As they delved deeper, Ji Yuan and Lin Yu Bai clearly felt the Heavenly Punishment power around them growing more potent. The ubiquitous black lightning, though not actively attacking, was enough to send shivers down their spines just by its mere presence.
"Something's not right."
After walking for barely a mile, Lin Yu Bai's expression shifted slightly. He carefully sensed his surroundings and then stated in a deep voice, "I feel a trace of Heavenly Punishment aura inexplicably appearing within my body." This aura was deeply concealed; had he not cultivated lightning techniques and infused his natal artifact with traces of Heavenly Punishment power, it would have been extremely difficult to detect.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan showed little surprise, his face remaining calm. "It's only natural that those fellows wouldn't tell us everything," he said slowly, a hint of coldness in his eyes. While he himself would have held back information, the feeling of being concealed and manipulated left him somewhat displeased.
"Do we still proceed further?" Lin Yu Bai turned to look at him. Ordinarily, they could turn back at this point. After all, no matter how astonishing the opportunity, even if it was laid out before them, survival was paramount before seizing it.
"Why wouldn't we?" Ji Yuan raised an eyebrow. With a thought, the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda above his head began to spin. As several rays of light enveloped the two, a power of spirit absorption flowed out, drawing the nascent Heavenly Punishment aura from their bodies into the small pagoda.
"I never expected you could easily absorb even this formless aura," Lin Yu Bai chuckled, the move indeed being quite surprising. However, after his laughter faded, his expression grew grim as he pondered whether Ji Changlin and the others knew that staying within the inner city would cause Heavenly Punishment power to silently accumulate within their bodies.
"If this aura within our bodies fully forms, we'll likely turn into 'living dead'," he stated his conjecture in a somber tone. Although there was no concrete proof, such a conclusion was not difficult to deduce through a bit of mental calculation. However, with Ji Yuan and the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda present, they were temporarily safe from this. The Heavenly Punishment aura would be forcefully absorbed before it could fully condense.
In fact, as time passed, the absorbed Heavenly Punishment aura gradually coalesced into a form of Heavenly Punishment power, which was then infused into Lin Yu Bai's natal artifact.
"Actually, this place is a great training ground for us," Ji Yuan said softly after a moment of quiet observation. The dense Heavenly Punishment power surrounding them offered various unexpected benefits for Lin Yu Bai's lightning techniques, greatly aiding his cultivation path. Simultaneously, for Ji Yuan, the spiritual energy refined from the Heavenly Punishment power could serve as sustenance for his cultivation, even negating the need for countless pills to increase his cultivation.
However, the two could not afford to remain here for prolonged cultivation. Regardless of the hidden dangers within the inner city or the situation outside, they were compelled to complete their tasks as quickly as possible. Their entry into the city implied that others could do the same. As more cultivators gathered in the underground dojo, people would inevitably begin to enter this area. Furthermore, the existence of this place had already been detected by certain factions, who had merely refrained from sending their disciples to explore it for various reasons.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two had ventured five to six miles into the inner city, stopping outside a relatively well-preserved mansion. The mansion was vast, with layers of courtyards, capable of housing hundreds of people. Ji Yuan did not approach rashly, staring intently from tens of feet away. Beside him, Lin Yu Bai's face was equally solemn.
Despite the passage of thousands of years, the mansion remained largely intact, protected by layers of formations. Looking through the formations, it appeared that the interior was not heavily saturated with Heavenly Punishment power. After observing for a while, they cautiously approached the mansion and discovered that most of the offensive formations had collapsed millennia ago, leaving only defensive ones. This significantly reduced the danger. Although the remaining formations likely still possessed the power to eliminate intruders, caution would be sufficient.
With a thought, Ji Yuan activated the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda, causing streams of light to fall upon the formations before them, gradually neutralizing their power. However, even in its dilapidated state, the formations here were far more profound and complex than those encountered at the earlier medicinal fields. It took Ji Yuan nearly half an hour, using his spirit absorption power, to carve a small opening in the formation, just large enough for them to pass through.
"This artifact of yours... is truly convenient!" Upon entering the mansion, Lin Yu Bai had lost count of how many times he had expressed this sentiment. Ji Yuan's artifact possessed offensive and suppressive capabilities, as well as defensive and spirit-absorbing functions. It also provided an endless supply of spiritual energy and could erode formations, among other things. Moreover, each of these abilities was exceptionally potent, not merely superficial attributes of an ordinary item.
"No matter how much you praise it, I'll never sell it to you!" Ji Yuan retorted, then fixed his gaze on the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda and proceeded deeper into the mansion. Before heading to the inner city, they had received considerable intelligence about this place from Ji Changlin. This included a map of the mansion, detailing the layout of its various areas, the location of the sect's treasury, and the formation eye where the Yin-Yang Caliper Blade was stored. Ji Yuan and Lin Yu Bai had agreed to first investigate the formation eye to see if the Yin-Yang Caliper Blade had been preserved, and then try their luck at the treasury.
