28: Chapter 28 Ancient Spiritual Source Forbidden Seal! Shang Ting Excitedly Presents the Secret Manual

After Li Siwen (Li Shiwen) fell into the mysterious dark passage, he did not feel the anticipated violent impact. Instead, it was as if he had landed on a soft, elastic, invisible barrier, and his downward momentum was abruptly cushioned.

He flipped lightly, landing steadily, his Aperture Opening Realm Internal Energy instantly spreading throughout his body as he vigilantly surveyed his surroundings.

This was not the cold, damp cave he had imagined, but a strange space.

The light was dim, but not without a source.

Strange crystals, long since dulled, were embedded in the surrounding rock walls.

Rotten spiritual wood and shattered jade fragments lay scattered on the ground, and the air was filled with an ancient and desolate aura.

The energy between heaven and earth was not pure Origin Qi; it was more like the residual power of a higher level that had been dormant for a long time, so sparse it was almost imperceptible.

Most striking was that the entrance to the passage not far ahead of him, and the dimly visible corner deeper within, were not ordinary rock, but covered by a faint yet tough invisible barrier.

On the barrier, extremely complex and obscure dark-gold runes flickered like breathing, emitting a heart-pounding restraining force.

"Seal? Restriction?" Li Siwen's heart stirred, and he cautiously approached the nearest barrier.

He tried to circulate the Internal Energy within his body, slowly pushing it towards the invisible barrier.

Buzz!

The runes on the barrier glowed slightly, and a soft yet irresistible immense force surged back, gently pushing his hand away.

His Internal Energy was like a mud ox entering the sea; it couldn't shake it in the slightest.

"Such a powerful Restriction! The power within the Houtian Realm seems completely ineffective against it?"

Li Siwen frowned, secretly startled. This was definitely not something an ordinary Cultivator could arrange.

His gaze swept over the System space, and a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.

"Internal Energy doesn't work, so what about higher-level energy?"

He thought of essence stones!

Essence stones contained the Origin Qi that Kaiyuan Realm Cultivators could directly absorb and utilize, the basic form of Origin power.

He immediately took out a Low Grade essence stone, held it in his hand, and tried to guide a trace of Origin Qi from it, slowly injecting it into the barrier's runes before him.

This time, the situation was completely different!

Hiss!

As soon as that faint trace of Origin Qi touched the barrier, the dark-gold runes on it suddenly lit up, as if a sleeping giant beast had been lightly touched!

Although the barrier remained stable, the runes seemed to be activated, their circulation speed visibly quickening, emitting clearer Dao rhyme fluctuations.

There was even an extremely faint stream of light that flowed back along the Origin Qi, entering the essence stone in his hand, and the stone's luster instantly dimmed slightly.

"It's effective! These runes react to 'Origin Qi'!" Li Siwen felt both joy and worry.

He was happy to have found a method, but worried that this only activated the runes, and was still very far from breaking the Restriction.

Moreover, the complexity and profoundness of this Restriction far exceeded his comprehension.

He took a deep breath, realizing that he had to seek outside help for this matter.

He immediately submerged his consciousness into the brilliant star river platform in his mind—the Empress Chat Group.

[Jiuji - Li Shiwen]: "@all members Urgent help! I accidentally stumbled into a mysterious place and am trapped by a powerful Restriction."

"This Restriction is completely unresponsive to Houtian Internal Energy; only the Origin Qi from essence stones can slightly activate its surface runes."

"The runes are extremely ancient and complex. My knowledge is shallow, and I can't understand them at all, let alone break them. Please help, sisters! [Attached picture]"

He concentrated, clearly imprinting the Restriction barrier and the dark-gold runes flowing on it, as seen before him, through his spiritual sense, and sent them to the group.

The group was silent for a moment, seemingly all observing the runes.

The next moment—

[Saintess of Kunlun - Shang Ting]: "!!!!"

Shang Ting, usually calm and even somewhat rigid, actually sent a string of exclamation marks, her tone filled with unprecedented excitement and shock.

[Saintess of Kunlun - Shang Ting]: "These runes!!! Sister Shiwen, where did you see them?!"

"This is absolutely not the technique of any current school! This is the ancient, lost 'Spiritual Source Restriction Seal'!"

