Stone Hall

Having shaken off the Purple Star Eagles, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Constrained by the toxic mist within the deathland, their strength had been limited, making it truly difficult to deal with such a massive flock of Purple Star Eagles. "Have you noticed? The beasts and insects we've encountered since entering seem fairly normal ordinarily, but once battle begins, they instantly go mad—wildly vicious and utterly devoid of reason." The sword-hugging young man stared in the direction where the Purple Star Eagles had disappeared and remarked. "Indeed. That is precisely why they are called ferocious insects and ferocious beasts. Not only here—the creatures throughout the entire Hall of Seven Killings are like this. No one knows what influences them; even Nascent Soul Patriarchs cannot fathom the mysteries of the Hall of Seven Killings. Therefore, remember this well: you must leave the Hall of Seven Killings before the spiritual formation breaks." Xiang Yi looked down at the ground, pacing about as if searching for something. The interior of the canyon and the outside seemed like two completely different worlds. Not a single blade of grass or tree could be seen here; it was thoroughly desolate. Jagged, hard rocks littered the ground, their edges sharp as knives. Treading through such terrain, everyone moved with great care. Xiang Yi finally settled on a direction. The terrain within the canyon was peculiar. As they walked forward, they found that it descended in stepped slopes, giving the strange impression that they were currently atop a mountain and descending toward its foot. Obscured by the toxic mist, the surrounding topography was impossible to discern, leaving everyone to make wild guesses. The depth below exceeded their imagination, continuing endlessly without a bottom in sight. Ferocious beasts still prowled these depths, but Xiang Yi avoided them whenever possible. The toxic mist grew increasingly thick. From time to time, everyone glanced at the bone lotus, relaxing only after confirming nothing was amiss. At present, only three of its petals had turned purple, leaving them more than enough time. At last, their downward momentum came to a halt. By now, none of them knew just how deep they had descended. The surrounding toxic mist enveloped the barrier projected by the bone lotus like a purple curtain, leaving them almost entirely dependent on hearing to detect nearby dangers. Fortunately, they encountered no ferocious beasts adept at ambushing along the way. After advancing another stretch, Xiang Yi gestured for the group to halt. Looking toward the left, he waved his hand, sending forth a streak of true essence. The toxic mist was parted by the true essence, quickly closing up again, but everyone clearly caught sight of the outline of an ancient stone hall looming within the mist. "Fellow Daoist Xiang, this stone hall is..." Seeing Xiang Yi nod, everyone was overjoyed. They had finally reached their destination. Even so, none dared let down their guard. From that fleeting glance, the stone hall was clearly extraordinary, surrounded by floating ancient restrictions. Hidden in the heart of the Purple Mist Deathland, it was very likely a perilous place. That the Merchant Alliance had dispatched so many people here was proof enough. "Don't approach just yet. Let's make a circuit around the ancient hall. If any ferocious beasts are lurking nearby, kill them all, lest our attempts to break the restrictions alert them and bring about disaster," Xiang Yi spoke in a low voice. "Could there be even stronger ferocious beasts further in?" Qin Sang asked curiously. Xiang Yi nodded. "This may seem like the bottom of the Purple Mist Deathland, but according to the Merchant Alliance's records, a bottomless rift valley lies ahead. That is the true core of the Purple Mist Deathland and the very source of the poisonous mist. If we enter that rift, the bone lotus would likely be completely contaminated in short order and lose its power. Even Nascent Soul Patriarchs fear the toxic mist there. Moreover, ferocious beasts rivaling Transformation stage great demons may be lurking at the bottom of the rift." Everyone marveled inwardly—truly worthy of being called a deathland! Without the bone lotus, were they exposed to the toxic mist, their true essence would likely be exhausted before long. And such a perilous place wasn't even the core of the Purple Mist Deathland. They began circling the stone hall in search of ferocious beasts. Indeed, they found two beasts resembling lions. Taking the initiative, they hunted them down and killed both. Only after clearing the area did the group walk toward the stone hall. Arriving before the stone hall, strange expressions crossed everyone's faces. Perhaps it couldn't even be called a stone hall, for it was far too small—measuring only half the size of an ordinary room, neat and unadorned. Aside from the ancient restrictions, it possessed no distinctive features. "Does the Merchant Alliance want us to break through the restrictions, enter the stone hall, and retrieve a treasure?" The Liu couple stepped forward, channeling their true essence to lightly brush against the ancient restrictions. "These ancient restrictions don't seem very powerful—at least, breaking them wouldn't be difficult for a Nascent Soul Patriarch. Standing right here in plain sight, this place must have been visited by Nascent Soul Patriarchs countless times. Could there really be anything left?" Xiang Yi replied calmly, "That is as much as I know. The Merchant Alliance's instructions are indeed for everyone to assist me in breaking the restrictions and retrieving an item from within. Many secret places in the Hall of Seven Killings are like this; high cultivation does not allow one to do whatever they please. Just because Nascent Soul Patriarchs have visited does not mean all the treasures have been taken." Saying so, Xiang Yi produced eight small triangular flags and distributed them among the group. The eight apricot-yellow triangular flags were completely identical, their poles shorter than the length of a palm. Taking one, Qin Sang could tell at a glance that it was some kind of restriction implement. With the eight of them controlling this set of triangular flags, they should be able to break through the ancient restriction. "These are the Earth Element Flags. I cultivate an earth-attribute technique, so I shall serve as the formation core while you fellow Daoists assist me. You must also pay close attention to the formation layout..." Xiang Yi carefully explained the key points of this formation to them. All of them were individuals of formidable cultivation and quickly grasped the formation. In front of the ancient hall, centered around Xiang Yi, they deployed into formation. Holding the bone lotus in one hand, Xiang Yi gripped the triangular flag in the other. Once the others were in position, Xiang Yi gave a slight nod and poured his true essence into the triangular flag with all his might. *Thump!* The triangular flag swelled to a towering thirty feet and plunged firmly into the ground. Xiang Yi's hand seals shifted continuously, casting out stream after stream of incantation gestures that sank completely into the triangular flag. The flag rustled noisily, swallowing true essence like a bottomless pit. As true essence surged into it, cloud script and thunder patterns began to surface on the flag, exceptionally mysterious. Apricot-yellow light erupted, and the ground began to tremble. "Form the array!" Xiang Yi roared in a low voice. Qin Sang and the others immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and activated their triangular flags. At this point, a distinction became apparent: compared to Xiang Yi's flag, theirs were ten feet shorter, and the cloud script and thunder patterns on them were not as dense. Even so, the yellow light released by the spirit flags was in no way inferior to the core flag, and once it emerged, it converged toward the formation core as if drawn by some irresistible pull. At once, the core spirit flag shone even more brilliantly. The earth quaked like an overturning earth dragon. Had they not cleared the area in advance, the surrounding ferocious beasts would surely have been drawn over. A steady stream of earth elemental power was drawn from the earth veins and channeled into the flag array. By now, a sphere of light had formed atop the core spirit flag, coalescing with heart-stopping might. At the same time, the true essence of Qin Sang and the others was being rapidly drained, and none of them dared move without leave, needing to maintain the spiritual formation without pause. Qin Sang had taken a few pills beforehand, so his condition remained manageable. "Go!" With tiger-like eyes wide, Xiang Yi let out a fierce roar. *Boom!* A sphere of dazzling yellow light shot forward, crashing violently against the ancient restrictions. In an instant, yellow light engulfed the entire stone hall, and only two tremendously powerful forces could be felt clashing against each other, neither yielding an inch.