Mandala

Let's go.

Seeing this, Lin Ming didn't hesitate any longer and took the lead, his black robes drawing a clean arc in the gray-white haze, like a hawk leaping from a branch, rushing towards the depths of the Ancient Heavenly Palace.

He was extremely fast, yet he made very little noise while flying. His Spiritual Energy was kept very stable, like a sharp sword sheathed in its sheath, its edge concealed even when it was not drawn.

Seeing this, the North King and Xia Jia, who were behind him, also followed closely behind.

The North King's towering figure transformed into a streak of dark golden light, the heavy black sword on his back swaying slightly as he flew, the dragon Dragon Pattern on the hilt appearing and disappearing in the hazy light.

Xia Jia was like a silver swallow, her figure light and agile. She held her pair of silver short swords in her sleeves, and when she flew up, her skirt fluttered, leaving a trail of fine silver light.

The three formed a single file and ventured deeper into the gray and white haze.

The three moved at great speed, occasionally encountering broken Spirit Formation along the way. Although the Spiritual Runes of those Spirit Formation had faded considerably, the residual fluctuations of the Law within still caused the air to distort slightly, like torn spider webs hanging in the void.

Throughout the flight, Lin Ming kept his eyes scanning ahead, and the intricate details of those broken Spirit Formation were clearly visible to him.

Whenever he spotted remnants of an array ahead, he would slightly turn to the side, give a hand signal to the two people behind him, and lead them through the gaps in the array.

Sometimes he would pass through the broken edge of a Spiritual Runes, and sometimes he would squeeze through the gap between two Residual Arrays. Every detour was extremely precise, like a master who knew every secret passage in his own mansion so well that he could find the right way with his eyes closed.

After about an incense stick's time, they began to feel the hazy atmosphere around them growing increasingly dense.

The hazy aura was different from what I had seen outside the Heavenly River before; it was thicker and more stagnant, like a turbid soup slowly flowing between heaven and earth.

The mist surged in from all directions, soaking the three men's robes until they were slightly damp, and they could feel a heavy dampness seeping into their lungs with every breath.

Enveloped in that hazy aura, even the spreading Spiritual Energy perception was greatly hindered.

The North King tried to extend his divine sense forward, but it was as if it had hit a soft wall before it could be pushed in any further, even after extending less than a hundred feet.

Xia Jia also frowned. Her senses were already inferior to the North King's, and now it was as if she had been blindfolded, unable to even perceive things ten feet away.

"There's Spirit Formation ahead, but it's not dangerous. If I'm not mistaken, it's very likely the entrance to the Five Halls." Although his Spiritual Energy perception was interfered with, Lin Ming still noticed the unusual fluctuations ahead.

The fluctuations were completely different from the Nine Residences Formation he had seen before; they were more profound and stable, like a city wall that had been erected, which, though broken, still stood there stubbornly.

The two nodded in agreement.

The North King straightened the heavy sword on his back, a hint of wariness flashing in his tiger-like eyes. Xia Jia also sheathed the short sword in her sleeve and gathered some Spiritual Energy.

Swish!

The three of them sped past without slowing down. Then, they felt as if their bodies were passing through a layer of something like a water film.

The water film stretched from head to toe, completely transparent, with very faint Spiritual Runes flowing across its surface, like a thin layer of jelly.

As the three figures passed through the water film, a thin layer of water vapor clung to their bodies, which then evaporated on its own.

Immediately afterwards, the surrounding space became chaotic, as if it had been teleported.

The chaos came without warning; the space beneath their feet suddenly twisted, like a wet cloth that had been wrung out.

Lin Ming felt his body being pulled in a certain direction by a tremendous force. This force was different from ordinary spatial teleportation; it was more violent and unreasonable, like a giant hand lifting a person off the ground and throwing them into the distance.

Despite sensing the chaotic Spatial Fluctuations, Lin Ming remained calm. He glanced behind him and saw that the two figures had disappeared, apparently separated by the spatial disorder.

The presence of the North King and Xia Jia vanished from his perception in an instant, like two drops of ink scattered by a stream of water, each drifting in a different direction.

He felt a momentary worry, but quickly suppressed it.

Although the spatial disorder was violent, it seemed to be without malice, like a gust of wind that blows people away, strong when it blows, but steady when they land.

Both the North King and Xia Jia have their own tokens for protection, and both have undergone the Heavenly River Baptism, greatly increasing their strength. They should not encounter any major problems.

As Lin Ming pondered, the Spatial Fluctuations around him grew increasingly intense.

The chaotic Space Power darted around him like a school of startled fish, engulfing him and sweeping him rapidly toward an unknown direction.