"Looking at its strokes and the flow of Dao rhyme, it's at least from the early ancient era, or perhaps even more ancient! A Spiritual Source Restriction Seal preserved so relatively completely is simply... simply a rare treasure of the ages!"

[Holy Maiden of Yaochi - Mo Rui]: "Wow! Sister Tingting is amazing! Although I don't understand it at all, it feels really powerful! (⊙o⊙)"

[quadratically Su Qingxue]: "Ancient Restriction Seal? Indeed, unheard of. Shang Ting, what's special about this Seal?"

[Holy Maiden of Yaoguang - Tang Jingjing]: "Sister Shiwen encountered something strange again? Is she alright?"

[Saintess of Kunlun - Shang Ting]: "The special thing about this Seal is that it's not purely for defense or attack. Its core is to absorb and transform Spiritual Sources (high-grade Origin Qi), forming a self-sustaining cycle that integrates defense and protection!"

"Its structure is exquisitely ingenious, far beyond what current Formations can compare to! If one could comprehend even a little of it, it would be a world-changing improvement for me... no, for the entire cultivation world's Formations, runes, and even the Dao of Artifact Refining!"

Shang Ting rarely spoke so much in one breath, her fanaticism almost overflowing from the screen.

[Saintess of Kunlun - Shang Ting]: "Sister Shiwen! I beg you for something! Get as close to the Restriction as possible, use essence stones to maintain the runes' manifestation, and then use your spiritual sense to imprint as many rune details as possible and send them to me! The more detailed, the better!"

"In exchange, I can impart to you my lifelong research, the 'true explanation of basic talisman arrays'!"

"Although this true explanation is named 'basic,' it points directly to the Origin of talisman arrays and is a secret passed down only within my sect. It is enough to lay the most solid Foundation for your talisman arrays, far superior to the common goods circulated outside!"

[Ding! Shang Ting sent you an exclusive red packet [Legacy Jade Slip of the true explanation of basic talisman arrays (rubbing)]*1, please check it!]

[Ding! Shang Ting's urgent request +90]

[Ding! Shang Ting's excitement +85]

[Ding! Su Qingxue's surprise +25]

[Ding! Tang Jingjing's curiosity +30]

[Ding! Mo Rui's admiration +40]

Li Siwen was overjoyed, not expecting Shang Ting's reaction to be so huge, and her generosity so lavish!

This was a Holy Land-level secret not to be passed on!

[Jiuji - Li Shiwen]: "Thank you, Sister Shang Ting! I'll try to imprint it now!"

He immediately exited the group chat and focused all his attention.

Holding an essence stone in one hand, he continuously output faint Origin Qi to maintain the rune activation state.

With the fingers of his other hand pointed like a sword, he recorded every subtle turn, the depth of each stroke, and the flowing fluctuations of the Dao rhyme of the runes perceived by his spiritual sense, as clearly and completely as possible.

This process was extremely taxing on his mind, but fortunately, his spiritual perception was acute in his female disguise, allowing him to barely sustain it.

It took a full stick of incense for him to completely imprint the runes on this small section of the Restriction before him, and he sent them to Shang Ting again.

[Saintess of Kunlun - Shang Ting]: "Received! It's perfect! Thank you, Sister Shiwen! Shang Ting will engrave this kindness in her heart!"

"For now, do not act rashly. I need to go into seclusion to study these runes and try to deduce their operational patterns and weak points. Once I have a breakthrough, I will immediately tell you the method to break it!"

After speaking, Shang Ting's avatar quickly dimmed, clearly indicating she couldn't wait to begin her research.

Li Siwen breathed a sigh of relief; at least he had found a direction.

He looked at the faintly glowing Jade Slip of the true explanation of basic talisman arrays in his hand, then at the unfathomable ancient Restriction before him, his heart filled with anticipation and curiosity.

What kind of secret was hidden behind this Seal?

Meanwhile, Chen Yaojia, who had been anxiously waiting in the rock cave, finally made up her mind. After stabilizing herself slightly, she followed the traces and cautiously explored in the direction Li Siwen had disappeared.

She truly couldn't stop worrying about Li Siwen!