Ao Jiugai heaved a long sigh, as if reminiscing, and it took him a while before he said, âBack then, I went there to search for a Devil Dragon, but I didnât find one and ended up committing suicide first.â
He never mentioned why he committed suicide, after all, it wasnât a glorious matter.
Li Cheng didnât ask either because one must have suffered greatly to choose suicide. To ask would be to pick at someoneâs scars, which isnât decent behavior.
âDevil Dragon?â
Li Cheng became interested, âIs it the kind of Dragon Clan that has wings on its back?â
Ao Jiugaiâs eyes showed confusion, and he shook his head, âThe Devil Dragon I mentioned is a Divine Dragon that practiced the demonic path. The one youâre talking about with wings on its back, is that a Ying Dragon?â
Li Cheng came to a realization and understood it was not as he thought.
âYou should attach yourself to my Storage Ring, donât be so conspicuous.â Li Cheng changed the topic.
Soon after, Li Cheng arrived at Savage City.
The city wasnât large, but the entire city gave off a menacing presence, mostly inhabited by God Realm powerhouses, unlike Cloud Bright City where God Realm powerhouses were rare.
To the north, millions of miles away, was Savage Ridge, where Evil Demons gathered. The powerhouses that congregated in Savage City must be those who have been tirelessly battling those Evil Demons all year long.
With the Demon Suppression Orderâs aid, Li Cheng even picked up on the presence of more than a dozen Demon-suppressing Envoys.
Li Cheng had no intention of seeking out those Demon-suppressing Envoys; with Ao Jiugai guiding the way, this trip shouldnât be difficult.
Leaving the city, Li Cheng flew straight north. Considering Ao Jiugai managed to successfully commit suicide in the Savage Ridge with his initial-stage True God Realm Cultivation and his Dragon Corpse was left for several years, it indicated that encountering Evil Cultivators within the Savage Ridge wasnât something that happened by mere chance.
Beyond Savage City to the north, there was no longer any human habitation, bearing quite a bit of the desolate wilderness vibe.
After flying close to ten million miles, sparse greenery and continuous mountain ranges finally appeared ahead. He had reached the border of Savage Ridge.
âIn the northeast direction, more than three hundred thousand miles away, there should be a Nine Connected Lakes. Nine lakes connected together. Finding those lakes means we are close to our destination,â Ao Jiugai explained.
Li Cheng nodded, and indeed, after a brief while, he saw the extraordinary sight of the lakes connected.
Li Cheng had no time to carefully appreciate the beautiful landscape before him and frowned at the distance, âOver there, there are the auras of many powerhouses. The cave dwelling you mentioned, it wouldnât happen to be over there, would it?â
Li Cheng didnât release his Divine Sense to investigate because among those auras were beings on the level of True Gods. If he were to send out his Divine Sense for probing, he would definitely be detected.
Ao Jiugai floated out, âIt seems that over the years, others have discovered that mansion. Strange, how did they find it?â
Li Cheng pondered, âYou stay hidden, Iâll go take a look.â
Having said that, Li Cheng concealed his form and restrained his aura as he flew toward the area where the powerhouses were gathering.
Ahead were countless peculiar peaks, and many were floating in mid-air, brimming with life and lush with greenery. On those Floating Peaks, Li Cheng sensed a strong concentration of the Time Law.
At this moment, over a thousand people were scattered throughout this region, suspended around the Floating Peaks, probing them.
Upon closer inspection, Li Cheng noticed that there were one hundred and eight Floating Peaks where the Time Law converged, subtly forming a formation.
âTo set up a formation with the power of time and even draw in the convergence of the Time Law, youâre right, this indeed is the legacy of a powerhouse who majored in the Path of Time.â
âOf course, wouldnât I have such discernment? However, there used to be nothing out of the ordinary about these Floating Peaks. It seems these people have done something that activated the hidden mechanisms,â Ao Jiugai said.
Li Cheng nodded, âThese people seem to come from five forces, three sects, a group of Loose Cultivators, and a gang of demonic Evil Cultivators.â
As he spoke, Li Cheng put away the Demon Suppression Order and flew towards the Loose Cultivatorsâ camp.
The Loose Cultivators, over two hundred in number, were encircling around eighteen nearby Floating Peaks. Seeing Li Cheng approach, who was just at a mid-stage Heaven God State of Cultivation, they paid him no attention.
âFellow Daoist, whatâs the situation now?â Li Cheng casually approached a young man at the initial-stage Heaven God State and asked softly.
The young man, thinking Li Cheng had been there before, responded, âItâs the same as before, no one can break through the Formation. Anyone who goes up there turns to white bones; you see.â
Following the young manâs gesture, Li Cheng saw a Demonic Cultivator fly up to a Floating Peak. However, before he could land, the Time Law on that peak surged wildly!
Under the erosion of those Time Laws, the Demon Cultivatorâs body rapidly decayed into nothing but white bones. In a short while, even the white bones disintegrated into ash, scattering over the Floating Peak.
