Unexpectedly, under Old Xie's lead, they neither headed toward the heart of the ancient castle nor went to find anyone. Old Xie directly brought him to the edge of the castle walls and onto the stairway built into them.
This time, however, things were slightly different. After passing through several corridors, they began descending.
Before long, they had gone below the lowest level of the castle walls—in other words, underground.
Old Xie did not slow, continuing to lead Li Su downward. The corridor stairs themselves seemed endless, stretching ever farther down.
There was something off about this space.
As he walked, Li Su continued to sense his surroundings.
He possessed the Jade Purity Supreme and was extraordinarily keen at grasping space. He quickly noticed what was different about this passage.
Though they appeared to be moving straight downward at a thirty-degree angle, that angle was actually in a layered state. There was something wrong with the spatial structure; like building blocks, it had been altered.
More than that, Li Su discovered that if Old Xie had not been leading the way, he would likely have become lost immediately on this seemingly simple descending stairway, trapped here completely.
Even with mastery of the Jade Purity Supreme, leaving without causing any disturbance would be difficult.
Whoever had arranged this was absolutely a top-tier powerhouse. A straight passage had been turned into a colossal maze, with the entire space cast into chaos.
It was not merely the formation's sophistication; the arranger's realm was terrifying as well.
At the very least, they were a Great Luo—and an ancient, genuine top-tier Great Luo at that.
They walked for nearly an hour before Old Xie finally stopped.
The moment he did, Li Su immediately noticed that beside the stairs, which had only gone downward until now,