Chapter 1058: You Are Tianye King (Part 1)

Just as the bandaging was finished, the demonic sound rang out again. This time, the qin's tone carried a seductive charm, irresistibly drawing people in, their thoughts no longer under their own control.

"Damn, it's a type of enchanting sound..."

Zhang Xuan's face changed color.

Demonic sound, like formations, is divided into many types: enchanting sound, illusory sound, sinking sound, noisy sound... Although enchanting sound is just one category, it is among the most terrifying. Once immersed, even the strong become addicted and cannot extricate themselves.

It shares the same subtlety as the Master Teacher's Heavenly Bestowal—once intoxicated, it can make one act beyond their control, even... commit suicide!

In the past, there was a qin demon who used demonic sound to massacre an entire city, earning this profession the title of 'demon.'

As a Seven-Star Demonic Sound Master, Zhang Xuan knew its terror. The one before him carried a lingering tenderness, arising from the depths of the heart, easily leading people into illusion. Once they were intoxicated, he would unleash lethal attacks, and they might all perish here.

Without time to explain, he flipped his wrist, and a zither appeared before him. He channeled his true qi and swept his five fingers across it.

Dong dong dong!

Like the resonant sound of bells and cauldrons, or like thunderclaps, the majestic sound exploded instantly in everyone's ears.

The situation was different from the Boundless Realm. Back then, they hadn't paid attention to the wind's song, and by the time they noticed, it had already invaded their marrow. With his strength, breaking sound with sound was impossible; forcing it might cause everyone to die from severe injuries.

Now that they had just been affected, dealing with it was much simpler.

Indeed, shaken by the sound, everyone involuntarily swayed twice, blood spurting from their mouths and noses. Though injured, they regained clarity.

"If we stay here, we'll all die. Follow me..." With a long shout, Zhang Xuan identified a direction and walked forward.

Although he didn't know what 'one hundred and seventy-two gates' meant, staying here would only worsen their injuries. They might end up like that battle master before, losing control, going mad, and being killed by the chaotic sword light.

Even if the other gates were dangerous, the worst outcome would be no different. They had to escape first.

The others realized this too and followed closely behind Zhang Xuan. Master Wu, President Han, and the others gripped their long swords, alertly watching their surroundings, ready to counterattack if any attack came.

Though there were only two of them, they were both Saint Realm Level 4 super-strong experts who had comprehended the power of the primordial spirit, fully capable of blocking the sword light.

Ding ding ding ding!

After moving forward for a while, the sword light struck again. The two experts blocked simultaneously while the others took cover and advanced quickly.

Passing through two wide corridors, Zhang Xuan glanced left and right, frowned, then suddenly lunged toward a wall, crashing into it.

Just as everyone was puzzled, the wall collapsed, revealing a spacious courtyard before them.

The fierce sword light seemed to have a boundary; as soon as they entered the courtyard, it ceased, as if it had never existed.

"The attacks are gone, and the qin sound has disappeared..."

"Did we escape?"

The two master teachers behind Wu Tianqiong couldn't help asking.

"No, we're still inside the formation. But this great formation is divided into countless smaller ones; we've just moved from one to another..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

An eighth-level formation was more terrifying than the last. If escaping were that easy, he wouldn't be at a loss.

Moreover, outside the formation, there was still Redleaf King, watching eagerly.

Understanding this, everyone clenched their fists.

They had thought they were out of danger, but now it was clear the danger still existed.

"Don't worry, at least we're safe for now..." Seeing their grim faces, Zhang Xuan smiled and said no more, looking around.

This courtyard was slightly larger than the previous one, with gates on the east, west, south, and north.

The wall they had broken through had already restored itself, perfectly blending with the rest, impossible to find without careful observation.

"Which way should we go?"

They couldn't go back through the wall they'd come from, or they'd fall into danger again.

How to choose among the four gates?

"Master Zhang..."

Everyone looked at him in unison.

Having faced many crises, all resolved by this man, everyone trusted him.

"I'm not sure either..."

Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Since the formation hadn't activated yet, the Library of Heaven's Path couldn't form a corresponding book, so he naturally couldn't see its flaws.

"Wait here. I'll try one at random..."

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Xuan said.

The most important thing now was to get the formation running so he could find its flaws. Waiting here would do no good.

"Alright..." Everyone nodded.

Zhang Xuan took a deep breath, chose a direction, and was about to walk over when the gate before him creaked open slowly.

Whoosh!

