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

Ma Liang, holding two small flags, said, "Senior, this is already the fourth day. By the time I've made this round trip, the deadline for the fifth day has arrived."

"Are you confident you can break the formation within half a day? If you're not absolutely certain, let's not bother. Otherwise, we might end up trapped here instead of breaking the formation."

Xiang Zhili waved his hand, "Why do you care about those things? Go and plant the flag first! If we're really stuck here, we'll only be here for five years at most, which is just a blink of an eye."

"Senior! It's not five years!" Ma Liang hurriedly interrupted loudly, "The Seven Sects have changed their rules. The next time the forbidden area opens will be a full sixty years! Sixty years!"

"Sixty years may not mean much to you, but what about me? I haven't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet. If I waste another sixty years, I'll never have a chance to rise again in this lifetime!"

"Besides, the situation outside is so dire!" Ma Liang stamped his feet anxiously. "Senior, with your vast abilities, you must have heard about it, right? It's uncertain whether these seven sects will even still exist when this forbidden area opens next time!"

His eyes lit up. "How about this, senior? I'll plant this flag, then I'll go out first. You can stay here and do whatever you want, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Zhili's face immediately darkened. "No! You must come with me!"

Ma Liang's face fell. "Senior, this is so unreasonable! I don't even care about the treasures inside anymore, why are you still bothering me?"

Xiang Zhili stroked his short beard, his expression softening slightly.

"Do you think I'd be happy to take you along? This formation is incredibly treacherous; who knows what special restrictions are hidden inside? If we really encounter danger, at least you can lend a hand, which is better than me dealing with it all by myself."

"Don't worry, I've brought plenty of resources. As long as you come with me, even if we're trapped here, I guarantee you'll successfully establish your foundation. What do you say?"

Ma Liang wanted to say a few more words, but Xiang Zhili impatiently waved his hand to interrupt him.

"Alright, alright, stop dawdling! The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back! Don't even think about running away, or I'll give you a good beating, not just the Great Evolution Technique!"

Ma Liang was speechless at this threat, instantly losing his temper. "Fine, fine, you're the boss, you're the one who calls the shots!"

With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the scroll from behind him again, and the familiar black shadow suddenly darted out.

As soon as the venomous python appeared, it let out a low hiss and soared into the sky with a flick of its body.

Ma Liang leaped up, landing atop the venomous python's head, and gestured forward with his hand: "Go!"

The venomous python obeyed the order, its speed increased dramatically, and it shot towards the array's core node on the outer edge of the forbidden area.

Standing there, Xiang Zhili watched the departing figures of the man and the python, and subconsciously looked down at his legs.

"My legs aren't thick... What does this kid mean?"

With the protection of the Level 2 Poisonous Python, Ma Liang had no more scruples and allowed the python to carry him recklessly through the sky above the Blood Forbidden Land.

It was now late on the fourth day since the forbidden area opened, and the entire forbidden area was eerily quiet.

Ma Liang flew swiftly, without encountering a single human figure or even a trace of a demonic beast.

After flying silently for about an hour, they finally arrived at the outer node.

He glanced down and immediately spotted a bubbling mud pit below, with pale purple miasma rising from the surface and lingering there. Just by looking at it, one could tell that this place was extremely poisonous.

Ma Liang dared not delay, and urged the venomous python to circle low in the air, quickly finding the exact location of the array's core.

He gathered a wisp of spiritual energy, held the small flag, and pushed his wrist downwards.

"Whoosh"

The small flag plunged into the center of the mud pit.

In an instant, a soft, ethereal light rippled across the flag, spreading outwards like waves and dispelling the surrounding poisonous fog.

Ma Liang hovered in mid-air, carefully scanning his surroundings with his divine sense. Only after confirming that there were no lurking demonic beasts or any trace of cultivators did he feel relieved.

He patted the venomous python's head, turned around, and sped off towards the next node.

Shortly after Ma Liang's figure completely disappeared into the horizon, a seemingly flat open space not far from the mud pit suddenly began to shake.

The surface soil began to rise and gradually pile up into a mound.

Immediately afterwards, a head emerged from the mound of earth, its eyes fixed on the small flag radiating a spiritual light in the mud, its gaze gleaming with greed.

The person circled the mound of earth, his small, beady eyes scanning the surroundings. After confirming that there was no spiritual energy fluctuation, he squeezed himself out of the soil, using both hands and feet, like pulling out a radish.

When his entire figure was fully revealed, he was clearly wearing the attire of Huangfeng Valley.

He shook the dirt off his clothes. "Good heavens, this is like a godsend! I was planning to hide in the dirt until the forbidden area ended, but someone actually delivered treasure to my doorstep!"

He rubbed his hands together and approached the mud puddle. "Look at this sparkling energy, it's definitely something good!"

He stroked his chin, suddenly recalling Ma Liang who had arrived riding a python earlier. "I didn't expect that kid to have a level two demonic beast as a mount. I underestimated him..."

In the next instant, greed overcame fear. He let out a low shout, condensed a stream of spiritual power, and was about to roll the small flag over from a distance.

But the moment that spiritual energy touched the little flag's light, it was instantly shattered!

A phantom image suddenly appeared on the small flag, revealing Xiang Zhili's appearance with a frighteningly cold gaze.

The cultivator from Yellow Maple Valley was terrified and turned to run away, but the phantom reached out and grabbed him, instantly sealing his spiritual power.

"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life! I was blind and didn't know this belonged to you. Please, have mercy and spare my life!"

"Kid, don't touch things you don't know."

Xiang Zhili's phantom suddenly exerted force and shoved him into the mud.

The mud instantly submerged the cultivator's head. "Since you enjoy staying in the mud so much, then never come out."

A glimmer of light rippled across the mud, and everything returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

Ma Liang was completely unaware of the farce unfolding in the mud.

He rode the venomous python for a while longer and then entered the second level of the central area.

In this area, one can finally see scattered figures of cultivators.

But when those people saw the level-two venomous python, their faces changed drastically, and they hurriedly scattered to avoid it. Some of the more timid ones even shrank behind the rocks, not daring to breathe, hoping that this demon would pass by quickly.

Ma Liang was focused on planting the flag and had no time to pay attention to these people. He urged the venomous python onward, increasing its speed even further.

Only after his figure completely disappeared into the horizon did the cultivators who had been hiding dare to peek out. "Holy crap, how come that kid is riding a level two demonic beast? That's terrifying!"

Ma Liang rode a venomous python, flying above the second floor, looking down at the stone houses and palaces below.

"According to the plot, Han Li should be on the second floor by now, so why haven't I seen a trace of him?"

He searched for a while but still couldn't find it. Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly caught sight of a stone palace out of the corner of his eye.

A person walked out, and his outfit from the Spirit Beast Mountain was particularly eye-catching.

"It's like finding a needle in a haystack! Zhong Wu is here, so Han Li must be in this stone hall too!"