35: Chapter 35 A clever scheme to lure the enemy into a trap!

Gu Changsheng and his party passed through the clear lake he had thoroughly looted and continued moving deeper into the grotto-heaven.

The deeper they went, the more magnificent the scenery around them became.

Broken pillars and half-collapsed immortal palaces silently recounted the former glory of this place.

"Young Lord."

Gu Yi's figure returned from scouting ahead, appearing silently at Gu Changsheng's side.

"Three miles ahead is the plaza where the Taixu Stele is located."

He paused, his voice sounding strange.

"Quite a few people have already gathered there."

Gu Changsheng grunted in acknowledgment, his footsteps not faltering.

Passing through the last dilapidated archway, the mist before them suddenly dispersed.

A massive white jade plaza, along with that black stele reaching up to the heavens, appeared abruptly before everyone.

On the edge of the plaza, a dozen corpses lay scattered in disarray.

Each of those corpses had a twisted expression and shriveled skin, as if all their vitality and Divine Soul had been sucked dry, their state of death truly terrifying.

Some Cultivators who arrived later were gathered at the periphery of the plaza, pointing at the central stele, yet no one dared to take another step forward.

The air was permeated with a faint scent of blood and resentment.

"Senior Brother Gu, something is wrong there."

Luo Xiyao stopped, her beautiful brows furrowed tightly.

She pointed in the direction of the corpses and the stele.

"Look above those corpses; there is black Qi lingering and refusing to dissipate."

"This seems to be a sacrificial-type evil Formation, specifically designed to devour the Divine Soul of living beings."

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Yun also hurried forward, his face pale.

"Senior Brother, we just caught a survivor and asked."

"Dozens of Loose Cultivators have already died inside, and even Zifu Sword Pavilion and Xuanhuang Immortal Mansion have lost several Disciples!"

He pointed to a withered corpse still wearing a purple sword robe, his voice trembling.

"That stele is strange; it will actively suck in people's Divine Soul. We cannot go over there!"

The surrounding Daoxuan Immortal Sect Disciples, upon hearing this, were also frightened into taking a few steps back, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at the stele.

Gu Changsheng glanced at the withered corpses, then looked at the unremarkable stele, his face devoid of expression.

"Is the death of a few pieces of trash worth making such a fuss over?"

He spoke these words lightly, making the eyelids of Song Yun and the others twitch.

Those were Disciples from a Holy Land!

They died here so silently, and yet they became trash?

Gu Changsheng ignored their thoughts and simply took a step, walking straight toward the plaza.

"Senior Brother!"

Luo Xiyao was startled and instinctively wanted to pull him back.

Gu Changsheng did not even turn his head.

"Those afraid of death, stay here."

The group of Disciples looked at each other, and in the end, gritted their teeth and followed him, bracing themselves.

When they arrived at the edge of the plaza, the Loose Cultivators on the periphery saw the banner of the Daoxuan Immortal Sect, and then saw Gu Changsheng in the lead, so they hurriedly made way, their eyes filled with awe.

What happened by the lake earlier had already spread.

This Young Master Gu was a ruthless person who would suppress two Holy Lands at the slightest disagreement.

Just then.

On the other side of the crowd, a commotion arose.

"Fairy Liu, don't go over there!"

"That place is extremely sinister!"

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Liu Hanyan, with a solemn expression, pushing through the crowd and walking toward the center of the plaza.

After she had broken ties with Ye Kun earlier, she had been acting alone.

Searching along the way, she was also attracted by this Legacy stele.

She did not believe the ghost stories of those Loose Cultivators, feeling only that their strength was insufficient, which is why they triggered some Restriction.

She wanted to try it herself.

"Thank you all for the warning, I have my own judgment."

Liu Hanyan cupped her hands toward those around her who were dissuading her, her eyes firm.

She took a step into the range of the plaza.

Nothing happened.

Liu Hanyan felt a surge of joy; it seemed the rumors were incorrect.

She quickened her pace and walked toward the stele.

Ten steps.

Twenty steps.

Fifty steps.

The moment she was less than ten zhang away from the stele.

"Hum—!"

A sudden change occurred!