Suddenly, a light burst forth, shooting out from the space before him like a window suddenly pushed open, revealing a vast expanse of sky and earth outside.

The light formed countless images and shadows before his eyes.

Those images depicted magnificent and imposing palaces.

Each palace is hundreds of feet high, built entirely of some kind of ancient megaliths. Some are crimson red, like a red-hot iron mountain; some are bluish-black, like a piece of polished black jade; some are silvery-white, like an Ice-Sealed Snow Peak; and some are dark gold, like a gilded shrine.

Huge bronze bells hang from the upturned eaves of those palaces, swaying in the wind in the scene, as if one can hear the deep and distant sound of the bells.

A subtle, oppressive aura emanated from those halls.

The oppressive aura was intense and concentrated, like a group of ancient beasts locked in a cage roaring silently. Even though it was through the screen, the sense of oppression that emanated from his very bones still made Lin Ming's breath catch in his throat slightly.

Lin Ming realized that these halls were probably the location of the Five Halls.

The five palaces were more than ten times larger than the Nine Residences he had seen before. Each one was like a giant fortress whose belly had been hollowed out. The dozens of stone steps in front of the palace gates were even wider than the main halls of the Nine Residences.

He calmed himself down and stared intently at the fleeting images, memorizing them firmly in his mind.

He memorized everything: which hall was located in which direction, what passages connected which halls, which halls had broken Formation Patterns around them, and which halls had huge squares in front of them, just like a scout drawing the enemy camp's defenses into his mind.

Under Lin Ming's focused gaze, light and shadow flashed continuously.

The images flashed by like pages of a rapidly turning picture book, faster and faster, but Lin Ming's gaze remained fixed on each frame, never daring to relax for a moment.

However, in a very instant, as a flash of light streaked past, Lin Ming's pupils suddenly contracted.

It was deep inside a grand hall. The hall was somewhat dilapidated, with most of the roof tiles broken, revealing the grayish-white stone beams beneath. The stone steps in front of the hall were covered with cracks and weathered pits, and even the hall door hung crookedly on the frame, like a mouth that had been torn apart.

But its majestic appearance is still extremely magnificent. From the remaining eaves and the specifications of the pillars, it can be seen that this hall was probably more magnificent than the other four when it was at its peak.

However, there were many skeletons scattered on the floor of the hall. Some were leaning against the pillars, some were lying on the steps, and some were curled up in the corners. Each skeleton was in the posture it had just died in. Some covered their faces with their hands, and some stretched their hands towards the hall door.

The clothes on the skeletons had long since turned to dust, leaving only some broken pieces of armor and remnants of magical artifacts scattered around the skeletons, a sight that sent chills down one's spine.

However, Lin Ming's gaze did not linger on that at all. He stared intently at the deepest part of the place.

On a Lotus Pedestal formed of dark red jade, there stood a beautiful flower, about ten feet tall, standing quietly.

The flower was entirely a deep, inky black color, with petals unfolding layer upon layer. Each petal resembled a finely honed scimitar, its edges gleaming with a dark purple sheen.

Tiny golden specks of light flickered slowly at the flower's stamen, like a swarm of fireflies trapped inside the flower's heart.

The flower stem is about the thickness of a human arm, and is jet black. It grows straight up from the center of the Lotus Pedestal, like an upright pillar of black jade.

As Lin Ming gazed at the dark, inky flower, a surge of overwhelming joy welled up within him.

Besides the array formation inheritance, he also received information about the Heavenly Palace from the Master of the Lin Residence.

The information was fragmented and complex, mostly concerning the architectural layout and array nodes of the Heavenly Palace. However, one record was particularly detailed: the record about this flower.

It was Ancient Mandala raised by the Heavenly Emperor, the ruler of the Heavenly Palace at that time, and treated by him as a daughter!

It is said that the Mandala plant had already developed intelligence in ancient times, could speak human language, and understood the Supreme Principle. The Heavenly Emperor had no children, so he treated it as his own child, raised it deep in the Heavenly Palace, watered it with Spiritual Energy every day, and nurtured it with the Law.

Lin Ming stared at the dark, inky Mandala in the image, his heart involuntarily quickening.

If this Mandala plant is still alive, a Gu Ling creature that has survived from the time of the Heavenly Emperor to the present day, and since it was treated as a daughter by the Heavenly Emperor, it is very likely that it possesses some of the Heavenly Emperor's inheritance or secret treasures.

Lin Ming took a deep breath, suppressing the surging joy.

He forced himself to calm down and carefully memorized the location of the Mandala in the image, including the position of the main hall among the Five Halls, the terrain around the main hall, and the route to enter the main hall.

This information is like a seed buried in the soil, waiting for him to break free from this spatial chaos so he can go to that great hall to find out what's going on.