Chapter 1334: A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix

An unprecedented phenomenon had appeared at the entrance to the passage.

Streams of five-colored light continuously sprayed out from within, forming a cloud of rainbow mist in the void that gradually spread outward, becoming increasingly conspicuous.

Fortunately, the lightning ring did not continue expanding. It remained suspended at the horizon, embedded within the dark clouds.

Had Canghong not previously stated that Old Devil Ye lacked the ability to damage the passage, everyone would already have lost their composure.

Canghong and Devil Lord Tongyou finally arrived. Both teams hurried over in haste and naturally noticed the strange phenomenon as well.

"The ancient barriers throughout the entire forbidden ground were destroyed by Old Devil Ye?" Canghong looked toward the end of the stone path.

Qin Sang briefly described what they had seen inside the forbidden ground, then turned his gaze toward the distant passage. "Daoist Canghong, did you foresee such a phenomenon? Could this have been caused by Old Devil Ye?"

Canghong remained calm. "The lightning wandering around the passage, any single bolt of it could annihilate us. No matter how capable Old Devil Ye is, he could never damage the passage. At most, he could set up some obstacles to delay our advance. Even if we rush there now, it would be useless. It would be better to first determine what Old Devil Ye did here. If we can find some clues and judge his true intentions, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Everyone found reason in those words and put aside other thoughts. Reforming their battle formation, they entered the forbidden ground once more.

Soon, they returned to their previous position. The place remained deathly silent. There was no sign of Old Devil Ye, nor any visible trap. Although he had broken part of the ancient barriers, many dangers still remained.

Working together, the group passed through layer after layer of ancient barriers and finally reached the end of the stone path, where they saw the seal!

"Old Devil Ye has already left!" Qin Sang activated the Sky Eyes and confirmed that Old Devil Ye was not hiding nearby.

"There are cracks in the stone pillars. The seal was damaged..." Canghong flashed behind one of the pillars. Strange light flickered in his pupils as he inspected it, then astonishment appeared on his face. "The seal was broken not long ago. Old Devil Ye only left recently!"

Of the three forbidden grounds, only this place had its seal broken by Old Devil Ye. This was absolutely no coincidence!

"For these past twenty years, could Old Devil Ye have been plotting all along to break the seal here?" Zhenyi looked stunned as he lowered his gaze toward the muddy pool at the center of the four stone pillars. "What was sealed within this forbidden ground? What did he release?"

Canghong and the cultivators of Sin Abyss all shook their heads.

This place had become a forbidden ground precisely because its ancient barriers were both powerful and dangerous. Countless Sin Abyss cultivators had tried to explore it and all had failed.

Before now, they could only wildly speculate about the purpose of these stone pillars.

The traces that remained showed that the sealing force here had been extraordinarily powerful. No one knew how Old Devil Ye had accomplished it alone, opening the forbidden ground and breaking the seal as well.

Qin Sang flew beside one of the stone pillars. After observing it for a moment, he quickly found several fractures in the seal. He flashed over and instructed the Sky-Eyed Butterfly to activate its supernatural ability and investigate.

"It’s empty inside. Unfortunately, all traces have been ruined by the filth." Qin Sang sighed softly. "There was definitely a devilish monster sealed here before!"

Everyone’s expressions changed.

If a devilish monster in Blood Lake could survive into the present age, with its consciousness only recently extinguished, then it was perfectly normal that the devilish monster sealed in this forbidden ground had still been alive.

At last, the doubts in Canghong’s heart were resolved, only for blazing anger to surge up in their place. "The remnant soul of the devilish monster we slew must have been closely tied to this monster! The expedition to Blood Lake was also part of their scheme. The jade skeleton, its brocade skin, the Nether Crystal Tower, and the Spiritual Infants of those Daoists were all critical to that monster’s escape!"

He had nearly guessed the truth.

