The medicinal power of the Longevity Pill was slowly being absorbed, and Huangfu Song’s complexion gradually returned to normal.
He surveyed the densely packed frozen coffins around him, pondered for a moment, and then said, “Although these ice crystals appear to be randomly arranged—merely stacked without any discernible pattern—based on my years of experience with formations, this place might…”
As he spoke, he took out a formation-breaking jade disk and projected a light screen before everyone, beginning his calculations on the spot.
On the light screen, the countless ice coffins they had seen before transformed into black dots, each precisely positioned and recorded. As the perspective of the display continued to rise, the number and speed of these black dots increased rapidly.
Faintly, one could discern that these ice coffins were not simply crammed together but were indeed bound by some force, arranged according to an unknown pattern.
“We still cannot grasp the full picture. Perhaps only after thoroughly exploring this place will we uncover the formation that enshrouds this maze.” Huangfu Song scrutinized the light screen for a long time before shaking his head in regret.
“Then let’s not waste time—let’s move out. Who knows what other eerie things we might encounter if we linger here too long?” Dongfang Yao urged. The three of them continued their exploration of the remaining unknown areas.
After an indeterminate period of time…
“Stop! Stop!” Suddenly, Dongfang Yao raised his hand, blocking their path forward.
Dongfang Yao’s expression was uncertain as if he were listening carefully to something.
Moments later, his gaze locked onto the depths of the black, deathly still sea.
“There seems to be something alive down there… something like…”
“A kind of demonic beast?” Dongfang Yao was unsure.
Huangfu Song’s expression turned grim upon hearing this. “Impossible. This seawater is composed entirely of deathly energy. Forget ordinary demonic beasts—even if a cultivator were to fall in and become tainted by this death energy, they wouldn’t last long.”
Li Fan also gazed at the eerily calm black sea, deep in thought. “When death reaches its peak, life is reborn…”
“I trust Brother Dongfang’s judgment,” he continued. “If there truly is a creature living in this Dead Sea for so long, it might hold the key to our escape. Brother Dongfang, since you can communicate with beasts, why not try speaking with it?”
Dongfang Yao hesitated but eventually nodded. He let out a strange, rhythmic sound—rising and falling as if an ancient beast itself was roaring.
Before long, the once motionless sea surface suddenly rippled.
“There really is something alive?!” Huangfu Song’s face showed shock.
Dongfang Yao, however, cursed under his breath. “Damn it, that thing didn’t understand me—it got scared and ran away!”
“No matter, we’ll just follow it. Brother Dongfang, lead the way!” Li Fan instructed in a deep voice.
Dongfang Yao immediately snapped to attention, quickly discerning the creature’s movement beneath the black sea before flying off in pursuit.
Li Fan and Huangfu Song followed closely behind.
The unknown creature wasn’t particularly fast, and the three of them trailed it without much difficulty.
During the chase, Li Fan could almost tell with the naked eye that the number of ice coffins around them was gradually decreasing.
“Right here, it suddenly disappeared!”
Abruptly, Dongfang Yao halted his movement and turned back to look at Li Fan and the others.
Li Fan ascended a certain distance, gazing into the distance.
Countless ice coffins, appearing as mere dots, formed intricate lines resembling a black dragon stretching endlessly from the horizon.
From all directions, they converged at this location.
These lines were like the veins of the land, channeling and gathering the deathly aura of the maze zone into this very spot.
The density of the aura had reached an extreme level, faintly undergoing a qualitative transformation.
Huangfu Song also flew over to Li Fan’s side. After carefully observing the surroundings, he noticed something peculiar.
“This place… it seems to be the core formation node of the grand formation enveloping this maze-like zone.” His expression turned grave.
“A formation node? Doesn’t that mean we can escape from here?” Dongfang Yao exclaimed in delight.
However, Huangfu Song shook his head. “Without understanding the full structure of the formation, we cannot jump to conclusions. It could lead us out of this trap… or it could…”
“Trigger the formation’s self-defense mechanism,” Li Fan continued, picking up on Huangfu Song’s train of thought. “The scale of this formation is almost unheard of, and it seems to be vaguely tied to the Dao of Life and Death—exceedingly eerie. Even a Dao Integration powerhouse may not survive if the formation launches a full-scale attack.”
Huangfu Song scrutinized Li Fan, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes. “Brother Li, you are well-versed in formations?”
“Just a little,” Li Fan nodded slightly, acknowledging it.
“Then what do we do now? Are we just going to stand here wasting time? I can feel the deathly aura affecting me—my vitality is constantly depleting. I’m even starting to feel sore all over,” Dongfang Yao grumbled. After hesitating for a moment, he finally took out a Longevity Pill and swallowed it.
“Damn it, that feels much better!” He absorbed the medicinal energy far faster than Huangfu Song, regaining his vigor almost instantly.
“We must fully comprehend the formation first,” Li Fan and Huangfu Song exchanged glances and reached a silent consensus.
“We need to hurry.” Huangfu Song coughed lightly as he spoke. His expression darkened, and with no other choice, he took another Longevity Pill to slow down the loss of his vitality.
Having found no immediate threats in the maze aside from the constant erosion of their life force, and with their supply of Longevity Pills running low, the three of them abandoned caution and flew forward at full speed.
Finally, after Huangfu Song consumed his last pill, they completed the full mapping of the grand formation.
“A stroke of genius… A masterpiece…”
Huangfu Song stared at the projection on the formation-breaking jade disc, muttering to himself in awe.
Even Li Fan couldn’t help but be captivated by the sheer intricacy of this unknown grand formation.
Under normal circumstances, given their level of mastery over formations, both Huangfu Song and Li Fan would have been able to deduce the formation’s basic function and infer its remaining structure without needing to see it in its entirety.
However…
Before this unparalleled formation—constructed using the frozen bodies of billions of cultivators as its foundation—their accumulated knowledge and experience were rendered utterly useless.
Before witnessing the formation in its entirety, it was like glimpsing only a fragment of a divine dragon shrouded in misty mountains, its form obscured and indiscernible. Without prior knowledge of its existence, one would never realize what they were looking at.
Until the final piece of the formation was revealed before their eyes.
That last sequence of formations instantly linked everything they had seen together—like the finishing touch on a dragon painting, bringing the entire formation to life in all its divine completeness.
This formation was beyond words, truly indescribable.
It seemed to contain the mysteries of heaven and earth, defying even the laws of life and death.
Before the formation’s sketched blueprint, both Li Fan and Huangfu Song stood in stunned silence, unable to speak.
Could they escape through the formation node?
They had no answer.