He had watched the ancient teleportation array being activated back at the Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, and he remembered they had used middle-grade spirit stones. This one should be no exception.
The one before him appeared somewhat smaller and more intricate than the one at the palace, but the method of activation was likely the same.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Eight spirit stones dropped one after another into the corresponding grooves.
Qin Sang did not hold much hope as he attempted to activate the runes across the ancient teleportation array.
Unexpectedly, the moment the final spirit stone settled in place, the altar suddenly trembled. The runes upon the array flared to life in rapid succession, and the entire ancient hall began to hum.
The teleportation array grew brighter and brighter, a potent surge of spiritual power faintly welling up, on the verge of erupting.
*Hiss...*
Qin Sang's expression shifted. He immediately halted the activation and forcefully pried out the eight middle-grade spirit stones.
He had only intended to test it; he never imagined the ancient teleportation array would still be fully intact. After Senior Qingzhu had passed through, he had not destroyed the receiving end.
Stepping onto the array disc would allow him to teleport over, but Qin Sang abandoned the idea without the slightest hesitation.
It was an easy choice to make. He had no intention of leaving the Lesser Cold Domain.
He had not yet obtained the Three Light Jade Liquid; the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was still in the Yuncang Great Marsh; and he had yet to fulfill his promise to Yunyouzi. These were his hopes for successfully achieving Nascent Soul formation in the future.
Furthermore, after giving warning and helping the two domains fend off the sneak attack from Sin Abyss, he had received the public promises of those Nascent Soul cultivators, securing a source for his life magic treasure.
His future lay bright ahead.
Only a fool would toss aside such fine prospects just to depart for an unfamiliar land.
Though a great war loomed on the horizon, the moment he left Ziwei Palace, he could advance to Core Formation. He would shed his status as mere cannon fodder, no longer drifting precariously at the mercy of the wind and waves like a Foundation Establishment cultivator facing a fragile existence.
On top of that, two Nascent Soul experts presided over his sect.
As the saying went, wealth and fortune favored the bold.
This great war might even prove to be an opportunity.
Qin Sang's expression flickered. He now suspected that the other side was no hospitable haven; Senior Qingzhu had either encountered great danger or was trapped by something.
Senior Qingzhu had tempered himself along the Sword Path and could easily have perfected the killing talismans. Given his talent, the likelihood of him forming a Nascent Soul was exceptionally high.
Ziwei Palace had last opened barely more than two centuries ago.
Leng Yuntian was still alive and well, and Granny Jing clearly shared deep ties with Senior Qingzhu.
With his great vengeance unfulfilled and friends and loved ones waiting for him, Senior Qingzhu had departed never to return.
Judging by his conduct, that was distinctly abnormal.
Qin Sang's current cultivation was far too weak, nowhere near what Senior Qingzhu had possessed back then. Furthermore, time was pressing. Even if some treasure truly lay hidden on the other side, he could not go.
With that in mind, Qin Sang made up his mind, stowed the spirit stones, and darted out of the ancient hall.
Beside the lakeshore, Yunyouzi was waiting where he had stayed. Seeing Qin Sang return unscathed, he relaxed visibly and glided forward to greet him. The two exchanged a few brief words before flying together toward the Spirit-Gathering Hall.
***
"The vegetation here is far too luxuriant. There must be a reason for it!"
Standing atop a mountain peak, Qin Sang pointed toward the river valley ahead and stated his conclusion.
The river valley was vast, blanketed like the rest of the land in wild grass and ancient trees.
Yet upon closer inspection, one would notice that the ancient trees were astonishingly colossal. The canopy of the entire forest reached almost level with the mountain ranges on either side, and the oldest among them even towered beyond the highest peaks, their massive crowns resembling small hills.
Even the wild grass grew extraordinarily thick, virtually rivaling saplings, while the wild blossoms were as broad as washbasins.
Ziwei Palace had seen few visitors throughout its long existence, so the vegetation elsewhere was also lush, but rarely were there so many towering ancient trees concentrated in one place.