Qin Sang circled the four stone pillars several times, occasionally directing the ebony sword to touch them, testing what remained of the seal’s power. "The devilish monster and Old Devil Ye have both vanished. There is no way to judge their purpose now. Perhaps... Old Devil Ye himself had no choice. Perhaps he was merely a pawn being manipulated."

At Yitian Peak in Seven-Kill Hall, Qin Sang had personally witnessed the miserable fate of the three alliance leaders after being controlled by the Devil Monarch. Instinctively, his thoughts turned in that direction.

And that had only been a split soul of the Devil Monarch. Old Devil Ye’s cultivation was on par with those three alliance leaders. If he too had been controlled by an ancient devil, his end was unlikely to be any better.

Qin Sang’s expression grew grave. The thing he feared most had happened.

Beneath Yitian Peak, so many top experts of Canglang Sea had sacrificed their lives. In the end, they had only barely managed to subdue the Devil Monarch by relying on an ancient seal.

Now, the seal here had been broken. That devilish monster had already escaped! The only good news was that this seal was far weaker than the one at Yitian Peak.

Yitian Peak had not only possessed ancient barriers left behind by the three races, but also supreme treasures left by them, working together with the barriers to subdue the Devil Monarch. Here, there were only four crude stone pillars.

Though their material was clearly extraordinary, they could never compare with the Devil-Suppressing Stele or the dragon corpse.

That meant the being sealed here had not been a powerhouse on the Devil Monarch’s level. The situation had not yet become irredeemable.

Qin Sang quietly informed Qingjun of his discovery and told her to prepare the Devil-Binding Chain. Fortunately, his senior sister had perfected the array diagram during her recent seclusion. That strange treasure might truly have a chance to shine now.

"It seems like we can only understand Old Devil Ye’s intentions once we meet him in person! We now have one more enemy, but that devilish monster only recently escaped and must still be in a weakened state. Now that the experts of Beichen Realm have all gathered here, we do not need to fear..."

"The strange phenomenon in the passage was definitely caused by that devilish monster!"

"This place is not suitable for lingering. We must move at once!"

The devilish monster was unfathomable. Everyone felt an overwhelming urgency. Without hesitation, they turned and prepared to leave the forbidden ground.

Qingjun suddenly spoke, "You all go ahead. I will try to analyze the seal. Perhaps I will discover something. It will not delay me long. I will catch up shortly."

Qin Sang worried that his senior sister would be isolated and unsupported, but the two of them could not both remain behind. After discussing it with Jingyu, he said to Qingjun, "Daoist Jingyu should remain as well. If anything unexpected happens, you will have someone to watch over you."

He had Bai and the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet at his side, so he did not need to worry about his own safety.

Qingjun readily agreed and thanked Jingyu. The others rushed out of the forbidden ground and sped toward the passage as quickly as possible.

After they left, Jingyu stood upon the stone path and summoned the Lightning Thought Orb. Brilliant light illuminated every direction as he remained on guard while watching Qingjun’s movements, curious what method she intended to use.

He saw Qingjun pace around the outer edge of the seal briefly, then unexpectedly pass through one of its cracks and enter the muddy pool!

Though the seal had been broken, its remaining power was still extraordinary.

Qingjun first summoned the Fivefold Tower and suspended it above her head for protection. At the same time, her fingers moved in dazzling circles, forming one hand seal after another so quickly that the eye could barely follow.

Finally, with a sweep of her sleeve, the Azure Luan puppet emerged, cloaked in the Hidden Moon Landscape Scroll, flying out from within her sleeve.

At the same time, dozens, then hundreds of clusters of azure light appeared around her. As Qingjun continuously struck puppet seals into those azure lights, they transformed one after another into vividly lifelike Azure Luan.

It was like a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix!

The Azure Luan circled around Qingjun in graceful flight, releasing soft and pleasing cries. They were astonishingly nimble, elegant in posture, and their eyes shone brightly with spirit, as though they were searching for something.

Even Jingyu was seeing such a technique for the first time, and inwardly marveled in amazement.