138: Chapter 138 Another Paradise

"Master, this Disciple discovered a Blood Fiend Sect altar deep within the Black Iron Mine."

"They performed some kind of ritual here, seemingly trying to awaken something."

"This Disciple destroyed the altar, but sensed an even stronger aura deep underground."

"This Disciple decided to continue exploring. If I do not return within seven days, please..."

The rest of the message was unfinished.

Li Changsheng stood up, putting the Storage Pouch into his embrace.

Then, he turned and looked towards the back of the altar.

There was an even deeper cave entrance.

From within the cave entrance, a low murmur vaguely drifted out, like countless people chanting Spells.

And... red light, an even denser red light.

He gripped his green steel sword and walked, step by step, towards that cave entrance.

The cave entrance was deep, with red light flickering within.

Li Changsheng gripped his green steel sword and stepped in.

In an instant, the world spun.

"Damn!"

The sudden change startled Li Changsheng.

Immediately after, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a collapse.

Instead, those seemingly flat stone slabs suddenly came alive!

Beneath his feet, the bluestones vibrated violently, as if controlled by an invisible hand.

They rose, spun, and intertwined around him, forming a complex stone Formation in the blink of an eye!

Li Changsheng's heart jolted, and he subconsciously retreated, only to find his path blocked by rising stone walls!

"This is... a Formation?"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

The perception ability of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture was fully activated, extending in all directions.

However, that originally clear perception was now obstructed by a thick Evil Qi, like falling into a quagmire, making it impossible to move an inch.

What was worse, dense blood-colored runes began to appear on the rising bluestones.

As the runes flickered, dark red mist surged out from the stone cracks, rapidly spreading. The mist was foul and pungent, and the moment it touched his skin, a chilling force tried to bore into his body.

Li Changsheng felt dizzy, his heart rate suddenly accelerating, as if an invisible hand was clutching his heart!

"Evil Qi corrosion!"

He bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to stay awake, while simultaneously circulating Spiritual Qi to protect his body.

However, to his alarm, the circulation of Spiritual Qi became extremely sluggish in this mist, as if suppressed by something!

His vision also grew increasingly blurry.

He could originally see three zhang away, but now it was less than one zhang.

All around him was swirling red mist, with the bluestones appearing and disappearing within it, like ghostly fangs.

Li Changsheng did not move.

He knew that running around in such a maze (maze Formation) would only lead him deeper.

He closed his eyes, abandoning his vision, and fully activated his perception.

Although suppressed by Evil Qi, he could vaguely capture some subtle Spiritual Qi fluctuations, which were the core of the Formation's operation.

Just then, a strange hissing sound came from all directions.

Li Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes.

In the red mist, several faint black shadows appeared.

These shadows had no physical form, like smoke condensed together, twisting and shifting, vaguely discernible as human figures.

They had no facial features, only a pair of crimson eyes staring intently at Li Changsheng.

Remnant Souls.

And not just one.

One, two, three...

Ten, twenty!

More and more Remnant Souls emerged from the red mist, surrounding Li Changsheng.

They bared their fangs and claws, emitting piercing hisses that went straight to the Divine Soul, sending shivers down one's spine!

Li Changsheng gripped the hilt of his sword but dared not act rashly.

These Remnant Souls were likely Cultivators harmed by demonic Cultivators.

Their grievances lingered after death, bound by the Formation, becoming Puppets guarding it.

These Remnant Souls had no physical form, making physical attacks almost ineffective. They could only be eliminated with Divine Soul attacks or purification Spells.

And he, coincidentally, had no specialized Divine Soul attack methods.

"This is bad!"

The leading Remnant Soul hissed and lunged at him!

Li Changsheng didn't hesitate, drawing a Thunderstrike Talisman from his embrace with his left hand and injecting Spiritual Qi.

Boom-crack!

Golden lightning shot out, hitting the Remnant Soul squarely!

