He altered his appearance to match "Liu Feng," changed into his clothes, and finally burned the corpse to ashes.
Chen Sanshi slipped into the sandstorm. Before long, he found another Guiyuan Sect disciple at a fork in the road.
"Senior Brother Liu?"
The disciple was enveloped in a protective barrier to block the sandstorm. Squinting, he said, "I thought you'd gotten lost!"
"Almost."
Chen Sanshi did not say much.
"Let's not waste time. We should hurry and rendezvous with Senior Brother Xu and the others!"
As he spoke, the disciple continued flying on his sword.
Chen Sanshi followed closely behind.
After about half the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, they landed halfway up a mountain thick with vegetation. Passing through a forest, they arrived at a cave where the Guiyuan Sect disciples had gathered.
The crowd seemed to be discussing something. Noticing someone approaching, Qian Qiren instinctively glanced over, then smiled faintly. "It's you two. Well? What was the situation over there?"
"Don't even mention it," the fellow disciple replied. "Later we heard that a Golden Essence Clay Embryo might have appeared, but we have no idea who snatched it away."
"Treasure everywhere," Qian Qiren sighed. "Since everyone is here, let's not waste any more time. We'll head straight to the treasure site."
Treasure site?
Chen Sanshi quietly followed at the back of the group.
It seemed this group had a deeper understanding of the Second Layer of the forbidden land. By following them, he might discover even more. It appeared he truly had come to the right place.
His infiltration had gone smoothly. Not a single person noticed that this "Senior Brother Liu Feng" had already been replaced.
At present, Qian Qiren and Cui Zichen had both successfully reached Foundation Establishment, and the latter had even advanced to the middle stage.
In the early period of cultivation, Chen Sanshi had been affected by too many external factors, causing his speed to seem somewhat slow.
His spiritual root had initially been the lowest-grade mixed root, so poor that even 80 years might not have sufficed to reach the late stage of Qi Refining. It had gradually improved over time, and only after reaching an upper-grade spiritual root did his cultivation speed noticeably increase.
Moreover, Chen Sanshi cultivated both immortal and martial paths. In addition, various skills also demanded time, especially during the first 2 years of establishing the Great Han, when he had almost no time to cultivate.
Fortunately, from now on, as long as he had resources and inheritances, he would be able to continuously advance.
After leaving the cave with the Guiyuan Sect group, they flew directly northwest, stopping only after traveling more than 50 li to reorient themselves.
Everyone gathered around the middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator at the front.
Xu Baoren held a bronze fragment in his left hand and a torn sheepskin scroll in his right. Comparing them with the mountains and rivers below for a long while, he finally waved his arm. "Let's check over there."
The group immediately followed.
However, after repeating this process several times, they still gained nothing.
Xu Baoren's brows gradually knitted together.
"This thing is incomplete," Cui Zichen sighed. "When the Second Layer of the forbidden land first opened, we, along with the Shengyun Sect and Lingji Cavern, were the first batch to enter. The items scattered on the ancient corpse were each snatched in part. The remaining sections of the map must be in the hands of the other two sects."
"Perhaps…" Qian Qiren stroked his chin. "We should go ask them?"
"No need to look—they're here!"
A cultivator shouted, pointing toward the horizon.
Two teams of cultivators were flying through the air from different directions.
They were none other than disciples of the Shengyun Sect and Lingji Cavern.
The chief disciple of the Shengyun Sect, Zhang Jinchen, slowly came to a halt and spoke first. "Daoist Friend Xu, name your price. Sell us what you have."
"Heh."
Xu Baoren smiled without warmth. "What a coincidence. I was thinking the same. Why not have Daoist Friend Zhang sell us what you obtained? Name your price freely."
"Everyone knows that the Guiyuan Sect doesn't even have a spirit stone mine now and can only rely on the markets under its control to earn spirit stones," Zhang Jinchen said bluntly. "Daoist Friend Xu shouldn't pretend otherwise. You can set a high price. With our sects backing the transaction, that would truly serve everyone's needs."
"You—"
Xu Baoren was about to respond when a female cultivator from Lingji Cavern interrupted, "Why must the two of you be so confrontational? A heaven-and-earth secret realm belongs to all. If we fight endlessly, none of us will benefit.
"Why not have our three sects cooperate? Once we locate the hidden realm, we can each rely on our own abilities."
"Miss Zhang makes sense," Cui Zichen said. "Rather than wasting time here, we should cooperate first and find the place."
"Daoist Friend Zhang."
After careful consideration, Xu Baoren said, "In any case, we will not hand over what we have. Cooperation among the three sects—what do you think?"
"There is no reason to refuse."
After a brief moment of thought, Zhang Jinchen nodded in agreement.
