Suddenly, the pool water churned violently, and a blood-red glow seeped from Zhao Ming's chest.
It was the mysterious blood-red energy that had appeared within the Reception Array passage!
Zhao Ming's gaze sharpened, shock surging through his heart.
When had this blood-red energy silently infiltrated his body?
He had not noticed it in the slightest!
But he had no time to think. The Third Elder had witnessed the scene as well.
"You truly are suspicious!" the Third Elder barked, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes. "This Blood Spirit Mark is a restriction unique to the Reception Array passage, created specifically to mark invaders from other worlds."
Before his words had faded, the detection formation within the pool instantly turned a dazzling crimson.
The nine golden dragons let out earth-shaking roars at once, brilliant golden light shooting from their eyes and firmly imprisoning Zhao Ming.
Zhao Ming felt the spiritual power throughout his body sink into a swamp. Only then did realization strike him. "So the blood-red energy in the Reception Array passage was actually a tracking mark!"
He immediately circulated all the spiritual power within him, attempting to break free of the restraint.
Yet what chilled him even more was that the blood-red energy clung to him like maggots to the bone, crazily corroding his divine soul along his meridians.
An Azure Jade long sword slid from the Third Elder's sleeve, its tip aimed directly at Zhao Ming's brow. "Speak! Who exactly are you?"
In truth, the Third Elder had already sensed something amiss at the reception platform.
Although Zhao Ming's aura and appearance were flawless, and even that fragment of the Qiankun Creation Cauldron had been beyond doubt.
Even with his mid-stage Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivation, he had failed to spot any trace of disguise.
Yet the reception