Both Formations Crumbled

"Medicine for soaking in water!"

"Damn it!"

"Alive!"

The secret place that Zhang Xuezhou had plundered once was indeed limited in the variety of medicinal herbs.

When the floodwaters receded, they carried away the soft, humus-rich soil layer that had accumulated over thousands of years, exposing many purple Ganoderma lucidum and Solomon's seal plants that had grown in this soil layer.

With just a gentle pull, these rare medicinal herbs can be picked.

Zhang Xuezhou had limited interest in Ganoderma lucidum and Polygonatum sibiricum. These medicinal materials would inevitably be used quickly after being harvested, and he wouldn't have time to find any auxiliary ingredients.

It appears that he harvested over four hundred large medicinal plants, and the new emperor himself admitted it, but these medicinal plants did not belong to him.

Unless he's willing to let the great medicine rot and decay, he needs to exchange most of it for ingredients for alchemy and medicine making.

Of course, if alchemy has a high probability of yielding results, Zhang Xuezhou does not deny that he would make a great profit.

He mechanically stuffed a purple Ganoderma lucidum into his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, took a deep breath of the smoky Spiritual Qi, and glanced down the mountain.

The secret land draws Spiritual Qi from the mountains and rivers, and can even form Spirit Jade mines. Now, as it continues to break apart, this Spiritual Qi is dissipating and spreading, making this fallen secret land a rare place for cultivation.

While it might seem a bit like draining the pond to catch all the fish, this area does offer a rather good cultivation environment in the current climate.

However, this environment will not last long. Just like the flooding of the secret realm before, the fall of the secret realm is slow and continuous.

"On this auspicious day and at this propitious hour, the Emperor, in reverence and joy, strokes his long sword, its jade hilt gleaming and ringing..."

When everyone finished gathering the herbs and reunited, they had already entered the mountaintop temple.

As usual, Huo Qubing read aloud the contents of the stone tablet.

"The deity worshipped here is Taiyi, and this string of words is all to express how devout they are!"

After reading it aloud once, Huo Qubing quickly summarized his findings.

"Even children can read, don't you adults?" Jin Wanliang retorted.

His rant caused Zhang Xuezhou, the new emperor, Wei Qing to all turn pale. Zhang Xuezhou also mentioned that the core of the secret formation he had broken originated from this place, and the core of the formation was a mirage pearl.

"With such power, wouldn't the Mirage Pearl be invincible?" Wei Qing asked after hearing this.

"There's no such thing as invincibility," the new emperor shook his head. "Even the wielder of the pearl can hardly avoid being hallucinated, and the power of the Mirage Pearl is only a few hundred meters, barely covering the area of this secret place. It can be shattered by a single arrow from afar!"

"These kinds of treasures that can't distinguish friend from foe are suitable for building formations, but they need to be found in a uniquely advantageous location to be used," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Difficult, difficult, difficult!"

The new emperor uttered three "difficult" sounds in succession.

Compared to Wei Qing's single-minded focus on cultivation, he had a very wide range of contacts and knew that what Zhang Xuezhou said was completely correct.

Let alone using the mirage pearl, even retrieving it from the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag would be a difficult task.

"Should we put it back?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I won't let go!"

The new emperor shook his head, clearly unwilling to cause any further trouble.

He looked at the tray in the statue's hands, then focused his gaze on the surroundings of the temple.

The temple's design is extremely ingenious. The way the building blocks light and shadow prevents the palace area of the secret realm's master from being affected by the mirage pearl. Moreover, the materials used to construct the temple are not entirely bluestone, but stones mixed with special metallic materials.

This metallic material may be a natural mineral blank or a product of simple refining, and it appears to have potential uses.

The new emperor also did not want to demolish the temple building; he still had some reservations about it.

"Even the gods and Buddhas in the heavens can hardly protect themselves, and your statue will inevitably fall and be reduced to ashes. If you still have a trace of divine power, protect this secret place and safeguard yourself so that I can have a good place to live. I will build a nine-step staircase for you, burn incense, and pay homage, so that your name, Taiyi, will not be forgotten!"