As the gate opened, a wind blade shot toward them, cutting the surrounding air like paper.

"Get down!"

Master Wu's face changed, and he shouted hastily.

"Just a wind blade? Watch me cut it down with one strike..." A elder from Cloud Void Academy dismissed it with a light laugh. A giant axe appeared in his palm, and he swung it fiercely.

Crash!

The axe, full of power, met the wind blade but offered no resistance; it was sliced in two. Before the elder could react, his hand and body were also cut in half.

"What..."

Cold sweat poured down everyone's faces.

Wu Tianqiong especially nearly fainted.

That elder's weapon, unknown to others, he knew well—it was among the top-grade spirit artifacts, yet it couldn't withstand the wind blade for even half a breath...

This was too terrifying!

"It's cutting through space..."

President Han shouted, not daring to hesitate, and quickly lay flat on the ground.

After the wind blade passed, though it looked no different from usual, divine sense couldn't penetrate it... That is, above and below the wind blade were two separate spaces.

Whoosh!

As everyone lay down, the wind blade passed overhead, giving them a feeling of their hair standing on end. Zhang Xuan's whole body stiffened; he dared not move.

Although his physical body had reached the saint artifact level, facing such a bizarre wind blade, it would likely still be vulnerable. Better to be careful.

Creak!

Just as the wind blade passed overhead and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they had dodged the danger, they heard the gate behind them open again, followed by a diagonal wind blade sweeping toward them.

"Damn!"

One wind blade had nearly scared them to death; with two coming at once, how could they withstand it?

But it wasn't over. The remaining two gates opened again, and two more wind blades shot from different angles, sealing off all possible escape routes.

"No, if this continues, we'll be killed sooner or later..."

Master Wu couldn't help saying.

Though they could scatter and dodge the current wind blades, as the number increased and their power grew, they would eventually be slain here.

In other words... this courtyard was even more terrifying than the previous one!

"This way..."

Realizing the danger, Zhang Xuan quickly found the flaw, shouted, and charged in one direction.

The others followed closely.

Before long, they entered another courtyard.

This courtyard also had a bizarre formation, but instead of wind blades, it had traps. After a difficult escape, as before, one master teacher elder was left behind forever.

Moving forward, they passed through two more courtyards, losing two more people. They stopped in a small courtyard, and seeing no immediate traps, they gasped for breath, their faces pale.

Since entering the Heavenly Palace, only a few minutes had passed, yet they had already lost four battle masters and four elders... more casualties than all previous checkpoints combined. Everyone fell into silence.

"If we keep going like this, we'll encounter endless small formations and likely all die here..."

President Han couldn't help saying.

Everyone nodded.

He was right. These small formations were layered endlessly, with no end in sight. Continuing would only bring more danger. With one or two deaths per checkpoint, with only about twenty of them, they'd all be finished in a few more checkpoints.

"Then what should we do?" Everyone looked at him.

"No matter how powerful a formation, it needs someone to control it; otherwise, it's like water without a source, a tree without roots. The reason we're so passive now is that the Otherworldly Demon is controlling the formation. If we can find and kill him, the formation will automatically be破解..."

President Han said.

An uncontrolled formation, like the Boundless Realm's Black Annihilation Dust Sand, though dangerous, could be escaped with the right method. But this one—each courtyard had a bizarre formation, and blindly charging in meant falling into traps endlessly, with no hope of escape.

"President Han is right. The best way is to kill Redleaf King!"

Zhang Xuan nodded in agreement.

They were in the open, the enemy in the dark. Clearly, the enemy was watching their movements and activating the formation. Being passive like this, they would eventually be wiped out.

"Redleaf King?"

Everyone looked at him.

"Yes, the one who spoke earlier is Redleaf King, ranked second among the Ten Kings of Qingtian, even more terrifying than Jadeleaf King and Stoneleaf King!"

Zhang Xuan explained.

"I've read relevant books about the Qingtian lineage, a branch of the Otherworldly Demons. Among their Ten Kings, the top five are Tian, Hong, Yu, Shi, and Huo... If it's Redleaf King besieging us, it will be hard to escape... Even if we face him head-on, we probably won't be a match!"

Master Wu's face twitched.

As a master teacher from Qingyuan Master Teacher Academy, he knew the Otherworldly Demons in the area well. The Ten Kings of Qingtian were all terrifying and formidable.

"Quite self-aware... Hehe!"

As soon as Master Wu finished speaking, the previous sinister voice rang out again.