A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 301 Hanli Terrace

Upon hearing this, Luo Ming chuckled inwardly. Sure enough, Old Devil Han was interested in these "junk" items.

He replied telepathically, his tone frank: "Brother Han has keen insight. This item is undoubtedly a core artifact. As for its specific use, I, Luo, do not know either. I only feel that since this item could be used by ancient cultivators to create puppets, it must be extraordinary. Therefore, I casually put it away, intending to study it in the future."

Brother Han has extensive knowledge of puppetry. If you encounter similar puppets again, you might consider collecting some of their cores and parts; perhaps you can glean some secrets of ancient puppetry techniques from them.

Upon hearing this, Han Li felt much more at ease and felt a greater sense of kinship with Luo Ming.

He nodded and transmitted his voice, "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Luo. In that case, I, Han, will do my best to collect some information."

Thus, what followed was a rather "strange" scene.

Ahead, the bearded man, like a humanoid tyrannosaurus, roared and punched, blasting all sorts of puppets along the way into pieces, dutifully serving as the vanguard. The Yin Ancestor and Qingyi Hermit watched from the sidelines, occasionally clearing out any stragglers that attacked from the flanks or rear, or breaking some simple trigger restrictions.

Behind them, Luo Ming and Han Li appeared to be "scavengers".

Whenever Barbarian Beard shatters a puppet, the two of them, without prior arrangement but with tacit understanding, would simultaneously and quickly approach the area of ​​the wreckage.

The two of them worked one on each side without interfering with each other, yet they were extremely efficient. Often, before the puppet remains had completely cooled down, they had already swept away all the valuable parts.

Xuan Gu, watching this, raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Wu Chou's disdain deepened, and he even muttered to Xuan Gu, "These two bumpkins, even picking up this junk, are truly shameful..."

Luo Ming and Han Li seemed oblivious to Wu Chou's disdain and continued to tirelessly collect what they considered "treasures."

With the "human bulldozer" Manbeck leading the way with his violent speed, the group advanced at an extremely fast pace, encountering almost no significant obstacles, and broke through the first three levels in succession.

Finally, after destroying the last puppet blocking their way, the group arrived at the end of a passage.

Atop them stood a light barrier several meters high and a foot thick, constantly shimmering with five colors: red, yellow, blue, green, and gold!

However, although the spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from this five-colored light barrier were not earth-shattering, they carried a strange rhythm of harmony, resilience, and endless vitality, making it clear at a glance that it was not easy to deal with.

"Hmph! I hate breaking restrictions the most!" The bearded man looked at the light barrier in front of him, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and an impatient expression appeared on his face.

He strode forward and stood about ten feet in front of the light barrier. Without saying a word, he took a deep breath, and his body flashed with golden light again. He activated the Heaven-Supporting Demon Art, scales appeared on his right fist, and his muscles bulged. With a terrifying power that could split mountains and shatter rocks, he slammed his fist into the seemingly thin light barrier!

"boom--!!"

A deep, thunderous roar echoed through the cave! A violent shockwave emanated from the point of impact, sweeping wildly outwards and causing faint ripples to spread through the surrounding space.

However, the five-colored light shield only suddenly caved inward by a large area, and the five-colored light on the surface flowed and intertwined wildly, rippled violently like water waves, but it did not break!

Instead, after it dented to its limit, it generated a powerful elasticity that forcefully bounced the bearded man's fist back!

The light shield itself quickly returned to its original state, its five-colored radiance still flowing, as if the punch that was powerful enough to shatter mountains had only tickled it.

"Huh?!" The bearded man was pushed back half a step by the recoil, a hint of surprise and annoyance flashing in his eyes. He shook his slightly numb fist, stared at the light barrier, and his expression turned somewhat ugly.

"This damn thing doesn't seem to have much spiritual power, so how come its resilience is so amazing? One punch from me could crush even a small mountain!"

"Brother Man, please calm down." Qingyi Jushi held the jade slip, took a few steps forward, and came to the light barrier. He solemnly examined the ever-flowing five-colored light on its surface, and then reached out to release a series of probing spiritual powers to carefully sense it.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand, a look of understanding and seriousness on his face, and slowly said:

"This is the Five Elements Mystic Light Shield! It is not a simple energy shield, but an extremely sophisticated composite attribute defensive restriction."

It is based on the spiritual power of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. According to the principle of mutual generation of the five elements, it circulates and generates endlessly.

When an external force attacks it, its energy is not directly resisted, but is quickly dispersed, conducted, and transformed into the five-element cycle system of the entire restriction, where it is jointly borne and mutually supplemented by the five types of spiritual energy.

Unless the attack power is strong enough to instantly exceed the carrying capacity of the entire Five Elements cycle of the restriction, or its cycle node is found and destroyed, simply relying on brute force will only be counterproductive and may even make it stronger!

He paused for a moment, then estimated, "Judging from the power of Brother Man's attack just now, if we want to break through this barrier by brute force alone, I'm afraid... it would require at least several hours of continuous attacks, without any pauses in between, to exhaust the core spiritual power of its five-element cycle and break it."

