The God-Restricting Bead had lost its effectiveness. True Person Yuan Mu's expression shifted between cloudy and clear for a long while.
Unlike the Wuming Record, the God-Restricting Bead was a true spirit treasure, passed down from the Sage of Guizhen and enshrined in the Jiuyan Sect for tens of thousands of years. Over the past hundred thousand years, the Jiuyan Sect had produced countless outstanding cultivators, yet not a single inherited spirit treasure surpassed the God-Restricting Bead in divine power.
In the end, True Person Yuan Mu sighed helplessly and handed the God-Restricting Bead back to Ling Yunhe. "Fellow Daoists, this restriction is extraordinary. This old man cannot think of a solution for the moment."
Demon Lord Guifang glanced at it and said indifferently, "This lord knows little about the ways of restrictions and formations. I'm afraid I cannot contribute much to seeking a method to break it. However, if there is a need for this lord to exert effort, I will naturally do my best."
Venerable Wuming smiled and looked at Scholar Yu. "In that case, we can only trouble Mr. Yu."
Scholar Yu's expression was grave as he nodded. "I will do my best."
Among these people, there was not a single dedicated formation master. However, Nascent Soul cultivators, especially great cultivators like them who had been stuck at the late Nascent Soul stage for hundreds or even thousands of years, mostly dabbled in miscellaneous studies, often reaching a level higher than ordinary formation masters. There was no need to bring an extra formation master. Scholar Yu, in particular, was originally a learned great scholar with profound knowledge and deeper understanding of formation arts, so this matter naturally fell to him.
In front of these great late-Nascent Soul cultivators, Mo Tiange felt no need to show off. She remained silent, merely observing from the side.
Scholar Yu took out items like a compass and formation flags, beginning to inspect the surroundings and measure the Yin-Yang and Five Elements.
Any formation or restriction, even an ancient grand formation, was based on this foundation without exception. Therefore, the first thing a formation master did when facing an unfamiliar grand formation was to measure the Yin-Yang and Five Elements.
This process would take a long time. Mo Tiange simply took out her own compass and items for breaking formations to observe the Yin-Yang and Five Elements as well.
Seeing this, Juewu curiously asked, "Benefactor Mo, do you also understand formations?"
Mo Tiange looked up and replied modestly, "I know a little, not enough to make a fool of myself."
Hearing their conversation, Perfected One Iron-Face, who had been silent, inadvertently glanced over. However, he looked quite seriously for a moment and said, "Junior Mo is too modest. Looking at these treasures in your hand, your attainment in formations is not low, is it?"
Mo Tiange glanced at Perfected One Iron-Face in surprise but still just smiled and said, "No matter how high this junior's attainment in formations is, it cannot compare in front of you seniors. I am merely taking the opportunity to learn from Senior Yu."
Perfected One Iron-Face nodded slightly and said nothing more, shifting his gaze away.
Given Mo Tiange's age, even with talent in formations, it was difficult to match these late-Nascent Soul cultivators. He was just quite surprised that this junior, so young, with her cultivation only a step away from the Nascent Soul stage, was actually proficient in formations. She was truly promising material. Unfortunately, she clearly came from a major sect or great clan and could not be recruited by the Jiuyan Sect.
Mo Tiange held her specially made compass, recording the observed Yin-Yang and Five Elements one by one into a jade slip. Qin Xi watched with interest beside her. He himself was quite proficient in miscellaneous studies like alchemy and artifact refining, with considerable talent. He had studied talisman-making since forming his Core and now had a certain level of skill. However, he only had a basic understanding of formation arts, partly due to lack of great interest and partly due to lack of time to study. Coincidentally, what he was not good at was precisely what Mo Tiange excelled at. It was hard to say whether they were a perfect match.
Seeing Mo Tiange's frown deepening, he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Is it that difficult?"
Mo Tiange was muttering to herself. Hearing his question, she paused and raised an eyebrow. "Look at how Senior Yu is. What more can I say?"
Qin Xi looked up and indeed, Scholar Yu was also frowning deeply, silently mouthing something. Their expressions were identical.
He couldn't help but shake his head with a smile and began meditating to rest while waiting.
After a while, Mo Tiange asked him, "By the way, what about your Dingyue Lamp?"
The Dingyue Lamp was one of Qin Xi's magic treasures, obtained from a secret place in his early years, with a wondrous effect of breaking restrictions. However, since even the God-Restricting Bead was useless, presumably the Dingyue Lamp would also have little effect?
Thinking this, Qin Xi still took out the treasure. "What? Is it useful?"
Mo Tiange didn't answer. She took the Dingyue Lamp, examined it for a moment, and said, "It seems... this Dingyue Lamp and this restriction use the same formation diagram!"
The two of them did not use a soundproof barrier or deliberately avoid others. Hearing this voice, Scholar Yu suddenly turned his head and stared at them.
Mo Tiange had no time to pay him attention. She once again probed with her divine sense, closed her eyes, and carefully explored the mysteries within.
After a while, she let out a breath, looked up at Scholar Yu, and raised the Dingyue Lamp in her hand. "Senior Yu, this item might be helpful in breaking the restriction."
Scholar Yu had long been waiting for her to say this. Without standing on ceremony, he stepped forward to take it, nodding briefly in thanks to the two.
