Chapter 257: Spatial Teleportation
Chapter 257: Spatial Teleportation
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned to examine Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, and Yunxiu for clues.
The three women stood out clearly from ordinary people, their magical artifacts glowing brilliantly above their heads.
Beside the massive hole, they appeared enveloped in a radiant glow. Flickering ethereal figures of three female saints materialized above them, shifting between clarity and shadow.
Some observers glanced at Cheng Lingyu instead, noticing his scroll hung motionless without significant reaction – a stark contrast to the women’s display.
Hu Yuer stood close to Cheng Lingyu, using voice transmission: “I sense something strange – others might have come here before us.”
“Within what timeframe?” Cheng Lingyu asked sharply.
“Within three months. After we entered this ancient ruin,” Hu Yuer calculated.
Cheng Lingyu tensed. The Xuan Star Palace’s defenses required combined efforts from Three Saints’ successors and his scroll to activate. How could intruders breach it?
As he pondered, faint changes stirred in the grand hall.
Pulsing runes surfaced on nine massive stone pillars, emitting the mystical sounds of the Great Dao.
Hearing these strange resonances, the three women immediately assumed meditative positions mid-air. Their artifacts shone brighter, cascading golden rays that formed a Defensive Light Barrier.
The crowd watched intently while whispering speculations.
Han Zhen edged closer to Cheng Lingyu. “Cheng junior apprentice, this time…”
“Patience,” Cheng Lingyu cut in calmly. “The Xuan Star Saint’s leavings might not be mere legacy.” This insight came from the white turtle’s teachings, now finally making sense.
The ancient fate of Xuan Star Saint and his three companions remained lost to time. Now their successors – Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, Yunxiu – wielded the original female saints’ artifacts linked to Xuan Star Palace.
“A trap?” Han Zhen blurted.
Cheng Lingyu’s silent smile sparked fresh murmurs around them.
At the hall’s center, sixty-four stars ignited within the massive hole. Their beams converged into an expanding light sphere, revealing a mirror-flat giant stone etched with intricate spiritual patterns – clearly part of some formation.
All eyes locked onto this spectacle. The three women’s divine light intensified as their artifacts brightened, the saints’ ethereal figures now seeming ready to ascend toward the sphere.
Experts from five major forces – Jiu Yang Sacred Palace, Tianlei Sacred Church, Heavenly Palace, Heavenly Fire Sect, Shanhua Alliance – secured prime positions, poised for action.
Lou Ri City’s four experts instinctively gathered around Cheng Lingyu, awaiting his lead.
Hu Yuer frowned as the stone’s patterns grew vivid. Swirling darkness flickered in her eyes – she’d discerned something.
From Heavenly Fire Sect’s ranks, Bai Ruomei gasped, her irises shifting cobalt-blue while staring into starry depths.
Azure Sky Dragon leaned closer. “What troubles you, Bai junior sister?”
“That’s…a teleportation array.” Bai Ruomei’s odd tone suggested withheld knowledge.
Simultaneously, the three women opened their eyes. Their rising brilliance channeled upward into the hovering artifacts.
With a loud bang, time and space trembled as the void shattered.
The three magical artifacts above the Three Women’s heads simultaneously shot beams of light, connecting to the sphere of light in the starry sky to open three time and space passages.
At that moment, experts from the five major forces moved simultaneously to seize the passages, attempting to cross the infinite spatial distance before the Three Women reached the sphere’s interior.
Everyone had assumed the passages would vanish once the Three Women departed, making it nearly impossible to reach the giant stone inside the sphere afterward.
This triggered a brutal scramble among hundreds of cultivators in the grand hall, resulting in dozens of deaths during the chaotic clashes.
“Cheng junior apprentice…”
Xiao Lingfeng grew restless, bitterly watching others advance while he remained trapped.
“Don’t panic, Elder brother Xiao. Those three are like pathfinders—they won’t abandon too many here.”
Cheng Lingyu remained calm, quietly observing the stream of cultivators entering the sphere and disappearing into the spiritual pattern formation.
