The tremors grew increasingly frequent, each one more violent than the last.
"The strongest tremors are coming!"
The high-crowned Daoist spoke in a deep voice, true essence surging furiously from his palms to empower the spirit formation. The white-haired elder made a similar move.
The other cultivators assisted the two Patriarchs, none of them daring to relax in the slightest.
The barrier of light above the cavity suddenly shone brilliantly, appearing immensely thick.
The next instant.
*Boom!*
It felt as if a heavy hammer had struck everyone's minds!
An invisible wave abruptly surged from within the cavity, charging violently out of the darkness and slamming hard against the light barrier.
The barrier dimmed considerably.
A tremendous shock transmitted outward, shaking the entire Heavenly Scar. The bodies of the cultivators swayed with the impact, but they held their ground steadfastly, pouring their power into the spirit formation.
The tremor came swiftly and passed just as quickly.
The light barrier remained intact, brightening again in an instant.
Yet the tremors were far from over. A second wave of impact followed in hot pursuit, then a third, a fourth...
Soon, the shocks merged almost seamlessly together, leaving no time for anyone to catch their breath. Within the Abyss Ruins, an immensely violent power seemed to run rampant, straining to tear its way out of the cavity.
Under their combined efforts, the barrier formed by the spirit formation firmly covered the cavity, keeping the shockwaves locked beneath it.
Even so, the repercussions of the tremors continued to bleed through. Space itself showed signs of instability, and the spiritual energy grew exceedingly chaotic, forming a tempest comparable to a small-scale spirit tide that battered the surroundings.
Time trickled by.
There was no telling when the tremors would finally cease.
Just then, in a narrow rock fissure north of the entrance to the Abyss Ruins, three figures silently emerged and drifted down from above.
The tempest stirred by the tremors reached this place, the chaotic spiritual energy whistling in turbulent disarray.
A wisp of azure qi swirled around the three figures. Whenever the storm lashed toward them, the azure qi merely rippled gently, parting the gale around them so that not a sliver of force could touch them.
The source of this azure qi was a small azure banner hovering in front of one of the three.
This person was clad in white, dignified and remarkably handsome.
A petite, square azure banner danced before him. On one side of the banner were depictions of billowing azure clouds, while the other shifted constantly, its pattern unrecognizable.
"It is fortunate that we have Fellow Daoist Lu's Ten-Thousand-Li Azure Cloud Banner. Otherwise, blocking this spirit tide and sneaking in unnoticed would have taken quite a bit of effort..."
Beside him, a figure complimented the white-robed banner controller via voice transmission, revealing his surname to be Lu.
The speaker had a bizarre appearance—half-human, half-serpent. It was none other than the Snake King!
On the other side of Cultivator Lu stood an emaciated young man. His eyes were pure icy blue, his gaze exceedingly cold and sinister, and his ears resembled two fan-shaped fleshy membranes—evidently non-human.
This youth was a Transformation stage great demon who had attained the Dao as a cold lizard; his dharma name was also Han Xi.
The Lu-surnamed cultivator, however, was actually human, possessing an aura not in the least inferior to that of the Snake King.
The three had gathered here specifically to explore an ancient great demon's cave dwelling. They had not just arrived, but had waited nearby for nearly a month, waiting for the tremors of the Abyss Ruins to appear.
"Fellow Daoist Snake King, there is no need to be modest. I hardly believe you lack even this much skill."
Cultivator Lu chuckled softly, his gaze shifting deeper into the fissure. "Without Fellow Daoist Han Xi's guidance, even I wouldn't have noticed an ancient restriction here. No wonder the Sin Abyss cultivators pass by every day without realizing it. As for the tremors from the Sin God Palace, only the first few waves are the most violent, enough to conceal the fluctuations from our attempts to break the restriction. Once these waves pass and they recover their bearings, pulling off a deception won't be so easy. If we alert those two old fellows and draw an attack from their grand formation, our only choice will be to flee in disarray. If we fail this time, we'll have to wait half a year for the next tremor. If the Sin Abyss sounds the retreat and those old Nascent Soul ghosts all return in the meantime, we can only keep waiting until the Sin God Palace emerges before we get another chance."