"Why does it feel like there are signs of activity here?" After crossing two courtyards, Ji Yuan frowned. He had noticed numerous traces along the way; the most recent ones appeared to be from about ten days prior, with countless disordered footprints on the dusty ground.
"Those who lost their minds?" Lin Yu Bai also frowned, recalling the warnings from Ji Changlin and the others. According to them, over the millennia, many 'living dead' had entered the inner city for various reasons, eventually becoming mindless, bloodthirsty beasts driven only by slaughter. This was the greatest danger in the inner city, apart from the dense Heavenly Punishment power. Each of these creatures possessed a body as resilient as a top-tier artifact and exuded a formidable aura of death. If encountered, a moment of carelessness could lead to the demise of even a peak second-realm cultivator under their frenzied attacks. If the ensuing fight generated too much noise, attracting more of these bloodthirsty beasts, even third-realm cultivators might not be able to guarantee their safe escape.
The thought of such formidable beings potentially lurking here sent a chill down their spines, yet it also sparked some confusion. This mansion was protected by formations; if someone had forced their way in, it should have caused significant damage to the formations, leaving obvious traces. However, their observations from the outside indicated that while the formations were largely incomplete, there were no signs of forced entry.
Filled with doubt, Ji Yuan silently mobilized his magical power, ready to unleash a full-force attack at the slightest disturbance. Upon reaching the courtyard where the formation was located, they encountered no danger. The formations and restrictions encountered along the way were rendered inert by the spirit absorption power, and they did not see any individuals controlled by bloodshed.
"I'll do it," Ji Yuan took a deep breath and stepped forward, positioning himself in the center of the courtyard. It wasn't that he had a change of heart; rather, if there were any issues with the incantation provided by Ji Changlin and the others, he, with the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda protecting him, would have greater confidence. Moreover, with Lin Yu Bai's formidable combat prowess, having him act as a guardian nearby would maximize his effectiveness.
Before long, Ji Yuan began to form hand seals, and as he channeled his magical power, the entire courtyard was soon covered by a network of formation patterns. The method for activating the formation eye provided by Ji Changlin and the others involved over three hundred hand seals. Any mistake during the process would trigger several lethal formations. If their full power were unleashed, it was said to be capable of eradicating all beings below the Golden Core Great cultivator stage. Even after millennia of erosion, rendering the formation severely damaged and diminishing much of its power, it should still be sufficient to kill or severely wound second-realm cultivators.
As he began the hand seals, Ji Yuan's tension grew. Even with the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda safeguarding him and his confidence in his own capabilities, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension. Fortunately, his innate talent was not poor. He had memorized all three hundred-plus hand seals and was now executing them flawlessly. With the completion of the final hand seal, Ji Yuan's magical power surged out, expending more than half of it within mere breaths, with no sign of slowing down. This situation had not been mentioned by Ji Changlin and the others, leaving him unprepared. In his haste, he mentally commanded the Xuantianshi Ling Pagoda, which descended, channeling its vast stored spiritual energy into his body continuously. By this point, it was too late to convert it into magical power. Ji Yuan could only substitute it with spiritual energy, channeling it into the formation beneath his feet.
Waves of formation patterns emerged, densely filling the entire small courtyard. It was difficult to imagine that after a great battle and thousands of years, the formation here remained so intact. Ji Yuan carefully observed that at least sixty to seventy percent of the courtyard's formation had been preserved. If its full power were unleashed, even a cultivator in the early stage of the Ming Dao realm might have to temporarily retreat.
Silently, the formation patterns converged, and soon, a luminous sphere the size of a millstone slowly materialized in the center of the courtyard. After about fifteen minutes, the luminous sphere before them gradually dissipated, revealing a sheathless small saber, no longer than a young man's palm, in their sight.
As the sheathless saber appeared, a potent aura of righteousness emanated from it. The ancient blade bore no glint of cold steel; its edge even appeared somewhat blunt, as if it had never been sharpened. An indescribable profound Daoist charm emerged, directly dispersing the surrounding Heavenly Punishment power. With a faint glow, it seemed capable of defining yin and yang and separating life and death.
"This is the Yin-Yang Caliper Blade, suspected to be an artifact from a sage's desk?" Ji Yuan murmured to himself, instinctively reaching out to grasp the suspended sheathless saber in his palm. The moment he took hold of it, a surge of righteous energy flowed from the blade, bypassing his magical power, and coursed through his body. Filaments of black and gray energy, along with some dark red blood veins, immediately seeped out from his pores. These were devilish yin energy and stagnant blood miasma, hidden deep within the flesh, which ordinary elixirs and magical power struggled to detect, let alone expel from the body.