The moment the barrier gate opened, two figures swept through it.
They were Zuoqiu Youyu and Song Qian. The two of them were bound together by the Yin Yang Lock.
Seeing this, Chu Feng and Xia Yan, along with Li Muzhi, Zhao Shi, and the others, followed closely behind and surged inside.
In an instant, every disciple standing in the plaza took to the air, flying toward the gate of the Yin Yang Withered Well World.
The barrier gate was massive, radiating brilliant light that was almost blinding.
From a distance, the dense swarm of disciple silhouettes resembled a horde of moths plunging into a flame.
After passing through the barrier gate, Chu Feng and the others did not immediately enter the Yin Yang Withered Well World.
Instead, they first found themselves inside a barrier passage.
The passage was saturated with a strange, eerie power.
That eerie power circled around everyone who entered, like a pack of invisible beasts with razor-sharp senses of smell.
It was searching for openings. If anyone was found lacking, they would be struck by the power's attack.
Fortunately, the Yin Yang Lock had also begun to take effect, actively drawing on the auras of Chu Feng and Xia Yan to shield them from the eerie power's assault.
But it didn't take long for Chu Feng to realize that a man and a woman bound together by the Yin Yang Lock was indeed the best way to avoid the eerie power.
However, if one could regulate the aura within their own body and achieve a state of Yin Yang balance, then even a single person could completely avoid being attacked by the eerie power.
Of course, that was extremely difficult — but for Spirit World Masters of Chu Feng and Xia Yan's caliber, it was not so hard.
More importantly, Chu Feng judged that this eerie power was essentially a filtering force.
It was conducting a screening. Presumably, only those who passed through the filter would be granted entry into the Yin Yang Withered Well World.
If that was the case, then while the Yin Yang Lock guaranteed they could pass through the screening unharmed, might it also rob them of certain benefits?
If they passed the screening on their own true strength, wouldn't they stand to gain something?
By all reasonable logic, they certainly would.
"Chu Feng, you've figured it out too?" Xia Yan looked at him.
"Looks like you have as well," Chu Feng said.
"Mhm."
"Want to try undoing it?"
"Either way, neither of us should have any trouble."
Xia Yan grinned and glanced down at the Yin Yang Lock.
"Suit yourself," Chu Feng said.
Seeing Chu Feng's easy attitude, Xia Yan immediately unclasped the Yin Yang Lock on her wrist and sped up at the same time.
Chu Feng likewise accelerated and caught up with her.
Because everyone inside the barrier passage was flying in pairs, the sight of Chu Feng and Xia Yan flying separately drew immediate attention from the crowd.
"They — they undid the Yin Yang Lock?"
"Why are they fine even after undoing it?"
Confused expressions rippled through the onlookers.
"If you can balance the Yin and Yang energy and achieve equilibrium within your own body, you don't need the Yin Yang Lock to pass through here safely."
"But if you can't maintain that balance on your own, you'd better keep the Yin Yang Lock on. If this place's power invades you, I can't say what will happen."
Chu Feng warned the crowd, concerned that some might rashly follow their example.
However, his words also served as an explanation — those with sufficient strength did not need to rely on the Yin Yang Lock and could traverse the passage alone.
So after Chu Feng's warning, Zuoqiu Youyu and Song Qian also unclasped their Yin Yang Lock.
The two of them passed through without any trouble either.
Before long, more and more people began to follow suit.
The Wolong disciples and true inheritor disciples in particular were eager to prove themselves.
But before long, some among them began to show expressions of pain.
Li Muzhi and Zhao Shi, for example.
Li Muzhi was able to regulate his own aura, but Zhao Shi was clearly struggling to keep up.
Sensing the danger, Li Muzhi quickly reattached the Yin Yang Lock between them.
In truth, Zhao Shi's condition was already considered mild compared to others.
Some had it far worse.
And once the crowd saw that even the stronger disciples were having difficulty holding out, most of the rest stopped their attempts.
But there were always a few who feared no death — even those who lacked the strength were willing to try.
And so what followed was something far more tragic.
After unclasping the Yin Yang Lock, some disciples found themselves unable to balance their internal auras. In an instant, the eerie power invaded them completely.
Their veins swelled, blood poured from every orifice, and then — *boom* — their bodies exploded, spraying blood like rain. Before they could even reattach the Yin Yang Lock, they had already perished in a burst of gore.
When the crowd witnessed actual deaths, those who had been blindly imitating finally grasped the danger and dared not attempt it anymore.