The Ten Thousand Gu Spirit-Devouring Formation

Princess Taiping was decisive. With her plan settled, she delayed no further.

She and Lu Changfeng slipped away from prying eyes and quietly entered a secret passage within the Princess's Residence.

The passage was deep and winding. By some unknown means, it snaked straight through Chang'an's massive Western City Wall without anyone being the wiser. Its exit lay at the edge of an unremarkable village outside the city, concealed within an abandoned dry well.

Lu Changfeng had changed into his inner armor, carried the Huayang Needle with him, and wore the Wind-Raising Sword horizontally across the back of his waist. He was armed to the teeth.

Once they emerged from the dry well, the night breeze brushed their faces, carrying the fresh scent of the fields.

"Long confined within a cage, I return at last to nature."

Princess Taiping stretched her arms, a rare lightness in her voice. She turned to the black-clad young man beside her. Moonlight fell across his handsome profile, lending him even more of an exiled immortal's air. "What do you think of the night, Master Lu?"

She did not hurry on. Instead, she moved with the leisurely grace of someone strolling beneath the moon.

This was not simply an investigation. It felt more like an... invitation.

Lu Changfeng understood perfectly well that this woman had taken an interest in him. But several days had passed, and he was no longer the newcomer who could barely be sure of surviving until evening and had to grasp desperately at any escape route. He had no need to bow and scrape, and no interest in becoming her male favorite. He answered casually, "The mountain air does offer a little more freedom than the residence."

Princess Taiping glanced at him with a teasing smile. "It seems you truly do prefer the world beyond my residence, Master Lu. No wonder you vanished first thing this morning on your Ten-Day Recess and went to the Moon-Gathering Tower to 'treat the sick and save lives'..."

What fucking business is it of yours?

Lu Changfeng's expression did not change. Never mind listening to music and watching dances-even if I stayed the night, that would be my own damn choice!

He saw no need to explain his whereabouts to Princess Taiping and steered the conversation straight back to the matter at hand. "You jest, Your Highness. Jade Pillar Peak is just ahead, and we do not know where that blood-colored giant ape is lurking. We should proceed with caution."

When he brushed the matter aside rather than explaining, Princess Taiping narrowed her eyes. She did not press him, however, and followed his lead. "Quite right, Master Lu. This investigation does carry risks, but... Jade Pillar Peak holds opportunities as well as secrets. With the tide of events turning, strange energies stirring, and spiritual things springing into being, we will see no shortage of such situations in the future... Surely it is better to face danger with a companion than alone?"

Her words were like the night around them, hazy and laden with implications.

She had both stated their purpose and extended another olive branch, emphasizing the notion of going "together."

Lu Changfeng remained impassive. "It is this 'subject's' good fortune to have Your Highness as a companion."

I'll keep to my duties as a subject. You should act like a sovereign too, and cut the fucking nonsense!

Princess Taiping's expression soured a little.

Had anyone else behaved this way, she would certainly have cursed him for spurning her favor and climbing onto her face the moment she offered him a foothold!

But Lu Changfeng genuinely did not care, which left her feeling rather defeated.

According to her informants, he had been brimming with enthusiasm when he went to the brothel to see Luo Qingge, and had even invited her to seek him out whenever she fell ill as they parted. Tonight, he had shone brilliantly and displayed his musical talents as well. Luo Qingge would surely regard him as an even closer kindred spirit now. With affection on both sides and illicit passion burning hot, who knew what those two might get up to in the future!

Irritated, Princess Taiping said no more. She quickened her pace and raced toward Jade Pillar Peak.

Lu Changfeng's expression remained unchanged as he used his lightness skill to follow close behind.

The gap between their cultivation realms was enormous. Fortunately, Taiping did not fly into a humiliated rage and employ that ghostlike lightness skill again, so Lu Changfeng could still make out her figure.

They sped along like lightning, and before long, the immense outline of Zhongnan Mountain appeared ahead.