The Remnant Soul let out a shrill scream, its form violently twisted, and it dissipated into a puff of black smoke!

It worked!

Li Changsheng was delighted.

The Yang energy contained within the Thunderstrike Talisman had a natural suppressive effect on sinister and evil entities!

But before Li Changsheng could breathe a sigh of relief, more Remnant Souls had already swarmed forward!

He dared not be negligent, dodging while continuously activating Thunderstrike Talismans.

One, two, three...

Golden lightning continuously exploded in the red mist, each strike taking out several Remnant Souls.

But the number of Remnant Souls was too great, and they seemed inexhaustible; one batch killed, another surged out from the red mist!

Soon, only one or two Thunderstrike Talismans were left.

"What to do?"

Li Changsheng's heart sank; the situation was extremely critical.

Just then, a thought struck him, recalling the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique his father had obtained in a nearby stone chamber years ago.

"Since this was left by True Lord Xuan Yun, it must be useful."

Immediately, he threw a punch, using his Grandmaster-level Martial Artist strength.

The vitality contained within the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique surged towards the pounce (pouncing) Remnant Souls.

That Remnant Soul, struck by the vitality, also let out a scream, its form dimming a bit!

It worked!

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

Since the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique was effective, then his Spiritual Qi, fused with the vitality of the nine-turn azure profound bead, this pure and life-filled power, would likely also have a suppressive effect on sinister Remnant Souls!

Understanding this, Li Changsheng no longer held back, fully unleashing his attacks.

Various Spells, fist techniques, and sword techniques were alternately used, each strike fully activating the power of vitality.

The Remnant Souls were quickly annihilated by more than half.

But there were too many Remnant Souls, and his Spiritual Qi was being consumed extremely quickly.

What was worse, in this maze Formation, Spiritual Qi could not be replenished normally; he could only rely on Medicinal Pills within his body.

He pulled out a bottle of peiyuan pills from his embrace, poured out two, and popped them into his mouth, barely replenishing some Spiritual Qi.

While fighting, he observed the surrounding runes.

He vaguely remembered those runes; they were very similar to the ones recorded on Zhou Yuan's Incomplete Manual.

Zhou Yuan must have studied these before entering the cave.

He should have other relevant clues on him.

While fending off the Remnant Souls, Li Changsheng split a wisp of Divine Sense and probed into the Storage Pouch in his embrace.

Next to Zhou Yuan's unfinished letter were some miscellaneous items, including a Jade Slip, which he hadn't had time to examine closely before.

As his Divine Sense entered, the Jade Slip indeed recorded a large amount of information about this Seal location.

"True Lord Xuan Yun, an ancient mighty figure, used the 'Jade Wall Suppressing Demon' method to form the 'Soul-Locking Formation,' sealing the Spirit-Devouring Demon Soul."

"To break the Formation, one must first find the Jade Wall."

And where he was currently, was the Guardian Formation at the entrance of the first layer of the maze Formation.

The core of the Formation was located in the center of the maze Formation, where there was a damaged Jade Token, inscribed with a warning left by the True Lord.

Li Changsheng opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding runes.

The arrangement of those runes subtly conformed to the Nine Palaces.

If he could find the pattern, he could locate the core of the Formation.

He silently calculated while fighting.

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui...

The flickering frequency of the runes corresponded to the directions of the Nine Palaces. And the core of the Formation should be in... the Li position!

He suddenly turned and rushed towards the southwest!

Along the way, Remnant Souls continuously lunged at him. He gritted his teeth and endured, forcefully clearing a path with the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique!

Finally, after passing through layers of red mist, he saw a stone platform.

The stone platform was three chi high, one zhang in circumference, and entirely made of white jade.

In the center of the stone platform, a palm-sized Jade Token was inserted, covered with densely inscribed small characters, emitting a faint glow.

The Formation core!

Li Changsheng quickly stepped forward. Just as he was about to reach for the Jade Token, a more piercing shriek suddenly came from behind him!