Cultivation starts from simplifying the exercises

Chapter 2149 Encirclement and Slaughter

Upon hearing Jiang Mushan's speculation that the mural might lead to a more central area of ​​the ruins, containing even greater opportunities, Zhu Xingyan and Wu Jianghan's eyes instantly gleamed with brilliance, their previous anger being replaced by an even more intense greed.

If that's the case, then the treasures that the Dan Chen Sect disciples snatched away first are indeed nothing. If they can track them down, they can not only recover their losses but also seize even greater opportunities.

Wu Jianghan put on a smile, his tone somewhat ingratiating, and cupped his hands, saying, "The most urgent task is for you, senior brother, to use your supernatural powers to decipher the mystery of this mural and open the teleportation portal. At that time, we can catch up with those two thieves, capture and kill them, and recover the stolen items. Any subsequent opportunities will also depend on your guidance."

He linked any potential future opportunities to Jiang Mushan's leadership, which was both a compliment and an indication of his attitude of following Jiang Mushan's lead.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mushan stroked his beard and nodded slightly, his face showing little pride, but rather the focus and interest of a researcher encountering a difficult problem. He said no more, refocusing all his attention on the stone tablet mural in front of him.

His eyes, which had been gentle and peaceful, gradually became deep and profound, as if countless tiny runes were flowing and disappearing within them.

Jiang Mushan did not immediately try to do it, but instead, like a connoisseur, examined the entire mural inch by inch.

His gaze would sometimes linger on a seemingly random line, and at other times focus on the indistinct cloud patterns and mountain shadows in the background of the mural.

Jiang Mushan's fingers would occasionally trace certain patterns on the mural, and he would sometimes mutter to himself silently, as if he were calculating and verifying something.

He was completely absorbed in it, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.

Zhu Xingyan and Wu Jianghan stood to the side, holding their breath and not daring to disturb them in the slightest.

Time passed slowly, and about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had elapsed.

Jiang Mushan's eyes, which had been focused on observing, suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped something crucial. He raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined together. There was no shimmering light at the fingertips, but a pure and refined spiritual power was gathered within them.

His gaze locked onto a seemingly inconspicuous corner in the lower right corner of the mural, and without hesitation, he pointed it out.

Fingertips lightly touch the wall.

"Om..."

A buzzing sound, like the plucking of a musical string, came from deep within the mural.

Immediately afterward, under the surprised gazes of Zhu Xingyan and Wu Jianghan, a faint light quietly lit up at the spot on the mural that Jiang Mushan had pointed to. Like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, a clearly visible ripple spread rapidly from that point outwards across the surrounding murals.

Wherever the ripples passed, the ancient carvings on the mural seemed to be infused with some kind of vitality, with a faint light flowing through them. The entire mural seemed to come alive, radiating a mysterious spatial fluctuation.

"It's done?" Wu Jianghan couldn't help but exclaim softly.

However, faced with Zhu Xingyan and Wu Jianghan's surprise, Jiang Mushan showed no pride whatsoever. Instead, he frowned slightly and shook his head gently.

"No...something feels off."

Jiang Mushan muttered to himself, his voice tinged with confusion and contemplation, "The ripples have been triggered, and spatial fluctuations have also appeared, proving that this mural is indeed the key to the restriction."

However, the trajectory of the ripples and the order of energy flow deviated slightly from the sequence of the array's cores that I had deduced. Although this deviation was small, it was enough to prevent the entire array from being properly connected and to prevent the formation of a stable spatial channel.

As if to verify his words, the rippling silver waves, when they spread to about one-third of the area of ​​the mural, seemed to encounter an invisible obstacle. The fluctuations began to weaken and become disordered, and then, like the receding tide, they quickly retreated and subsided back to where they came from.

In the blink of an eye, the ripples and glimmers on the mural disappeared completely, and the entire mural returned to its ancient and lifeless appearance, as if everything just now was an illusion.

"This..." Zhu Xingyan's joy froze instantly, and Wu Jianghan's smile also froze.

Jiang Mushan slowly withdrew his finger, and the divine soul power condensed at his fingertip dissipated.

He was not discouraged. Instead, his eyes became even more thoughtful. He turned his gaze to the entire mural again. This time, he looked at it more carefully, as if he wanted to imprint the depth of every carving and the angle of every turn in his mind.

