Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was happy to be at leisure since his acquaintances were leading the way. He enjoyed the scenery throughout the journey and looked relaxed.
Even so, Big Yellow was the only one that knew Ou Yangming was not as relaxed as he seemed. Given his abilities at the moment, he was far from being able to resist Danzhou’s Nine Great Sects, hence apart from secretly looking into the matter, there was nothing he could do.
Xia Zizhen showed the way and walked for nearly a month before he stopped outside a mountain.
Ou Yangming looked up and noticed that the mountain looked the same as any other ordinary mountain, but he sensed an unusual chillness when he moved closer to it.
Needless to say, the temperature change was obscure. Without distinguishing it on purpose, one would not be able to notice at all.
“Brother Ou, the secret realm’s entrance is hidden inside this mountain. Hehe, can you sense it?” Xia Zizhen asked in a deep voice.
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “Are you testing me?”
Xia Zizhen waved his hand and responded, “Brother Ou, you’re kidding me. I was only casually asking.” Having said that, he was looking forward to an answer.
The young fellow was moved. ‘Did Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman insist on inviting a caster here for another reason?’
He curbed his thoughts and released his mental power.
“Woosh…”
There was instantly an enormous change in his mind as everything in the outside world including the falling leaves seemed to have been imprinted as mirror images.
It was an extremely peculiar change, and it was 100 times clearer than releasing his mental power for probing. This was a unique ability that resulted from the merging of his Military Fire and mental power, and it could be called a spiritual world or a mirror world.
Ou Yangming closed his eyes and quietly sensed everything inside the mirror world.
Over here, he seemed to be an almighty deity, such that he could sense even the slightest and the most unordinary changes.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman exchanged glances. They naturally sensed the difference in the atmosphere around them.
They wondered, ‘Can Ou Yangming really sense the secret realm? If he can, wouldn’t it mean that we’ve found the right person?’
Ou Yangming opened his eyes after a brief moment. Instead of measuring with his eye or questioning the gentlemen, he walked straight in a direction.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman followed closely behind him. They were surprised and overjoyed because they knew by the direction that the young fellow was not deliberately mystifying things. They were elated that the caster was truly skilled, but they were also pressured if their companion was more potent than them.
Before long, Ou Yangming stopped in front of a spot deep in the col.
A dark and hollow cave could be seen here, and a threatening chillness lingered outside. If one were to walk past this spot, one would surely stay away without wanting to get close.
Ou Yangming furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Were you the ones that set up this poor formation?”
He was not a formation master, but formations were formed by evolving and combining runes. He had learned many combinations for formations from Elder Universe, and he read about them from secret manuals.
Of course, knowing these alone would not make one a formation master but even by having superficial knowledge, one was already better than Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman.
Xia Zizhen flushed and replied to the young fellow embarrassedly, “Hehe, we were the ones that set it up. It’s a formation map that we purchased, and we set it up here to prevent wild beasts from accidentally intruding into the place.”
Ou Yangming turned around and noted, “I wouldn’t be interested in a cave that can be found everywhere if I walk past this area, but I might be intrigued if an average formation map is set up here.”
The faces of Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman changed. The latter expressed after some thought, “Master Ou, it’s unlikely for casters like you to come to this barren hill.”
“I’m only speaking my mind; I don’t mean to blame you at all.” Ou Yangming shrugged and smiled. He then took a step back and said, “Since you’re the ones that set this up, please withdraw it.”
As said earlier, this was the simplest formation map that could be found, thus even Ou Yangming, who only had little knowledge of formations, was not afraid of it at all. Despite that, he could not get past it without damaging or alarming it.
Xia Zizhen quickly went forward and crossed the formation according to specific steps, then he retrieved the formation board.
Ou Yangming was deep in thoughts as he watched Xia Zizhen’s movements.
‘If those steps can prevent the formation map from attacking a person, how exactly was it set up?’
He hesitated for a while before he asked with a smile, “Brother Xia, could you give the formation board to me as a gift?”
Xia Zizhen was startled. His heart ached, but he still answered cheerfully, “Of course.” As he handed the formation board to Ou Yangming in a heroic spirit, he secretly sighed and thought, ‘There goes my 1,000 spirit ores.’
Those were 1,000 spirit ores, which was not a small amount for him.
Ou Yangming touched the formation board and enveloped it with his mental power.
Since the formation board was not activated yet, there were no consequences when Ou Yangming touched it. However, when his mental power penetrated the item bit by bit, its secrets were exposed in his spiritual world.
The formation board was formed by assembling 5 Rune Combinations.
Ou Yangming was in awe of formation masters upon seeing this.
He needed to attempt countless times to build a Dual Skill Rune, so much so that he would die from exhaustion for the numerous experiments.
On the other hand, formation masters might seem mediocre, but they could suddenly impress by making 5 Rune Combinations just like that…
Moreover, the 5 Rune Combinations were not separated as they were connected through a mysterious technique. Ou Yangming could not find the start and the end even when he observed closely.
