961: Chapter 954 Land of Trial 961: Chapter 954 Land of Trial Three days later.
In the outside of Tianxing City within the Ancient Martial World, the top-tier powers were gathering.
Ye Chenfeng commanded the members of the Wing Guard Team to dig circular pits with a diameter of one meter each.
These pits were meant to serve as the Array Eyes for the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation, which typically would have only one Array Eye, but this particular formation boasted a total of eighty-one Array Eyes.
If any one of them were destroyed, the whole Formation would immediately become ineffective.
However, the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation possessed eighty-one Array Eyes.
As long as a single one remained intact, the Formation could maintain its effect.
This meant that unless someone could destroy all eighty-one Array Eyes at once, the Formation would not dissipate.
These Array Eyes were scattered across various locations, and once the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation was activated, the outskirts of Tianxing City would be enveloped in a dense fog, making it virtually impossible for invaders to even discern their direction, let alone locate the Array Eyes.
The Valley Master of Red Flame Valley, Lie Yan, watched Ye Chenfeng busy at work.
Over the past three days, he had grown increasingly uneasy, sensing that something ominous was about to happen.
Frowning deeply, Lie Yan approached Ye Chenfeng and asked, “Young Master Ye, how many more days will it take to complete the setup of the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation?”
Initially, setting up the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation was expected to take around ten days.
Yet, under Ye Chenfeng’s leadership, the Wing Guard Team members had been working tirelessly, day and night.
Confident of his approach, Ye Chenfeng assured him, “Valley Master Lie, it should take about four more days to finish the setup.”
Hearing that it would take four more days, Lie Yan’s brows furrowed even tighter as he said, “Young Master Ye, based on the information I’ve gathered, Cloud Soaring Palace and Earth Demon Hall were close to arriving at Tianxing City, but then they suddenly returned mid-journey.
I suspect there must be a catch.
Cloud Soaring Palace and Earth Demon Hall won’t let us off so easily.”
“Valley Master Lie, worrying now is futile.
As long as the Ancient Martial Punisher, Ouyang Bai, doesn’t intervene, we need not fear Cloud Soaring Palace and Earth Demon Hall.” In truth, Ye Chenfeng shared Lie Yan’s sense of impending crisis.
“Young Master Ye, what I fear is that knowing they can’t handle us, Cloud Soaring Palace and Earth Demon Hall might have sought out Ouyang Bai,” Lie Yan said with a heavy sigh.
Ye Chenfeng nodded gravely, eyes filled with solemnity, and replied, “Recently, I’ve noticed disciples from other sects lingering around the outskirts of Tianxing City.
Ouyang Bai is the Ancient Martial Punisher, and if he comes knocking, we will reason with him.
I believe in the presence of a large audience, he will be mindful of the dignity befitting the Ancient Martial Punisher.
For now, let us hasten the progress of setting up the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation.”
“Mhm,” Lie Yan grunted in agreement, saying, “That’s all we can do now.”
…
While Ye Chenfeng and the Wing Guard Team members were working tirelessly, day and night, on the Heaven’s Illusionary Formation, the Sect Leaders of Cloud Soaring Palace, Li Dongtian, and Earth Demon Hall, Mo Wusha, had finally reached the dwelling of the Ancient Martial Punisher, Ouyang Bai, after three days and three nights of travel.
Ouyang Bai’s location, known as the Land of Trial, was situated right in the center of all the top-tier powers.
Before entering the Land of Trial, Li Dongtian and Mo Wusha adjusted their breathing and expressions, fully concealing their auras.
Despite being the Sect Leaders themselves, they didn’t dare to show the slightest bit of arrogance in front of Ouyang Bai.
Both believed that with a mere flick of his finger, Ouyang Bai could effortlessly kill them.
Li Dongtian, Sect Leader of Cloud Soaring Palace, and Mo Wusha, Sect Leader of Earth Demon Hall, stood at the entrance of a valley which led to the Land of Trial.
On the left side of the valley entrance stood a stele over two meters tall inscribed with the characters “Trial” emblazoned in red with the flourish of a dragon and phoenix in flight.
However, the stele must have withstood the test of time, and with no one to tend to it for a long time, weeds had overgrown around it, and ivy as thick as fingers twined upon it.
After exchanging a glance, Li Dongtian and Mo Wusha showed a profound respect on their faces and walked toward the valley together.
The valley was spacious, and in its center stood a stone platform built from bricks, on which there were several pillars more than a meter in diameter, covered in dense, rusty iron spikes about two to three centimeters long.
This stone platform was known as the “Trial Platform.” In the past, those judged guilty by the Ancient Martial Punisher would be seized and tightly bound to these pillars to face their sentences.
But in the last century, the Land of Trial had not judged any wrongdoers; therefore, the iron spikes on the pillars had long been rusted, and moss had grown rampant at their bases.
Around the Trial Platform lay many human skulls and skeletons—remnants of those who had been judged.
Nearly all of those subject to the Ancient Martial Punisher’s verdict never left the Land of Trial alive, their bodies carelessly discarded therein.
It was the first time Li Dongtian and Mo Wusha had stepped into the Land of Trial.
Previously, they had only lingered outside its bounds.
Gazing upon the scattered white bones, they felt a chill that was not due to the cold; they knew that those judged by each generation’s Ancient Martial Punisher were undoubtedly exceptional talents from major forces or ancestors of various sects.
“Crack!
Crack!
Crack!”
Taking a deep breath, Li Dongtian and Mo Wusha continued forward, their feet crunching on the grim bones—perhaps weathered over time—that turned to white powder beneath their steps.
Behind the Trial Platform, within the mountain wall, was a pitch-black stone door leading to the dwelling and seclusion retreat of the Ancient Martial Punisher, Ouyang Bai.
At that moment, the room behind the stone door was bathed in a silvery-white light, emanating from white crystals the size of fists embedded in the stone walls of the room.
To the left of the room was a stone bed, upon which sat a man of indeterminate age in a lotus position.
At first glance, the old man appeared to be in his fifties or sixties, yet at another glance, he could pass for seventy or eighty.
However, his true age was elusive—this old man was Ouyang Bai, who was now one hundred and twenty years old.
Ouyang Bai had a square face and a long white beard on his chin.
His hair was completely white, but there were surprisingly few wrinkles on his face, which made it difficult to discern his age.
At that moment, Ouyang Bai wore a white robe and had his eyes gently closed, his breath steady and even.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, a sharp light flickering within, and muttered in frustration, “Still cannot break through, still cannot!
Is this life of mine destined to stagnate in the middle stage of the Transcendent Realm?”
Suddenly, a dense evil Qi surfaced on Ouyang Bai’s face, and his slightly withered palms clenched into fists.
A slight energy fluctuation emanated from his body, which, albeit faint, caused the white crystals embedded in the stone walls to explode one after another.
“Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!” The sounds echoed incessantly throughout the room.
Half of the white crystals on the stone walls had shattered, and the silvery-white glow that illuminated the room dimmed immediately.
In the subdued light, the evil Qi on Ouyang Bai’s face grew denser, and he seemed close to demonic possession.
However, after about seven or eight minutes, the evil Qi slowly faded away.
He rose from the stone bed; dressed in his white robe with white hair and white beard, he indeed had an air of an immortal about him.
“Really, who are the two fools who dare to trespass into my Land of Trial at this time?
It seems I might as well release some of the evil Qi in my heart.
It has been a hundred years since my Land of Trial was stained with fresh blood.” After muttering to himself, Ouyang Bai walked towards the door.
(To be continued.
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