An unprecedented anomaly emerged at the entrance of the passage.
Streams of five-colored luminescence shot continuously from within, forming a vibrant cloud in the void that gradually expanded outward, growing exceedingly conspicuous.
However, the ring of lightning did not continue to swell; it hung far off on the horizon, embedded in the dark clouds.
Had Daoist Canghong and the others not been certain that Old Demon Ye lacked the power to destroy the passage, the crowd would have been unable to sit still long ago.
At this moment, Daoist Canghong and Demon Monarch Tongyou finally arrived.
Both groups were hurrying, and they too noticed the anomaly.
"Old Demon Ye destroyed all the ancient restrictions in the forbidden area?" Daoist Canghong asked, looking toward the end of the stone path.
Qin Sang briefly described what they had seen inside the forbidden area, then turned his gaze toward the passage on the horizon. "Did you anticipate such an anomaly, Daoist? Could Old Demon Ye be responsible?"
Daoist Canghong looked composed. "Any single bolt of the lightning wandering around the passage is enough to obliterate us. No matter how immense Old Demon Ye's abilities may be, it is impossible for him to destroy the passage. At most, he could set up some obstacles to delay our footsteps. Rushing over right now would accomplish nothing. We would do better to first investigate what he did here. If we can find any clues and deduce his intentions, our efforts will yield twice the result with half the effort!"
Hearing the sound reasoning in this, the crowd put away other thoughts, formed a formation, and reentered the forbidden area.
Before long, they returned to their previous position.
It was still dead silent. There was no sign of Old Demon Ye, nor were there any visible traps. Although Old Demon Ye had broken a portion of the ancient restrictions, considerable danger remained.
Joining their strength, the cultivators breached layer after layer of ancient restrictions and finally reached the end of the stone path, arriving before the seal!
"Old Demon Ye has already left!"
Qin Sang employed his Heavenly Eye divine ability, confirming that Old Demon Ye was not hiding nearby.
"There are fractures on the stone pillars; the seal has been breached..."
Daoist Canghong flitted behind one of the stone pillars, strange light flickering in his eyes. After examining it, a look of astonishment crossed his face. "The seal was broken not long ago. Old Demon Ye just left!"
Of the three forbidden areas, only this one had seen its seal destroyed by Old Demon Ye.
It was by no means a coincidence!
"Could it be that over the past twenty years, Old Demon Ye has been plotting specifically to break the seal here?"
Daoist Zhenyi looked on in surprise, staring down at the mud pit encircled by the four stone pillars. "What was sealed in this forbidden area that he released?"
Daoist Canghong and the Sin Abyss cultivators all shook their heads.
This place was deemed a forbidden area precisely because of its formidable, perilous ancient restrictions. Countless Sin Abyss cultivators had attempted to explore it, only to fail.
Before this, they could only make wild guesses about the purpose of the stone pillars.
The lingering traces indicated that the sealing power here had been exceptionally strong. It was unknown how Old Demon Ye had managed to breach the forbidden area single-handedly and shatter the seal as well.
Qin Sang flew to the side of a stone pillar and inspected it for a moment. Easily finding several fractures in the seal, he darted over and commanded the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to activate its divine ability and investigate.
"The inside is empty. A pity the traces were all ruined by the filth," Qin Sang sighed softly. "Originally, a devil must have been sealed here!"
The crowd bore varying expressions.
If a devil in the Blood Lake could survive into the present day with its consciousness dissipating only recently, it was entirely normal for a devil sealed in this forbidden area to still be alive.
With the doubts in his heart finally resolved, Daoist Canghong was filled with burning rage. "The remnant soul of the devil we slew was definitely connected to this devil! The trip to the Blood Lake was also a trap they laid—the jade skeleton, the brocade skin, the Gloomy Crystal Tower, and the Nascent Souls of our fellow Daoists were all crucial for the devil's escape!"
He was very close to guessing the truth.
