251: Chapter 251 Hidden Dangers Within Spiritual Energy?

Su Changge stood by the Spiritual Qi spring in the Qingwei Courtyard with his hands behind his back.

It had been half an hour since Li Changfeng led his people away.

The courtyard gate had been secured from the outside with a heavy dark iron lock.

The entire courtyard was so quiet that only the splashing sound of the flowing Spiritual Qi spring remained.

Even the wind could not blow into this small world, which was enveloped by a Formation.

"Something feels wrong."

Su Changge lowered his eyes and dipped his fingertips into the Spiritual Qi spring.

The spring water was cool and wrapped in Spiritual Qi so pure it was almost tangible, swirling around his fingertips.

It showed no sign of seeping into his skin.

If it were an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator, at a Spirit Gathering Eye of this level, the Spiritual Qi would have already been drilling madly into their Dantian.

Su Changge withdrew his fingertips.

Water droplets slid down his fingertips, dripping onto the bluestone slab and creating tiny wet marks.

He paced slowly along the courtyard wall.

The entire Qingwei Courtyard was not large, about twenty zhang in length and width.

A half-person-tall blue stone pillar stood at each of the four corners.

The surface of the stone pillars was covered with a thin layer of dust and carved with intricate, tiny patterns that would be impossible to notice without crouching down to look closely.

Su Changge walked to the stone pillar on the southeast side.

He bent his knees and crouched down.

He raised his hand to brush away the fallen leaves and floating dust on the stone pillar.

Those tiny, intricate patterns were completely revealed.

They wound around the stone pillar in circles and rings, like chains embedded in the stone, binding some living thing.

Su Changge's heart skipped a beat.

The memories of Old Ancestor Xuantian spanning one hundred thousand years surged in his mind instantly.

Information about the Formation automatically popped up.

This was the Spirit Locking Pattern of the dragon suppressing stake.

It was a part of an ancient evil Formation, specifically used to trap Cultivators with deep cultivation, draining their Spiritual Qi and Origin to nourish the core of the Formation.

Once locked in the Formation, even a powerful figure at the Body Integration Stage would be slowly drained into a dried corpse.

Su Changge stood up abruptly.

He looked up at the other three stone pillars.

The four stone pillars corresponded to the four cardinal star positions, forming a prison-style Formation base.

The center of the courtyard where he stood was exactly the core eye of the entire Formation.

So, the most prestigious place for quiet cultivation that Li Changfeng spoke of was actually a cage tailor-made for him.

The Spiritual Qi in the entire courtyard was not meant to nourish his body.

It was fuel used to activate the Spirit Locking Formation.

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Su Changge's back.

His close-fitting cloth clothes were soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his skin and feeling bone-chillingly cold.

"Damn it, that dog Li Changfeng never had good intentions from the very beginning!"

Su Changge suppressed the panic surging in his heart.

His expression remained as calm and indifferent as before, and even his fingertips did not tremble.

He walked to the stone table in the center of the courtyard and sat down.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the cold stone tabletop.

His brain whirred rapidly, stringing all the clues together.

When Li Changfeng first met him, he used the Heavenly Eye to investigate, deduced the result of the Dao returning to one, and knelt on the spot.

He clearly regarded him as a peerless Master with unfathomable cultivation.

Since he feared him, why would he lock him in such a killing Formation?

Was he not afraid that the Formation would fail to trap him, and he would be slapped to death by him?

Su Changge's action of tapping the table paused.

The look in Li Changfeng's eyes when he looked at him flashed through his mind.

Beneath the extreme awe lay a nearly twisted greed.

Like a wolf that had been hungry for half a year, staring at the fat sheep in front of it.

Even if the fat sheep had sharp horns, it would still pounce to take a bite.

"What is he after from me?"

Su Changge lowered his eyes and ran through the breathing method of the Qi Refining First Layer once.

A wisp of Spiritual Qi, so thin it was almost non-existent, entered his body through his nose and mouth.

It had just reached his Dantian.

When he felt an invisible pulling force coming from the direction of the four stone pillars.

That wisp of Spiritual Qi was instantly pulled out of his body.

It merged into the surrounding Spiritual Qi circulation.

Su Changge's heartbeat quickened.

This Formation really would drain a person's Spiritual Qi!

