A Strange Pattern
Generally, the Heart-Questioning Road is a test of a disciple's talent and perseverance, and the difficulty of the test is not too high, because those who need to take the Heart-Questioning Road are basically selected by the sect with good Spirit Root aptitude.
But this Lingxian Sect's Heart-Questioning Road...
He thought about the various choices he faced in that dreamlike state, and felt both surprised and amazed.
There's a saying in the Immortal Cultivation Realm: "By observing the Heart-Questioning Road, one can get a glimpse into the atmosphere of a sect."
Having just emerged from the Heart-Questioning Road, he never expected to see such a spirit peach tree, existing only in ancient texts, at the mountain gate...
Not knowing what to say He Yi returned the peach leaf to Liu Yunan.
He formally bowed to Liu Yunan.
"My name is He Yi, and I wish to become a disciple of the Lingxian Sect."
--
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao, who was on his way to the Execution Stone Mine in Huanyou Nation to replace the sealing formation, was originally planning to remove the original formation and set up a simpler one after arriving at the location.
Before retracting, he subconsciously probed the array with his Divine Sense Origin Power to check it over, but suddenly discovered some unusual phenomena within it.
Using the array only allows one to detect differences from other areas, but it doesn't reveal the details.
Therefore, Lin Xiao decided to personally go down into the mine to conduct a thorough inspection.
The area of this Execution Stone mine is very large, with various mines intertwined in a chaotic manner. Lin Xiao used his Origin Qi as a shield to enter and examine each and every one of the mines.
He then discovered that the situation here was different from when he had set up the sealing array.
Three years ago, after the Grand Preceptor suddenly disappeared from the Execution Stone, they conducted a final inspection. He also used the formation to perform a comprehensive check after setting up the sealing array.
At that time, apart from the hollow area where the Grand Preceptor disappeared, most of the mines only showed signs of mining, with nothing else.
But now Lin Xiao discovered that many of the caves were actually filled with Execution Stone arranged in some kind of pattern.
The patterns in each cave were different, Lin Xiao couldn't figure out what they were for even after looking at them for a long time. It seemed that they were completely different from spiritual cultivation materials.
Anyway, it's nothing more than some kind of formation or array. It's just that because of the completely opposite nature of spirit extermination, the underlying principles are completely different, so it's not surprising that he can't understand this pattern.
Lin Xiao didn't waste any time and directly used the Jade Slip to record the shapes of these patterns.
Judging from the traces of these patterns, the time interval is not too long, and they should have been formed around the same time.
He reached out and felt it; the concentration of the Execution Qi was unevenly distributed, but overall it seemed to have been unused for some time.
Lin Xiao thought for a moment and guessed that the national advisor and other such Execution Cultivator must have some special teleportation methods, which allowed them to disappear in front of them and then return to the Execution Stone after he set up a sealing array.
However, the sealing array he set up outside the mine was extremely sensitive; if it had appeared inside the array, he shouldn't have missed it.
It seems highly likely that the Execution Stone Party did this around the time he was in seclusion breaking through to the Nascent Soul, which was about a year ago.
After all, unless he forcibly broke through the sealing array or alerted it, Lin Xiao, who was in seclusion in the Lingxian Sect, would not have received any significant feedback.
It's perfectly normal to focus intently on the mental cultivation method during seclusion and ignore minor external fluctuations.
Therefore, it seems that the Alliance Army' campaign against the Execution Stone Party Faction of Huanyou Nation must have shaken the foundations of these Execution Stone Party Faction, which is why they only made a move two years later.
Of course, these are just Lin Xiao's one-sided guesses based on the current situation, and should not be taken seriously.
While recording these patterns, he also carefully noted the distribution of all the Execution Qi concentrations on them. Afterward, he searched the mine and collected a large bag of Execution Stone, which he put into his private treasury.
When I have some free time, I can take a good look at these Execution Stone artifacts.
As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
Because these patterns varied in Dayou and were scattered throughout the mines of all sizes, it still took Lin Xiao a considerable amount of time to observe, think, and record them.
He didn't finish everything until noon the next day.
After recording these patterns, Lin Xiao then planned to remove the original sealing formation and replace it with a new one.
He wasn't worried that removing the sealing array for a short while would give the Execution Stone Party Faction an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. After all, they could move freely without damaging or disturbing the original sealing array, so a short change of array wouldn't make a difference.
After removing the original sealing array, Lin Xiao replaced it with a sealing array that he had obtained from Senior Liao, which was quite common in the Immortal Cultivation Realm. He simply enlarged and modified it before placing it there.
Finally, they meticulously erased every possible trace of alteration.
After finishing, Lin Xiao hovered in the air, looking at the super ordinary sealing array he had replaced with, and was very satisfied.
In this way, even if an investigator from the Immortal Cultivation Realm comes here, Lingxian Sect will not easily attract their attention.
He recalled his actions in Huanyou Nation, which involved some activities in the Execution Stone Mine and the village affected by the Execution Qi.
As for the village affected by the Execution Qi, after much thought and reflection, he was certain that his actions were within the capabilities of ordinary cultivators in the Mortal Realm, so he confidently flew back home on his sword.
In fact, with Lin Xiao's current cultivation level, flying in the air without external aids is no longer a difficult task, but this does not diminish his love for flying on a sword.
On his way back, he contacted Liu Yunan using the Lock Ring.
Anyway, the journey home was boring, and I wasn't worried about Liu Yunan's line being busy. If it was busy, I could fight him later. I had plenty of free time while flying on my sword.
However, to his surprise, Liu Yunan, who usually took several attempts to contact him using the Lock Ring, was able to connect quickly this time as soon as he saw his secondary array pattern.
"Yunan, I've sorted things out here and am on my way back now. How's He Yi's situation?"
"Brother Xiao! Our sect's Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree is actually a treasure tree that only exists in High Antiquity secret manuals!" Liu Yunan's surprised voice came from the other end of the Lock Ring.
"Huh? What treasure tree?" Lin Xiao was confused. He was clearly asking about He Yi's situation, so how did the conversation turn to the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree?
"He Yi said that he saw an ancient book in the scripture pavilion of the Talisman Sect. It recorded a kind of precious tree that is almost exactly the same as our Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree. And Brother Xiao, you don't know, do you? The leaves of our Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree can actually transform! And it's hard to tell the difference between the real and the fake!" Liu Yunan seemed to have opened a floodgate of words and shared his shock from yesterday with Lin Xiao.