Fairy Caiyi was thoroughly familiar with the terrain, leading them swiftly through the poisonous algae. Seeing no opportunity to escape, Qin Sang could only patiently travel alongside them.
Fortunately, these transformed demon beasts had not grown suspicious of him yet.
No actual soil was visible within Flower Immortal Lake; the ground was carpeted with withered toxic rot and thick layers of seed-filled flower buds.
Before long, they entered the depths of Flower Immortal Lake.
Due to the potent poison, few cultivators were capable of entering Flower Immortal Lake to hunt for treasures. Along the entire way, they did not encounter a single person, making their journey exceptionally smooth.
Once they reached this point, the demons grew even more cautious.
Soon, they arrived before a rounded, bulging hill.
Fairy Caiyi suddenly signaled Qin Sang and the others to halt. She then swept toward the hill alone, her figure vanishing into the poisonous algae with a quick flicker. After a short while, she returned, speaking with a smile on her face. "The restrictions here are unchanged from last time and haven't been disturbed. This was originally an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, but the treasures inside were looted clean long ago, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell. The restrictions are still fairly intact, capable of isolating fluctuations, so it can be used to lay down the spiritual formation. We shouldn't need to look anywhere else."
Hearing this, all the demons were delighted.
"Fairy Caiyi, please lead the way."
Fairy Caiyi nodded and led the group toward the hill, soon arriving at the center of its summit.
"The entrance is right here."
Under the surprised gazes of the demons, Fairy Caiyi pointed beneath her feet. With a sweep of her fair hand, a fierce gust of wind shot forth like a steel blade, easily tearing through the thick humus of rotting toxic algae to reveal the hill's original surface.
Beneath the poisonous algae lay black rock, exceptionally flat and clearly worked by human hands.
Wisps of dark greenish-black smoke seeped from the rotting algae, instantly filling the entrance to the brim.
Looking at the smoke, Fairy Caiyi said gravely, "The toxicity of the smoke down there is far more violent than what's in the air. Even though you took pills made from the thousand-year viper, you must never let your guard down. Just below is the cave dwelling's entrance. The immortal restrictions have already been cracked by cultivators, so getting inside won't be difficult."
Next, Fairy Caiyi retrieved several treasures, set them up around the entrance, and made a few tactical arrangements. The demons then formed a circle and slowly descended into the opening.
The toxic smoke wafting from the rotting algae was in no way inferior to the poisonous mist within the rift of the Purple Mist Deathland.
Qin Sang felt his feet sink slightly as he stepped onto the black rock. Chilling cold and poisonous smoke swirled all around him.
"Strike!"
Fairy Caiyi gave a low cry and snapped her embroidered sleeve. A bright light instantly flared within the poisonous smoke. Accompanied by a resonant phoenix cry, a fist-sized phoenix flew out from her cuff.
Spreading its wings with lifelike vitality, the phoenix dove headlong into the center of the rock.
Not wishing to be outdone, Yuan Zhu and the other demons displayed their own techniques, some of them even employing magic treasures.
Qin Sang, who had maintained his Heavenly Demon Transformation all along, vigorously flapped his wings and threw a heavy punch downward. A cyan fist silhouette detached from his body and slammed into the stone.
The demons struck in virtually the same instant.
Sensing the impact, the ancient restriction finally manifested. Dense runes surfaced across the rock, and the poisonous smoke capable of corroding even true essence was instantly dispersed by an enigmatic force, vanishing without a trace.
Immediately afterward, Qin Sang and the others felt their bodies tighten all over, as if they had dropped into a boundless sea of mist.
The sea of mist lasted for only a fleeting moment before their attacks landed.
Boom!
The hill shook faintly, the toxic mire trembled, and countless near-ripe seeds were jarred loose, forming a torrential rain of flowers throughout the air.
With a series of groans and creaks, the black rock split down the middle and rotated inward, revealing a passageway leading deep inside.
As for Qin Sang and the demons, they had broken free from the confinement of the mist sea the moment the restriction broke.
"Let's head inside. There is no danger within."
Fairy Caiyi took the lead into the passageway, and the demons filed in after her.
The passageway was dead straight, leading directly to a heavy iron door. Opening it, the demons were greeted by an exceptionally grand stone hall.
Several side chambers branched off around the perimeter of the hall.
It was plain to see that the hall's furnishings had once been exquisite, but now nothing was left. Dilapidated and barren, even if any treasures had survived the passage of time, they had been stripped bare long ago.
"Fairy Caiyi is right. This place truly could not be more suitable," Gu Heng said with satisfaction. After surveying the grand hall, he walked onto an elevated platform. "No time to lose. Let us begin laying the formation."
With that, Gu Heng tapped his mustard seed bag. Hundreds of streaks of light swarmed forth, wrapping around an assortment of diverse treasures that hovered in midair, nearly crowding the entire platform.
Seeing this, the others leaped onto the platform one after another, joining forces to lay the formation according to Gu Heng and Fairy Caiyi's instructions. The spiritual formation was extraordinarily intricate; Qin Sang quietly assisted in setting it up while trying to analyze its structure.
He had accumulated decent knowledge of formations and restrictions, yet facing this one, he could not find the slightest clue. It was entirely different from any spiritual formation he had ever seen.
It seemed the human and demon races differed not only in their cultivation methods, but in other aspects as well.
Surprised by how smoothly the mission was going, the demons were in high spirits, chatting and laughing as they worked.
Qin Sang swept his gaze over the group and looked at Yuan Zhu beside him, asking, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, once we complete the Great King's mission, what do you plan to do?"
"I intend to leave the Hall of Seven Kills..." Yuan Zhu replied.
At this moment, the descendant of the Nine-Headed Bird next to them chimed in. "I actually found a rather interesting secret realm in the Hall of Seven Kills. It might be related to our demon seniors. If you have nothing else to attend to, why not come explore it with me? After taking so much trouble to enter the human holy land, we can't very well return empty-handed. Of any treasures we find, I, Che, will take first pick, and the rest can be split evenly among us. Snatching treasures from the humans is also a contribution to our demon race."
Yuan Zhu teased with a grin, "It seems Fellow Daoist Che didn't pull his weight last time and only thought about treasure hunting, eh?"
The descendant of the Nine-Headed Bird smiled without answering.
Yuan Zhu pondered for a moment, then said, "If it truly is the abandoned abode of a demon senior, making a trip there is fine by me. Actually, I also have a matter to attend to. Let me think on it a bit more..."
Qin Sang echoed with a vague remark, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Internally, he felt a wave of relief. It seemed that once the spiritual formation was set, these transformed demon beasts would go their separate ways. When that happened, not only could he easily slip away, but he would also have opportunities to pick them off one by one.
When the time came, he could capture a few and interrogate them on how they had achieved transformation ahead of time.
With that thought in mind, Qin Sang felt far less rushed.
Working together, the demons soon brought the grand formation into rudimentary shape.
Upon the raised platform, a grand formation now stood where there had been none before, centered around a square altar.
The base of the altar was carved from white jade, etched with countless auspicious patterns of renowned celestial beasts: dragons, phoenixes, qilin, and kunpeng. Each was lifelike, appearing as though it might leap right out of the white jade into reality.
At the very moment the top of the altar took shape, a mass of gray mist abruptly welled up, carrying obscure, indecipherable fluctuations within it.
Finally, the spiritual formation was complete.
Gu Heng and Fairy Caiyi landed on the left and right sides of the altar, while the other demons fanned out beside them, encircling the altar in their midst.
Chapter 963