That feeling wasn’t unique to Shi Shuchen. Even the Formation Spirit perched on Yuan Shu’s shoulder felt the same way.
It had assumed that, even with a directional map, Yuan Shu would still be unable to distinguish directions in the complex underground labyrinth. At the very least, she would have to come and ask for its help!
Who would have thought that Yuan Shu would actually find the correct route with nothing but a directional map?
This was already the third treasure palace she had found!
As Yuan Shu looted every last treasure in the palace, the Formation Spirit felt a sharp pang in its heart.
To maintain the balance of the underground palace’s treasure-based fortune, the Hehuan Sect would have to replace any treasures that were lost.
It was, after all, the Formation Spirit of the Hehuan Sect’s forbidden grounds. Everything it did was for the sake of the sect.
Now, it could only watch helplessly as someone took all those treasures away without being able to stop her…
Yuan Shu seemed to sense what it was thinking. She curled a finger and flicked it on the head.
“Don’t try anything funny. If you dare call anyone, I’ll destroy you before I die!”
The Formation Spirit fell silent.
Fine, fine.
The treasures didn’t belong to it anyway. There was no need to sacrifice its own intelligence over them.
Staying alive was what mattered. It still wanted to live a good, long life!
…
Outer Domain, Hehuan Sect, Cool Breeze Hall.
“My lord! My lord, something terrible has happened! Something has happened at the forbidden grounds!”
A hurried set of footsteps approached. From outside the hall, someone anxiously reported through the doors.
The voice traveled past the strings of blue jade beads that chimed softly. Inside the hall, the handsome man who had been sitting cross-legged suddenly opened his eyes.
A flash of blue swept past. Though there was no wind in the hall, the bead curtain swayed gently.
When one looked again, the person who had been sitting with his eyes closed on the soft couch was already standing silently outside the hall doors.
“What… did you say?”
His voice was cool and clear, pleasing to the ear like jade striking jade.
Yet it carried an intimidating majesty and pressure. The moment he spoke, the disciple delivering the message was so frightened that he dropped to his knees with a thud.
“R-reporting to you, my lord… The forbidden grounds… something has happened there!”
“The spatial array that originally covered the forbidden grounds suddenly activated its defensive patterns. It seems to have enclosed the entire forbidden area, allowing no one to enter or leave.”
“Our people can’t get close!”
The young disciple stammered his way through the report, but received no response for a long while.
A breeze swept past. Trembling, he raised his head, only to find the space before him empty. The person who had been standing there had vanished without a trace.
Outside the enormous formation surrounding the forbidden grounds, the handsome man in blue slightly furrowed his brows. His pale, snow-colored eyes remained fixed on the defensive barrier that had suddenly appeared before him.
It was indeed the pattern of the forbidden grounds’ Yin-Yang Eight Trigrams Formation!
At this moment, spiritual energy surged through the formation patterns, creating a special barrier that isolated everyone outside the forbidden grounds.
“My lord, what… what is going on? I’ve guarded the forbidden grounds for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it! What should we do now?”
The Hehuan Sect elder stationed at the forbidden grounds was extremely anxious. Seeing Si Lingce arrive, he hurried forward to ask.
“There are no members of the sect inside the forbidden grounds anymore?” Si Lingce pressed his lips together and asked in his cool voice.
The sect elder hurriedly shook his head. “Several direct disciples of the sect were originally cultivating on the outskirts of the forbidden grounds. When the forbidden grounds suddenly changed, they were forced out of the formation by a powerful force.”
“Cough… At the time, those disciples were cultivating at a critical moment. They were barely clothed and were even embracing one another…”
The elder’s aged face flushed slightly. “Young people certainly have plenty of vigor. It was also thanks to the previous sect master using the Hehuan Bell to set up this Yin-Yang Dual Cultivation Formation, thereby helping the disciples cultivate.”
“The previous sect master…” The sect elder was about to continue when he suddenly felt a cold, piercing gaze fall upon him.
