The First Venerable of All Paths

"Splash!"

Chains crisscrossed the sky, whistling through the air with a powerful whooshing sound, hurtling towards Gu Tang and his companion with lightning speed.

"court death!"

A cold glint flashed in Gu Tang's eyes, and he slammed the bone club in his hand out fiercely.

"Boom!"

A violent, sinister force surged forth from the bone club, knocking several chains away without touching Gu Tang in the slightest.

But Gu Can wasn't so lucky.

Although he used the Dragon Fang Dagger to break the two chains, his hands were still bound by the array-patterned chains.

Not only were their actions controlled, but they were also pulled into the formation.

"Elder, save me!"

Gu Can cried out in alarm, trying to break free of the chains, but to no avail, and could only be pulled further into the formation.

"not good!"

Gu Tang's expression changed drastically. He stomped his foot on the air and instantly disappeared from his spot, reappearing beside Gu Can.

He flicked two fingers together, conjuring a surge of spiritual energy to shatter the array chains binding Gu Can, and was about to take Gu Can away from the array's range.

However, more array-patterned chains continued to shoot forth, tightly binding the two of them.

"Damn it, what kind of formation is this?"

Gu Tang tried a few times, but couldn't break free of the chains.

Moreover, these blood-red chains seemed to conceal a strange power that stagnated his spiritual energy, gradually weakening his strength.

This shocked Gu Tang even more.

He could easily break through even ordinary fourth-grade magic arrays.

But Gu Tang had never heard of such a formation that could condense blood-red chains.

"This can't go on, or I'll be trapped here to die."

Gu Tang's expression shifted between light and dark. He quickly said, "Fellow Daoist Lu Fa, don't just watch the show. Please lend me a hand."

Everything that just happened sounds slow, but it actually happened in the blink of an eye.

Lu Fa only realized what was happening when he heard Gu Tang's cries for help.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang, don't panic, I will make a move now."

Lu Fa flipped his hand, and the Xuan Turtle scales immediately began to spin in his palm, shooting out two streams of light that enveloped Gu Tang and Gu Can respectively.

With the help of the Xuan Turtle Scales, the power of the crimson chains seemed to be suppressed.

Gu Tang released his power and shattered the blood-red chains with a forceful push of his hands.

Then he helped Gu Can untie the chains, grabbed his shoulders, and in a few flashes, returned to Lu Fa and the other man's side.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang, are you alright?"

Lu Fa was somewhat surprised to see Gu Tang's solemn expression.

As the eldest elder of the Gu family, Gu Tang's strength is comparable to his.

Even he was made to look so disheveled, which clearly shows that the formation set up here is extremely complex.

"Thank you for your help, Fellow Daoist Lu Fa."

Gu Tang said in a deep voice, "This formation is somewhat strange and difficult to break."

Lu Yu said calmly, "It seems that Fang Xuan was prepared all along and deliberately lured us into a trap."

"Fellow Daoist Lu Fa, have you managed to break this magic array?"

Gu Tang sensed some other emotions in Lu Fa's tone and said, "If we don't break this formation first, we'll be forced to retreat in defeat once night falls."

"I'll give it a try."

Lu Fa neither said yes nor no.

He stepped forward, holding the Xuan Turtle Scale Armor in his hand, his eyes gleaming.

"The profound secrets of heaven are revealed by the primordial tortoise!"

Lu Fa then channeled his spiritual power into the Xuan Turtle's scales, and instantly, the patterns on the scales began to glow.

These rays of light coalesced in the air, transforming into a gigantic phantom of a black tortoise.

"go!"

Lu Fa pointed at the array below, and the Xuan Turtle raised its huge limbs and stomped heavily on the array.

"Splash!"

The crimson chains pierced through the air once more, crashing towards the Xuan Turtle's limbs.

"Knock knock knock!"

A muffled thunderclap sounded, and the blood-red chains snapped one by one, proving they were no match for the Xuan Turtle.

In the blink of an eye, the crimson chains shattered and retreated back into the formation.

"It's a success!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Can, whose face was still pale, was overjoyed.

Once the formation is broken, he can drag Fang Xuan out and tear him to pieces.

"This formation is not that simple."

The man in purple robes said something indifferently, seemingly not optimistic about Lu Fa.

"Elder Lu is a member of your Lu family, and even you don't have confidence in him?"

Gu Can glared angrily at the man in purple robes, expressing his dissatisfaction.

The man in purple robes was not annoyed, but slowly said, "I was just telling the truth, and I did not mean any disrespect to Elder Lu Fa."

Gu Can snorted coldly and said, "If you hadn't insisted on finding some kind of spiritual medicine yesterday, we would have already caught that little bastard Fang Xuan. Now you're throwing cold water on our plans. What are you really up to?"

Thinking about what happened yesterday made Gu Can even angrier.

They had only chased the man halfway when the man in purple robes said he had discovered an extremely rare medicinal herb and wanted to pick it.

As an elder of the Lu family, Lu Fa naturally had to follow suit.

This resulted in Gu Tang facing Fang Xuan, Li Guanlan, and the skeletal giant alone, ultimately allowing them to escape successfully.

Now that the other party was still making sarcastic remarks, Gu Can could no longer hold back.

"Judging from Young Master Gu's tone, he seems to have quite a few grievances against me."

The man in purple chuckled lightly and said in a detached tone, "If I remember correctly, wasn't Young Master Gu with me and Elder Lu Fa yesterday?"

"you......"

Gu Can blushed and was furious at what the other person said.

"Gu Can, say less."

Gu Tang, who was standing to the side, could not listen any longer and rebuked, "If you hadn't acted impulsively just now, how could the formation have been triggered?"

Calling Gu Can by his first name directly indicates that Gu Tang is extremely dissatisfied with Gu Can.