Each of the three parties took out a portion of their sheepskin scrolls. Once pieced together, they formed the complete map of the Second Layer of the forbidden land.
They each focused intently on the map. Soon, they confirmed the location they sought.
"Follow me."
Zhang Jinchen did not waste a single word. He immediately flew his sword toward the left front. The rest of his fellow disciples hurried to follow, and the disciples of the Guiyuan Sect and Lingji Cavern trailed closely behind.
After flying for half a day, they arrived at a valley between two mountain peaks. Before they could even approach, vines filled the sky, lashing at them like pythons.
However, these aggressive spirit plants had not even reached the second tier. To the numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators present, they were utterly insignificant.
As spiritual light flashed, within a few breaths the serpent-like vines were completely cleared away, forcibly carving out a path through the valley.
After passing through the valley floor, a vast expanse of thick fog rushed toward them.
"Natural mist."
A Lingji Cavern disciple identified its origin and quickly dispersed it.
Similar situations occurred every few li as they advanced. Only after repeating this five or six times did the path ahead finally become truly unobstructed.
At the same time, however, the surrounding scenery suddenly turned eerie.
Corpses…
The valley floor was covered in corpses everywhere!
All kinds of bodies in various states of death, weathered by time, had turned into piles of dry bones stacked together. Broken magical artifacts lay densely scattered across the ground.
"Th-These are the remains of a Nascent Soul cultivator!"
Qian Qiren's voice trembled.
At a bend ahead, a body lay collapsed in the grass. Though the flesh had long since decayed, faint spiritual light still flowed weakly through its bones.
"And here—a Golden Body Realm martial cultivator!"
Another skeleton gleamed entirely with brilliant golden light, as if cast from gold. Though dead for countless years, it still emitted a terrifying baleful aura that made others hesitate to approach.
At the Glazed Golden Body realm, the five viscera and six bowels became as clear as glazed glass, while the bones and flesh took on a golden sheen.
"There's another Nascent Soul senior's corpse."
The farther they looked, the more shocking it became. Corpses of high-level cultivators at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms were everywhere. If not for the vast time that had passed, their bones could even have been used to refine demonic-path magical artifacts…
For a moment, quite a few cultivators no longer dared to step forward.
"What happened here in the forbidden land back then, for so many mighty experts to have fallen in battle?"
"With so many great powers dead, if we go further, won't we be in danger?"
"Yes…"
"…"
Chen Sanshi blended in among them, transmitting his location to the people of Tianyong City through a sensing talisman while cautiously observing everything before him.
He, too, faintly sensed something amiss and quietly remained at the rear of the group.
"Since we're already here," Xu Baoren said, his pupils blooming with azure spiritual light as he scanned the surroundings, "are we supposed to turn back just like that? For now, I don't see any immediate danger. We might as well continue forward and take a look."
"Reasonable."
Zhang Susu of Lingji Cavern nodded. "Moreover, the Nine Nether Forbidden Land already has restrictions. Cultivators above the Golden Core realm cannot enter.
"If even we are unable to explore it, then I fear no one in the world could.
"Daoist Friend Zhang, Daoist Friend Xu, from here on, I hope the disciples of our three sects will cooperate sincerely. Only then will we have a chance to obtain the supreme treasure."
"I agree," Xu Baoren said calmly.
Zhang Jinchen also tacitly consented.
The disciples of the three sects continued forward. After passing through the corpse-strewn valley floor, what came into view was an extremely vast and level spiritual field.
Within the field grew all kinds of spirit plants, including one third-tier spirit plant.
As for second-tier thousand-year spirit plants visible to the naked eye, there were no fewer than 5!
At this sight, the cultivators of the three sects could not help but have their eyes light up.
"Careful—there's a restriction!"
Zhang Susu narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her hand, releasing a vicious wolf puppet.
The wolf lunged forward. Just as it was about to enter the spiritual field, intricate and mysterious formation patterns suddenly lit up across the ground, forming a golden barrier that enveloped the land.
Sword qi erupted and raged across the surface of the barrier, swirling like ten thousand flying swords. In an instant, the wolf puppet was shredded into powder!
"A third-tier barrier!"
After witnessing its power, all the cultivators were struck dumb with astonishment.
A third-tier grand formation—
That was the very grade of their sect's mountain-protecting formation!
"Not quite."
Zhang Susu of Lingji Cavern seemed well-versed in formations. Gazing at the barrier before her, she murmured, "It's more than just third-tier."
"More than third-tier?"
Xu Baoren frowned. "The power displayed is clearly that of a middle-grade third-tier formation."
"No formation or restriction can remain unchanged forever."
