114: No-fly zone over suspended waters: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Heaven and earth were inverted, and the universe was in Chaos.

The moment he crossed that blood-colored rift, a powerful sense of weightlessness struck his Divine Soul like a giant hammer.

Gu Changsheng felt as if his internal organs were being gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand; the light and shadows before his eyes were mottled, and countless grotesque colors swirled like a kaleidoscope.

When his vision refocused, a damp, cold gale carrying a salty, fishy, and decaying scent rushed toward him.

Beneath his feet was not solid ground, but a vast and boundless deep blue marsh.

The water's surface was as calm as a deathly silent mirror, without a single ripple. A hundred zhang above the water, countless islands of various sizes floated in the void, defying common sense.

Thick bronze chains spanned the sky, connecting these floating islands to one another, letting out ear-piercing 'creaks' as they rubbed together in the wind.

There was no sun here.

There was only that grey Chaos sky overhead, emitting a ghastly white halo that illuminated the entire world like the underworld.

"This... what kind of hellish place is this?"

An exclamation came from a Taiqing Sect Disciple behind him, his voice clearly trembling.

Not just him, even a veteran Foundation Establishment Cultivator like Old Ancestor Sun, who had no hope of reaching the Purple Mansion, had a solemn expression. The crimson furnace in his palm glowed brightly as he warily scanned the surroundings.

Gravity anomaly.

Gu Changsheng noticed the abnormality immediately. The gravity here was at least three times that of the outside world; every inch of his muscle was bearing an extra load, and the flow of Qi within his body had become sluggish.

He didn't look around like the others; instead, he closed his eyes immediately.

[System, Deduction.]

Five hundred Spirit Stones evaporated instantly.

Since he had entered a mountain of treasures, there was no reason to return empty-handed. However, he wouldn't run around like a headless fly, nor would he follow the main group to gnaw on those hard-to-crack bones.

Golden light flowed as complex characters rapidly reorganized within his Sea of Consciousness.

[Current Area: Hanging Water Marsh (Periphery)]

[Opportunity Deduction: Great Fortune.]

[Target: Three li to the front-left, floating isolated island group. Loose Cultivator 'Ghost Hand' (Qi Refining Perfection).]

[Reward: Ancient Restriction-Breaking Awl...]

[Risk: Low. Target is alone and currently in an extremely excited, relaxed state.]

Restriction-Breaking Awl.

Gu Changsheng's heart skipped a beat.

This was good stuff. In Secret Realm exploration, a 'key' capable of breaking Formations was worth even more than a top-grade offensive Magical Artifact.

With it, many ancient Cultivators' Immortal Caves sealed by Formations would be like undefended back gardens to him.

As for that 'Ghost Hand'... a cold glint flashed in the depths of Gu Changsheng's eyes.

Since the System called it 'Great Fortune,' then to refuse what Heaven offers is to invite disaster.

He slowly opened his eyes. His gaze didn't look toward the front-left, but instead landed on Wen Yuechan beside him.

"Senior Sister."

Gu Changsheng sent a voice transmission.

Wen Yuechan was focusing all her attention on the movements beneath the water. Hearing him, her delicate body trembled slightly as she turned her head.

"Did you find something, Brother Gu?"

"The aura of the waters to the left isn't right."

Gu Changsheng's brows furrowed, his face showing a perfectly timed expression of gravity and concern.

"The air is mixed with a very faint scent of 'Bone-Corroding Baleful Qi.' If I'm not mistaken, someone has laid a poison Formation targeting Wood-attribute Cultivators on the mandatory path."

Wen Yuechan's expression changed.

The Hundred Herbs Peak lineage primarily practiced the Dao of plants and vegetation, making them most wary of this kind of poisonous baleful energy specifically designed to foul the power of spiritual plants.

"Then what should we do? Should we inform Senior Martial Uncle Sun?"

"Too late."

Gu Changsheng shook his head, his gaze deep.

"Senior Martial Uncle Sun and the others follow a fierce and direct path; they won't notice such insidious methods. If they rush in blindly, I'm afraid they'll suffer a great loss."

"Senior Sister, you follow the main group to the main island ahead to rendezvous. I will be back shortly."

"I'll go uproot that poison source and scout the path while I'm at it."

A hint of hesitation flashed in Wen Yuechan's eyes.

After all, this was the Tai Xuan Secret Realm, full of hidden dangers; acting alone was a major taboo. But looking at Gu Changsheng's eyes, which were as steady as a mountain, the unease in her heart inexplicably dissipated a bit.

Along this journey, this man's judgment had never been wrong.

"Be careful in all things, Brother Gu."

Wen Yuechan pursed her lips and took out a green jade talisman from her sleeve, handing it over.

