Heavenly Dao Array Formation, Secrets of Antiquity

"Seriously, senior... I feel really bad taking this for free," Qin Siyu said, wiping her nose as she held the leather water bag filled with pure "Cold Jade Spring Water." "This spring water is very precious outside; you can't even buy it if you want to..."

Although Lin Yu had just scolded her, Qin Siyu wasn't angry at all.

In fact, when she said those things, she probably knew she would be criticized.

Only...

For Qin Siyu, she really didn't know how to face Lin Yu's kindness for that moment.

Throughout his long years of wandering the world, Qin Siyu rarely needed to express his "gratitude"—a thief, a skilled thief, naturally always travels alone.

Especially...

Qin Siyu herself was not prepared to obtain the "Cold Jade Spring Water" so easily.

After all...

The combination of "Cold Jade Spring Water" and "Taiyin Moonflower Grass" means that... the Village will be able to recover.

After pursuing a goal for more than a decade, the sudden appearance of a clearly visible, tangible, and achievable part naturally evokes a sense of unreality.

She held the heavy water bag in the water. Although it was a specially made container sewn from the skin of a Nine Guan Yaomo, which she had prepared for a long time, the coldness of the Cold Jade Spring Water still penetrated through the outer skin of the water bag and invaded her body, forcing her to use her internal energy to resist the cold.

Even so, Qin Siyu couldn't bear to take it far away.

Lin Yu looked at Qin Siyu and shook his head.

"You don't need to thank me too much... I'm helping you because I already have a use for these souls."

Lin Yu wasn't lying—he had conveniently converted some of the extracted souls into [Mind Matter], and stored the rest away to use as food and snacks for his pocket watch.

Now I won't have to detach my soul every time—this time, the detached soul should last for a long time.

Seeing Lin Yu and Qin Siyu, who had both gained something, Master Wei Jian seemed to be deep in thought.

He bent down to examine the Cold Jade Spring Water, then slowly stood up, supporting his back, and looked at Lin Yu: "Young hero... although the presence of Cold Jade Spring Water here is a good thing, and it has unexpectedly given that girl over there something she's always wanted, I still feel that something is amiss."

Qin Siyu asked, puzzled, "What's strange about it? Is it because there's so much Cold Jade Spring Water here...? Although it's very precious, the Great Rui Dynasty has been unified for so long, it wouldn't be surprising if they had collected it, right?"

Master Wei Jian waved his hand. "I'm not saying it's strange that there's so much Cold Jade Spring Water here... but rather that the state of this Cold Jade Spring Water is very strange."

Why are there these Cold Jade Spring Water filled with souls here?

Master Wei Jian spoke, Lin Yu realized that the old man had also noticed the same thing that was amiss as he had.

Or rather...

In fact, Master Wei Jian had finally realized something earlier, but now he finally spoke it out.

"This Royal Palace should have served as a place for handling state affairs, and the Great Rui Emperor and his descendants should have lived there as well... Why would such a place be surrounded by the Cold Jade Spring Water, especially one filled with souls? It's inconvenient, uncomfortable... and illogical."

Master Wei Jian said in a low voice.

Qin Siyu also realized what was going on and scratched her head. "Oh yeah... the Sand Hell Royal Palace Ruins we visited before didn't have a similar design, so could it be caused by that Yaomo that was born in the ancient capital back then?"

"Perhaps... I don't know. Let's wait and see, but we must be careful," Master Wei Jian said, looking towards the Royal Palace. "This Royal Palace... may be more dangerous than we imagine."

With that, Master Wei Jian took another step forward.

Qin Siyu and Lin Yu clearly took this warning to heart, and the atmosphere among the three of them became much more tense afterward.

However... despite the three of them being cautious, nothing unusual or unexpected happened.

The three of them reached the end of the stone slab pontoon bridge without any trouble and arrived at the main gate of the uniquely designed Royal Palace.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that the Royal Palace was built from long, neatly polished black boulders—it's even more like jade than "mountain stone."

These stones have a soft texture and a smooth surface, reflecting the faint candlelight on the surrounding water.

Here we finally see some signs of "damage"—the original Palace gate, which should have been built of the same stone, is now shattered and leads directly inside.

And after it was buried there...

"Wow... what is this?"

Qin Siyu was the first to exclaim in surprise.

The Palace was empty, devoid of any of the Palace and furnishings one would expect. The walls were covered in scratches from sharp weapons, each one so badly damaged that it looked as if two peerless swordsmen or knife-wielders had exchanged hundreds of blows there.

But these are certainly not the reasons that made Qin Siyu sigh.

What Qin Siyu truly lamented was... the only thing existing within this empty Palace that clearly didn't belong Palace.

Sixteen bluish-gray stone tablets stand within the Palace, arranged in a ring, each inscribed with a faint, Pure Qi incantation.

