The formation diagram had been floating half-spread and half-rolled in midair, but as Shi Yu reached out and snatched it, it instantly rolled up into a compact scroll in her grip.
The scroll felt slightly rough to the touch, its yellowed surface radiating a thick aura of ancient age. Unrolling it revealed countless dense lines drawn upon it, twining and tangling together like slithering giant pythons, utterly inscrutable. Upon closer inspection, these were innumerable array runes intricately linked and nested within one another, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Seeing the dense, misty glow swirling across the formation diagram, Shi Yu gently brushed her hand over it. Her mind felt a tugging sensation, as though she were directly touching the veins of heaven and earth's power.
An object like a formation diagram could only be refined by a Tier-4 array master at minimum. With a formation diagram in hand, an array master could use it as a foundation to control the flow of heaven and earth's power, setting up grand formations capable of reshaping heaven and earth.
Yet the scroll before her was far beyond what any ordinary formation diagram could match. Even though Shi Yu considered herself to have seen many wondrous and boundless formation diagrams, looking at this scroll still filled her with marvel.
They had already experienced its power firsthand. From the moment they entered the secret realm, they had been inside the scroll all along without ever realizing it. Had she not coincidentally gained the red fox's master-servant recognition, discerned the shifts in aura within the diagram, and broken the array core, they likely would have remained trapped inside for who knows how long.
Although Qingzhou did not understand array formations, he possessed a spirit beast bloodline, making his sensitivity to treasures far surpass that of ordinary people. He knew at a glance that this item was extraordinarily precious and said softly, “Ah Yu, this is no ordinary object. You should subdue it as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected complications.”
Shi Yu nodded; she had the exact same intention. Forcing out a drop of heart's blood, she dripped it onto the formation diagram.
Instantly, the lines upon it flashed rapidly, and a powerful suction surged forth, pulling her divine sense inside in a split second.
The scene before her blurred, and Shi Yu found herself standing within a boundless space. Countless lines of light surrounded her—some bright, some dim, some static, some shifting. These lines were the array runes of the formation diagram, interconnected to form a complex, mysterious world of formations.
Calming her mind, she navigated this formation world, only to find that her consciousness could not penetrate deeper and could only wander the surface. A slight intent of resistance emanated from the formation diagram, and those lines suddenly took on a chilly killing intent, gleaming like the cold light reflected off blade edges.
A treasure of this caliber had long since birthed a trace of spiritual awareness. Possessing a will of its own, it was unwilling to be easily subdued.
Shi Yu felt no fear, knowing that if the diagram wanted to kill her, it would not have needed to draw her divine sense inside. Sure enough, the lines—like cold-gleaming blade edges—swiftly swept toward her like a net, nearly airtight. Yet right before making contact, they ground to a sudden halt, stopping three feet away from her.
Squinting at the intricate web of interwoven lines, she knew the test had begun. She rapidly scanned the array runes from top to bottom and left to right. Thoughts raced through her sea of consciousness as she separated and untangled these array runes in her mind like untangling a skein of yarn.
Unsure of how much time had passed, she raised her eyes slightly and reached out, plucking one of the array runes.
Zheng!
Ripples vibrated outward, and the overwhelming array runes swiftly dissolved away.
Immediately after, an even larger net swept over, stopping right in front of Shi Yu.
Thus, without a trace of impatience, Shi Yu untangled the "nets" and "yarn" time and time again. Finally, the space turned completely empty and vast. From within the formation space, a faint sensation of joy transmitted outward, and Shi Yu felt a powerful connection bind her to the formation diagram.
At the same time, she learned the name of this formation diagram: "Nine Underworlds Diagram."
She had successfully subdued it.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Shi Yu withdrew her divine sense. Opening her eyes, she saw Qingzhou, Ji Yu, and Mo Tong staring at her without blinking.
“Sister! Did you succeed?!” Ji Yu asked impatiently the moment he saw her open her eyes.
Shi Yu nodded. “How much time passed while my divine sense was inside?”
