Dragon Valley Hall

The fight came fast and ended just as quickly.

All told, less than ten breaths had passed, yet three of the four cultivators, all at least at the Qi Refinement Sixth Layer, were dead and one was gravely wounded. Among the dead was an expert at the Qi Refining eighth layer, who had fallen directly beneath the Sky-Piercing Blade.

Only then did Yang Tianyou discover to his surprise that, after advancing to the Qi Refining seventh layer, his combat strength had increased even more than he had expected.

With a sweep of his sleeve, his Spiritual Power swept up the Storage Bags and several scattered Law Artifacts from the ground like a gust of wind. Yang Tianyou took the gravely wounded cultivator to a secluded mountain hollow.

The Yang Household disciples who joined Wolf Pool all knew a thing or two about interrogation, precisely to deal with situations like this one.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the Qi Refining seventh-layer cultivator could no longer bear the torture and told Yang Tianyou everything he knew. Yang Tianyou killed him with a casual strike.

What exactly is it that the Zhao Household is keeping so secret that they won't even tell Affiliated Cultivators whose families have followed the Lineage for generations?

As he murmured to himself, Yang Tianyou's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He had a feeling that this discovery was no small matter.

Although this Affiliated Cultivator of the Zhao Household did not know the household's exact objective, Yang Tianyou could roughly narrow down the Zhao cultivators' location from a few traces.

Next came the search. He and Fengling split up, and after another half day of searching, night had fallen.

One of the Great White Gold Eyes' fundamental powers was the Power of the Stars. At night, Yang Tianyou's vision was not impaired in the slightest; instead, he could use the starlight to discern even more hidden traces.

From his perspective, the world gradually separated into black and white. Threads of silver light shone through the white, the power of the stars.

Interwoven through this black-and-white world were threads of other colors: green, brimming with vitality; gold, peerlessly sharp; and blue, warm and translucent.

One golden thread was exceptionally thick and brighter than the others, setting it completely apart.

"Foundation Establishment..."

Yang Tianyou's heart grew heavy. It seemed things were going to be trickier than he had thought.

With a Foundation Establishment Cultivator involved, should he retreat now, or face the challenge head-on?

After weighing it over and over, Yang Tianyou chose to continue investigating.

With great strength, one's will naturally grew firm.

With a sharp blade in hand, the urge to kill naturally surged!

A breakthrough in strength brought far more than an increase in power; it also had a tremendous catalytic effect on a cultivator's own thoughts and will.

That was precisely how Yang Tianyou felt now. Though still cautious, he had fewer reservations about his actions and had grown bolder.

Now that he had found the traces left by the Zhao cultivators, Yang Tianyou carefully followed them.

He followed them through the entire night.

At dawn, the first rays of sunlight scattered flecks of gold. Concealed by dense foliage, Yang Tianyou peered through tiny gaps at a cave not far away.

His platinum-gold pupils narrowed slightly, and his invisible gaze passed through layer after layer of rock, plunging unimpeded into the depths of the cave.

His gaze continued onward until, suddenly, a water-blue shield blocked his observation. It was a Second-Tier Middle-Grade formation, and with his current abilities, Yang Tianyou could not slip past its barrier undetected.

To avoid beating the grass and startling the snake, he slowly withdrew his gaze.

This formation... the Two-Yi True Water Formation?

Yang Tianyou was not entirely certain, but the fluctuations emanating from the formation before him were indeed quite similar to those of the Two-Yi True Water Formation at the earlier auction.

Considering that a Zhao cultivator had been the one to win the Two-Yi True Water Formation at the auction, Yang Tianyou could be fairly certain that the formation before him was the Two-Yi True Water Formation.

No wonder the Zhao Household paid such a high price for a formation. They bought it to set it up here! But the auction only just ended, which means this formation was only just set up?

His eyes shimmered as a host of guesses rushed through his mind. Is it a mineral vein of Tier 2 or above? A cave abode left by a cultivator at Foundation Establishment or above? Or some precious spirit medicine? Otherwise, the Zhao Household wouldn't have gone to the trouble of buying a Tier 2 formation from so far away to guard it.