Qin Sang flew around the four stone pillars several times, occasionally nudging them with his Ebony Sword to test the strength of the seal. "Both the devil and Old Demon Ye have vanished, so there is no way to judge their objective. Perhaps Old Demon Ye had no choice and was merely a manipulated chess piece."
Back at Yitian Peak in the Hall of Seven Kills, Qin Sang had witnessed the miserable fate of the Three Great Merchant Alliances' leaders under the Demon Monarch's control, so his thoughts naturally drifted in that direction.
And that had merely been a divided soul of the Demon Monarch.
Old Demon Ye's cultivation was on par with the leaders of the Three Great Merchant Alliances; if he had also fallen under an ancient demon's sway, his ending would likely be no better.
Qin Sang's gaze turned solemn. The thing he feared most had come to pass.
Beneath Yitian Peak, so many top experts of the Canglang Ocean had sacrificed their lives before barely managing to suppress the Demon Monarch with the help of an ancient seal.
Here, the seal was broken, and the devil was free!
The only piece of good news was that the power of this seal was far inferior to that of Yitian Peak.
Yitian Peak possessed not only the ancient restrictions of the three races, but also the precious treasures left behind by them to coordinate with the restrictions and suppress the Demon Monarch. Here, there were only four crude stone pillars.
Although their material did not appear ordinary, they could hardly compare to the Demon Suppressing Stele or the dragon corpse.
This indicated that whoever had been sealed here was not on the same level as the Demon Monarch, so the situation had not yet reached an irreparable state.
Qin Sang conveyed his findings to Qingjun and told her to ready the Demon Binding Rope. Fortunately, his Senior Sister had gone into seclusion earlier to perfect the formation diagram, so this wondrous treasure might truly find a use here.
"It seems we can only learn Old Demon Ye's intentions once we face him in person! We have another enemy now, but having just broken free, the devil must still be weakened. With all the experts of the Beichen Realm gathered here, we have nothing to fear..."
"The anomaly at the passage was definitely caused by the devil!"
"It is unwise to linger here. Setting off immediately is best."
...
The devil was unfathomable.
Sensing the urgency, the crowd acted decisively, turning to leave the forbidden area.
At that moment, Qingjun suddenly spoke up. "Go on ahead. I will try to analyze the seal to see if I can discover anything. It won't take long, and I will catch up shortly."
Qin Sang was worried that his Senior Sister would be isolated and vulnerable alone, but the two of them could not both stay behind. After discussing it with Jingyu, he said to Qingjun, "Fellow Daoist Jingyu should stay behind as well. If anything unexpected happens, you can watch out for each other."
With Bai and the Nascent Soul talisman puppet by his side, he did not need to worry about his own safety.
Qingjun readily agreed and thanked Jingyu.
The group flew out of the forbidden area and sped straight toward the passage at their fastest speed.
After they departed, Jingyu stood on the stone path and released her Thunder Prayer Bead. Its radiance illuminated all directions as she stood guard while watching Qingjun's movements, curious about what she planned to do.
Qingjun lingered outside the seal for a brief moment before actually slipping through the fractures and stepping into the mud pit!
Though the seal had been broken, its lingering might was still formidable.
Qingjun had already summoned the Five Directions Tower beforehand, suspending it above her head to shield herself. At the same time, her jade-like fingers moved like a wheel, casting one hand seal after another in a dazzling display.
Finally, with a wave of her long sleeve, the Green Luan puppet flew out from her cuff, draped in the Rivers and Mountains Hidden Moon Chart.
Simultaneously, dozens upon dozens of clusters of green light surfaced around her. As Qingjun struck puppet seals into the green light, they transformed one after another into lifelike azure luans.
Hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix!
The azure luans danced around Qingjun, letting out melodious chirps. Exceptionally lively and graceful, their eyes sparkled as if they were searching for something.
Seeing such a technique for the first time, Jingyu marveled in secret.
Chapter 1331