296: It seems the guy inside is someone important!

The Yunling Mountain Range, spanning the central and western parts of the Dragon Kingdom, is characterized by countless overlapping peaks and crisscrossing valleys.

It is shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, with ancient trees reaching to the sky, and is rarely visited by humans.

This is a primeval land forgotten by time.

Birds and beasts inhabit it, and the air is filled with an ancient and wild aura.

Legend has it that deep within the Yunling, there are ancient ruins, natural mazes, and unknown Vicious Beasts lurking.

Ordinary people who wander in often never return.

At this moment, Chen Nian, transformed into a crimson streak of light, was soaring over the continuous mountain ridges at an astonishing speed.

Below was a green sea of varying depths, with occasional mountain eagles startled, letting out sharp cries.

The deeper he went, the thicker the clouds and mist became, and visibility rapidly decreased.

But in Chen Nian's perception, the depths of this seemingly tranquil mountain range faintly exuded an unusual sense of oppression.

The energy field was abnormally chaotic, and the spatial structure also seemed to have subtle distortions.

If it weren't for the precise coordinates and energy characteristics provided by the "Candle Dragon" department.

Even with his Divine Thought scanning, he might have been deceived by the exquisite stealth methods.

His gaze penetrated layers of clouds and mist, landing on a valley ahead, embraced by three perilous peaks.

Outwardly, it was no different from other valleys.

Trees were lush, streams gurgled, and vines entwined around jagged, strange rocks.

But in Chen Nian's eyes, capable of perceiving the essence of energy, the scene before him was entirely different.

A colossal hemispherical transparent Barrier, almost covering the entire valley.

Like an inverted giant bowl, it completely isolated the valley from the outside world.

The Barrier's surface shimmered with flowing light, and countless intricate runes moved and flickered like living things.

They interconnected, forming an extremely complex, nested system of stealth and defense.

This Barrier was not only visually almost invisible but also emitted a peculiar "presence weakening" effect.

From external perception, this was just an ordinary mountain forest.

Even the chirping of birds and insects seemed to be deliberately adjusted to blend with the surrounding environment.

"Interesting." Chen Nian hovered in mid-air, his blood-red light contained, examining the Barrier with interest.

"This stealth method is far more sophisticated than the stronghold in Jiangyuan City. It seems 'Candle Dragon's' judgment was correct; the fellow inside has quite a background."

He released all his Divine Thought, carefully probing the Barrier like the most precise sensor.

The moment his Divine Thought touched the Barrier's surface, he immediately felt layers of obstruction and misdirection.

Ordinary detection methods would probably be directly diverted, or absorbed and dissipated by the Barrier.

But in front of Chen Nian's Divine Thought, vast as a sea of stars and condensed as substance.

These obstacles rapidly melted away like ice and snow.

His perception, like mercury flowing across the ground, silently permeated, beginning to "observe" the situation inside the Barrier... Within the Barrier, was another world.

Completely different from the tranquil mountain forest outside.

The interior of the valley had long been transformed into a huge and eerie ritual ground.

The ground was completely leveled, inscribed with a super-giant Magic Formation exceeding five hundred meters in diameter.

The Magic Formation's Texture (patterns) were cast from an unknown substance, dark red to nearly black.

Like dried blood, yet slowly flowing.

Countless twisted, seemingly living abyssal runes floated and flickered within the patterns.

Emitting a chillingly evil fluctuation.

At the eight cardinal directions of the Magic Formation, stood eight pitch-black crystal pillars, each tens of meters tall.

The surfaces of the crystal pillars were embedded with dense, eye-like gems.

At this moment, they were emitting a faint purplish-black light, complementing the ground Magic Formation.

At the center of the Magic Formation was an even more complex and intricate giant altar.

On the altar, Materials were piled up like mountains.

These Materials were being slowly refined by an invisible force, transforming into a pure torrent of Evil Energy.

Injected into a dark purple energy vortex, suspended in mid-air, constantly spinning and contracting.

In the valley, an astonishing number of Demonic Evils had gathered.

They varied in form, numbering at least a thousand.

