The ghosts were startled by the cry.
But “Maraju” had little prestige among these Ghost Kings, and few trusted in his words. Most importantly, these were all good treasures, the worst of them ultimate-grade art relics, and many of them were powerful divine treasures. Any one of them could greatly increase their power, so they were unwilling to let them go.
However, a few of them had also witnessed Maraju’s intelligence beforehand, so when they heard Tang Jie call out, they immediately chose to throw away the treasures in their hands.
Strangely, when the Ghost Kings threw away the treasures, the gales coming at them instantly dissipated. As for the Ghost Kings who refused, they were still assailed by the winds, some of them being swept off the platforms and down into the abyss.
Of course, there were those who managed to survive this wave with their own strength. But so long as those treasures were still there, the winds would continue to threaten them until they fell off or abandoned the treasures.
Finally, all the Ghost Kings realized that Tang Jie was correct and reluctantly put down their treasures. Only then did the winds finally stop and the floating platforms return to their stair configuration that led all the way to the stone door at the top.
The ghosts all turned to look at Tang Jie, and the Heartless Ghost King chuckled. “We owe a lot to you this time, kid. It seems you have quite the talent for formations.”
Tang Jie smiled. “Not at all. I just noticed that the wind kicked up when the last treasure was subdued. Realizing that there might be some connection here, I made a bold guess.”
“Then if you guessed wrong…?” the Heartless Ghost King asked.
“Hahaha, you really are a clever ghost,” the Heartless Ghost King laughed. “Still, you did a great deed. If there’s anything good in here, I swear on my name that you will get your share of it.”
“Many thanks, Ghost King!” Tang Jie promptly offered his thanks.
Although they were both Kings, a low-tier King, essentially a Spirit Ring cultivator, couldn’t compare to a high-tier Soul Transformation King. The Heartless Ghost King was very happy to see Tang Jie so humble.
But there were others who were displeased by this attitude.
The Greenghost King snorted in disdain, even giving Tang Jie a threatening glare. Ghosts weren’t humans, and many of them were very narrow-minded. Rather than thanking Tang Jie for saving them, it felt like Tang Jie was being a bother and found him annoying.
Tang Jie just treated it like nothing had happened.
A ghost asked, “If holding all the treasure will cause the wind to attack, doesn’t that mean that if we take most of them and leave only one behind, the winds won’t stir?”
Tang Jie quickly said, “Absolutely not. In my view, there are rules governing everything here, and just like how we can’t fly across this abyss, the owner of this mausoleum definitely wouldn’t leave such an obvious loophole. If we try that again, the lesson will probably be even harsher.”
“So you’re saying that we can’t take a single one of these?” the Greenghost King angrily said, as if it was Tang Jie that was stopping them.
Tang Jie replied, “That’s the only way if we want to be completely safe. Of course, you can choose to not believe me and try again.”
The Greenghost King wanted to do exactly that, but the other Ghost Kings shouted, “Greenghost, don’t!”
The Greenghost King could only shoot an unwilling glance at the Pine Sword that he had subdued before sighing and letting it go. The Pine Sword could take on many forms and collect energy, and he had found it very suitable for him. It was a great pity that he couldn’t get his hands on it.
Now that the Greenghost King had given up, the ghosts began to climb up the floating platforms.
Tang Jie said, “Everyone, be careful. Not taking the treasures doesn’t necessarily mean we can get through.”
“Mm? What do you mean?” The ghosts turned to Tang Jie again.
Tang Jie said, “If you count carefully, you’ll realize there are 107 platforms.”
The ghosts really did count and found Tang Jie to be right. And they naturally understood what this number represented.
The Heartless Ghost King said, “It doesn’t make sense for it to be one off 108. Is one missing?”
“Perhaps it’s not missing, but hidden. Look. There’s a clear gap between the last floating platform and the stone door. It’s probably just big enough to fit the 108th platform.”
The Heartless Ghost King narrowed his eyes. “In other words, we have to find the last platform to go through?”
“Exactly.”
“How do we find it?”
Tang Jie fell silent. Suddenly, he jumped onto a platform, grabbed the treasure on it, and tossed it into the air.
All of the Ghost Kings were aghast, but to their surprise, the treasure floated in the air, held up by a current of wind.
Tang Jie went to another platform and also threw out the treasure atop it.
Just like the other treasure, it floated in the air.
As Tang Jie made his way up, he threw the treasures off each platform.
Strangely, no matter where he threw the treasures, they would float on their own, gathering together with the other treasures, each of them assuming a fixed position.
As Tang Jie threw more and more treasures, the ghosts began to realize what was going on.
As the treasures gathered together, an amazing scene played out.