The young fellow found it incredibly odd because the technique was much more notable than the Spirit-gathering Formation casually set up by Elder Universe in the past.
Could this be the strength of formation masters in the Spiritual Realm?
In actual fact, Ou Yangming overestimated formation masters because he had never met one.
There were many more runes in a formation board than in a piece of equipment, but the former was not the latter and could not be used to increase one’s strength. Besides, advance preparations must be made for one to release a formation board’s power.
If a formation master was asked to fight a martial artist in a situation where formations were not set up, one would be beaten up in the blink of an eye.
Ou Yangming fiddled with the formation board in his hand. While analyzing and understanding it in his spiritual realm, he followed Xia Zizhen into the cave entrance.
The cave entrance was not massive, but they did not feel constrained when they walked inside. Due to the fact that the cave was exceptionally deep, they arrived at their destination only after half an hour. According to Ou Yangming’s estimation, they had reached the bottom of the mountain.
All of a sudden, Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched because Xia Zizhen, who had been walking in front of him, disappeared, and a ripple could be seen in the space where he vanished.
He turned to look at Poisonous Saber Gentleman, who nodded hard at him.
Following that, Ou Yangming chuckled and advanced with Big Yellow and the others into the secret realm.
Chapter 624 - Antique Coffin
Familiar energy fluctuations appeared around Ou Yangming. It was the representation of one going through an interspatial boundary, and he was familiar with it because he had exper
ienced it many times.
Entering the secret realm was equivalent to setting foot in a brand new place, where the view changed drastically too.
Ou Yangming looked around and got a good view of his surroundings.
They were also at the col at the moment, but they were at the end of it, where they could see a boundless plain if they looked into the distance. When Ou Yangming looked up and far, his heart skipped intensely as he somehow had the urge to advance, advance, and advance.
It was a feeling of recklessness like never before.
The young fellow’s body and intuition were telling him to move forward into the plain as though something at the center of it was attracting him.
Despite the unbelievably strong urge, Ou Yangming took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the thought.
He smiled and asked Xia Zizhen, who was next to him, “Brother Xia, where should we go now?”
Xia Zizhen observed the distant place and replied to him, “We’re quite lucky today; we didn’t encounter any swarm of insects. Brother Ou, don’t you want poisonous pills and spiritual herbs? Let’s go over there to take a look first.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman chuckled and said, “Yes, there are countless poisonous pills there, but our abilities were limited previously, so we only managed to collect 5 of them before we were forced to retreat. Hehe, Brother Ou, if you’re interested and can collect more of them, it’ll be great.”
Ou Yangming was moved. It seemed like the place where the poisonous pills were at had a huge crisis, so much so that the 2 Spiritualists dared not go deeper to explore.
Xia Zizhen led the way again. He was not fast, but he constantly watched his surroundings carefully as he advanced. The fact that he was on guard against all possible dangers made Ou Yangming feel rather nervous too.
Poisonous Saber Gentleman walked beside Ou Yangming. Seeing as the young fellow was frowning, he immediately explained, “Brother Ou, there are many treasures here, but it’s also extremely dangerous.” He lowered his voice and added, “In particular, those little insects are very despicable.”
He had a look of fear in his eyes as he spoke.
It was evident that the little insects left an incredibly deep impression on him.
All of a sudden, Xia Zizhen stopped and had a grave look on his face. “I can sense trouble ahead. How about we take a detour?”
Ou Yangming was slightly stunned. He had been following behind without expressing any opinions, but it was because the direction where Xia Zizhen was heading in was the same as where the power was calling him from. As such, he felt like there was no need to take a detour as he could arrive at the destination by advancing courageously.
Nevertheless, he fell silent after he looked at the 2 men.
The 2 men were experienced, after all. Given that there was no significant change in the general direction, it would be better for Ou Yangming to accept their suggestion.
As for the strong calling, Ou Yangming was steady enough to endure it at the moment.
Poisonous Saber Gentleman responded without any hesitation, “Okay, let’s go around it.”
Big Yellow suddenly twitched his nose after they walked more than 5 kilometers away. “This is odd—what’s that smelly? It smells like something delicious…”
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard twitched their noses hard and drooled as well.
Ou Yangming, Xia Zizhen, and Poisonous Saber Gentleman looked at each other. They sniffed the air for some time but did not pick up anything.
Struck with a thought, Ou Yangming asked, “Brother Xia, you’re a disciple from the Beast King Sect, so you have a spirit beast, don’t you?”
Xia Zizhen looked gloomy as he answered, “Brother Ou, I did have a spirit beast as my partner, but it died saving me the last time we came here.”
Ou Yangming opened his mouth and apologized with a bitter smile, “I’m sorry.”
Xia Zizhen waved his hand. “It’s fine. Cultivators like us need to take risks to move forward bravely. It only left sooner than I did, and I’ll likely reunite with it this time.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman turned around and rebuked him, “Zizhen, what nonsense are you talking about? Hmph, it definitely wouldn’t want you to fall like that, or why would it have sacrificed itself to save you?”
