As they spoke, the group entered the Abyss Ruins and arrived at the sea of mist where the Immortal Gate was located.
Deep within the sea of mist.
Several Sin Abyss Nascent Soul cultivators stood guard here.
Around the vortex, the churning of the mist was faint. Amidst the mist, crisscrossing gray threads flickered in and out of view—it was the Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Formation personally set up by Fairy Qiuzhi.
The Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Formation blocked the area above the vortex, preventing Old Demon Ye from returning.
However, the coverage and power of the Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Formation were limited. Their arrival this time brought together all the top experts of the Beichen Realm to set up a grand formation that would completely seal this space.
If Old Demon Ye dared leave the Sin God Palace, this formation would surely trap him.
Before that, they also wanted to test whether they could trigger the Immortal Gate as Old Demon Ye had.
Qin Sang flashed to the edge of the vortex and channeled his Heavenly Eye divine ability, peering deep into the swirling center. The mist was unimaginably dense and boundless; even pushing his divine ability to its limit, he could only see a patch of chaos.
Following this, Qin Sang and the others took turns testing it.
After many attempts using every method at their disposal, the Immortal Gate showed no response whatsoever, leaving them no choice but to give up.
"Let us set up the Seven Waters Sky-Baffling Formation!" Daoist Zhenyi said. "Once the formation is complete, we will take turns guarding this place until the Ziwei Palace emerges. We must not allow Old Demon Ye any opportunity to exploit..."
No one objected.
Setting up the Seven Waters Sky-Baffling Formation to seal the Immortal Gate was meant to trap Old Demon Ye inside like a turtle in a jar. Before the Ziwei Palace closed, Old Demon Ye would be unable to pass through its immortal formation to leave.
Moreover, should unforeseen changes occur, they could also use the Seven Waters Sky-Baffling Formation to stall for time.
Daoist Zhenyi took out a variety of formation implements, all hastily forged over the past month.
Then, seven people—Daoist Zhenyi, the Feather King, Daoist Canghong, Demon Monarch Tongyou, Qingjun, the cultivator surnamed Lu, and Fairy Qiuzhi—each retrieved a jade bottle.
The jade bottles were of different colors, containing seven types of rare spiritual water. It had taken the combined efforts of the five major powers to gather all seven types of spiritual water needed to establish the Seven Waters Sky-Baffling Formation.
Although Qin Sang was powerful, his cultivation base was not yet equal to that of an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator, making him unable to command the spiritual waters, so he was assigned to stand guard.
Most of the formation implements for the spiritual formation had been crafted by Qingjun, and she was the one presiding over the formation.
Qingjun flew into the air above the vortex. With light flicks of her jade fingers, various formation implements flew out in all directions in an apparently haphazard fashion, sinking one after another into the mist.
"Junior Brother, remove the Heavenly Net Essence-Locking Formation."
Hearing her voice transmission, Qin Sang acted alongside the cultivator surnamed Shan and the others to dismantle the formation before darting outward.
*Whoosh!*
Qin Sang summoned the Eighteen Demon Banners, which expanded into giant banners thirty feet tall. Roaring demonic fire condensed before Qin Sang into a black flood dragon, coiling tightly on high alert.
Qin Sang turned around and watched Qingjun and the others proceed.
After the battle of Yuchen, Qingjun had left on her own to attend to some matters, returning a few days later looking completely normal, with no sign of injury.
Daoist Zhenyi and the others flew to Qingjun's side.
After a coordinated sequence of movements, the seven uncorked their jade bottles in unison and poured out the spiritual waters.
These spiritual waters possessed vastly different properties.
Some radiated bone-chilling cold that surpassed profound ice.
Some were scorching hot like magma.
Some teemed with vibrant vitality.
...
Qingjun and the others swiftly cast intricate talismans, integrating them into the spiritual waters.
Before long, a series of muffled pops rang out as the spiritual waters burst into mist, then vanished entirely, melding into the surrounding vapors.
From the outside, everything looked completely normal.
Qingjun and the others flew away from the vortex, looked back, and silently cast an incantation seal.
In an instant, the winds and clouds within the sea of mist shifted dramatically.