These treasures of various shapes and sizes came together like blocks, clacking together and linking up. It was just a formless mess at first, but as more and more treasures were thrown into it, the outline became clearer and clearer, and by the end, the treasures had combined together into a floating platform.
“Oh… I see.” The ghosts were stunned by the sight.
It was no wonder they couldn’t take a single one of the treasures, because they were used to form the floating platform.
It was obvious that there was no going through the stone door without this last floating platform.
“Exquisite handiwork! Incredible!” The Heartless Ghost King clicked his tongue in praise.
The human cultivator who could come up with this design was undoubtedly a formation master. Even Tang Jie was amazed.
The other Ghost Kings joined in throwing out the treasures.
The floating platform slowly approached completion.
Finally, as the last treasure was thrown out, the floating platform was finished.
But the ghosts found that the platform didn’t move.
The Heartless Ghost King was taken aback. “Shouldn’t this thing move to the final position once it’s complete? Why isn’t it moving yet?”
Tang Jie answered, “Because it’s not truly complete yet.”
He pointed at a corner of the platform, which was clearly missing a chunk.
This missing chunk meant that the floating platform couldn’t complete its last step, which meant that it couldn’t become the last segment.
The ghosts were stunned, the Heartless Ghost King asking, “Who’s still hiding a treasure? Hand it over!”
His voice resounded through the space, but no ghost replied.
The Heartless Ghost King was just about to explode in rage when Tang Jie said, “It might not have been hidden by anyone. Rather, it probably didn’t exist in the first place.”
“What?”
A ghost asked, “Then how are we going to get through?”
Tang Jie replied, “Have you all forgotten? The traps of this place were all designed so that we can’t get through.”
This reply gave the ghosts pause.
Indeed, the mausoleum owner had set up all these traps to keep intruders out, so why would they have to hand over the final piece?
But if they didn’t want people to get through, they could just create an impassable barrier instead of going through all this trouble.
Tang Jie could already guess what they were thinking. “An impassable barrier doesn’t exist… at least as far as formations are concerned. As they say, the heavens always leave a path, and the Dao of Formations aligns with the heavens, so how can it do what the heavens cannot? This is why one of the Eight Gates of formations is the Gate of Life, and why there is no such thing as a formation of certain death. Such a thing would go against the will of the heavens.”
“I see. So the owner designed this kind of formation, with a way out but the path cleverly blocked.”
“Correct!” Tang Jie nodded.
“Then what should we do?” the Heartless Ghost King asked.
“There is definitely a way to get in. This is the will of the heavens, and the mausoleum owner can’t defy it. Just because he’s hidden it somewhere doesn’t mean that there’s no other solution. But…”
Marasheng impatiently said, “Just hurry up and tell us. Don’t waste time.”
Tang Jie bitterly smiled. “I’m no expert in formations, so I can’t break down this formation from its basic principles. I only know some common knowledge, and there’s only one solution I can think of.”
“What is it?” the ghosts asked in unison.
“This method requires immense sacrifice.”
The Greenghost King frowned. “Tell us first.”
“Since this floating platform is missing a piece and we can’t find the corresponding treasure, we have to make a treasure to fill the gap.”
“How do we do that?” another ghost asked.
“Refining ghosts!” Tang Jie coldly said.
All the ghosts were stunned.
Refining ghosts meant tempering ghosts to obtain a special kind of resource.
This resource was the Primal Soul, a mystical material that could become anything.
But the ghosts hadn’t known that Primal Souls could also be used to replace treasures.
The Heartless Ghost King said, “How confident are you in this?”
“The Primal Souls created from refining ghosts can transform into all things, reform the Five Elements. If even Primal Souls can’t serve as a substitute, then nothing can.”
Is that how it is? The ghosts didn’t know much about Primal Souls, so they could only believe in Tang Jie’s words.
But refining Primal Souls required the deaths of countless ghosts. Just who could accomplish that?
The Heartless Ghost King cackled. “Is that so? Getting through this trial involves a massive price. Haha, haha, interesting! Interesting! With such difficulty placed on it, I wonder what sort of fruit will be waiting if we succeed!”
He suddenly grabbed the head of a nearby ghost and shattered it.
No ghost was willing to sacrifice itself, so what followed was a bloody internal conflict until they had enough Primal Souls for the floating platform.
A chaotic melee ensued.
The stronger one was, the greater one’s chances of survival, while the weak could only be killed.
Tang Jie was allowed to just sit back and watch.
No ghost attacked him.
No matter how the battle went, in the end, he was the one who needed to refine the Primal Souls into the treasure, and given the abilities Tang Jie had already displayed, his instructions would be needed to reach the end.
Thus, all the attacks avoided him, and Tang Jie could just stand in a safe corner and watch with a smile on his lips.
In his sleeve was a flashing golden stamp that would have fit perfectly into the gap on the floating platform.