After a moment of contemplation, Mu Xi spoke in a deep voice, "These corpses should be the warriors who recently entered the depths of the ruined temple. However, it is unknown how many of them made it alive."
Ning Yehua looked at Su Yi and asked, "Can you tell how they died, fellow Daoist?"
"Formation."
Su Yi replied calmly, "Similar to the sealing formation in the depths of the Bloodthorn Yao Mountain, but this formation was clearly set up by skilled practitioners of Buddhism. However..."
After some thought, Su Yi continued, "The original power of this formation has obviously been eroded by evil demonic energy, causing the anomalies and strange aura that it exhibits."
His gaze turned towards the hundreds of eerie black lotus shadows in the sky as he said, "If my guess is correct, what is sealed beneath this formation is most likely a power belonging to demons."
Demons!
Ning Yehua, Mu Xi, and the others' eyes all narrowed.
While Su Yi was speaking, he had already taken steps forward.
The chantings and hymns whispered like ghostly murmurs, exuding a chilling and eerie atmosphere.
The whole world seemed dim and gloomy, especially at the entrance of the ruined temple, where corpses were scattered and piled up, blood pooling around them. The gruesome and oppressive scene sent shivers down one's spine.
However, Su Yi seemed oblivious, steadily walking step by step.
Ning Yehua, Mu Xi, and Lan Suo followed closely, their expressions alert and cautious.
Until they reached the collapsed mountain gate of the temple, Su Yi suddenly halted.
Almost at the same time...
From within the mist at the gate, a figure appeared. Clad in a gray monk's robe and holding prayer beads, the figure seemed ghostly as it suddenly emerged at the entrance of the ruined temple.
The monk's expression was solemn as he chanted the Buddhist scriptures, "Dear visitors, please stop here. This is a forbidden and extremely dangerous place. If you get closer, you will bring calamity upon yourselves."
His voice resonated like a resounding bell, spreading throughout the area.
Su Yi's eyebrows slightly raised.
Lan Suo seemed to realize something and asked, "Are you a monk from the Shanglin Temple?"
The monk's eyes flashed like lightning as he looked at Lan Suo and replied, "This lady has keen eyesight. This humble monk is indeed from the Lohan Hall of the Shanglin Temple in Da Qin, bearing the Dharma name 'Jueheng'."
Jueheng of the Jue generation!
Lan Suo's eyes slightly widened, seemingly surprised. She quickly sent a message to Su Yi and the others, saying, "Monks of the Jue generation from the Shanglin Temple are all top-notch experts in the Innate Martial Ancestor Realm. Each one possesses a unique Buddhist technique, which is extremely formidable. They are far beyond the ordinary Innate Martial Ancestors in the secular world."
Ning Yehua and Mu Xi's hearts trembled at this revelation.
The cultivation forces are like people on a mountain, detached from the secular world. The cultivation methods they possess are far superior to those of ordinary martial practitioners in the secular world.
For instance, two Innate Martial Ancestors of the same level, one from a cultivation force and the other from the secular world, the former can effortlessly kill the latter!
The reason lies in the difference in heritage, lineage, and talent.
However, Su Yi paid no attention to it and spoke calmly, "Our life and death have nothing to do with you. If you truly have good intentions, it's best for you to step aside now."
With that, he took steps towards the collapsed mountain gate.
"Stop!"
The self-proclaimed Jueheng monk shouted, his aura surging and intimidating like an angry Vajra, "I have already said that this place is forbidden. It would be best for all of you not to seek trouble, or else..."
Before he could finish speaking, Su Yi waved his sleeve.
Swish!
A mysterious pale blue sword energy soared through the air, slashing towards Jueheng, who stood at the entrance of the ruined temple in the distance.
"Arrogant!"
Jueheng grew furious, forming hand seals in the air.
Boom!
A golden Buddha seal materialized out of thin air, majestic and oppressive, fiercely suppressing downwards.
This Buddhist technique was extremely profound and awe-inspiring. Judging from its power, it was far beyond the strength of the Ten Great Innate Martial Ancestors, such as the members of the Situ Palace.
However...
Su Yi's seemingly casual sword strike was anything but ordinary.
In a flash of sword light, with a loud bang, the golden Buddha seal shattered like paper, bursting into fragments and scattering light rain.
And Su Yi's sword continued its path, directly slashing towards Jueheng.
Jueheng's expression changed slightly. He quickly activated the prayer beads in his hands, and suddenly, a dazzling golden light appeared, condensing into a crystal-clear golden shield, blocking the attack.
Bang!!!
The sword energy collided with the golden shield, creating a thunderous roar.
In the end, while it neutralized the power of the sword strike, the golden shield also cracked like a spider web, eventually falling apart and dissipating with a resounding explosion.
Jueheng's figure trembled, his face finally changing. He said, "Esteemed guest, are you deliberately opposing our Shanglin Temple?"
Su Yi couldn't be bothered with idle talk. He waved his sleeve again and unleashed another sword strike.
Jueheng was shocked and angry at the decisive stance displayed by Su Yi.
"Compassion without salvation leads to self-destruction. Since you insist on remaining ignorant, then be prepared for calamity!"
He didn't engage in a direct confrontation but turned around and rushed into the dense mist of the ruined temple.
Swoosh~
However, Su Yi's sword strike was dissolved by a strange ripple of a grand formation, silently disappearing without a trace.
"Indeed, there is a formation covering this ruin."
A trace of curiosity appeared in Su Yi's eyes.
As they witnessed these scenes, Lansuo couldn't help but say, "Young Master Su, aren't you afraid of attracting the attention of Shanglin Temple? It is the number one holy land of Buddhism in Great Qin, and there are quite a few formidable individuals among the land-bound immortals."
