At this point, Xuan Yangzi paused slightly, a hint of helplessness on his face: "But the Qingfeng Ruins have a fatal limitation—each opening lasts only one day."
"Within a day, even if someone knows the method to break the formation, there simply isn't enough time to complete the break. Before the formation is broken, the ruins close. Therefore, for tens of thousands of years, although countless cultivators have entered the ruins, no one has ever been able to break this ancient trapping formation, nor has anyone been able to obtain the treasures within."
Far away in the Qingfeng Ruins, Qin Changsheng, upon hearing Xuan Yangzi's words, instantly had his calm expression replaced by ecstatic joy.
A time limit? One day isn't enough to break it?
This might be an insurmountable chasm for others, but for him, it's nothing!
He held the golden token [Exchange] in his hand; he could exchange positions with his avatar, Hu Nan.
Not to mention three days, even ten days, half a month, or even a month, he could easily leave.
Qin Changsheng suppressed his joy and listened intently to every word coming from the sect leader's hall, afraid of missing any detail of breaking the formation.
Xuan Yangzi explained in detail how to break the ancient trapping and killing formation: "This ancient trapping and killing formation has three array eyes, all hidden within stone troughs in the east, west, and south of the valley, corresponding to the three spiritual energies of metal, wood, and water, respectively."
"You must first use your own spiritual energy to probe and find the specific locations of the three array eyes. Do not touch them rashly, otherwise you will trigger the killing formation."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and drew a diagram of the array eyes' distribution in the air. Golden spiritual light outlined the three hidden points, clearly visible: "After finding the array eyes, you must simultaneously inject the corresponding attribute of spiritual energy. Inject metal spiritual energy into the metal eye, wood spiritual energy into the wood eye, and water spiritual energy into the water eye. All three must be applied simultaneously without the slightest deviation, otherwise the formation will instantly become violent, its power multiplied."
Fairy Qingling added, "When injecting spiritual energy, the concentration must be carefully controlled—neither too strong nor too weak. Too strong an energy will destroy the array's core, triggering a killing formation; too weak, and the core won't activate, preventing the breaking process from starting. Furthermore, the energy injection rate into the three cores must be consistent, proceeding gradually for a full day and night to initially loosen the array's restrictions."
"Also, there are hidden warning runes around the cores. Before touching them, these runes must be erased with spiritual energy; otherwise, the array will be alerted, leading to a predicament."
Qingling Fairy paused, then added a crucial detail, "I've studied ancient texts on formations. They record that when breaking this formation, a low-level spirit-gathering formation can be used to stabilize the output of spiritual energy, greatly increasing the success rate and reducing time consumption."
Xuanyangzi nodded, giving Qingling Fairy an approving look, and continued, "Junior Sister Qingling's addition is extremely important. After the spiritual energy is fully injected and the formation's core loosens, recite the breaking incantation: 'Heaven and earth's spiritual energy gathers, the trapping and killing dissipates, the Daoist rhyme guides the way back, the formation opens to reveal its true form.' Repeat this three times, and the formation will slowly dissolve, the spiritual light will fade, and the restrictions will become ineffective."
Hu Nan listened respectfully, memorizing every detail spoken by Xuan Yangzi and Qingling Fairy. From the location of the array's core and the method of injecting spiritual energy, to the handling of warning runes, the incantation for breaking the array, and even the supplementary method for the spirit-gathering array provided by Qingling Fairy, nothing was overlooked. Simultaneously, he continuously relayed this information to Qin Changsheng.
Far away in the Qingfeng Ruins, Qin Changsheng listened intently, rapidly organizing the steps to break the array in his mind. He memorized the distribution of the array's core, the control of spiritual energy, and the incantation for breaking the array, already having a complete plan in mind.
He looked up at the valley shrouded in spiritual light, the joy in his eyes gradually fading.
Inside the Sect Leader's Hall, Xuan Yangzi and Qingling Fairy continued to explain the precautions for breaking the array in detail, occasionally supplementing each other's explanations. Hu Nan listened attentively, occasionally asking a question or two relevant to his own cultivation level, which the two patiently answered without the slightest impatience.
"Thank you, Sect Leader! Thank you, Fairy Qingling!" Hu Nan cupped his hands in thanks to Xuan Yangzi and Fairy Qingling above.
"Alright, you may leave now!" Xuan Yangzi waved his hand.
...
Inside the Qingfeng Ruins.
Qin Changsheng looked up at the large array of interwoven spiritual light before him, took a deep breath, and walked steadily towards the array.
He didn't rush in rashly. Instead, following Xuan Yangzi's instructions, he first released a weak wisp of divine sense, carefully probing the fluctuations of spiritual energy outside the array, searching for hidden warning runes.
