bioinnovel Chapter 143 The past is gone
Chapter 143 The past is gone
For Qin Xiao and his team, this was undoubtedly fantastic news!
This means they will not have to face powerful defenders for the time being.
It is relatively safe to explore Tianzhu Mountain.
"Let's go check out the main peak!"
Qin Xiao's spirits lifted.
The four transformed into streaks of light and flew towards the main peak of Tianzhu Mountain.
The closer you get to the main peak, the more shocking the scenery becomes.
There were even more collapsed bases and even more corpses.
Occasionally, one can see corpses with more exquisite clothing and obviously higher cultivation levels; the items in their storage bags are also slightly better.
But without exception, they were all completely dead.
Finally, the four of them arrived at the foot of the main peak of Tianzhu Mountain.
The main peak soars into the clouds, and its surface is covered with dense array patterns.
Most of these array patterns have become dim and faded, or even broken and blurred.
But one can still vaguely sense the terrifying spiritual power and overwhelming might that gathered here during its heyday.
At the foot of the mountain, on a relatively flat plaza that appears to have been the core hub of the ancient formation, the scene is even more astonishing.
There were at least a hundred corpses sitting cross-legged here!
They formed a huge circle, facing the center.
At the center of the circle was a dark cave with a diameter of more than ten zhang and a bottomless depth.
Nine black stone pillars, each carved with a hideous demon's head, were embedded along the edge of the cave. However, five of the pillars were now broken, and the remaining four were also covered with cracks.
Inside the cave, the strong devouring power could no longer be felt; only a faint, chaotic flow of spiritual energy occasionally emerged.
"This should be the core of the Soul Devouring Array, and also the final gathering point and transmission channel for the devouring of spiritual energy."
Fairy Yaoguang gazed at the deep cave, her tone complex, "Judging from the postures of these corpses, they seemed to be trying their best to maintain the stability of this array's core while they were alive, but in the end..."
Qin Xiao's gaze swept over the group of corpses sitting around.
Their cultivation level during their lifetimes was at least at the Nascent Soul stage, and they might even have been at the Deity Transformation stage.
But now, they've all turned into skeletons.
The storage bags were of higher quality, and the contents inside caught the eye of Qin Xiao and the others.
In addition to more spirit stones, elixirs, and magical artifacts.
They also discovered numerous jade slips containing internal information about the Tianluo Sect, detailed diagrams of its formations, and even some information about the Tianluo Sect in the Upper Realm!
Although most of them are incomplete and lack information, their value is immeasurable!
Qin Xiao looked up at the mist-shrouded mountain peak, lost in thought: "Let's go, let's go up the mountain and take a look!"
The four of them flew upwards along the steep cliff face of the main peak.
Along the way, one can still see many traces of battles or maintenance, as well as scattered remains of high-level cultivators, making it a very fruitful journey.
Finally, they reached the summit of Tianzhu Mountain.
The mountaintop is a huge, flattened platform, hundreds of feet in circumference.
The ground was also covered with array patterns.
In the center of the platform stands a nine-story black jade altar.
The top of the altar, where something should have been enshrined, is now empty.
In front of the altar, a unique set of remains caught the attention of the four.
It was an old man wearing a purple-gold star-patterned Taoist robe, sitting cross-legged with his back to the altar and his head bowed.
Although he had been dead for countless years, his body had not completely decayed. Instead, it had a faint jade-like luster and exuded a faint aura of power.
On the ground in front of him, several large, distorted characters were written in some kind of dark red liquid:
"The Spirit Exhaustion Array has collapsed, the Path to Heaven is severed, and it's too late for regrets..."
The handwriting conveyed a strong sense of despair and resentment.
In the old man's arms, he tightly held a silver scroll and a purplish-black diamond-shaped token.
"This person... his cultivation level during his lifetime was probably at the Void Refinement stage!"
Fairy Yaoguang sensed the lingering faint pressure and gasped, "It must be the highest leader of the Tianluo Sect left here."
Qin Xiao stepped forward and carefully took the scroll and token from the old man's arms.
The token felt cold to the touch, with the words "Tianluo" engraved on the front and complex star runes on the back.
It appears to be an identity token or authorization token.
Then, the scroll slowly unfurled, its silver light shimmering.
The patterns on it are like living things, with light and shadow intertwined and layered.
The painting depicts the current area of Tianzhu Mountain, with the main peak at the center and eighty-one auxiliary peaks surrounding it like stars around the moon.
Countless fine, thread-like spiritual energy lines were forcibly extracted from the earth veins throughout the Cloud Realm, flowing like rivers to the sea, rushing and converging along the channels constructed by the auxiliary pillars, and finally pouring into the main peak.
The level of detail in the map is astonishing.
It covers everything from the overall macro-layout of the formation to the minute details of the spiritual energy flow of a specific rune on a certain auxiliary pillar.
This is a complete master plan of the Soul Devouring Array, and also the "instruction manual" left by the Tianluo Sect in this world to ensure that the array can continue to operate for thousands of years.
Qin Xiao held the scroll and fell silent for a moment.
Fairy Yaoguang, Luo Qingluan, and Yu Qingyi also gathered around, looking at the diagram with complicated expressions.
They had prepared for so long and rehearsed for so long.
They were even mentally prepared to fight a bloody battle against powerful defenders, facing a slim chance of survival.
As a result, the enemy had long since been wiped out.
The "Reverse Yuan Anti-Spirit Array" concept, which was prepared to break the array, now seemed like a joke in the face of the complete array diagram.
The Xuanji Pavilion poured its heart and soul into finding the method to break the formation, with countless predecessors following one after another, even at the cost of their lives. The most crucial master plan lies here quietly, held in the arms of a Void Refinement cultivator who has been in meditation for countless years.
Fairy Yaoguang turned her head and looked at the desolate and lifeless mountain peak, feeling a strange emptiness and melancholy in her heart.
The Xuanji Pavilion is gone, and the guardians of the Tianluo Sect are also dead.
Ancient grudges, without human intervention, naturally come to an end with the passage of time.
These people are more like a group of onlookers who have stumbled upon the ruins of history.
Qin Xiao took a deep breath, slowly rolled up the silver diagram, and put it away along with the purplish-black token.
"In any case, we got the most crucial thing."
"The Tianluo Sect's defenders perished; it was their fate, but also our good fortune. It saved us countless troubles and risks."
He looked at Fairy Yaoguang: "Fairy, there is no need to be sad. The sacrifices and explorations of the sages of Xuanji Pavilion were not in vain. Without the clues they left behind, we would not have been able to find our way here."
Upon hearing this, Fairy Yaoguang paused slightly, then slowly nodded.
The efforts of our ancestors were not in vain; rather, they guided them in the right direction.
"My husband is right."
Fairy Yaoguang's eyes hardened again. "The past is gone, but the future is within our grasp. Now, it's time for us to decide how to utilize this 'legacy'."
Qin Xiao nodded, his gaze falling on the deep cave at the foot of the mountain: "Although the array's core has almost stopped operating and its devouring power is weak, according to the diagram, its transmission channel to the upper realm has not been completely severed, but has become extremely unstable. This is both an opportunity and a potential risk unknown to us."
"Moreover, the Tianluo Sect has been operating in this realm for thousands of years. Although its main force has long since withdrawn to the upper realm and those who remained have passed away, it is hard to guarantee that it did not leave behind some automatically triggered contingency plans..."