Establishing a Clan in the Eastern Wilderness: A Daily Divination, Cultivating Longevity in a Grotto

Chapter 127 The Cicada Awaits, A Sudden Enlightenment, The Treasure Unveiled

"Senior Yun, I have a question." Li Changsheng glanced at the enormous light screen. "Besides us, who else knows the location of this ruin?"

"According to the clues I have, the Second Elder's faction is also aware of it. However, they only know that the ruins are in the central area of ​​Five Dragon Mountain, but not the exact location. My people have been monitoring their movements, and they are still searching in the inner layers, but have not yet found this place."

Upon hearing this, Li Changsheng stopped hiding his intentions and took out an item from his storage bag, handing it to the other party: "Senior Yun, this is something I found a few days ago in an abandoned cave on the outskirts. The notes in the notebook contain the clues that the demons used to search for the ancient cave ruins."

The young lady took the note, opened it, and her pupils contracted.

The Yun family actually has a demon spy!

If discovered by the Imperial Guard, and accused of treason, the Yun family would be doomed.

Li Changsheng is truly blessed with great fortune; he was able to discover something like this.

"Among those who entered Five Dragon Mountain this time, there are probably spies planted by the Demon Clan mixed in with the group, waiting for an opportunity to strike." Li Changsheng closed his note: "Senior Yun, I have a suggestion."

"explain."

"As far as I know, ancient cave ruins are usually protected by guardian beasts or traps. Even if you find the entrance, it will not be easy to get in and obtain the treasures." He looked at the young lady and said slowly, "Although you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator and your strength far surpasses ours, if you exhaust your mana while breaking the restrictions and dealing with the guardian beasts, then the demon spies will reap the benefits, which would only benefit them."

The young lady didn't interrupt, but listened quietly.

"Why don't we wait here?" Li Changsheng pointed to the direction of the light screen. "There's only one entrance to the ruins, and the only way out is from here. We'll set up an array at the exit and wait for them to come out. If the demon spies do find the entrance and go in, we can activate the array when they come out and trap them like turtles in a jar."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Furthermore, this opportunity will allow us to see who the demon spy is. Catching the traitor will eliminate a major threat to Anyang County, killing two birds with one stone."

However, it is possible to miss a good opportunity.

The young lady didn't ask any more questions. She turned around and walked towards Yun Yishan, Yun Yihai, and Yu Feng, and told them about Li Changsheng's suggestion.

Yun Yishan was the first to speak, his brows furrowed: "Young Miss, I think it would be better to strike first. We can go directly into the ruins, take the treasure, and leave. Even if those demon spies come, they'll find nothing."

Yun Yihai shook his head: "Yishan, you're too hasty. We know nothing about the situation inside the ruins. If there really is a guardian beast or a restriction, and we exhaust our magic power, we'll be at a disadvantage if we come out and are ambushed again. The method that young friend Li suggested is safer."

Yu Feng stroked his beard and nodded: "I agree with Clan Chief Li's suggestion. We should wait patiently for the enemy to come to us. As for the formation, I can lend a hand."

Yun Yishan wanted to say something, but the young lady raised her hand to stop him.

"Set up an array." She made her decision. "Set up a second-tier top-grade array at the exit of the ruins to conceal our presence and wait for the enemy to come to us."

Everyone got to work.

Yu Feng took out a set of array plates and thirty-six array flags from his storage bag and began to set up the array around the light screen.

"This formation is called the Demon-Trapping Formation," a top-tier second-order formation. Yu Feng inserted the formation flags one by one into the ground, the position of each flag precisely calculated, without the slightest error. "Based on the Nine Palaces and utilizing the Eight Trigrams, it combines trapping and killing. If any demon spies dare to come, they will never return."

Yun Yishan and Yun Yihai each guarded one side, pouring spiritual energy into the array base. Yu Feng then took out nine spirit crystals and buried them underground according to the nine palaces, serving as the energy core of the array.

Li Changle stood beside Yu Feng, her eyes fixed on her master setting up the formation. The Qingqiu Formation Plate in her hand shimmered with spiritual light, and the Reflection Seed quietly began to operate.

Those obscure and difficult-to-understand knowledge of formations, under the effect of the Reflection Seed, became as clear and understandable as if they had been broken down and broken down. The arrangement of the Nine Palaces, the application of the Eight Trigrams' generating and restraining relationships, the transformation of the two words "trapping" and "killing," the selection of the Spiritual Pivot nodes, and the outlining of the formation patterns...

She memorized the techniques one by one and mastered them.

Suddenly, she shuddered.

A mysterious power surged from her body, enveloping her entire being.

Her gaze became ethereal and profound, with runes faintly flowing deep within her pupils, and the Qingqiu array plate in her hand lit up on its own.

A sudden realization.

Li Changsheng was the first to notice. His expression changed, and he quickly took out several array flags from his storage bag and set up a soundproof and concealing array around Li Changle, enveloping her within it.

A sudden enlightenment is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it is most important not to be disturbed.

Yun Jiuniang also noticed, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes as she looked at the spiritual light surging around Li Changle. Enlightenment—she had only seen it recorded in the clan's ancient texts; it was said that only one in ten thousand could achieve it. This little girl had actually achieved enlightenment while setting up the formation?

Yu Feng stopped what he was doing, looked at his apprentice, his eyes filled with satisfaction and pride. He stroked his beard, unable to suppress the smile on his lips.

"Not bad, not bad."

The epiphany lasted for a full hour.

The spiritual light surrounding Li Changle grew increasingly intense, and the runes transformed into rays of light, weaving together to form a massive array diagram around her. Within the diagram, killing arrays, trapping arrays, illusion arrays, and auxiliary arrays—the principles, setups, and methods for breaking various arrays—emerged one by one.

