Chapter 10: Entering the Formation (Part 1)

Master Ling said, “Why are you in such a hurry? Just because we can’t break the formation doesn’t mean there’s no way to deal with it. We can dismantle the talismanic formation and find a way in.”
The group began discussing it. Juehu Miluo could hardly contribute—he wasn’t good at talismanic formations—so he stepped aside and waited. Guo Shieru pricked up his ears, silently casting a spell on himself to hear more clearly.
Master Ling took out a blank talisman and inscribed his method of dismantling it using his soul force. He handed it to Feng Xilong first, asking him to raise any questions or suggest alternative methods, before passing it on to the next person. After several rounds, the plan to enter the formation gradually improved. Poor Guo Shieru, though he kept his ears pricked, heard nothing at all. He looked down at the others dejectedly, cursing inwardly.
Finally, the talisman came to Juehu Miluo’s hands. After examining it carefully, he nodded and said, “Good, I understand now.”
Each person had their own task, and Guo Shieru and the others were still ignored—their strength was utterly useless here.
Master Ling asked, “Juehu Miluo, will you take them in with you?”
Juehu Miluo nodded. “Leaving them outside… I’m not at ease. I’ll take them along. On my altar, they’ll be safe.”
Master Ling thought for a moment before nodding. “That’s true. Then let’s go together. It’s indeed dangerous outside. Without the altar’s protection, it won’t work—the kids are too weak.”
Feng Xilong asked, “Is everyone ready?” Everyone nodded. He said, “Then let’s follow Master Ling’s instructions and enter the formation.”
Master Ling said, “First, use virtual talismans to connect the altars. I’ll be at the front, Feng Xilong on my left, Yan Ruodai on my right, Juehu Miluo behind me, and Shi Yanxilong and Bao Chengyong at the back.” The six altars were arranged in a plum blossom pattern, with Juehu Miluo in the center.
Master Ling said, “Juehu Miluo, your position is crucial. If anyone can’t hold on, you’ll need to take over temporarily.”
Juehu Miluo nodded. “No problem.” He knew Master Ling was being considerate—this position was the best and safest. The arrangement of the six people also formed a simple small talismanic formation, and since the altars were the foundation of this formation, it gained great power.
Guo Shieru and the others sat on the altars, unable to do anything. The only thing they could do was watch. But they weren’t disappointed at all—being able to witness such an advanced operation to break a formation made their trip worthwhile.

Six altars were connected together, each extending chains formed by dozens of virtual talismans to communicate with the others. Master Ling said, “Let’s test it out. We need to coordinate well; otherwise, chaos will reign once we go in.”
Feng Xilong asked, “How do we test it?”
Master Ling glanced around, his gaze stopping on Guo Shier and the others, then smiled and said, “Let’s use the kids to test it.”
Guo Shier was shocked upon hearing this. Before he could say anything, everything around them blurred. He found himself on Master Ling’s altar. Then, again, everything blurred, and he ended up on Yan Ruodai’s altar. Everyone around him was separated—Zhou Xiaoling appeared on Feng Xilong’s altar, Eagle Demon on Bao Chengyong’s altar, and Luo Zhan on Shi Yanxi’s altar.
Juehu Miluo shouted, “Come back!” He gently tapped the altar with his hand.
Guo Shier felt as if he had been teleported, instantly returning to Juehu Miluo’s altar. With a bitter smile, he said, “Elders… stop playing around…”
Juehu Miluo laughed and said, “Don’t worry. We’re just using you to communicate between the altars. Hehe, the advantage is… if danger arises, I can also send you to other altars.”
Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan’s faces turned dark. Being controlled by others was no pleasant experience—there was no chance to resist, and that sense of powerlessness was infuriating. Zhou Xiaoling, on the other hand, remained calm. It was normal for elders to test things; she had seen it many times before.
Master Ling’s altar had four layers. Each person’s altar was different. Master Ling’s altar was simple—a soil-yellow altar with a golden banner hanging above it, bearing two ancient runes. Guo Shier didn’t recognize these runes. After asking, he learned they were ancient runes that had largely disappeared by now.
These two ancient runes on the golden banner were what gave this sacred artifact its power.
It seemed Master Ling didn’t intend to use the golden banner. Instead, he reached out and grasped vaguely, and a large soil-yellow hand with a diameter of ten meters appeared, tearing through the mist at the entrance of the natural talisman array. He said, “Let’s go in!” As soon as he moved, the other five altars followed, and all six altars plunged into this massive natural talisman array.
Guo Shier felt dizzy as the altars spun rapidly. Zhou Xiaoling grabbed his arm, and all four of them felt extremely uncomfortable. They couldn’t see what was outside; all they could see was the light emitted by the altars. Due to their rapid rotation, all they saw were afterimages of light.
Then Master Ling shouted, “Steady! Stay steady!”

It spun up and down rapidly, as if an airplane had crashed. Guo Shier was terrified, feeling his soul unsteady. Then he felt a sharp pain in his arm and realized that Zhou Xiaoling’s nails had dug into his flesh; she had fallen into a state of confusion.

