Chapter 169: Four Holy Lands as Eyes

In the fire lotus, Hua Changxi felt her soul body no longer frozen stiff, gradually regaining control of her body. She immediately checked her own realm data.

[Realm: Nascent Soul 9.9999 billion / 1 billion; Divine Sense: 50,000+]

She had just taken off, not even flown over Soulsever Mountain, when her divine sense suddenly dropped by sixty thousand points.

"Hoo~"

The yin wind struck again.

Within the fire lotus, the Vermilion Bird reappeared and spewed flames.

When wind and fire met, a "sizzling" sound immediately arose.

Standing in the center of the fire lotus, Hua Changxi couldn't see what was in the yin wind with her naked eyes, so she released her divine sense. When she "saw" that the yin wind was condensed from dense black rice-grain-like tiny insects, her skin instantly crawled with goosebumps.

"Soul-Eating Worms!"

The "Hundred Herbs Commentary" contains detailed records of Soul-Eating Worms. They are the main material for refining fifth-grade Soul-Eating Pills, specifically feeding on cultivators' divine sense.

No wonder her divine sense had decreased so quickly. Just thinking about how her entire body had been crawling with Soul-Eating Worms a moment ago made Hua Changxi shiver involuntarily.

Fortunately, she had the fire lotus to protect her body, so she didn't need to fear the yin wind of Soulsever Mountain anymore.

However, even with the fire lotus protecting her, crossing Soulsever Mountain was extremely strenuous. First, she was unfamiliar with the terrain; second, the yin wind in the mountain was too strong and too sudden.

She walked with difficulty, and Steward Lin's group was also having a hard time advancing. After Hua Changxi flew over two peaks, she discovered a corpse.

It was a eunuch from the Eastern Depot. His soul body had been completely devoured by Soul-Eating Worms, his corpse as dry as a withered branch stripped of all moisture.

Following the traces, Hua Changxi continued the pursuit. Soon, she found a second corpse—this time a burly, towering man.

After that, she successively spotted several more corpses.

When she saw the sixth corpse, Hua Changxi realized that Steward Lin's group had stopped crossing Soulsever Mountain and had instead left it, heading west of the mountain.

The farther west they went, the flatter the terrain became. Although the surroundings were still desolate, at least the yin wind had stopped.

The night sky was vast, the earth boundless. The farther Hua Changxi walked, the more she felt that the Jiuyou was abnormally large. Having come down twice now, she truly felt it seemed like a subterranean realm that formed its own world.

Soon, a towering, volcano-cone-shaped platform came into view.

Before Hua Changxi could marvel at the platform's majesty, she was stunned by the countless densely packed stone soldier figurines beneath it.

"Everyone be careful. We're about to enter the military formation. Be sure to stay close to Master Lu. If you take the wrong path, you will die without a doubt."

The sound of Steward Lin's voice reached her ears, and only then did Hua Changxi realize that the stone soldier figurines were arranged in a special order.

To ascend the giant platform, one must first pass through the stone soldier figurines!

Just as Steward Lin's group was about to step into the stone soldier figurines, a furious roar sounded in the air.

"Lu Yan!"

Hua Changxi turned around and saw a white flying ship speeding toward them.

On the flying ship stood an old man with white hair, as well as a young man and a young woman in their early twenties.

Seeing the newcomers, Hua Changxi's expression changed. She felt fortunate that she had been careful—after leaving Soulsever Mountain, she had immediately reapplied an invisibility talisman. Otherwise, she would certainly have been exposed by now.

The faces of Steward Lin's group also changed dramatically upon seeing the arrivals.

"Quick, enter the military formation!"

Steward Lin's group wanted to charge straight into the stone soldier figurines without care.

"Lu Yan!"

Seeing this, the white-haired old man flew into a rage. He took out a thunder hammer and struck directly at Steward Lin's group.

"Boom~"

Thunder and lightning shot straight at Steward Lin's group, blocking their path: "Lu Yan, you traitorous disciple who betrays your master! How dare you covet the Divine Hammer!"

