Chapter 1044: Breaking the Formation and Escaping the Trap

**Chapter Six: Heavenly Spirit Treasures**

As everyone simultaneously attacked the grand formation surrounding the palace, no one noticed that two female cultivators were secretly conversing.

"Senior Sister, are we really going to help them break through this formation? Could this palace be the sealed ground of the Ancient Devil Ancestor that Elder Xiang mentioned? Otherwise, why would the Eight-Spirit Ruler appear here!" The beautiful woman secretly transmitted her voice to Lady Mu, looking extremely worried.

"Junior Sister, rest assured, this is definitely not where that demonic creature is sealed; otherwise, the Dragon Transformation Seal would have reacted long ago. As for why I want to break this formation, it's not entirely for the Eight-Spirit Ruler. The key formation eye that controls the entire Kunwu Mountain's restrictions is located within the ninth layer of this Devil Sealing Pagoda. If we want to reinforce the seal, besides the Dragon Transformation Seal, we must also cast spells on the final layer. But look around, where is the entrance? The only suspicious place is this palace. The entrance is most likely somewhere inside the palace, and this Eight-Spirit Ruler and this formation might just be used to seal the entrance to the ninth layer. I didn't explain this in detail to you at first, so it's no wonder you have so many concerns," Lady Mu replied, appearing confident.

"So that's it! No wonder I asked why Senior Sister didn't go reinforce the seal but instead dragged me here without explanation. But this Eight-Spirit Ruler, we..." The beautiful woman suddenly understood.

"Speaking of the Eight-Spirit Ruler, it's also a relic of our Immortal Transformation Sect's ancestors. It's only natural for us to retrieve it," Lady Mu interrupted the beautiful woman before she could finish.

"That's true, but I'm afraid it will be very difficult for us to acquire this treasure," the beautiful woman replied hesitantly, glancing at the surrounding cultivators and demonic creatures like the Silver-Winged Yakshas.

"That's not necessarily true. Don't forget, the Four-Symbol Ruler in your hand was crafted as an imitation of the Eight-Spirit Ruler. When we make our move to seize the treasure later, activating your ruler might produce a miraculous effect. And even if we fail, don't forget that Elder Xiang can arrive at any moment. At that time, no matter who possesses this Heavenly Spirit Treasure, they'll have to hand it over obediently. Given his relationship with our Immortal Transformation Sect, even if we can't get the Eight-Spirit Ruler, we're sure to gain other substantial benefits if we plead with him," Lady Mu said with a hint of slyness in her voice.

"That's true! But where does that black teleportation array in the stone chamber we entered lead to? Could that be the sealed ground of the Ancient Devil? It's a pity that array is out of order. Otherwise, we could have gone to check it out first," the beautiful woman asked, remembering another detail.

"Who knows? Perhaps. Our sect's ancient texts don't mention the specific details of the Ancient Devil's sealing," Lady Mu replied, startled for a moment.

While the two women were secretly conversing, they were unaware that in another dark space nearby, the Ancient Devil Ancestor they spoke of was currently breaking through the numerous restraints of its seal.

Five demonic artifacts—the ink mirror, jade lotus, ring, command arrow, and small black bottle—floated above the two-headed giant wolf, simultaneously spewing black light pillars downwards. Each pillar submerged into the enormous body of the silver wolf, causing a layer of ominous demonic light to shimmer on its surface. This light forcefully pushed the talismans and chains on its body several feet away.

The talismans and black chains, in response, flickered with unusual light, seemingly activating the restrictions they contained.

But what was most astonishing was not this, but the yellow bronze mirrors surrounding them. At this moment, they all hummed in unison, emitting yellow light pillars several times thicker than before, making the cage they formed appear indestructible.

The two-headed, four-armed Ancient Devil floated in mid-air, forming hand seals to control the five demonic artifacts. Both of its faces displayed grave expressions as it stared at the silver wolf above.

Below it, the black teleportation array was enveloped by a set of formation flags emitting a gray light, temporarily halting the array's operation to prevent other cultivators from entering.

At this moment, the silver wolf's black wolf head completely transformed into a demonic appearance. Not only did its single horn swell significantly, but black electrical arcs constantly flickered on it, emitting rumbling thunder. From the wolf head's eyes, dazzling purple demonic flames pulsed, and the talismans caught in its gaze strangely self-combusted, turning into piles of ash.

With the infusion of demonic energy from the five demonic artifacts, this Ancient Devil Ancestor's soul fragment finally accumulated enough demonic energy and began casting spells to break free.

Time passed slowly. When the black wolf head finally turned the last talisman near its body into nothingness, it let out a low roar. Its already astonishing body then swelled dramatically again amidst flickering black light, as if transforming into a god capable of creating heaven and earth, filling the entire space.

The cage formed by yellow light pillars barely held the giant wolf for a moment before being forcefully torn apart. Hundreds of bronze mirrors simultaneously exploded, turning into scattered stars and vanishing without a trace.

However, the seemingly inconspicuous Great Zhou Celestial Chain, which had been there before, shimmered and grew thicker and larger as the giant wolf's body expanded. It continued to bind the wolf tightly, refusing to loosen for even a moment. Furthermore, perhaps due to the wolf's struggles, a layer of milky-white flame suddenly ignited on the surface of the thick chain.