She gained a basic understanding of the essence of the formation.

An array is not merely a collection of runes or an arrangement of spirit stones, but a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth. Every blade of grass, every tree, every mountain, and every stone is a foundation for the array; wind, thunder, water, fire, yin and yang, and the five elements are all forms of array power. The one who sets up the array uses it as a medium to borrow the power of heaven and earth for their own use.

The epiphany has ended.

Li Changle opened her eyes, and faint runes flowed deep within her pupils before disappearing. Her aura hadn't increased, and her cultivation level remained at the sixth level of Qi Refining, but she seemed to have undergone a complete transformation; her gaze was clearer, and her demeanor more serene.

Yu Feng walked up to her, looked her up and down, and asked, "How do you feel?"

Li Changle thought for a moment and said seriously, "Master, I think I can understand magic arrays below the second rank."

"Good! Good! Good!" Yu Feng said three times. "Your array formation skills have now reached the first-tier top-grade array master. After we leave Five Dragon Mountain, I will teach you second-tier array formations."

Li Changle nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling.

The demon-trapping formation was completed before sunset.

The thirty-six array flags disappeared underground, their spiritual light concealed. From the outside, it appeared as just an ordinary rocky slope, showing no signs of anything unusual. Yu Feng then set up an illusion array, concealing the entire area so completely that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense could hardly detect it.

Everyone found a place to hide.

Several days later, new activity finally emerged in the valley.

Two figures emerged from the forest, one in front of the other.

The former, dressed in fine clothes, with a fair complexion and a warm smile, was Yun Zhiwu, the head of the seventh branch of the Yun family. The latter, in a gray Taoist robe, with white hair and a gaunt face, was Sun Wanshan, the patriarch of the Sun family.

The two stopped in front of the light screen.

Sun Wanshan took out a jet-black key from his pocket. The key was about three inches long, with a strange symbol engraved on the handle, exactly the same as the key that Li Changsheng had seized from the remains of the Yun family disciple. He poured his spiritual power into it, and the key lit up. A beam of eerie light shot out from the tip of the key and disappeared into the light screen.

On the light screen, runes flowed and overlapped, like ripples on water.

Sun Wanshan nodded and said to Yun Zhiwu, "This is the place."

Yun Zhiwu took out an array plate from his sleeve. The runes on the array plate lit up layer by layer, and spiritual light surged, transforming into a light diagram.

He examined it carefully for a long time, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, before shaking his head.

"This barrier was set up by an ancient powerful being, based on heaven and earth, and locked by yin and yang. With our strength, it would take at least five months to forcibly break it, and we would also need the assistance of a second-tier barrier-breaking bead." He sighed, "We alone cannot break it."

Sun Wanshan remained silent for a moment, then said calmly, "In that case, inform the Second Elder. It will be considered a meritorious deed."

Yun Zhiwu was somewhat unwilling.

He had hoped that the Seventh Branch could use this site to rise to prominence and no longer have to be overshadowed by the Second Branch and work under them.

But for now, there's nothing we can do.

He gritted his teeth, took out a communication talisman from his pocket, whispered a few words, and the talisman turned into a stream of light and disappeared into the sky.

"Let's wait." He put away the array plate and sat down cross-legged.

Sun Wanshan also sat down and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Half an incense stick later, a sound of something breaking through the air came from the horizon.

Several streaks of light swept down from the sky and landed in the valley.

The leader, dressed in grey robes with white hair, was hunched over and had a withered face, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness—Yun Zhengyuan, the second elder of the Yun family. Behind him followed six Foundation Establishment cultivators, each with a profound aura and solemn expression.

"Second Elder." Yun Zhiwu stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

Yun Zhengyuan nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the light screen, his pupils contracting slightly. He walked to the light screen, placed his hand on it, closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then opened them, his voice hoarse: "An ancient restriction, based on heaven and earth, locked by yin and yang. It is not easy to break."

He turned to look at an old man in a gray robe behind him: "Zhao Gongfeng, come here."

Zhao Gongfeng walked to the light screen, took out an array plate from his sleeve, and began to deduce it. His technique was more skillful than Yun Zhiwu's. The runes on the array plate lit up layer by layer, and spiritual light surged. The light diagram was more detailed than Yun Zhiwu's deduction.

An hour later, Zhao Gongfeng said, "Second Elder, this barrier can only be broken by using the Nine Palaces Formation Breaking Method in conjunction with a second-tier barrier-breaking bead. I need two months to set up the formation."

"Approved." Yun Zhengyuan waved his hand.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Gongfeng, accompanied by several array masters, set up a Nine Palaces Breaking Array in front of the light screen. Nine array flags were inserted into the ground according to the nine palaces, each flag inscribed with dense runes. At the array's core, nine spirit crystals were arranged in a nine-palace configuration, their spiritual light flowing and their spiritual power surging.

"Second Elder, that's enough." Zhao Gongfeng stepped aside.

Yun Zhengyuan took out a fist-sized bead from his pocket. The bead was completely black, with fine runes engraved on its surface, and a faint spiritual light flowed around it. It was a second-tier barrier-breaking bead.

He acquired this bead from an ancient site many years ago and had always been reluctant to use it, but today he has no choice but to use it.

He channeled his spiritual power, causing the Barrier-Breaking Pearl to light up and transform into a black pillar of light that slammed into the core of the Nine Palaces Breaking Formation. Simultaneously, the nine array flags lit up, their nine rays of light intertwining to form a massive pillar that crashed against the light barrier.

The light screen trembled violently, runes flowed, and spiritual light surged.

The pillar of light and the light barrier battled for the duration of an incense stick burning, until finally a crack appeared in the light barrier. The crack grew larger and larger, eventually transforming into a massive portal.