Chapter 1011: Stone Golem

Volume Six: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures

"What happened? Why are you all so agitated, fellow Daoists?" Old Devil Qian approached. The white shadow, which had originally been poised to attack, reverted to its original position in a flash, then suddenly turned halfway around to face backward, adopting a defensive posture.

This was because the cultivators who had flown out from behind the light barrier, though disheveled, were all Nascent Soul cultivators. Even if the old devil was arrogant, he would never dare to take them lightly. Moreover, the explosion from the light barrier earlier gave him a faint sense of foreboding.

"Brother Qian, your divine abilities are truly astonishing; you arrived here even before us. Huh, isn't this Fellow Daoist Fu of the Nine Nether Sect? And these two are..." These cultivators were none other than the four elders of the Poison Saint Sect and five other Nascent Soul cultivators. Reclusive Immortal Sisan was also furtively among them. However, upon seeing Han Li and his two companions, Hua Tianqi was the first to be startled.

"So it's Brother Hua, what a coincidence. But what exactly caused that explosion earlier?" Elder Fu, however, was preoccupied with the matter of the exit, so he didn't bother to explain anything and hurriedly asked.

"Hmph! We should be asking you, fellow Daoists, about this matter. Since you arrived here before us, I presume the illusion array outside was set up by you. And the recent explosion of the illusion array, which blocked the passage again, must also have been your doing," one of the large men among the Nascent Soul cultivators said with a cold snort.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the others subtly changed, and they all stared at Han Li and his companions, showing signs of displeasure. "Please don't misunderstand, fellow Daoists. When Fu and his companions arrived, there were already other cultivators here. The illusion array you're talking about has nothing to do with the three of us. You've suffered a great loss; are you trying to take it out on me?" Elder Fu's face instantly darkened upon hearing this, and he spoke without ceremony.

In such complex circumstances, one must not easily show weakness; otherwise, they would be perceived as weak and easily bullied, prone to being ganged up on by others.

"There are others here?" At this, not only were the four elders of the Poison Saint Sect stunned, but even Old Devil Qian was taken aback.

"Hmph. The three of us were accidentally teleported here by an ancient array. At that time, we heard sounds of a restriction being broken on the mountain. However, we were trapped by another restriction for several days afterward, which prevented us from finding those people in time. Presumably, the illusion array you mentioned is related to that group." Elder Fu was no ordinary person either; in a few words, he explained most of the situation.

"Is that really true?" The big man looked hesitant, and the other cultivators were half-convinced. "Brother Fu is an enforcement elder of the Nine Nether Sect; he wouldn't deceive us about something so obvious. Moreover, if the Nine Nether Sect truly broke this seal, Fellow Daoist Gu of the Nine Nether Sect would surely have come to oversee it himself." Hua Tianqi's expression softened, and he seemed to fully believe the elder's words.

"That's true!" The big man pondered for a moment and found it reasonable.

"But when you flew in just now, something seemed off between you and Brother Qian. Did Fellow Daoist Fu offend Brother Qian in some way?" Hua Tianqi's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly brought up the matter. After all, the tense standoff between Han Li's three companions and Old Devil earlier had been clearly witnessed by all the cultivators present.

"This matter..." A look of hesitation appeared on Elder Fu's face.

Just as Elder Fu was secretly pondering how to answer the question, far away, in a grand hall in the upper part of Kunwu Mountain, the big-headed eccentric, holding a golden-yellow small hammer, swung it, and a silver-white electric arc shot out, instantly smashing a stone tiger puppet approaching him into pieces.

Behind him, the cultivators of the Ye family were also activating their respective magic treasures, fiercely attacking the various stone puppets in front of them.

These puppets were all in the form of beasts and birds. Not only were their bodies exceptionally tough, but they could also spew out various simple spells, making them truly formidable. They surged out frantically from the four corridors around the palace, seemingly endless.

However, all the Ye family cultivators remained calm, simply focusing on activating their magic treasures, as if they had a clear plan.

A moment later, a loud bang suddenly echoed from a distant side. The corridor there completely collapsed, and the stone puppets from that direction immediately stopped emerging.

Upon hearing this sound, the Ye family cultivators all showed a hint of joy on their faces.

Soon after, the corridors in the other three directions also collapsed one by one amidst roars. With no new puppets joining, the remaining puppets in the grand hall were swept away in moments by the Ye family members.

"What are these abominations? They don't seem quite like modern puppets."

Only then did the Ye family members relax, taking out spirit stones and sitting cross-legged on the spot. Although this encounter seemed not very dangerous, their long continuous activation of magic treasures had significantly depleted their spiritual power.

Just then, a streak of escape light shot out from the last destroyed corridor, arriving before everyone in a flash. The light receded, revealing the white-robed scholar.