The smell of burnt flesh instantly filled the entire space.

The milky-white flame astonishingly disregarded the protective demonic light on the giant wolf's body, directly igniting its fur.

The black wolf head showed an expression of extreme pain; this fire seemed far from ordinary.

Upon seeing the milky-white flame, the Ancient Devil below revealed a hint of fear on its face and murmured:

"Pure Yang White Bone Fire! I didn't expect those ancient cultivators to integrate this demonic fire into this chain. This is quite troublesome."

But at that moment, the black wolf head abruptly flung its massive head. With a thunderous boom, the black electrical arcs on its horn transformed into a thunderball that flew straight into the air before exploding.

Countless black lightning bolts instantly descended from the sky, striking all the black chains.

In an instant, white flames and black lightning intertwined and flashed. It was as if two strange pythons were tearing and coiling around each other, and eerie muffled thuds resonated loudly!

The black wolf head refused to give up. With a surge of purple flame in its eyes, a low incantation emanated from its mouth. It opened its maw, and a black light mist swept outwards. Wherever it passed, black waves surged, and distant, densely packed, unknown restrictions were all swept away, creating an astonishing momentum.

The Ancient Devil below saw this and showed a look of delight on its face.

It seemed that although this Ancient Devil Ancestor's soul fragment had been trapped for many years, its divine abilities remained intact, and it would not take long for it to break free.

At the entrance to the sealed rift on Kunwu Mountain, figures moved about, but the number of gathered cultivators had not increased. Compared to the previous thousand, there were only two to three hundred, a drastic reduction of more than half.

However, Xuanqingzi, who was sitting cross-legged before the entrance, did not look relaxed; instead, his expression grew heavier.

This was because most of these two to three hundred individuals were cultivators above the Core Formation stage, and there were even more than a dozen Nascent Soul stage cultivators among them.

If not for the immense reputation of the Taiyi Sect and Xuanqingzi himself being a Grand Cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage, some of the people present would likely have long since been unable to resist attempting to enter the rift behind him.

Even so, this Taiyi Sect elder probably wouldn't be able to stop the cultivators for much longer. After all, many of the current cultivators were elders from major sects and influential factions, forces that even the Taiyi Sect was unwilling to easily provoke.

"Daoist Brother Xuanqingzi, how long do you intend to make us wait? I didn't come here to waste my time!" Finally, someone in the crowd grew impatient. An elderly man with a ruddy complexion stepped forward; he was a cultivator at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, haven't I told you? No one can pass through this rift right now. I'm stopping you all not because I don't want to, but to prevent you from needlessly losing your lives," Xuanqingzi sighed inwardly but replied with his eyes open, his expression remarkably calm.

"But I heard that cultivators from the Yin Luo Sect and the Immortal Transformation Sect have already gone inside. What's the meaning of that?" the elder surnamed Luo asked, displeased.

"That's because Lady Mu and Brother Qian had the Sun-Moon Shuttles and the Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock to clear the way, so they could naturally take the risk. If Brother Luo also possessed one of the three great spirit shuttles, I would certainly not stop you in the slightest. In fact, if you just wait patiently for a few more days, this rift will return to its original state," Xuanqingzi calmly explained.

"Wait a few more days, and I'm afraid the treasures inside will have long been plundered by Old Devil Qian and his group!" another somewhat displeased voice sounded. Then, a figure entirely shrouded in a green mist drifted and swayed out from behind the crowd.

"So, it's Fellow Daoist Yu from Bilin Cliff," Xuanqingzi's brows furrowed when he saw the figure. Although this person wasn't a cultivator from a major sect or influential faction, their mastery of poison was renowned throughout Great Jin, making them a troublesome character whom even Xuanqingzi preferred not to easily confront.

Frankly, he held no genuine concern for the lives or deaths of these people. Even if they were all lost in the rift, he wouldn't even bat an eyelid.

However, a secret report he had received earlier stated that the cultivators opening the seal were likely from the Ye family. As he pondered the Ye family's intentions, he immediately received a mysterious order from his sect: he had to join forces with True Master Qimiao of the Heavenly Demon Sect to enter the rift, and before that, he had to do his best to prevent other cultivators from entering.

The identity of the person who issued the order was extremely special within the Taiyi Sect; even he dared not disobey in the slightest. Otherwise, given his status, why would he undertake such a thankless task?

However, since the order specifically required two late-stage cultivators to join forces to enter the sealed area, it was clear that whatever was sealed within was far from simple.

Indeed, not long ago, he received another jade slip message containing information about this very seal. After reading it, the old Daoist was greatly alarmed and couldn't help but deeply regret allowing Old Devil Qian and the others to enter previously.

Naturally, he was now even more hesitant to allow other cultivators to enter the rift.

Otherwise, with so many cultivators rushing in, it would undoubtedly cause trouble. If the sealed entity were to be released, who in the Human Realm could stand against it? Moreover, since there was also a Heavenly Spirit Treasure inside, it was naturally even more imperative not to let others acquire it.