Mo Zi had gathered around him eight demonic cultivators. When they had come into this Palace of Supreme Wisdom, they had been twenty, now they were only nine. Some had been killed when the realm they had been sent into had collapsed. Others had died before even reaching the realms in question. Fortunately, Mo Zi had survived and there were enough of them to complete the mission.
The main problem was that this space they were in was extremely unstable. It could collapse just by their action. But if they didn't try to complete their missions, their seals would kill them. Besides, the space was about to collapse anyway. Mo Zi was now in the middle of the eight. He could not spare a single person if he wanted to be successful.
Their goal had not changed. They had to open the way into the Demon Palace. From what their masters had discovered, there was a secondary palace hidden within the array formations. It was only accessible one year every seven years. The previous year, Mo Zi had put in place several artifacts to allow them to infiltrate the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. But he had also laid down the groundwork for them to open the way into the Demon Palace.
In that Demon Palace was the treasure they were after. However, getting to it was incredibly difficult. If Mo Zi had not been a Mortal Warrior, he could never have succeeded. And even with all the demonic cultivators around him being Mortal Warriors with one hundred and eight blood runes each, he still wasn't absolutely sure of his success. But he couldn't fail! No matter what it took, he was going to open an access into this Demon Palace.
All of the demonic cultivators had called forth their blood runes. They were now under Mo Zi's control. With faint surges of Qi, he was guiding them. In his hands, Mo Zi also had an array formation plate. It had taken his master around seventy years to engrave it. Even then, he wasn't sure it would work as planned. They had prepared many contingencies for this plan. But hopefully, the first approach would work right away. After all, space had been completely distorted so it would be weakened.
In order to open the access to the Demon Palace, they had to break through the veil protecting the realms. Then they had to cross the void in the right direction. Both operations were incredibly delicate. By breaking the veil they could make the realm collapse on itself and die. And by trying to cross the void, they could lose themselves as the notion of space meant nothing in the true void. Recently, Mo Zi had made the experience of the true void. Although he wasn't in a hurry to do that again, he had no choice.
Once he felt as though the preparations were done, Mo Zi finally activated the array formation plate. Suddenly the blood runes shined with a new glimmer in them. They perfectly aligned with the Qi released from the plate. Within the group, there was now some kind of needle with a very peculiar form. It was made of blood and Evil Qi. Moreover, it was vibrating like crazy. And a strident sound echoed throughout the land. Even the Wubei disciples who had stayed far away were assaulted by this terrible sound.
Watching the group closely were Sun Liao and Mei Hua, while Ren Chao was behind, ready to act as a human shield for his friends. Mei Hua was not sure what she was looking at. But Sun Liao was. This array formation was unknown to him. However, he was perplexed because it had traces of his master's handiwork in it. To be more accurate, it looked like a style close to his but a bit different. Either it had been done by his master or someone who had studied under the same grand-master.
At the tip of the needle, space began to spin with the blood and Evil Qi. Slowly, a tear appeared right in front of the group. Transfixed, Sun Liao had stopped breathing. This kind of array formation was beyond what the current Hongchen Kingdom could achieve during the Forsaken Dao Era. Whoever had made this array formation had almost reached the level of Spirit array formation master. However, Sun Liao could also detect signs of demonic aura in this plate. Although he did not know much about the art of array formations practiced by the demonic cultivators, Sun Liao could guess that it was incredibly perverse just by the sensation in his spine.
Sun Liao was not the only one transfixed by the scene, Mo Zi was too. He had never controlled such an array formation before. Of course, it had been created by his master and he had very little control over it. But still, he had been the one to call it forth. And he was the one powering it up. He realized that the blood runes from nine demonic cultivators were barely enough to use this array formation.
As much as he could, he tried to stabilize it. It was working, but it was also slowly falling apart. If there had been twelve of them, they would have succeeded without any problem. But they were nine and some were injured. This really wasn't ideal...
At last, Mo Zi felt that the array formation was about to collapse. Although he had other plans, none were better than this one. As such, he was ready to go to great lengths to make sure that this attempt would work. Right now, he simply needed more energy. Looking around, he saw Wang Jinhua who was still heavily injured.
They both locked eyes with one another. In the young woman's eyes, there was a sudden realization. Mo Zi was ready to suck her dry of energy in order to power up the array formation. But there was nothing she could do. Since the plate had been activated, she and all her comrades were stuck in place. And with the seals in their body and soul, Mo Zi could literally order them to die for the cause without them being able to refuse.
Wang Jinhua saw her last breath draw near. However, it didn't come to be. In a last moment, Mo Zi changed his target. Wang Jinhua had helped him a lot. If it was necessary, he would drain her as well, but there were other possibilities right now.
One of the demonic cultivators began to wail. His body shriveled with monstrous sounds. The others could not even look at him as they were not able to move even their neck. However, their senses were still sharp. As such, they were able to feel his Qi and blood being mixed together as he was still alive. The seals in him activated and consumed him to his very soul in order to produce a great amount of Evil Qi. Even for them, this was a gruesome death. His soul had been ground as he was still alive and conscious.
From his body, only a disgusting gray mass remained. Everything that had an ounce of life in him had been extracted. Then the blood needle became much more stable. It even seemed to be sharper and to be rotating faster and faster. The tear in front of the needle turned bigger and bigger. Although the needle was not moving, its simple rotation was tearing apart the fabric of space in front of it.