"What do you think?" Su Yi retorted.
Lansuo was immediately speechless. Since Su Yi had already taken action, it was evident that he didn't care about Shanglin Temple at all.
Ning Xue gently reminded, "Lansuo, when we enter this ruined temple, we may come into conflict with the Buddhist cultivators from Shanglin Temple. Be prepared."
Lansuo nodded.
"You two follow behind me."
With that, Su Yi took steps forward.
Boom!
Just as Su Yi and his group entered the entrance of the ruined temple, the surrounding clouds and mist suddenly churned. The entire world seemed to flip upside down, with countless misty long dragons converging from all directions.
This was obviously a misty formation, not only capable of blocking their path but also a terrifying killing formation.
One after another, cloud dragons, dozens to hundreds of zhang long, composed purely of sinister energy, surged forward like giant chains, attempting to encircle and attack.
If it were any other martial practitioner, they would have been instantly torn apart by these chains of mist, turned into mincemeat.
However, for Su Yi, this grand formation was nothing worth mentioning.
In his profound eyes, divine light surged, and he waved his sleeve.
"Open!"
Boom!
A curtain of sword energy swept through the air with thunderous roars, transforming into a stunning rainbow, and slashed fiercely.
The dozens of meters long cloud dragons were effortlessly severed in mid-air.
In an instant, the mist within a hundred zhang ahead was completely swept away.
Ning Xue and the others couldn't help but be shocked by this sight.
This single sword strike covered a hundred zhang with unstoppable force!
However, the ruined temple was extremely vast, and its true depth was unknown. Even after Su Yi and his group traversed a hundred zhang, the surroundings were still shrouded in dense and gloomy mist.
These mists were manipulated by the power of the formation, capable of blocking spiritual perception. Even with Su Yi's current cultivation of divine consciousness, he could only sense the surroundings within a range of three zhang.
However, Su Yi couldn't be bothered by these obstacles.
It was just a misty formation, not worth his effort to decipher. He simply crushed his way through.
Clang!
The Xuanwu Sword appeared in his palm.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Su Yi's cultivation surged, his azure robe rustling, as he swung his sword continuously.
With Su Yi's current cultivation and his mastery of swordsmanship, each of his sword strikes could threaten the life of a Martial Ancestor.
At this moment, sword after sword swept out, like one breathtaking divine rainbow after another, carving out a path within this misty grand formation.
This was the "One Force Suppresses Ten Meetings"!
Regardless of how intricate the formation might be, Su Yi could break it with a single force.
"Is this guy really at the Martial Grandmaster Second Stage?!" Lansuo was amazed, her exquisitely beautiful face filled with shock.
The power of each sword qi, crossing and sweeping through, made her heart pound. She couldn't imagine the level of strength a seventeen-year-old Martial Grandmaster could possess.
As for Ning Xue and Mu Xi, they had long grown accustomed to such sights.
Soon, the group traversed through the misty grand formation and arrived at a desolate pond.
This place was also in ruins, dilapidated and barely recognizable. It could faintly be seen that this was once a massive dojo, with the dried-up pond situated at its center.
Upon closer inspection, the dried-up pond covered an area of a hundred zhang, its mud dried and cracked, piled with densely packed decayed bones.
And on each of these skeletal remains grew strange black lotus flowers, hundreds and thousands of them, swaying in an eerie manner.
A wave of black malevolence emanated from these strange lotus flowers, exuding a bone-chilling and sinister aura.
Upon reaching this place, Su Yi's black pupils slightly narrowed. His divine consciousness keenly sensed a bizarre and peculiar prohibition formation within this space.
"So, the strange black lotus phenomenon we witnessed under the sky in the outside world originated from here..."
Su Yi's expression revealed a sudden realization.
"The central lotus pond in this dojo was originally a sacred and solemn place for the Buddhist sect to deliver sermons. Unexpectedly, it has now become the foundation of a sinister and evil formation..."
"The decayed corpses in the pond should be the remains of martial practitioners who perished here a long time ago. This formation draws upon the flesh, blood, and spiritual energy of these martial practitioners, gathering their power to operate the grand formation."
"And using the power of flesh and blood as a foundation, constructing a killing formation—this is clearly a method used by demonic cultivators."
"Interesting, this place is more than just a simple Buddhist sect. It seems that the forces of demonic cultivation and dark sects are also involved..."
While Su Yi pondered and contemplated, Mu Xi couldn't help but speak, "I came here years ago, but at that time, there were no such strange black lotus flowers in the pond. Instead, behind the pond, there was a niche made of black stones. But now, that niche is nowhere to be seen!"
"What's special about that niche?" Ning Xue curiously asked.
After a brief silence, Mu Xi spoke, "I obtained my Qilin Blood Jade Pendant from that niche."
Upon hearing this, Su Yi couldn't help but show astonishment.
He vividly remembered that Mu Xi's Qilin Blood Jade Pendant was formed from the blood of a true spirit. Even in the vast wilderness of the Nine Provinces, it could be considered a precious treasure.
Never did he expect that such a pendant would originate from a mysterious niche!
With this in mind, Su Yi also recalled the Buddha statue he obtained from Huoqiong King Xiahou Ling. The statue was only the size of a palm, but it was made from the bones of a true spirit, depicting the Buddha holding a lotus seal in its hands and coiling around its body was the form of a true dragon. It was equally mysterious.
Su Yi didn't forget that when he used his divine consciousness to sense the Buddha statue, he witnessed an unprecedented phenomenon of a white-robed monk riding a true dragon and soaring through the depths of the starry sky!
And according to Mu Xi's speculation, this Buddha statue also originated from this ruined Zen temple!