Guo Shier forced himself to stay calm, grabbed Zhou Xiaoling tightly, and shouted, “Stay steady!”

Zhou Xiaoling felt warmth in her body, and her soul strangely stabilized, giving her a sense of peace. She leaned against Guo Shier, holding tightly to his waist, and gradually calmed down.

Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were both covered in talismanic light, clearly struggling to resist.

Guo Shier couldn’t figure out what was going on. With no other choice, he ignored the risk of exposure and began reciting the Soul Scripture. Waves of soul vibrations spread rhythmically, and soon Zhou Xiaoling, Eagle Demon, and Luo Zhan all stabilized. No matter how fast the altar spun, it no longer affected them.

Juehu Miluo exclaimed in surprise, “Huh, strange…” He too felt a wave that could calm the soul, but he couldn’t determine who was sending it. Since Guo Shier and Zhou Xiaoling were hugging each other, and Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan were sitting close to Guo Shier, he was sure it must have come from one of the four of them.

Juehu Miluo didn’t have time to investigate. Once inside the formation, all six of them had to work together to withstand the pressure of the talismanic array.

Guo Shier inwardly smiled bitterly. This talismanic array was truly bizarre. It was impossible to even see clearly, let alone study it. The gap was enormous. Even sitting on the altar under Juehu Miluo’s protection, he could barely hold on and needed the Soul Scripture to stay calm.

A faint fragrance drifted by, causing a slight stir in his heart.

Zhou Xiaoling, delicate like a cat, curled up in Guo Shier’s arms. For some reason, she felt extremely at peace and didn’t want to move at all. She just held onto Guo Shier’s waist, though her face was already red.

A loud explosion shook the altar violently. Then, suddenly, the altar stopped moving. Guo Shier asked dazedly, “Are we there?”

Zhou Xiaoling abruptly broke free from Guo Shier’s embrace, looked up, and said, “What?”

Eagle Demon laughed, “Ding ding, why is your face so red?”

Zhou Xiaoling was too shy to speak, glancing at Guo Shier indignantly. Guo Shier pretended to be confused and asked, “Where is this place?” This interruption indeed distracted everyone’s attention.

Six altars hovered in the air, with constant howling sounds around them. Ling Zhenren said, “Take a break. This is a node of the talismanic array, and it’s relatively calm. I didn’t expect this array to be so tricky.”

Feng Xilong said, “It’s a good time to discuss this—this talisman array is truly terrifying. If not for our caution, we would have been separated long ago.”
Yan Ruodai said with lingering fear, “Yes, I didn’t expect the array to react so violently.”
Bao Chengyong grunted and said, “If it weren’t for Gu Mo Lian, I wouldn’t bother taking this risk. Damn it… I have no idea who blessed these ancient runes, making this array so complicated!”
Shi Yan Xilong said, “Let’s descend and take a look.”
Ling Zhenren nodded and said, “Good. Let’s go down. In natural talisman arrays like this, there are always some strange things we can collect.” He activated the altar and descended, with the other altars following.
Guo Shier looked down—the ground was already visible, filled with vast fields of bones, no less severe than those in Sui Gu Xi Gorge, and none of them were intact; the largest ones were only the size of a palm. Jue Hu Miluo said, “Wow, they’re all crushed to pieces!”
Zhou Xiaoling pointed in horror from a distance, “Good heavens, the broken bones have even formed hills. How many must have died?”
Jue Hu Miluo said, “Let’s go down. I need to retrieve the altar. Leaving it outside for so long has been tough on it; I need to bring it back and repair it slightly with my soul.”
Guo Shier reached out and took Zhou Xiaoling’s hand, and the two floated down, with Ying Mo and Luo Zhan following.
The place was dry and scorching, like a completely different world from the air above. As soon as Guo Shier landed, he heard cracking sounds—those were the bones breaking underfoot.
Ling Zhenren looked around and sighed, “This is still just the outer layer of the talisman array, yet so many have died here. I wonder how many years this array has existed.”
Yan Ruodai said, “Probably since the Magic Rock Secret Realm was formed, this natural talisman array has already existed. Back then, countless creatures of the secret realm must have died. Later, someone deliberately completed the array—no wonder it’s so terrifying. Even ordinary professionals, even those with an Illusory Altar, would surely die here.”
Ling Zhenren said, “Not only that, even those with a Physical Altar, without relevant knowledge of talisman arrays, would likely get trapped and die inside.”
Guo Shier said, “So many have died… Could there be any treasures left?” He still seemed greedy for wealth.
Jue Hu Miluo said, “In a place like this… maybe there are, maybe not… It depends on your luck. You can look around, but don’t go too far from us. Stay nearby—this area is relatively safe.”
Guo Shier said, “Okay.”

The four of them searched among the piles of bones, which made Bao Chengyong grin widely. He couldn’t help himself and said, “Kids, stop searching. You just need to collect the bones on the ground. These might be bones left behind tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. The fact that they still exist means they’re great materials for making bone talismans.”