a phantom infant with a delicate face, with enlightened light in its brows, emanating gentle and powerful spiritual power fluctuations, indicating the initial formation of the Nascent Soul.

"Infinite Venerable, this..."

"What the heck is going on?"

"Why did my Golden Core suddenly transform into a Nascent Soul?"

Lingxu Taoist stood rooted to the spot, stunned, feeling as if in a dreamlike trance.

He thought he couldn’t break through in this life, which is why he wandered the world, never imagining that coming to Qingyuan City would grant him such a tremendous opportunity.

In his eyes shone a bright light like stars, as if containing endless cosmic mysteries.

He looked toward the Mystic Spirit Pavilion’s plaque, his heart filled with awe and gratitude, muttering to himself: "Who on earth crafted this plaque? How does it possess such profound ability to help me overcome my obstacles and step into the Nascent Soul stage?"