There was bound to be some discrepancy when estimating the position of the grand formation's protective barrier from the map, but it should not have been too far off.
So there was no need for any clever tricks. He simply used the Earth-Diving Technique to head straight outside.
Just as the two brothers had expected, Wu Jinliang soon came to an abrupt halt underground, encountering an obstruction the Earth-Diving Technique could not breach.
After expanding a small space around himself, he held the sandalwood gold flame aura in one hand for illumination and used the other to touch the layer before him, where earth and stone had fused with an invisible obstructing force. He reckoned this must be the grand formation's protective barrier.
He dared not strike it forcibly to test it. Retreating a few steps, he turned his hand over and took out the command arrow Shi Chun had given him. As he channeled his power into it, a beam of golden light sprang from the arrow and formed a shimmering barrier that enclosed him.
Then he moved forward with the barrier. Just as its lower half had sunk into the ground, the portion advancing ahead of him completely ignored the formation's partition upon contact, merging effortlessly into the soil beyond.
The sight made his heart race. He pressed the hand holding the sandalwood gold flame aura against the earth ahead and used the Earth-Diving Technique again. The previously unyielding soil immediately dissolved and rolled behind him as he advanced step by step.
After traveling roughly twenty feet, he judged that he should have gone far enough. He extinguished the command arrow's light, turned around, and used the Earth-Diving Technique to retrace his steps.
Soon, he struck the invisible obstruction again. Raising the command arrow, he channeled his power