The Twelve Capital Gods and Demons Formation

"The Map?"

Seeing that he seemed to have discovered something, Yun Mo took the Map out of his token and laid it on the ground for everyone to examine.

"Did something occur to you?" Yun Mo asked him.

Wu Ling did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Wen Qingxuan. "You said there were two other places like this. Where are they on the Map?"

Wen Qingxuan's phoenix eyes flickered. Something had vaguely come back to her as well, and she took the Map to study it carefully.

"The three Guardian Lands divide the Spirit Road into four sections. We're in the second section. The other two are here, between the third and fourth sections."

Wen Qingxuan pointed to three nearly identical places on the Map as she spoke slowly.

Her eyes remained fixed on the Map. This basin-like valley appeared on it as a circular field, its uneven contours distinguishing it from the surrounding terrain.

Wu Ling drew a deep breath. His fingers trembled slightly as he placed them over these fields, slowly tracing an arc through all three. Then, using those three points as his foundation, he finally tapped a spot on the eastern edge of the Spirit Road.

His movements and the shape he traced made the expressions on Yun Mo and the two women's faces gradually freeze. More than half of that spot lay within the Spirit Road.

"According to the ancient records, when the Wu Clan fought the Extraterritorial Evil Clan, they laid down a supreme formation to protect their ancestral land. But in the end, their strength fell short, and they perished together with nearly twenty Demon Emperors of the Extraterritorial Evil Clan."

Wu Ling looked up at them. "The materials used to lay that formation were called the Nine Li Profound Heaven Pillars. And the name of that supreme formation was..."

"The Twelve Capital Gods and Demons Formation!"

Wen Qingxuan's phoenix eyes sharpened as she pronounced each word.

"Gulp..."

Everyone's scalp prickled, their throats bobbing as horror flashed through their eyes. They could almost be certain that the Spirit Road was closely connected to the Wu Clan's ancestral land.

"So that black jade pillar beneath the lake was a Nine Li Profound Heaven Pillar?" Yun Mo murmured to himself.

"Whether it was or not, I think we should go to that edge and take a look," Wu Ling said. "It might be the Wu Clan's ancestral land. That means it could be the sacred ground of one of the greatest powers in the Primordial Great Thousand World!"

"Whew... let's take a look. We can't possibly pass up this chance." Wen Qingxuan suppressed the trembling excitement in her heart and stared at Yun Mo.

Yun Mo fell silent, looking at Wu Ling, Wen Qingxuan, and Wu Yingying, who were all watching him. Their eyes burned with eagerness.

"Then let's take a look! After all, who wouldn't want to witness the splendor of those who came before us?" His slightly tense expression relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face.

His words also put the others at ease, filling their faces with smiles.

"Thank goodness! Thank goodness! I knew ages ago that Captain Yun Mo wasn't a good person at heart, but at least he isn't some spineless coward who shrinks from everything and fears his own shadow."

Wu Yingying patted her flat chest and narrowed her eyes playfully.

Yun Mo ignored her and addressed Wen Qingxuan and Wu Ling. "Since we've agreed, let's set off. But we need to make some preparations. This might not turn out to be a good thing!"

Taken as a whole, the Spirit Road was not a particularly vast place.

It only seemed like a long journey because they could not use the spiritual energy within their bodies, compounded by the existence of the divine contest laws.

But after racing along, they finally reached the point marked on the Map-the eastern edge of the Spirit Road.

A thin veil covered this place. It was probably one of the measures employed by the Five Great Academies to anchor the Spirit Road and keep it from collapsing in the void.

This place was also unlike the rest of the Spirit Road. Astral gales coiled through the void like enraged dragons, roaring past and whipping up clouds of dust. Turbulent currents fell like arrows from the heavens, razor-sharp and fierce.

Moreover, the energy between heaven and earth fluctuated violently here. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed one moment, while raging winds and torrential rain swept through the next, like the roars of ancient gods warning of the dangers here.

"I never expected it to look like this." Wu Ling surveyed the surroundings, curiosity in his eyes.

Their speculation had not been far off. There were indeed ruins here, but calling them an opportunity for fortune seemed something of a stretch.

As for whether this was the Wu Clan's ancestral land, it was difficult to tell. After all, only a small portion of the ruins remained here. The rest had probably vanished into the void when the continent shattered.

"Could our guess have been wrong?" Disappointment appeared on Wu Yingying's face. It was not a pleasant feeling.

"Perhaps, but we haven't really lost anything." Looking at this shattered stretch of heaven and earth, Yun Mo felt somewhat at peace.

Some things did not need to be forced. Forcing them would do no good and would only lead to crushing disappointment, perhaps even burdening one with unpleasant emotions.

Long ago, Yun Mo had already come to an understanding about such opportunities.

Accept gains calmly, meet losses serenely, let nature take its course, and strive for what must be won.

"Never mind. Let's rest here for a while and search properly. Who knows? We might still find something!" Wen Qingxuan smiled and gently stroked Wu Yingying's face with her delicate hand.

Wu Yingying looked at her, an odd feeling stirring in her heart, and nodded.

Perhaps because they all wanted to give it one last try, they split up and searched the surroundings.

Yun Mo wandered through the ruins, where reeds swayed in the wind like the sighs of this deathly silent land.

Stone pillars that had once soared into the clouds now lay toppled in every direction, like servants of time, feebly recounting their former prosperity and grandeur.

Yet despite the apocalyptic desolation, an indescribable majesty still emanated from the ruins.

It was the aura of an ancient power, telling the world that although it had fallen, its former glory must not be forgotten.