Gu Can was also quite talented.

However, within the Gu family, most of the clan members, including the elders, still trusted the eldest son of the Gu family.

Since Gu Tang had already spoken, Gu Can didn't say much more. He simply turned his gaze to the mountain valley to see if the formation was indeed not broken, as the purple-robed man had said.

The moment this thought crossed Gu Can's mind, he felt the void shake violently.

Then he saw that, centered on the mountain hollow, dazzling array patterns spread outwards in all directions.

In just a few breaths, they were all enveloped in it.

"Um?"

Lu Fa's expression hardened, and he said, "This formation seems to have a third layer of variation. Everyone, please be careful."

In fact, even without Lu Fa's reminder, Gu Can and the other two had already sensed that something was wrong.

Because these array patterns actually contain a powerful force of heaven and earth, comparable to the martial pressure of a fifth-level Divine Intent Realm expert.

No, it's even more powerful than that.

"Boom boom boom!"

The next moment, the earth shook violently.

Eight crimson beams of light shot straight up from the ground into the sky, sealing off the surrounding world.

The formation locks the mountains and rivers, dividing them into those that lock the mountains, those that trap the sea, and those that seal off the land.

This is the third change – the ban.

The heavens and earth were sealed off; unless the magic array was broken, the four of them would not be able to leave.

"It contains three transformations, each stronger than the last, sealing off heaven and earth."

The man in purple robes said, "This formation is at least a fourth-grade formation!"

"Damn it!"

Gu Can roared, "That little bastard Fang Xuan, how could he possibly set up an array of this level!"

A fourth-grade magic array—only a fourth-grade array master can set it up.

In the entire Bright Moon County, there are only a handful of fourth-grade array masters.

Fang Xuan, that bastard, is not only a sword cultivator, but also a fourth-grade array master.

This is absolutely outrageous!

Driven by jealousy, Gu Can's face twisted with resentment.

"Actually, breaking this formation is not difficult; we just need to find the key point of the formation."

Lu Fa observed the eight blood-red pillars of light and slowly spoke.

"Fellow Daoist Lu Fa, please speak frankly if you have any good ideas."

Gu Tang said with some worry, "I'm worried that if this formation traps us until nightfall, even with the protection of the Xuan Turtle Scales, we probably won't be able to hold out for long."

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang is absolutely right; I share the same concern."

Lu Fa said, "So next, we might have to trouble Fellow Daoist Gu Tang."

"Fellow Daoist Lu, please speak."

"The key to this formation is hidden in the mountain valley below. I need Fellow Daoist Gu Tang to enter and find the key to the formation and break it."

Gu Tang was taken aback and frowned, saying, "If I could get inside, I would just kill that little beast Fang Xuan directly. Why bother with all this?"

"Elder Gu, don't you understand?"

The man in purple robes said, "Fang Xuan isn't down there at all; he's hiding somewhere else."

"What did you say?"

Gu Can questioned, "How did you know?"

The man in purple chuckled lightly, without directly answering Gu Can's question.

But Gu Tang understood.

This purple-robed man had cultivated the skill of "Twisting Sand and Retaining Breath," which allowed him to pinpoint Fang Xuan's true location.

He said Fang Xuan wasn't in the ravine, so he must have some confidence.

"However, this formation is too strange; I can't get close at all."

Gu Tang sighed softly, looking somewhat helpless.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang need not worry about this."

Lu Fa laughed and said, "I will protect you with my Xuan Turtle scales so that you can enter smoothly."

"this......."

But Gu Tang still hesitated.

He didn't want to put himself in danger.

"If Elder Gu is worried about any unexpected events, then I will accompany Elder Gu on this trip."

The man in purple robes stepped forward and took the lead in walking towards the mountain hollow.

Lu Fa formed hand seals, and the Xuan Turtle scales floated in mid-air, spinning wildly and sending out a beam of light that enveloped the purple-robed man.

Faintly, the light condensed into the shape of a black tortoise, which looked extremely hard.

As the man in purple robes moved forward, the blood-red chains seemed not to notice him and avoided him on their own.

"Does it really work?"

Gu Can's eyes lit up, and he said, "Elder..."

"Young master, you may stay here."

Gu Tang knew what Gu Can was about to say, so he interrupted him and quickly rushed towards the ravine.

At the same time, Lu Fa also cast a phantom image of a black tortoise around him to protect his safety.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang, hurry up."

Lu Fa said, "The original power of the Xuan Turtle Scales can only last for the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea."

"That's enough!"

Gu Tang said coldly, "Once the formation is broken, that little beast will have nowhere to escape!"

Soon, the two entered the mountain valley and discovered a simple cave that had been carved out.

Inside the cave, there was only a blood-stained garment.

Besides that, there was nothing at all.

"Could it be that the key to the formation isn't here?"

Gu Tang frowned and looked at the man in purple robes: "What do you think?"

"The scales of the Xuan Turtle can see through certain illusions. Elder Lu Fa said that the key to the formation is here, and he must be right."

The man in purple robes said, "If I'm not mistaken, this blood-stained robe is the core of the formation."

"What?"

Gu Tang exclaimed in surprise, "This blood-stained robe is the core of the formation? This..."

"The methods of array masters are always mysterious and unpredictable, far beyond what we can imagine."

The man in purple robes did not step forward; he merely flicked his finger, and spiritual energy shot out, striking the man in blood.

The blood-stained robe shattered into pieces, revealing a previously hidden array plate.

"really."

The man in purple chuckled, looked at Gu Tang, and said, "Next, I'll leave it to Elder Gu Tang."

"Don't worry, leave it to me."

A cold glint flashed in Gu Tang's eyes as he walked toward the array plate, bone club in hand.

"Break it!"