Li Chengâs eyebrows lifted slightly. That was a mid-stage Heaven God State Demon Cultivator, and within just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he was cut down by the power of time to the point of withering to a skeleton, ultimately not even his Divine Bones could withstand the power of time and turned to ash!
Was this a method left by a Divine Emperor?
Itâs probably just the tip of the iceberg!
âIt seems itâs a dead end, Li Cheng, letâs back off and just watch,â Ao Jiugaiâs voice transmitted.
He secretly felt relieved, thinking that if he had tried to explore back then, he probably would have ended up as ashes too!
In that case, not even a Remnant Soul would have had the chance to linger, let alone watching his daughter being born and growing up as he was now.
Li Cheng understood Ao Jiugaiâs thoughts; the appearance of such a powerful Formation here, especially one based on the Path of Time, was sure to alarm significant figures!
Once the significant figures arrived, if they could break the Formation, perhaps they could get a share of the spoils.
However, Li Cheng suddenly felt that Ao Jiugai seemed to be hinting at something.
Nodding, Li Cheng flew back, retreating a hundred miles before enveloping himself with a Formation and called out, âOld Ao, is there something you want to say?â
Ao Jiugai did not show himself but transmitted his voice, âGo take a look at the treasure site I chose back then, there might be unexpected gains. One hundred miles to your right, there is a valley, thatâs the place.â
Li Cheng once again concealed his form and aura, flying towards the valley.
There was a waterfall cascading down the valley, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers; no wonder Ao Jiugai chose to end his life here.
âBehind the waterfall, there is a cave, go in and take a look,â Ao Jiugai said as he watched Li Cheng enter the valley.
Li Cheng had already probed with his Divine Sense; behind the waterfall, there was nothing but a sheer cliff, no cave.
But considering the possibility of a Formation concealing it, Li Cheng still flew into the waterfall.
When his hand touched the stone wall behind the waterfall, ripples spread across it, and his palm passed straight through.
Indeed, there was more to the waterfall than met the eye!
Entering beyond the stone wall, what met Li Chengâs eyes was not the treasure site he imagined but just a vast stone cave spanning a thousand miles.
âCreating this stone cave through spatial means, you did this? Doesnât seem like it,â Li Cheng surmised, eyeing the cave doubtfully.
The space here had been expanded; from the outside, if one could see, it might only appear a dozen or so zhang in size, but inside, it was actually a thousand miles.
Ao Jiugaiâs aura still lingered in the stone cave.
âItâs smaller than before. It used to cover ten thousand miles,â Ao Jiugai appeared, his eyes reflecting contemplation.
âDo you think this place is connected to those one hundred and eight Floating Peaks?â Li Cheng returned to the main topic.
Ao Jiugai nodded, âCreating a stone cave behind this waterfall and expanding the space, and only a hundred miles away from that grand Formation, to say thereâs no connection would be quite a stretch, right?â
Without more words, Li Cheng started a thorough search. The space here was expanded by Formation, and since the space had shrunk compared to before, it showed that the Formation was gradually losing its effect.
Exploring the stone cave with his Divine Sense, he did not detect anything unusual; it seemed to be just the interior of a typical spatial Formation.
But as Li Cheng felt around, on an ordinary protruding rock, he discovered concealed fluctuations of Time!
If it werenât for him activating various Laws to probe, he wouldnât have discovered it at all!
âYouâve been studying that rock for quite some time now, whatâs up?â Ao Jiugai floated over, curious.
Li Cheng did not respond, his eyes slightly narrowed, pressing his hand on the rock and carefully sensing it, he directly used his Enlightenment attempts!
Noticing Li Cheng entering a state of Enlightenment, Ao Jiugaiâs eyes widened in shock, âNo way? Gaining enlightenment from checking a rock?â
âHow demonic is oneâs perception to do that?â
The Enlightenment state lasted for more than a day, and only then did Li Cheng gradually come out of it.
The moment he opened his eyes, a thick sense of joy revealed itself in Li Chengâs gaze, âThe combination of the Time Law and Formation, could it be that there is a Divine Mansion within the Formation?â
The Time Law and Formation within the rock were perfectly combined, and with the Formation concealing it, it made it difficult to discover the anomaly of this rock.
So well hidden, Li Cheng had reason to believe that it was very likely to be the Divine Mansion left by the Divine Emperor, mentioned by Ao Jiugai!
Ao Jiugai was overjoyed, âI told you this place must be connected to that place; come on, hurry and get the Divine Mansion out!â
Li Cheng glanced at Ao Jiugai, âWe canât be sure yet; itâs just my guess. To extract it, we would need to completely understand that Formation.â
âThen understand it quickly!â urged Ao Jiugai.
Li Cheng pointed outside, âWith so many people there, if someone finds this place, itâs very likely to be exposed. We must first think of a solution!â