Ou Yangming nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Brother Xia, you must pull yourself together.”
Xia Zizhen forced a smile and curbed his thoughts, then he said, “We didn’t come here the last time, so we don’t know what’s nearby. That said, it seems like this thing only affects spirit beasts.”
The plain was vast. Not to mention coming here once, even if one stayed here for a year or more, one would not be able to set foot on every spot.
Ou Yangming suggested after some thought, “No matter what it is, since we’re here, we ought to take a look.”
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman nodded one after another. They were honestly curious about what exactly could tempt Big Yellow and the other spirit beasts to forget themselves.
“Big Yellow, lead the way!” Ou Yangming exhorted the yellow dog, “Be careful and don’t run too fast.”
“Okay.” Big Yellow’s eyes lit up right away, then it dashed to the side.
Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard did not show a weak impression at all. They could not be bothered about Ou Yangming anymore, and they simply followed Big Yellow. Even so, they were rational enough to not overtake the big yellow dog. This was because they knew that the seemingly useless dog with an exceptionally low combat power was far more important to the young fellow than they were.
If they did not want to enrage Ou Yangming, it would be best for them to treat the damn dog with enough respect.
Ou Yangming and the 2 men smiled bitterly at each other. They followed behind the spirit beasts, but they were more alert as they kept scanning their surroundings with bright eyes.
Big Yellow stopped only after half an hour. It stared at a slope ahead, and it could not help but drool.
The 3 men behind exchanged glances and were shocked.
What was it? If it was a certain smell, it would be unbelievable that it could spread so far away.
Big Yellow did not go all-out because it was Ou Yangming’s order, but how far could it go if it ran for an hour?
The 3 human cultivators had chills upon having that thought.
On the contrary, Big Yellow and the 2 other spirit beasts were completely attracted by the scent, to the extent that they could not be bothered about the unusual phenomenon.
Ou Yangming flashed toward Big Yellow and pressed its head with his hand. “Big Yellow, don’t act rashly!”
Big Yellow barked at him as it was displeased.
The young fellow instantly turned around to glare at the big yellow, which shrunk its neck at once and dared not make another sound anymore. It still longed for the slope in front, but it no longer barked without restraint.
As for Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard, they were clearly steadier than Big Yellow. Moreover, they knew they could not compare with the yellow dog in terms of their importance toward Ou Yangming.
Big Yellow would only be lectured a bit if it barked at Ou Yangming, whereas Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard would likely be kicked out if they acted so presumptuously. If the young fellow wanted to prevent the secret realm from being exposed, they might even be killed here too.
Therefore, Fat Antelope and the Silver Ridge Giant Leopard held back their desires after looking at each other. Furthermore, then cast looks of envy at Big Yellow.
Ou Yangming looked in front with dazzling eyes. He released his remarkable mental power and probed the suspicious slope bit by bit.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman were well-prepared with their weapons. Regardless if they had been lured to a trap, they were ready for combat at any time.
Who knew, Ou Yangming made an expression of surprise after a brief moment.
He waved at the 2 men and noted, “Don’t panic, this is probably a grave.”
“What? A grave?” Xia Zizhen was in disbelief.
Ou Yangming nodded and went forward to wave his hands continuously. As he moved, the tall slope was quickly dug, then a giant coffin was soon revealed.
The coffin was made from an unknown material; it was buried underground for countless years, but it still looked as shiny as new as if it had just been lowered to the ground.
Xia Zizhen and Poisonous Saber Gentleman looked at each other, and their faces changed as they became dubious.
‘Could someone have found this secret realm already? If not, what’s with this brand new coffin?’
Seeing as they panicked, Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. “Don’t worry, there’s no corpse inside the coffin, or I wouldn’t have taken it out. Besides, it was buried underground for at least… Heh, I’m not sure how long, but it has been at least a few centuries.”
Xia Zizhen was dumbfounded, and he asked in shock, “Brother Ou, how do you know?”
Ou Yangming smiled mysteriously. “By looking at it, of course.”
Poisonous Saber Gentleman and Xia Zizhen were startled for some time. They had notable visions but could not spot anything, so they could only smile bitterly. Even though casters did things strangely, it was undeniable that they had unreachable abilities.
Having said that, they did not know that Ou Yangming did not get his answer by looking, but he perceived the truth through his mental power.
In any case, Ou Yangming was also confused. ‘Why wasn’t this peculiar coffin able to stop my mental power?’
He vaguely felt that it was due to the merging of his Military Fire and mental power.
By tapping the coffin gently with his palm, it was opened at once.
As everyone looked inside, Xia Zizhen exclaimed, “Concentric Knots?”
Chapter 625 - Concentric Knots
Some strange and eccentric things were placed inside the coffin.
Among them, there were 9 identical small accessories. Apart from that, there was also some black, mud-like thing inside a crock.
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