The weakest had a strength of Fourth or Fifth-Order, with Sixth and Seventh-Order Demonic Evils being ubiquitous.

Even powerful fluctuations above Seventh-Order could be sensed.

These Demonic Evils were not chaotic but orderly distributed at various key nodes of the Magic Formation.

They sat cross-legged or stood casting spells, forming strange hand seals.

Chanting obscure and difficult-to-understand Abyssal Incantations.

Vast Evil Energy surged from their bodies, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, converging into the Magic Formation patterns on the ground.

Then, amplified and guided by the crystal pillars, it was finally injected into the vortex of the central altar.

Throughout the ritual ground, Evil Energy surged like a tide, and space subtly distorted.

A grand, ancient, and evil ritual was proceeding methodically into its final stage.

On the high platform directly in front of the altar, stood a particularly striking figure.

It was about three meters tall, covered in dark golden, spiky, heavy carapace.

It resembled a giant scorpion standing upright, but its head was more ferocious, and its compound eyes gleamed with cold intelligence.

Three bone-bladed scorpion tails on its back swayed unconsciously.

Its aura was as deep as an abyss, clearly reaching the Eighth-Order.

It was the overall commander of this ritual, one of the core generals under the Lord of Curses from the Gloomy Abyss — the Curse Devouring Demon Marshal.

The Curse Devouring Demon Marshal's cold compound eyes scanned the entire ritual ground, sensing the progress of the energy infusion, and nodded slightly.

"Increase the speed by another third! The Lord's decree, the ritual must be completed! Any error, Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering!"

Its voice was hoarse and sharp, with a metallic grinding quality, yet contained an unquestionable authority, transmitted throughout the venue via special mental fluctuations.

All the Demonic Evils trembled, their chanting of incantations became more urgent, and the Evil Energy output sharply increased by a fraction.

Just then, a slender, gray-skinned Seventh-Order Evil Spirit approached the Curse Devouring Demon Marshal.

"Lord Demon Marshal, there's a slight instability in the crystal pillar of the third energy node. Should it be adjusted?"

The Curse Devouring Demon Marshal didn't turn its head, saying coldly, "Handle it according to the plan, inject energy, calibrate the runes. Do you need to ask me about such a small matter?"

"Yes, yes!" The Demonic Evil quickly responded.

He hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask in a lowered voice, "Lord Demon Marshal, I... I dare to ask."

"Why are we expending such vast resources and using the 'Myriad Shadows Obscuring Heaven' Grand Formation to conceal our tracks for this ritual? The Lord seems very urgent..."

The Curse Devouring Demon Marshal suddenly turned, its three scorpion tails stiffening abruptly. The terrifying pressure made the Demonic Evil instantly kneel, trembling all over.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't!" The Curse Devouring Demon Marshal's voice was like the chilling ice of the Nine Netherworld. "You only need to know that this is the most crucial step of the 'Myriad Curses Corrosion Realm' that the Lord has planned for a hundred years!"

"Once successful, the Lord will be able to control even more powerful curse authority, and our Gloomy Abyss's influence in this realm will undergo a qualitative change!"

"As for the rest... the more you know, the faster you die!"

The Demonic Evil was scared out of its wits, repeatedly kowtowing:

"I understand, my Lord! I spoke out of turn! I will go deal with the node issue right away!"

With that, it scrambled and crawled off the high platform.

The Curse Devouring Demon Marshal snorted coldly and refocused its attention on the vortex at the center of the altar.

A trace of unease actually lingered in its heart.

But the plan had reached its most critical moment; the arrow was on the string and had to be shot.

It could only suppress the unease in its heart and urge its subordinates to speed up.

Just then—

"Report—!!!"

A shrill, panicked scream came from a monitoring outpost at the edge of the Barrier.

A Demonic Evil responsible for outer perimeter security almost flew and crawled over.

His voice was distorted by extreme fear:

"Lord Demon Marshal! N-not good!"

"Outside the outer layer of the Barrier, an ultra-high-speed energy body is detected approaching!"

"The speed is too fast! The energy reaction is immeasurable!!"