Chapter 1257: Deathly Silence

Jingyu gave a wry smile. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to try and conceal my disgrace. Back then, I was inadvertently led into the Blood Lake, where I encountered a formidable enemy and narrowly escaped death. Fortunately, today I was rescued by Daoist Mingyue, and only then was I able to escape."

Qin Sang looked at the chaotic battle ahead and asked, "Were you attacked by flesh puppets?"

Demon Lord Tongyou said helplessly, "We were actively hunting them, trying to capture one. We had previously exhausted all means to search for Old Demon Ye's traces, wandering aimlessly like headless flies. We also tried to start with the great array to find its core. However, even though the Black Pagoda Array is severely damaged, it's still incredibly vast and complex. With our current abilities, it's hard to decipher its patterns anytime soon. The flesh puppets must have been spawned by the Black Pagoda Array itself and are intricately connected to it, so we decided to start there."

Qing Jun continued, "The previous vibrations of the Black Pagoda Array must have been Old Demon Ye breaking some restriction. He deliberately set up a deceptive formation to tie us up outside the Blood Gate for a while, precisely to prevent us from tracking them. Now they have completely ceased revealing any sounds or traces. If we don't quickly decipher the Black Pagoda Array, I'm afraid it will be impossible to stop them."

As he spoke, Qing Jun glanced at Jingyu.

Demon Lord Tongyou also looked at her with anticipation.

Jingyu understood and said, "You two should first tell the fellow Daoists to stop. It's true that the flesh puppets were spawned by the Black Pagoda Array, but they have no intelligence; they aren't even truly living beings, so capturing them alive won't reveal anything. I know the location of the great array's core. That's precisely where I encountered danger back then. The Sinister Abyss painstakingly opened the Blood Lake, and most likely, they are heading there."

Then, Jingyu briefly recounted her past encounter, naturally omitting any mention of the Corpse Flower Blood Amber.

The cultivators, having shaken off the flesh puppets, were all extremely surprised upon hearing Jingyu's account.

"No wonder the Sinister Abyss mobilized such a large force, disregarding even the battlefield! An ancient cultivator sealed here can actually still be alive today?"

"The ancient cultivator's identity is unknown, and he wanted to capture Daoist Jingyu as 'blood food.' He's certainly not benevolent! Does Old Demon Ye know what the consequences will be if he's released?"

"Daoist Mingyue's guess isn't without reason. Old Demon Ye might know that the ancient cultivator is at the end of his tether, and being ambitious, he wants to imprison him and interrogate him for ancient secrets!"

Everyone began discussing animatedly, their interest instantly piqued by Jingyu's words.

They were all Nascent Soul cultivators, the most formidable figures of their time, yet they faced the dilemma of their path being cut off.

No treasure was as important as the path to cultivation.

Although among those present, there might not be anyone who could break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, who could refuse the temptation of gaining a glimpse of ancient secrets from the ancient cultivator's mouth?

Furthermore, if the Sinister Abyss succeeded in extracting ancient secret arts, their strength would greatly increase. Given Old Demon Ye's ambitious demeanor, the two realms would never know peace again.

If they seized the ancient cultivator, everyone would benefit.

After learning the full story, the cultivators didn't hesitate at all. They immediately decided to follow Jingyu to the core of the great array, to either seize the ancient cultivator or prevent Old Demon Ye from breaking the seal, depending on the situation.

Jingyu led the way, with the others following closely.

The great array was indeed extraordinarily complex. Had it not been for Jingyu leading the way, Old Demon Ye would likely have already taken the person away by the time they found the core.

Within the array, countless killing intents continuously shifted, bewildering them. As they continued to speed forward, the shadows of black pagodas began to appear densely, indicating that they were getting closer to the core of the great array.

After flying for some more time and circling past one black pagoda after another, Jingyu suddenly stopped.

The others stopped with her and saw two black pagodas standing side by side ahead.

These two black pagodas were almost identical to those elsewhere. What was special was that two more black pagodas stood side by side behind them. The four black pagodas were positioned to stabilize the four directions, forming a square space in the center.

Within this space, there were none of the killing intents encountered before. Instead, only a dense mass of blood mist continuously swirled around a unique black pagoda, unable to escape the confines of the four black pagodas.

This black pagoda was larger and taller than any they had seen before.

Everyone shifted their gaze, focusing on that black pagoda, but could not see any figures. They couldn't help but ask, "Is the ancient cultivator sealed within this black pagoda?"

Jingyu sneered, shaking her head. "Haven't you fellow Daoists noticed? This pagoda is merely an illusion created by the great array—a trick of the eye. However, it's true that the person is sealed between the four black pagodas. The illusions created by the Black Pagoda Array are very peculiar, appearing as if they are truly real. We must first break through the illusion before we can find the passage inside."

Everyone was extremely surprised. Indeed, no one had realized it was an illusion, and they could only marvel at the profundity of the great array.

Only Qin Sang had noticed a slight anomaly beforehand.

However, he hadn't expected the entire black pagoda to be an illusion. After Jingyu's reminder, he quickly concentrated and looked again.

Demon Lord Tongyou frowned. "Forcibly breaking the illusion would expose our whereabouts prematurely, wouldn't it? Fellow Daoist, do you have a better plan?"

Jingyu shook her head. "I only know how to break it with brute force."

Everyone exchanged glances. They had originally intended to approach secretly and strike when caught off guard, but now that seemed impossible. Time also wouldn't allow them to slowly search for a method to break the array.

Qin Sang observed for a while, but couldn't think of a better solution at the moment.

After discussion, they decided to take action.

Those who took action were Jingyu, Demon Lord Tongyou, and Master Chongyi along with his two disciples. They all possessed means to break illusions.

Demon Lord Tongyou took out a black gourd. With a flick of his finger, the blood-colored gourd flew high into the air, then erupted with clusters of black yin lightning, each as large as a human head.

These yin lightning bolts floated around Demon Lord Tongyou, held back, not yet unleashed.

Master Chongyi and his two disciples sat cross-legged on the ground. They each took out a green elixir and swallowed it. Then, Master Chongyi conjured a fresh, vibrant green spirit grass.

This spirit grass looked as if it had just been pulled from the earth, its blades stiff like slender swords, rotating in front of Master Chongyi.

However, its blades were multicolored, not appearing to be naturally grown, but rather a secret treasure.

Master Chongyi grasped the secret treasure, waving his arm and sending out streaks of strange light imbued with the power of the five elements, while his two disciples remained motionless.

Qin Sang sensed that the strange light fluctuations emitted by Master Chongyi were growing stronger with each passing moment, already exceeding Master Chongyi's individual capabilities. The master and his two disciples were jointly activating the secret treasure, yet he couldn't discern how they achieved this.

"Could it be because of that elixir?" Qin Sang sent a telepathic message to his senior sister.

Only then did he learn that the true inheritance of the Taiyi Pill Sect actually consists of only one cultivation method, yet different cultivators have different comprehensions and manifestations.

But through that elixir, one could temporarily change the characteristics of the cultivation method, allowing their will and true essence to connect. This not only enabled them to exert greater power but also to achieve things that a single individual couldn't, such as activating treasures beyond their individual capacity.

Qin Sang listened, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Just then, Jingyu revealed her demonic form. With a snap of her jaws, a flash of silvery-white lightning vanished into the blood mist, heading directly towards the illusory black pagoda.

Demon Lord Tongyou gathered all the yin lightning together and unleashed them.

Master Chongyi continuously waved his arm, sending out streaks of strange light like flowing water in a mighty torrent, closely following.