Chapter 229

The vast expanse of yellow sand, an oasis like a piece of jade inlaid in the golden sand sea.

The lush greenery formed a stark contrast with the barren sand.

At the center of the not-so-large oasis lay a sparkling pool, like a spring of life, providing the most needed water source in the desert.

Yunhe and the two others rode their escape light to the vicinity of the oasis.

Looking down from above, one could also feel the vibrant vitality emanating from the oasis.

However, besides vitality, they also sensed a not weak restrictive power.

"A formation?"

Yunhe raised his eyebrows slightly, somewhat surprised.

At the center of the oasis, there is an area where not only is the view hard to see, but even divine sense cannot sweep in, obviously blocked by a special formation.

"It is said that the ancient demon clan, to protect some relatively rare precious spiritual plants, set up formations in various places of the eight major regions of the secret realm, to prevent low-intelligence demon beasts from damaging the treasures."

Ning Sisi beside him hesitated and said.

Upon hearing this, Yunhe showed a look of sudden realization.

He, possessing a Demon Beast Body, knew best that demon beasts without sufficient spiritual intelligence could truly be described as 'ruining' when facing precious spiritual plants.

Obviously many demon beasts inhabit this place; without some protection, they could be torn apart by demon beasts in a split second.

Those with a bit of awareness might wait until the spiritual plant fully matures before eating it, but if encountering a more oblivious one, they would not wait for maturity and might even dig up the roots.

As for the demon clan's formation prowess.

Yunhe has also seen it; the 'Sumeru Thousand Illusions Formation' in his hand originates from a great demon expert.

"Let's go."

The three withdrew from their escape technique and descended toward the oasis.

Outside the restriction, on the soft grass covered with many unnamed strange flowers and grasses, a few cultivators were already standing or sitting sparsely.

Among these cultivators, most looked in poor condition, with some either pallid as paper or covered in bloodstains, as if they had suffered greatly crossing the Wutu desert.

Even so, they remained seated here, adjusting their breath to recover while occasionally glancing at the restriction, as if waiting for something, yet also hesitating.

Of course, a few cultivators, like Yunhe and his companions, had formed a small group.

The arrival of Yunhe and the three still drew some attention.

However, upon seeing that the three were merely two Mid Jie Dan cultivators and one Early Jie Dan cultivator, they did not take it too seriously.

Among the eight or nine cultivators waiting here, there were four Late Jie Dan cultivators.

They were either the core of some temporary small group or solitary individuals, their aloof demeanor making others dare not approach lightly.

"I've heard that in the Luotian Secret Realm, restrictions like this usually open automatically at specific times."

Ning Sisi explained to Yunhe carefully via voice transmission of divine sense.

As long as they do not enter the central area of the entire secret realm, places like this are among the most precious resources obtainable for Jie Dan cultivators like them.

Yunhe nodded, thought briefly, then asked:

"In the core regions of the eight major territories, under the protection of these formations, could there possibly exist a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Sisi's expression froze, and she looked at Yunhe with some astonishment.

Seeing that he did not seem to be joking, she slowly came to her senses.

Is Yunhe, merely a Mid Jie Dan cultivator, already considering a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure?

Without exaggeration, if a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure truly appeared here, then among the dozen or so Jie Dan cultivators present, including them, surviving two or three would already be considered lucky.

But she still said: "I'm not sure either, but I have indeed never heard of anyone obtaining a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure within the eight major territories; if one were to enter the core area of the entire secret realm, there might still be some possibility, but then"

then one might encounter those Yuan Ying Stage old monsters.

When Jie Dan cultivators face Yuan Ying cultivators, no matter how formidable the Jie Dan cultivator is or what treasures they possess, they absolutely have no ability to fight back; escaping would be a one-in-ten-thousand chance.

As the Cultivation Base increases, the gap between cultivators' realms grows larger, to the point where external objects cannot compensate at all.

"Indeed, to obtain a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure, must one truly enter the genuine core of the secret realm?"

Yunhe sighed inwardly.

That difficulty is no ordinary matter.

If the secret realm's core truly had a Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure, he might still try it, but the point is that the core may only possibly have it, not definitely, and that gap is huge.