"Several hours?!" Upon hearing this, the bearded man's face darkened even further. He was to be forced to bombard this barrier like a laborer for several hours? Aside from the enormous energy expenditure, what if something went wrong during that time? Wouldn't that jeopardize everything?

"Old ghost Qingyi, since you recognize this formation and understand formations, then you shall preside over the breaking of the formation! If you need my help, just say the word!" The bearded man was quite straightforward, knowing that this was not his area of ​​expertise, and directly handed over the "technical work" to the professional.

"I will do my best." Qingyi Jushi nodded, and focused his attention on the Five Elements Mystic Light Shield again, beginning to carefully deduce its spiritual energy flow trajectory and possible weak points. At the same time, he took out several array-setting tools from his storage bag, seemingly preparing to set up an auxiliary array.

Luo Ming stood a little distance behind the group, his gaze also fixed on the five-colored, shimmering light barrier. Unlike the others who simply watched, he quietly activated his Qianyang Fire Eye.

Deep within his eyes, a crimson-gold flame slowly swirled, and with the enhancement of his pupil power, his vision became completely different.

The originally seamless and radiant Five Elements Mystic Light Shield began to reveal more subtle spiritual energy veins and energy nodes in his eyes.

The five-colored radiance was not evenly distributed, but rather like five different colored serpents, circulating and moving within the light shield along some mysterious trajectory, their heads and tails connected, their energy mutually generating each other, forming a perfect and stable energy loop.

"Although the Yang Fire Eyes are mainly used to suppress evil and stabilize the mind, they also have unique insights into spiritual power. Your Fire Eyes are quite well cultivated, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to see through the appearance of these Five Elements Restrictions." In the sea of ​​consciousness, the voice of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit rang out at the right time, carrying a hint of guidance.

"Look inside that light shield, in the trajectory of the circulation of the five elements of spiritual energy, are there five places where the spiritual energy fluctuations are slightly more solid, brighter, and flow at a slightly slower speed than in other places?" Tianjing Sanren continued to point out.

Luo Ming focused intently, activating his Qianyang Fire Eye to its maximum. Sure enough, within the five streams of Five Elements spiritual energy resembling "spiritual snakes," he discovered five subtle "nodes"! These were located in the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right corners, as well as in the very center!

The spiritual power of these five nodes is not stronger, but rather more "condensed" and "stable," as if they are the "anchor points" or "hubs" of the entire Five Elements cycle system, maintaining the stability of the entire restriction and the orderly flow of energy. Unless one has the supernatural ability to penetrate the surface of the light barrier and directly observe the internal flow of spiritual power, it is difficult to detect from the outside.

"These five nodes should be the array's eye or core support points of this Five Elements Mystic Light Shield!" Luo Ming realized. "As long as we can accurately attack and disrupt these five nodes simultaneously or sequentially, breaking their balance, we can greatly weaken or even directly break this restriction!"

Just then, the Qingyi Hermit in front seemed to have completed his initial calculations and preparations. With a flick of his hand, five small array flags of different colors, with simple and ancient shapes and different attribute runes embroidered on their surfaces appeared in his palm, corresponding exactly to the five elements.

"Gentlemen, I have found the weak point of this formation and prepared the Five Elements Spirit Banners."

Master Qingyi said in a deep voice, "Later, I will manipulate these five flags to simultaneously embed them into the five nodes of the Five Elements Mystic Light Shield, temporarily disrupting and blocking the mutual generation and circulation of the Five Elements power and the supply of external spiritual energy. At that time, the defensive and restorative power of this restriction will be greatly reduced!"

His gaze swept over the bearded man, the Yin Ancestor, and the crowd behind him, and he continued, "While I am activating the array flags and disrupting the restriction, you all need to concentrate your full strength to attack the same point on the restriction! Ideally, near the central node! In this way, with attacks from both inside and outside, the five elements will be out of balance, and we should be able to completely break this restriction within half an hour!"

"Half an hour?" The bearded man's eyes lit up; this was much faster than his estimate of several hours! "Alright! We'll do it your way! Just point me where you want me to attack!"

The Yin Ancestor nodded slightly: "Fellow Daoist Qingyi, please do as you please. I will cooperate."

The other Core Formation cultivators naturally had no objections either. Breaking the formation in half an hour was undoubtedly the most ideal outcome.

"In that case, please prepare yourselves." Qingyi Jushi said no more, his expression turned solemn, he muttered incantations, and at the same time made hand seals, pouring his magic power into the five array flags in his hands.

"go!"

With a low shout, the five array flags transformed into five streams of light of different colors, shooting with unparalleled precision towards five different locations on the Five Elements Mystic Light Barrier! The array flags did not force their way in, but rather, like swimming fish, they silently pierced into the interior of the light barrier along the gaps where the Five Elements spiritual energy flowed on its surface.

Immediately, the flags fluttered, emitting strong corresponding elemental energy fluctuations, which began to interfere with, counteract, and interrupt the original smooth cycle of the five elements!

