Chapter 36: Stealing the Beams and Replacing the Pillars

Just as the two Void Refining cultivators were still suspicious, the figure had already appeared in a black hall.

The hall was not large, only two or three hundred feet in size. In the center stood a thick white jade pillar, inscribed with countless runes. A soft yellow light emanated from the top of the pillar, forming an inverted bowl-shaped yellow light barrier that enclosed an area. Inside, one could vaguely make out a dozen red-glowing stone cabinets, but the contents were unclear, lending an air of mystery.

The figure stood still, not moving forward, carefully examining the yellow light barrier before him, with a faint blue glint in his eyes.

After a moment, he waved his hand, and dozens of black lights shot out—each was a black formation flag. They landed in an orderly manner around the yellow barrier. Then, with a hand seal, beams of black light flew from the surrounding flags, connecting in midair to form a larger hemispherical pale black light barrier, covering the entire yellow shield.

The yellow shield had already occupied nearly half the hall, and the pale black barrier now filled almost the entire space.

The figure opened his mouth and spat out a stream of green qi, which landed on the yellow shield, attempting to breach a hole as before.

Unexpectedly, just as the green qi corroded a palm-sized hole, the shield's surface suddenly blazed with light. Countless yellow rays appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the green qi.

At the same time, the rune patterns on the white jade pillar at the center of the shield flashed brightly.

The yellow shield's surface intensified in brilliance, and countless slender, dazzling yellow light threads emerged, entangling the green qi and then tightening sharply.

The green qi was instantly cut into countless fragments and scattered, while the yellow rays quickly receded, and the hole that had appeared healed as before.

The figure remained unmoved, seemingly unsurprised. He stared at the white jade pillar for a long while, then turned his hand and produced over a dozen more formation flags of various colors.

With a wave of his hand, all the flags floated in midair, arranged in a strange elliptical formation that appeared chaotic yet held hidden profundity.

As his hands swiftly formed seals, black light flickered continuously in his grasp.

The dozen or so flags also burst into various colors, like javelins, striking the yellow shield and boring inward like nails, enclosing an area about ten feet in size.

The yellow shield's surface flashed wildly, slowing the flags' progress, while a fairly strong wave of spiritual power radiated outward. But these waves, upon touching the outer pale black barrier, vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, without any leakage.

As the figure chanted obscure incantations, the flags' surfaces brightened, their speed suddenly increased, and they finally embedded fully into the shield.

The next moment, the yellow light in the ten-foot area covered by the flags rapidly dimmed.

The figure immediately spat out another stream of green qi, which landed in that area.

The dimmed shield offered no resistance, and was soon mostly corroded by the green qi.

However, the runes on the white jade pillar now flashed wildly, and the other areas of the yellow shield blazed with light. More yellow rays surged like angry waves, crashing against the area enclosed by the flags, but were firmly blocked by them.

Intense spiritual power fluctuations spread out, intercepted by the surrounding black barrier. But this time, the fluctuations were so violent that the black barrier began to tremble with a buzzing sound, growing more intense, as if it could not withstand it.

Fortunately, after two or three breaths, the ten-foot area was corroded into a large hole by the green qi.

The figure swiftly shot in like lightning, landing near the white jade pillar. He spat out a thick stream of black qi, enveloping the pillar, while his hands formed seals, sending streaks of black spell light into the pillar.

The black qi quickly spread over the pillar, dyeing the rune patterns black.

The pillar's light rapidly dimmed, and the surging rays on the yellow shield slowly receded, everything returning to normal.

The figure waved his hand, and the dozen flags emerged from the shield, flying back into his hand, which he put away.

Without pausing, he turned his hand and produced a stack of yellow formation flags, which turned into a dozen streaks of light and shot into the yellow shield from inside.

These flags sank into the shield without resistance and disappeared.

The entire yellow shield rippled slightly, then returned to normal, and the large hole previously corroded by the green qi quickly healed.

Only then did the figure turn to look at the dozen stone cabinets arranged around the pillar.

Each cabinet was covered by a deep red light barrier.

The figure walked to one cabinet and, without much hesitation, spat out a stream of green qi onto the barrier's surface. That area immediately fluctuated violently, the red light rapidly fading, as if about to be breached.

At that moment, white crystalline lights suddenly appeared on the red surface. The red and white lights interweaved, resisting the erosion of the green qi.

At the same time, a piercing bell sound rang from the depths of the hall.

The void around the figure rippled slightly, as if he too was startled.

But the next moment, low incantations came from his mouth, and his hands changed rapidly.

The green qi immediately churned, taking various shapes, frantically attacking the red and white prohibition. But no matter how it changed, it could not break through.

The figure suddenly waved his hand, decisively recalling the green qi. Then he pointed two fingers at his brow, which suddenly split open into a black crack, revealing a pitch-black eye.

The eye moved slightly, with black runes faintly visible within.

Swish!

A finger-thick black beam shot out from it, striking the prohibition on the cabinet in a flash.

The red and white prohibition was like paper before the black beam, instantly pierced, and shattered with a bang.

A crystalline light flashed on the figure's brow, emitting a vast divine sense, which split into a dozen parts, each entering a jade slip, quickly examining their contents.

With the bell sound, the prohibitions outside the scripture library flashed wildly, emitting warning sounds.

“Not good! Someone has broken into the scripture library!”

“Who is so audacious? They’re asking for death!”

“Could it be the thief who infiltrated the Talisman Hall two days ago?”

With angry shouts, figures converged on the scripture library from all directions.

Having learned from the Talisman Hall incident, these patrollers did not hesitate. Some were sent to notify the sect’s higher-ups, while the strongest team leaders immediately charged into the scripture library.

In the night, lights lit up in various parts of the Cold Flame Sect, and commotion arose.

The first to react were actually the two Void Refining cultivators at the inner hall entrance.

As soon as the alarm bell rang, the two jumped up, their faces a mix of shock and anger.

Someone had actually infiltrated the inner hall right under their noses!

“Could it really be a Mahayana cultivator?”

The thought flashed through their minds, but they had no time to dwell on it. They each took out a jade talisman—one shaped like a crescent moon, the other a flat circle.

The two talismans combined into a perfect circle, and without a word, they pressed it onto a certain spot on the door.

The water-wave prohibition on the door flickered and quickly faded. The stone door rumbled open, and the two shot inside without hesitation.

Seeing the pale black barrier inside, they were momentarily stunned.

The plump monk’s mind raced, and with a grit of his teeth, he produced a round mirror magic artifact.

He formed seals, and the mirror flashed with gray light, emitting a thick gray-white beam that struck the black barrier with a deafening explosion.

The barrier churned violently, undulating like water, but was not immediately broken.

Almost simultaneously, the tall thin man released four green flying swords, which circled and transformed into four green lotuses.

Countless green sword beams shot out from the four lotuses, slashing at the black barrier.

Puff puff!

The black barrier finally gave way, torn open, revealing the scene inside.

“Bold thief!”

Seeing the faint silver figure inside, the two Void Refining cultivators felt relieved but also ashamed and angry.

The aura emanating from this figure was merely at the Nascent Soul stage!

However, the figure paid no attention to the two Void Refining cultivators outside. Having just finished examining the jade slips in the first cabinet, he flickered and moved to another cabinet beside it.

He repeated the process, shooting a black beam from his brow’s solitary eye, shattering the prohibition around the cabinet, then calmly released his divine sense to probe the jade slips on it.