Ancient Flame Clansman

Lu Feng and the others looked at the scene before them, all sharing a sense of unreality.

Waist-high Crystal Pillars fashioned from jade-green stone stood in a ring around them. Spiritual light flowed within the pillars, each emanating waves of terrifying power.

Upon careful count, there were thirty-two in total!

Combined with the familiar aura radiating from the Crystal Pillars, it was hard not to think of the thirty-two strange spaces that had stored the scriptures.

After steadying his emotions, Fourth Uncle spoke in astonishment. "Could it be that we were... inside these Crystal Pillars all along?"

Feeling the spatial fluctuations hidden at the tops of the Crystal Pillars, that speculation only grew firmer.

Then, seeing that each Crystal Pillar contained an Undead Gu aura tens of millions of times more terrifying than those within the previous Domain Realm, they could not help secretly rejoicing that they had not tried to break them by brute force. Otherwise, they likely would not even have known how they died.

The Undead Gu in the previous space had already been horrifyingly numerous, yet judging by the aura within these Crystal Pillars, that clearly had been far from the limit.

Not to mention that they had merely used the Gu vessel to temporarily trap those Undead Gu—even if they had completely destroyed them, once the space recovered, the formation would likely have redeployed a new batch of Undead Gu to replenish it.

These Crystal Pillars were practically breeding vessels for Undead Gu, an inexhaustible source without end.

Beyond the ring formed by the Crystal Pillars, there was nothing particularly unusual. All four sides were sealed, as though they stood in a broad enclosed chamber. Only in one corner by the wall was there a staircase leading upward.

Considering their circumstances, everyone understood that they had now truly arrived inside the Floating Sand Ghost Pavilion, standing on solid ground within it.

"Old Lu, how are you?" After his brief shock, Tang Yuan hurried over to Lu Feng's side.

After answering with a reassuring look, Lu Feng turned solemnly toward the very center of the area enclosed by the Crystal Pillars.

He bowed deeply. "Senior, we had no intention of disturbing this treasured place. We acted as we did only to preserve our lives. Please forgive us."

Seeing Lu Feng's actions, everyone froze where they stood.

"Senior? What Senior?"

Miao Qiuyun looked around in every direction. The central area was completely empty; there was not a single figure in sight.

Fourth Uncle was equally bewildered, yet an inexplicable unease welled up in his heart. Perhaps because Lu Feng had astonished him time and again along their journey, he subconsciously believed Lu Feng would never apologize without cause. There had to be some terrifying presence beyond their perception hiding in the shadows.

Tang Yuan and Ye Fan exchanged another glance, immediately raising their guard without hesitation.

"Watch out!" Hidden Blade directly released a fierce killing intent. With his senses, he had already detected an exceptionally terrifying aura lurking within the ring of Crystal Pillars. That aura felt even more dreadful than the strange head they had encountered earlier.

Before long.

The Crystal Pillars around them all released a vast surge of energy, converging toward the center. Then, as if performing a conjuring trick, a tall figure emerged.

Though the figure was condensed from dense spiritual energy, its deep-set eyes were remarkably human. As they swept across the group, they carried profound surprise and displeasure.

From those humanlike eyes, everyone recognized that this figure should be the silent, motionless one they had seen when comprehending the Inviting Immortal Array in the earlier space.

Only, the two were now utterly different in both appearance and the aura they emitted.

The figure within the Inviting Immortal Array had been nothing more than a humanoid outline, so indistinct that one could not even determine its gender or age.

But the figure before them was clearly a middle-aged man clad in armor, majestic and solemn. His eyes were like swords, his presence overwhelming, as though he possessed the tyrannical might to cleave heaven and earth asunder.

"Who are you people?!" The figure looked down upon them, its gaze cold, contemptuous, and sinister. It questioned them word by word, "You are not of my Ancient Flame Clan. How were you able to comprehend and complete the Inviting Immortal Array?!"

"Ancient Flame Clan!" Lu Feng was startled. He had been fortunate enough to hear of this ancient clan before. When he had investigated matters concerning the Heaven Rain Clan, he had come across records related to the Ancient Flame Clan. The two clans could be said to share an inseparable and subtle connection.

He had simply never expected that the treasury belonging to the Floating Sand Ancient Kingdom would contain an existence from the Ancient Flame Clan.

Or perhaps the Floating Sand Ancient Kingdom itself had evolved from the Ancient Flame Clan?

Though Miao Qiuyun and the others were also surprised by the words "Ancient Flame Clansman," they were even more astonished that the figure could speak like an ordinary person. It left them deeply shaken.

After all, they had watched the figure form bit by bit from spiritual energy before their very eyes. It had no physical body. How could such an existence speak as naturally as an ordinary person?

Fourth Uncle, meanwhile, fixated on the word "complete" in the figure's words. His eyes filled with shock. He had barely been able to sense any formation fluctuations from the earlier Inviting Immortal Array. Even given ample time, he would have had no way to begin comprehending it. Yet Lu Feng had not only comprehended it successfully—he had even completed it?

It was something he had never imagined, and he could not fathom what method Lu Feng had used to comprehend, much less complete, that formation.