"Forget it, if it can't be realized, let's just wander around the eight major territories."

Nascent Soul Supreme Treasure may be good, but the uncertainty is too great, the risk too high, and the effort and reward are completely disproportionate.

At that moment.

A female cultivator present suddenly rose, under the gaze of many, walked to the restriction, and took out an exquisitely looking compass from her storage bag.

Immediately afterward, she was seen inputting a spell seal into the compass, and with the crisp 'click-click-click' sound, the compass in her hand began to rotate.

At the same time, a hazy glow of magical power rose over her body.

"This is." Seeing this, Yunhe's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Looks like Fellow Daoist Jiang Ziling of the Five Willow Formation Sect." Li Yuanfan, upon seeing this person, seemed to recognize her.

"Five Willow Formation Sect?"

Yunhe pondered for a moment and recalled some information he had seen before about this sect.

The Five Willow Formation Sect is a rather special sect in the Cloud Upper Realm; calling it a major sect, it has no Yuan Ying patriarch, yet calling it a minor sect, its status in the entire Cloud Upper Realm is somewhat special.

First, because this sect specializes in formation arts, it produces many well-known formations each year.

Even exaggeratingly, in the Cloud Upper Realm, at least half or even one-tenth of the formations auctioned or sold each time come from this sect.

Don't think it's not much, but it is absolutely an exaggerated figure.

Although the Five Willow Formation Sect has no Yuan Ying old monsters, it is said that its sect-protecting great formation is a Fourth Level upper-grade formation, extremely close to fifth level, a super grand formation!

With this formation protecting it, plus the sect's Jie Dan formation masters presiding over it, even a Yuan Ying cultivator attempting to break this formation would absolutely not be an easy task.

Therefore this sect's inheritance is extremely stable; moreover, array masters are rare, their status subtly transcends the ordinary, so that when facing disciples of great sects who possess Nascent Soul old monsters, the sect's cultivators are not lacking at all.

And the 'Jiang Dao friend' mentioned by Li Yuanfan is also one of the only two Early Jie Dan Stage cultivators present.

At the same time, this person also appears to be a member of another temporary small group.

"She is checking when this place's seal will open." Ning Sisi watched that graceful figure holding a compass, and couldn't help muttering.

Soon.

Jiang Ziling's compass in her hand stopped, the flow of her mana also halted, she walked back to her original seat, and continued to close her eyes and nurture her spirit.

Her lips moved, as if she were conveying the obtained information to someone else.

And sitting with her were also a middle-aged cultivator in Late Jie Dan Stage wearing yellow cypress robes, and an old man in Mid Jie Dan Stage wearing white robes, bearing somewhat of an immortal's aura.

Seeing that these three people had no further action, the cultivators sitting cross-legged here also withdrew their gazes one after another.

They lacked the ability to probe the seal, so they appeared quite passive.

"Petty."

Ning Sisi puffed her cheeks again and muttered to herself.

Array masters are rare to begin with, and cultivators who have reached Jie Dan Stage and have considerable accomplishment in the array dao are even fewer.

Yunhe thought for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet.

Seeing his movement, several gazes were cast upon him, including those of Li Yuan and Ning Sisi.

Their eyes held a hint of surprise, clearly not understanding what Yunhe intended to do.

But regarding these gazes, Yunhe chose to turn a blind eye.

He merely had his back to everyone, and a faint glow appeared in his pupils.

Spirit Eye!

In the array dao, although Yunhe had not reached Third Stage level, he still had some accomplishment; moreover, with the support of the 'Spirit Eye' specialized in breaking arrays and illusions, he also wanted to try to see if he could discern any clues from it.

Amid everyone's gazes, he raised his hand and lightly touched the barrier of the seal.

Seeing this, many could not help but chuckle softly.

They thought another array master had arrived, capable of breaking the array like Jiang Ziling could.

If there were two people here who could see through the array's opening time, they would not be as passive as before.

Just that.

When they saw Yunhe's action, everyone realized they had overthought it.

How could one break an array without a compass?

As for these people's thoughts, Yunhe naturally did not care much.

