The Spirit Beast Mountain Range was enormous — even a martial cultivator could not see its entirety.
But the Situ World Spirit Gate had long since prepared for this.
As the younger generation of the Situ World Spirit Gate spread out beyond the mountain range, Situ Tingye gripped an ancient command token and began forming hand seals, channeling his energy into it.
Hummm—
A massive formation materialized in the void, its surface like a mirror, reflecting the entire mountain range with perfect clarity so that every corner could be seen.
This formation had been laid down by the Situ World Spirit Gate's founding ancestor.
Hummm—
Suddenly, a point of light appeared within the formation.
"Spirit beasts — spirit beasts carrying formations!"
"They appeared so quickly?"
Everyone was overjoyed, especially the people of the Situ World Spirit Gate.
Spirit beasts were plentiful, but those that emanated this kind of glow were the ones that harbored formations within them.
The last time spirit beasts carrying formations had appeared was fifty years ago, and they had ultimately been hunted down by Situ Jingchuan. Moreover, those beasts had only emerged during the latter stages of the hunt.
Yet this time, people had barely stepped inside before spirit beasts carrying formations were already appearing. It was simply staggering.
This could only mean one thing — among the current generation of geniuses, there were individuals of extraordinary caliber.
Hummm—
Hummm—
Hummm—
But right after that, lights continued to appear, one after another.
And each glow was brighter than the last.
In the blink of eye, over a hundred pillars of light erupted simultaneously.
The lights formed columns that shot skyward from across the mountain range, creating a spectacle the likes of which no one had ever witnessed.
And every single one of them represented a spirit beast carrying a formation.
But according to ancient records, the total number of barrier formations the founding ancestor had hidden throughout the Spirit Beast Mountain Range numbered just over a hundred.
Accounting for those already captured by hunters in the past, and now seeing what was appearing before them, it was nearly every formation the founding ancestor had left behind in this mountain range — all surfacing at this very moment.
Did that not mean that if someone could slay all of these spirit beasts, they would claim every last formation in one fell swoop?
"My Lord Tingye, how can this be?"
The members of the Situ World Spirit Gate were each and every one of them stunned by the sight before them, their eyes turning to Situ Tingye.
But compared to them, Situ Tingye was so excited that his hands were trembling.
"How can this be?"
"Naturally, it is because the younger generation of our Situ World Spirit Gate possess outstanding talent. The formations left behind by our ancestor sensed them and released these formation-bearing spirit beasts in response."
"Heaven wills the rise of our Situ World Spirit Gate — this is truly heaven willing the rise of our Situ World Spirit Gate!"
Situ Tingye laughed with elation, and upon hearing his words, the others of the Situ World Spirit Gate were equally thrilled.
Even the onlookers shared in their excitement, for they all belonged to the True Dragon Star Domain and lived under the Situ World Spirit Gate's dominion. If the Situ World Spirit Gate could grow stronger, their own confidence would swell as well.
And so, excitement and cheering almost immediately erupted throughout the crowd of spectators.
They seemed to already glimpse a tomorrow in which the Situ World Spirit Gate would blaze with brilliance and soar to unprecedented heights.
But there was one person whose eyes were filled with regret.
That person was Tang Xiu. He had indeed come to watch the spectacle, and his request to enter had been nothing more than a casual attempt — he would not have cared if the Situ World Spirit Gate refused.
But now, with so many formation-bearing spirit beasts appearing, even he found himself drooling with envy.
These were no ordinary formations — they were formations left behind by the Situ World Spirit Gate's founding ancestor.
The founding ancestor of the Situ World Spirit Gate was a truly monumental figure.
These formations were treasures beyond compare, the kind that could never be replicated.
"Damn it all — if I had known this, I would have offered a supreme treasure just for the chance to enter."
The more Tang Xiu thought about it, the more he regretted it. If he had known, he should have spared no cost to secure his way into this mountain range.
But it was too late now. He knew that under no circumstances would the Situ World Spirit Gate allow outsiders to set foot inside at this point.
The Situ World Spirit Gate would never permit formations left by their founding ancestor to fall into anyone else's hands.
But soon, ordinary spirit beasts also began to appear, and their numbers were staggering — more than a hundred times what was usual, and the count was still climbing.
"The ordinary spirit beasts have multiplied too, and by so many — this is unbelievable, truly unbelievable!"
"This generation of juniors in our Situ World Spirit Gate truly deserves to be called the strongest in all of our history!"
The members of the Situ World Spirit Gate grew ever more excited.
And at that moment, the juniors of the Situ World Spirit Gate had also detected the presence of those formation-bearing spirit beasts.
They began hunting the spirit beasts around them, but these beasts had become extraordinarily difficult to take down.
Even the success rate for hunting ordinary spirit beasts was extremely low, and as for those carrying formations — virtually no one could succeed.
As time passed, juniors even began to be seriously injured by the spirit beasts.
"The spirit beasts this time are incredibly powerful — and the ones carrying formations are unfathomably strong."
The members of the Situ World Spirit Gate started to grow worried.
Though the spirit beasts that had appeared were deeply tempting, they were also nigh impossible to hunt.
If they could not be hunted, then all of this was ultimately meaningless.
"Don't panic. Have faith in them. They are the strongest generation of juniors our Situ World Spirit Gate has ever produced. If even they cannot slay these spirit beasts, then no one can."
Situ Tingye spoke.
"My Lord Tingye speaks truly."
Situ Tingye's words were like a calming draught, and the worry among the Situ World Spirit Gate's members eased considerably.
They resumed their watch with focused attention.
"Something seems off about those spirit beasts."
Before long, people noticed that the spirit beasts had begun moving together, all heading in the same direction — toward the center of the mountain range.
"Something is definitely different. These spirit beasts are acting as though they're organized — they're gathering."
"Could it be that among the formation-bearing spirit beasts, there is one capable of communicating with all the others — one that is issuing commands to them?"
Speculation rippled through the crowd.