Dense mist surged, and the entire vortex vanished from before their eyes into thin air.
Everyone could sense that the mist here differed from the mist elsewhere. At its core, it was manifested from spiritual waters and carried astonishing power. If someone unfamiliar with the Seven Waters Sky-Baffling Formation stumbled in by accident, even with no one presiding over it, breaking through would likely take a great deal of effort.
"The spiritual formation is complete!"
Qingjun nodded slightly and handed each person a command medallion to control the formation.
"I need to find a secluded place to help Fellow Daoist Cold Lizard heal his injuries. This place is quite suitable, so I shall stand guard here for the next two years. I only ask that you, Daoist Canghong, keep a close watch on this area. If Old Demon Ye breaks out, I fear I may not be able to stop him alone," Lu Boyuan stepped forward and said.
Daoist Canghong was only too pleased. He nodded repeatedly. "We trouble Fellow Daoist Lu, then. I will keep people stationed in the Abyss Ruins at all times to assist you."
After further discussion, the others settled the rotation schedule.
Shortly afterward, the crowd dispersed.
Some remained in the Abyss Ruins; now that Sin Abyss had finally opened up to them, they naturally wished to explore it thoroughly.
Qin Sang also wanted to visit the Heavenly Corpse Sect's head altar, wondering if he might find something he had previously overlooked. But just as he flew out of the sea of mist, someone suddenly called out to him.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, please wait!"
A figure flew in from the distance.
When Qin Sang clearly saw the person's face, understanding dawned on him. Smiling faintly, he said, "So it is you, Fellow Daoist. Last time within the grand formation, we were denied an encounter, which I deeply regretted. It is good to finally meet you in person. Have you come to demand an accounting?"
The newcomer was none other than the Judge.
The Judge wore a bitter look. "Fellow Daoist Qin must be joking. I was blind and foolish, showing off before an expert. Falling into your hands on the battlefield left me thoroughly convinced of your superiority. I came this time first to behold your distinguished demeanor, and second to make an audacious request."
Seeing how candid the Judge was, Qin Sang could hardly mock him further. He took out the Death Jade and asked, "Did you come for this item?"
The Judge's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. "Nothing escapes Fellow Daoist Qin's discerning eye. This Death Jade is of utmost importance to me; I must rely on it to control my corpse formation. Although I could forge a new one, doing so would consume an immense amount of time and energy. Now that our two realms have made peace, and the Death Jade holds no value for you, I hoped to ask for its return. Of course, whatever conditions you have, Fellow Daoist Qin, I will do my best to fulfill them."
The Judge spoke with earnest sincerity.
His second main soul had been destroyed, severely crippling his strength, and he had also yielded years of accumulated treasures as war reparations. Re-refining a main soul was already pushing him to his limits; if he had to forge another Death Jade on top of that, he would have no hope of surviving his next heavenly tribulation. Thus, he had swallowed his pride to come and plead his case.
Qin Sang pondered quietly. The Death Jade was indeed of little use to him.
This man hailed from Sin Abyss and was proficient in the corpse dao, which could prove very useful.
"It will not be difficult to have your Death Jade back. I am currently searching for fire-attribute spiritual materials to forge a magic treasure. If you can find several of them, I will return the Death Jade to you..."
Looking at the list Qin Sang tossed over, the Judge felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Every single one of these materials was extraordinarily precious; the time spent searching for them would likely not be any less than refining a new Death Jade.
Observing his expression, Qin Sang paused before adding, "If that is too difficult, you can do a few things for me instead, and I can relax the conditions accordingly."
The Judge was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Please tell me, Fellow Daoist!"
"I am looking for a Core Formation cultivator who is proficient in the corpse dao. However, this person's corpse-refining technique differs from others—he inherited the legacy of the Heavenly Corpse Sect. It would be best to begin our search from the Heavenly Corpse Sect."
Qin Sang led the Judge as they flew toward the Heavenly Corpse Sect's head altar.
"The Heavenly Corpse Sect?"
A look of astonishment crossed the Judge's face.
Qin Sang's heart stirred. *This man really does know something.*
Chapter 1312