Chapter 1045: Ancient Divine Altar

Qin Sang trailed far behind, noticing that Venerable Ye seemed to be searching for something. He led Su Nu and others in a wide circle around the Baibao mountains before finally stopping in front of an unremarkable hill.

Venerable Ye paused and scrutinized the hill. It was covered in lush grass and verdant trees, providing ample shade. A few ferocious beasts roamed its slopes, and the scenery was pristine, showing no signs of human activity.

Lowering his head, Venerable Ye looked at the talisman in his hand. After carefully sensing for a moment, he nodded slightly and declared, "This must be the place!"

The long-bearded elder and the others were completely bewildered, unaware of what their master was searching for.

"Take this!" Venerable Ye produced a spiritual talisman. As the others took it, they saw a peculiar talisman engraved with a black dragon.

At this point, Venerable Ye turned his head and said, "Su Nu, come here."

Su Nu's heart tightened. Suppressing her unease, she stepped forward, bowed, and asked with a hint of confusion in her voice, "Disciple is here. What are your orders, Venerable Ye?"

"We are about to break a restriction. Your cultivation technique is unique, so listen to my commands..." Venerable Ye gave her a few instructions.

Su Nu felt suspicious but nodded silently.

After giving his instructions, Venerable Ye stepped forward, effortlessly slaying the beasts within. He then flew in a circle around the hill, finally hovering in the air on its western side.

He lowered his head slightly, staring at the hill, and suddenly formed hand seals, casting various incantations. Spiritual energy vibrated around him. Soon, dense runes floated above the hill, revealing an extraordinarily complex restriction. After a long period of intense activity, Venerable Ye finally paused. He then took out more than a dozen formation flags and inserted them one by one into the restriction. His breathing was rapid, indicating the immense mental effort expended.

By now, the outline of the restriction was visible. A complex flag formation, grand in its aura, floated in the void. Its purpose, however, remained unknown as it had not yet been activated.

"Go there," Venerable Ye instructed, pointing to the edge of the restriction.

The long-bearded elder and two others positioned themselves at three different points around the restriction. Under Venerable Ye's command, Su Nu also stepped forward a few paces and flew to the edge of the restriction.

Next, Venerable Ye produced a jade pendant and abruptly unsealed his cultivation! Immediately, an astonishing pressure appeared in the void, pressing down on him, and the very air seemed to distort.

Venerable Ye stood unsupported in mid-air. His aura surged as his cultivation recovered, but the pain he endured intensified. His bones audibly popped, and cracks appeared on his skin, further aggravating his injuries.

*Crack!* Venerable Ye gritted his teeth and forcefully crushed the jade pendant.

A beam of shimmering light burst forth. Bathed in this radiance, Venerable Ye's expression visibly relaxed; the light surprisingly helped him resist the pressure of the secret realm.

However, there was only one jade pendant, and its power was limited. Without hesitation, Venerable Ye swiftly flashed to the center of the flag formation, sat cross-legged, and rapidly cast hand seals. *Buzz...* The restriction was activated, and the spiritual formation began to operate.

"Now!" Venerable Ye commanded softly.

The long-bearded elder and the others were already prepared. Upon hearing the command, they immediately activated the talismans in their hands. In an instant, dragon roars echoed throughout the mountains and forests.

Four black dragons roared forth, each over ten zhang long. Their divine eyes exuded power, and they looked majestic. Their potent aura generated fierce winds that raged through the mountains.

At this moment, Qin Sang, hidden on a distant mountain, witnessed the entire scene. His eyes gleamed as he found the scene remarkably familiar.

Soon, he recalled. During his first visit to the Seven Killings Hall, he had to perform a task for the East Pole Alliance, following Xiang Yi into the Purple Mist Abyss. Xiang Yi and his group had also used black flood dragons conjured from talismans to suppress the backlash from the ancient divine platform's thunder chains, ultimately breaking its restriction. This current situation was quite similar. The only difference was that the black flood dragons had transformed into black dragons, far more powerful in both size and aura than their previous counterparts.

The black dragons were unruly. The long-bearded elder and the others struggled greatly, finding it difficult to control the dragons even with all their might. Only Su Nu remained remarkably relaxed; the black dragon circled obediently above her head.

"Is the True Demonic Qi sealed within the talisman?" Su Nu sensed a familiar aura from the black dragon—it was indeed the True Demonic Qi she cultivated. At that moment, Venerable Ye's voice suddenly reached her ear: "Activate your cultivation technique and do as I say..."

Su Nu dared not defy Venerable Ye and meticulously followed his instructions.

With Su Nu's participation, the other three black dragons also became significantly more docile.

Finally, all the black dragons whimpered and collectively plunged into the grand formation. With a dull thunderous roar, the grand formation glowed brilliantly, merging with the black dragons to form a colossal sword of light. It then descended from the air, thrusting towards the hill!

Given the immense power of the light sword, penetrating the hill should have been effortless. However, a surprising sight emerged. Without warning, a dazzling golden light erupted from within the hill, forming a hemispherical barrier. Deep within the golden radiance, the vague outline of a massive divine platform became discernible.

"An ancient divine platform!" Qin Sang squinted, examining it closely. "No! It only looks similar, but it's much grander than the one in the Purple Mist Abyss, and its runes are more intricate. However, I can confirm that these two divine platforms are connected..."

"Break!" Venerable Ye roared, slamming his palm downward. *Boom!* The light sword struck the barrier. The barrier, which was actually a type of seal, shimmered with blinding golden light, shaking the surrounding mountains. Yet, the ancient stone platform within remained unmoving. The seal was incredibly robust and had not been pierced by the light sword.

But as the two forces were locked in a stalemate, Venerable Ye flicked his other hand downwards. The talisman in his grasp fell, appearing to descend slowly yet actually moving with great speed, settling lightly onto the barrier's surface.

Simultaneously, the black dragons, formed by True Demonic Qi, collectively lunged towards the spiritual talisman. With a hum, the black dragons wrapped around the talisman and, incredibly, pierced through the barrier from the tip of the light sword.

Inside the barrier, the divine platform's restriction was activated. Four iron chains transformed into a silvery-white color, and countless lightning bolts struck upwards from below. These chains were also thunder chains, but their power far surpassed those of the divine platform in the Purple Mist Abyss.

*Rumble!* The black dragons were engulfed by the thunder and lightning. Their True Demonic Qi dispersed, and their forms visibly shrank, but they successfully protected the spiritual talisman.

Finally, the talisman landed on the divine platform.

Venerable Ye let out a long breath. With a hand seal, the light sword shattered. The spiritual flags that formed the grand formation were also covered in cracks, their power completely depleted and rendered unusable.

At that moment, both the golden light and the silhouette of the divine platform vanished. Only the ravaged hill remained, indicating that something extraordinary had taken place there.

"The matter is concluded. We can leave now," Venerable Ye stated. The shimmering light around him dissipated, and he sealed his cultivation. He coughed a few times, a flush appearing on his face, and his posture seemed somewhat unsteady.

"That's it?" Su Nu was dumbfounded.

She had believed that the Merchant Alliance intended her harm, perhaps even to use her as a sacrifice again. She had desperately sought to escape and save herself, going so far as to collude with outsiders to seize the Soul Cleansing Liquid and even ambushing her senior brother for interrogation. It turned out there was no such scheme; the Merchant Alliance merely used her demonic cultivation to suppress the black dragons. Her frantic efforts now seemed utterly ridiculous. Bitterness welled up in Su Nu's heart.