Xiang Yi and the others came to a halt.
The group arrived before the second stone hall.
It was very similar to the first, except that the ancient restriction had changed slightly.
The Earth Element Flag could still break it.
They cleared away the surrounding vicious beasts, rested briefly, set up the Earth Element Flag, and began attempting to breach the restriction.
Tremors triggered by the Earth Element Flag were unavoidable, but this time everyone was visibly more alert. While driving the spirit formation, they kept a constant watch on their surroundings.
No one wanted to repeat their past mistake and be surrounded and attacked by vicious beasts again.
Even if a second Cultivator Pan were to appear, he would never achieve such great effect.
Qin Sang stood far off without moving, doing nothing.
Once the Earth Element Flag breached the ancient restriction, Xiang Yi flew into the stone hall and quickly emerged, saying in a low voice, "Success! Only one stone hall remains. Fellow Daoists, follow me."
Xiang Yi changed direction; the third stone hall was even closer to the chasm.
The bone lotus was being corroded at an ever-quickening pace, so they quickened their steps.
Qin Sang noticed that the positions of these three stone halls were highly orderly, forming a very regular triangle. They involved an ancient secret that had been uncovered by the Eastern Pole Alliance.
The unsealing of the third stone hall also went very smoothly.
After Xiang Yi emerged from the third stone hall, the ground suddenly began to tremble.
By now, the Earth Element Flag had already been stowed away.
The source of this rumbling lay in the distance and deep underground; the vibrations were thicker and heavier, as though the earth possessed a grand, powerful heartbeat that had reawakened upon the opening of the three stone halls.
Qin Sang turned and looked toward the center of the three stone halls; the tremors originated from there.
Xiang Yi had apparently triggered some mechanism, and something over there was emerging into the world.
Just then, Qin Sang sensed Xiang Yi and the others suddenly pivot and rush toward him, speeding past as they sprinted toward the source of the vibrations. He hastily slipped aside to avoid them.
"The ancient divine platform has emerged, and it may disturb the surrounding vicious beasts. Please work together with all your strength to protect me..."
Xiang Yi's voice drifted over.
Qin Sang immediately followed.
Before even reaching the source of the tremors, Qin Sang saw a cluster of golden light in the distance.
The golden radiance was blindingly bright, piercing right through the purple mist and clearly visible even from such a distance. Drawing closer, Qin Sang could even faintly make out the outline of the ancient divine platform.
The ancient divine platform was seventy to eighty feet high, narrower at the top and broader at the base, shaped like a pagoda. Around the divine platform, several slender streaks of golden light were faintly visible.
They had passed nearby earlier, yet had noticed nothing.
The ancient divine platform was so conspicuous that it would have been impossible to miss; it had definitely just appeared, manifesting this anomaly.
Qin Sang gazed at it for a moment and realized that these streaks of golden light were very likely chains extending from the top of the tower down to the ground, one at each of the four corners of the ancient divine platform.
This scene felt somewhat familiar.
Qin Sang immediately recalled that back in the Ziwei Palace, when they followed Dongyang Bo and Chenyan into the final Black Pagoda, there had also been iron chains at the four corners, very similar to this place.
However, this ancient divine platform was nowhere near as colossal as the Black Pagoda on the Heavenly Mountain.
*Is it a coincidence?*
Qin Sang wondered.
Because he could only see the silhouette and could not discern the platform's details, he could not make an arbitrary judgment.
Xiang Yi and the others had already reached the front of the ancient divine platform. Qin Sang stopped at a distance to wait and see what would happen.
A massive pit had opened in the ground.
*Ka-ka...*
*Clatter...*
The ancient stone platform slowly rose from within, golden light shooting into the sky, piercing to the eyes.
Narrowing their eyes, the group examined the ancient divine platform.
The golden light did not emanate from the ancient divine platform itself, but from the ancient restriction surrounding it. The ancient divine platform looked quite ordinary. At first glance, one might even take it for a crudely carved stone terrace.
The stone platform had tier upon tier of steps leading all the way to the top. It was square through and through, the flat summit measuring roughly ten feet across.
Nothing sat upon it, nor was there any doorway or entrance anywhere on the entire stone platform.
At the four corners of the ancient divine platform, an iron chain hung down from each, deeply embedded into the earth. As the ancient divine platform rose, the chains grew taut, and the rattling sounds were produced by their swaying.
The iron chains were covered in runes of profound complexity.
Strangely, these iron chains—clearly of extraordinary origin—were heavily rusted, as though even they had been unable to withstand the erosion of endless ages.
Even so, the runes upon them still shone, their divine might undiminished.
With a muffled boom, the ancient divine platform rose completely out of the ground.
The group looked up in awe, then turned in unison toward Xiang Yi.
Xiang Yi walked a circle around the ancient divine platform, then retrieved six spirit talismans, giving one to each person.
The six spirit talismans were not all identical. Four depicted black flood dragons with spirited, lifelike eyes. The other two depicted jade cones carved from black jade, strange in shape.
The four black flood dragon talismans were handed to the Liu couple, the sword-holding youth, and Cui Ji, while the jade cone talismans were held by Xiang Yi and the fat man in fine robes.
He directed the Liu couple and the others to stand at the four corners of the ancient divine platform, directly facing the iron chains. Then, he stood side by side with the fat man in fine robes, facing the restriction on the body of the ancient divine platform.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, once Fellow Daoist An and I begin breaking the ancient restriction, all of you must pour your full strength into activating the black flood dragon talismans to suppress the iron chains. It seems the vicious beasts in the deathland haven't been drawn here, so our burden will be far lighter."
Having made the arrangements, Xiang Yi nodded to the fat man in fine robes.
The two activated their jade cone talismans together.
*Snap!*
The jade cone talismans shattered, talisman paper fluttering in pieces.
A cluster of black light emerged, writhing and taking form until it solidified into a genuine jade cone.
"Go!"
The two shouted, and the jade cones vanished into thin air, reappearing the next instant near the ancient divine platform.
*Boom! Boom!*
Struck by the jade cones, the ancient restriction on the divine platform flared into life. The golden light grew even more dazzling, dyeing Xiang Yi and the others entirely in gold.
The jade cones refused to yield, unyielding and sharp, endlessly releasing black qi from their tips as they pounded persistently against it.
Right at that moment, the iron chains at the four corners began moving without any wind, clattering violently with a deafening noise.
The runes on the iron chains flickered, abruptly erupting with silver-white light.
Thunder and lightning actually surged from the chains!
In an instant, the rust on the chains was obscured as streaks of silver slithered over them, turning them into what looked like chains of thunder that radiated a terrifying aura.
Lightning surged, coiled and ready to strike. Xiang Yi's expression changed completely.
He clearly sensed that this lightning was aimed at him—punishment for daring to attack the divine platform. Its might was horrifying; once the lightning unleashed itself, neither he nor the fat man in fine robes would ever be able to withstand it.
Xiang Yi barked in urgency, "Quickly! Use the black flood dragon talismans to suppress the chains!"
The Liu couple and the others dared not dally, instantly activating their black flood dragon talismans.
The instant the black flood dragon talismans shattered, earth-shaking draconic roars erupted in succession.
A burst of black qi surged out from each talisman, transforming in a flash into a true black flood dragon. Riding the clouds and mist, baring fangs and brandishing claws, each was ferociously imposing.
The dragons' eyes were sinister to the extreme, imparting an unnervingly brutal presence—as if they were demonic dragons born from an abyss of fiends, rolling with plumes of black smoke and exuding endless demonic energy.
Chapter 759