232: Proficient in Five Elements Formation and Qimen Dunjia

Beneath a giant Stone Stele, dense ancient symbols were carved. Those symbols weren't Han characters; they looked more like sets of patterns or strings of runes.

"I recognize this..." Yang Mi murmured, a look of contemplation in her eyes: "These are the Talismanic Incantations of the 'Five Elements Formation' described in 'The Youth of Wuling'..."

"'Five Elements Formation'? What kind of thing is that?" Meng Ziyi asked.

"That is a type of ancient Mystical Arts of the Strange Gates."

Yang Mi said: "The 'Five Elements Formation' is a formation based on the heavenly stems and earthly branches, utilizing the mutual generation and restriction of the five elements to form a complex formation."

"It can both confuse enemies and transform things within the formation into five-element spirits, providing a continuous source of elemental power to maintain the formation's operation. When the formation runs extremely slowly, dense miasma will be generated within it."

"This miasma is highly corrosive and can cause hallucinations. It's said that even today's experts and professors can't figure out the origin of this miasma..."

"Then how do you know?" Ye Bai asked curiously.

"I've read an Ancient Book; this formation is called the 'Five Elements Origin Returning Formation.' I once translated a part of it and remember it clearly."

"Then, if this is the Five Elements Origin Returning Formation, we're saved." Meng Ziyi was ecstatic: "This formation is used to protect that box, right? Once we get that thing, this great formation will lose its effect."

Yang Mi frowned and said: "But I see many skeletons in that formation... If we rush in blindly, wouldn't we be walking into a trap?"

Ye Bai's eyes flashed as he said: "We can go in from the outside!"

Yang Mi was startled and said: "Brother Ye, you're not going to order Xiao Hei to dig dirt, are you?"

"Uh—I don't understand these things..." Ye Bai chuckled awkwardly.

"Brother Ye! You bastard, didn't you just say you could break the Five Elements Origin Returning Formation?" Meng Ziyi stared with her round eyes.

"I indeed know how to break it, and I can do it." Ye Bai said, patting his chest.

Meng Ziyi hurriedly pulled Sister Yang Mi's sleeve and said: "Sister Yang Mi, let's run. Look at him, he's just bragging; I don't think he's reliable at all."

"Hey, hey... I'm telling the truth!" Ye Bai hurriedly defended himself.

"Shut up!" Meng Ziyi scolded irritably.

Yang Mi focused on studying the Stone Stele. She seemed to have discovered some clue.

"Brother Ye, help me try to move this stone," Yang Mi said.

"Oh? Alright." Ye Bai responded, grabbing the giant rock. With a sudden burst of strength in his arms, he actually lifted the entire stone slab by force.

Meng Ziyi was stunned.

Ye Bai easily shouldered the rock and took a few steps forward. Yang Mi also hurried over.

She looked at the twisted textures beneath her feet. She squatted down, placed her hand on the stone slab, and closed her eyes. After a moment, she suddenly stood up and shouted: "Brother Ye, throw the stone slab away quickly!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Ye Bai was stunned.

"Throw it away quickly!" Yang Mi urged anxiously.

Ye Bai didn't dare to delay and smashed the stone slab hard onto the ground. Instantly, the scattered debris buried the two of them. At the same time, a blinding blue light erupted from the center of the stone slab. The light spread rapidly, and everywhere it touched turned into a pool of pus and blood.

When the light faded, the large stone slab had completely shattered.

Ye Bai crawled out of the mud, wiped the filth from his face, and asked: "What happened? How did the stone slab become like this?"

Yang Mi panted for a while before saying: "Brother Ye... I just... seemed to feel something... This formation needs my blood to be activated..."

Meng Ziyi said in horror: "Your blood?"

"That's right..." Yang Mi nodded: "My blood contains a trace of soul power. Although it's just a very weak and thin wisp... it might be this wisp of soul power that allows me to briefly gain sensory abilities a hundred or even a thousand times beyond ordinary people, allowing me to sense abnormalities in the surroundings through various ways. I guess my blood should be able to break the formation..."

Yang Mi's tone sounded exceptionally weak and tired, as if she had just exhausted too much mental and physical effort, causing her body to be unable to bear it.

"So that's how it is! No wonder!" Meng Ziyi suddenly realized: "I was saying, how could such a difficult task be completed so easily?"

"We should leave here quickly to avoid further trouble," Yang Mi said.

"Yes, right, right, right!"

The three of them hurriedly retreated outside, encountering a narrow Passage along the way that was covered in vines and coiled like a Python. Ye Bai chose to jump deep into the cave without hesitation.

"Ah!" Stumbling along the way, Meng Ziyi suddenly let out a tragic cry.

"What's wrong?" Ye Bai quickly supported Meng Ziyi and looked in the direction of her gaze, only to see a bloody maw on their right, swallowing toward them.

"Holy crap!" Meng Ziyi was terrified and fled in a panic.

Yang Mi was also frightened; she instinctively wanted to escape to the left. Ye Bai was quick and grabbed Yang Mi's slender waist. As their bodies swayed, they narrowly avoided the hideous and terrifying beast head.

In her panic, Meng Ziyi stepped into thin air and fell to the ground.

"How can you be so clumsy!" Ye Bai roared, ran over, grabbed Meng Ziyi, and leaped into the narrow Passage.

Inside the Passage, it was dark, damp, and cold, filled with a foul stench.

Ye Bai and Yang Mi stood back-to-back. Ye Bai held Yang Mi's shoulder, trying to minimize friction. Yang Mi was stiff all over, not daring to move.

Meng Ziyi shrank behind the two of them, shivering.

"Hey! Don't be afraid!" Ye Bai comforted.

"Mhm." Yang Mi nodded.

This was her first kiss. Ye Bai's palm was against her soft waist, and the scorching heat was transmitted through her clothes, making her feel shy and sweet.

She slightly lowered her eyes and stole a glance at Ye Bai. She saw Ye Bai squinting his eyes, observing the surroundings.

The Passage was pitch black, with only a few fiery red jewels on the ceiling emitting a faint glow. The light flickered and intertwined, giving a treacherous and unpredictable illusion.

Meng Ziyi couldn't help but swallow. She tremblingly stretched out an index finger and poked those jewels... "Ah!" Meng Ziyi let out a sharp scream. Those red jewels suddenly fell, smashing heavily onto Meng Ziyi's head.

"Ah..." Meng Ziyi covered her head in pain.

"Don't touch them!" Yang Mi hurriedly stopped Meng Ziyi.

"It's okay, she won't die," Ye Bai said calmly.

Sure enough, Meng Ziyi touched her head and found that her forehead wasn't bleeding. She opened her eyes in confusion.

"Eh? What's going on?"

On the ceiling above, those red jewels were actually floating in mid-air, releasing a ghostly green light. And when this ghostly green light shone on the Passage, it immediately evaporated the corrosive juice on the ground.