The incantation flashed slowly and evenly, as if it were breathing.

If these sixteen bluish-gray stone tablets were connected together, they would form a regular hexagon.

Master Wei Jian stared at the sixteen stone tablets for a moment, then murmured, "No wonder you said this place is a 'Heavenly Dao Array Formation'... These tablets... were placed by the Dao Ancestor!"

Although Master Wei Jian not practice any Daoist Sect techniques, as a master in the field of Artifact Forging, he had created many top-notch magical Magical Artifacts and weapons that could communicate with heaven and earth.

So...

Master Wei Jian was exceptionally sensitive to things that could stir the will of Heavenly Dao and touch the essence of the universe.

At this moment, Master Wei Jian could sense that each of these sixteen stone tablets was almost integrated with heaven and earth and all things, naturally bearing the will of the Heavenly Dao, and its Pure Qi and Xuanzheng energy was incomparably profound, clearly indicating that it was "Orthodoxy Daoist Sect."

Based on the above conditions, Master Wei Jian could easily guess...

These stone tablets were erected by the Dao Ancestor himself for Array Formation!

But soon, Master Wei Jian had new doubts.

"That's not right... This ancient capital of Da Rui, the Divine King's Palace ruins, existed long before the Chaos of Bewilderment. Why would the Dao Ancestor have set up an array here?"

"The Formation here must have been there for a very long time."

"And if the Dao Ancestor were to make a move... why would he 'fold' this place up?"

Hearing Master Wei Jian's doubts, Lin Yu said, "Master Wei Jian, you are right. The Formation in this entire Royal Palace has indeed existed for a long time, so... the Dao Ancestor's stone tablet is only for reinforcing and 'improving' the Formation here."

"The Folded Space was not Dao Ancestor's doing; Dao Ancestor only did it to... reinforce the Formation seal."

Lin Yu spoke calmly. Although Master Wei Jian and Qin Siyu didn't feel anything at first, they suddenly felt a chill run down their spines the next moment.

"Wait, wait... Senior, are you saying that there is an existence sealed here that even the Dao Ancestor himself had to reinforce the seal?"

Qin Siyu said in horror.

Lin Yu said, "Otherwise what?"

Even the seasoned Master Wei Jian felt a chill run down his spine at that moment. "The Dao Ancestor himself is taking action... what level of Yaomo must that be?! Or rather... can it still be called Yaomo?"

Lin Yu shook his head. "I don't know what it should be called either, but if I'm not mistaken... the person I'm investigating, the 'Diviner'... his goal should be to release what's sealed here."

Master Wei Jian broke out in a cold sweat. "If what's inside comes out, wouldn't the entire Two Mountains and Six Hells be Living Beings, with millions of lives lost...? Even if the Two Mountains collapse and the Six Hells are destroyed, this realm could become a desolate wasteland, a den of demons on earth!"

Qin Siyu stammered, "No, no, Master Wei, please stop... This is too unlucky. Senior would never allow this to happen... That's why he's here!"

"That 'Diviner' is being stopped by Daoist Master Xingyi right now... The senior is here to stop him."

Master Wei Jian heard the Daoist name "Daoist Master Xingyi" used by Jian Cunyi when he traveled in the Prison Mountain Realm, and he was obviously familiar with it, so he showed a surprised expression.

"There's something about Daoist Master Xingyi? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"We were either escaping or recuperating before, we didn't have time," Qin Siyu said. The comforting words she had just received, along with Jian Cunyi name, seemed to have calmed her down. "Anyway... Senior should have a way to stop them, right?"

"The Formation and the seal added by the Dao Ancestor are still intact... We should be able to do something about it!"

Lin Yu nodded.

"There are indeed things we can do..."

"Based on my understanding of the 'Diviner,' he has been plotting in this Prison Mountain Realm for a long time... Therefore, he has most likely already set up some methods within this Formation. Perhaps we can find him."

Lin Yu spoke in a low voice, then paused for a moment.

"At the same time, before they arrive, we might also be able to... investigate what exactly happened in the ancient capital of Great Rui back then, and what exactly is sealed beneath this Formation."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Qin Siyu did not object, but Master Wei Jian showed a thoughtful expression.

"Young hero, I advise you to reconsider."

"Stopping that so-called 'Diviner' is definitely necessary, but... this Formation was personally sealed by the Dao Ancestor, so what's sealed inside must be extraordinary and surely hides a great secret."

"And every great secret carries great terror... If you know it, you may be cursed, targeted, and never have peace in your life."

"Even if what's inside is completely sealed and can't harm you... knowing such a forbidden thing could very well lead to being condemned by heaven and earth and suffering Karma Backlash!"

"These... are all insights my master gained back then."

Lin Yu listened calmly to Master Wei Jian's earnest advice and said...

"Oh, it's alright, Master, don't worry..."

"I don't need this one."