Fortunately, he was only at the Qi Refining First Layer; all the Spiritual Qi in his entire body combined was not enough to fill someone's fingertip.

If it were really a Nascent Soul Ancestors, being trapped here, they would be drained into a dried corpse in less than half a month.

"Good thing I'm trash."

A trace of absurd relief welled up in Su Changge's heart.

He raised his hand to support his chin.

His gaze swept across the entire courtyard.

The courtyard wall was three zhang high, carved from whole pieces of blue stone, without a single gap.

The dark iron lock on the courtyard gate was as thick as an adult's arm.

Relying on his Qi Refining First Layer strength, he couldn't break it open even if he swung a hammer for a year.

Even if he broke it open, there were still a group of Cultivators from Jade Cauldron Pavilion outside.

Li Changfeng was at the Golden Core Great Perfection, and behind him were over a dozen Golden Core Elders, plus a Nascent Soul Ancestors hiding in seclusion.

If they really fought, he couldn't even take a single punch from them.

He could only rely on the System's special effects to bluff.

But the special effects only had style, with zero damage.

If it really came down to fighting, he was dead for sure.

Su Changge pursed his lips.

The speed of his fingertips tapping on the table increased a little.

"No, since Li Changfeng dares to lock me up, he must be certain that the Formation can trap me."

He stood up.

He walked to the stone pillar again.

He reached out and pressed his fingertips on the exposed Spirit Locking Pattern.

The pattern instantly heated up slightly.

A weak but tenacious suction force came from the stone pillar.

Su Changge immediately withdrew his hand.

He couldn't even touch it.

This ghostly Formation was truly going to trap him here to death.

He walked around the courtyard for three full circles.

He touched every inch of the place.

Besides the Spirit Locking Patterns on the four stone pillars, a layer of fine Spiritual Crystals was also laid under the floor tiles of the entire courtyard.

Those were the foundation stones of the Spirit Gathering Formation, which could increase the power of the Formation by three times.

Small dust-avoiding beads were also embedded in the bricks of the courtyard wall, isolating the internal and external aura and Divine Sense investigation.

The entire Qingwei Courtyard, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, was an iron-clad cage specifically built for top-tier Cultivators.

That dog Li Changfeng really spent a fortune to lock him up.

Su Changge walked back to the Spiritual Qi spring.

He looked down at his reflection in the spring water.

There was no expression on his flawless, handsome face.

In his heart, he had already cursed Li Changfeng's ancestors for eighteen generations.

"I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. What 'best courtyard', what 'Heaven And Earth Treasure' available to use at will—it turns out it's just a last meal for a sacrificial victim?"

The word "sacrificial victim" slammed into Su Changge's mind.

His heart skipped a beat.

Before, when he was in the Cangxuan Dao Domain, he had heard of many secret methods of evil Cultivators.

Capturing Cultivators with deep cultivation and pure Origin as sacrificial victims to either perform Alchemy or forge treasures, or to repair damaged heavy treasures and Formations.

When Li Changfeng investigated him earlier, didn't he say he possessed the Dao Origin?

That was something more precious than any Heaven And Earth Treasure!

So Li Changfeng regarded him as a walking, human-shaped Heaven And Earth Treasure?

Wanted to kill him and extract his Origin?

Su Changge's back was soaked with cold sweat again.

He wasn't afraid of anything else.

He was just afraid of dying.

Having transmigrated for so long, he hadn't returned to the Cangxuan Dao Domain yet, and hadn't seen his cheap apprentice Ye Qingyao yet.

He couldn't just die in this ghostly place without rhyme or reason.

Su Changge took a deep breath.

He forced himself to calm down.

Panicking was useless.

The current situation was that Li Changfeng regarded him as a peerless Master.

As long as he didn't expose his Qi Refining First Layer bottom line, there was still room for maneuver.

First, figure out what exactly Li Changfeng wanted to do.

Then think of a way to run away.

Su Changge was pondering.

Light footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

And a woman's soft, weak voice came in through the courtyard gate.

"Senior, this Servant Girl was sent by the Pavilion Master to serve you."

Su Changge looked up towards the direction of the courtyard gate.

The fingertips hanging by his side quietly clenched.

The vigilance in his heart was instantly maxed out.

"What kind of trick is Li Changfeng pulling now?"