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**
"No formation?"
Staring down at the dirt below, Lin Feng furrowed his brows, a trace of suspicion flashing through his eyes.
"No… it's probably deeper."
With that thought, Lin Feng clenched his palm again and thrust it toward the pit.
A surge of suction erupted instantly, drawing up a large amount of earth from the hole.
He brushed aside the dirt, narrowed his eyes, then repeated the action again and again.
As the pit grew deeper, Lin Feng simply jumped in, using his Dou Qi to float slightly as he continued to absorb and fling away soil from below his feet.
"Got it—it's that damn formation disk!"
Nearly 200 meters down, Lin Feng's eyes lit up with joy.
Before him now lay a formation plate etched with intricate patterns made entirely of black energy threads. At the center of this array was a massive, pitch-black energy stone, around two meters wide.
"That thing… must be the core and the power source of the formation."
Gazing at the energy boulder in the center, Lin Feng clenched his fist. Golden light flickered wildly across his hand.
Without hesitation, he punched hard at the center of the array.
"Boom!"
As fist met formation, the unprotected array shattered instantly under Lin Feng's strike completely destroyed.
Seeing the formation collapse, Lin Feng immediately swept out with his soul perception, scanning the surrounding forest.
"Heh… looks like I got the right one. No wonder it limited our soul perception to just a hundred meters—turns out the formation was buried two hundred meters underground."
As his soul power expanded to about a li (half a kilometer) away without resistance, Lin Feng's heart surged with satisfaction.
But just as his perception reached another forested area far off in the distance—it suddenly rebounded, violently blocked.
"Looks like this bizarre formation isn't limited to just one location. I'll have to destroy them all and make things more troublesome for that damn Lue Feng Zun Zhe."
With that, Lin Feng pushed off the ground and vanished, heading to other locations to hunt down the remaining formation disks.
Meanwhile, near the black stone plaza, a vague, spectral figure suddenly looked up, his gaze locking toward the direction of the destroyed formation.
"One of the formation just lost contact… Hmph, has a rat sniffed out the Soul Refining Array I laid down?"
The figure's glowing green eyes narrowed slightly, his brows furrowed.
His gaze then turned toward the chaos on the black stone plaza, and a cold, ominous voice escaped his lips.
"Trying to disrupt my plan? Fine. Once I activate the Bloodthirsty Spirit Formation and devour all these people—I'll take my time torturing you, little rat…"
Back on the black stone plaza, the crowd—completely unaware—was engaged in a brutal, blood-soaked melee for the priceless treasures laid bare before them.
The fiercest of them all? Naturally the Sect Master of the Bone Transforming Gate and the elder surnamed Qin from the Western Desolate Region.
As the two strongest among this expedition party, their eyes were locked on the pale cyan-colored storage ring left behind by Lue Feng Zun Zhe.
Everyone knew that ring, though seemingly unremarkable, was undoubtedly worth more than even the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame itself.
After all, no one had expected a Heavenly Flame to be hidden here.
And because of that, no one had come prepared with techniques or artifacts to control a flame of this tier.
Worse still, both of them had Dou Qi attributes of water and darkness—completely suppressed by the Heavenly Flame.
Given the current violent nature of that Heavenly Flame, even for them, subduing it completely would take a great deal of effort.
Under such circumstances, that far more valuable storage ring naturally became their top priority.
"Master Hu," the elder surnamed Qin cupped his hands slightly toward the Bone Transforming Gate's Sect Master. "If you're willing to give up the ring and choose the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame instead, I'll offer you two seventh-tier pills I obtained earlier in the forest.
Besides, that Heavenly Flame alone is already enough to trade for an eighth-tier pill—perfect for helping you break through to Dou Zun. What do you think?"
Even as he spoke, Elder Qin sensed a Two-Star Dou Zong trying to sneak toward the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame.
With a flick of his finger, a violent spatial ripple burst forth like a cannon shot.
The space along its path twisted violently, folding in like wrinkled cloth.
"Bang!"
In a blink, that spatial ripple engulfed the would-be thief. Under the terrifying power of space, his body was torn to shreds—blood and gore scattered through the air.
Seeing such a brutal scene, everyone present finally understood:
The Bone Transforming Gate Sect Master and this Elder Qin wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame or the ring.
Recalling their terrifying strength, the rest of the crowd clenched their jaws in frustration—but didn't dare approach either treasure again.
Instead, they turned their attention to the high-tier pills scattered around—rare even in the outside world—and began fighting over them in droves.
"Heh… if Elder Qin would help me completely seal the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame and hand it over afterward, I might just consider accepting your offer," the Bone Transforming Gate Sect Master replied with a cold smirk.
Hearing this, Elder Qin's eyes glinted with growing killing intent. His tone turned frosty. "Looks like Master Hu doesn't want to negotiate after all."
The Wind and Thunder Fury Flame was already ferocious beyond belief. Without preparation, even an average Nine-Star Dou Zong would find it impossible to control.
Though Elder Qin's strength far exceeded that level, his Dou Qi attribute was darkness-based—completely suppressed by a Heavenly Flame.
If he tried to control it, the moment he entered a standoff with the flame…that bastard would almost certainly ambush him and snatch the prize.
Feeling the rising hostility from his counterpart, the Bone Transforming Gate Sect Master remained unfazed and said coldly, "Then let's see who gets their hands on the ring filled with a Dou Zun's lifelong treasures!"
As soon as he finished speaking, an overwhelming aura exploded outward, distorting the air around them.
The immense pressure froze the Dou Qi flow in many of the nearby Dou Zong experts—causing visible strain.
A strange sense of dread instantly pressed down on their minds and souls.
"Heh… Then let's settle this with our fists!"
Elder Qin gave a cold grin. His figure blurred and vanished in an instant.
"Boom!"
In a flash, black and blue energy barriers collided fiercely in midair, shaking the sky.
A terrifying shockwave blasted outward in all directions, forcing others to retreat.
Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the plaza. Cultivators scrambled, bled, and killed each other for the remaining high-tier pills.
Yet aside from Xiao Yixian and Tian Huo Zun Zhe—who already knew the true secret of the ruins—everyone else, including those waiting on the outskirts who hadn't joined the treasure scramble, remained oblivious.
Unbeknownst to them, some of the fallen cultivators—those who died while fighting over the treasures—had collapsed onto the ornate, rune-engraved flooring…and their blood was silently seeping into the grooves of the ancient patterns.
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