'Third Stage Upper Grade. No, barely counts as reaching Fourth Level? Moreover, the array seal is solid, showing little sign of weakening due to the passage of time; is this array laid as the foundation of the entire secret realm? As long as the secret realm remains intact and the Luotian Gourd Vine does not perish, this array will not disappear.'

'The methods of the person who set up this array are truly... brilliant.'

Yunhe's eyes sparkled, and he felt admiration.

Among the Yao Clan, there are also masters of the array dao.

However, upon reflection, the Yao Clan's lifespan is vast; if they break through Fourth Level and survive the Transformation Tribulation, their spiritual intellect is not inferior to human cultivators; as long as they can calm down and carefully study the array dao, they can still achieve something.

Of course, due to the nature of the Yao Clan, getting them to calm down is not easy, and the inheritance of the array dao also largely limits their progress in this field; being able to achieve something can be called having great perseverance.

'But.'

Feeling the seal and the array, Yunhe's expression slightly turned somewhat strange.

'The Yao who set up this array, could it be unrelated to the Yao who laid the Sumeru Thousand Illusion Array?'

Because after Yunhe carefully investigated, he discovered that this barrier isolating their array seal actually bears considerable similarity to the Sumeru Thousand Illusion Array in his hand!

Or more accurately, the array before us is entirely based on the Sumeru Thousand Illusion Array, with some degree of modification, enhancement, and support, in order to reach Fourth Level.

Yunhe's array dao level is only Second Stage Upper Grade, but he has spent considerable time studying and learning the set of Sumeru Thousand Illusion Array in his hand.

Therefore.

On this array, he also discerned some clues.

This array has a weak point!

After a little thought, Yunhe guessed the reason for the array's weak point.

'This array is interdependent with the secret realm and the Luotian Gourd Vine, but the Luotian Gourd Vine was cut off a segment by a great divine ability person, so the defect in that vine causes the array to also have a weak point.'

He did not know whether Jiang Ziling of the Five Willow Array Sect had discovered this point, but it is likely she had not.

Yunhe walked around the seal, step by step toward the weak point he had probed.

The spiritual light in his eyes grew ever more intense.

But now his movement no longer draws much attention.

Because in their eyes, Yunhe is obviously not a formidable array master, so there's nothing worth noting.

And when he reached the weak point of the seal, the Spirit Eye finally let him see clearly the situation inside the seal.

Spirit grass, spirit fruit, spirit wood—there really are quite a few.

Compared to the barren desert, inside this seal it is like a paradise beyond the world, spirit energy abundant, medicinal fragrance overflowing.

But what most attracted Yunhe's gaze was a towering tree lush and verdant!

On it bore two or three fruits with a jade-green hue.

'Thousand Silk Zen Heart Seed?!'

Seeing the fruit's appearance, Yunhe's eyes narrowed slightly, striving to control himself so as not to make large movements that would draw attention.

He recalled the three pill recipes he obtained in that ancient pill master's thatched hut; one of them is the method he still uses today to refine the Ling Sui Pill, which allowed his cultivation base to smoothly advance to Mid Jie Dan Stage over several decades.

And there is another recipe, entitled the Hui Ling Pill; according to the pill recipe's description, this pill is the 'Wisdom Dao Pill' that can briefly enhance a cultivator's comprehension.

It has a similar marvelous effect to the Three Calamity Bodhi Seed he once consumed.

When he first obtained that prescription, Yunhe didn't even recognize some of the ingredients; after he later took over the identity of the He family's ancestor, because the He family originally started as spiritual plant cultivators and had some records and mentions of these things, he gradually completed his understanding of that prescription.

In the refinement of the 'Wisdom Spirit Pill', the 'Thousand-silk Zen Heart Seed' is of utmost importance!

However, Yunhe had never been able to find the 'Thousand-silk Zen Heart Seed', and since the pill did not greatly aid cultivation progress, he did not deliberately insist.

Unexpectedly, he actually found the 'Thousand-silk Zen Heart Seed' in this secret realm.

As for Dao-understanding objects, only those who have used them can understand their profound mystery.

Sorry, because I got a bit stuck writing, the update is a little late; I bow.

(End of chapter)