The great demon cave dwelling they sought to explore was actually near the Abyss Ruins—no wonder they were being so cautious.
"If that time truly comes, this king will certainly head for the Ziwei Palace."
The Snake King shook his head; one didn't even need to think to know which held greater weight between the Ziwei Palace and this place. He sighed softly. "A pity Fellow Daoist Mingyue was unwilling to take the risk. Otherwise, with Fellow Daoist Mingyue's Heavenly Eye Butterfly, unraveling this ancient restriction would have been completely foolproof."
Han Xi sneered. "Doesn't the human race have a saying: 'Each to their own ambition'? If someone looks down on an ancient great demon's treasury, could we possibly force them? The methods we painstakingly gathered to break restrictions aren't inferior to a Heavenly Eye Butterfly."
Even as he spoke, Han Xi flickered and flew into the rock fissure. Clutching the hide of an unidentified spirit beast, he flicked it gently toward the rock wall.
Instantly, the shadow of a colossal ancient vine quietly emerged on the rock face. Its top extended out from within the rock wall, as thick as a flood dragon, coiling and dangling downward.
The phantom vine was half-real and half-illusion, flickering faintly on the verge of shattering.
The Snake King's expression turned solemn. "Are you certain the great demon cave dwelling is hidden within the Abyss Ruins, Fellow Daoist?"
"Nine times out of ten. This ancient vine grows out of nothingness—where else could it lead besides the Abyss Ruins?"
Han Xi nodded. "It is said that ever since the Sin God Palace and Ziwei Palace began appearing ahead of schedule with increasing frequency, some restrictions and seals in the Abyss Ruins that were previously impossible to break have cracked under the violent tremors, while others have grown thin and loose. The Sin Abyss has reaped considerable benefits from this. I worry that more delays bring more trouble, and if we wait any longer, the Sin Abyss might discover this cave dwelling."
"If it truly connects to the Abyss Ruins, controlling this passage in the future would allow us a share of the spoils as well. But it's too early to speak of that now. If we disturb the interior of the Abyss Ruins, it will bring tremendous trouble. Both of you, be careful."
As he spoke, Cultivator Lu flicked his wide sleeve, summoning eighty-one glittering golden, three-inch needles—a set of magic treasures specifically forged for breaking restrictions.
Han Xi opened his mouth and spat out a blue orb. Swirling with snowflakes within, it was a world of blizzard. Amidst the flurry, the snowflakes gradually coalesced into the exact likeness of the phantom vine on the rock wall, deducing the ancient vine restriction to seek a way to break it.
The Snake King's actions were the most unusual.
He first brought out bottles of spirit liquids of various colors and guided them with a gesture. The liquids blended together, condensing in midair into a bead of radiant rainbow hues, which he then flicked into the center of his brow.
The flesh between his eyebrows parted, and the sphere embedded itself there, as though opening a heavenly eye.
Each of the three displayed their divine abilities—all secret arts and treasures meant for breaking restrictions. Then, in a flurry of movement, they landed atop one of the ancient vine's leaves.
The phantom vine rippled and shattered, and the three figures dissolved like water.
Afterward, inexplicable fluctuations leaked into the surrounding space from time to time, but they were concealed by the tremors of the Abyss Ruins.
...
At the grand altar of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.
Qin Sang was sitting cross-legged in the grand hall, focusing on comprehending the Seven Po Killing Array.
Suddenly, without the slightest warning, a wave surged upward.
Protective astral energy flickered around Qin Sang as he flew high into the air, staring in bewilderment at the water's surface, which had suddenly begun to churn.
He had been contemplating swordsmanship and smelting the ebony sword here, and everything had been completely peaceful up until now. This was the first time such an occurrence had happened.
Just as Qin Sang was seized by suspicion and uncertainty,
wave after wave rose in succession, and the sealing power within the water began to violently shudder as well.
Qin Sang realized that the source was the sealed space itself!
In an instant, monstrous waves surged toward the heavens, and the entire secret realm trembled uncontrollably.
Chapter 1203