Ancient Godly Monarch
chapter-264

AGM 264 - Myriad Variations within the Formation

The experts from the Watermoon Mountain Villa had never been discourteous or showed ill intent to the Li Clan’s three brothers. After all, the brothers all had good relationships with them and had been personally invited to represent them.

Not only that, since the Star-Seizing Manor wanted to be the villain, why would those from the Watermoon Mountain Villa make things difficult for themselves and offend even more people?

“Grandmasters, how should we best proceed?” Someone from the Watermoon Mountain Villa respectfully inquired.

Old First replied, “The path through this formation is like a boat on rocky waters, Little Brother Qin’s perception is stronger than ours, that’s why the path he treaded earlier was smoother. We will follow his path.”

The attainment of all three brothers of the Li Clan was also extremely high. When Qin Wentian led the way, they all noticed the unique cadence of his movements.

But, because of the Star-Seizing Manor’s attitude, no other Divine Inscriptionists saw fit to warn them. They had chosen to keep their mouths shut instead.

So what if those from the Star-Seizing Manor died? What did it have to do with them?

“Grandmaster Li, shall we proceed then?”

“Let’s go. Everyone from the Demon Cult, let’s work together. With more people we will have more power, and it will be easier to suppress the activation and to defend against any unexpected attacks.” Old First cast his gaze over to the experts from the Demon Cult. They naturally didn’t reject, nodding in agreement.At the same moment, Zhao Lie was also staring at the Inscriptionists that the Skyember Sect invited. “Dear Grandmasters, Zhao Lie apologises for my earlier rudeness, I hope all of you don’t take it to heart. As long as we can safely reach the other side, I, Zhao, will definitely reward you heavily.”

The Divine Inscriptionists didn’t say anything, they knew Zhao Lie only acted like this because he was forced by the circumstances, but even so, how could they say no?

The Zhao Lie back then was extremely tyrannical, casually slaying an old Inscriptionist. If they said no now, their situation would definitely be the same as that old man. Obviously what they wanted to do was to abandon the members of the Skyember Sect, but evidently, it was impossible.With Qin Wentian leading the way, the rest all mirrored his team formation - the Divine Inscriptionists in the middle leading the way, with experts on the left and right of them aiding in defense. In spite of this, even though they managed to barge across, they still suffered heavy casualties, and not one of them could mirror Qin Wentian’s success.There was a total of over two hundred cultivators that came to the secret realm today. However, in just a short period of time, eighty of them had already fallen. The death rate could be said to be extremely terrifying.

This was potentially the highest amount of fortune one could obtain during a trial, ever since the trial grounds were discovered. And correspondingly, the degree of danger was greater as well. The slightest mistake on their part would result in death, hence the survivors didn’t feel joy but instead, bore it with a heavy pressure weighing down upon their hearts.

And after Qin Wentian stepped past that transparent door, he realised that even though the evergreen pine trees, the ancient mountains and that sculpture in the great hall were still visible, they could only be seen but not touched.

Not only that, after stepping past that transparent door, it seemed as though he had been transported into a different space. Those from the White Deer Institute that had accompanied him earlier had all disappeared.

“Did we trigger a formation that was inscribed by a space-type Inscription?” Qin Wentian could still remember that when they stepped past that door, he could vaguely feel the sensation of spatial energy.

He knew of Spatial-type Divine Inscriptions from the secret manuals Bailu Yi passed him. Spatial-type Inscriptions were extremely mysterious, as they touched on the concept of space.

Qin Wentian’s heartbeat quickened as he took a look around his surroundings. He was in the middle of an extremely vast space, there were mountain peaks as well rivers and oceans. Qin Wentian understood that he had just stepped into yet another formation.

Not only him, anyone who went through the transparent door would also definitely enter this formation.

Lifting his head upwards, he could still see the Ascendant statue up in the skies. It was as though the statue would impose its presence no matter where they ventured to inside this realm, emanating the gravitational pressure that prevented them from levitating.

“Although the entrance to the great hall only looks to be a foot away, I wonder how far it is exactly.” Qin Wentian mused, as the thirst of desire filled his heart.

From this formation, it could be seen how powerful that Ascendant was when he was still alive. He was even skilled in setting up spatial formations.

The power from the Spatial-type Divine Inscriptions was absolutely a priceless treasure.

And that Ascendant left behind such a trial, how could he not have a purpose behind it.

There was a very high probability that the Ascendant was doing all this in order to search for an inheritor!

Stepping out, Qin Wentian moved forwards. However, he halted his steps just after reaching a hundred paces. A look of interest could be seen on his face as he contemplated the barrier before him. Moments later, he pierced forwards with his finger imbued with Astral Energy, causing thunderous rumbling sounds to echo out as a destructive beam of sword light tore the barrier apart.

Only then did Qin Wentian continue onwards.

During this journey, Qin Wentian met with countless dangers. There were many traps and barriers that directly barred his path. If he couldn’t neutralise them, there was no way to proceed.

This made Qin Wentian understand that if one wanted to pass all the ‘tests’ here, one must either have an extremely high attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions, or one must have a cultivation base high enough to force their way through the traps.

But of course, the inheritor the Ascendant was looking for was undoubtedly someone with both qualities.

“The traps are getting increasingly dangerous, the power they contain now is already sufficient to slay peak-level Yuanfu cultivators.” Presently, Qin Wentian was sitting on the ground, taking a break while manifestations from the powerful Inscriptions he inscribed clashed directly with the traps. After several moments, both his manifestations as well as the trap were destroyed. Only then did he stand up and continue, all the while involuntarily sighing in his heart.

Despite his high level of attainment, the path ahead was increasingly treacherous. He had to take every step with caution, he didn’t dare be even slightly complacent.

