Chapter 1084: Red Leaf King Coughs Blood

"So that's how it is..." Zhang Xuan understood immediately upon hearing the explanation.

No wonder! He had previously suspected that King Tianye, who was attached to Jiang Yuan's body, seemed to be weaker than expected. It turned out that King Tianye's true body was trapped deep within the ruins, and what they had encountered was merely a faint wisp of his consciousness.

"While a primordial spirit can survive independently, a mere wisp of consciousness cannot exist indefinitely... I suspect this fellow was also present when we captured King Tuye, but we just didn't notice him," he thought, a possibility dawning on him.

A primordial spirit can indeed survive on its own, but a wisp of consciousness doesn't possess such formidable capabilities.

King Tianye most likely hid on King Tuye's person to infiltrate the Poison Hall in Jingyuan City.

At the time, they hadn't considered this possibility and hadn't discovered anything unusual.

Later, this fellow realized he had only obtained an introduction, not the actual map. At some point, he secretly entered Jiang Yuan's body and pretended to follow them.

He hoped to learn the map's secret from them.

If not for this, he would have surely killed them long ago.

"You've learned about the map. Where exactly is it?" Seeing him in thought, King Hongye, without suspicion, couldn't help but ask.

"The map should be with that fellow named Zhang Xuan!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Zhang Xuan?" King Hongye shook his head. "King Tianye observed him closely throughout our journey. Although that fellow has many tricks and unpredictable ideas, he shouldn't know anything about the map. If he did, he wouldn't be trapped in the Celestial Palace and unable to get out even now!" Zhang Xuan, despite appearing formidable, merely possessed minor cleverness and small tricks; he shouldn't have the map.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to go through so many dangers and would have already entered the depths of the ruins directly.

"He truly doesn't know about the map, but the map is indeed in his possession!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

"Oh?" King Hongye was puzzled.

"This fellow once received Wu Yangzi's inheritance, and it included the map. However, he didn't get the introduction to the ruins written in ancient divine script that King Tianye stole... So, he couldn't understand it at all and wasn't aware that this map was connected to these ruins. Naturally, he wouldn't have brought it out!" Zhang Xuan explained.

"This..." King Hongye was startled.

This was something he hadn't considered.

"Where did you get this information?" King Hongye paused, then quickly asked.

"These past few days, I infiltrated human society and specifically went to Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy. I inquired about this matter thoroughly, so there's absolutely no mistake!" Zhang Xuan stated.

"If that's the case, it's indeed possible..." King Hongye's eyes lit up. "If this information is true, I will report it to Emperor Qingtian and reward you once we get out! Alright, wait here for now. I'll break through the formation this fellow set up and drag him out..."

"Don't be so hasty..." Zhang Xuan quickly interrupted him, continuing, "While I know the map might be in Zhang Xuan's possession, it's uncertain where he placed it or if he's carrying it. After all, this place is dangerous, and he's the head of the Master Teacher Academy; it would be normal for him to leave a map he doesn't understand back at the academy..."

"Hmm?" King Hongye looked at him.

What the other party said made sense. If Zhang Xuan didn't know the map was related to these ruins, and knowing that entering them was a life-and-death gamble, he would very likely leave it at the academy. If that were the case, they would be in trouble.

"How about this?" Zhang Xuan suggested. "King Tianye obtained the introduction to the ruins written in ancient divine script, didn't he? Why don't we bring it out first and use it as bait to lure him out..."

"Lure him out? How do we do that?" King Hongye frowned.

If they could have done that, they would have already done so and wouldn't have waited until now.

"The Sage Clans can locate long-lost relatives through the unique properties of their bloodlines. Since both these items are written in ancient divine script, we can leverage their commonality to make them attract each other... I've learned this method during my time at the Master Teacher Academy these past few days. Just give me this introduction to the ruins, and I guarantee I can pinpoint the map's exact location..." Zhang Xuan nodded.

"I've heard about the Sage Clans' abilities... If such a secret method truly exists, that would be wonderful..." King Hongye nodded. With a flick of his wrist, a jade box appeared. "This is the introduction to the ruins. King Tianye left it with me earlier!"

As King Tianye had entered Jiang Yuan's body, it was impossible for him to carry this item, so he had left it with the person before him.

"Good!" Zhang Xuan reached out, took the jade box, and gently opened it. He looked inside, and his eyes involuntarily lit up.

Inside was a book that looked extremely old and worn. Its appearance was remarkably similar to the map he had previously obtained from Wu Yangzi, suggesting they came from the same batch.

With a gentle touch of his finger, countless pieces of knowledge instantly appeared in his mind.

The text written on the map and in the book was indeed identical, abstruse and difficult to understand, making it impossible to discern its true nature.

"If I study it carefully, I should be able to figure out some of the content..." This was a book with incomplete descriptions. If he studied it well, he should be able to understand some parts, but... he knew this was not the time for research.

He casually closed the jade box and looked back. "Here's the thing: to perform this secret method, we need to set up a grand formation of the peak Seven-Star level. As you know, my understanding of formations is far inferior to yours, so I'll probably need your help later..."