Master Lu's expression was extremely ugly: "The Divine Hammer is the sacred relic of the Artifact Saint Palace. Let the capable obtain it. What right do you have to accuse me of betraying my master?"

The white-haired old man jumped directly off the flying ship, enraged: "The Divine Hammer is not only the sacred relic of the Artifact Saint Palace, but also bears the duty of suppressing the eye of the Demon Prison Array. Now that the Artifact Saint Palace has yet to revive, you want to forcibly take the Divine Hammer, disregarding the will of our predecessors—if that's not betraying one's master and abandoning one's ancestors, then what is it?"

Master Lu snorted: "Once I obtain the Divine Hammer, the Artifact Saint Palace will naturally revive. At that time, it will naturally suppress the Demon Prison."

The white-haired old man was so furious that he cursed, "Bullshit! You take away the Divine Hammer, demonic aura will spread. Forget reviving the Artifact Saint Palace—the entire world will fall into chaos. Then you'll become a sinner condemned for eternity."

Master Lu didn't believe a word: "Bai Li Changfeng, there's no need for you to be alarmist here. The Artifact Saint Palace is not your say. What I want to do is none of your business."

Hearing this, the young man behind the white-haired old man spoke: "Uncle Master, if you're truly confident in your forging skills, why not wait a little longer? Wait for the Artifact Saint Palace to revive and let the Divine Hammer choose its master on its own. Isn't that better?"

Master Lu gave the young man a sidelong glance: "What do you know? Waiting for the Artifact Saint Palace to revive on its own—who knows how many years that will take? By then, the Artifact Saint Palace will probably be like the Alchemy Saint Hall, controlled by the imperial family and various powerful factions."

"If we don't seize the Divine Hammer first, what will we use to compete with the imperial family and the powerful?"

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone's attention was diverted, Hua Changxi quietly approached the stone-carved soldier puppets. She was not interested in the conflict of interests between Master Lu and the white-haired old man. Although she was listening to their words, she focused more on observing the stone-carved soldier puppets. However, when she heard the mention of "Alchemy Saint Hall," her expression changed.

Alchemy Saint Hall... Artifact Saint Palace...

What did Master Lu mean by lumping the Alchemy Saint Hall and the Artifact Saint Palace together?

Master Lu continued: "Among the four sacred lands, strange phenomena have already appeared at the Alchemy Saint Hall and the Talisman Saint Pavilion. The Formation Saint Palace has also been unusually active lately. Now only the Artifact Saint Palace remains silent. If we don't do something, the Artifact Saint Palace will become the lowest of the four sacred lands."

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered incessantly as she listened.

The four sacred lands...

Artifact Saint Palace, Divine Hammer, Array Eye, Demons' Prison...

Hua Changxi's breathing became a little rapid. If the four sacred lands of Alchemy, Formation, Talisman, and Artifact were one, then wouldn't that mean the Alchemy Saint Hall was also an array eye?

So, was the Alchemy Saint Hall also responsible for suppressing the Demons' Prison?

This news caught Hua Changxi completely off guard. However, before she could sigh over it, her attention was drawn away by the fight that had broken out between Master Lu and the white-haired old man.

"No matter what, I won't allow you to seize the Divine Hammer."

"You don't get to decide."

As soon as Master Lu and the white-haired old man started fighting, Eunuch Lin led his men to fight the young man and woman brought by the white-haired old man.

While these two sides were locked in a life-and-death struggle, Hua Changxi noticed that seven people had quietly slipped into the stone-carved soldier puppets.

Those seven people had previously looked like puppets being controlled, but at this moment, their expressions were completely clear-minded.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's expression changed. Had these seven people deliberately pretended to be controlled by Eunuch Lin?

Where were they from?

Since she knew that the giant platform was the array eye suppressing the Demons' Prison, Hua Changxi naturally did not want to see these people tamper with the array eye. She quietly sent out spiritual power to block their way, while also creating a noise to alert Master Lu and the others to the abnormality here.