Chapter 1021: Sumeru Five Elements Wall

Volume Six: Spirit Treasures of Heaven

Taking a quick glance at the three Big-Headed Figures shrouded in dark energy, and then scanning the hall's exit, Hua Tianqi's face suddenly showed a determined expression. He let out a low cry: "Let's go!"

He then flipped his hand, and a small green banner appeared. With a slight shake, a burst of emerald green light immediately erupted, engulfing the four of them. They transformed into a streak of green light, shooting towards the entrance of the next level like a meteor chasing the moon.

"Hua Tianqi, how dare you!" The Big-Headed Figure exploded in rage upon seeing this. Countless thumb-thick yellow sword lights burst forth from his body, instantly tearing the encircling dark cloud formation to shreds. It seemed he was about to break free.

Hua Tianqi, however, dared not linger. With a flash of green light, he flew dozens of yards away, disappearing into the exit at the other end.

After the Big-Headed Figure and the ancient demon quickly dispersed the surrounding dark energy, the previously empty entrance suddenly glowed with a brilliant white light. Then, a thick, shimmering crystal wall materialized out of thin air.

The crystal wall's thickness was unknown, but it completely sealed the entrance, leaving not the slightest gap.

Without hesitation, the Big-Headed Figure raised his hand and unleashed a sword light several yards long, which fiercely struck the crystal wall. After a flash of five-colored light, the sword light vanished as if swallowed by the sea.

"Mount Sumeru Five Elements!" The Big-Headed Figure was startled by the sight, but after a closer look at the crystal wall, he immediately cried out in surprise and anger.

"It's that treasure," the Ye family elder said, his expression changing drastically. "Isn't this Mount Sumeru Sect's Guardian Treasure? How did it fall into the hands of the Poison Saint Sect? Oh, right, the Mount Sumeru Sect is also one of the major sects in the Southern Border, and I heard they have some connections with the Poison Saint Sect. It seems they borrowed it by some unknown means."

"I've also heard of the Mount Sumeru Five Elements Wall. This treasure has quite a reputation," the ancient demon said, frowning.

"This is troublesome. It seems there really might be the Spirit Treasure of Heaven at the bottom of this tower. Otherwise, why would those Poison Saint Sect fellows risk acting like this?" The Big-Headed Figure's face turned ashen as he stared at the crystal wall.

"Brother Ye, there's no need to worry!" the ancient demon said with a cold laugh. "It's fine if these people go down before us. Not to mention whether the next level definitely has the Spirit Treasure of Heaven, but whatever is imprisoned below is certainly more difficult to deal with. These people are just asking for trouble by going ahead. If we deal with this Ghost King first, then break open the crystal wall, we might just get a good deal."

The Big-Headed Figure was momentarily stunned by these words, but after a moment's thought, his expression relaxed and he smiled.

"Brother Han is right. I was just too preoccupied with the treasure, becoming a bit overly anxious!"

As he finished speaking, a cold glint appeared in his eyes, which then fell upon the ghostly figure tightly entangled by the silver flying fork.

On the other side of the crystal wall, Hua Tianqi and the other three elders of the Poison Saint Sect had already reappeared. Just as Hua Tianqi let out a long breath, one elder immediately began to complain.

"Brother Hua, wasn't that too risky? Although the Mount Sumeru Five Elements Wall can temporarily block them, what will we do after offending them so deeply?"

"Hmph, are you still fantasizing about us coexisting peacefully with the Ye family?" Hua Tianqi said with a grim expression, glancing at his uneasy fellow sect member. "Forget about whether we give up the treasure; that Ye Yuesheng only escaped annihilation from the Ten Great Sects by faking his death years ago. Now that we've encountered him, how could he possibly let us leave easily? What difference does it make if we offend them or not? Besides, since even our sect's patriarch yearned for this treasure, do you think it's an ordinary item? It's most likely the legendary Spirit Treasure of Heaven. What's there to fear in taking a little risk for it?"

"Spirit Treasure of Heaven? If it truly is such a heaven-defying treasure, then it's worth the risk for us. But with Ye Yuesheng and his group guarding outside, even if we get the treasure, how will we escape?" another Poison Saint Sect elder asked, still full of apprehension.

"Heh heh, do you really think I'd undertake such a precarious endeavor without preparation, junior brothers?" Hua Tianqi said confidently. "Before coming out, I brought our sect's Poison Dragon Pearl with me. After acquiring the treasure, at most, I'll have to cultivate in seclusion for ten years after consuming this pearl, but that will be enough to contend with late Nascent Soul cultivators for a while. With that time, escaping will certainly not be an issue."

"So, senior brother had already made preparations. In that case, there's no problem," the other three elders said, their expressions relaxing. While the treasure was tempting, their lives were more important.

"It's a pity Junior Brother Yuan isn't here," Hua Tianqi suddenly remarked, a hint of regret on his face as he mentioned the burly man named Yuan. "Otherwise, if we teamed up, we could contend with late-stage cultivators without needing to consume such a potent item as the Poison Dragon Pearl."

"That's true. But didn't Senior Brother Hua already leave a message? Perhaps he's already on his way here. If so, our escape after obtaining the treasure might be much easier," a Poison Saint Sect elder said with a smile.