Ji Yu blinked his bright, moist eyes. “Didn't you just close your eyes and open them right away?”
Shi Yu fell silent. In that formation space, it had felt as though a vast length of time had passed, yet to outsiders, it was merely an instant. The Nine Underworlds Diagram was truly miraculous.
Having stowed away this treasure, she was just about to suggest searching the nearby area for anything else useful to take when she acutely sensed an extremely subtle trace of killing intent leaking out nearby. Reacting with lightning speed, Shi Yu flicked a spirit talisman from between her fingers, sending it shooting toward that spot as she called out, “Who's there?!”
The spirit talisman exploded, setting off a wave of scattering flames.
A gaunt cultivator with a gourd artifact hanging from his waist and a treasure mirror in hand stepped out from behind a tree. He was precisely the person who had tried to seize the Nine Nether Sword back in Senior White Bones' palace.
Shi Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. “It's you.”
As she spoke, her gaze swept across the treasure mirror in the gaunt cultivator's hand. For him to find this place so quickly, he must have relied on the divine ability of that mirror.
The gaunt cultivator sneered, ignoring Shi Yu completely. His cold, sinister eyes locked onto Qingzhou. “Will you hand over the Nine Nether Sword of your own accord, or shall I take it myself?”
Behind him, a companion followed out, glancing contemptuously at Shi Yu and the others. “Big Brother, unexpected shifts have occurred throughout this secret realm. Those palaces and buildings somehow completely vanished. We should settle this quickly and leave this place as soon as possible.”
Hearing this, Shi Yu knew they had not witnessed her claiming the formation diagram just now. Exchanging a glance with Qingzhou, she already had a plan in mind.
These two had cultivations far surpassing the four of them. In a direct head-on clash, they were clearly no match. However, if they caught the enemies off guard and trapped them within the Nine Underworlds Diagram, they might still stand a chance.
The gaunt cultivator nodded, putting away his treasure mirror and unhooking the gourd from his waist. “Since you refuse to hand it over willingly, this Daoist will just have to take it myself!”
With that, he slapped the gourd and folded his hands before his chest in a lotus seal. The gourd floated in midair, inhaling and exhaling before suddenly swelling to the size of a person. The mouth of the gourd contracted and then expanded, spewing forth a phantom beast head! After the first beast head erupted, a second and third poured out in rapid succession—in just a few breaths, a full twelve beast heads had manifested!
“Roar—Roar!”
The twelve beast heads roared in turn, but taking advantage of this brief gap, Shi Yu raised her hand and threw out a yellowed object.
The simple, ancient Nine Underworlds Diagram flew into midair and unrolled on its own, spinning rapidly as brilliant spiritual light flashed within it, suddenly erupting with an extraordinarily intense radiance. Everywhere the light touched was imbued with a bleak, killing aura. This icy aura seemed to be passed down from ancient times, steeped in the desolation of ages, causing everyone to daze for a split second.
The gaunt cultivator and his companion felt colorful streams of light surging continuously around them. Before they could even react, their surrounding environment completely transformed.
Shi Yu sat cross-legged on the ground, her divine sense connected to the Nine Underworlds Diagram above her head as her hands continuously formed hand seals.
“Suppress!” she shouted coldly. The formation diagram pressed downward rapidly in midair, and the surrounding spiritual energy seemed instantly drained away, as if all the energy of heaven and earth had frozen still at her command.
Deprived of their supply of spiritual energy, the twelve beast heads roared in unwilling frustration before immediately dissipating into nothingness.
Both shocked and enraged, the gaunt cultivator barked, “Tricks and child's play!”
“Feel free to experience this child's play for yourself then,” Shi Yu replied with an icy gaze, pouring a steady stream of spiritual energy into the formation diagram.
Her current cultivation was limited, and having just subdued the Nine Underworlds Diagram, she was unfamiliar with it, unable to execute many of its variations. At most, she could exert only ten to twenty percent of its power. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to deal with the situation at hand.
Rate on N.U.
