Chapter 748: Ancient Ferocious Beast

Once through the stone gate, Han Li and the others traversed a dim passage and arrived at an extremely spacious hall.

The hall was dimly lit, with rows of dark yellow oil lamps hanging on the walls on both sides, burning a milky white grease that gave off no smoke but emitted a faint, sweet, and greasy scent.

Han Li let out a long breath and glanced at the others, seeing that each of them also looked relieved, and couldn't help sighing inwardly.

It was no easy feat to escape from the joint pursuit of two Great Luo-level cultivators; if the restriction had opened just one or two breaths later, they might have been completely wiped out.

Though temporarily safe, the taut string in his heart had not relaxed in the slightest.

They had no idea what this place was. Had it not been for the circumstances forcing their hand, he would never have risked entering such a location. In his view, any place deemed a restricted area by a major clan usually carried some special significance—either hiding some cultivation techniques or treasures, or sealing something away.

Given how nervous Guimu and Yinxu had been about this place earlier, as if afraid of damaging the restrictions, it was likely the latter case.

The group dared not linger long in place and immediately began to explore the hall separately.

The entire floor of the hall was densely covered with layers of interlocking runes, crisscrossing in a complex pattern, while on the walls on both sides were carved two extremely long stone relief murals, depicting scenes quite similar to those seen on the palace gate earlier—mostly bloody images of ferocious beasts fighting.

“Something seems off. There’s no way forward; we’re completely trapped here,” Hu San said, quickly walking to the end of the hall, examining it for a moment, then turning back to speak.

Han Li looked over and saw that at the far end of the hall, there was no passage leading deeper. The entire wall was carved with a giant beast relief resembling a humanoid shape, exactly the one on the right side of the palace.

However, this giant beast was no longer in the previous crouching posture but stood upright. Its legs were not human-like but somewhat similar to those of a horse or deer, with obvious bends at the knee joints, covered in carvings of huge black scales, and wrapped in thick circles of dense black baleful aura.

One of its hands was raised in a clawing gesture, clutching a mass of black mist in its palm, while the other hand held a bizarrely shaped giant flaming sword, its posture as if roaring skyward, exuding a fierce aura of primitive savagery.

“We could break the spatial restrictions outside, but they probably won’t hold them back for long,” Shi Chuankong said, his expression worried as he constantly scanned the surroundings.

“Don’t rush. First, figure out what this place is,” Han Li said, his gaze sharpening.

“This looks like a sacrificial site. Look at the murals over here,” Ti Hun suddenly spoke up.

Everyone quickly looked over and saw that on the innermost part of the right wall was indeed carved a scene resembling the ancient ancestors of the human realm offering sacrifices to the ancient gods.

Only the scene carved here was more grand and bloody; the sacrifices used were thousands of gray realm creatures, including various gray realm great demons with low spiritual awareness, as well as civilized races like the Cidu Clan, all driven into a giant pit shaped like a "sea bowl."

Outside the giant pit lay the massive beast carved on the wall, its half-extended body leaning over the edge of the "sea bowl," its bloody mouth wide open, with a face full of greed and ferocity.

By comparing it with the Cidu Clan members in the bowl, one could see that this beast was enormous, at least a thousand zhang in size.

Han Li glanced at the giant pit shaped like a "sea bowl," frowned, stepped back a few paces, and looked at a strange depression on the ground.

The chaotic lines of runes on the ground, seemingly without pattern, were actually all intertwined and converged at this depression, which was only a few zhang in size and deeply sunken into the ground.

"What's wrong? Found something?" Bai Liyan, who had suffered considerable loss earlier, came forward after adjusting his breath and asked.

"Look at this depression. Doesn't it resemble an open-mouthed sea bowl, somewhat like the sacrificial pit in the mural?" Han Li said after a moment of deliberation.

"Now that you mention it, it is somewhat similar, just countless times smaller. It seems this really is a sacrificial site... Could that thing on the wall be?" Shi Chuankong examined it carefully for a moment and said.

"I'm afraid that thing is sealed here, which is why this place is called a forbidden ground by the Netherworld Clan." Han Li nodded and said.

"No wonder the Netherworld Clan forbids fighting here, fearing damage to the seal and releasing that thing." Hu San suddenly realized.

"Boom"

Just then, the hall floor suddenly shook violently, and a rumbling sound came from outside.

"They've started breaking the restrictions..." Ti Hun said.

"At this point, we have no retreat. Since the Netherworld Clan fears this giant beast, let's find a way to release it; perhaps we can gain a chance for survival." Han Li pondered for a moment, his gaze firming, and said.