Qin Wentian used his expertise in Divine Inscriptions to plough forwards when finally, he saw a silhouette standing not far away from him.

It was a middle-aged man with the Hua Clan emblem pinned on his robes. His eyes were filled with malevolence as he grinned coldly at Qin Wentian.

“Grandmaster Qin, how are you? How about we walk together?”

“Member from the Hua Clan.” Qin Wentian’s countenance didn’t reflect the slightest change when he noticed the middle-aged man. He merely nodded his head lightly and replied, “Sure.”

“Then, please,” The middle-aged man stated with a laugh, gesturing Qin Wentian to stand in front of him.

Qin Wentian glanced at him before replying, “Senior’s strength is many times higher than mine, would Senior please take the lead? I will naturally remind Senior if there are any traps in the surroundings.”

“Grandmaster Qin is too kind. Grandmaster Qin’s perception and attainment in the Dao of Divine Inscriptions is unrivalled within third-ranked Inscriptionists, how could this level of traps cause you difficulty? I humbly beseech Grandmaster Qin to take the lead instead.” The middle-aged man had a smile that was not a smile reflected in his eyes, and he spoke with mock politeness, as if hiding a knife behind his back.

“Since that’s the case, Junior will take the lead. But if I meet anything that I require Senior’s help with, I will have to trouble Senior then,” Qin Wentian, just as politely, replied.

“Sure.” The middle-aged man nodded. “Naturally.”

Qin Wentian didn’t continue speaking, but proceeded walking forwards instead. He knew that currently, anyone with the status of a Divine Inscriptionist would be treated as a precious treasure.

Qin Wentian decisively agreed to that middle-aged man’s request because he had no choice. The middle-aged man’s robes were all torn and tattered, indicating that the journey for him up till this point of time had not been smooth sailing at all. Since the middle-aged man met Qin Wentian by luck, how could he still let him go?

In the blink of an eye, over ten days had passed as the two of them travelled together. The distance to reach the evergreen pine trees, ancient mountains and the great hall was still only a foot away, yet they were still walking forward as though there was no end.

“Grandmaster, why haven’t we arrived yet? Are you trying to delay things somehow?” the middle-aged man questioned with suspicion.

“If Senior doesn’t trust me, feel free to go on ahead on your own,” Qin Wentian casually replied.

“I’m just kidding, please don’t take offense.” The middle-aged man instantly laughed, trying to melt the tension. Over these ten days, although Qin Wentian would occasionally require his power to break through some obstacles, it was still many times easier compared to him travelling alone.

The path ahead was filled with unknown danger, how could he distance himself from such a talented Inscriptionist? There was no doubt that the other cultivators were all stuck within this formation. And although the traps weren’t as numerous compared to the formation earlier, here they were even more cunningly hidden and powerful enough to kill any peak-level Yuanfu cultivator that triggered it.

…………………

At this moment, Bailu Yi felt a strong sense of unease, she had met an expert from the Star-Seizing Manor.

Although Bailu Yi’s attainment couldn’t be compared to Qin Wentian, she was still a powerful Inscriptionist in her own right. Hence, how could that expert spare her? He directly threatened and forced her to accompany him, journeying together.

“Senior, the magnitude of power contained in the traps ahead are beyond our abilities, even if we worked together.” Bailu Yi had an extremely weary look on her face as she spoke to the black-robed old man behind her.

The old man behind her didn’t like to talk, and gave off an extremely sinister feeling. He didn’t reply with words to Bailu Yi’s statement, but rather, he let his gaze roam all over her body, licking his lips, causing Bailu Yi to instantly pale as her countenance turned increasingly unsightly to behold.

Gritting her teeth, she continued walking ahead.

The old man in black kept on staring at her back view lasciviously, as a nefarious fire flickered in his eyes.

However, if Bailu Yi’s luck wasn’t great, Bai Fei’s luck was even worse.

She had come here with Zhan Chen, and because of her master, those from the Pill Emperor Palace were extremely protective of her. Yet she couldn’t have imagined that after the first formation, not only would she not come across anyone from the Pill Emperor Palace but rather, would meet an expert from the Skyember Sect instead.

The expert looked to be about 26 to 27 years of age, but in actuality was already over thirty. He didn’t bother masking his evil intentions, and immediately forced Bai Fei to lead the way.

But how could someone of Bai Fei’s strength level be strong enough to do so? If it weren’t for sheer luck, she would long have died via a triggered trap within the formation. And for those times she ended up in danger, the young man would always act to save her. She didn’t know what he intended to do with her.

As they proceeded onwards, Bai Fei’s robes became more ragged, revealing her beautiful shoulders, as well as patches of jade-like skin. The ‘beauty’ of this kind of partial nakedness was even more alluring, compared to a female being fully unclothed.

“Miss Bai, how about we find a remote spot and enjoy ourselves? I’m sure you don’t want to meet death without knowing the taste of a man, right?” The young man grinned evilly, teasing Bai Fei. But if he really were to force himself on her, Bai Fei would also be helpless to prevent his actions.

Yet it was obvious that this young man didn’t want to lose his ‘meat shield’ so quickly. But Bai Fei knew if this continued on, she would either end up dying by the traps or becoming the plaything of the young man. Both of these endings were far from reassuring, like dark shadows grinding at her heart.

And as for those rankers on the Heavenly Fate Rankings; Zhan Chen, Zhao Lie, Hua Feng, Bailu Jing, and Zhu Sha, they traversed through the formation at a swift speed. Although they weren’t well versed in Inscriptions, their level of power was sufficient enough for them to use brute strength to force their way through. However, despite their impressive speed and strength, there were still a few traps that they barely survived from, leaving them all in similar states of suffering.

Dealing with this formation was turning out to beyond their expectations!