423: Chapter 423 Extraterritorial Threat

Su Ning put away the transmission Talisman and turned to Gao Feng: "Immortal Master Void Realm has invited us to Taixu Palace, saying that he has deduced a new discovery regarding the root cause of the Spiritual Vein fissures."

Gao Feng did not hesitate: "Let's go."

The teleportation Formation re-calibrated, and amidst a flicker of silver light, the figures of the nine people vanished from the plains.

The stone platform of Taixu Palace remained suspended in the Void Realm, surrounded by endless darkness.

Immortal Master Void Realm stood in the center of the stone platform, with a massive screen of light floating in the Void Realm before him, displaying a three-dimensional map of the Wuxiang Sect's underground Spiritual Vein.

The location, size, and rate of Spiritual Qi loss for all five fissures were clearly marked in every detail.

Gao Feng and Su Ning walked up to the light screen.

Immortal Master Void Realm pointed to a fissure on the map: "I used the Space-Time Deduction Technique to trace back the process of the Spiritual Vein's changes. These fissures were not formed naturally; they were torn open by external forces."

He waved his hand, and the image on the light screen began to change. The cross-section of the Spiritual Vein played in reverse rapidly; the fissures went from large to small, deep to shallow, until they finally returned to their original, intact state.

The image continued to play in reverse, and the Spiritual Vein remained intact for a long time until a blurry shadow appeared at the edge of the map.

The shadow had no specific shape; it was merely a surging mass of darkness, like a clump of black mist without a fixed form.

The moment the shadow touched the Spiritual Vein, a large chunk of the Spiritual Vein's Spiritual Qi was devoured. The fissure was born from this.

The image paused on that frame. Immortal Master Void Realm pointed at the shadow: "This is the true cause of the fissures."

Gao Feng stared at the shadow and asked in a deep voice: "The Void Realm Race?"

Immortal Master Void Realm nodded: "The Void Realm Race, extraterrestrial creatures that feed on Spiritual Qi. They do not live in the Human Realm, nor do they live in the territory of the Ten Thousand Races; instead, they wander deep in the Void Realm, searching for worlds rich in Spiritual Qi to use as food. The Wuxiang Sect's Spiritual Vein has been targeted by them, and all five fissures were torn open by them."

Chu Lan's face turned pale: "Will they invade the Human Realm?"

Immortal Master Void Realm was silent for a moment: "If the Spiritual Vein continues to lose Spiritual Qi, the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi will become weaker and weaker. When the Spiritual Qi of the Spiritual Vein decays to a certain degree, it will be unable to continue maintaining the Spatial Barrier deep underground. It is only a matter of time before the Void Realm Race enters the Spiritual Vein through the fissures and then enters the Human Realm from the Spiritual Vein."

The hall was silent.

"How long will it take to repair the Spiritual Vein?" Immortal Master Void Realm asked.

Gao Feng calculated: "Setting up the Formation will take at least half a month, repairing the Spiritual Vein will take a month, and full stabilization will take three months."

"That will be in time." Immortal Master Void Realm took out a dark silver Talisman from his sleeve and handed it to Gao Feng: "This is a Space-Time Sealing Talisman, which can place a temporary Seal at the fissures of the Spiritual Vein, slowing down the rate of Spiritual Qi loss. It can buy you at least half a year of time; within this half year, the Void Realm Race will not be able to invade the Spiritual Vein through the fissures."

Gao Feng took the Sealing Talisman; it felt cold to the touch, and fine silver patterns flowed across its surface. He tucked the Talisman into his robes and cupped his hands: "Many thanks, Immortal Master."

Immortal Master Void Realm waved his hand: "Taixu Palace and the Wuxiang Sect are both Sects of the Cultivation World; if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. The matter of the Spiritual Vein is not just your concern; it is everyone's concern." He looked at Su Ning: "Your Space-Time Deduction Technique has already achieved Minor Achievement, but it is not enough. After you return, Cultivate more. In the future, if you encounter the Void Realm Race, your Spell will be the key to restraining them."

Su Ning nodded.

