Chapter 223: Ancient Dharma Array

Since the two of them entered the dark area of the gorge, this terrifying lightning had been circling around them, attacking them incessantly.

Fortunately, the golden sphere in Fire Phoenix's hand was indeed powerful enough, like a gluttonous fat man; no matter how much lightning came, it was eventually swallowed up by it.

"Senior, this magic treasure of yours is truly powerful. I wonder what it's called?" Gazing at the golden sphere in Fire Phoenix's hand, Song Qingming's eyes were filled with envy.

"This item is called the Thunder-Gathering Bead. It was refined from the Jin Dan within the body of the Thunder-Bone clan of our demon race. It is not a human magic treasure as you call it."

Hearing that this was refined from a Demon King's Jin Dan, Song Qingming instantly opened his eyes wide and let out a sigh. He had originally wanted to inquire about what kind of magic treasure this was, to see if he could get one for self-defense in the future.

Things refined from a Demon King's Jin Dan were basically equivalent to the magic treasures on human Jin Dan cultivators. Even if Fire Phoenix gave this item to him now, Song Qingming didn't have the ability to use it.

Cultivators at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages could only use ordinary first and second-tier magic treasures. Magic treasures above the third tier were also called Dharma Treasures, and only after reaching the Core Formation stage would a cultivator have enough magic power to drive them.

No wonder the Thunder-Gathering Bead could be so powerful and easily block these fierce lightning bolts. Upon learning that this item was a Dharma Treasure, Song Qingming instantly understood quite a bit.

In this dark gorge, after descending for about several hundred zhang, the two suddenly saw a light before them. Only then did Song Qingming realize they had passed through that dark area and fallen into a patch of white mist.

"Senior, this place is so dangerous, why, why did you put away the Thunder-Gathering Bead?"

Not long after falling into the white mist, Song Qingming saw Fire Phoenix suddenly put away the Thunder-Gathering Bead in her hand, and his face was instantly filled with alarm.

As for the fierce lightning all around, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators would either die or be severely injured if struck directly. Without the protection of the Thunder-Gathering Bead, Song Qingming alone didn't have much confidence that he could survive here.

"What are you panicking about? We have already passed through the barrier. There is no danger here for the time being. You just need to follow me closely."

Song Qingming looked around and only then discovered that the lightning that had been circling them just now had disappeared. Only then did he suddenly realize what was happening, gradually set his mind at ease, and followed Fire Phoenix as they continued to fly downward.

Half an hour later, the two landed on a small hillside full of rubble. After looking around, Fire Phoenix led Song Qingming to a stone platform about two or three zhang wide amidst the rubble.

This stone platform was square and only about three feet high, with some very ancient patterns carved around it, looking like a small, long-abandoned sacrificial altar.

The top of the stone platform was also a mess, with more than half of it covered by rubble of various sizes, which made it not very conspicuous on this small hillside. If not for Fire Phoenix leading the way, it would have been very difficult for Song Qingming to spot this place at a glance amidst the rubble.

Seeing Fire Phoenix stop at the stone platform, Song Qingming instinctively looked around and felt a hint of something wrong, asking with a puzzled look, "Senior, this place seems to have been a dharma array originally, right?"

Fire Phoenix gave Song Qingming a surprised look and said softly, "You can tell so quickly. It seems I was right to bring you here this time. What you need to do next is help me open this restriction. Understand?"

"This dharma array looks like it was set up by ancient cultivators. I can't guarantee whether it can be opened successfully. In any case, don't worry, since we're already here, I will naturally do my best."

Seeing that Fire Phoenix brought him here just to break this restriction, Song Qingming finally understood some things. It seemed that when they first met in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, Fire Phoenix had already noticed his identity as a formation master, which led to this trip to the Taiyue Lake secret realm.

"Good, then I'll leave this to you. I'll be right here. If you need any help, just tell me directly."

Hearing Song Qingming's words, Fire Phoenix didn't say much and walked directly to a large rock to the side, closing her eyes to rest.

Although demon cultivators had several times the lifespan of humans, they were far inferior to humans in terms of cultivation techniques. Only a very small number of high-level demon beasts with great spiritual wisdom would understand some cultivation techniques.

Even though Fire Phoenix's cultivation was already half a step into the Nascent Soul realm, if it came to the path of formations, she might not necessarily be better than Song Qingming at breaking the restriction on the stone platform.

Song Qingming stepped forward to carefully examine the stone platform and slowly began to see the details of the formation before him.

Although this dharma array was a rare ancient dharma array, it was actually not as complicated as Song Qingming had first thought. Plus, so much time had passed that the power of the restriction on it had weakened significantly.

Moreover, for some reason, this dharma array had already been forcibly damaged in many places. Song Qingming didn't know if Fire Phoenix had done it, so he didn't dare to ask her directly.

After such an inspection, Song Qingming had some confidence in his heart that he could successfully break this restriction, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Ever since he learned formation techniques, he had studied quite a few formations outside over the years and had also integrated the formation classics of the Liu family from back then. Although his formation level hadn't reached the second tier yet, he was still very confident in facing this incomplete restriction. At most, if given a few days, he was confident he could complete the task Fire Phoenix had entrusted to him this time.

Having gained confidence, Song Qingming gradually relaxed, and he already had several ways to break this restriction in his mind.

After thinking it over, Song Qingming finally chose the safest method. Although it would take longer—a few days—the success rate of this method was still very high.

In any case, Fire Phoenix hadn't given him a deadline to break the restriction, so he didn't need to keep researching other methods there. Having made up his mind, Song Qingming took out a set of formation flags from his storage bag and inserted them around the platform.

Two days later, with a flash of white light, the restriction on the stone platform was finally removed, revealing the true appearance of the stone platform.

Originally, the stone platform was empty, with only a pile of messy stones. Now, after Song Qingming broke the restriction, a pitch-black hole about the height of a person had appeared in the middle of the stone platform.

At this moment, Fire Phoenix, who was sitting to the side, also suddenly opened her eyes. After taking a look at the stone platform, a satisfied smile slowly appeared on her face.