“A teleportation array? Such a high-grade one! Where will it send them?”
Hu Yuer exclaimed, voicing her confusion.
Cheng Lingyu replied flatly, “We’ll know once we follow.”
The Xuan Star Palace defied all expectations—externally imposing yet internally enigmatic.
Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, and Yunxiu’s deliberate delay confirmed Cheng Lingyu’s earlier words.
Most cultivators had already entered the teleportation array on the giant stone, unaware of their destination.
Cheng Lingyu stayed back. The scroll above his head repelled the Three Women’s artifacts, blocking his access to their passages.
He strode toward the massive hole. The scroll above him began rotating, emitting brilliant light that connected to the sphere, creating a fourth time and space passage.
Xiao Lingfeng and Han Zhen gaped in shock—they’d assumed Cheng Lingyu couldn’t open a passage.
“Let’s investigate.”
Uncertain of the teleportation array’s destination, Cheng Lingyu led the way.
Hu Yuer clung to his arm with familiar ease.
Xiao Lingfeng and Han Zhen exchanged glances, perplexed by their apparent closeness.
The six soon stood within the sphere. The spiritual patterns on the giant stone emitted horrifying disturbances, far surpassing ordinary teleportation arrays.
Cheng Lingyu’s mind raced as his Destruction of Space Divine Thought Wave analyzed the formation—a structure too profound for ordinary comprehension.
Even with his enhanced understanding from reaching the Soul Martial Sixth Realm and merging the Ten Immortal Souls’ ultimate skills, he struggled to decipher it quickly.
Their stay on the giant stone proved brief. Just as Cheng Lingyu grasped fragments of the formation’s design, it activated spontaneously, whisking them away.
Meanwhile, remaining cultivators flooded into the sphere. Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, and Yunxiu finally entered the teleportation array.
Within moments, the grand hall stood empty and silent again.
An uninvited guest materialized—a white turtle bearing a flower on its shell, peering into the starry void through the massive hole.
“Saints transcend beyond Heavenly Martial realm; reincarnation’s legend steers emperors’ old dreams…”
Its cryptic voice echoed through the hall, veiled in Mist-like mystery.
The sphere dimmed as the giant stone faded, restoring the void’s stillness.
The turtle ambled through the hall, its purpose inscrutable—whether reminiscing the past or pursuing shadows.
Light flashed. Cheng Lingyu, Hu Yuer, Xiao Lingfeng, Han Zhen, Chen Song, and Zuo Yi materialized in a valley reeking of blood. A crimson river surged nearby, its foul stench overwhelming.
Malignant energy permeated the valley, coalescing into terrifying blood energy.
Cheng Lingyu frowned. “Where is this? The blood energy’s so potent it’s formed a cursed seal.”
Xiao Lingfeng warned gravely, “Stay alert—this place reeks of death.”
Hu Yuer pointed at the river. “Look! Spirit artifacts float there—and undecayed corpses!”
Han Zhen inspected closely. “These remains belonged to supreme experts. Lesser beings would’ve been corroded instantly.”
Chen Song wondered, “Why are we alone? Does the array send groups to different locations?”
Zuo Yi suggested, “Let’s scout first before deciding.”
The six formed a defensive circle, scanning their surroundings.
The valley lay deathly quiet save for the churning blood river.
Corpses—human and beast—drifted in the bloody current alongside broken bones and intact skeletons.
Near the riverbank, blood energy condensed into crimson runes and blade projections, attacking anything approaching.
Xiao Lingfeng cautiously neared, only to have his defensive barrier crumble. He barely retreated before the blood energy consumed him.
“Stay back, brothers. I’ll test this.”
Cheng Lingyu advanced, Formation Martial Arts weaving heavenly energies into protective layers.
Initially steady, his steps soon faltered. After six paces, his defenses cracked—even his deadliest formations couldn’t withstand the blood energy’s assault.
Shock gripped him. Despite reaching the Soul Martial Sixth Realm and mastering the Ten Immortal Souls’ ultimate skills, this blood energy overpowered his merged techniques effortlessly.