"Elder Han, you were indeed correct; there was a side hall at the end of each of those corridors. All those puppets came out from inside. I followed your method to break the restrictions and enter, and I've destroyed the cores of several side halls," the scholar said with a smile to one of the people.

"It's nothing. I had seen records about the origins of this puppet array in ancient texts in my early years, which is how I knew how to deal with it. Otherwise, just stubbornly holding out, even a cultivator would be utterly exhausted and perish." The one who replied was none other than the calm Elder Gu.

"Haha, it seems my decision to specifically bring Elder Han here was indeed very useful. I'm afraid we'll need to rely on you much more in the future," the scholar said cheerfully.

"Grand Elder, you're too kind. Even without saying so, Han would do his utmost." Elder Gu's lips curled slightly as he spoke politely, which made the scholar nod, greatly satisfied.

Just then, the big-headed eccentric nearby suddenly let out a chuckle and said:

"Calculating the time, the trap we laid in the illusion array should have activated by now. If we're lucky, it might buy our Ye family some more time."

"Indeed, someone should have triggered the array by now. As soon as someone enters the array, it will naturally activate the trap, causing the illusion array to self-destruct in a very short time. However, the obstruction caused by this self-destruction will be removed in five or six days at most. The entrance will then be accessible again. What's more, even without this, the entire seal would start to loosen after a while anyway," the scholar said, his expression serious.

"It's still early for the seal to fully collapse from its weakening state. There's enough time for us to retrieve the treasures. Instead, where are we on Kunwu Mountain now? We should be close to the main structures of this mountain, right?" the big-headed eccentric asked the scholar.

"Hmm, yes, roughly. However, the restrictions we're encountering are becoming more frequent, indicating that we are approaching the vital areas of Kunwu Mountain," the scholar said slowly after pondering.

"That's good. But there's another troublesome matter. That Silver-Winged Yaksha has been persistently following us. What exactly does it want? Does it intend to ambush us when it gets a chance?" After saying this, the big-headed eccentric subconsciously turned to glance at the entrance at the other end of the hall, a hint of concern on his face.

The others, hearing this, also instinctively looked in that direction. The area was empty, as if there was nothing there at all.

However, the Ye family cultivators knew very well that somewhere unseen, the Silver-Winged Yaksha was most likely concealing itself and observing them from afar.

This made the cultivators feel uneasy for a while.

If not for the two late-Nascent Soul cultivators accompanying them, ordinary cultivators would not dare to remain under the watchful eye of such a high-level monster and would have surely scattered.

"This flying corpse is indeed troublesome. If time allowed, with my and Seventh Uncle's abilities, it wouldn't be impossible to plan a strategy to severely injure or even eliminate this fiend. But we are pressed for time and must seize every second. In such a situation, rashly trying to expel it might provoke its wrath instead.

"Now, we can only see if there's any restriction ahead that we can use to lure and trap this monster to its death," the scholar said after a long moment of contemplation, seemingly having no other option.

The others, hearing this, largely agreed and nodded in unison. After all, given the Silver-Winged Yaksha's superb escape techniques, it would be highly unlikely for them to shake off this monster using their own power.

So, after slightly recovering some spiritual power, everyone immediately exited the stone hall and appeared at the exit.

However, the Ye family cultivators' eyes suddenly brightened. After briefly observing the distant scene, they were all stunned into silence.

Before them lay a vast expanse of undulating terrain with over a dozen stone staircases of varying sizes, each leading to a different part of the mountain. However, each staircase vanished into the same swirling white mist in the distance, making it impossible to discern where any of them led. How could this not leave the Ye family and the others dumbfounded?

"What are we to do? Even if each of us explored one path, we couldn't possibly explore all of them," an elder exhaled softly and turned to the scholar with a bitter smile.

"Don't be nervous. This indicates that we have entered the core area of Kunwu Mountain. That's why there are so many branching paths. This should be a good thing. Splitting up is definitely not an option. Once our numbers are few, we won't even have the power to protect ourselves. As for which path to take, let's first go to the platform over there and see if there are any identifying markers."

True to his title as the Ye family's Grand Elder, the scholar quickly calmed down and came up with a solution. The platform he referred to was a vast white jade plaza where all the stone staircases converged, only a few miles away from them, and it appeared immense.

Hearing the scholar's suggestion, the others had no better alternatives and could only agree to first check the plaza.

Thus, everyone activated their escape lights and shot straight towards it. However, as soon as they took to the air, they all plummeted to the ground with a series of 'thuds'.

"An anti-flight restriction. They actually laid down such a restriction here?" the big-headed eccentric blurted out.

Fortunately, the Ye family cultivators hadn't flown high, and though they were a bit disheveled, no one was injured. However, this also filled everyone with both surprise and delight.

Although the presence of the anti-flight restriction significantly delayed their progress, it also indicated that they had truly entered an important area of Kunwu Mountain.