12dz Chapter 493 Old Eunuch! Let's Talk!
Chapter 493 Old Eunuch! Let's Talk!
Chen Fan stopped at the edge of the ruins, not daring to enter rashly.
He carefully observed the distribution pattern of the blood-red threads, then looked towards the center of the ruins!
A crack appeared in the ground, and faint array patterns flickering with dim lightning could be seen below.
It's the third node!
"As expected, our ancestor was prepared," Chen Fan thought with a sneer. "But do you think this will stop us?"
He manipulated the golden bowl and silently circled around to the side of the ruins.
There is a partially collapsed palace wall there. Due to years of erosion by the earth's energy, a very hidden crack has formed at the base of the wall, leading directly to the underground node.
Chen Fan learned this detail from the array diagram!
When the Soul Refining Sect set up the formation, it left hidden passages around each node for easy maintenance. However, after ten thousand years, most of them have been buried and destroyed.
Chen Fan followed the same method, and the dust transformed from the golden bowl slowly sank down along the crack.
The crack was narrow and winding, and the bowl almost got stuck several times, but it eventually managed to squeeze in.
Three zhang underground, a small stone chamber came into view.
In the center of the stone chamber, a three-foot square stone platform stood quietly, covered with complex runes, most of which were now dim and without light, with only a faint flash of lightning in the center.
On the surface of the stone platform, several cracks crisscrossed, the deepest of which almost completely severed the runes.
"This is it."
Chen Fan was overjoyed, but dared not be careless in the slightest.
He first used his divine sense to carefully explore the surroundings of the stone chamber, and only after confirming that no blood-red threads had intruded did he slowly extend his divine sense toward the stone platform.
This time, he didn't rush to fix it.
Instead, he first used the true meaning of the Fixed Word Technique to simulate the original spiritual energy flow trajectory of the stone platform, as if constructing a complete array diagram in his mind.
"The Zhen position governs thunder, and thunder magic is extremely yang and strong. It needs the Xun wind as a guide and the Li fire as an aid..."
As Chen Fan mentally deduced the movements, his hands sketched out hundreds of illusory runes in the air.
These illusory runes slowly rotated inside the golden bowl, intertwining with each other and gradually forming a miniature thunder array model.
The moment the model was fully completed, a glint of light flashed in Chen Fan's eyes!
"Now!"
His divine sense suddenly erupted, transforming into streaks of gray-white runes that flowed into the cracks in the stone platform!
This time, he didn't proceed with caution; instead, he completed the repairs as quickly as possible!
Just now, during his deduction, he sensed a terrifying divine sense sweeping towards this area!
Clearly, the Soul Refining Sect has noticed the anomaly underground!
"Faster! Faster!"
Chen Fan roared inwardly, veins bulging on his forehead.
The power of divine sense poured out like a flood, and gray-white runes were imprinted on the cracks of the stone platform like raindrops!
One, two, three...
The cracks healed at a visible speed, the dim runes lit up again, and the lightning at the center grew stronger and stronger!
The moment the last crack was filled!
"BOOM!!!"
The stone platform trembled violently, and a thick pillar of lightning shot into the sky, breaking through the ruins and disappearing into the dark red sky!
The entire earthquake-stricken ruins were illuminated by lightning, and Young Master Wang and the others retreated in horror!
Almost simultaneously!
"puff!!"
Inside the crimson hall, the patriarch of the Soul Refining Sect suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood, and thirty percent of the crimson threads around his body snapped off!
For the first time, a look of horror appeared in his eyes.
Because at the very moment the pillar of lightning shot up, he clearly felt that his control over the soul restrictions of Young Master Wang and the others was forcibly severed by more than half!
Those blood-red threads that were once as easy to control have now become obscure and difficult to manage, as if blocked by an invisible barrier!
"The third node... he actually succeeded in repairing it?!" The ancestor's voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief. "And the repair was so perfect, it even triggered the remaining lightning essence of the formation..."
His withered face was filled with an overwhelming sense of apprehension.
This old eunuch's understanding of formations is beyond what the word "genius" can describe!
If this continues, and he were to repair a few more key points, I might really be trapped in this hall again, or even... severely injured by the backlash from the seal!
"No...we can't go on like this."
Blood welled up in the eyes of the Soul Refining Sect patriarch, eventually turning into a resolute expression.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood within him, and with the remaining power of control, projected his voice throughout the entire ruins:
"Chen Fan? I know you can hear me."
His voice was hoarse, but it lacked the previous ferocity and instead carried a hint of solemnity.
"Let's talk."
Inside the underground stone chamber, Chen Fan had just channeled the last bit of lightning power into the formation when he heard the ancestor's voice transmission.
He paused, but did not respond. Instead, he quickly suppressed his aura, and the golden bowl fell silent once more.
"No need to hide anymore, I know you're at the Zhen position node." The ancestor's voice rang out again, tinged with a hint of helplessness.
"You win. With this third node repaired, my control over the ruins has been weakened by 30%, and I can no longer control those ants from a distance."
Chen Fan remained silent.
He sat cross-legged in the bowl, calmly listening as he regulated his breathing to recover.
"I admit I underestimated you," the patriarch continued, his tone softening slightly.
"With a mid-Nascent Soul cultivation level, to have such mastery of formations is something I've seen only a handful of people in the past ten thousand years. You possess a supreme treasure and have inherited the rules of destiny; your future is limitless."
"But have you ever considered that being trapped here will ultimately lead to certain death?"
A hint of mockery flashed in Chen Fan's eyes, but he remained silent.
The old ancestor seemed unconcerned about whether he responded or not, and continued speaking to himself:
"This Soul Refining Sect's sealed land is inaccessible and impossible to leave. Those Nascent Soul cultivators are the last living beings here. Once I have devoured them all and recovered some of my cultivation, I can forcibly break the seal and return to the world."
"Even if you hide in that treasure then, how long can you hide? A hundred years? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? Eventually, your spiritual power will be exhausted and your lifespan will be cut off."
"After I escape, my first act will be to slaughter Tiannan Star, using the essence, blood, and soul power of billions of living beings to restore my full cultivation. Then... I will return to the Cultivation Alliance and reclaim everything I lost back then!"
At this point, the old ancestor's voice rekindled with overwhelming hatred, but he quickly suppressed it.
"But I can give you a chance."
He paused, then said, word by word:
"If you help me break this seal completely, I will swear a great oath to my inner demons, and even sign a soul contract with you! After breaking free, I will never harm you in the slightest. On the contrary, I will take you to the Cultivation Alliance to see old friends and borrow the Mirror of Reincarnation to resurrect your Daoist partner!"
"Not only that, I can give you thirty percent of the treasures accumulated by the Soul Refining Sect over ten thousand years! Those cultivation techniques, pills, magic weapons, and rare and precious materials... are enough to allow you to cultivate to the Integration Stage!"
"how?"
After the sound faded, the ruins fell into a deathly silence.
Upon hearing these words, Young Master Wang, Daoist Qinglian, and the others turned pale, their eyes filled with despair!
It was shocking to discover that the patriarch was willing to trade all of their lives for that old eunuch!