"I hope so. Everyone, be careful. The ghostly beings on the seventh level are already so difficult to deal with, who knows what terrifying entities lurk on the eighth and ninth levels? Don't lose your lives here. However, this True Devil Tower truly lives up to its reputation. If the Ye family hadn't cleared the previous levels, we would have no idea how much effort it would have taken just for us to reach this point," Hua Tianqi said, his expression serious as he reminded them.

The other three naturally agreed.

Then, the group began to turn and walk into a sloping downward passage behind them. According to their previous experience, walking down several dozen yards would naturally lead them to the next level.

This time, however, after walking only a little over ten yards, their eyes suddenly lit up. Ahead of them was a small, square stone chamber. Inside, apart from two small teleportation arrays, one black and one white, the four walls were completely bare.

"What is this?" Hua Tianqi paused, then his brows furrowed tightly.

The other three elders also exchanged puzzled glances.

Taking a few steps into the stone chamber, Hua Tianqi swept his gaze around with his hands behind his back, then walked two circles around the two small formations.

"Junior Brother Miao, you are skilled in ancient formations. See if these two formations are short-distance teleportation arrays," Hua Tianqi finally turned and said calmly to a thick-browed old man.

"Understood!" the thick-browed old man immediately replied, walking up to one of the formations and examining it carefully.

The other two came over curiously.

"They are indeed short-distance teleportation arrays, and very short-range ones at that. I estimate the distance shouldn't exceed a hundred miles," the thick-browed old man said with certainty after a moment.

"Then there's no mistake. These must be the teleportation arrays leading to the eighth level. It's quite unusual for the eighth level to require a teleportation array. And these arrays are two-way, correct?" Hua Tianqi said meticulously, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Of course, short-range teleportation arrays are generally two-way. But why are there two arrays here? Does the eighth level have two entrances?" the thick-browed old man wondered, stroking his chin.

"I'm not sure. But won't everything become clear once we try it? Let's go through this teleportation array first. The other one gives me a slightly uncomfortable feeling," Hua Tianqi said, pointing to the white teleportation array and stepping onto it without hesitation.

The other three looked at the dark, eerie teleportation array and also felt a shiver of apprehension. They secretly called it sinister and quickly moved to the white teleportation array.

After Hua Tianqi cast a spell on the array, a burst of white light erupted, and the group from the Poison Saint Sect vanished within the glow.

The next moment, after a brief sensation of dizziness, Hua Tianqi and the others found themselves in a place that resembled a fairy land.

Above them were blue skies and white clouds, and all around were spiritual flowers and exotic herbs. With a light breath, a dense spiritual energy washed over them.

But what truly astonished the Poison Saint Sect members was the sight of a magnificent, small golden palace not far in front of them. The palace rested upon an enormous formation and was surrounded by numerous altars. On each altar stood a colossal stone figure, silently facing the palace, each holding a massive golden blade.

Both the altars and the stone figures, with their rough and unrefined appearance, exuded an indescribable sense of ancient wilderness as they silently stood facing the palace.

Such a bizarre scene left even Hua Tianqi speechless for a long time.

At the same time, Han Li stood on the white jade plaza where he had previously departed, looking at the group of cultivators coldly glaring at him from around the plaza. He suddenly felt a profound regret.

Perhaps staying hidden in the Spirit Forging Hall would have been a better choice, or if he had emerged just a moment later, he wouldn't have been greeted by such a large crowd.

As soon as he arrived, just as he was about to choose another stone staircase, a large group of people suddenly emerged from the woods on both sides of the plaza. These individuals hadn't used the normal stone stairs but had instead crept along the sides. Han Li, whose spiritual sense was greatly restricted in this area, found himself surrounded by the group the moment he realized something was amiss.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I didn't expect to meet you here. You certainly made this concubine search for you," a graceful woman in white robes, standing opposite Han Li, said through clenched teeth, her bright eyes fixed on him with icy coldness.

This woman was none other than the Heavenly Flow Saintess, Lin Yinping! The others were a white-robed youth whom Han Li found somewhat familiar, Ge Tianhao, and two other black-robed elders.

They had formed a semicircle, completely blocking the path down the mountain, as if fearing Han Li would escape.

Han Li sighed. He recalled that after the auction, he had taken a jade pendant from her and refined it into a sensing artifact, originally intended to guard against her. However, after several years, the artifact's effectiveness had long since faded. Otherwise, if he had encountered her two years earlier, such a blunder would never have occurred.

"I also didn't expect to encounter the Saintess in a place like this; what a fortunate meeting," Han Li said, his mind racing but his expression unchanged. After a slight clasp of his hands towards Lin Yinping, he turned to the white-robed youth and spoke slowly, "And this fellow Daoist, you must be one of the Great Immortal Masters of the Tutu Clan, correct?"

For Han Li, among this group, only the late Nascent Soul Great Immortal Master posed the greatest threat. Although there were many cultivators, he focused sixty to seventy percent of his attention on this individual.

"I, Xu, am indeed one of the Four Great Immortal Masters of the Tutu Clan. I once saw Fellow Daoist Han's back from afar, but it's a pity you weren't willing to stop for a moment to exchange pointers. I wonder, Brother Han, if you would be willing to enlighten me now?" the young man named Xu said expressionlessly, looking at Han Li, who was also young, speaking each word distinctly.