Chapter 41: Inside the Ruins (Part 2)

Song Changsheng cast a [Skylight Technique] for illumination and led the way into the cave dwelling, with Zhuang Yuechan and the others following closely behind.

Behind the door lay a much wider corridor. Guided by the light of the spell, they could clearly see simple murals carved into the walls of the passage.

However, Song Changsheng and his companions were left utterly bewildered, unable to discern what the creator of these murals intended to express.

The corridor was not long; they could even see the wide, excavated space at its far end.

Yet, the corridor was not easy to traverse at all. As Song Changsheng had suspected, it was riddled with formations. Anyone daring to trespass blindly would surely meet a gruesome end.

Nevertheless, Song Changsheng noticed something unusual amidst the layers of formations.

"Although the formations are numerous, none of them are of a high grade. Furthermore, the methods to break them are extremely tricky; without a unique understanding of formations, one would likely scratch their head in frustration without ever solving them."

After a moment of thought, Song Changsheng vaguely grasped the intentions of the cave dwelling's owner.

He had harbored suspicions outside the bluestone gate just moments ago, and these discoveries within the corridor served as indirect corroboration of his hypothesis.

The owner of this dwelling did not intend to use these formations to block them, but had deliberately arranged them as a test to find someone with innate talent in formations to inherit his legacy.

This was not mere speculation by Song Changsheng, but a conclusion drawn from a rigorous analysis of the current situation.

Thinking of this, Song Changsheng couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The owner's mastery of formations was profound; if he could obtain this inheritance, it would undoubtedly be a massive boon to him.

Song Changsheng heightened his focus to the utmost. As he broke through the formations one by one, he grew increasingly rapid. In less than half an hour, they reached the end and entered an artificially excavated stone chamber.

"It looks like a reception hall," Zhu Yiqun said with certainty after surveying the surroundings.

"With a stone table this large, we could tell even without you saying it," Song Changsheng replied while checking the surroundings for hidden mechanisms.

"Tch, I'm not arguing with you. I'm going to look for treasures. A Foundation Establishment cultivator's dwelling must have plenty of good stuff!" Zhu Yiqun's small eyes darted around before he marched through the main entrance.

Song Changsheng shook his head helplessly and smiled at Zhuang Yuechan. "Let's follow him, lest that fat bastard takes all the benefits for himself."

——————

While the group was exploring the dwelling, the Blood Demon outside was not idle.

The Black Butler stood on high ground, watching the crowd of lackeys busily working under the command of several minor leaders.

They were placing specially made black pottery jars around the perimeter of the formation. If one looked closely, it would be evident that they were placing them exactly where Song Changsheng and the others had previously excavated the passage—the weak point of the formation.

It was a simple matter of imitation, but for these demonic cultivators, it was incredibly difficult. As soon as they approached a certain range of the formation, their Yang energy would continuously weaken the demonic qi within their bodies.

This process was agonizing and excruciating. Had it not been for the Black Butler's deep-seated cruelty and authority, they would have abandoned the task long ago.

Once the last black pottery jar was placed amidst a chorus of screams, the skeleton man hurried to the Black Butler's side, bowing and scraping. "My Lord, the black blood has all been positioned. What are your orders?"

"What are you waiting for? Break this formation as quickly as possible. If anything goes wrong and we fail the Sect Leader's mission, I will make you wish you were dead!"

The Black Butler glared at the skeleton man, his icy gaze making the man tremble uncontrollably.

"Rest assured, my Lord. This black blood was prepared through a special secret method over seventy-seven days using more than a hundred children with spiritual roots; its Yin-evil energy is extremely heavy. If it weren't for the insufficient quantity, we could have broken this [Mystic Yang Astral Formation] long ago. Now, by using the weak point they created to deploy the [Blood Demon Yin-Evil Formation], we will surely break it in one fell swoop," the skeleton man said hurriedly, surreptitiously wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

"Hmph, it had better be so," the Black Butler sneered coldly, then closed his eyes to rest.

At the skeleton man's command, the [Blood Demon Yin-Evil Formation] was instantly activated...

Inside the cave dwelling, Song Changsheng and the others were exploring deeper, but with dozens of stone chambers to search, their progress was very slow.

After coming up empty in another chamber, Song Changsheng suggested to the group, "We can't go on like this; it's too slow. We should split up. We'll each find what our luck allows."

Zhu Yiqun looked at Xu Yunhe beside him with some hesitation. "In that case, Fellow Daoist Xu..."

"As long as I am not required to engage in combat, my injuries will not be an issue." Xu Yunhe's fighting spirit had been rekindled. Since they were relying on individual luck, he had no reason to hold the others back.

"Then let's do as Fellow Daoist Song suggests. To each their own luck," Zhuang Yuechan agreed.

With no objections from the others, they each chose a direction to explore.

Following his intuition, Song Changsheng walked forward and eventually stopped before a stone chamber. He pushed the door open to find a very spacious room containing only ordinary furnishings and nothing of value.

This was not the first time he had come up empty, so Song Changsheng did not dwell on it. After a careful inspection to ensure nothing was missed, he moved on to the next chamber.

This one was different; it was circular in shape and, judging by the furnishings, appeared to be a study. The sandalwood bookshelves surrounding the room supported this assumption.

The shelves were piled with many jade slips, all covered in a thick layer of dust. Suppressing his excitement, Song Changsheng buried himself in searching through the shelves.

However, he soon realized he had celebrated too early. This dwelling had existed for countless years, and the contents of most jade slips had dissipated, rendering them worthless.

Forget cultivation techniques or divine abilities; even complete sentences were rare.

Unwilling to give up, Song Changsheng continued to search through the shelves. Heaven rewards the diligent; eventually, he truly found several well-preserved jade slips.

These had clearly undergone special treatment; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived until now. The need for special treatment was enough to prove their importance.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Song Changsheng took the first jade slip and pressed it against his forehead. Accompanied by a faint flicker of light, the recorded contents instantly flooded into his mind.

"[Spirit Transformation Qi Force]?"

Song Changsheng lowered the jade slip, a flash of astonishment crossing his eyes. What was recorded in this slip was actually a Secret Technique.

Secret Techniques differ from Spells. Spells have certain restrictions based on the user's cultivation level and have limited power.

Secret Techniques, however, are different; their power is determined by the user, meaning they have no upper limit.

Secret Techniques are rare. Although Song Changsheng had learned dozens of spells, he only possessed one Secret Technique: the [Breath Concealment Technique] he had realized from the Dao Sutra.

But what surprised him most was the effect of using this particular Secret Technique...

(End of Chapter)