398: Chapter 398 Shocking the Entire Audience! He Actually Treated the Ancient Killing Array Like a Backyard Garden?

The passage was twice as wide as the corridor, about thirty feet high, and could accommodate four people walking side by side.

The concentration of Evil Qi in the air rose another level, reaching a degree that could cause direct harm to Cultivators below the Golden Core Stage. Zhao Tian, walking behind, had a layer of fine sweat beads on his forehead as he used his spiritual power to shield himself, though he was clearly struggling.

Su Changge walked at the very front; as the Evil Qi blew against his face, he felt nothing at all.

It wasn't because his cultivation was high.

It was because the System's passive effect [Myriad Laws Immunity (Pseudo)] blocked it for him.

That effect formed an invisible thin layer on the surface of his body, isolating all external invasive energy—including the Evil Qi—completely.

But in the perception of others, it wasn't an effect blocking it.

It was that his body itself simply didn't care about the Evil Qi.

Just like a mountain doesn't care about the wind.

After walking about a hundred zhang down the passage, something new began to appear on the ground.

formation patterns.

Living formation patterns.

Unlike the residual spiritual power on the stone door, these formation patterns were brimming with spiritual power and deep red in color, flowing slowly across the ground to form a complex network of lines that covered the entire floor of the passage.

Su Changge stopped.

He looked down at the formation patterns beneath his feet as the Great Dao Scripture Pavilion flipped to the corresponding page in his mind.

A killing array.

The second layer of defense of the Nine-Lock Dragon Suppressing Array—the Soul-Devouring Absolute Killing Array—was specifically designed for intruders; once triggered, it would release attacks condensed from Evil Qi within the passage.

Its power—effective against Tribulation Transcendence Stage Cultivators.

Su Changge's heart sank halfway.

[Effective against Tribulation Transcendence Stage Cultivators.]

[I'm only at the Qi Refining First Layer; if this thing triggers, there won't even be ashes left of me.]

He stood at the edge of the formation patterns, not moving forward.

Everyone behind him stopped as well.

Tu Lie took a few steps forward, and upon seeing the formation patterns on the ground, his expression changed.

He was at the Late Stage of Tribulation Crossing and had some understanding of Formations; he recognized the arrangement of these patterns—a killing array.

"Mr. Su, this is—"

"The Soul-Devouring Absolute Killing Array," Su Changge spoke.

His voice was flat, as if he were reciting the name of a dish.

Tu Lie's expression changed again.

He knew that name.

An Ancient Killing Array specifically used to suppress and kill outsiders who intruded into the core of the Seal; its power was enough to kill a Middle Stage Tribulation Crossing Cultivator, and even a Late Stage one would face immense risk by forcing their way through.

He looked down at the deep red formation patterns and swallowed hard.

"This array... how do we cross it?"

Su Changge didn't answer him.

He was looking.

The Great Dao Scripture Pavilion contained a complete analysis of this Formation, including the path for safe passage—the Soul-Devouring Absolute Killing Array had a "Dragon Vein Corridor," a safe passage left by the array's creator for their own people; as long as one stepped on the correct spots, they could cross without triggering the killing array.

The path of that corridor was clearly marked in the Scripture Pavilion.

Su Changge memorized the path.

He lifted his foot and stepped onto it.

Everyone behind him felt their hearts leap into their throats at the same time.

His foot landed on a specific spot.

The formation patterns did not react.

He took a second step, landing on another specific spot.

The formation patterns still didn't react.

Third step.

Fourth step.

Fifth step.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, and the position of each step was extremely precise, with the distance between his toes and the formation patterns controlled down to the millimeter, as if he were walking a path only he could see.

The System's passive effect didn't do anything too exaggerated during this process; it merely caused the formation patterns on the small patch of ground where he stepped to turn from deep red to gold, returning to their original state after a single breath.

But it was precisely this effect.

In the eyes of everyone behind him—

Wherever he walked, the killing array was actively making way.

Turning from deep red to gold wasn't the patterns being extinguished by his steps; it was the patterns submitting.

Standing at the edge of the formation patterns, Tu Lie watched Su Changge walk step by step into the depths of the killing array, his hands clenched tight.

Halberd Demon Elder's grip on his staff tightened.

The White-Robed Old Woman took a step back, standing with her three Disciples, their four pairs of eyes wide like bronze bells.

Liu Can—

Liu Can leaned against the passage wall, almost his entire body weight pressing against the rock surface; his legs could hardly support him anymore.

It wasn't a matter of cultivation.

It was a matter of perception.

Bone-Eroding Truth-Peering told him that the person in front of him was at the Qi Refining First Layer.

Yet, a Qi Refining First Layer was taking a stroll in an Ancient Killing Array.

These two pieces of information existed simultaneously, clashing in his mind until cracks appeared in his Dao Heart.

Su Changge reached the other end of the killing array.

He stopped, turned around, and looked at the crowd standing at the edge of the formation patterns.

"Follow the path I took."

His voice carried over from the other side of the killing array.

Ye Qingyao was the first to lift her foot.

Her steps landed precisely on the spots Su Changge had walked—the formation patterns in those positions still held a trace of gold, enough for her to identify them.

She crossed the killing array.

When she reached Su Changge's side, her breathing was steady and her expression was calm.

But her palms were damp.

It wasn't because of fear.

It was because throughout the entire process of crossing the killing array, she had been looking at the back of the person ahead—that back waiting for her at the other end of the killing array.

Set against the deep red formation patterns, that back appeared clean, resolute, and unshakable.

[He is waiting for me.]

She suppressed that thought and stood by his side.

Tu Lie was the second to go.

His steps were much slower than Ye Qingyao's; he was cautious with every step, confirming the position once, then twice, before placing his foot down.

His twelve confidants lined up to follow, crossing the killing array one by one; no one spoke, and no one's breathing grew louder, as quiet as a group of ants walking on a blade's edge.

Halberd Demon Elder and the Iron-Masked Female Cultivator followed behind.

The White-Robed Old Woman and her three Disciples were next.

Finally, it was Liu Can.

Liu Can stood at the edge of the formation patterns, watching as everyone ahead walked step by step along the path Su Changge had taken; he glanced down at his own feet, then lifted one.

When his foot landed on the first step, it was off by an inch.

The formation patterns moved.

A surge of deep red light erupted from beneath his foot—

Ye Qingyao's hand lifted slightly.

A streak of spiritual power shot from her fingertip, accurately striking the triggered Formation node beneath Liu Can's foot; the spiritual power exploded on the node, directly extinguishing the surging red light.

Liu Can's foot froze in place, unmoving.

He looked up at Ye Qingyao.

Standing beside Su Changge, Ye Qingyao had a calm expression as she withdrew her hand.

She didn't look at Liu Can.

She glanced at Su Changge.

Su Changge said nothing.

Ye Qingyao turned her head and spoke to Liu Can, her voice light.

"Senior Ku Mai, watch your step."

The corner of Liu Can's mouth twitched.

He readjusted his foot to the correct position and walked over step by step.

By the time he reached Su Changge, Liu Can was covered in a layer of cold sweat.

It wasn't the Formation that caused it.

It was of his own making.

Su Changge glanced at him but said no more.

[Did this old man just misstep? He's at the Late Stage of Tribulation Crossing; how can he misstep just by walking? His mental state must have collapsed.]

Suppressing his internal complaints, he turned and continued walking.