Beneath the moonlight, strange peaks rose throughout the mountain range and deep ravines lay shrouded in shadow, all steeped in an air of mystery and deadly menace.

Among them, Jade Pillar Peak stood out like a colossal pillar holding up the heavens.

After a glance, the two followed the directions described in the Three Signs of Spring Equinox and soon found the dense forest where the fierce battle had taken place.

Traces of the fighting did indeed remain among the trees. Broken branches, scattered footprints, and a few patches of dried blood were clearly visible. Yet the ferocious blood-colored giant ape did not appear as expected.

Everything around them was deathly still, save for the rustle of the night breeze through the treetops and the sound of flowing water nearby.

"It seems the beast does not always guard this place, or perhaps it has been lured away," Princess Taiping murmured, her sharp gaze sweeping their surroundings.

Lu Changfeng focused his senses for a moment, then added, "Or the person behind this realized how powerful the newcomers were. Pull one hair and the whole body moves, so they went into hiding for now."

He favored the latter explanation. Their opponent clearly did not want the matter to become common knowledge.

Princess Taiping nodded slightly. Following the clues from Su Bonian's confession, she headed straight to an exceedingly well-hidden spot at the foot of Jade Pillar Peak. Tangled vines and piled rocks made it look entirely natural, but she tapped one rock several times in a particular sequence. A barely audible mechanical click followed, and a huge boulder beside it slid silently inward, revealing a narrow opening just wide enough for one person.

A cold, putrid breath rushed out at once, sickening enough to turn the stomach!

Princess Taiping darted inside. Lu Changfeng glanced back, then used his lightness skill to slip in after her.

Beyond the entrance, a flight of steps slanted downward.

Fist-sized luminous pearls, the sort found only in the imperial palace, were set into the walls on either side, illuminating the way ahead.

By their glow, an even more horrifying sight unfolded before the two.

At the foot of the stairs, green light swirled through a thick, ceaselessly churning mass of sickly green miasma, dense enough to blot out their vision! Within it, countless bizarrely shaped, vividly colored gu insects could faintly be seen darting and fluttering, giving off tiny rustling sounds!

The Gu Formation had not been broken!

The sickly green glow washed over their faces, making them look utterly uncanny.

Even standing outside the formation, they could feel the lethal poison within the miasma and the chilling malice emanating from the gu insects!

Princess Taiping said quietly, "This should be the 'Ten Thousand Gu Spirit-Devouring Formation.' It is formidable indeed."

Lu Changfeng was somewhat surprised. "The Gu Formation is intact, and there are no traces of dead gu on the ground... There is not even any sign of it weakening. How did the person behind this obtain the Blood Tai Sui? Could there be another way in?"

His gaze swept across the ground and toward the mountain's summit. "Could it be..."

"No."

Princess Taiping understood his guess and shook her head. "Jade Pillar Peak is nearly four hundred zhang tall, and the mountain itself is broad and solid. Tunneling in from above or from the side would be a massive undertaking and would easily alert others. Even if someone dug all the way here, it would accomplish nothing. This 'Ten Thousand Gu Spirit-Devouring Formation' is vicious beyond measure. An ordinary person who touches it would be devoured by ten thousand gu in an instant, dying without even an intact corpse! They still could not enter the miasma to retrieve the Tai Sui. As for underground..."

She paused, her gaze settling on the dark stone slabs beneath the Gu Formation, which shone with a faint metallic luster. "This is 'inkflame stone,' brought into the Central Plains from the Western Regions. It is extraordinarily dense and hard. Judging by its appearance, it must have been fired for a long time with high-level fire techniques and fused into a single mass. Trying to burrow in from underground would likewise be a fool's dream."

Zhang Yizhi certainly thought of everything...

Yet a flicker of puzzlement crossed Lu Changfeng's eyes at her words. He had seized upon a crucial point. "Your Highness, this arrangement may indeed be impregnable, but the inkflame stone completely cuts it off from the soil. The Blood Tai Sui is a living thing. How does it absorb water and draw spiritual energy from the earth's veins to sustain its life?"