Yunyouzi agreed wholeheartedly, nodding. "Indeed. The life force here is far too potent—it is very likely the doing of the Three Light Jade Liquid! The Three Light Jade Liquid gathers the essence of heaven and earth, possessing vitality so abundant it reaches the extreme, which is why it is hailed as a sacred healing elixir. The Spirit-Gathering Hall fell here, and even if the Three Light Jade Liquid was well preserved, after so many years, it would inevitably affect the living things within a radius of dozens of li."
"Yi Tiannie said the Spirit-Gathering Hall is hidden in the void. Many experts noticed the anomalous vegetation here in the past and turned the river valley upside down, yet none could find the source."
Qin Sang tilted his head back, gazing up into the heights.
Ziwei Palace knew no distinction between day and night. Endless seas of clouds stretched across the sky without a sun in sight, yet the glare above remained piercingly bright.
Squinting, Qin Sang stared at the fringes of the sea of clouds.
The cloud vapors drifted there, undulating in waves. Much like the borders around the outer land fragments, turbulent currents churned through the air.
Moreover, the turbulence in this cloud sea was far more terrifying—its ferocity was no less than that of the astral winds of the nine heavens, a peril not even a Nascent Soul cultivator dared barge into.
Fortunately, the Spirit-Gathering Hall lay at the very lowest tier of these turbulent currents, an intensity their cultivation could withstand. Even so, unraveling a broken formation in such a place would be even more challenging; it would all come down to Yunyouzi.
"So it is here. No wonder..."
After looking for a few moments, Yunyouzi flew upward with full confidence, signaling Qin Sang to follow.
"The Spirit-Gathering Hall's protective barrier is merely a broken formation, bound to have numerous fissures, so breaching it should not be exceedingly difficult. Brother Qin, I need you to lead the way with your sword, clearing a path ahead under my direction."
Qin Sang nodded. Unsealing the corpse core, he transformed into a streak of sword light and soared forward.
As he climbed into the heights, his field of vision broadened considerably. The tallest peak stood out most prominently, piercing into the sea of clouds, with faint flickers of wondrous light glistening on its slopes like tiny specks.
He could not tell whether someone had intruded there or if it had always been so.
Within his line of sight, several pillars of light also surged into the heavens. Just as Qin Sang flew up, he happened to see one of the pillars extinguish, knowing that someone had likely broken the restriction there.
"Brother Qin, ten yards to the right, thrust your sword toward the position of the Western Palace!"
Receiving Yunyouzi's guidance, Qin Sang complied at once.
From Yunyouzi's tone, the broken formation of the Spirit-Gathering Hall seemed to align with the constellations, yet in Qin Sang's eyes, it appeared as nothing more than a murky haze of chaos.
Going by Yi Tiannie's memories, one could only resort to the crude approach of barreling into the broken formation with brute force and searching for its flaws as opportunities arose, which invited many variables.
Yunyouzi, however, was brimming with confidence, offering precise and definitive directions.
*Swish!*
Qin Sang shifted ten yards laterally and swung his sword upward toward the firmament.
What clearly appeared to be empty void suddenly split into a starlight-like fissure the moment the ebony sword struck, vanishing in a flash.
In the next instant, sword and cultivator vanished into thin air.
Ziwei Palace disappeared from view.
All around lay boundless darkness. A few faint specks of light could vaguely be discerned in the distance, extremely dim. With nothing to stand upon above, below, or to any side, being suspended here stirred a touch of panic, an instinctive urge to draw closer to those points of light.
Qin Sang channeled his sword qi to shield the two of them, glancing around in bewilderment.
He knew they had entered the formation and understood that many flaws existed here, yet discerning the method to break it in an instant was beyond his capabilities.
Yunyouzi pinched his fingers in calculation, his gaze fixing like a falcon's upon the cluster of glowing specks in the distance.
Pointing toward the light, he said in a low voice, "That should be the position of the Kui Mansion. The formation core happens to have rotated there, making it the critical juncture to unravel the array. In its current ruined state, breaking it will be far easier. Let us proceed."
Chapter 595