Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Xiang Zhili stared at the array diagram on the ground, his brows furrowed, his fingers tapping on the positions of several nodes.

Half an hour was all it took to break through the four nodes scattered in different areas of the forbidden area in order. This was too difficult for the two of them, who were suppressed to the late stage of Qi Refining.

"Although I possess the foundation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, under the suppression of the restrictions, even traveling at full speed can only reach the peak of Qi Refining."

"Ma Liang looks clever, but his cultivation level is actually at the late stage of Qi Refining. Even if the two of them split up, they might not be able to finish within the time limit."

Thinking of this, Xiang Zhili glanced at Ma Liang again, his eyes carrying a somewhat indescribable meaning, as if he had made up his mind.

He didn't speak, but simply took out the handwritten "Great Evolution Manual" from his storage bag.

Ma Liang's heart skipped a beat.

"Could it be that this old monster is finally going to give me the cultivation technique?"

Unexpectedly, a wisp of flame emerged from Xiang Zhili's fingertip, and with the activation of his spiritual power, the flame entangled the book in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, the martial arts manual that Ma Liang had been longing for turned into a wisp of green smoke.

Ma Liang saw this scene perfectly and understood everything perfectly, but he still asked, "Senior, what are you doing?"

Xiang Zhili patted the non-existent ashes off his hands.

"It's nothing. My storage bag was stuffed with too many things and was a mess. I just cleaned out the useless items."

Ma Liang's lips twitched, and he sighed, looking up: "I'm completely open to cooperating with you, and you, on the other hand, are always on guard against me!"

Xiang Zhili coughed lightly. "What's all this talk about defense? I'll ask you one more time, is this method of breaking the formation truly correct?"

Ma Liang spread his hands, leaned back decisively, and rested directly on the back of the wolf beside him. "I've told you everything I need to say. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

Seeing Ma Liang's expression, Xiang Zhili said no more. "Then let's go check out the first array node and see what's going on. I'll make a decision later."

After hearing this, Ma Liang put the gray wolf into the scroll, took to the air, and said, "Senior, let's go then."

Xiang Zhili responded and destroyed the magic circle pattern carved on the ground before leaving.

Then, following closely behind Ma Liang, they flew swiftly toward the first array node.

As soon as Ma Liang and his companion emerged from the second floor, they were met by three cultivators from Tianque Fortress.

Xiang Zhili moved forward like lightning, flicked his sleeve, and three condensed beams of spiritual light shot out.

Before the three men could even react, their heads were sent flying into the air, and their bodies plummeted to the ground.

Having done all this, Xiang Zhili did not stop, but continued to fly forward at high speed.

"Senior, stop for a moment!"

Ma Liang shouted immediately, withdrew his spiritual energy, landed on the ground, and began to search the storage bags of the three people.

As he rummaged through the items, he called out, "Senior, why don't you want these spoils?"

"They're just junk; picking them up will only take up storage space."

"Then I'll take them all!" Ma Liang's hands moved even faster.

Xiang Zhili did not respond again, which can be considered as tacit consent.

A moment later, Ma Liang stuffed everything into his storage bag, then took to the air and flew ahead of Xiang Zhili. He glanced at the map and continued to lead the way.

The two flew swiftly, encountering seven more cultivators along the way, all of whom were easily dealt with by Xiang Zhili.

Ma Liang followed behind, pocketing all the spoils, his smile never fading.

After walking and stopping intermittently, the two finally arrived at the first array node.

As soon as the two landed, Ma Liang pointed to a spring about the size of a bowl, "Senior, this is the first node of the formation."

Xiang Zhili stepped forward, glanced at the murky sewage gushing from the spring, and showed little surprise on his face.

A powerful surge of divine consciousness poured out. Even though his cultivation level was suppressed by this place, the foundation of his divine consciousness was still truly formidable.

The divine sense followed the spring downwards, penetrating countless layers of rock, and finally touched several intersecting water veins deep within.

Those water veins were not naturally formed, but were arranged and guided by secret techniques, subtly forming a base for an array.

Having immersed himself in the art of formations for many years, Xiang Zhili possessed profound expertise. At this moment, he saw through the formation base of the water veins at a glance, and the solution to break it was already in his mind.

He noted this down, then looked at Ma Liang and asked, "Where is the fourth node?"

Ma Liang carefully surveyed the surrounding mountains and terrain, then mounted his weapon and flew towards a mountain peak a thousand meters away.

Xiang Zhili moved swiftly and arrived in the blink of an eye.

Ma Liang landed on the hilltop and kicked the ground beneath his feet. "Senior, this hilltop is the fourth node."

Following the method he had just used, Xiang Zhili probed the depths of the mountain's belly with his divine sense and indeed detected the traces of the array base.

He stood atop the mountain, deep in thought for a moment. "Boy, I have the method to break the formation. I need some time to prepare. You stay here and protect me. Remember, don't let anyone get close."

"Senior, aren't we going to check the remaining two array bases?" Ma Liang couldn't help but ask.

Xiang Zhili waved his hand, "No need. Just by looking at the arrangement of these two array bases, I can roughly guess the trend of the remaining two arrays. The method to break the array is roughly correct. Besides, going back and forth will only waste time."

"Alright, as long as you're confident, senior."

Ma Liang responded and retreated several dozen feet away. He then summoned three demonic beasts to guard both sides, forming a protective formation.

He then casually sat down on the ground, propping his knees up with his elbows.

In this desolate wilderness, could anyone possibly break through?

On the other side, Xiang Zhili was already sitting cross-legged. With a flick of his finger, four palm-sized golden flags flew out of his storage bag and hovered in front of him.

He closed his eyes slightly and quickly made hand seals.

The four small flags then began to spin rapidly, and golden light gradually appeared on their surfaces, with faint sounds of wind and thunder surging forth.

A moment later, Xiang Zhili suddenly opened his eyes, flicked his fingertips, and accurately imprinted several magic seals on the small flag.

In an instant, the dazzling golden light faded, and the small flag transformed into a clear blue light, spinning leisurely in mid-air.

Xiang Zhili then closed his eyes and concentrated again, his spiritual power surging out and continuously pouring into the four small flags.

This quiet nurturing took a whole day.

Ma Liang, who was standing guard to the side, had long been bored and couldn't help but yawn. He turned his head to look at Xiang Zhili, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Seeing that he was still motionless, he could only reluctantly look away.

Just as he turned his head, Xiang Zhili opened his eyes again, and with a few quick movements of his hands, he cast several new spells.

The small flag was stamped, and the blue light dissipated, turning into a blazing red light, as fierce as fire.

"Oh? What kind of trick is this?" Ma Liang muttered to himself.

Xiang Zhili closed his eyes again, and another day passed in that sitting.

They have been trapped in this forbidden area for three days now, and the fourth day is fast approaching.

Ma Liang grew anxious. Was his senior really going to make it? If this dragged on any longer, it might be difficult for him to get out!

Just as Ma Liang was getting anxious, the whistling falcon circling high in the sky suddenly let out a cry.

He felt a chill run down his spine, instantly understood, and looked into the distance.

Two streaks of light flew towards this place!

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, it was just the two of them."

Just as I was starting to relax, a wolf howl suddenly came from the side.

Ma Liang turned his head and looked over. On the other side of the sky, three streaks of light were rushing towards them at lightning speed.

"Holy shit!"

Ma Liang panicked instantly, "Five cultivators at once!"