"It seems this ancient restriction is more intricate and complex than I imagined. It's not a simple linked array; its activation sequence and energy nodes may be related to the surrounding environment, the time of day, and even the aura of the intruder..."

Jiang Mushan murmured, his fingers unconsciously gesturing in the air, deducing various possibilities.

"That Dan Chen Sect disciple was either extremely lucky and stumbled upon this by chance, or... he possessed some unknown key or secret technique. If it's the latter, then he really has some tricks up his sleeve."

Jiang Mushan turned to look at Zhu Xingyan and gently comforted him, "Junior Brother Xingyan, please calm down. When breaking ancient restrictions, especially such spatial restrictions, it is most important to avoid being impatient."

Now that this mural has been identified as the key to the entrance, and the Dan Chen Sect disciple was able to pass through it, it proves that this path is indeed feasible. Let me analyze it more carefully, combining the content of the mural with any clues the two might have left behind; perhaps we can find the correct method.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xingyan quickly cupped his hands and said, "It was Junior Brother who was anxious; we must rely on Senior Brother for everything."

Jiang Mushan nodded, said no more, and immersed himself once again in studying and deducing the murals. The main hall fell silent again, broken only by Jiang Mushan's occasional, almost inaudible whispers of calculation.

Meanwhile, inside another hall connected by a portal.

The aftershocks of the battle had not yet completely subsided; the air was filled with the aura of swords, the burnt smell of burning food, and a slightly unpleasant, metallic stench of demonic energy.

In the center of the main hall, the mid-stage Tai Cang Realm vengeful demon that had previously blocked the entrance and roared as it charged in has now turned into a patch of black ashes that are slowly dissipating.

His hideous body was covered with crisscrossing sword marks and scorched black marks, especially his head, which was pierced by a sharp and incomparable azure sword light, shattering his demonic core and completely killing him.

Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu stood on opposite sides of the ashes, their bodies shimmering with spiritual light.

Cao Feiyu held her long sword, which was pointed diagonally at the ground. The sword hummed continuously, and the azure water rippled like waves, reflecting her beautiful face.

The battle did not last too long. Although this mid-stage Tai Cang Realm vengeful demon had a powerful demonic body and amazing defense, it was also adept at controlling a pitch-black demonic flame with strong corrosive and mental impact properties.

But facing Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu, one focused on defense and the other on offense, one on restraint and the other on finishing blow, Cao Feiyu ultimately seized the opening created by Chen Fei, piercing the brain with a single sword strike, thus ending the ferocious demon.

The mountains of Dao Crystals piled up on the ground transformed into a dazzling torrent of crystals, flowing into the planes of Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu respectively, and the two of them each received millions of Dao Crystals again.

As for that sixteenth-grade low-level spiritual material, it was currently being held in Chen Fei's palm.

"Senior sister, please keep this high-ranking spiritual material safe."

Chen Fei said calmly, "I already took one, you can keep this one."

Upon hearing this, Cao Feiyu raised her head, her beautiful eyes looking at the jade box in Chen Fei's hand, and gently shook her head: "Junior brother, you should keep this item."

Seeing that Chen Fei seemed about to speak, Cao Feiyu preemptively said, "Junior Brother, you are meticulous and thorough in your work. I feel more at ease having you in charge of the management and allocation. If we really need to distribute them, we can wait until we leave the ruins and return to the sect."

Seeing the determination in Cao Feiyu's eyes, Chen Fei knew that she had made up her mind. He nodded, flipped his wrist, and put the jade box away.

"In that case, I will keep this item for now, as Senior Sister says, and we'll discuss it again when we return to the sect."

After collecting the Dao Crystals and finishing their meditation, Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu returned to the depths of the main hall, to the familiar stone tablet and mural.

The murals retain their ancient style, with hidden patterns.

Chen Fei, familiar with the process, flickered his fingertips with dark golden Yuan energy, and once again, following the array nodes and activation sequence fed back by the Sea of ​​Consciousness Diagram, he began to strike in mid-air, activating the teleportation restriction hidden in the mural.

As each node was lit up, pale silver ripples spread across the mural once more, and the spatial fluctuations gradually intensified.

