"Attack!" Li Hu abruptly stood up and gave the order in a deep voice to Ma Yingjie.
Ma Yingjie leaped out of the weeds, simultaneously beckoning two powerfully dressed Blood Demon Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators in red robes to follow. The three of them raced towards the center of Qingyun Lake, reaching the shore in an instant.
Without pausing, the three simultaneously channeled their spiritual energy, leaping into the churning water. Their figures were instantly swallowed by the murky water, leaving only a few ripples that were quickly concealed by the waves.
Li Hu stood at the edge of the lake, his eyes fixed on the center, hands behind his back, his aura tense, closely monitoring the movement within the lake.
Elder Chen and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples also stood up, ready to dive into the lake at any moment.
Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from the center of the lake. The roar was deep and violent, carrying the powerful pressure unique to Golden Core demonic beasts, instantly sweeping across the entire Azure Cloud Lake.
Immediately afterward, Ma Yingjie burst from the lake, staggering, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, his spiritual energy in disarray!
Ma Yingjie dared not linger. In a flash, he sped towards the Heavenly Sword Sect's camp.
Behind him, a gigantic toad followed closely. The toad was entirely bluish-black, its skin rough and covered in bumps. Its eyes, the size of lanterns, glowed with a bloodthirsty red light, and its body was surrounded by dense Golden Core spiritual energy!
This toad was the Azure-Striped Toad, which had been guarding Azure Cloud Lake.
Qin Changsheng's avatar, Hu Nan, had been killed by this Azure-Striped Toad several times.
Each leap of the Azure-Striped Toad created waves several meters high.
The blue-striped toad's eyes were filled with rage and killing intent, clearly enraged by Ma Yingjie.
Qin Changsheng's gaze swept over the area, only to find that the two Blood Demon Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators who had followed Ma Yingjie into the lake were nowhere to be seen, leaving no trace of their presence. Clearly, they had been killed by the toad during the process of luring it away, their bodies obliterated.
"Well done!" Li Hu's eyes flashed with approval, showing no concern for the lives of the two Blood Demon Sect disciples.
In his view, sacrificing two people to successfully lure away the Golden Core demon beast was worthwhile.
Once the blue-striped toad and Ma Yingjie had completely disappeared into the forest path, far away from the area, Li Hu immediately turned to Elder Chen and the Blood Demon Sect disciples, and ordered in a deep voice: "Everyone, enter the lake!"
"Yes, sir!" Elder Chen and the Blood Demon Sect disciples responded in unison.
Li Hu raised his hand, his spiritual energy surging, and he leaped into the churning lake, his black figure instantly swallowed by the water.
Immediately afterward, Elder Chen followed suit, jumping into the lake.
The other Blood Demon Sect disciples also activated their spiritual energy, leaping in one by one, heading towards the hidden treasure at the bottom of the lake.
"Let's go too!" Qin Changsheng didn't hesitate, leaping down from a branch and landing silently on the lakeshore.
He scanned the lake surface, confirming there were no other disturbances, before also leaping into the water.
Li Hu, Elder Chen, and the others quickly submerged, heading towards the illusory image of the treasure deep within the lake.
Qin Changsheng and Hu Nan followed at a distance.
Before long, the outline of a massive array appeared before everyone's eyes.
This array was extremely strange, its body woven from countless black runes, which slowly flowed in the water.
A faint crimson mist swirled around the array, within which indistinct phantoms could be vaguely seen, radiating a bloodthirsty and violent aura. At the array's core, an eerie red light flickered, exuding the majesty and unpredictability of an ancient array, inspiring awe and fear.
Li Hu slowly stopped, raising his hand to signal everyone to halt. His gaze was fixed on the strange array before him, a hint of solemnity flashing in his eyes, yet unable to conceal the greed and eagerness within him.
He could clearly sense that behind the array lay an extremely dense aura of treasure's spiritual energy. If he could break through this array, the secret treasure at the bottom of Azure Cloud Lake would be within his grasp.
"Elder Chen," Li Hu turned to Elder Chen beside him and asked in a deep voice, "Look, this is the sealing formation at the bottom of Qingyun Lake. How long will it take you to break it?"
Elder Chen stepped forward, his gaze fixed on the flowing black runes on the formation. His expression was serious and focused as he carefully examined the formation's layout while secretly deducing a method to break it.
