Witch Formation

Heaven Tower. The party from the Witch Clan passed through the valley restriction and found the stone hall. The interior of the stone hall was pitch-black. Upon entering, they found that unlike the outside, there were no dangerous restrictions, yet they still dared not recklessly extend their spiritual sense, having no choice but to investigate patiently. Old Devil Fang continued scouting ahead. The space inside was vaster than imagined. Seeing that nothing seemed amiss, the Grand Shaman ordered everyone to remain vigilant and then spread out slightly. "There are skeletons ahead!" Old Devil Fang suddenly sent a voice transmission. Everyone tensed, drawing closer and landing behind Old Devil Fang. Sweeping their spiritual sense forward, they indeed found skeletons scattered haphazardly across the ground right ahead. It was unknown how long these corpses had lain here; only eerie white bones remained. Old Devil Fang struck out with a gust of strong wind against one of the skeletons, and it immediately disintegrated into powder, completely decayed. With a solemn look, the Grand Shaman glanced around and said, "Fellow Daoists, be careful." Pausing briefly, Old Devil Fang flew forward once more. The others summoned their defensive magic treasures one after another and followed closely behind. "How likely do you think it is that a remnant treasure of the Witch Clan remains in an abandoned place like this?" Old Devil Fang communicated secretly with the Grand Shaman, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction. The stone hall gave them only a sense of vast emptiness and desolation. Aside from the skeletons covering the ground, there was nothing else. They had not even seen any traces of a restriction or spirit formation. The Grand Shaman placated him, "Fellow Daoist Fang, please be patient. That stone disc is clearly a treasure of our Witch Clan. Using divine glyphs to activate the stone disc could unlock this stone hall—is that not proof enough of its deep ties to our clan? This stone hall was likely built by our Witch Clan ancestors with their own hands, yet it sits within a secret realm belonging to an ancient human sect. There must be a reason for this." "I hope your judgment is correct," Old Devil Fang said indifferently, saying no more as he suddenly picked up speed and surged ahead. After flying like this for a while, Old Devil Fang's figure came to an abrupt halt. The Grand Shaman arrived right behind him. Upon seeing what lay ahead, an unusual look flashed in her eyes. Directly in front of them stood a colossal stone pillar exuding an aura of ancient vicissitude. Its surface was carved with intricate, complex patterns that covered nearly the entire pillar. When their spiritual sense swept over the pillar, they could not sense the slightest fluctuation. There were no restrictions or seals on it, nor was it a magic treasure. Yet a trace of excitement showed in the Grand Shaman's eyes. Flitting before the pillar, she reached out a finger to gently touch the carvings, speaking in quick succession: "The charm of these carvings is identical to divine glyphs. If I am not mistaken, this should be a formation unique to our Witch Clan recorded in our texts! There definitely isn't just one pillar here. Fellow Daoists..." Before she could finish, everyone understood tacitly and fanned out to search for more pillars. Soon, all the stone pillars in the hall were discovered. There were eight in total, arrayed precisely in the eight directions, forming a magnificent layout. They carefully recorded the patterns on each pillar and gathered together to analyze them. However, little of the Witch Clan's legacy remained. Their understanding of such formations did not even scratch the surface. After studying them for a long time without any clues, they had to take action themselves and try to awaken the pillars' power. Yet even when they used the power of divine glyphs, the stone pillars showed no reaction whatsoever. The Grand Shaman's dark brows drew together. She had not expected this impasse, leaving her somewhat at a loss. Right then, Old Devil Fang flew in a circle around a pillar, as if noticing something, and said, "Could these pillars have lost their power from the erosion of time?" "The restrictions outside the stone hall remain intact as before. These pillars are sheltered inside the hall, untouched by anyone—how could they have degraded sooner?" a Witch Clan elder asked dubiously. "That depends on the function of this formation. The outside restrictions most likely were not this weak originally. They must have also suffered from the scouring of time, their power dwindling greatly until we could pass through with just two Wind Extreme Nails. The Grand Shaman suspected earlier that this formation was related to a seal. If the fiends trapped inside did not die and continuously battered the seal, eventually breaking the formation, that wouldn't be impossible," Old Devil Fang remarked indifferently. "The fiends have already broken the seal?" Everyone was startled at his words. The Grand Shaman's expression remained unchanged as she said, "Fellow Daoists, there is no need to worry. One can imagine what manner of beings were worthy of being sealed here by the combined might of both the human and witch clans. The pillars lost their power long ago; had the fiends broken the seal alive, the Canglang Sea would have plunged into catastrophe ages ago. Look at these skeletons—some have bizarre shapes. They were likely the fiends sealed here, having turned into bones before the seal even dissipated..." With that, the Grand Shaman suddenly executed a movement technique and flew toward the very center of the grand formation. Sweeping away the bones with a wave of her sleeve to reveal the flat ground beneath, the Grand Shaman scanned it with her spiritual sense. Her gaze suddenly sharpened. Forming an incantation gesture with her fingers, she pressed down slowly. To a rumbling roar, a flight of stone steps leading downward suddenly appeared before everyone. "There's another level below!" Everyone was both shocked and delighted. Shocked because the fiends sealed below were bound to be even stronger—should a few be released by accident, disaster would surely befall them. Delighted because the seal on the lower level might still be intact, allowing them a glimpse into the Great Dao of the Witch Clan. "If there are similar seals below, you must memorize them. It will aid in comprehending the Dao of divine glyphs. Even if we find no ancestral treasures, this trip will not have been in vain," the Grand Shaman instructed. Old Devil Fang was still the first to descend and scout ahead. The second level was much smaller than the first. They soon found the second seal, which differed from the stone pillars of the first level but was likewise crafted by Witch Clan ancestors. Using a similar method, they found the entrance to the third level. The group grew increasingly cautious. Old Devil Fang employed some unknown secret art, causing his silhouette to flicker in and out of sight like an illusion. Upon receiving Old Devil Fang's message, everyone carefully entered the third level. The sight within took them by surprise. The third level was the smallest, spanning barely a dozen zhang across. In the center of the hall stood a circular stone platform, around which eight stone pillars were also erected, though they were not as tall as those on the first level. However, the patterns on these pillars were far more exquisite than those on the first level, profound and mysterious to the extreme. The elevated platform was completely empty, with no bones upon it, and unlike what they had imagined, no archfiend was sealed there. Old Devil Fang hovered beside the platform, staring at one of the stone pillars, and delivered startling news: "This formation still has residual power!" Delighted by his words, the Grand Shaman darted before the platform. After observing cautiously for a moment, she began to concentrate on comprehending the formation. The third level was not large. After quickly scouring the area and confirming that no fiends were lurking here, the others came forward one by one to examine the stone pillars. For a time, silence fell over the stone hall, giving rise to an eerie scene. Everyone was staring intently at the seemingly ordinary stone pillars as if they were rare treasures. Yet in the end, everyone, including Old Devil Fang, gradually withdrew their gaze, shaking their heads in secret. Only the Grand Shaman seemed deep in thought.