Chapter 1206: Illusory Spirit Moth

Their calculations were shrewd, but would Wang Qingshan and the other three allow them to take advantage?

The mountain was home to many exotic flowers and rare herbs. A bluestone staircase extended from the foot of the mountain to the summit; its surface had some clearly visible cracks and was covered with moss.

Lush vegetation grew on both sides of the bluestone staircase. Wang Qingshan and the other three advanced slowly, their faces filled with caution.

Before long, they reached the halfway point up the mountain. Ahead of them was a very spacious courtyard with its gate wide open, as if its protective enchantments had been broken.

The ground was uneven and pitted. Passages on both the left and right sides led to other courtyards.

Miao Jiale's gaze shifted, and with a flick of his sleeve, a beam of green light shot out. The light flashed, transforming into a young man clad in green armor. His eyes were vacant, and the character "符" (fú) was inscribed on the armor's surface. This was a Talisman Soldier at the Core Formation stage.

"Go," Miao Jiale commanded, gently pointing towards the courtyard. The Talisman Soldier stepped forward and walked into the courtyard.

As soon as the Talisman Soldier entered the courtyard, a swath of yellow light glowed on the floor, enveloping it.

The Talisman Soldier felt its body tighten, finding it difficult to move even a single step.

A whizzing sound pierced the air as densely packed yellow spears flew from all directions, about to pierce the Talisman Soldier's body.

Miao Jiale formed a hand seal, and the Talisman Soldier's body radiated a brilliant green light. A misty green long saber appeared in its hand, and it cleaved towards the void in front of it.

A series of dull clanging sounds followed as all the yellow earth spears were shattered by the green long saber, sending dust flying.

The Talisman Soldier brandished the green long saber in its hand and cleaved towards the ground.

Boom! With a loud bang, the floor shattered into pieces, the yellow light vanished, and the Talisman Soldier regained its freedom.

The Talisman Soldier circled the courtyard, finding no abnormalities.

Seeing this, Wang Qingshan and the other three finally felt relieved and walked inside.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Miao Jiale said, frowning as he looked at the messy courtyard, "it appears someone was a step ahead of us, breaking the restrictions and seeking treasures first."

There were now two passages, and no one knew where they led, let alone what lay at their ends.

"It's not first come, first served; it doesn't matter who arrived first. Fellow Daoist Miao, I think we should split up!" Wang Qingshan proposed. He had only teamed up with Miao Jiale because he was unfamiliar with the situation here.

Such cooperation was merely temporary and unreliable. If they encountered many treasures, it would be fine, but if there was only one, especially a valuable one, both sides would surely turn against each other.

Therefore, Wang Qingshan felt it was better to split up with Miao Jiale.

Miao Jiale also considered this point, nodding as he replied, "Alright, the warning array they set up has been broken, so they must know someone has entered. Fellow Daoist Wang, you must be careful."

"Thank you, we will be careful. Farewell."

Wang Qingshan led Wang Tianwen towards the courtyard on the left. The courtyard was pitted and uneven, and several broken array disks could be seen.

Wang Tianwen took out seven misty green talismans and threw them around the courtyard.

A green light flashed, and the seven talismans transformed into seven beams of green light that vanished into the ground.

These were Seven-Star Warning Talismans, primarily for warning, though they also had the effect of trapping enemies.

Given the commercial prosperity of the Great Yan Dynasty, Wang Tianwen had bought this set of Seven-Star Warning Talismans at an underground auction for exploration, and they were now proving useful.

Miao Jiale took out eighteen light-silver talismans and threw them out. The eighteen talismans transformed into eighteen beams of silver light that vanished into the ground.

This was a set of high-grade third-tier array talismans, primarily for trapping enemies and guarding against latecomers, though they also implicitly served as a precaution against Wang Qingshan.

When valuable treasures were involved, Miao Jiale could not afford to be generous.

The Miao family currently had only one Nascent Soul cultivator, making them outwardly strong but inwardly weak. The family urgently needed a second Nascent Soul cultivator, and Miao Jiale, as a key disciple nurtured by the family, understood this clearly.

Wang Qingshan's strength was too great; Miao Jiale felt his chances of winning would be slim in a life-or-death battle.

Splitting up to search for treasures was the best option, aligning with both parties' interests.

Miao Jiale was wary of Wang Qingshan, and Wang Qingshan was no less wary of Miao Jiale.

After passing through this courtyard, a verdant bamboo forest appeared before them.

A gentle breeze blew, and the bamboo leaves rustled.

Wang Tianwen released an ape puppet beast, which entered the bamboo forest and circled around, finding no abnormalities.

Only then did Wang Tianwen and Wang Qingshan feel at ease and proceed to follow.

They had not walked far when a swarm of green moths unexpectedly flew out from the bamboo forest and swarmed towards Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen.

Leading the swarm was a three-zhang large green moth, its wings bearing colorful patterns.

This was a high-grade third-tier spiritual insect, likely placed here by other cultivators.

The green moth flapped its wings fiercely, and a cloud of seven-colored powder, emitting a strange fragrance, swept out, striking towards Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen.

Wang Qingshan lightly flicked his finger, and a large swath of green sword energy shot out, striking the seven-colored powder.

Boom! The seven-colored powder was shattered by the green sword energy and vanished without a trace.

Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen felt a dizzying sensation and suddenly found themselves in a world of ice and snow.

From high above, snowflake-sized pellets continuously drifted down. A cold wind whistled past, and a biting chill assailed them from all directions, making Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen shiver.

"An illusion? Interesting."

Wang Qingshan frowned. It was his first time encountering such a powerful spiritual insect.

"Tianwen, don't be careless. Break the formation as quickly as possible!"

Wang Qingshan formed a sword seal, and a large number of green sword shadows appeared around him. After a blur, they instantly solidified.

"Go!" Thousands of green flying swords struck towards a certain void, resembling a massive green python, emitting angry roars.

The silver jade brush in Wang Tianwen's hand danced wildly, and mysterious silver runes appeared in the void. After a swift rotation, all the silver runes gathered together, transforming into a gleaming silver greatsword that seemed to pierce the sky, which then slashed towards a certain void.

Boom! A deafening roar resounded as countless snowflakes were swept high into the air, and waves of air surged.

No matter how hard Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen tried, they simply could not break the illusion.

"Seventh Uncle," Wang Tianwen said with a frown, "If I'm not mistaken, what we've encountered should be a Phantasm Moth. Phantasm Moths are skilled in illusions and are listed among the rare insects of heaven and earth. Breaking this formation won't be easy."

Wang Qingshan thought for a moment, then took out the Azure Lotus Sword and channeled vast magic power into it.

The Azure Lotus Sword erupted with astonishing spiritual energy, its sword light extending several zhang.

"Break!" Wang Qingshan shouted lowly, and cleaved the Azure Lotus Sword towards the void.

A green light flashed, and a several-hundred-zhang long green sword light flew out, slashing towards the void.