Ti Hun's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, a clear hesitation flashing in her eyes, but in the end she said nothing.

"Lad Li, I advise you not to do this. I've remembered what this thing is. Once released, not to mention dealing with the pursuers behind us, the first to suffer will be you all." Just as Han Li was about to speak upon seeing her expression, Shi Qinghou's voice sounded in his sea of consciousness.

"Do you know what it is?" Han Li asked, puzzled.

"Kunhou... have you ever heard of it?" Shi Qinghou transmitted his voice.

"What is that?" Han Li was slightly taken aback, not understanding.

"Kunhou is a being that has existed in the Grey Realm since before the chaos of primordial times separated. It is said to be a monster born from the origin of yin and sha in the Grey Realm, with overwhelming power that no human can match. Many races in the Grey Realm still maintain the old custom of sacrificing to it. As for why it was sealed here by the Netherworld Tribe, I have no idea. I'm only telling you this as a friendly reminder; ultimately, the decision is yours." After saying this, Shi Qinghou fell silent.

"Master..." Ti Hun called out, seeing Han Li somewhat distracted.

The others also looked at him in unison, clearly having grown accustomed to following his lead and letting him make decisions.

"At this critical moment, we can't afford to hesitate. Whatever is down there, let's release it first," Han Li said after a moment of deliberation, as if he had made up his mind.

Outside the hall, the rumbling grew more intense. Ghostwood and Yinxu seemed anxious, their attacks becoming heavier.

"This restriction is very complex. If we try to break it by force, given our current combat strength, we might not have enough time. Let's see if we can unravel it by setting up a formation," Shi Chuankong said with a frown.

"No time to waste. Let's split up and work," Han Li nodded, agreeing with his view.

So everyone began searching for the formation nodes and the central pivot.

A flash of purple light flickered in Han Li's eyes as he activated his Netherworld Demon Eyes to probe the altar before him.

Under the demon eyes, every detail around the entire sacrificial pit was revealed with utmost clarity.

Before long, he saw that the seemingly flat altar was actually covered with earthworm-like lines, densely packed across the entire surface. The lines were chaotic and patternless, not appearing to be any unknown runes. Their depressions were filled with dirt and grime, all black mud-like substances.

Inside the sacrificial pit, there were also dense lines forming a strange pattern resembling flames.

After examining for a long time and finding nothing unusual, Han Li shifted his gaze to the murals on the surrounding walls.

The material of the stone walls was no different from the walls themselves. After looking for a long time, he still found nothing.

"Have you found anything?" Hu San returned from a corner of the hall and asked.

"There are some lines on the ground, but they seem intermittent and lack coherence. They should just be decorative, not a formation restriction," Shi Chuankong shook his head and said.

Han Li looked up at the dome above and saw circular runic patterns carved in rings, each larger than the last, totaling seven layers. Each layer had a dense string of runes engraved on it, and at the center hung a black cylindrical column.

"Look up there," Han Li's heart stirred, and he reminded them.

Hearing this, everyone looked up.

"This seems to be a spatial restriction formation..." Shi Chuankong's eyes lit up as he said.

"Brother Shi, do you recognize this?" Hu San asked.

Shi Chuankong did not speak; his brows were tightly knit as if deep in thought. After a moment, he slowly spoke:

"This restriction is divided into two parts, heaven and earth. From the overall layout, it bears some resemblance to the Qiankun Forbidden Nether Formation in our demon realm. And from the pattern of the array runes above, they overlap considerably with the spatial runes recorded in the Grey Realm formation manuals I've studied before. It should be a similar formation from the Grey Realm."

"Is there anything we can learn from it?" Han Li asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. Although there are similarities, the differences are also obvious. This restriction formation contains many fire-type patterns, and I still don't understand their purpose," Shi Chuankong hesitated.

As he spoke, another loud boom came from outside, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.

"No time to guess. Go ahead and try. If it doesn't work... we'll wait for Yinxu and the others to break in, then fight to the death and try to use their power to destroy the seal here," Han Li said with unusual calm.

"Alright! Then please follow my directions for now and help set things up," Shi Chuankong nodded solemnly.

Everyone quickly acknowledged and began taking pieces of sha-absorbing ink stones and formation plates from Shi Chuankong, following his instructions to arrange them across the hall floor.

After the floor was covered with black stones, he directed them to embed more on the dome above.

Throughout the hall, apart from Shi Chuankong's simple commands and the rapid footsteps of the others, there was only the constant rumble from outside. The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.