"Young Master, although this formation is extremely strange, with complex runes and imbued with malevolent energy, making it seem troublesome, this old servant has already figured out the formation's core and the rune's patterns. It will only take a quarter of an hour to successfully break the formation and create an opening large enough for everyone to enter," Elder Chen replied.
"Good!" Upon hearing this, the solemnity on Li Hu's face instantly vanished, replaced by pure joy.
"Elder Chen, time is of the essence! Begin breaking the formation immediately! It must be broken within a quarter of an hour, without the slightest delay!"
"This old servant obeys!" Elder Chen bowed slightly, slowly walking to the front of the formation. His spiritual energy surged, his hands rapidly forming hand seals, silently chanting the incantation to break the formation. A series of complex hand seals were applied towards the black runes on the formation, preparing to break this strange sealing array.
Li Hu waved his hand lightly.
Many disciples of the Blood Demon Sect surrounded Elder Chen, vigilantly guarding him to prevent a surprise attack from the underwater monsters.
Li Hu stood to the side, hands behind his back, his eyes fixed intently on the formation.
Meanwhile, behind the underwater reefs not far away, Qin Changsheng and Hu Nan concealed themselves, their auras suppressed to the extreme by a concealment technique, their protective spiritual light so faint it almost blended into the lake water.
Standing before the eerie array, Old Chen's withered hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals. His muttered incantation for breaking the array was low and obscure, and wisps of dense spiritual light shot from his hands, precisely striking the black runes flowing across the array. With each hand seal, the runes trembled violently, and the spiritual energy of the array weakened slightly.
Time ticked by, the underwater silence broken by the sounds of the trembling runes and the whispered incantation.
After an unknown amount of time, Old Chen suddenly roared, his hands forming the final hand seal for breaking the array. That seal, like a golden sword, pierced straight towards the array's core.
A soft cracking sound echoed underwater. The black runes on the grand formation instantly ceased their flow, the chilling black aura receded like the tide, and the crimson mist gradually dissipated. Countless cracks appeared on the formation's surface before it shattered with a deafening roar, transforming into countless points of light that merged into the lake water and vanished completely.
The instant the formation dissipated, a massive, ancient palace appeared. Constructed of massive black stones, it bore the marks of time, its roof carved with intricate ancient patterns that, despite the passage of years, remained clearly discernible, radiating a faint ancient majesty.
The main entrance to the palace was tightly shut. Above the lintel were two blurred ancient characters, obscure and difficult to decipher, yet exuding an aura of mystery.
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Li Hu strode to the main entrance, raised his hand, and sent a wisp of spiritual energy towards the door.
A muffled creak resounded, and the tightly closed palace slowly opened.
Li Hu eagerly stepped into the main hall.
The hall was spacious and solemn, devoid of superfluous furnishings. The floor was paved with smooth bluestone, gleaming faintly. The walls were engraved with lifelike images of ancient beasts and cultivators, seemingly ready to leap out at any moment.
In the very center of the hall, a dazzling beam of light slowly floated, drawing everyone's attention.
It was a peculiar mirror.
The mirror was entirely white, its frame carved from an unknown jade, intricately engraved with runes. Its surface was clear and bright, yet shimmered with a faint golden light, within which shadowy figures flickered, mysterious and eerie!
Li Hu abruptly stopped, his gaze fixed intently on the peculiar mirror in the center of the hall.
Just as his figure completely crossed the threshold, two figures moved swiftly from the shadows outside the hall!
"Charge!" Qin Changsheng shot forward like an arrow, hurtling towards the center of the hall with a whooshing sound.
Hu Nan followed closely behind, but instead of rushing towards Li Hu, he charged towards Qin Changsheng to buy time to seize the bronze mirror.
The two moved with incredible speed; changing clothes and taking off took only a moment. Almost as soon as Li Hu stepped into the hall, they were already at the entrance.
Just as Li Hu was about to step towards the bronze mirror in the center, a familiar figure suddenly appeared out of the corner of his eye, rushing towards him. His expression froze, and he instantly recognized the person as Hu Nan!
"Hu Nan?!" Li Hu's face changed drastically.
He never expected Hu Nan to be here!