He sighed after speaking, then looked at the slightly trembling and sinking secret place, before calling everyone to descend the mountain.

"Hold on tight!"

Zhang Xuezhou took the Imperial Shuttle, looked at Huo Qubing sitting firmly behind him, and then at the new emperor and others who were preparing to leap down the mountain.

"Be careful not to bump into the Geomagnetic Primal Light; that thing stripped away six layers of my protective talismans. One touch and my flesh will melt away!"

After the new emperor gave some instructions, the group hurriedly headed towards the exit of the Geomagnetic Primal Light.

They climbed the mountain step by step, and descended the mountain in a leap of several meters, moving at a speed of hundreds of meters.

Zhang Xuezhou, riding the Sky Shuttle at the fastest speed, flew over the area of Geomagnetic Primal Light generated by the sinkhole, followed closely by the new emperor who leaped into the air.

When Wei Qing, who was guarding them, and Jin Wanliang, who was heavily pregnant, jumped out, everyone realized that a fierce wind was howling in Zhongnan Mountain, and a tornado that seemed to pierce the Heaven and Earth was sweeping through the core area of the Four Gates Encirclement Formation in the distance.

Compared to the landslides and collapses inside the secret realm, the surrounding Zhongnan Mountain is equally unsettled.

"As expected, it's impossible to get close!"

Wei Qing glanced at the tornado several times, but felt that he couldn't get close, let alone stop the waterwheel.

An individual's strength is indeed no match for the power of Heaven and Earth invoked by an array. One can only try to defeat the array master who set up the array, or destroy the array artifact at the array's core before the array's power is unleashed.

"The air currents from the secret realm impacted through countless channels, and were further amplified by factors such as flames and Geomagnetic Primal Light, thus forming a massive tornado due to the pressure difference!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed and gestured to the rocks, trees, muddy water, and flames swept in by the tornado.

Even the gnarled trees couldn't stand firmly, so the people passing by would also lose their footing.

Let alone Zhang Xuezhou, even the patriarch of the Physiognomy School would give way in this kind of place instead of banging his head against the wall.

The result was barely acceptable to Zhang Xuezhou, and what others thought was beyond his consideration.

"The wind has died down!"

As the group, caught in the raging wind, tried to leave the area, Huo Qubing exclaimed in delight.

When Zhang Xuezhou glanced around, he saw a blurry image of a ten-foot-tall waterwheel appearing in the tornado.

"The array artifact was actually stolen?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise, noticing that the sweeping gale had weakened considerably, and the rumbling sounds within the secret realm were also diminishing.

"What kind of formation is this? The core of the formation actually shattered due to its excessive power!"

The new emperor uttered a complaint.

His gaze swept towards the tornado as well, before he turned back to glance at the secret realm.

On the mountaintop of the secret realm, a pale red light appeared, as if something was suppressing Heaven and Earth.

Although the new emperor knew that this was the residual power of the secret formation, and that the two formations, having removed their array tools, were relying entirely on the intricate structure of the terrain to create the phenomenon of the earth light emerging, and that a strange balance was gradually forming, he still mentally gestured to it.

"Wei Qing, you are now the Grand Master of the Palace. Have someone investigate this Taiyi God. If this god is not related to the Heavenly Court or the Immortal Court, then add the worship of the Orthodox God to the rituals!"

The new emperor considered the rather chaotic belief system of the Great Han Dynasty, pondered for a few seconds, and then instructed Wei Qing to rectify the relevant rituals.

He spoke in the secret temple, not wanting to forget what he had said as soon as he turned his back.

As long as Taiyi God is not a god of the Immortal Court or the Heavenly Court, there is no problem in worshipping him.

If it can be publicized properly and the blessings bestowed by this secret place can be demonstrated, it may even deter some disloyal individuals from their desire to join the Immortal Court and worship the Heavenly Court.