"This is the Hundred Herbs Peak 'Sensing Talisman.' If you encounter danger, crush it, and I will come even if it costs me my life."

Gu Changsheng took the jade talisman; it felt warm in his hand.

He gave Wen Yuechan a deep look and nodded without saying much.

"Take care."

Before his voice finished echoing, his figure had already drifted down like a withered leaf, gliding rapidly across the water's surface, vanishing into the shadows of the layered floating islands in the blink of an eye.

Once out of the main group's sight, the gravity on Gu Changsheng's face vanished instantly.

In its place was the coldness of a hunter about to close his net.

Without the slightest pause, his body pivoted at a strange angle in mid-air, heading straight for the location marked by the System.

The wind whistled in his ears.

As he went deeper into this marsh, the surrounding mist grew heavier. The floating islands, whose outlines were previously visible, now only revealed a corner of their sinister black shadows in the thick fog.

Suddenly.

A shrill scream came from ahead.

"Ah—!"

It was the wail of a human facing death.

Gu Changsheng stopped abruptly, landing lightly on a thick chain connecting the floating islands.

On a floating island several hundred zhang away, a Loose Cultivator in grey robes seemed to have discovered some extraordinary treasure and was driving a Flying Sword, trying to force his way to the top of the island.

Boom!

The moment he flew within thirty zhang of the island's airspace, a bolt of purple lightning struck down from the void without warning.

Fast.

Too fast.

So fast that even the scream was drowned out by the thunder.

That Loose Cultivator, who had a cultivation of the Ninth Level of Qi Condensation, was blasted into charcoal along with his sword, falling into the deep blue marsh below while emitting black smoke.

Splash.

The water churned.

A giant mouth filled with sharp teeth suddenly leaped out of the water, swallowing the charred corpse in one bite, before silently sinking back to the bottom.

Leaving behind only circles of crimson ripples.

"No-Fly Restriction."

Gu Changsheng stood on the chain, his eyes narrowing slightly.

[System Notification: Environmental rule analysis complete.]

[An ancient no-fly Formation exists within the floating island range. Forcing flight above a height of ten zhang will result in being struck down by 'Purple Sky Divine Lightning.' Only by leaving the floating island range can one fly using artifacts.]

As expected, there is danger at every step.

Those fools who are too eager to eat hot tofu and dare to barge in without even understanding the rules deserve to die.

Gu Changsheng collected his thoughts, circulating the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture to its limit.

His aura rapidly decayed and retracted, and a layer of grey-brown texture resembling tree bark appeared on the surface of his skin.

His entire being seemed to transform into a piece of lifeless withered wood, merging with the rusty chain beneath his feet.

He tapped his toes on the chain, his figure gliding through the sky like a ghost, landing silently on the edge of the isolated island shrouded in thick fog.

Visibility was less than ten meters.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with only the monotonous sound of waves hitting the rocks in the distance, occasionally mixed with the faint sounds of unknown soft-bodied creatures crawling in the mud.

This kind of environment was most suitable for killing and looting.

The corner of Gu Changsheng's mouth curled slightly. On the System map in his Sea of Consciousness, a red dot was moving slowly three hundred meters ahead.

That was 'Ghost Hand.'

This fellow indeed had some tricks; he was actually able to find the correct path in this fog, avoiding several natural traps on the periphery.

"Since you're working so hard to lead the way, then I won't be polite."

Wind rose beneath Gu Changsheng's feet, yet he didn't kick up a speck of dust. Like a phantom, he trailed fifty meters behind the red dot.

Closer.

A series of rapid gasps came from ahead, a physiological reaction of extreme tension mixed with excitement.

Through the layers of fog, Gu Changsheng saw a hunched figure.

The man was wearing short, tight-fitting clothes, carrying a giant sack on his back, and tightly clutching a pitch-black cone-shaped Magical Artifact in his hand.

It was Ghost Hand.

At this moment, Ghost Hand was crouching behind a giant blue stone, staring fixedly ahead, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

"Found it... finally found it..."

Ghost Hand's voice was hoarse, carrying a nearly pathological ecstasy.

"The notes left by the Ancestral Master were indeed correct. There really is an undiscovered ancient Cultivator ruin here!"

He tremblingly raised the Restriction-Breaking Awl in his hand and stabbed it fiercely into the void ahead.

Hum.

The air rippled like water.

In the previously empty space ahead, a corner of an overhanging eave actually appeared out of thin air.

It was a building in a typical ancient style, with sinister beast heads carved on the eaves. Though it had weathered the erosion of time, it still emitted a heart-palpitating pressure.

And beneath those eaves, a tightly closed stone door was faintly visible, with slivers of silver-white light leaking through the door's cracks.