The nine people left Taixu Palace, and Su Ning re-arranged the teleportation Formation to return to the Wuxiang Sect. Immortal Master Void Realm's words were still echoing in everyone's hearts—extraterrestrial creatures that feed on Spiritual Qi, wandering in the Void Realm, feeding on Spiritual Qi. The Spiritual Vein had been targeted by them; if the Spiritual Vein continued to lose Spiritual Qi, the Spatial Barrier would weaken, and they would invade the Human Realm.

Gao Feng stood by the teleportation Formation, reached into his robes, and touched the Space-Time Sealing Talisman given by Immortal Master Void Realm. Setting up the Formation would take half a month, repairs would take a month, and stabilization would take three months. The secret techniques of the Five Sects were already complete, and the design of the Ten Thousand Spirits Gathering Yuan Array had also been mostly deduced. As long as he was given time, he could repair the Spiritual Vein.

The sky gradually darkened, and the silver light of the teleportation Formation lit up in the valley.

Gao Feng looked back in the direction of Taixu Palace, but the stone platform suspended in the Void Realm could no longer be seen; there was only endless darkness.

"Let's go, home." He was the first to step into the teleportation Formation.

The figures of the nine people vanished into the silver light.

When the light of the teleportation Formation lit up in the desolate mountains, Gao Feng had already sensed that something was wrong.

The landing point of the teleportation Formation that Su Ning had set up should have led directly to the valley of the Meteor War God Realm, but after the silver light dissipated, what the nine people were stepping on was not the familiar bluestone slabs, but gravel and withered grass.

Surrounding them were continuous desolate mountains; there were no lights from the Spirit Plant Garden, no silver light from the Time Holy Vine, only the dust kicked up by the night wind and the howls of unknown beasts in the distance.

"The coordinates have been interfered with." Su Ning crouched down, pressed her fingers to the ground, and probed the earth veins with the Space Power for a moment; her expression changed slightly: "Someone forcibly shifted our landing point during the teleportation. The method is exactly the same as when that Disciple of Cang Song altered the teleportation Formation in Meteor Valley previously. It's not an accident; it's an ambush."

As soon as she finished speaking, dozens of lights lit up on the surrounding mountain peaks. Those lights were dark red, spreading from the mountaintops to the foothills like flowing lava, outlining the silhouette of a massive Formation amidst the desolate mountains.

The moment the Formation was activated, a heavy sense of oppression surged from all directions, and dense red Formation patterns emerged on the ground beneath the nine people, shrouding the entire valley within it.

"The Dragon Trapping Array, a Golden Core-level trapping Formation." Lin Yue's brows knitted together: "People trapped in the Formation will find their Spiritual Qi circulation becoming slower and slower, their Divine Sense perception will be suppressed, and even their sense of direction will be disordered. This is a Formation specifically used for hunting; the person who set it up has a high level of Cultivation."

Dozens of black shadows swooped down from the mountain peaks and landed at the edge of the Formation. They were dressed in black tight-fitting outfits, their faces covered with black cloth, with standard long swords hanging at their waists; their Cultivation levels were all between the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment and the Early Stage of Golden Core. There were no fewer than thirty of them, and their movements were uniform and orderly; they were clearly well-trained death soldiers.

The final figure floated down from the main peak. It was Master Cangsong.

He was not wearing a mask; he was wearing the black robes of an Enforcement Elder, with no sword at his waist, and his hands were clasped behind his back. His face appeared exceptionally sinister in the dark red light of the Formation, his triangular eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze slowly swept across the faces of the nine people, finally stopping on Gao Feng.

"Gao Feng, the secret techniques of the Five Sects are all on you, right?" Master Cangsong's voice was not loud, but with the augmentation of the Dragon Trapping Array, every word seemed to come from all directions simultaneously, carrying a dull echo: "Hand over the secret techniques, and this Seat can spare your life. Otherwise, these desolate mountains will be your burial ground."

Gao Feng did not draw his sword; he just watched him quietly. Cang Song's Cultivation was at the sixth level of the Golden Core, one small Realm higher than Gao Feng. But after experiencing that battle with the King of Ten Thousand Races, the sixth level of the Golden Core was no longer an insurmountable opponent in his eyes.

