"How do you know so much?" everyone asked, filled with doubt.
"I entered the valley before, but I didn't dare to go deep. I saw a strange energy turn everyone into walking dead, and then I immediately retreated," Tu Pao explained, not hiding anything. Every time he recalled that scene, Tu Pao would feel scared.
"You can go now," Zhou Yan said suddenly.
"What?" Tu Pao looked at Zhou Yan in astonishment, even thinking he had misheard.
"You don't want to leave?" Zhou Yan asked.
"Thank you, thank you." Hearing this, Tu Pao immediately left. He really didn't want to go inside.
The others didn't ask why. At this point, that fellow was no longer of much use.
"There should be mechanisms and traps set by our ancestors ahead. I don't know how to break them, so you must be careful," Ning Shuiqing finally spoke.
"Let's go."
The evil aura inside grew stronger, the entire valley enveloped in this dark energy, as if a giant ferocious beast was staring at them.
They entered the valley. Zhou Yan observed and said, "This is a powerful formation, likely a combination of dozens of formations. It not only has killing formations but also illusionary maze formations. It seems the person who set up this formation had no intention of letting outsiders in."
"Kid, is there a way to break it?" Li Chungang smiled.
"Why don't you just break it with a sword, saving me some effort?" Zhou Yan quickly suggested.
"Then you'll have to deal with that ferocious beast yourself later," Li Chungang replied.
"Alright, I'll do it myself. This formation shouldn't be too difficult for me." Zhou Yan surveyed the entire formation and said, "The others can wait outside. An Tian and Liuli, come in and help."
"Yes, Lord." An Tian and Liuli followed Zhou Yan inside.
"Can this fellow handle it?" Ning Shuiqing was highly doubtful. She knew that their ancestor was a figure who had been very close to becoming a demigod.
"You absolutely must not say that in front of him, or he won't spare you," Zhao Min told Ning Shuiqing.
"Why?" Ning Shuiqing was confused.
"What does a little girl need to know so much for?" Zhao Min didn't answer. She remembered that the last time she had said something similar, she had been tormented to the point where she couldn't even walk the next day.
After Zhou Yan entered the formation, he unleashed his powerful divine sense. He also released a Tai Chi diagram, which spread outwards, allowing him to "see" the entire formation.
Within Zhou Yan's divine sense, the entire formation was laid out in his mind.
Every formation had a pattern.
Each formation referenced Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Qian and Kun, the Five Elements, or the Nine Palaces, or all of them, as reference points for its arrangement, organization, operation, and combination. Then, by utilizing the energy generated by Heaven and Earth, it was activated, thus possessing its power.
The more complex the formation, the greater its power.
The formation before them was indeed very powerful, but after Zhou Yan's decomposition and analysis, he had found its patterns.
Zhou Yan said to An Tian, "An Tian, fifty meters ahead, attack."
"Yes!" An Tian unleashed an energy attack towards the spot Zhou Yan indicated.
"Bang!"
As soon as the attack landed, their surroundings changed, as if they had been transported elsewhere.
"Don't mind it, this is an illusion formation, not real. Don't move your feet, just stand where you are," Zhou Yan spoke to the two using a special telepathic transmission.
The two had disappeared from his sight, but in reality, they were not far from him.
Upon hearing Zhou Yan's words, neither of them made any move. They began to follow Zhou Yan's instructions, destroying the areas he pointed out.
What Zhou Yan was doing was continuously disrupting the formation's structure. It was like chasing a girl: first, you get to know her, then understand her, learn her preferences and moods, deepen your feelings, share a kiss, and then you can enter the final stage, undressing, and finally…
Outside, the others also saw Zhou Yan and his two companions disappear. They could only see a surge of immense energy ahead, constantly shifting, and then a massive Tai Chi Yin Yang diagram appeared, erupting with brilliant light.
"Will our Lord be alright?" Dian Wei worried.
"You jinx, are you hoping something happens to our Lord?" Yang Zaixing said.
"How could that be? I, Dian Wei, have never thought that," Dian Wei quickly explained.
"Don't worry, that Tai Chi diagram was released by our Lord. You two, stop arguing," Wen Ping shook his head. These two always liked bickering.
"Relax, that kid is doing just fine. He's already started painstakingly unraveling the formation," Li Chungang said, seeing the worried looks on the faces of the women. He knew what they were concerned about.
Half an hour later, the entire formation vanished, and Zhou Yan and his two companions reappeared before them.
"Lord," everyone rushed forward.
"Let's go. We've passed the first hurdle. There are still several more to go," Zhou Yan said.
They had traveled less than a kilometer when they were surrounded again by walking dead, and these were much stronger than the ones outside.
"Charge through, don't waste time with them." Zhou Yan unleashed a sea of fire, charging forward.
The group was strong, and these monsters couldn't hold them back for long.
After several kilometers, they finally saw many statues ahead. The walking dead behind them dared not advance further.
"These statues have mechanisms, but I don't know how to deactivate them," Ning Shuiqing said.
"That won't trouble me." Zhou Yan carefully sensed the area, took out a sword, unleashed powerful spiritual energy, and swung it twice towards the front.
"Boom! Boom!"
Two sword energies, dozens of meters wide, completely destroyed the statues on both sides. The shattered stone blocks also triggered the mechanisms above the central passage, releasing the traps on the ground.
"No matter what the mechanism is, destroying the mechanism itself is the solution," Zhou Yan said.
"You're really clever." Ning Shuiqing saw that it seemed to be that simple.
They safely reached the outside of a large gate. Then Ning Shuiqing saw Zhou Yan about to make another move, so she quickly stepped forward and said, "Don't destroy the gate. I know how to open it."
Ning Shuiqing carefully examined the surroundings and soon found the method to open it.
"Lend me your dagger," Ning Shuiqing asked Zhou Yan.
"Here, take mine." Xiao Zhao immediately produced a delicate dagger.
"What a beautiful dagger," Ning Shuiqing said, greatly pleased.
"It's yours," Xiao Zhao replied.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaozhao." Ning Shuiqing didn't refuse; she genuinely liked it.
After cutting her finger, Ning Shuiqing dripped her blood onto a place that looked like a lamp holder. Then she began to chant something.
The blood transformed into a blood-red light, which shot into the recessed patterns on the stone gate. The entire stone gate then emitted a strange glow.
"Rumble~~~"
The gate opened.