Chapter One Hundred and Twenty: The True Face of Mount Lu

“Who can prove that you were the first to discover this place? Even if someone proves it, so what? Did you build this place? Or create it yourselves?”

After hearing these words, the righteous cultivators were utterly speechless.

Never try to reason with demon cultivators.

“We are currently trapped in an illusionary formation. We have found its core, but with our Nascent Soul-level cultivation, we cannot break it open. Therefore, we need to cooperate to escape this illusion,” the succubus spoke up before the Daoist of Eternal Spring and the others could say anything.

“I see,” everyone nodded in understanding.

So this place was actually an illusionary formation—no wonder it felt like we were going in circles.

Why hadn’t they thought of this before?

“We can cooperate, but words alone are not enough. You demon cultivators are cunning and treacherous. Who knows if you might betray us behind our backs?” one of the righteous cultivators said cautiously.

“Don’t worry. We demon cultivators are not like you righteous ones who say one thing in front of people and do another behind their backs. We mean what we say,” the succubus replied confidently, then led the righteous cultivators toward a nearby spot.

All the righteous cultivators looked at the Daoist of Eternal Spring with grateful eyes. If not for him, they would have suffered heavy losses by now.

They would have been no match for these demon cultivators then.

“This is the spot. Now, I will cast a secret technique. When everyone channels their strength together, we can shatter the core of this formation,” the succubus said, beginning to perform the secret technique.

The Wind Demon quickly formed a series of hand seals.

“Swift!”

A yellow light appeared before the Wind Demon’s hands, slowly gathering the strength of everyone present.

This secret technique was called the Power Gathering Seal, capable of instantly merging multiple people’s strength into one.

Boom!

The yellow light formed a pillar of light crashing into the core of the illusionary formation.

With a loud explosion, the formation shattered instantly.

“It’s you, brat!”

Just as Lin Yanghao marveled at the power of the secret technique, a discordant voice rang out, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead.

Now that the formation was broken, Lin Yanghao was fully exposed and immediately discovered.

Lin Yanghao forced a wry smile, then without hesitation, activated his Strange Wandering Ghost Step and vanished in an instant.

“I was wondering why you were so kind just now. Turns out you wanted to pit us against each other and reap the benefits yourself. Too bad your plan is doomed. Let’s see how a mere Nascent Soul-stage cultivator like you can escape my grasp!” Elder Yu roared in fury and gave chase.

The others were unmoved. Was it really worth such a commotion just to deal with a minor Nascent Soul-stage cultivator?

With Elder Yu’s Transformation Spirit-level cultivation, even with three heads and six arms, Lin Yanghao stood no chance of escape.

His peculiar footwork was his only advantage.

But relying on footwork alone to escape Elder Yu was impossible.

Meanwhile, Lin Yanghao was desperately evading Elder Yu’s pursuit.

His previous battle with Le Wu had already cost him immense effort to barely win.

And now his opponent was at the Transformation Spirit level! What was he to do?

The only option was to run.

He was wise to have cultivated the Strange Wandering Ghost Step—it had saved his life countless times.

At this moment, Lin Yanghao finally got a clear look at the world beyond the stone door.

It was a labyrinth of intersecting stone pathways, the terrain extremely complex.

It was like a maze.

But this complexity gave him a chance to escape.

If he were in an open area, he would have been caught immediately.

“Brat, have some courage and don’t run! Running around like this doesn’t make you a hero!” Elder Yu was frustrated beyond words.

Despite the long chase, he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Lin Yanghao’s clothing.

He felt like a monkey being toyed with by Lin Yanghao.

This greatly annoyed him.

“Not running is just foolish!” Lin Yanghao shouted back.

“You, a Transformation Spirit-stage cultivator, chasing me, a Nascent Soul-stage cultivator—aren’t you ashamed?”

“What’s a hero? Can you eat one?”

Listening to Lin Yanghao’s taunts, Elder Yu nearly lost his mind.

But he couldn’t catch him.

A sense of helplessness crept into his heart.

The chase continued, with Lin Yanghao leading Elder Yu on a wild goose chase through the endless maze-like passages.

The tunnels seemed infinite, with no end in sight.

“What’s this brat made of? Does he have endless spiritual power?” Elder Yu’s reserves had been halved after the long pursuit, yet Lin Yanghao showed no signs of fatigue.

Instead, he ran increasingly faster.