He raised his head and met Si Lingce’s icy stare. He shuddered and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Damn it, he had nearly forgotten! The previous sect master, Yuan Shu, was Lord Si’s greatest taboo!
In front of him, nothing concerning the previous sect master—whether good or bad—could be mentioned.
He had said too much!
“Let this be the last time.”
Si Lingce gave him a cold glance. After leaving him with those words, his blue figure flashed and vanished.
The sect elder hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Watching the streak of light disappear into the distance, he muttered under his breath, “Tsk… Lord Si’s strength seems to have become even more terrifying. Could he have already surpassed… that person?”
…
Si Lingce circled the formation around the forbidden grounds once, discovering no flaws. Its defenses were completely secure.
But when he carefully sensed it, he detected faint, chaotic fluctuations of spiritual energy coming from within the formation.
It seemed that many low-level cultivators were moving about inside.
He frowned and suddenly remembered something. With a wave of his hand, he retrieved a book from his Qiankun pouch and began flipping through it before the formation.
A moment later, Si Lingce closed the book, his brows lifting slightly.
“Heaven Gate realm? So these people came from the inner world connected to the Heaven Gate realm?”
But in the very next instant, his brows drew together again, and he looked toward the forbidden grounds with displeasure.
Inside were treasures Yuan Shu had left behind, and even… the cenotaph he had personally built for her.
How could he allow strangers to enter and disturb it?
“Summon the five elders guarding the forbidden grounds. I am going into the formation!”
Si Lingce gave the order. The disciples’ expressions changed slightly, but none dared question him. They hurried off to summon the elders.
Before long, the five elders—including the one from earlier—gathered before the formation. They looked at Si Lingce with alarm.
“Lord Si, this is absolutely impossible! Your safety is tied to the safety of the forbidden grounds. How can you put yourself in danger?”
“Exactly, exactly! Lord Si, why don’t we… notify the sect master and have her come over…”
At those words, Si Lingce’s expression turned cold. His sharp gaze locked onto the five men before him.
“All of your lives are in my hands. If any of you informs the sect master, I’ll make sure he doesn’t live to see tomorrow’s sun!”
The five elders’ expressions changed. They hurriedly lowered their heads, no longer daring to say another word.
Si Lingce snorted coldly. His clear voice issued an order. “Form the Spirit-Guiding Crossing Array. I will use one formation to enter the other!”
“Yes!”
…
“Ah!”
In the underground palace passageway, Yuan Shu and Shi Shuchen were hurrying onward when the Formation Spirit suddenly cried out from her shoulder.
Both of them stopped at once and turned to look at the Formation Spirit, which had been lying on Yuan Shu’s shoulder the entire time.
The Formation Spirit, which had previously worn a relaxed expression, now had a face as red as pig’s liver. Its features were twisted, as though it were enduring tremendous pain.
“What’s wrong?” Yuan Shu asked with a frown.
Its body trembling, the Formation Spirit transformed one of its little hands and clutched Yuan Shu’s collar tightly as it stammered, “It hurts… It hurts… Someone is forcing their way into the formation. Wuwu, it hurts so much…”
Yuan Shu’s heart jolted. She lifted her head and exchanged a glance with Shi Shuchen.
Someone was forcing their way into the formation?
Who were they?
Moreover, the other party had actually managed to alarm the Formation Spirit. Their strength was clearly extraordinary.
Seeing the Formation Spirit grow more and more distressed, Yuan Shu frowned and flicked a thread of spiritual energy into its body.
Only then did the Formation Spirit’s expression gradually ease.
At that very moment, a surging and turbulent wave of spiritual energy erupted from the depths of the underground palace. Like a monstrous swell, it spread in every direction!
“Hiss!”
Shi Shuchen drew in a sharp breath beside her. Yuan Shu turned her head and was just about to speak when a familiar sensation of the world spinning suddenly swept over her.
