Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

She quickly gave a half-true, half-false account of how the group was chased by sandworms, discovered the ruins, and was then accidentally teleported here by the teleportation array.

The Serpent Lord listened quietly, its massive body slowly slithering around the five people, its huge forked tongue reaching out towards Li Yuan.

It's now!

Golden light flashed in Li Yuan's eyes. He bit his tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood essence. He forcibly connected with the bronze palace, and the nameless knife in his hand, carrying a sharp light, slashed fiercely at the snake's tongue that was within reach!

This strike contained an unprecedented intent, not seeking to kill the enemy, but only to wound their vital points, create chaos, and find an opportunity to escape.

The blade flashed, but only struck the air; the Serpent Lord's massive body vanished silently, like a bubble.

The full-force attack missed, causing Li Yuan to stumble and almost lose control, so he hurriedly put his knife on the ground for support.

Strangely, as the snake demon disappeared, its terrifying demonic aura also vanished. Everyone felt a sudden lightness in their bodies and froze on the spot.

Li Yuan looked around in surprise and doubt. In the empty stone chamber, there was only a dried-up pool. Where was the Snake Lord?

"Could it just be an illusion?" Chu Yunhe gasped, incredulous.

"But the pressure just now felt too real..." Shen Lian's hand holding the knife was still trembling slightly.

"Are we really alright?" Yu Ling'er touched her face. The cold sensation of being licked by the snake's tongue seemed to still be there, yet it also felt like an illusion.

Li Yuan frantically scanned his surroundings with his spiritual sense, but there was no snake lord, no demonic aura, as if the scene just now was just a nightmare.

But the terrifying pressure, the icy chill that penetrated to the soul, and the hint of amusement that flashed in the Serpent Lord's vertical pupils when he finally disappeared, all sent chills down his spine.

"Something's fishy here, let's get out of here first!" Li Yuan made a quick decision and led the five of them out of the stone chamber, running wildly along the passage they had come from.

"wrong!"

Li Yuan suddenly stopped, his expression changing drastically. The steps from before had disappeared, and at the end of the passage was a hard, cold stone wall, blending seamlessly with the surroundings.

"Where's the road? It's gone!" Yu Ling'er cried out in alarm, pounding on the stone wall.

The surrounding passages began to distort, with light and shadow intertwining, as if one were in a constantly changing maze.

Countless hideous demonic phantoms emerged in the surrounding light and shadow, emitting silent roars.

"It's a maze!" Ji Fanghua's face turned pale. She tried to sense it, but found that the space here was chaotic and unpredictable, like a shattered mirror.

"Calm down! Everyone stay together, don't get separated, and don't be fooled by illusions!" Li Yuan shouted sternly.

"Everyone, guard your minds and do not attack any approaching phantoms lightly, lest you waste your spiritual energy."

He turned to Ji Fanghua and said, "Junior Sister Ji, sense carefully. If it's an illusion, there must be flaws." As Li Yuan spoke, he also opened his spiritual sense to the fullest extent and carefully scanned every inch of space.

Time passed slowly, and the demon's phantom became more and more lifelike. Its roars seemed to be right next to their ears, shaking everyone's minds and constantly depleting their true energy.

"Three steps to the left!" Ji Fanghua suddenly opened her eyes.

"Follow me!" Li Yuan didn't hesitate and took three steps to the left, while simultaneously stabbing the nameless sword fiercely into the ground.

"puff!"

The tip of the knife seemed to puncture a bubble, and the distorted light and shadow around it receded like the tide.

Their vision cleared again; they were still standing in the passageway, with the stairs not far ahead.

The five men looked at each other, feeling their backs soaked with cold sweat.

"Could it still be that snake lord causing trouble..." Chu Yunhe was still shaken.

"I don't know, but this place is definitely not a safe place." Li Yuan's unease did not disappear; on the contrary, it became even stronger.

"Let's go back upstairs first. Everyone, please be careful."

The five of them quickly climbed the stairs and returned to the underground palace. This time, they successfully found the exit. Pushing open the door buried under rubble, everyone was stunned and could not believe their eyes.

Outside was not the ruins they had come from, but a bustling street.

The streets were lined with strangely styled stone and wood buildings, and the pedestrians were dressed in extremely ancient clothing, looking hurried.

What's even more astonishing is that the streets are not only filled with humans, but also with demons with animal ears and tails, dwarfs, and even spirits shrouded in a faint halo, their faces obscured.

They mingled together, talking and walking, living in peace, as if it were commonplace.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of spices, livestock, and minerals, so real it was almost unreal.

"Where is this?" Yu Ling'er rubbed her eyes.

"Have we escaped the secret realm?" Chu Yunhe gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Looking at the street scene before him, Li Yuan felt a chill creep into his heart. This was clearly not a real scene. Had they stumbled into another illusionary formation?

……

Meanwhile, at the Relics Square.

After a long period of investigation, Taixu and Wanxiang finally joined forces to crack part of the formation's secrets.

"The eight stone pillars, which correspond to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and feature a snake-bodied, human-headed statue, should be the key to activating the formation. By infusing them with sufficient spiritual energy and connecting them to the earth's veins, the passage should be opened."

Wen Ruoxu revealed the final deduction result.

"It's worth a try," Leng Ning Shuang nodded, her words concise and to the point.

After discussion, each team sent four people to occupy four stone pillars. At a command, all sixteen people simultaneously poured their energy into the runes at the top of the stone pillars.

Leng Ningshuang raised her hand, and a stream of pure spiritual energy shot towards the center of the giant hand that the statue was holding up.

Om-!

The eight stone pillars lit up simultaneously, illuminating the array on the ground. The light quickly converged towards the central statue. A rotating black vortex appeared on the giant hand of the snake-bodied, human-headed statue, and then continued to expand, emitting a strong suction force.

The formation is activated!

"It's open!"

Zhao Lingyun, who had been holding back, suddenly gleamed with a glint in his eyes upon seeing this and roared, "Charge in!"

Ignoring the fact that the vortex had just stabilized, he led the Tian Ce team members and plunged headfirst into the dark vortex, disappearing from sight.

"What a reckless fool!" Wen Ruoxu shook his head dismissively.

"Follow me." Leng Ning Shuang's expression remained unchanged. She exchanged a glance with the others and stepped into the vortex.

After a brief period of weightlessness, the three teams found themselves inside a magnificent, giant palace.

The palace was so high that its top was invisible, supported by countless giant pillars. The floor was paved with black stone slabs, and the lamps embedded in the walls were extinguished, giving it an extremely ancient appearance.

"Haha! First come, first served!" Zhao Lingyun laughed wildly, identified the direction of the main hall, and led the Tian Ce team members to rush over impatiently.

"Zhao Lingyun! This place is strange, do not act rashly!" Wen Ruoxu couldn't help but shout a reminder.

"Cowards! Opportunities lie in danger, so you can search slowly." Zhao Lingyun's voice came from afar, full of disdain.

"Senior Brother Wen, let's ignore them. We'll cooperate with Taixu, explore cautiously, and each take what we need," Qian Junlin said.

Wen Ruoxu nodded and looked at Leng Ningshuang, who nodded slightly: "Okay."

The two teams joined forces and began an orderly search. They avoided the main hall that Zhao Lingyun had rushed into and chose to start from the side hall.

Soon, they discovered a pill-making room containing dozens of jade pill furnaces and jade cabinets for storing pills on the walls.