"Buzz—!"

The Five Elements Mystic Light Shield suddenly trembled! The five-colored radiance flowing on its surface instantly became disordered, sluggish, and flickering! The originally unified aura showed obvious stagnation and flaws, especially near the nodes where the five array flags were embedded, where the spiritual energy fluctuations were violent and the defensive power visibly decreased.

"Now! Attack the center!" Qingyi Jushi shouted sharply, while his hands continued to form hand seals, doing his best to maintain the interference effect of the five array flags.

The bearded man, already poised to strike, roared at the sound, his fists, covered in golden scales, rained down like a storm, accompanied by ear-piercing sonic booms, as he furiously slammed into the area at the very center of the light barrier, which was now flickering due to interference from the array flags! The shadows of his fists blurred, each strike carrying the power to shatter mountains and split rocks!

The Yin Ancestor was equally unhurried. With a flick of his sleeve, a jet-black skeletal claw, exuding a chilling and sinister aura, materialized and lashed out at the same spot with a mournful wailing sound!

Luo Ming, Han Li, Xuan Gu, Wu Chou, and other Core Formation cultivators naturally dared not remain idle. They all summoned their magic treasures and cast spells. Although their power was far inferior to that of the Nascent Soul Ancestor, many ants can kill an elephant. By concentrating their attacks on a single point, they could still contribute their strength.

In an instant, all sorts of spiritual light, magical treasures, and supernatural powers poured down like a torrential rain onto the central area of ​​the Five Elements Mystic Light Shield! The booming explosions continued incessantly, and the violent energy turbulence raged wildly in the cave, stirring up waves several meters high on the surface of the lava river!

Under the combined attack from within and without, and with the Five Elements cycle severely disrupted, the originally incredibly resilient Five Elements Mystic Light Shield finally began to tremble violently, and its radiance dimmed somewhat.

Several hours later,

Half a day later, deep within the inner hall of the Void Heaven Palace, inside a colossal tower of unknown height, with an intricate internal structure and guarded by various ancient restrictions and powerful puppets.

At the end of a relatively empty corridor on the fifth floor, on a stone wall carved with intricate star patterns, the restrictive spiritual light suddenly fluctuated and swirled violently. After a moment, the light receded inward, forming an oval-shaped portal.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Several figures filed out from within. It was none other than the bearded man and his group of seven.

Apart from the bearded man whose aura remained deep and unfathomable, the other six, including the three Nascent Soul elders, all had fluctuating auras and their faces showed varying degrees of fatigue and solemnity.

Clearly, after the "Five Elements Mystic Light Shield" at the third exit was broken, their journey to the fifth floor of this giant tower was far from smooth. They must have encountered more and more powerful puppet guards, triggered more dangerous restrictions and traps, and expended a great deal of mental and magical energy to finally reach this place.

"Finally... we've arrived at this godforsaken place!" The bearded man exhaled a breath of stale air, stretched his slightly sore arms, and glanced ahead, a ruthless glint flashing in his large, coppery eyes.

Everyone's gaze then turned to the more expansive space beyond the corridor.

This was an enormous hall, or rather, a special platform within the tower. The dome hung high, hidden in the shadows, its full form obscured. In the center of the hall stood a colossal stone platform, entirely constructed of some kind of jade-white rock, emanating a faint, chilling aura!

The stone platform is hundreds of feet in circumference and tens of feet high, standing majestically like a small mountain peak! Around the stone platform, a faint white mist lingers, making the entire stone platform look even more mysterious.

"Hanli Terrace!" The Extreme Yin Ancestor stared intently at the huge, luminous white stone platform, his eyes blazing with uncontrollable excitement and greed, his voice becoming slightly shrill with agitation.

He was breathing rapidly, as if he could already see the Void Heaven Cauldron and the Heaven-Mending Pill beckoning to him.

The bearded man was much calmer. He narrowed his eyes and did not rush to the stone platform. Instead, he sharply scanned the area around the platform, especially the top of it—where a thick, condensed, and chilling milky-white light shield completely sealed the top of the platform, making it impossible to see what was inside.

With a swift movement, the bearded man transformed into a golden light and instantly arrived at the bottom of the Cold Li Platform. He looked up at the towering platform and the milky-white light shield at the top, his expression solemn as he intently observed and sensed something.

The Old Ancestor of Extreme Yin and the Hermit of Qingyi followed closely behind, arriving beside the Bearded Man. The Old Ancestor of Extreme Yin's eyes gleamed with a ghostly light, seemingly probing with a secret technique. The Hermit of Qingyi, on the other hand, unleashed beams of spiritual light, carefully sensing the spiritual energy fluctuations and restrictive patterns of the stone platform and the light barrier.

A moment later, Master Qingyi frowned deeply, withdrew his probing light, and spoke with a somewhat grim expression:

"Something's not right... The residual spiritual energy fluctuations here indicate that those three bastards, Wan Tianming, Tian Wuzi, and Mu Tengzi, arrived here at least two or three hours earlier than us!"