Yang Tianyou rubbed his chin, hesitating over whether to take a risk. If he did not go in and relied on guesswork alone, inaccurate intelligence might lead to trouble.

In the end, he decided to keep taking the risk.

Partly, he was tempted by the unknown; partly, it was his responsibility and love for the Lineage.

From childhood to adulthood, the Lineage had given him so much, while he had actually done very little in return.

If his weakness had been the reason before, he was now capable of doing his part for the Lineage.

Besides, it was not as though he had no trump card. There was still a Talisman in his Storage Bag that held a full-strength strike from the Old Ancestor, which he could use to escape if he encountered danger.

Acting at once, Yang Tianyou put Fengling into the Spirit Beast Bag. This operation was too dangerous. If they were discovered, he might still be able to escape, but Fengling, with his little First-Tier Middle-Grade body, would certainly not get away.

Yang Tianyou then took out a black Talisman.

This Talisman was very different from the others, and a thick, corrosive presence washed over him.

It was a First-Tier Superior-Grade Array-Eroding Talisman, a Talisman recorded in the Yang Household Talisman Canon. Like the Blazing Gold Talisman, it was among the finest First-Tier Talismans.

It did not take much Spiritual Power to craft, however; one could make it at Middle Qi Refinement.

Instead, it required quite a few strange and unusual materials, all of which were used to prepare Spirit Ink.

The Array-Eroding Talisman was recorded in the Yang Household Talisman Canon. Yang Tianyou had spent two years gathering materials and another three months making the Spirit Ink and Blank Talisman Paper before he finally produced a single Array-Eroding Talisman.

Its value was easy to imagine: it was worth considerably more than the Blazing Gold Talisman.

Naturally, such a precious Talisman had a powerful effect. Soon after Yang Tianyou slapped it onto the Two-Yi True Water Formation, it eroded an opening three feet high and three feet wide in the Formation Shield, which was as high as Second-Tier Middle-Grade.

Luckily, this formation was only just set up, and its foundation isn't stable yet. Otherwise, my Array-Eroding Talisman might not have been able to break through the Formation Shield.

With that thought, Yang Tianyou carefully put away the remaining half of the Talisman, then slowly crawled through the opening.

The Array-Eroding Talisman had made very little commotion and had not alerted the Zhao cultivators. Once inside the formation, Yang Tianyou hurriedly stuck two Talismans onto himself.

One was a Spirit Concealment Talisman, the other a Breath Concealment Talisman. With both in effect, his figure gradually vanished, and his presence became almost impossible to detect.

Using the Great White Gold Eyes' power of perception, Yang Tianyou followed the traces left by the Zhao cultivators and soon arrived before a palace.

The palace stood over ten zhang tall and was scarlet-gold throughout. Its architecture was stately and grand, and it occupied a considerable area.

At the palace's main entrance, Yang Tianyou saw a gold-and-purple plaque one zhang long. Three large characters were written on it: "Dragon Valley Sect"!

This is...

Yang Tianyou's pupils contracted, and his heart began pounding in spite of himself. His previously well-concealed presence fluctuated with it.

"Who goes there?"

An angry, startled shout came from the palace, followed by a Flying Sword Law Artifact gleaming with golden light.

Like a rainbow streaking across the sun, the Flying Sword reached Yang Tianyou in a flash.

This is bad!

Yang Tianyou was horrified. The feeling that every hair on his body was about to stand on end filled his heart, and the threat of death wrapped tightly around him.

At that critical moment, Yang Tianyou did not panic, because that would have been utterly useless.

He calmly pulled four Golden Shield Talismans from his Storage Bag and activated them all, instantly surrounding himself with four layers of golden light.

That was not enough. Yang Tianyou took out another red Talisman and activated it. It was a Fire Attribute Escape Technique Talisman.

After that, he placed the Exquisite Tower above his head for another layer of defense. Only then did he breathe a small sigh of relief.