Chapter 1409: Red Flame Flow

On the other side, Qin Sang and his companions found themselves in a similar predicament. Fierce winds howled. Blazing, strange winds blew continuously towards them. Aside from these peculiar winds, there was nothing else visible in any direction—above or below. They could find no landmarks to determine their current location.

At first glance, these peculiar winds didn't seem particularly special. Only upon closer contact did they realize their formidable power. Within the strange winds, there wasn't just scorching red flame energy, but also an unknown golden substance, like liquid gold. Ordinary defensive measures offered little protection against this golden substance. Qin Sang and his group tried several protective secret arts, with various lights emanating from their bodies, but once they encountered the golden substance, they proved as fragile as paper, easily pierced through. Yet, when they tried to collect the golden substance for research, no method worked; it always vanished into thin air right before their eyes. Such an anomalous phenomenon was unheard of by all four present.

Fortunately, this golden substance wasn't endless, nor was it present in every strange wind; there were intermittent breaks. This left them with much more room to maneuver.

"It bypasses true essence... Such a thing exists in this world!" the cultivator surnamed Qi exclaimed in surprise. If they could control this golden substance, wouldn't they be unstoppable? Any cultivators who relied on magical arts would be countered by the golden substance, and most cultivators in the current cultivation world did.

"This substance may not even be truly real!" Valley Master Mu intently watched the silver shield in his hand. The silver shield, a protective magical treasure of his, had just transformed into a ten-meter-high giant shield, blocking a strange wind for them. The surface of the silver shield was now stained with several patches of golden liquid. Just as Valley Master Mu was about to make a move, a golden flash appeared, and the familiar scene replayed: the golden liquid vanished without a trace. Taking a deep breath, Valley Master Mu said, "It's highly likely an external manifestation of the formation's power. This power surpasses our realm, which is why it appears so unusual."

Qin Sang had remained silent all this time, but hearing this, he quietly nodded. He also thought that even if such a miraculous treasure existed in the world and was obtained by the Pure Sea Sect, they wouldn't bear to use it for a formation. If they refined it into magical treasures, one for each person, wouldn't the Pure Sea Sect become instantly invincible? The cultivators of the Northern Sea would then be at their mercy.

The reason was likely that either this formation, or the realm of its creator, was too high, exceeding their comprehension. "This is the Pure Sea Sect's protective grand formation, not an ancient remnant formation like those in Ziwei Palace. Not only is the formation's origin extraordinary, but its creator must be at least a Grand Cultivator. It couldn't be... Such a powerful force, such strong individuals, why are they unheard of in the Northern Sea?" A thought suddenly popped into Qin Sang's mind, and he felt a sense of strangeness. Recalling the various legends and strange tales he had heard in the Northern Sea, he had never heard of a Buddhist Grand Cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage.

At this point, Valley Master Mu added, "The strange winds containing the golden liquid only appear periodically, which supports our conjecture: the grand formation likely needs a certain amount of time to brew its power."

"Even so, this is not good news for us," the female cultivator surnamed Wang sighed. "If it were just the golden liquid, it would be fine. But those strange winds, infused with scorching fire, are incredibly powerful. Combined with the golden substance, they can strike the magical treasures themselves without any obstruction. None of our life-bound magical treasures are primarily defensive, and the highest quality defensive item among us is my high-grade Thousand-Patterned Armor. If we're trapped here for too long, I fear our treasures might be damaged." The Thousand-Patterned Armor was the turtle-shell-shaped magical treasure the female cultivator surnamed Wang had previously taken out. Defensive magical treasures known for their hardness were already rare. Generally, a cultivator's highest-grade magical treasure was their life-bound one, as it was the easiest to enhance.

Among the four present, Valley Master Mu cultivated a life-bound insect venom, and his snake spear was versatile in both offense and defense, but the snake armor he conjured was ineffective against the golden liquid. His silver shield was of lower quality than the female cultivator Wang's Thousand-Patterned Armor. Both Qi and Wang were only at the early Nascent Soul stage, and their life-bound magical treasures hadn't even reached the top-grade level. Fortunately, the female cultivator Wang had unexpectedly obtained the Thousand-Patterned Armor, or their situation would have been even more dire. Even Qin Sang's most relied-upon treasures were not proving very effective.

"If only the Nine-Life Black Tortoise Armor were still usable," Qin Sang thought to himself. With its quality, there would be no need to worry at all. In recent years, his energy had been focused on refining the Sun God Tree and the Golden Sinking Sword. Now, he only had a few hastily refined defensive magical treasures to make do. A mid-grade bronze mirror floated before his chest. The mirror's surface bore several indentations, left by the recent impacts.

"For us, the presence of the scorching flame energy is a double-edged sword," Qin Sang interjected, activating his true essence to smooth the bronze mirror. "The Pure Sea Sect's protective grand formation is so powerful that if it weren't for the impact of the scorching flames, causing changes and potentially even fissures in the formation, the aura of the Myriad Spirit Fruit wouldn't have been able to escape. Otherwise, the Fire Jade Centipede likely wouldn't have sensed the Myriad Spirit Fruit so easily."

"Indeed! Where there are drawbacks, there are advantages! Moreover, we've been inside for so long, and the formation shows no changes, indicating it's a 'dead formation.' Breaking through it shouldn't be difficult; it will just take some time." Valley Master Mu nodded heavily, agreeing with Qin Sang's assessment. "Daoist priest, can the Fire Jade Centipede sense the Myriad Spirit Fruit now?"

Qin Sang roused the Fire Jade Centipede. A moment later, Qin Sang nodded slightly. "Various auras are intertwined within the formation, so it can only pinpoint a general direction." As he spoke, Qin Sang pointed to the left. The other three looked in that direction. The view there was no different from any other direction.

"For us, any direction is the same," Valley Master Mu stated decisively. "Instead of aimlessly searching for a weakness in the grand formation, we might as well go there!" Qin Sang and the other two had no objections, and immediately changed direction, flying towards the boundless space on the left.

As they flew, gusts of strange winds continuously assailed them. They already had experience dealing with them, so the journey was without much alarm or danger.

Qin Sang didn't forget to observe Valley Master Mu's every move. He suspected that the Pure Sea Sect had intricate ties with the Wu Clan. Valley Master Mu knew much more about the Pure Sea Sect than he let on, concealing many pieces of information. Given the current situation, other Nascent Soul cultivators could arrive at any moment. The priority was to obtain the Pure Sea Sect's treasures as quickly as possible. If Valley Master Mu knew anything that could aid in breaking the formation, now was the time to reveal it.

However, the result left Qin Sang somewhat bewildered. Valley Master Mu seemed truly ignorant of the protective grand formation. "Could it be that the Ancestor of Hundred Flowers Valley obtained the Wu Clan's legacy from elsewhere, and it truly has no connection to the Pure Sea Sect? Was this just a coincidence?" Qin Sang couldn't help but begin to doubt his own judgment. However, it was too soon to draw conclusions before entering the Pure Sea Sect.

Qin Sang made up his mind: after obtaining the Myriad Spirit Fruit, he would secretly follow Valley Master Mu. Just as Qin Sang's thoughts were racing, the formation finally began to change. As time passed, the frequency and power of the strange winds gradually intensified, putting increasing pressure on them. Unbeknownst to them, they had been flying through this space for a full two hours, yet still hadn't reached its end!