What he truly cared about was that Dragon Trapping Array—the suppression force of the Formation was extremely strong, and his Spiritual Qi circulation had indeed slowed down by about ten percent. Although it was not much, in a duel between experts, a gap of ten percent was enough to determine life or death.

"Junior Martial Uncle Cang Song, you are an Enforcement Elder of the Wuxiang Sect; intercepting and killing fellow Disciples, and seizing Sect secret techniques—this charge is not light." Gao Feng's voice was unhurried, as if he were stating something that had nothing to do with himself.

"Charge?" Master Cangsong sneered: "This Seat has been in the Wuxiang Sect for hundreds of years; how many years have you been here? Once this Seat obtains the secret techniques and repairs the Spiritual Vein for the Sect, the Sect Master will only be grateful to this Seat and will not blame me. As for you all... dead men tell no tales; who will know it was this Seat who did it?"

He raised his hand, about to give the order.

Lin Yue stepped forward and formed hand Seals; the Rock Demon Phantom emerged from behind him, shrouding the nine people in an earthy yellow light shield. The Formation patterns of the defensive Formation spread from under their feet to the surroundings, struggling to counter the red Formation patterns of the Dragon Trapping Array. However, the suppression force of the Golden Core-level trapping Formation was too strong; the size of the Rock Demon Phantom was nearly half as small as usual, and the cracks on its surface were several times more numerous.

"I can't hold it for long." Lin Yue gritted his teeth.

Tianxin took out a stack of "Formation Breaking Talismans" from her sleeve; the Talismans burned in her hand, turning into streaks of golden light arrows that precisely shot into the nodes of the Dragon Trapping Array. After those nodes were hit by the light arrows, the light of the red Formation patterns dimmed in several places. Su Ning formed hand Seals, and Space Cutting condensed into sharp blades, slashing toward those dimmed nodes. The Formation patterns were torn, and the suppression force weakened a little.

Chu Lan threw several seeds of "Formation Breaking Vines" toward the edge of the Formation; the vines grew wildly under the stimulation of Spiritual Qi, their roots burrowing into the gaps of the Formation patterns, destroying the structure of the Formation from the inside. Her Spiritual Qi was being consumed extremely quickly, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her forehead, but the Formation Breaking Vines were indeed growing, and the luster of the Dragon Trapping Array was also dimming little by little.

Luo Li sat cross-legged on the ground with the flowing sound zither across her knees; she did not play an aggressive melody, but instead played a piece of "Chaos Sound Score". That piece of music had no melody, only chaotic and disorderly notes, but every note was interfering with the Spiritual Qi resonance of the Dragon Trapping Array, causing fluctuations in the operation of the Formation.

With the combined efforts of the group, the suppression force of the Dragon Trapping Array was weakened by nearly half.

Master Cangsong's expression sank. He had not expected this group of young people to be able to counterattack so calmly when facing a Golden Core-level trapping Formation. He no longer waited, his figure flashed, and he lunged straight at Gao Feng.

The speed of the sixth level of the Golden Core was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Gao Feng. He struck out with a palm, his palm containing thick Spiritual Qi, and the palm wind stirred up all the gravel on the ground.

Gao Feng drew his sword. The moment the vajra sword was unsheathed, that sword mark left from the Sword Abyss suddenly lit up, and the golden sword light was exceptionally dazzling amidst the dark red light of the Formation. He did not retreat, but met it head-on, slashing out with one sword—the first style of the Nine Styles of the War God, War God Slash.

The sword light collided with the palm wind, erupting with a dull thud. Master Cangsong was shaken back two steps, but Gao Feng retreated five steps. The gap between the fourth level and the sixth level of the Golden Core was fully exposed in the head-on duel. However, Gao Feng did not panic; after stabilizing his figure, he rushed up again.

Master Cangsong's palm technique was fierce, with every palm carrying the thick Spiritual Qi suppression of the sixth level of the Golden Core. His combat experience was rich, and his palm momentum was continuous, not giving Gao Feng any chance to catch his breath.

Gao Feng's sword technique was primarily defensive, with offense as a supplement; the vajra sword wove an airtight sword screen around him, blocking Cang Song's palm power one by one.