"Fellow Daoist Qing, do not force your way through! Quickly descend to the ground; there are anti-flight restrictions nearby," Long Lao said in a low voice, his eyes narrowed as he looked around. He then plummeted towards the ground. As he was a formation master, the others dared not delay and followed him down to the ground.
Looking around, they were already very close to the mountain.
They had passed through the stone forest, and the ground was no longer a pitted, rocky wasteland. Instead, it was covered with slabs of dark green rock, thick with dust, so that each step stirred up a layer of gray mist.
"Fellow Daoists, be careful not to act rashly, lest you trigger other types of formation restrictions. Allow this old man to investigate," Long Lao said, a formation plate floating in his hand. He glanced at the surrounding environment and gave instructions without turning his head.
Long Lao examined the surrounding restrictions for a while before leading the group forward. He held a copper plate in his hand, occasionally gesticulating as if probing the surrounding restrictions.
This stretch of the journey was relatively peaceful. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they were stopped by a layer of restrictions.
The mountain before them was shrouded in white mist. Ten zhang away from them stood a massive stone archway, flanked by several thick rock pillars.
Each pillar was fifty to sixty zhang tall, engraved with dragons, phoenixes, and mysterious runes. Behind the pillars was a long flight of stone steps leading into the mountain.
Between these pillars flowed a layer of cyan light, like a gate blocking their path.
Reaching this point, Long Lao stepped forward and stared at the pillars, pondering. Seeing this, the others knew that the old man was observing the restrictions and formations here.
They each stood in a position, vigilant and wary of danger.
Soon, a large number of iron-headed ants appeared in the sky, but most of them attacked the two-winged centipedes that were closely pursuing them.
The two types of larvae fought each other, erupting in bursts of booms and strange cries. Zhang Ling and the others were happy to see this, as it solved their immediate problem.
However, looking at the endless swarm of iron-headed ants, their expressions were not good. They all knew that after these spirit insects finished off the centipedes, it would be their turn.
They had not found any treasures yet, and they had already encountered attacks from a large number of demonic insects. Naturally, everyone felt frustrated.
However, no one intended to retreat. Such ancient relics were rare.
They had come here for opportunities and treasures, so these dangers were nothing.
Thinking this, Zhang Ling lightly tapped the ground with his feet, but then he revealed a bitter expression.
The ground here also had restrictions, so he could not use earth遁术(Dùn Shù - escaping technique). It seemed he could only rely on Long Lao, the formation master.
He raised his hand and tossed a milky white pill into his mouth. The pill dissolved into a warm current that flowed through his meridians.
This was a Greater Revitalizing Pill, a treasure among third-grade pills, specifically for Golden Core cultivators to quickly restore their spiritual power. One pill was worth five hundred low-grade spirit stones.
It was the most precious pill in Zhang Ling's possession. Of course, the Greater Revitalizing Pill in his hand was one he had refined himself.
The Greater Revitalizing Pill was not difficult to refine, but it used several rare third-grade spiritual herbs.
The previous battle had depleted thirty percent of his spiritual power, and the others were roughly the same. Taking advantage of this brief time, they all swallowed pills or used spirit stones to restore their mana.
At this moment, Long Lao's eyes flickered with spiritual light as he studied the restrictions, and he muttered something.
"Forbidden Grand Formation."
The old man did not speak loudly, but the others heard him clearly. Seeing that the old man seemed to have figured out something, Ding Ruozhao asked directly without wasting words, "Long Lao, can you break the formation? How long will it take?"
"This kind of Forbidden Grand Formation is basically impossible to break by human power. Fortunately, its power is not fully activated, and there is no one presiding over the formation. Within half an hour, this old man is confident that I can open a gap in the barrier."
"Good, Long Lao, focus on breaking the formation. We will protect you," Ding Ruozhao said, nodding to the others. The group then protected Long Lao in the center.
Long Lao rubbed his dry hands and circled the pillars a few times, then tapped on them. Then, the old man condensed several strange hand seals and struck them on the pillars, causing a buzzing sound, and the cyan light screen in the center trembled a few times.
Then, he patted his storage bag and took out several circular and square formation plates, as well as dozens of different styles of formation flags.
First, he placed the formation plates around the pillars according to a certain pattern, then activated them, emitting various colors of spiritual light, illuminating a small area.
Next, Long Lao used those different formation flags, casting spells one after another, each releasing some spiritual light, and they all disappeared into the cyan light screen.
But most of the spiritual light disappeared into it without a trace. The old man then changed other spells, constantly testing the cyan light screen.
"The iron-headed ant swarm is coming," Ding Ruozhao suddenly said with a grim expression. Spiritual light flashed around her, and her ribbons fluttered, with wisps of electric arcs jumping on them.
The others were also constantly monitoring the surrounding situation and had entered a state of alert.
The blue flying sword in Zhang Ling's hand emitted a soft hum. Within his spiritual sense range, countless clusters of black mist appeared in the sky beyond a hundred zhang.
These black mists merged together, forming a dense mass of iron-headed ants that made people's scalps tingle.
In the blink of an eye, iron-headed ants appeared within twenty or thirty zhang of them, and the chilling sound of grinding teeth constantly echoed in their ears.
Zhang Ling's expression was solemn. A mass of yellow essence was spat onto the blue flying sword. As the flying sword circulated, it gradually turned yellow and blue. Then, with a shake, it arrived in front of him.
As the flying sword danced wildly, streaks of yellow sword light flew out, falling into the ant swarm, creating a series of clanging sounds.
This iron-headed ant swarm was jet black and hard as iron. The sword light disappeared into the iron-headed ant swarm in an instant.
Although a portion of the iron-headed ant swarm was split into two, Zhang Ling's expression was not good. This attack only killed a hundred iron-headed ants.
Compared to the massive ant swarm, this amount was simply negligible.
The iron-headed ant swarm, divided into two streams, merged into a larger black cloud amidst a burst of chaotic cries, pressing towards him.
With a thought, the blue flying sword grew wildly, transforming into a three-zhang-long giant sword. Several spells were cast on it, and the giant sword danced, spinning rapidly like a large wheel.
A series of metallic clashing sounds rang out, scattering one group of iron ants after another.
The others naturally used their own methods, but facing the endless swarm of iron-headed ants, everyone's battle line was constantly shrinking.
Soon, they could only defend the space within ten zhang.
