38: Bloody Array

By the Kan Water Profound Spirit Pool, Water Lingmiao's face was still pale, but her breathing had stabilized considerably.

Xu Qi'an stood beside her, his brows tightly furrowed, his gaze sweeping around, secretly vigilant in his heart.

"Daoist Shui, who exactly injured you?" Xu Qi'an asked in a deep voice.

Water Lingmiao said seriously, "It was Lu Guangtian. He colluded with the natives here. I suspect that more than half of the Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage who died after these few openings of the Foundation Establishment Secret Realm were his doing!"

"And his goal is very likely the Opportunity for Dan Formation!"

"Opportunity for Dan Formation?!"

Xu Qi'an and Shui Ling'er were both stunned, blurting out in surprise.

Water Lingmiao nodded and continued, "Yes, and the activation of this Opportunity for Dan Formation seems to require a large number of corpses of Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Xu Qi'an affirmed Water Lingmiao's speculation because he had indeed seen many dead Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage along the way.

At this point, Shui Ling'er said proudly, "Oh, Revered Master, Chu Senior and I also encountered that Black-faced Cultivator along the way. He was at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and the two of us teamed up and killed him!"

"What?!" Water Lingmiao was instantly surprised.

Without even thinking, it was certainly Xu Qi'an who did the heavy lifting in the kill. With Shui Ling'er's meager strength, it would be a miracle if she could last three rounds.

"Xu Qi'an actually has the strength to kill a late Foundation Establishment stage Cultivator!" Water Lingmiao marveled in her heart.

She had also fought against that Black-faced Cultivator and knew how strong his cultivation at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment was, coupled with that strange dagger.

At the very least, it would be difficult for Water Lingmiao herself to kill him.

Xu Qi'an, however, chuckled and shook his head with a smile, "Just luck. That Black-faced Cultivator was injured, and his strength was probably no longer at the late Foundation Establishment stage."

Upon hearing this, Water Lingmiao felt slightly relieved.

Xu Qi'an's expression, however, turned a bit grim: "This Foundation Establishment Secret Realm is probably quite deep. I don't know how many fellow Daoists have met with foul play. It's probably difficult for the three of us to deal with Lu Guangtian and that native."

"It's more suitable to leave now!"

"I wonder if Daoist Shui knows where the exit is?"

Water Lingmiao took a deep breath and whispered, "The exit of the Mystic Realm will only open when the Star Orb dispels the central mist, and that time... will be at least three more days."

"Three days?" Xu Qi'an's brows furrowed even tighter, "Doesn't that mean we can only sit here and wait for Lu Guangtian to kill us one by one?"

Water Lingmiao gave a wry smile, a hint of helplessness flashing in her eyes: "I'm afraid so."

Xu Qi'an fell silent, pondering in his heart.

Just then, Water Lingmiao suddenly said, "Daoist Xu, the main ingredient for the Ling Yuan Pill is in the Kan Water Spiritual Flood Dragon's lair."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes, but it quickly dimmed again: "But now you are severely injured and haven't recovered. With my strength alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with a Spiritual Flood Dragon at the late Foundation Establishment stage."

"Unless that Spiritual Flood Dragon isn't guarding the Spirit Medicine anymore!"

Water Lingmiao was silent for a moment, then whispered, "That's true..."

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to speak, he suddenly heard an ancient voice coming from the center of the Mystic Realm.

The voice was low and distant, as if a call from ancient times.

"Boom!"

The pool water suddenly churned violently, and the Kan Water Spiritual Flood Dragon burst out of the water. Its huge body circled in the air once, then sped towards the center of the Mystic Realm.

"The Spiritual Flood Dragon really left!" Shui Ling'er exclaimed, her eyes full of surprise.

A hint of joy flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes, and he quickly said, "I'll go get the Spirit Medicine, you wait for me here!"

After speaking, he leaped into the pool and quickly dived into the Spiritual Flood Dragon's lair.

The lair was filled with spirit grass emitting a faint blue light. This was the main ingredient for refining the Ling Yuan Pill - the Kan Water Profound Origin Grass.

Xu Qi'an didn't dare delay and quickly picked several of the oldest spirit grasses, then returned to the edge of the pool.

"Got it!" Xu Qi'an leaped out of the water and put the spirit grass into his storage bag.

However, just as he gained his footing, he suddenly felt a powerful spatial fluctuation coming from all directions.

Water Lingmiao and Shui Ling'er's expressions changed simultaneously.

"Not good, the Mystic Realm is shrinking!" Water Lingmiao exclaimed, her eyes full of shock.

Xu Qi'an looked up and saw the spatial barrier in the distance approaching them at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The surrounding mountains, forests, rivers, and even the sky were gradually collapsing, turning into nothingness.

"Let's go quickly, to the central area!" Xu Qi'an shouted in a low voice, rapidly rushing towards the center of the Mystic Realm with Water Lingmiao and Shui Ling'er.

In the center of the Mystic Realm, a huge bloody Formation enveloped the entire area.

A high platform stood in the center of the Formation, and on the platform stood Lu Guangtian and two Black-faced Cultivators.

Corpses of Cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage were piled at their feet, and blood flowed down the platform, merging into the Formation.

When Xu Qi'an and the others arrived, they happened to see this scene.

Xu Qi'an looked at the bloody Formation on the high platform and slightly averted his gaze, because he felt this Formation was very familiar, extremely similar to the small bloody Formation on Pizi Mountain.

It was just that that Formation was far less solid than this bloody Formation.

Water Lingmiao's face instantly turned pale, her eyes filled with anger and shock.

"Lu Guangtian, what exactly are you doing!" Water Lingmiao shouted sharply.

Lu Guangtian turned around, a cold smile on his face: "Daoist Shui, you've come at just the right time. With your blood, this Formation can be completely unsealed."

Xu Qi'an's gaze swept over the corpses on the high platform, secretly shocked in his heart.

He found that among these corpses were not only Cultivators from the three major Qingzhu Markets but also many unfamiliar faces, who were clearly captured by Lu Guangtian in secret.

"Lu Guangtian, are you crazy?" Xu Qi'an asked coldly, "What exactly do you want to do?"

Lu Guangtian laughed loudly, his tone carrying a hint of madness: "What am I doing? Of course, it's to break through to Dan Formation! As long as I sacrifice enough Cultivator's vital blood and open the bloody Formation, I can obtain the Dan Formation treasure in this Mystic Realm!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qi'an's heart trembled.

"Don't even think about it!" Water Lingmiao gritted her teeth and said, waving the Profound Water Spirit Sword in her hand. Sword light surged towards Lu Guangtian like a tide.

Lu Guangtian sneered, waving the Yi Wood Green Spirit Sword in his hand. Sword light was like lightning, scattering Water Lingmiao's sword light.

"Daoist Shui, you should save your strength." Lu Guangtian said indifferently, "You're already severely injured, yet you still want to act tough?"

After speaking, he waved the Lingyuan Treasure Needle in his hand. Sword light was like lightning, pointing directly at Xu Qi'an and the others.

Xu Qi'an didn't dare to be careless and quickly activated the Ting He Sword. The sword light collided with the Lingyuan Treasure Needle, sparking a burst of fire.

"Top-grade Foundation Establishment Spiritual Artifact! I didn't expect the one who was most hidden to be you!"

Lu Guangtian was slightly surprised.

"Daoist Xu, be careful!"

Shui Ling'er exclaimed, holding a Talisman in her hand, ready to help at any moment.

Xu Qi'an nodded, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He knew that if they didn't fight to the death today, everyone would likely be buried here.

"Even if I have to expose some of my trump cards, I won't hesitate!"