But judging from the fact that they had escaped that dangerous place alive, Lu Feng had undoubtedly completed it successfully, just as the figure had said.

As this shook him to the core, it also made him regard Lu Feng even more highly.

Thinking of his own past, and of the dangers of this place...

Fourth Uncle suddenly felt that if anyone among them could leave this place alive, it might only be Lu Feng.

At that moment, sorrow rose in his heart. At the same time, he wondered whether he should find an opportunity to recount his past. If he truly perished here, Lu Feng could at least bring some news and cultivation resources to his son, easing the guilt he had carried for so many years.

But first, they had to survive the current crisis.

He could clearly feel the displeasure, even the furious killing intent, emanating from the figure's words!

Lu Feng stood stunned for a moment beneath the figure's terrifying aura, then quickly replied respectfully, "Senior, this junior only managed to complete that Inviting Immortal Array by chance, under the care and guidance of Senior's aura. Please show mercy, seeing that this junior did not deliberately destroy—"

Before he could finish, a terrifying surge of momentum suddenly erupted from the figure and cut him off.

Under the pressure enveloping him, Lu Feng nearly could not breathe. His face instantly flushed crimson.

Though the others were also covered by that dreadful pressure, they fared somewhat better than Lu Feng. Still, moving even slightly was no easy task.

Amid their terror, they were all inexplicably curious, unable to understand the source of the conflict between Lu Feng and the figure.

Since he had properly completed the formation, why was the figure still so furious?

Could helping complete the formation have been a mistake?

Or had it been completed imperfectly, with something going wrong?

The figure spoke in a dark, furious voice. "I did not help you in the slightest. You merely used my remaining aura without authorization! Words are useless, boy! Of all things, you should never have entered this place! Driven by greed, you deserve the condemnation of heaven and earth!"

Feeling the figure's chilling killing intent.

Tang Yuan hurriedly cried out, "Senior, please show mercy! We did not come out of greed. We merely entered by mistake, and we did not damage a single scripture in your honored grounds. Please—"

Bang!

The phantom glared, and a terrifying aura shot directly at Tang Yuan, sending him flying into the barrier formed by the encircling Crystal Pillars.

Ye Fan had been about to act, but upon seeing this, he drew back the hand hidden in his sleeve in alarm.

From the strength the figure had revealed in that fleeting instant, it possessed at least Heaven Soul Realm Eight Breaths cultivation, perhaps even higher. Before such an existence, he had no chance whatsoever of succeeding in a sneak attack. Acting rashly would only backfire and make the situation worse.

The figure's expression was somewhat savage now, as though Tang Yuan's words had angered it further. It spat indignantly, "What a claim—that you did not damage a single thing! Do you know that because of your intrusion, you nearly destroyed the Ancient Flame Clan's chance at revival?!"

"What?!" Everyone's faces turned pale with shock.

They had never imagined the matter would be this serious.

No wonder Lu Feng had been so terrified earlier, apologizing without pause. He must have already understood the effect that completing the formation had had on the figure.

Held beneath the figure's pressure, Lu Feng's face became deathly still upon hearing those words.

Unwilling to die here, to lose his life over an unintentional mistake, Lu Feng forced himself to endure the pressure bearing down upon him and spoke with difficulty. "Senior... your desire for revival is the same as this junior's desire to save his younger sister. This junior came here seeking a way to save her. Urgh... she... she possesses the Five Elements Pure Water Body!"

As the figure's pressure intensified, nearly cutting off his words and ending his life, Lu Feng had no choice but to reveal the most crucial fact outright.

Considering the connection between the Ancient Flame Clan and the Heaven Rain Clan, Lu Feng had no choice but to invoke Ruo Shui's special constitution, hoping only that the words "Five Elements Pure Water Body" might move the figure.

With barely a thousandth of an instant left before the figure would have ended his life.

At the final moment, the pressure abruptly halted and dispersed.

Like a drowning man dragged from the water, Lu Feng suddenly came back to himself and coughed without stopping. Once the pressure withdrew, it felt as though every meridian in his body were about to explode. He collapsed weakly to the ground, cold sweat soaking his entire body.

Fortunately, the words "Five Elements Pure Water Body" had worked.

After restraining that terrifying aura, the figure's expression plainly showed several traces of astonishment. It stared at Lu Feng, slumped on the ground, and barked, "Repeat what you just said! Is the younger sister you spoke of truly possessed of the Five Elements Pure Water Body? Where is she now? Bring her here at once!"

Though the figure did not reveal much emotion, its successive urgent questions still let everyone sense the excitement hidden within.

Tang Yuan approached from afar and helped Lu Feng to his feet. Together, they stood supporting one another as he answered clearly, "Sister Ruo Shui was separated from us after arriving here together. We do not know where she is now."

"Since Esteemed Guest is hidden within the Inviting Immortal Array, you must understand this place extremely well. Please help us find her."

The figure suddenly seemed to recall something, and its gaze abruptly turned toward the staircase beyond the Crystal Pillars.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan both froze. Judging from the figure's reaction...

Could Ruo Shui and the others truly be on the second floor of the pavilion?