Chapter 251: United Forces to Break Through the Barrier

The giant island rose above the water, creating tsunami-like waves. To Mu Yu and the other two, it appeared as if a vast continent had suddenly appeared before them, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Mu Yu and the others immediately flew over and, through the transparent barrier, saw Su Che and the other person descending.
“Someone has already gone in. It seems they’re the ones who activated the ruins!”
Yan Ming shouted loudly. Having invested decades of effort into this, he was extremely excited. Seeing others get there first naturally filled him with urgency.
Since Su Che had already reverted to his true appearance, Mu Yu and the others surely wouldn’t recognize him.
“Hurry! Stop them! We can’t let them get ahead.” Cang Jiuzi was also frantic and rushed to the barrier at top speed.
Boom!
With a casual spell cast, a giant spiral drill head appeared and spun rapidly before landing on the barrier.
Hiss… hiss…
The drill head formed by the metal-based spell could pierce through a mountain in an instant, but against this thin barrier, it proved utterly ineffective, dissipating in the blink of an eye without leaving any trace.
“That’s impossible!”
Cang Jiuzi’s face turned grim as he shouted, “Seventy thousand years have passed—how could Tianya Haige’s protective formation still exist?”
Yan Ming and Mu Yu approached and tested the transparent barrier with their energy, concluding that its defensive strength was extremely high, making it difficult to break through.
Yan Ming said gravely, “It’s clear that Tianya Haige’s protective formation is connected to the tidal forces of Tianyuan Sea. As long as the sea water continues, the barrier will remain.”
Mu Yu nodded. “To break through it, we need to focus our efforts on one point and use combined strength to make a breakthrough. But with just the three of us, it’s not enough.”
“The problem is, if we delay too long, all the treasures will fall into others’ hands,” Cang Jiuzi said anxiously. “All my years of effort will be in vain!”
Inside the barrier, Su Che and the other person had already disappeared into the secret realm below. Tianya Haige was a large sect from seventy thousand years ago, with numerous buildings on the island—far more than in any imperial capital, stacked layer upon layer, too many to count.
“I understand!”
Yan Ming’s expression changed, his eyes gleaming with determination. “The missing persons from a few days ago must be related to these two. They’ve planned all this to weaken our strength.”

“That’s for sure!” Cang Jiuzi’s aged face twisted in fury as he gritted his teeth and spat, “Damn it! We must get them…”
Mu Yu frowned deeply, realizing that her beloved ‘Hua Yu’ was almost certainly the victim of those two’s scheme.
“Let’s combine our forces and give it a try!”
Yan Ming raised his left palm, from which a red light shot out, forming a red dot above the barrier.
“Full-power attack!”
With his loud shout, Mu Yu and Cang Jiuzi struck simultaneously, their combined strongest attacks hitting the red dot at once.
Boom!
Ripples spread across the transparent barrier, creating the illusion of a small hole, but it was merely an illusion—soon, it returned to its original state.
“Again!”
Boom!
Another combined attack from the three of them…
After several attempts, the three were left speechless. Their strength was far too weak. If there had been a few more people of equal strength, they might have had a chance.
Strictly speaking, this barrier wasn’t a true protective formation but rather a protective layer formed by the power of the Tianyuan Sea’s tides. It protected not against people but against the erosion of time and seawater.
It was because of this barrier that the sect’s secret realm inside could remain intact for tens of thousands of years. To break through the entrance, one needed to reach the Yuan Ying cultivation level—Mu Yu and her companions still lacked sufficient strength.
By now, Su Che and the other had already entered the Tianya Hai Ge’s secret realm. Since it was their first time here, the dense buildings before them resembled a huge maze, making it difficult to orient themselves.
Generally, people would assume that a sect’s most important buildings must be located in the central area, and one could simply keep moving inward.
However, Su Che and the other had a key map, so they didn’t need to resort to such a clumsy method.
Shui Yue took out the key and activated it with her water-based true energy, instantly summoning a translucent 3D map in midair.
To activate the map, a special technique was required, and there was also one essential condition: only someone with a water spirit body like Shui Yue could do it.
The previous generations of Shui Yue Dongtian also practiced water-based cultivation techniques but did not possess the purest water spirit bodies, so they never discovered this map function.
This 3D miniature map not only marked Tianya Hai Ge’s most important buildings, such as the sect leader’s hall, the skill transmission hall, and the treasure vault, but also featured a small red dot that kept flashing, indicating Su Che and the other’s current location.

