366: Chapter 366 Spirit Marsh Crystal Plain

A day later, he crossed the interwoven Law zone and arrived at a plain.

The plain was paved with countless hexagonal, translucent, honeycomb-like "energy lattices."

Beneath the lattices flowed a slow stream of psionic slurry, with blurry shadows occasionally swimming through it.

Above the plain, many "floating platforms" of various sizes hovered, connected by naturally formed crystal bridges, forming an intricate three-dimensional labyrinth.

"Lingzhao Crystal Plain... it's vaguely mentioned in the map information. This is one of the areas where seals are likely to appear with higher probability, but powerful 'Crystal Marsh Lords' and 'Mirror Beasts' skilled in energy manipulation also lurk here."

Ye Tian recalled some fragments of information shared by Feng Xuan before entering the Secret Realm.

He slowed down, chose a relatively remote edge, jumped onto a low floating platform, and hid behind a cluster of crystals to observe ahead.

His spiritual sense was still severely suppressed; as far as his eyes could see, he could vaguely see the flash of battle on some distant platforms, and the muffled sounds of energy collisions reached him from afar.

Clearly, other Prodigies were already active in this area, and conflicts had broken out.

"The struggle for the seals has already begun," Ye Tian thought, unsurprised.

Twenty-five people were competing for a hundred seals, averaging four per person, but the distribution was uneven, so the competition was bound to be brutal.

He currently only had one and needed at least three more to ensure eligibility for the Legacy trial; if he wanted a higher ranking, he would need even more.

He was in no hurry to join the melee, instead patiently observing and looking for an opportunity.

Meanwhile, the chaos bead within his body sent out "pointing" fluctuations after entering this "Lingzhao Crystal Plain," but the specific direction remained elusive.

"Is there something here attracting the chaos bead?" Ye Tian's spirit lifted as he sensed more carefully.

Just then, a fierce battle broke out on a large floating platform several miles to his front left.

True essence glowed brilliantly, followed by continuous beast roars. A figure, crimson as fire with a domineering Aura, was fighting several "Mirror Beasts" made entirely of crystal and a "Crystal Marsh Crocodile" that had suddenly emerged from the spirit marsh.

It was Xiahou Ba!

Xiahou Ba roared repeatedly, his blood essence rising like wolf smoke. His punches were like cannons and his kicks like whips as he struck the crystal beasts with matchless ferocity.

The Mirror Beasts' attacks mostly bounced off his vigorous blood essence and protective true essence, while his fist force could crack their crystal bodies and send the Crystal Marsh Crocodile's scales flying.

However, the crystal beasts had the advantage in numbers and terrain, leaving Xiahou Ba momentarily locked in a struggle.

On the edge of the battlefield, sheltered by crystal clusters, a taichu seal emitting an earthy yellow halo floated quietly.

"An earth-attribute seal? Xiahou Ba is of the metal and fire attributes, so it's not a perfect match, but he definitely won't let it go," Ye Tian mused.

He noticed that besides Xiahou Ba, there were two other hidden corners where Auras seemed to be lurking, ready to move, clearly also eyeing the seal.

One Aura was cold and gloomy, similar to the assassin in the Shadow Stone Array that day, while the other was elusive, carrying a sense of moisture.

Just as Xiahou Ba shattered a Mirror Beast with a punch, a deep blue ice-like arrow shot out without warning from a much higher floating platform in the distance!

The arrow wasn't aimed at Xiahou Ba, but at a certain spot in the spirit marsh slurry!

*Puff!*

The arrow submerged into the slurry. The next moment, that part of the slurry exploded violently!

A "Crystal Slurry Giant Python" roared as it soared into the sky, opening its massive maw to bite at the nearby Xiahou Ba!

The python's Aura had reached the fourth-rank Early Stage, equivalent to the first or second layer of the human Huahai Realm!

It was a trap!

Someone had used a special arrow to detonate a portion of the power hidden beneath the seal, redirecting the disaster toward Xiahou Ba!

Caught off guard, despite his ferocity, Xiahou Ba's expression changed in the face of this sudden fourth-rank Crystal Slurry Giant Python. He roared and swung a punch back to meet it head-on.

*Boom!*

The airwaves exploded, and Xiahou Ba was shaken back several steps, his blood essence churning.

The python's head was partially shattered, but the slurry surged and quickly repaired it. Its ferocity undiminished, it continued to attack, entangling him.

The Mirror Beasts and the Crystal Marsh Crocodile also took the opportunity to besiege him.

At that moment, the two hidden Auras immediately moved!

The cold Aura transformed into a blurry shadow and lunged straight for the seal!

The moist Aura scattered a patch of pale blue mist, enveloping the edge of the battlefield to create a barrier.

"Cowardly rats hiding in the shadows! Get out here!" Xiahou Ba roared in fury, but he was pinned down by the Crystal Slurry Giant Python and the crystal beasts, unable to break free for the moment.

It looked like the seal was about to fall into the hands of the cold shadow.

Just then, there was a soft sound.

The space in front of the cold shadow suddenly distorted.

Caught off guard, the shadow plunged into it, its figure instantly stalling as its speed drastically decreased!

