Chapter 169: The Four Great Sacred Sites Are All Array Eyes

Inside the fire lotus, Hua Changxi felt that her soul body was no longer so frozen and stiff, and she slowly regained control over her body. The first thing she did was check her cultivation realm data.

【Realm: Nascent Soul stage 999.99 million/1 billion; Divine Sense: 50,000+】

She had only just risen into the air and hadn't even flown over Soul-Severing Mountain yet, and her divine sense had already dropped by 60,000 points.

"Whoosh—"

The sinister wind struck again.

Inside the fire lotus, the Zhu Que appeared once more, spraying flames.

Wind and fire met, immediately emitting a "sizzle, sizzle, sizzle" sound.

Hua Changxi stood at the center of the fire lotus. Since the naked eye could not see what was in the sinister wind, she released her divine sense. When she "saw" that the sinister wind was composed of dense, tiny black grain-like insects, goosebumps immediately rose on her skin.

"Soul-Devouring Insects!"

The *Annotations of the Hundred Herbs Classic* contained a detailed record of Soul-Devouring Insects. They were the primary material for refining the fifth-grade Soul-Devouring Pill and specialized in devouring the divine sense of cultivators.

No wonder her divine sense had decreased so quickly. Thinking of how those Soul-Devouring Insects had been crawling all over her just moments ago, Hua Changxi couldn't help but shiver.

Fortunately, with the fire lotus protecting her body, she didn't need to fear the sinister winds of Soul-Severing Mountain.

However, even with the fire lotus, Hua Changxi found crossing Soul-Severing Mountain extremely arduous. Firstly, she was unfamiliar with the terrain, and secondly, the sinister winds in the mountains were too strong and too sudden.

She walked with difficulty, and Eunuch Lin's group was not progressing smoothly either. Hua Changxi had only flown over two mountains when she discovered a corpse.

It was a eunuch from the Eastern Depot; his soul body had been completely devoured by Soul-Devouring Insects, and his corpse looked like a withered branch devoid of any moisture.

Hua Changxi followed the trail and continued to pursue. Soon, she discovered a second corpse; this time, the person who died was a large, burly man.

Following that, she saw several more corpses in succession.

Upon seeing the sixth corpse, Hua Changxi discovered that Eunuch Lin's group was no longer continuing to cross Soul-Severing Mountain, but had exited the mountain and was heading toward the west side.

The further west they went, the flatter the terrain became. Although the surroundings remained quite desolate, at least there were no more sinister winds blowing.

The night sky was vast, and the earth was wide. The further Hua Changxi walked, the more she felt that Jiuyou was surprisingly large. After these two trips, she truly felt that this seemed to be an underground realm that formed a world of its own.

Soon, a giant platform, towering into the sky and shaped like a volcanic pile, appeared in her sight.

Before Hua Changxi could marvel at the majesty of the giant platform, she was shocked by the dense, countless stone-carved soldiers beneath it.

"Everyone, be careful. We are about to enter the military formation. You must follow Master Lu closely. If you take a wrong step, death is certain."

Eunuch Lin's voice reached her ears, and Hua Changxi then discovered that the stone-carved soldiers were arranged in a special order.

To ascend the giant platform, one had to pass through the stone-carved soldiers!

Just as Eunuch Lin's group was about to walk into the stone-carved soldiers, a roar sounded in the air.

"Lu Yan!"

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

On the ship stood an old man with white hair and a pair of teenagers in their twenties.

Looking at the newcomers behind her, Hua Changxi's expression shifted. She was glad she had been careful; after just exiting Soul-Severing Mountain, she had reapplied an invisibility talisman. Otherwise, she would certainly have been exposed by now.

Eunuch Lin's group also had their expressions change drastically upon seeing the newcomers.

"Quick, enter the military formation."

Eunuch Lin's group wanted to ignore everything and charge directly into the stone-carved soldiers.

"Lu Yan!"

Seeing this, the white-haired old man was furious. He took out a thunder hammer and struck at Eunuch Lin's group.

"Boom—"

Thunder and lightning struck straight toward Eunuch Lin's group, blocking their path: "Lu Yan, you traitorous wretch, how dare you covet the Divine Hammer!"

Master Lu's expression was extremely ugly: "The Divine Hammer is a sacred object of the Artifact Saint Palace; those capable should possess it. On what grounds do you say I am a traitor?"

The white-haired old man jumped directly from the flying ship, exasperated: "The Divine Hammer is not only a sacred object of the Artifact Saint Palace, but it also bears the responsibility of suppressing the Demon Prison array eye. Now, the Artifact Saint Palace has yet to revive, yet you want to forcibly take the Divine Hammer, disregarding the will of our predecessors. If this isn't treason, what is?"

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 angry he cursed: "Talk your dog shit! If you take the Divine Hammer away, demonic energy will spread. Forget about reviving the Artifact Saint Palace; the whole world will fall into chaos. By then, you will surely become a sinner through the ages."

Master Lu didn't believe these words at all: "Baili Changfeng, you don't need to alarm people here. The Artifact Saint Palace isn't for you to decide, and what I do is not for you to manage."

Hearing this, the young man behind the white-haired old man spoke up: "Uncle-Master, if you are truly confident in your own artifact-refining skills, why not wait a little longer? Wouldn't it be better to wait until the Artifact Saint Palace revives and let the Divine Hammer choose its own master?"

Master Lu glanced sideways at the young man: "What do you know? Waiting for the Artifact Saint Palace to revive on its own, who knows how many years it will take? By then, the Artifact Saint Palace will probably be controlled by the imperial family and various powerful figures, just like the Alchemy Saint Hall."

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

Taking advantage of the gap where everyone's attention was diverted, Hua Changxi quietly approached the stone-carved soldiers. She had no interest in the conflict of interests between Master Lu and the white-haired old man. Although she was listening to their words, her attention was more focused on observing the situation of the stone-carved soldiers. But when she heard about the Alchemy Saint Hall, her expression changed.

Alchemy Saint Hall, Artifact Saint Palace...

What did Master Lu mean by mentioning the Alchemy Saint Hall and the Artifact Saint Palace in the same breath?

Master Lu continued: "Of the four great sacred sites, the Alchemy Saint Hall and the Talisman Saint Pavilion have already shown anomalies, and the Array Saint Palace has also had frequent movements recently. Now, only the Artifact Saint Palace remains silent. If we don't do something, the Artifact Saint Palace will fall to the bottom of the four great sacred sites."

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered incessantly as she listened.

Four great sacred sites...

Artifact Saint Palace, Divine Hammer, array eye, Demon Prison...

Hua Changxi's breathing became somewhat rapid. If the four great sacred sites of Alchemy, Array, Talisman, and Artifact were one, wouldn't that mean the Alchemy Saint Hall was also an array eye?

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

Hua Changxi was very surprised by this news, but before she could lament much, her attention was drawn away by the fighting between Master Lu and the white-haired old man.

"No matter what, I will not allow you to seize the Divine Hammer."

"It is not for you to decide."

Once Master Lu and the white-haired old man started fighting, Eunuch Lin also led his people to fight with the young man and woman brought by the white-haired old man.

Just as these two sides were fighting to the death, Hua Changxi discovered that seven people had quietly entered the stone-carved soldiers.

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

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's expression shifted. Were these seven people deliberately pretending to be controlled by Eunuch Lin?

What was their background?

Since she knew that the giant platform was the array eye suppressing the Demon Prison, Hua Changxi naturally did not want to see these people touch the array eye. She quietly waved her spiritual power, blocking their path, and at the same time, created a noise, allowing Master Lu and the others to discover the anomaly here. ===== CHAPTER 170 =====