"Junior brother,"

Cao Feiyu stood half a step to Chen Fei's side and suddenly said, "Following the teleportation from this mural, we've passed through two secret halls, both containing great treasures. Judging from this trend, it seems... we're heading deeper into this ancient ruin, or rather, towards a core area?"

Her voice was soft, inquiring, and even more so, a reminder.

Opportunities are certainly tempting, but unknown risks often coexist with opportunities.

Chen Fei's hands moved swiftly, his fingertips precisely illuminating another array node. "I understand Senior Sister's concerns. The gains from this trip have indeed exceeded expectations. The destination that this chain of teleportations points to is probably not simple."

Chen Fei turned his head slightly and glanced at Cao Feiyu. "If the guardian demons at the next location are too powerful and beyond our control, or if there are other unpredictable dangers, I will immediately close the entrance and block the way after I have investigated the situation. I will never blindly venture deeper."

Upon hearing this, Cao Feiyu felt somewhat relieved, gave a soft "hmm," and said no more.

She knew that her junior brother was a thoughtful person, and his words of reminder were merely out of concern and caution among companions.

A few breaths passed quietly. With Chen Fei's final touch, the last few key nodes on the mural were lit up one by one, and the array patterns on the entire mural were completely connected and activated.

"Buzz!"

A buzzing sound rang out, and the space in front of the mural twisted and stretched violently before finally stabilizing, forming a spatial portal with shimmering, iridescent edges.

Just as the portal stabilized, a strong, strange fluctuation, like a tidal wave, surged from the other side of the portal.

This fluctuation, pure and profound, carries an indescribable sense of weight and sharpness, clearly the fluctuation of a high-ranking spiritual material.

Moreover, judging from its strength and quality, it is still at the level of a low-grade sixteenth rank.

This time, even Chen Fei, who had maintained his composure throughout, couldn't help but let a hint of surprise flash across his eyes.

He never expected that there would be a talented scholar in the new hall on the other side of the door.

This is the third such instance. Each hall connected by the murals contains a sixteenth-grade low-level spiritual material and a massive amount of Dao crystals.

This can no longer be explained by good luck; it's practically a pre-designed treasure corridor specifically for storing high-level spiritual materials.

Cao Feiyu's beautiful eyes were wide open at this moment.

Sixteenth-tier spiritual materials are being discovered one after another like cabbages. This is the first time Cao Feiyu has encountered such a thing after exploring so many secret realms.

Suppressing his surprise, Chen Fei's divine sense passed through the spatial portal without encountering any obstacles, and he quickly relayed back the general situation of the main hall on the other side.

Similar to the previous two main halls, as expected, the center of the hall was piled with Dao crystals like a small mountain, roughly estimated to be close to eight million, their crystalline light illuminating the hall.

At the summit of Daojing Mountain, besides a milky-white jade box that radiated a warm luster, there was something else beside it.

It was a strange stone about the size of a palm, with natural cloud-like patterns flowing on its surface.

The stone's shape was irregular, yet it gave the impression of being perfectly natural. It floated quietly beside the jade box, lacking the intense law fluctuations of a high-ranking spiritual material, but exuding an ancient and weathered aura.

"Inheritance Stone?"

Chen Fei's heart stirred, and he then told Cao Feiyu about the situation in the other hall.

The value of a heritage stone is sometimes no less than that of a spiritual material, especially when the two are placed together at this moment.

"Should we continue to use the array puppets to probe?" Cao Feiyu whispered.

Chen Fei nodded, and the puppet beside him stepped into the spatial portal without hesitation, appearing in the new hall.

As soon as the puppet appeared, it followed Chen Fei's instructions without any delay and rushed directly to the top of Dao Crystal Mountain. Its huge metal hand stretched out, grabbing the floating jade box with one hand and the dark golden inheritance stone next to it with the other.

The jade box and the inheritance stone trembled slightly, then detached from their original floating position and flew towards the palm of the array puppet.

Just as the jade box and the inheritance stone were about to touch the puppet's palm.

"You audacious ants!"

A furious roar, like a chilling wind sweeping through the deepest hell, carrying unparalleled ferocity and coldness, suddenly erupted from outside the main hall.

The sound was not only deafening, but also contained a terrifying mental impact, like an invisible hammer that slammed into the puppet formation and also impacted Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu on the other side through the still-open spatial portal.

"Boom!"