"Set up a grand formation?" King Hongye nodded.

His ability to control the formations within this Celestial Palace proved his extremely powerful grasp of the art of formations.

"Yes, I'll tell you the positions for the formation. Let's start setting it up now..." Zhang Xuan nodded, then flicked his wrist, producing a pile of formation flags, roughly Rank-7.

"Alright!" King Hongye nodded, not taking the formation flags.

"Thirty meters to the left, at the Jiaxu position. Twenty-seven meters to the right, at the Hangu position..." Zhang Xuan began.

He was speaking in terms used in Rank-7 formations, representing precise locations, which anyone knowledgeable about formations would understand.

As Zhang Xuan listed each specific position, King Hongye uttered a sound of admiration. His True Qi surged, and he drove the formation flags into the ground one by one.

"Wait a minute, why does this formation feel like a killing formation?" After setting it up for a while, King Hongye frowned, as if he had discovered something.

He himself had a deep understanding of formations. Although he had never seen the positions mentioned by the supposed King Ziye, they fundamentally resembled a killing formation.

Weren't they supposed to set up a formation to find the map? Why were they building a killing formation?

In an instant, King Hongye was filled with doubt.

"A killing formation? King Hongye, you're overthinking it. This formation does indeed resemble a killing formation somewhat, but once it's activated, you'll see the difference..." Zhang Xuan smiled, his expression sincere.

"Different? I think it's exactly a killing formation. The flags at those three positions can activate Heavenly Gang, and those other positions can activate Earthly Fiends. If one were trapped inside, even a Half-Step Dimension Sundering realm expert would likely not escape..." King Hongye frowned.

"From above, these positions do resemble a killing formation, but from below, it's different... If you don't believe me, come over here!" Zhang Xuan smiled, swayed his body, and entered the center of the flag arrangement. "Come here and see..."

"Hmm!" Although King Hongye found it strange, he nodded and followed closely behind the other party, arriving at the specified location.

After all, the other person was also inside, and the formation was not yet complete, so it couldn't be activated.

"Stand here and don't move. Look in that direction... Oh, right, don't move. I'll just adjust a formation flag, and you'll understand the mystery of this formation..." Seeing King Hongye stand still in front of him, Zhang Xuan's body swayed, and he flew up, shouting loudly as he ascended, "Absolutely don't move! If you move, you won't be able to see clearly. Yes, right there..."

Before he finished speaking, several formation flags suddenly appeared in his palm and shot straight out.

"You're... using the Hundred Flags to Solidify the Void? You're not King Ziye... Who exactly are you?" King Hongye, who was standing below, waiting for the other party to move the flags to reveal the formation's structure, suddenly saw the flags shoot out from the fellow's palm. His pupils abruptly constricted, and True Qi surged wildly from within him, like an explosion.

The Hundred Flags to Solidify the Void was a technique only Seven-Star Formation Masters could employ, allowing a formation to be rapidly set up without delaying combat... King Ziye wasn't proficient in formations, so how could he deploy one so quickly?

Clearly, this fellow was an imposter!

*Swish, swish, swish, swish!* As True Qi surged and he was about to fly up to kill the imposter, he saw the other person gently stamp his foot.

*Boom!* The formation that had just been set up instantly activated, and countless brilliant sword qi shot straight towards him.

"You..." His pupils constricted, and King Hongye nearly fainted on the spot.

Although he was a peak Rank-7 Formation Master and could also use the Hundred Flags to Solidify the Void, he could never activate a formation with a mere stomp of his foot as the other party had done.

The reason he dared to enter the formation earlier was precisely because he believed no one could activate it so quickly, and even if there were danger, he could escape in a short time...

He had never dreamed that this fellow could not only employ the Hundred Flags to Solidify the Void but also activate the formation so rapidly, leaving him no time to escape!

Before he could react, a sword qi pierced King Hongye's chest, and blood flowed profusely.

Although he managed to avoid a vital spot in the crisis, it still left him in a dishevelled state, completely devoid of his previous mocking demeanor.

"Who exactly are you?" He clenched his teeth and roared furiously.

As the second-ranked super expert among the Ten Kings of the Qingtian Lineage, to be openly mocked and trapped in a formation, King Hongye was seething with rage, almost to the point of explosion.

"My apologies, I'm precisely the one you intended to kill..." Zhang Xuan smiled, restoring his original appearance.

"You... you're Zhang Xuan? How could you disguise yourself as King Ziye and prevent me from discovering it?" King Hongye couldn't believe it.

Humans don't cultivate Slaughter True Qi, so how could he disguise himself as King Ziye so perfectly that even King Hongye couldn't discern the truth?

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his body trembled. "You... you killed King Ziye too?"

No sooner had he spoken than he saw the young man outside the formation stroking his chin, an embarrassed expression on his face. "Well... it's not just King Ziye. Currently, apart from King Tianye and you... almost all of the Ten Kings have died by my hand..."

"Pfft!" King Hongye spat out a mouthful of blood.