With a lifespan already reaching a thousand years, Scholar Yu had immersed himself in formation arts for at least several hundred years. His attainment in formations was no worse than Mo Tiange's. Now, having obtained the Dingyue Lamp, he hurriedly probed it with his divine sense. In just a moment, his tightly furrowed brow relaxed.
The others were all watching attentively. Seeing this, True Person Yuan Mu asked with concern, "Mr. Yu, does this item truly aid in breaking the restriction?"
Scholar Yu did not answer. He seemed already immersed, his face showing moments of realization and moments of confusion.
But this did not last long. After a while, he began recording something on a jade slip again, though this time much faster.
Observing the compass for a while, examining the Dingyue Lamp for a while, recording for a while—several hours passed before Scholar Yu finally put away his compass, his brow relaxed and face beaming. "Finally done."
The others were delighted and looked at him.
Scholar Yu, in high spirits, returned the Dingyue Lamp to Qin Xi and, in turn, showed a few more smiles to Mo Tiange. "I must also thank Junior Mo. If you hadn't discovered this point, I'm afraid it would have wasted much more time to find the way."
Mo Tiange smiled. "Senior Yu is too polite."
Having found the principle of the restriction, breaking it was no longer difficult. With several Nascent Soul seniors present, it was completely unnecessary for Mo Tiange to worry. She only needed to watch from the side.
"What a lucky coincidence," Fuyaozi snorted.
Hearing his somewhat displeased tone, Mo Tiange found it amusing. "Master, actually, you deliberately didn't give a hint to let them struggle here, didn't you?"
Fuyaozi said righteously, "So what? This master finds these people equally displeasing."
Mo Tiange couldn't help but laugh. After laughing, she said, "I originally thought Master was too rational. Now I realize Master is also human!"
"..." Fuyaozi was silent for a long moment. It was unclear whether he was angry or didn't know what to say.
Mo Tiange, however, didn't take it seriously and asked again, "Master, wasn't the passage into the Immortal Palace only open for three days? Why are you still wasting their time? If we delay too long here, wouldn't it be disadvantageous for us?"
"There's nothing to worry about there," Fuyaozi said. "Even if this restriction has a self-repairing function, after lasting over a hundred thousand years, its power has declined greatly and is no longer at its peak. Besides, they are, after all, the top great cultivators of this era. Even if they are somewhat inferior to us five, it's not by much. What we could accomplish back then, they should be able to as well."
He paused, then added, "Having little time is better. When the time comes, we go our separate ways. They will be eager to search for treasures according to the messages left by the ancestors and won't have time to care what we do."
"Oh, I see," Mo Tiange understood. Of course, the others also had their own secrets. If they could reach the point of searching for treasures separately without incident, others wouldn't have time to cause trouble for them. And in terms of treasure hunting, she had Fuyaozi himself, giving her more advantage. Without accidents, she would complete it a step faster than them.
While they were talking, the others had already broken the restriction. This time, no one asked Mo Tiange to walk in front. She leisurely followed behind with Qin Xi.
The mountain path was narrow on both sides, only allowing two people to walk side by side. Scholar Yu carefully observed for a moment and said, "There are no other restrictions." Only then did the others step onto the mountain path.
They proceeded cautiously and slowly along the way. At the end, however, was a formation. This formation was different from the previous restriction; it was merely a teleportation formation. With Scholar Yu's formation attainment, he quickly figured out the missing parts, placed spirit stones in the corresponding positions, and restored it.
When the teleportation formation lit up with light, the several people looked at each other, but no one spoke.
Who should enter first? This question was truly difficult.
For one, entering just like that, it was unknown if there was danger. For another, this was the Scripture Pavilion, a place specifically for collecting cultivation methods. Who knew if the person entering could get priority access to something.
"Amitabha!" The first to speak was Venerable Wuming. He smiled slightly and said, "Since several Fellow Daoists cannot decide for the moment, let this old monk enter first."
True Person Yuan Mu hesitated only for a moment before stepping aside. "This old man has no objection."
After pondering, Scholar Yu also nodded.
With both of them stepping aside, Demon Lord Guifang had no choice but to give way. "Venerable Wuming, please." However, he seemed somewhat unwilling. Between the demonic path and the Buddhist sect, there was old enmity from the Guixu Sea in the past, not to mention the two of them had fought fiercely before.
Qin Xi and Mo Tiange had never stepped forward from the beginning, tacitly abstaining.
Venerable Wuming clasped his hands in salute to everyone, brought Juewu onto the teleportation formation, placed the spirit stones to activate it, and disappeared before everyone's eyes.
After Venerable Wuming entered, True Person Yuan Mu had no more concerns and seized the second turn. His Jiuyan Sect had the strongest power; the others could not compete and could only yield. Next was Scholar Yu with Han Shizhi. Demon Lord Guifang seemed unwilling to conflict with others and was willing to yield.
In the end, only four people remained outside. Demon Lord Guifang asked, "Fellow Daoist Qin, do you mind if my disciple and I go first?"
Qin Xi smiled and shook his head. In terms of cultivation, he ranked last among these Nascent Soul cultivators and should be appropriately "modest."
After the figures of the others had all disappeared, Fuyaozi's voice sounded again. "You don't have identity tokens. After entering, there is a small killing formation—do not use magic treasures, use spirit talismans!"