This is an extremely practical and clear three-dimensional map, allowing Su Che and the others to easily find the location they want to go to. Both Su Che and the others had a question: “Since Tianya Hai Ge suffered such a devastating massacre, why are all the buildings inside the sect’s secret realm intact, with no living people left?” There must be some secret behind this, but given the urgent situation, there’s no time to unravel these mysteries; the priority is to obtain the most important treasures first. “Where should we go first?” Su Che asked in a low voice. “First to the treasure hall, then to the sect leader’s hall. If we have time, we’ll go to the cultivation hall last,” Shui Yue replied immediately. Logically, these three places are the most important in any sect’s structure. “The treasure hall is over here; we should take this route…” Su Che pointed to a building on the three-dimensional map and quickly planned the shortest path. The reason this place is called a sect’s secret realm is that to navigate within it, one must walk steadily and honestly—never take shortcuts by climbing onto rooftops. This is because all the buildings in the secret realm are not just decorations but part of a complex array system, consisting of various killing arrays, ultimate arrays, illusion arrays, and maze arrays that are interconnected. Taking shortcuts by climbing onto rooftops would only waste time and effort and might even put one in danger. This is basic common knowledge in the cultivation world, and many sects arrange things this way. Earlier, when Su Che and the others descended from the air, they had already triggered one of the maze arrays. On their way to the treasure hall, outside the barrier, more than a dozen teleportation lights arrived almost simultaneously. The arrival of these people brought great joy to Mu Yu, Yan Ming, and Cang Jiuzi, as among them were eight members from the original Fuyuan Island team. Although they had been scared away by the so-called “Primordial Soul Ancestor,” they hadn’t left Tianyuan Sea. After all, they had invested a lot of effort into this site and were unwilling to give up easily. Today’s extraordinary celestial phenomenon naturally drew them back. The others were odd-charactered freelancers like Long Fongzi; though not friends, they were familiar faces, all at least at the mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level. “It’s just in time you all arrived…” Yan Ming bowed first and briefly explained the situation before concluding, “The only way is for us to work together to break through this barrier and create an entrance so we can enter.”

“Go in first and talk later; as for the rest, it depends on fate.” When Mad Long heard that someone had already taken the lead, he became impatient and had no time to waste on further explanations. The others nodded in agreement—no one would talk nonsense at such a critical moment. Mad Long took out a black metal ring and said in a deep voice, “Work together to break through a gap, then I’ll use this precious ring to enlarge the entrance. Hurry in— I don’t know how long this ring can hold.” Everyone nodded. Yan Ming’s palm emitted red light, casting a small red dot on the barrier. “Break!” With his roar, seventeen people launched a combined attack, using the most powerful spells or techniques with the greatest penetration. The force of this attack was surely beyond that of a Yuan Ying cultivator. With a pop, a small hole appeared in the barrier—invisible to the naked eye but clearly detectable by spiritual perception. Everyone was delighted. Mad Long acted quickly, throwing the ring in before the hole could close again. “Open!” He used his own magic to expand the ring instantly, making it as wide as ten feet in diameter. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh… Everyone rushed in at top speed. Mad Long followed, about to retrieve his ring, when he heard… Crack, crack, crack… In just the blink of an eye, the ring, overwhelmed by pressure from the transparent barrier, developed cracks. Before he could pull it back, it snapped into pieces with a crack, and the barrier closed again. A treasure-grade artifact was ruined. It was unclear whether Mad Long would be upset—his lips twitched as if in a cold smile, then, without another word, he dived toward the secret realm of the Tianya Hai Ge sect below. The others followed suit. Everyone knew there must be numerous arrays in the air inside the barrier, and flying horizontally would only invite trouble. The only way was to descend vertically to break through a certain array and land directly inside the secret realm. The group broke through an illusion array and landed on an open space between buildings. The ten people from the Floating Abyss Island group naturally gathered together, while Mad Long and the others stayed separate. “During the treasure hunt, it depends on fate… but…”

Yan Ming said loudly, “Those two entered the secret realm fifteen minutes ahead of us, already gaining a time advantage. Moreover, since they can open the ruins, they might have other advantages as well… My point is, we must not let them leave Tianyuan Sea. If necessary, we need to join forces again to stop them.”
“Exactly.”
Everyone, including Mad Long, nodded in agreement.
Swish!
Yan Ming scattered dozens of communication jade talismans, with each person getting at least three.
“These are communication jade talismans based on my unique ability. By activating any one of them, everyone else can receive a message. If anyone spots those two, please send a message right away to inform us of their exact location…”
After giving these instructions, the seventeen of them scattered to search for the treasure, each relying on their own luck!