Zhang Susu shook her head gently and explained, "Even in Eastern Divine Continent, restrictions laid down by ancient great powers loosen after certain intervals of time. Not to mention here.
"The barrier before us is clearly the result of having weakened under the erosion of the years."
"Oh?"
Zhang Jinchen's eyes twitched slightly. "You mean that even after incalculable years, this barrier still retains third-tier power?"
"That would be correct."
Cui Zichen analyzed, "With so many Nascent Soul ancestors' remains nearby, how could a mere third-tier formation have played any role back then?"
"So—"
Xu Baoren stroked his beard, looking troubled. "How are we supposed to get in?"
A third-tier barrier was not something Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could contend with.
"Please wait a moment."
Zhang Susu flew her sword up into the air, circled the barrier several times, then arrived at the cliff face on the eastern side. She used a spell to burn away the vines clinging to the rock wall, revealing a formation disk carved into the cliff.
The disk was not large, roughly the size of a dinner plate, circular in shape. Formation patterns were engraved along its edges, with numerous grooves for placing spirit stones.
At the very center was a palm-sized recess.
"If I'm not mistaken," Zhang Susu said, "this is the activation mechanism of the barrier. The empty space in the center is where the formation eye lies."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinchen, Xu Baoren, and the others leapt into the air to examine the formation eye more closely.
"The shape looks like—"
Xu Baoren took out the irregular bronze fragment. "Could it be this?"
"Let's piece them together and try."
Zhang Susu took out one fragment first and placed it into the recess.
The other two immediately followed suit.
There were a total of four fragments. Zhang Jinchen alone possessed two. Once assembled, they formed something resembling a token.
On its surface were engraved three large characters—Guardian Envoy.
Guardian Envoy!
Chen Sanshi's heart stirred.
He remembered very clearly that among the relics left behind by his master was a wooden token bearing the exact same inscription.
Only—
His was made of wood, while theirs was a bronze token.
Next, Zhang Susu and the others laid out spirit stones and inserted them into the grooves of the formation disk. Every single one was a costly middle-grade spirit stone.
After everything was prepared, the formation disk began absorbing the spiritual energy from the spirit stones, radiating brilliant light.
Zhang Susu's slender fingers pressed upon it. According to the orientations of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, she slowly rotated the disk. Each turn caused disturbances in the barrier.
"Rumble—"
Once she found the correct position, she struck it heavily with her palm. The third-tier barrier before them suddenly vanished without a trace.
"It worked!"
Qian Qiren exclaimed in delight.
"Heh."
Xu Baoren cupped his hands. "Fairy Zhang is so young yet already possesses such profound mastery of formations. To even manipulate an ancient barrier—you will surely become a grandmaster of formations in the future."
"You flatter me."
Zhang Susu replied calmly, "I merely made use of the existing formation eye. I did not truly break the formation."
She removed the bronze token fragments one by one and returned them to their respective owners.
"Everyone keep your fragments safe. After entering the secret realm, we must absolutely not slaughter one another. We may still need to cooperate."
"No problem," Xu Baoren said. "But how shall we divide any treasures we encounter?"
"If they are discovered jointly—such as the heavenly materials and earthly treasures within this spiritual field—then we split them evenly. Even if disputes arise, it's best to resolve them through resource exchanges."
Zhang Susu, being familiar with both sides, acted as mediator. "On the other hand, once we go deeper and act separately, whoever obtains something first shall own it. Under no circumstances should there be plundering."
"Reasonable."
Xu Baoren and Zhang Jinchen both agreed.
With permission granted, the cultivators surged in, dividing the medicinal herbs they obtained among themselves. Although disputes arose during the process, they did not escalate into full-blown fighting.
After all, they were sect disciples wearing their respective battle robes. Once blows were exchanged, it would no longer be a personal matter but a matter between sects.
Even the most arrogant disciples had to consider the consequences.
"There's more ahead!"
Qian Qiren pointed toward a region dense with spiritual energy in the distance.
"Don't rush too deep," Xu Baoren warned. "What if the barrier we just deactivated reactivates, and there's no other exit inside? What then?"
"It shouldn't," Zhang Susu said. "We've already removed the formation eye."
"Still, it's better to be cautious. The Seven Kill Sect has been active recently—who knows whether they might come here?"
Xu Baoren said, "How about this: each of our three sects sends one person to guard the formation disk at the entrance."
At this moment, as the cultivators stared at the various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, their eyes were practically red with greed. None of them were willing to remain behind.
"Fellow Daoist Qian."
Zhang Susu was forced to call him out by name. "You stay."
Only Wang, looking at the vast expanse of spirit plants ahead, actually took a step back voluntarily. "Senior Brother, I am willing to remain behind."