Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

Hu Qing and Gu Yang walked cautiously for about half a minute along the narrow stone platform hidden under the illusion of magma.

Finally, the path ahead widened and extended to a relatively spacious black platform.

The spots of light above their heads that were guiding them suddenly stopped here and no longer extended forward.

"This should be it!" Gu Yang cheered up and climbed up the platform first, using both hands and feet. Hu Qing followed closely behind.

After standing still, the two looked around and felt a chill in their hearts.

The platform seemed like an isolated island in an endless ocean of lava, except for the hidden stone path they had come from.

Everywhere you look, you can see dark red magma slowly flowing and emitting a breath of destruction.

The scorching air waves caused the air to distort continuously, making the platform seem even more lonely and strange.

The platform was covered with a thick layer of grayish-white dust, which seemed to be accumulated by mineral dust floating in the air over the years.

Gu Yang did not start searching immediately, but squatted down and stared at the ground of the platform with a serious look.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?" Hu Qing noticed that his expression was strange and asked.

Gu Yang pointed to a mark on the ground and said in a deep voice, "I noticed these... footprints as soon as I walked over. Look at the clarity and depth of the mark.

It's very new, definitely from a recent time! It doesn't look like something very old. "

Hu Qing's brows furrowed upon hearing this. He recalled the passageway he had entered the volcano, which seemed to have been violently ruptured and had a molten edge. The ominous premonition in his heart rose again.

"Could it be... someone got there first?"

Hu Qing's voice was filled with a subtle anxiety. "Don't worry about that for now. Finding the fragments is the most important thing! The mark is still hot, so the thing must be nearby!"

The two suppressed their doubts and began to search the small platform carefully.

Apart from the accumulated dust on the platform, there were only a few scattered black stones of varying sizes. They looked no different from the obsidian that made up the platform, and there was no trace of the holy artifact fragments.

Hu Qing's heart sank. Could it be that someone had really gotten there first?

But the constant burning sensation on his arm clearly told him that the fragments must still be nearby!

Gu Yang casually picked up a fist-sized black stone at his feet, weighed it, and suddenly exclaimed "Huh".

"This stone... is so light!" he exclaimed in amazement. Considering the size of this stone, it shouldn't be so light.

Curious, he clenched his fist, exerted a little strength, and smashed the black stone in his hand!

Click!

With a crisp sound, the black stone shattered. It was not as hard as imagined, but instead like a hollow eggshell.

It broke apart, turning into countless tiny black flakes and powder, which slipped through his fingers and piled up on the dusty platform.

Hu Qing looked at the newly added rubble on the ground, then at the fragments that already existed on the platform, and instantly understood:

"So that's how these fragments came from... these stones are hollow!"

The flame of hope is rekindled!

The two of them immediately collected the remaining scattered black stones.

Gu Yang did the same thing, smashing them all in pieces with one punch each.

After a few crisp bangs, a pile of useless black rubble appeared on the ground, and there was still no sign of the holy artifact fragments.

Just when Hu Qing was about to fall into despair, Gu Yang carefully picked up something from the thick layer of primitive dust next to the pile of broken stone pieces.

He looked extremely strange, and handed the little thing to Hu Qing, his tone full of uncertainty:

"Ah Qing... look at this... could this be what we're looking for?"

Hu Qing looked closely - it was an irregularly shaped black fragment only the size of the little finger nail!

It is inconspicuous and difficult to find among the dust.

He took the fragment, held his breath, and carefully sensed it. Sure enough!

A faint but extremely familiar sense of resonance came from the Twin Flower Sacred Artifact in his Dantian!

This is indeed a fragment of the holy artifact! But... why is it so small?

It was incomparable to any piece they had found before!

"This fragment did not come out of the stone,"

Gu Yang explained, his expression becoming even uglier, "I dug it out from the dust and gravel that were already on the ground.

Judging from the situation, it seems to have been accidentally left behind, or... deliberately discarded."

Thinking of those new footprints, the passages opened by violence, and the hollow stones that have been smashed...

An infuriating and frustrating conclusion emerged in the minds of both men:

Someone found this place earlier than them!

The man took away the fragment of the true sacred artifact hidden in the hollow stone.

Perhaps it was because of haste, or perhaps it was because of disdain, that this insignificant little bit was left behind, or perhaps it was even left behind intentionally as a mockery!

The two looked at each other silently, and could see the shock, unwillingness and deep doubt in each other's eyes.

Although we encountered some difficulties along the way, overall it seemed to be going too smoothly.

It was as if there was a pre-arranged path guiding them to this empty destination.

Who is it? Who has the ability to find this place? Who needs the fragment of the holy artifact? And what is their purpose?

After a while, Gu Yang sighed heavily, unable to hide the frustration on his face: "I've been busy for so long, and I've used up so many brain cells, but in the end I only got this little bit... It's really..."

Hu Qing took a deep breath, suppressed the waves in his heart, and carefully put away the tiny fragment.

Although small, it is also an important clue and component.

"It's come to this point. There's no point in overthinking it."

His voice regained its composure, “Let’s go and pick up Xiao Zi from Wan Shu Country first.

We must hurry and rush to the next possible location of debris. Maybe... we'll even run into this mysterious 'companion'."

Gu Yang nodded. Although the battle had started badly, it had actually aroused his competitive spirit. He wanted to see who was behind this!

The two took one last look at the empty platform and the endless lava, then turned around and quickly left along the hidden stone path they had come from.

On the lonely platform, there were only scattered rubble and unsolved mysteries.