Guo Xingyue carefully observed the layout of the hall: amidst the precious minerals on both sides, she could faintly see four small flags, which represented the Four Flag Killing Formation. This formation was not considered top-tier, nor did it carry much killing intent; its only notable feature was its strong spontaneity, somewhat akin to an assassin. No matter how skilled one was, a careless mistake could lead to severe injuries or even annihilation. She thought to herself, this formation master is quite cunning to set up another trap here. If someone were to be dazzled by the precious minerals, rushing to grab them or hastily trying to open the large door across the hall, entering the hall would certainly trigger the Four Flag Killing Formation, and its sudden activation would be enough to severely injure any intruder.
Having recognized the formation, Guo Xingyue executed a series of hand seals, sending golden light to the various connection points of the formation, dismantling it. She then took the four small flags into her possession, examining them closely but finding no special markings. Casually, she stored them in her storage ring, and without meticulously counting the precious minerals, she gathered them up and stepped onto her flying sword, approaching the tightly shut door.
The door had no lock and no handle. After probing with her spiritual sense and detecting nothing amiss, Guo Xingyue placed her hand against the door and felt for a moment, finding no response. Channeling her true essence, she gently pushed, and the door opened. Inside was a spacious grand hall, illuminated by numerous luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling. Facing the door was a massive table, which appeared entirely empty. In the center of the hall was a Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation, but it was unclear what it was guarding. Guo Xingyue did not rush into the hall; instead, she carefully observed, thinking: the person who arranged this hall was clearly a master of formations with deep psychological insight. Based on the previous two formations, this person excelled in cunning, often placing deadly formations in inconspicuous places. The grand hall was barren, with only the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation in the center; if something important were present, it should be locked away within the formation. However, it could also be a trap—if the formation master only needed to conceal another Four Flag Killing Formation within the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation, then a rash attempt to dismantle it could lead to serious injury.
Guo Xingyue continued to probe the grand hall with her spiritual sense, contemplating how, if she were the formation master and the previous two formations had been breached, she might set up another formation. Her experience as an assassin in the Pangu Star had taught her a bloody lesson: true killing moves are always hidden in plain sight and often emerge when one feels they can finally breathe easy or that victory is at hand. Such killing moves are the most terrifying and difficult to guard against, typically resulting in instant death.
After thoroughly scanning the grand hall, even the luminous pearls on the ceiling were not overlooked, but she still found nothing unusual. Stepping onto her red flying sword, she released her golden sword from her body, letting it swirl protectively beside her as she cautiously entered the grand hall. Instead of rushing toward the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation, she circled around, first flying to the far end of the hall. Standing before the stone table, she swept her spiritual sense over it: it was an ordinary stone table with no special features and nothing on it. It seemed that only by dismantling the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation would she learn the formation master's intent.
Guo Xingyue flew to the center and circled around the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation, releasing her spiritual sense to test the formation's response, but found nothing unusual. After pondering for a moment, she took a shield-like treasure (a relic of Haotian) from her storage ring and executed another series of hand seals, using the shield as the focal point to set up a four-layered defense formation. Standing within her defensive formation, Guo Xingyue retrieved a Condensing Essence Pill to restore her true essence, then unleashed a series of hand seals. Golden light streamed from her hands, striking the connection points of the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation. A cacophony of sounds filled the hall. As she dismantled the last connection point of the formation, the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation trembled violently before it dimmed and vanished.
Guo Xingyue did not leave her four-layered defensive formation after dismantling the Four-Gate Golden Lock Formation. Instead, she carefully examined what had been sealed: it appeared to be an ancient bronze mirror, its surface etched with strange patterns, floating in the air, giving off a peculiar aura. Guo Xingyue waited in her formation for a moment, and seeing no other formations appear, she prepared to approach the mirror when an unexpected change occurred.
The strange mirror emitted beams of white light, quickly forming a formation within the hall. A powerful pressure bore down on Guo Xingyue as she stepped out of her defensive formation. Startled, she rushed back into her protective barrier; the formation unleashed by the mirror was actually a celestial formation! The immense impact continuously battered her defensive formation, causing it to tremble violently, nearly collapsing under the force. Guo Xingyue quickly circulated her true essence, replenishing the formation's energy. The consumption of her true essence was rapid, and in a hurry, she took a Returning Essence Pill from her storage ring and gripped a Green Crystal Diamond to resist the pressure from the celestial formation. After consuming two more Returning Essence Pills, the pressure from the celestial formation remained relentless, as if its energy were inexhaustible. Guo Xingyue couldn't help but feel anxious. While she had many pills on her person, continuing this way would eventually lead to exhaustion. The pressure from the celestial formation was immense, and she had never encountered it before, completely unfamiliar with its principles; even if she wanted to break it, she had no idea how to begin.
What should she do? Waiting any longer would only mean sitting idle and awaiting her demise; she had to find a way to break the formation! While she continuously replenished the formation's energy with her true essence, she carefully examined the celestial formation before her but found nothing. Looking at the floating mirror in the center of the formation, she felt a mix of anger and urgency: the formation master was too cruel to set up a celestial formation in the cultivation world. Wasn't that essentially a death sentence? While celestial formations were merely an advanced version of cultivation formations, their power was exponentially greater. If she were not capable of stacking formations, even someone in the tribulation stage would be unable to withstand the pressure of this formation.
She could no longer endure this passively; she needed to counterattack, but how to approach it? The mirror was clearly the formation's focal point; if she could destroy it, the formation would collapse. However, it was a celestial artifact. Although she had plenty of treasures and semi-celestial artifacts, facing a celestial artifact was beyond her means. Since she couldn't destroy the focal point, she would have to disrupt the formation's structure. The pressure of the formation seemed concentrated on her defensive barrier, while the luminous pearls above in the hall remained unscathed. It appeared she had to take a risk.