A moment later, Qin Changsheng sensed dozens of subtle warning runes hidden beneath the stone pillars at the edge of the array and in the cracks of the rubble. These runes were concealed within the spiritual energy; without careful examination, they were easily triggered.
He first gathered a wisp of gentle spiritual energy, slowly extending it and precisely placing it on each warning rune. The spiritual energy gently enveloped and erased the runes bit by bit, his movements delicate and cautious, careful not to disturb the formation and trigger its killing array restrictions.
Half an hour later, all the warning runes were erased, and the fluctuations in spiritual energy around the formation became much calmer, no longer radiating intense aggression.
Qin Changsheng's figure flashed, silently stepping into the formation's range. His spiritual energy circulated around him, constantly alert to changes in the formation. Following Xuan Yangzi's instructions, he began to probe the formation's core.
Half an hour later, Qin Changsheng found three hidden stone troughs in the east, south, and west directions.
These three stone troughs were covered by thick dust and rubble; without Xuan Yangzi's guidance, they would have been completely undetectable.
Qin Changsheng bent down, carefully clearing away the dust and pebbles from the stone troughs. Three troughs of varying sizes gradually appeared, their inner walls engraved with corresponding attribute runes, representing the three elements of metal, wood, and water—the three key points of the ancient trapping and killing formation.
He didn't rush to inject spiritual energy. Instead, following Qingling Fairy's instructions, he first set up a simple, low-level spirit-gathering array around the key points.
Qin Changsheng pointed forward, and beams of spiritual light fell to the ground, outlining the runes of the spirit-gathering array. The array activated, and the surrounding spiritual energy slowly gathered, forming a gentle, stable, and pure flow of energy, providing assistance for the subsequent injection of spiritual energy and breaking the formation.
With everything prepared, Qin Changsheng sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, mind focused, and his spiritual energy circulated throughout his body, condensing into three attributes: metal, wood, and water.
"Golden eyes infuse with metal spirit, wood eyes with wood spirit, water eyes with water spirit, all simultaneously, without deviation," Qin Changsheng silently recited Xuan Yangzi's instructions, slowly channeling the spiritual energy into the array's cores.
The process of channeling the spiritual energy was extremely slow and cautious.
Qin Changsheng strictly controlled the concentration and speed of the spiritual energy, channeling the three attributes simultaneously, neither too strong nor too weak, steadily nourishing the three array cores.
Nourished by the spiritual energy, the array cores gradually glowed with a faint spiritual light, resonating with the spiritual energy of the gathering array, and the array's oppressive power slowly diminished.
Time passed slowly, and a day and a night quietly went by.
Qin Changsheng remained seated cross-legged, motionless, continuously channeling his spiritual energy into the array's core. His expression was focused and composed, maintaining a steady output even with the immense consumption of spiritual energy.
The promise made by Fairy Qingling—"to continue for a day and a night, initially loosening the array's restrictions"—had been fulfilled. The spiritual light within the array's core grew increasingly intense, while the array's light network thinned considerably.
On the second day, Qin Changsheng continued to proceed steadily, following the established steps.
He continuously channeled spiritual energy while observing the array's changes, occasionally adjusting the concentration and speed of the energy flow to ensure the three cores were always synchronized.
During this time, the array experienced two minor, violent fluctuations, both due to slight deviations in the energy flow rate. Qin Changsheng adjusted in time, stabilizing the situation and preventing the triggering of a killing formation.
On the morning of the third day, as the first rays of light pierced through the cracks in the top of the ruins, the spiritual light within the three cores reached its peak, intertwining to form a tri-colored radiance that enveloped the entire valley.
Qin Changsheng could clearly sense that the array's restrictions had loosened to their limit; the time to break the array had finally arrived.
He slowly stopped channeling spiritual energy, stood up, took a deep breath, circulated his spiritual energy, and gazed resolutely towards the valley. He recited the incantation to break the array: "Gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the trapping and killing energy dissipates; the Daoist rhyme guides the way back; the array opens to reveal its true form."
After reciting the incantation three times, the three-colored spiritual light from the three array eyes suddenly surged, shooting straight into the sky and colliding with the array's light net.
"Buzz—" A deep buzzing sound resounded throughout heaven and earth. The array's light net began to dissipate rapidly, the golden spiritual light gradually faded, and the overwhelming pressure vanished. The double restriction of trapping and killing energy, driven by the incantation, slowly dissipated.
Qin Changsheng stood quietly in place, his gaze fixed on the scene before him, a hint of relief and anticipation on his face.
As the spiritual light gradually dissipated and the formation was completely dispelled, a magnificent yet dilapidated altar appeared before him in its entirety.