Space interference!

Although it wasn't true space imprisonment, this moment of delay was enough to be fatal in a struggle!

The next moment, a figure in green robes flashed out from behind a floating crystal fragment to the side, and a finger-wind pointed toward the shadow's back!

A feint! Ye Tian had made his move!

He had long been lurking on the side, waiting for the right moment.

He couldn't deal with the arrow that detonated the Crystal Slurry Giant Python for now, as it came from afar.

But he detested those nearby who tried to fish in troubled waters the most.

The Aura of the cold shadow reminded him of the assassin from the Shadow Stone Array; they were likely from the same group.

The cold shadow was startled and turned to block, its dagger clashing with the Chaos Finger-wind.

*Clink!*

The shadow's whole body shook violently. With a muffled groan, it used the force to retreat rapidly, its gaze toward Ye Tian filled with horror.

Having forced the shadow back with one strike, Ye Tian's figure didn't pause for a moment. With a turn, he arrived before the earthy yellow seal and reached out to grab it.

"Leave the seal!"

The figure that had scattered the pale blue mist gave a delicate shout. The mist transformed into several water whips that coiled toward Ye Tian's arm, while an ice spike pierced toward his back.

This was actually a woman; her movement was agile, and her attacks were feminine yet ruthless.

Without even looking back, the black tortoise spirit armor shield instantly appeared on Ye Tian's left arm, flashing with a dark light.

*Bang!*

The water whips struck the shield and the ice spike hit its surface, both being easily repelled.

Ye Tian's right hand had already firmly grasped the earthy yellow taichu seal and tucked it away. The number on his identity spirit pendant jumped, changing to "2."

"Thanks," Ye Tian said indifferently to the Xiahou Ba entangled by the python, as well as the shocked and furious woman and the cold shadow. With a flash of his figure, he sped away toward the deeper parts of the crystal plain.

After a few leaps, he vanished without a trace.

"Bastard!"

"Where do you think you're going!"

The woman and the shadow were furious and wanted to pursue, but they were stopped by a roar from Xiahou Ba, who had just broken free from the crystal beasts and had nowhere to vent his rage: "Want to leave? Leave your lives behind!"

His domineering fist force swept the two into the fray.

On the distant high platform, the figure that had fired the detonating arrow seemed to hesitate for a moment before ultimately not pursuing Ye Tian and quietly retreating.

Ye Tian fled dozens of miles in one breath, stopping on a small floating island only after confirming no one was following him.

He quickly checked his surroundings, laid down some simple warning Talismans, and then took out the earthy yellow taichu seal.

"The second one," Ye Tian said as he put it away.

The cold shadow from earlier was likely someone from the Nangong Family or the Red Hand Hall. The woman's origin was unknown, but her methods were not weak.

The one firing cold arrows from afar was even more insidious. In this Secret Realm, there were indeed wolves lurking everywhere.

Of course, he cared more about the throbbing of the chaos bead.

As he approached the central area of the "Lingzhao Crystal Plain," that sense of "pointing" became a bit clearer.

"It seems I'll have to explore the central area. However, it will surely be more dangerous there, and the competition more intense."

Ye Tian looked toward the depths of the crystal plain, where the Chaos halo was even thicker, and mountain-like crystal clusters vaguely emerged.

He sat down cross-legged, preparing to meditate for a moment before making further plans.

However, just as his mind settled, the chaos bead throbbed again!

This time, it lasted longer than the previous two!

The bead emitted a circle of strange fluctuations, pointing toward a certain direction in the center of the crystal plain!

"What on earth is it that can cause such a reaction? It's definitely no ordinary thing!" Ye Tian was shaken.

He was almost certain that something extremely important to the chaos bead existed in the center of the crystal plain!

As he focused his senses, the throbbing of the chaos bead slowly subsided.

At the same time, the identity spirit pendant in his bosom suddenly sent out a surge of spiritual energy. Was it recording the Law frequencies of the surroundings?

"Hmm?" Ye Tian took out the spirit pendant and saw a line of small ancient seal script characters appearing on its surface, besides the arrow and the number "2":

"Fluctuations of the first generation 'Enforcers' ruins recorded. Collect three seals to exchange for 'Ruins Key' fragment information at the 'Wendao Mountain' Ancient Legacy Hall."

Enforcers Ruins? Key fragments?

Ye Tian's pupils constricted slightly. This spirit pendant had such a function?

Did it require collecting three seals to trigger the prompt?

Moreover, from the sounds of it, these "Enforcers Ruins" seemed related to the Legacy of the Taichu Secret Realm? The Imperial Family had never mentioned this!

"The struggle for the seals is only on the surface; these 'ruins' are the secret concerning the core of the Taichu Secret Realm!" Ye Tian's thoughts raced.

He remembered the "Ancient Vestiges" mentioned by Prince Rong, and the throbbing of the chaos bead after entering the Secret Realm!

Could it be that the thing the chaos bead craved was related to these "Enforcers Ruins"?

Ye Tian slowly stood up and looked toward the center of the crystal plain.

"It seems I must go to the central area."

He stayed no longer. With a move of his figure, he headed toward the source of the throbbing once more.