With that roar, the two heavy doors of the main hall were smashed open from the outside by an unimaginable force, crashing against the walls on both sides.

A powerful aura, like a dormant volcano erupting suddenly, instantly filled every inch of the entire hall.

The aura was cold and heavy, carrying a venomous and destructive intent that sent chills down one's spine, as if it were about to drag everything into endless darkness and death.

Moreover, this terrifying aura was not limited to the main hall on the other side of the portal, but rather surged forth like a tangible tide, turbulently crashing through the spatial portal, distorting and stagnating the air in the main hall where Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu were located.

Cao Feiyu was the first to be hit, and the azure sword energy water curtain around her rippled violently under the impact of this terrifying aura.

Peak of the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm!

Moreover, his aura was incredibly refined, and he had already faintly touched the threshold of the peak of the Tai Cang Realm.

The moment the impact hit Chen Fei, the dark golden light on his body began to circulate autonomously, dissolving most of the impact and leaving him standing still.

But his gaze as he looked at the other side of the portal became incredibly solemn.

Under Chen Fei's mental control, the puppet withstood the terrifying aura and mental impact, firmly grasped the jade box and the inheritance stone, and then retreated without hesitation, shooting back towards the spatial portal.

"Leave!"

A more furious roar rang out, followed by a terrifying claw as large as a millstone, wrapped in viscous demonic energy, tearing through space with a destructive force, and viciously grabbing at the retreating puppet.

Just as the sharp claws were about to seize the puppet, a series of interconnected arrays extended from the void, enveloping the vengeful demon within them.

At the same time, the power that kept the spatial portal dispersed, the spiritual light flowing around the edges of the spatial portal flickered violently, and the portal itself collapsed and closed inward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Just as the portal began to contract and twist violently, seemingly about to disappear completely, the puppet transformed into a stream of light and flew back.

Chen Fei reached out with both hands and accepted the jade box and the inheritance stone.

The jade box has a warm, smooth feel to the touch, and the stone is heavy with heritage.

"Roar!"

Almost at the same moment Chen Fei took the treasure, a terrifying roar containing boundless rage, like thunder from the heavens, crashed violently into the spatial portal, which was now reduced to a thin black line.

The mental impact contained in that roar even transmitted through the last spatial gap, causing Cao Feiyu's face to turn slightly pale.

The vengeful demon, at the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm, had already torn through the chain array set up by the puppets and rushed to the mural.

His enormous body, covered in pitch-black, ferocious bone armor and scales, almost filled the entire field of vision. His three blood-red demonic eyes burned with a fury that could incinerate everything, staring intently at Chen Fei and Cao Feiyu's figures on this side of the gate.

The claws, wreathed in thick demonic energy, remained extended forward, their fingertips just millimeters away from the last sliver of spatial rift.

The demonic power emanating from the vengeful demon was like a tangible black tide, almost freezing and corroding that entire space.

But now it could only watch helplessly as the treasure vanished before its very claws, as the spatial portal completely closed and disappeared, leaving only bare stone tablets and murals...

The portal closed completely, and even the last ripple in space subsided. The suffocating demonic power, the furious roars, and the ferocious figures on the other side were all completely shut out.

Inside the main hall, only Chen Fei, Cao Feiyu, and the puppets that had just retreated remained.

Cao Feiyu took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

The demon's strength had already reached the peak of the Tai Cang Realm. If Chen Fei hadn't acted decisively, even a fraction of a second slower, its demonic claws would have torn through the gate and entered this area.

On the other side of the portal, there was the great hall that had just been filled with terrifying demonic power.

"Damn it, you all deserve to die!"

The vengeful demon raised its head and let out a heart-wrenching roar. The thick, ink-like demonic energy around it suddenly erupted, shooting straight up to the dome like black flames.

The red light in the three demonic eyes of the vengeful demon Wei Yelan was almost dripping blood. Boundless anger and the twisted obsession caused by the dereliction of duty drove it almost to madness.

"You think you can escape by closing the doors? Let's see how you manage to escape!"

The vengeful demon Wei Yelan's expression suddenly turned deathly still. He abruptly raised his claws, not to attack the mural, but to point the claw tips at his own chest.

"laugh!"

The claws easily pierced the hard bone armor and penetrated deep into the chest, yet no blood flowed. (End of Chapter)