187: Chapter 187 A tattered flag reflects the bones, the dragon's aura terrifies the soul!

Shen Qingyue's slightly chaotic Qi within her body actually calmed down significantly after her press.

She glanced sideways at Chu Wanqing, the layer of coldness in her eyes dissipating slightly, and nodded gently.

"Good!"

On the other side, Su Yuxi's gaze was fixed intently on that wisp of Dragon Qi.

Her brows tightened.

It was as if a distant Dragon roar echoed in her Sea of Consciousness, vibrating her ear bones until they went numb.

The sound was extremely fierce and also extremely angry, angry to the point of being nearly out of control.

She stood for a moment, then suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"I heard it too!"

Everyone looked at her in unison.

Su Yuxi raised her hand to press against her temple, her voice sounding somewhat cold.

"That Dragon roar does not sound like a wild cry after succeeding."

"It sounds more like the fury of someone who has suffered a great loss and is roaring crazily."

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen's eyes widened immediately.

"Sister Yu Xi, what do you mean?"

"Did that thing rush into the depths back then, only to get beaten up?"

Chu Wanqing glanced at him.

"It's possible, I can't say for sure!"

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze, having already re-evaluated the situation in his mind.

Since the True Dragon lineage had entered the heart of the island, it was impossible that they were just passing by to look at the scenery.

The reason the Shen Family was desperately blocking the sea at White Bone Beach was most likely related to this thing.

As they ventured deeper, the clues would become denser and increasingly real.

Just then, Xu Chen suddenly squatted beneath the main stele, his fingers digging through the bone sand.

"Hey?"

"There's something under this stele!"

He dug rapidly.

In a few quick movements, he pried a corner of a blackened, tattered animal skin map from the crack in the broken base.

The edges of the tattered map were rotten, but a few crooked lines remained in the center, with a tiny outline of a Stele Forest marked at the end of the lines.

Xu Chen held up that thing, his expression looking just like he had just dug up a treasure from a trash heap.

"Big Brother, look!"

"This time we really have navigation!"

Chu Wanqing leaned over to take a look, the corner of her mouth twitching.

"You picked up a piece of rotting, broken skin, yet you're quite proud of it."

Xu Chen was unconvinced.

"Broken or not, as long as it works, that's fine."

"Besides, this place is all about being deadly everywhere; having a map is better than having nothing, right?"

Shen Qingyue took the tattered map, her fingertips lightly brushing the edges as her Primordial Qi gently rippled out.

The originally blurry lines on the animal skin gradually became clearer.

A line passed through the end of the Stele Forest, with patches of stone pillars drawn behind it.

Outside the stone pillars, a very fine ancient character was carved.

Move!

Lin Yi took one look and understood.

"The Stele Forest will shift positions."

"This map isn't a route; it's a warning."

Xu Chen wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, the ground behind the entire Stele Forest suddenly shook with a rumble.

The ground arched up.

The black stones trembled wildly.

One thick stone pillar after another slowly rose from beneath the soil, the surfaces of the pillars covered in cracks from wind erosion.

Looking from afar, it was like a forest of stones that had been forcibly pulled out.

What was even more chilling was that after those stone pillars rose, they did not stay in place.

They moved, one to the left, one to the right, shifting positions in clusters ahead.

The stone pillars intertwined, and the sounds of collision rang out one after another, as if someone underground was pushing the entire Stele Forest to change its bones and flesh.

In just a few breaths, the narrow path that could originally be seen ahead had been completely altered.

Xu Chen hugged the ancient desolate hall, his scalp tingling.

"I told you so."

"This damn place doesn't play by the rules at all."

"Just finished feeding the stele in front, and now it's setting up a maze for you."

Chu Wanqing raised her hand and gave the back of his head a hit.

"Shut up."

"If you keep babbling, the stones will find you noisy in a moment."

Xu Chen rubbed his head and behaved himself.

Su Yuxi stared into the depths of the Stele Forest, fragmented scenes flashing through her mind once again.

Stone pillars.

Ruined city.

And that grey door further inside.

These images were still incoherent, but the direction was gradually becoming clear.

She took a breath and raised her hand, pointing toward the eastern side of the Stele Forest.

"Go that way!"

Lin Yi grunted in acknowledgment.

"Everyone follow closely, let's get over there first."

Wang Hong and the other five Elders arrived from the rear at this moment.

Their bodies were somewhat stained with black blood, clearly having fought quite a bit while covering the rear just now.

As they approached, those black stone pillars slid rapidly along the ground.

The path that was barely visible just a moment ago was squeezed into three diverging paths in the blink of an eye.

The left side was heavy with Yin Qi, while the right side echoed with noise.

And the middle path was the widest, yet it was the most restless.

The patterns on the path were pulsating, and it didn't look like a proper path to live.

Xu Chen hugged the ancient desolate hall, craned his neck forward, and then immediately pulled his head back.

"This damn place is really interesting."

"It has laid out the paths for you, but none of them are very reliable."

Chu Wanqing held the imperial zither horizontally and shot him an annoyed glance.

"Xu Chen, if you're scared, just stand behind me!"

Xu Chen immediately puffed out his chest.

"Me? Scared?"

"This is called being cautious, understand? Cautious!"

He spoke firmly, but his feet shuffled half a step toward Lin Yi.

Lin Yi stood at the very front, the Primordial Immortal Pupil fully activated.

The living Stele Forest before his eyes immediately changed appearance.

Those cracks on the surface of the stone pillars were not naturally caused by wind erosion, but were layers of ancient array patterns.

The three diverging paths were not simple branches, but were intentionally leading intruders toward different killing points.

If everyone forced their way through one path, the entire Stele Forest would erupt at once.

By then, let alone walking, they wouldn't even be able to stand steady.

Lin Yi looked for only two breaths before raising his hand and pointing.

"Split up."

Xu Chen was stunned for a moment.

"Ah?"

Lin Yi's tone was sharp and decisive.

"Yu Xi and I will take the middle path to find the main array eye."

"Qingyue, Wanqing, you two take the right side; pay attention to the markings on the tattered map."

"Xu Chen, you guard the center of the intersection."

Xu Chen's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself.

"Me?"

"Alone?"

Lin Yi glanced at him.

"Otherwise?"

Xu Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say something to bolster his courage, but the words took a sharp turn when they reached his lips.

"That's fine too."

"No big problem, I'm good at taking a beating—ah, no, I'm reliable!"

Chu Wanqing held back her laughter and patted his shoulder.

"Xu Chen, I believe in you!"

"If you can really hold the line, I'll definitely praise you a couple of times when we get back!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Chen's chest swelled up.

"Sister Wanqing, you should have said so earlier."

"For the sake of those two praises, I'll pretend this is the Fourth Peak Martial Arts Arena today!"

Shen Qingyue, however, did not join in their banter.

She stared into the depths of the right stone wall, her gaze tightening slightly, the Primordial Qi in her palm already activated.

"There are ancient array patterns in this path on the right."

"They are hidden very deep."

"It is indeed the Shen Family's method."

Su Yuxi looked toward the main path in the middle, her temple beginning to ache faintly again.

That sense of familiarity was becoming heavier.

She looked at the stone pillars of varying heights ahead and whispered a sentence.

"Lin Yi, the third stone pillar ahead, absolutely do not touch it!"

"Also, do not get close to that shadow behind it."

Lin Yi glanced at her.

Su Yuxi raised her hand to press her brow, her voice somewhat cold.

"There are some fragmented scenes in my memory."

"Although they are not complete, I recognize these locations!"

Lin Yi nodded.

"Good!"

"Everyone, let's move!"