The ground inside the formation of light began to change... the soil and turf receded, exposing a layer of bluestone flooring beneath.
The bluestone slabs were covered in even more intricate runes, layered upon layer, each interlocking with the next.
"The first formation gate is open." Qin Xiaoyu wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Next is the core of the Heavenly Origin Formation."
"Let's go." She led the way into the formation of light.
The concentration of spiritual power inside was at least three times higher than outside. With every breath, spiritual energy flooded their lungs, leaving them almost uncomfortably full.
Yang Wanqing muttered, "With energy this dense, I could cultivate just by standing here."
"Focus," Qin Xiaoyu replied.
At the center of the formation of light stood a door.
It was not a physical door, but a curtain of light composed of runes, standing in the very center of the bluestone floor.
The runes on the curtain kept changing, shifting into different arrangements every second.
Qin Xiaoyu stopped before the curtain and studied the shifting runes for a full twenty seconds.
Then she reached out and pressed a spot on the curtain.
The runes stopped changing.
"The seventh hub of the Heavenly Origin Formation, Heavenly Pivot," she said softly, slowly tracing an arc across the curtain with her finger.
"You don't activate this hub by pouring spiritual power into it. You guide it. Follow the direction of its own circulation. Don't fight it."
Spiritual power flowed from her fingertip along the paths of the runes on the curtain.
She was not driving the spiritual power. It was guiding her.
The curtain began to change color, turning from pale bluish white to light gold, then deep blue.
Qin Xiaoyu withdrew her hand and stepped back.
A crack opened down the