"Lord Black Steward, that group is back again."
In a cave less than a hundred miles from the ancient ruins, a man clad in black robes, his appearance resembling a skeleton, respectfully reported to a figure seated on a blood-red iron throne.
Atop the iron throne sat a tall figure dressed in a crimson robe, with a black bat emblem embroidered on his chest. His face was obscured by a shroud of blood-colored mist, making his features impossible to discern.
The Black Steward lounged lazily against the armrest of the throne, his fingers tapping an irregular rhythm. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a cold voice,
"Do you think they can break that damn Xuan Yang Heavenly Steel Array this time?"
The skeletal man replied cautiously,
"My lord, it seems they've come well-prepared. Two individuals suspected to be formation masters have already entered the array. It looks like they've planned thoroughly."
"Oh? Seems these people are finally showing some value. At least I didn't waste over a year waiting for them here. The task given by the Hall Master might finally be completed."
The Black Steward's tone softened slightly, and his mood visibly improved.
"Congratulations, my lord, truly! Once this is done, you'll be the First Steward under the Hall Master's command. Breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm and establishing your stronghold will just be a matter of time!"
Sensing the shift in mood, the skeletal man immediately started laying on flattery-like syrup.
Unexpectedly, the Black Steward let out a cold snort.
"Hmph, if my lair in the Wangyue Mountains hadn't been destroyed by the Song Clan, I would've broken that Xuan Yang Heavenly Steel Array long ago. Why would I have had to wait until now?"
"Those useless fools deserved to die. They couldn't even capture a few brats with spiritual roots and even ruined the pieces you had placed in the Wangyue Mountains."
The skeletal man quickly echoed his master's frustration.
"This isn't something you should be commenting on," the Black Steward said coldly. "Send someone to keep an eye on that group. The moment they break the formation, kill them all. Not a single one can be allowed to touch anything inside the ruins. Understood?"
"Yes, my lord!"
......
Outside the Ruins, Zhu Yiqun and the others were doing everything they could to maintain two open pathways, completely unaware that they had already walked straight into a trap laid by the Blood Demon.
"Old Zhu, what's taking Fellow Daoists Xu and Song so long? We're burning through our strength too fast everyone's reaching their limit," Li Hu said, his face pale as paper.
Looking around, aside from Zhu Yiqun, Zhuang Yuechan, and Xu Yunhe, everyone else was in rough shape their spiritual energy nearly exhausted.
"Just hold on a little longer. We've prepared for this moment for so long that there won't be another chance like this. I believe in them," Zhu Yiqun gritted his teeth and tried to reassure the group, though anxiety was mounting in his heart.
He could only silently pray that he hadn't misjudged them...
.....
Inside the formation, Song Changsheng had nearly reached its core. At this stage, deducing the correct path had become extremely difficult.
If not for his years of studying Daoist scriptures, which had significantly strengthened his soul, he wouldn't have been able to sustain this level of intense calculation.
"The formation's eye should be nearby three steps left, two steps up," Song Changsheng murmured. He adjusted his footing, and with a focused gaze, took a final step forward, sweeping his sleeve to summon the Water Origin Shield in front of him.
CLANG
A deep, resonant chime echoed out as the ethereal image of a giant bronze bell materialized and slammed into the Water Origin Shield.
"Guard!"
While commanding the shield to protect him, Song Changsheng quickly retreated, landing precisely along the route he had calculated earlier.
"A spiritual artifact used as the formation's core? The owner of this ruin was truly extravagant," Song Changsheng said with a note of awe as he gazed at the bronze bell's phantom.
In this world, magical tools are ranked by level first-grade, second-grade, and so on, aligned with the cultivation realm of the user.
Once a tool reaches second grade, it can be refined within a cultivator's dantian a process called nurturing spirit.
Over time, or through special techniques, this nurturing grants the item a hint of sentience, turning it into a spiritual artifact.
Above spiritual artifacts lie magical treasures, spirit treasures, and law-bound treasures.
Regardless of a craftsman's skill, a newly forged tool is always just a basic magical artifact. Spirituality must be cultivated except in rare cases using special methods.
Though both are technically second-grade, a spiritual artifact is worth far more than an ordinary magical tool. A magical tool is just an object, but a spiritual artifact possesses a sliver of intelligence half-alive in a sense and can help its master wield far greater power.
That difference can be enormous in battle.
Spiritual artifacts are rare. Even the prestigious Song Clan only had a few handed down through the generations each one a priceless treasure.
"Though it's a high-grade spiritual artifact, it has no owner. That's manageable," Song Changsheng thought.
As he contemplated, the bronze bell phantom launched another attack. Rippling vortex-like shockwaves radiated silently from its form.
"Treasure Gourd, come forth!" Song Changsheng recalled the Water Origin Shield to defend himself and summoned the Water-Fire Treasure Gourd to clash head-on with the bell.
The gourd and bell collided violently, unleashing deafening roars that reverberated through the formation. At the same time, Song Changsheng waved his sleeve, sending twelve array flags flying out in a precise line.
The flags formed a circle around the bronze bell's phantom, enclosing it.
He held his breath and focused intently, guiding each triangular flag into position according to the formation's underlying patterns.
What Song Changsheng was attempting was bold, to say the least. He wasn't just trying to destroy the formation's core to break out he intended to seize control of the entire formation.
Having thoroughly deciphered the Xuan Yang Heavenly Steel Array's patterns, all he needed now was to set up a counter-array at its core based on its original flow.
Once he gained control of the core, he could reverse the roles turning from guest to host, and take command of the formation himself.
This wasn't out of greed for the treasures hidden in the ruins he simply wanted a safety net.
After all, he was the only latecomer in a large group. If anyone decided to betray him once the formation was down, he'd have no way to defend himself otherwise.
It wasn't that he distrusted them entirely but better safe than sorry.
...
CLANG, CLANG, CLANG
The bell phantom seemed to sense his intent, increasing the frequency of its attacks. The treasure gourd was forced backward again and again.
Song Changsheng's complexion paled as each strike from the bell reverberated through his soul. Had it been Xu Yun instead of him here, her spirit would likely have already collapsed, leaving her mind broken.
"A mere spiritual artifact and you think you can turn the heavens upside down?" Song Changsheng growled, swallowing several soul-fortifying pills and glaring with renewed determination.
"Water Origin Shield deploy!"
He gave up all defensive concerns for himself, unleashing both of his finest magical artifacts at once to suppress the bell's phantom.
Under the combined pressure, the bronze bell was forced back.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Changsheng completed the counter-array.
Thanks to his deep understanding of formation patterns, the setup proceeded smoothly.
The moment the array was completed, Song Changsheng unleashed his full strength, suppressing the spiritual artifact that served as the formation's core and branding it with his soul imprint.
In that instant, he took control of most of the formation's authority.
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