Remember, Elder Yu was a Transformation Spirit-level cultivator, while Lin Yanghao was just a lowly Nascent Soul-stage cultivator.

Normally, a Transformation Spirit cultivator’s spiritual power far surpasses that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But Lin Yanghao was clearly an exception.

Now, Elder Yu felt as if Lin Yanghao was the Transformation Spirit cultivator, and he himself was the Nascent Soul.

Should he give up the chase?

Elder Yu was unwilling to admit defeat.

Returning empty-handed would destroy his lifetime of glory.

He regretted being the first to act.

Now, instead of looking impressive, he looked like a fool.

Elder Yu even contemplated death in despair.

...

“Everyone, be alert. There’s something strange here,” the others, also trapped in the maze, warned each other as they cautiously advanced.

“Why can’t I use my Divine Sense?” Jin Buhuan exclaimed fearfully.

Jin Buhuan had always prided himself on his Divine Sense and perception, but now it was completely gone, a crushing blow to him.

Hearing this, everyone checked their own Divine Sense.

“Mine’s not working either.”

“Mine too.”

Without exception, everyone’s Divine Sense had failed.

This discovery shocked them all.

A cultivator without Divine Sense was like one without eyes.

“Could it be that this place has a restriction that blocks Divine Sense?” someone suggested.

This was the only explanation for the current situation.

...

“That brat’s footwork is extraordinary,” Elder Yu thought as he fixated on capturing Lin Yanghao’s technique.

If he could obtain it, his strength would reach a new level.

He pursued Lin Yanghao with renewed vigor.

But soon, Elder Yu realized he had lost him.

He tried to locate Lin Yanghao with Divine Sense.

As expected, his Divine Sense was useless.

His mood matched Jin Buhuan’s earlier despair.

Without Divine Sense and having lost Lin Yanghao, Elder Yu could only return empty-handed.

Worse, he found himself lost as well, surrounded by countless intersecting paths.

He had no idea which way to go.

Helpless, Elder Yu smiled bitterly and wandered aimlessly.

Meanwhile, Lin Yanghao, having successfully shaken off Elder Yu, was in high spirits.

Yet he was in the same predicament—trapped in the maze with no way out.

“Ling’er, what’s going on here?” Lin Yanghao could only ask Ling’er for help again.

“How should I know?” Ling’er refused to tell him even if she knew.

She didn’t want Lin Yanghao to rely on her blindly. What would he do if she weren’t around someday?

So unless it was an emergency, Ling’er wouldn’t assist.

Wait! How did he forget? He still had his Divine Sense!

Thinking so, Lin Yanghao immediately activated his Divine Sense to survey his surroundings.

Sure enough, his Divine Sense still worked.

If others knew, they’d be shocked to their core.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Lin Yanghao was puzzled.

His Divine Sense was far weaker than before, now extending only a few hundred meters.

He couldn’t understand why.

No one in the cultivation world had ever heard of Divine Sense weakening like this.

Was he just incredibly lucky to experience such a rare phenomenon?

If others knew his thoughts, they might spit blood in disbelief.

“You’re a Nascent Soul cultivator and think a few hundred meters is nothing? Meanwhile, we have several times your cultivation and our Divine Sense is completely down!”

Lin Yanghao frowned but pressed on.

Though his Divine Sense was limited, it was better than nothing.

After passing countless junctions and corridors, Lin Yanghao finally reached an open space.

A musty smell hit him, causing a dry cough.

The place was underground, the walls made of white jade, still faintly glowing.

Strangely, there was no trace of spiritual energy here.

Moreover, nothing else existed in this space.

“What the hell is this?” Lin Yanghao gasped in terror.

A humanoid monster appeared before him—green-faced with fangs, gray and stiff skin, bloodshot eyes.

Lin Yanghao’s face turned pale. His eyes widened, mouth agape, unable to believe what he saw.

Unease filled his heart; this thing was clearly malicious.

How could he run in such an open area? No earth to burrow through, no medium for his Strange Wandering Ghost Step.

The technique’s weakness was its inability to be used in open spaces.

Before Lin Yanghao could react, the monster charged at him like a flash of light.

It exuded a deadly aura, accompanied by an oppressive pressure.

His strength was clearly no match for this creature.

It was likely even stronger than the Transformation Spirit cultivators.

Time seemed to freeze.

Lin Yanghao’s heart pounded violently.