After the first victim, two more were necessary for Mo Zi to complete the mission. But even then, it wouldn't be nearly enough. Space had been pierced but they still needed to travel through the void. However, the needle had been mostly spent. Unfortunately for his comrades, Mo Zi was ready to use them to the last one in order to accomplish his mission.
Sun Liao had finally understood what their plan was. At first he had thought that maybe they were trying to escape but it didn't make sense for them to go to all the effort of breaking in to then just leave.
They were obviously looking for something hidden outside of the realms produced by the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Maybe they were going for the palace itself. According to what his master had discovered, the Palace of Supreme Wisdom was a treasure trove. After all, everything they received in the tests came from the palace itself. And for millenniums it had still not given out all of its treasures. It was akin to a gigantic spatial ring with a spirit that could decide who was worthy of which treasure.
The real problem right now was that this realm was already very unstable. If they pierced through it, it could collapse. They would all die. But since the plate had been activated, Sun Liao had no way of stopping it. This was literally a Spirit array formation. It was beyond even what his own master could produce. And Sun Liao was not a Mortal Warrior yet. He couldn't even create Human array formations, let alone interrupting a Spirit one.
Quickly, Sun Liao had to think of a solution. But he could see none. Either they would wait and hope for the best. Maybe the Palace of Supreme Wisdom would be strong enough to resist and send them back home. Either, he could risk it all. If they followed the demonic cultivators, they had a small chance of going where they wanted, escaping the collapse of this unstable realm. However, they would then be faced with those demonic cultivators.
Since they were already rather weak, maybe they had a chance after all. But this was a very difficult decision to make. Sun Liao could not take this decision alone but he had not a very long time to make it. Right now, he could only confer with Mei Hua.
As soon as he looked at her, she nodded. He did not even need to speak. Although she was not very familiar with array formations, Mei Hua had guessed that this space was about to collapse and Sun Liao had a dangerous idea to try and survive. She did not need to know all the details. She trusted her brother with her life.
Seeing that trust in her eyes, Sun Liao made up his mind. As the only one who could act in this situation, he had no choice. He could not let his fellow disciples die crushed by an unstable space. From his robe, he took out the Supreme emblem. Thanks to his master, Sun Liao knew more about the Palace of Supreme Wisdom than most of the instructors and even elders. If his master had been there, he would have found a way to get everyone to safety. But even without him, he would find a way!
If that group was really going into the true palace, he might find a way there... But the space his fellow disciples were in could crumble at any minute, they would have no time to spare.
"Brother Ren, when I tell you, take us both and run toward that rift in space."
Ren Chao was the strongest of the group and thus the fastest on foot. Although Sun Liao didn't like the idea of being carried, this was the right call for the situation. If he had been faced with only his death, Sun Liao could have put pride and ego before life, but when his brother and sister, as well as his fellow disciples, were concerned, he was ready to throw away any bit of dignity.
Understanding his brother's personality, Ren Chao also understood how delicate and dangerous the situation really was.
From the group of demonic cultivators, only Mo Zi, Wang Jinhua, Neng Lue and another man were spared. All the others were used as fuel for the plate. The needle now looked like the needle of a compass. Space had already been ripped apart. But now they were looking for a direction through the void.
Suddenly, it completely halted. This was it!
Mo Zi activated the last part of the plate. And immediately, Sun Liao signaled his brother. Almost at the same time, the needle with the demonic cultivators around as well as Ren Chao carrying his brother and sister leapt into the tear in space.
Ren Chao was so fast and Mo Zi so busy that he failed to see the three orthodox cultivators before it was too late. Right now, they were all standing in front of the palace Cao Yun had been imprisoned into, the Demon Palace.
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Within the Demon Palace, Dian Mo was still very anxious. He was battling his own inner demons. Maybe it was just too good to be true. Maybe he could not trust this young demon. Even if this was not a trap, he would lose the protection of this place. His prison had become the only certainty in Dian Mo's life. Without it, he would be free, but he would also be lost.
That was right in the middle of this mental battle that everything changed. Suddenly, he felt something ripping through the fabric of space in the void around the Demon Palace. The void they were referring to was not the void of space but the primordial void, in which time and space lost any kind of meaning.
Dian Mo had recognized that it had been ripped open by a Spirit array formation. It was greatly inferior to the Palace of Supreme Wisdom's array formations, but it was still worrisome. Right then, the safety of his prison had been compromised. Even if he didn't take over Cao Yun's body, he would be faced with danger. If someone had gone to the trouble of breaking through space and void, they were clearly targeting his palace, or even him.
Then, Dian Mo recalled what Cao Yun had told him. Maybe the humans had figured out what Cao Yun had. And now they were coming to take his treasure and destroy him along with it. Those puny humans had been able to kill Demon God Da Mo after all. The day he had died, despite his isolation, Dian Mo had felt it. But he had refused to accept it. Now he had even learned that Nuwa had done it herself. He only remembered her as a tiny and frail girl. The humans were more dangerous than what he wanted to admit to himself.
Sensing his own death looming over him, Dian Mo found himself with no other escape than Cao Yun's body. The young demon had been able to pass off as human. This was the perfect body for him. Not only was he a powerful young demon, he could also hide among the sheep.
Pushed by desperation, the Palace Spirit vanquished all his other worries and doubts. A small ball of light suddenly flew from one of the statues from the Demon Palace and entered Cao Yun's Bai Hui. It did not encounter any resistance when it penetrated into his sea of consciousness. Inside everything was black and dead. If he could have smiled, Dian Mo would have.
He had done it! He had finally done it! He was free from this prison!