"If this wasn't the Wu Clan's ancestral land, which power did it belong to? Judging by its scale, if the entire ruin were revealed, it would rival even the Wu Clan's ancestral land, wouldn't it?"

Yun Mo stood before a collapsed palace, hoping to find a few threads of evidence, but so much time had passed that he could make out no clues at all.

Without spiritual energy to sustain them, even the mightiest divine artifacts and sacred artifacts would cease to exist given enough time.

The power of the laws of time and space was displayed in full.

Looking around, Yun Mo continued exploring for a while before finally returning to their starting point.

"Did you find anything?"

Wu Ling and the two women sat beside a stone pillar that still stood upright. At Yun Mo's question, they all shook their heads with bitter expressions.

Ruins.

They were certainly ruins, but as for any gains, there was even less to speak of.

"If not, forget it. Here, let's have something nice to drink. We'll head back onto the Spirit Road tomorrow." Yun Mo sat down in the dying sunlight and took some fruit wine out of his Storage Ring.

"Huh? Where did you get that from?" Wu Yingying sniffed the sweet fragrance in the air, looking surprised.

"A Storage Ring?" Wu Ling looked at the ring on Yun Mo's hand. "You can actually use a Storage Ring? You're in the Divine Soul Realm!"

"No, my divine soul is just a little stronger. It happens to have reached the Divine Soul Realm, so I can use a Storage Ring, that's all." Yun Mo briefly explained it to Wu Ling and Wu Yingying.

Wen Qingxuan, however, had known this for some time.

"Do you think that if I ate these petals too, I'd have a chance of strengthening my divine soul to the Divine Soul Realm?" Wen Qingxuan took out the Mistveil Flower. Aside from its center, three petals still remained.

"Is that a Mistveil Flower? The Mistveil Flower with the mysterious power to preserve one's beauty?" Wu Yingying's eyes lit up. She knew about these things as well.

"Yes. Your Captain Yun Mo gave me this too."

"Qingxuan, could you give me two petals? Even one would do." Wu Yingying moved beside Wen Qingxuan and clasped her hand.

Wen Qingxuan accepted the fruit wine Yun Mo handed her. After a few sips, her face flushed slightly. "Of course, but... hmm... never mind. I'll give them to you first."

Yun Mo watched the two women with a strange look, keenly sensing that something seemed a little off.

Time passed slowly.

"Yun Mo, how did you cultivate that sword intent you used before?"

Wu Ling looked at the things flitting around him and impatiently swatted them away before asking Yun Mo.

Yun Mo gazed up at the sky. "I didn't cultivate it. I comprehended it on the battlefield."

"On the battlefield?"

They exchanged glances, a trace of surprise passing through their eyes.

"You... ugh, these flies are so annoying." Wu Yingying swatted away a creature buzzing before her eyes. At some point, these tiny things darting about had seemingly surrounded them.

Wen Qingxuan rubbed her cheeks. She could not hold her liquor, even fruit wine. "Those are Nocturnal Bees, not flies."

"Nocturnal Bees?"

Their hazy eyes gradually regained their focus.

Yun Mo looked at the center of the Mistveil Flower on the ground. Nocturnal Bees had already crowded around it, struggling to lift it as they flew shakily into the distance.

"This!"

Yun Mo sobered up completely. He had never expected to find traces of Nocturnal Bees here again.

If he found their hive, he was even confident that he could raise his physical strength another level, breaking through the Spirit Wheel Realm to reach the Divine Soul Realm.

"Follow them?"

"Follow them!" Yun Mo answered Wu Ling firmly. If they found the Nocturnal Bees' hive, their trip would not have been wasted.

"But Qingxuan seems a little drunk." Wu Yingying supported Wen Qingxuan. Her own face was somewhat red as well, though not from drinking fruit wine.

Yun Mo frowned, sensing trouble, but he could not possibly let this chance slip away. "Fine, I'll carry her on my back. We'll all go together."

With that, he went over to Wen Qingxuan and, with Wu Yingying's help, pulled her onto his back. "If you can't drink, then don't," he muttered. "What a pain. If the Nocturnal Bees get away, you're taking responsibility."

"You're the one who needs to take responsibility, you lecher." Wen Qingxuan narrowed her eyes, her breath brushing Yun Mo's ear and sending goosebumps over his entire body.

"Lecher?" Wu Yingying, who was helping from the side, looked at Yun Mo suspiciously.

"She's drunk. Who knows what she means? Hurry up and follow your brother, or the Nocturnal Bees will get away." Yun Mo's expression did not change as wind seemed to rise beneath his feet.

"Hmph." Wu Yingying wrinkled her nose and chased after them.

But when they followed the Nocturnal Bees to the very center of the ruins, they discovered that the bees had vanished.

No, they had not vanished. Those Nocturnal Bees had actually passed through that stretch of space and flown into an unknown space.

"No wonder we found nothing after searching for so long. So this is where the secret lies." Wu Ling excitedly asked Yun Mo, "Are we going in too?"

"We're going in!"

But just as Yun Mo stepped inside, his brows suddenly furrowed, and a trace of wariness rose in his heart.

Yet the instant Yun Mo and the other three entered that unknown space, a conversation began within the Extraterritorial Evil Clan, countless miles away.

"Young Chieftain, there's been a fluctuation in the space we've been searching so hard for. It seems someone has touched that place and given us a helping hand."

"Then we'll have to thank them. Come, summon my Personal Guards. We're going to welcome our clan's Demon Emperor back!"