On the ground of the entire white jade plaza, countless blood-red patterns appeared out of thin air, instantly forming a massive Formation covering the entire plaza!

The black stele, the instant the Formation activated, also erupted with an eerie blood-colored light.

An invisible yet suffocatingly powerful suction force surged in from all directions, locking onto Liu Hanyan tightly!

"Oh no!"

Liu Hanyan's expression changed drastically.

She felt as if her Divine Soul had been grabbed by an invisible giant hand and was being dragged out bit by bit!

A dizzying sensation washed over her, and the scene before her began to distort and blur.

The spiritual power within her body also became incredibly sluggish at this moment, as if it had been frozen.

"Ah..."

Liu Hanyan let out a painful muffled groan and knelt down on one knee.

The long sword in her hand clattered to the ground, and she clutched her head tightly with both hands, her dark hair flying, her pretty face as pale as paper.

The Cultivators on the periphery of the plaza, seeing this scene, were terrified and retreated repeatedly.

"It's over! Another one!"

"This Fairy from the Qingyun Dao Sect is going to be sucked into a withered corpse too!"

"I told you not to go in, you wouldn't listen!"

Seeing that Liu Hanyan's body had already begun to tremble slightly, and her consciousness was about to be completely pulled away.

A calm voice rang out amidst the noisy discussions.

"Noisy."

The voice was not loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw that Gu Changsheng had arrived at the edge of the plaza, though no one knew when.

He looked at Liu Hanyan, who was struggling bitterly in the Formation, and shook his head.

"What a foolish woman who never learns."

Before the words had even faded.

He lifted his foot and took a step.

This step of his landed directly on the patterns of that blood-colored Formation.

"Sss—!"

It was as if a red-hot iron had touched a block of ice.

The blood-colored patterns beneath Gu Changsheng's feet let out a piercing shriek and instantly dimmed, as if they had encountered their nemesis.

He did not stop.

One step, two steps, three steps.

He walked toward the center of the Formation as if strolling in a courtyard.

With every step he took, the blood-colored Formation in that area collapsed a little.

That terrifying suction force, which was enough to drain the Divine Soul of a Wufa Realm Cultivator, felt like nothing more than a gentle breeze to him.

Deep within the Formation, Ye Kun, who was manipulating everything from the shadows, saw his pupils contract violently!

How is this possible!

This Formation was something he had spent immense effort to set up, combining it with the power of the stele itself!

Let alone a Wufa Realm Cultivator, even a mighty expert at the Early Stage of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm would have to lose a layer of skin!

But this Gu Changsheng, why... why could he directly ignore the power of the Formation?

He was like the Dominator of this world; all Laws automatically gave way before him!

Liu Hanyan had already fallen into a semi-conscious state.

She felt light, as if she were about to float away.

Just at the moment she was about to lose consciousness completely.

A pair of warm hands supported her body as it was about to collapse.

The suction force that had been on the verge of tearing her apart also vanished without a trace.

She opened her eyes with difficulty.

A face, so handsome it did not seem like a Mortal's, was close at hand.

It was Gu Changsheng.

"You..."

Liu Hanyan opened her mouth, her voice dry and hoarse.

"Why... save me?"

She did not understand.

She had been standing with Ye Kun earlier, viewing him as an enemy.

Why would he intervene?

Gu Changsheng supported her and pulled her up from the ground.

He did not answer, but his gaze passed over Liu Hanyan and fell on the stele, whose blood-colored light had dimmed.

She looked at Gu Changsheng's calm profile, her mind in a chaotic mess.

Ye Kun said he was overbearing, ruthless, and viewed human life as grass.

But just now, if it weren't for his intervention, she would already be a withered corpse.

Ye Kun said he snatched Opportunities and stopped at nothing.

But now, he had broken this killing Formation that even she could not resist, as if he were strolling in a courtyard.

Who was actually right?

For the first time, Liu Hanyan felt her conviction waver.

"This little mouse hiding in the dark has set up a truly clumsy trap."

Gu Changsheng released his hand supporting Liu Hanyan and walked toward the stele on his own.

"Since you have invited all the guests here, why haven't you shown yourself yet?"

His voice pierced through the Formation and echoed across the empty plaza.

"Do you need me to... drag you out myself?"