Two-Yi Departure Fire Formation

Two-Yi Departure Fire Formation

"Ghost Shadow, do you know the name of the formation outside this hall?"

"No."

"It is called the Two-Yi Departure Fire Formation, a third-tier formation. Its formation patterns connect to the underground fire veins, granting it inexhaustible power. Even a Golden Core Stage patriarch would gain nothing by confronting it head-on!"

"Fortunately, no one is controlling the formation at the moment. The protective barrier is merely the formation's instinctive response; it is not actually operating. Otherwise, just a trace of power leaking out from your earlier probing would have been enough to turn you to ash."

"Uh... Ghost Shadow, where are you going?"

Qin Long had barely finished speaking when she saw Xiao Liang nod, take Pandora by the hand, and prepare to leave. She could not help but stare in astonishment.

"Could it be that Fellow Daoist Qin is making fun of me? A Golden Core Stage cultivator would be an elder of a peak even in a major sect. I am merely at the Third Level of Qi Refining, no more than an ant. I should not throw away my life."

Xiao Liang's expression was wooden. He suddenly felt that the Blood Nightmare Technique was not so bad after all; he could make do with cultivating it. A true inheritance technique was simply too far beyond his reach.

"I truly did not expect you to be so impatient!"

"Since I came here, I naturally have complete confidence. Take a look at this."

Qin Long chuckled twice. As she spoke, she brushed a hand over the storage pouch at her waist, and an ancient jade talisman appeared in her palm.

The moment the jade talisman appeared, a strange resonance arose in the area. The crimson barrier protecting Earthfire Hall materialized for an instant before vanishing like a bubble.

The hall's heavy, ancient bronze doors burst open with a rumble, stirring up dust across the ground.

This jade talisman was actually the formation's control token!

Rather than feeling delighted at the sight, Xiao Liang felt a chill shoot up from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

This was the ruin of a sect that had been destroyed more than four hundred years ago. Yet a female cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage had actually produced the control token for an entire hall's formation.

She even seemed to be actively inviting him inside to search for treasure. If she had the token, why did she not enter alone?

Would it not be wonderful to claim the true inheritance's secret treasure all for herself?

Beyond the open bronze doors lay deep darkness, exuding the stench of decay. At that moment, they resembled the gaping maw of some monster.

Thinking of this woman's strange behavior along the way, Xiao Liang swallowed hard.

It was too strange, too absurd.

Could this female cultivator actually be an undead spirit of Heavenly Sun Mountain, specifically luring vigorous male cultivators here to explore for treasure before devouring them alive?

But why had she not sent a beautiful female ghost? What was the point of having only a pleasant voice?

Could it be that the production budget was insufficient?!

Perhaps because he carried too many useless memories from his previous life, Xiao Liang's thoughts moved faster than those of ordinary people.

It was also his instinctive way of easing his fear.

The more nervous and frightened he became, the more random thoughts filled his mind.

But as Qin Long watched the expression on the man before her grow increasingly strange, her face darkened. Expressionlessly, she said, "You had better not be thinking anything disrespectful!"

Xiao Liang gave a bitter smile. "Fellow Daoist Qin, who exactly are you? Could you be from this Heavenly Sun Mountain... But we have no grudge between us. Could it be because of my sect's inheritance?"

After saying that, even Xiao Liang himself began to half believe it. Heavenly Sun Mountain had, after all, been destroyed by the Ten Thousand Demon Cavern behind him. It could not be such a coincidence, could it?

Strictly speaking, Xiao Liang might indeed have some karmic entanglement with the undead of Heavenly Sun Mountain.

"Sect inheritance? What nonsense are you talking about? Oh, are you saying you are not an unaffiliated cultivator? What does that have to do with me?"

Qin Long gave him a baffled look and explained,

"I was originally just a martial artist in Yan Kingdom. While being hunted down, I fell off a cliff and encountered a fortuitous immortal opportunity, obtaining the inheritance of a senior cultivator from Heavenly Sun Mountain. That control jade token came from there."

"Unfortunately, the token only works on Earthfire Hall. I had always been blocked by the poisonous miasma and could not find a way to enter this peak, until I happened to see Captain Luo's posted mission at Storm Tower..."

Only then did Xiao Liang understand. At the same time, he marveled at how profound her fortune truly was.

Hunted down, falling off a cliff, encountering an immortal opportunity, and even having an Earthfire Hall waiting to be inherited—what kind of luck was that?

"But how did you escape the pursuit of the guardian puppet?"

Xiao Liang was genuinely curious about that.

"Oh, that puppet was quite difficult to deal with. Fortunately, it had fallen into disrepair over the years, with no one maintaining it. I barely exchanged a few moves with it before it ran out of energy, and I picked it up."

A trace of lingering fear also appeared on Qin Long's face. She took out the halberd-wielding humanoid puppet from her storage pouch. It resembled a battlefield general and still maintained its combat stance, Baleful Qi rushing toward them.

But at that moment, its entire body was dull and dim, utterly motionless.

Xiao Liang was completely numb. The guardian puppet that had forcefully scattered the exploration party was actually nearly out of energy—a paper tiger.

If Luo Dongbao had been willing to take a little risk and clash with the puppet for a few moves, he could have not only resolved the crisis of the group breaking apart, but also obtained a powerful puppet.

Such were the workings of fate.

And living in a world of immortal cultivation, Xiao Liang could not help but think further.

He looked over the young female cultivator before him once more. She was plain in appearance, but her voice was clear and pleasant.

Could you perhaps be one favored by great fortune?

Qin Long put away the guardian puppet on the ground, then glanced at Xiao Liang again. With a sigh, she said,

"I know what you are worried about, but I have no intention of harming you. The things inside Earthfire Hall will not be easy to obtain. I merely want another helper, to be safer."

Xiao Liang pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I am only at the Third Level of Qi Refining, and my strength is meager. It is hard to say whether I can be of any help."

"I know. That is why the helper I mean is mainly not you, but her!"

Qin Long nodded, acknowledging his point. She extended a pair of slender, jade-like hands and pointed at Pandora, who was completely concealed beneath a black robe.

"I possess a secret technique for sensing danger. She gives me an extremely intense sense of danger!"

Xiao Liang's face darkened.

He had been about to say that Pandora was only at Qi Refining, First Layer, even lower than himself. But then he remembered that, in terms of actual combat strength, he was probably no match for Pandora at present.

Through their mental link, Pandora sensed Xiao Liang's thoughts. Pure-hearted as she was, she showed him no courtesy and sent back a burst of cheerful laughter.

"Since that is the case, I shall accompany you in exploring Earthfire Hall."

In the end, his desire for a true inheritance technique overcame his hesitation. Xiao Liang moistened his somewhat dry lips, took a deep breath, and said, "You and I will walk side by side. We should remain within three steps of each other at most, or I will withdraw at any time!"

"Agreed."

Qin Long nodded calmly and drew her sword in advance, its cold gleam sharp and clear.

The two moved close together, with Pandora following behind Xiao Liang. The three of them entered Earthfire Hall together.

The instant they stepped inside, the Two-Yi Departure Fire Formation outside was restored, and the bronze doors slowly closed.

At the same time, atop a rock wall several miles away, a concealed and venomous gaze was shut outside along with the thunderous closing of the bronze doors.

(End of Chapter)