The big-headed freak didn't stand on ceremony. Without a word, he led the three Ancient Demons straight for the stone steps marked "Demon-Suppressing Tower."
The square-faced cultivator cupped his fists at the scholar as well, the Heaven-Covering Bracelet clutched in his hand. His figure flickered several times before gradually receding along the central stone staircase.
The scholar didn't immediately lead the remaining people away. Instead, he watched as the freak and the square-faced cultivator finally vanished into the white mist at the top of the steps before withdrawing his gaze. He turned to an old man beside him and said calmly:
"Nephew Feng, how many sets of formation flags and discs do we have left?"
"Reporting to the Grand Elder. As per your orders, after each restriction was broken we left a temporary formation at the site. By now, aside from the Purple Star Seven Star Grand Formation that cost several hundred thousand spirit stones to acquire, we have no other formation-planting tools at hand," the old man replied respectfully.
"Mm. Then deploy this Purple Star Seven Star Formation here. Also, release the pack of tiger-head wasps and the two blood-sucking bats into the formation," the scholar ordered without hesitation.
"Yes!" The old man immediately agreed, patting his waist. A stack of formation flags glowing purple appeared in his hands, and he strode toward one side of the plaza.
Only then did the scholar turn to glance down the mountain, his expression shifting uncertainly as he stood in silence, lost in thought.
An hour later, the scholar and his group had also vanished onto another stone staircase.
Meanwhile, at the mountain's midsection, tens of thousands of zhang below, Han Li and his party had just passed through the massive archway of the Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators. The Ye family cultivators had set up a rather clever illusion formation there — against Core Formation cultivators, it would have been enough to trap them for days. But against this many Nascent Soul cultivators, it was casually swept aside by Old Demon Qian, Tian Qi, and the others almost instantly, without even managing to delay them for a moment.
Upon seeing the massive archway of the Gate of Ten Thousand Cultivators, Old Demon Qian and the others no longer had any doubt that this place was Kunwu Mountain. Immediately, apart from Han Li and his two companions, the rest all became exceedingly excited.
The group promptly gave chase up the mountain.
Following the stone steps upward, they inevitably ran into the other restrictions the Ye family had set up. Far from giving Old Demon Qian and the others any thought of retreating, these only made them more impatient.
But clearly, each restriction the Ye family had placed was more powerful than the last. Although Old Demon Qian and his companions relied on their formidable magical power to ultimately break through them one by one with brute force, they still ended up being delayed for some time.
After a full day and night, they finally arrived before the enormous stone hall where the stone puppets had appeared.
"Fellow Daoists, be careful. If restrictions have been set up here too, they'll be even trickier to deal with. Those people ahead really were extravagant — carrying such a large stock of formation tools. It seems even if they truly aren't cultivators from the Ten Great Sects, they must belong to some other formidable power," Tian Qi said, his expression slightly grave as he gazed at the ancient hall faintly visible ahead.
"Hmph. To have that kind of extravagance — to even refine formation flags and discs for the Ice Flame Two-Pole Formation and deploy them — well, even among our Ten Great Sects, not every one could manage that. I'm actually rather curious about the true identities of those people ahead," Old Demon Qian said coldly.
"Still, in chasing them all this way, those people have effectively been breaking through Kunwu Mountain's restrictions for us. It's worked out to our benefit. Even if we're held up by their temporary restrictions along the way, we'll definitely catch up," Tian Qi said confidently.
"Let's hope so," Old Demon Qian replied flatly.
As they spoke, the dozen or so cultivators burst into the great hall.
The stone hall was littered with the remains of stone puppets, startling everyone into halting as they looked around cautiously.
"There are no restriction fluctuations. Nothing was set up here after all — that's quite unexpected," Tian Qi said hesitantly after sweeping the hall with his spiritual sense.
"That's perfectly normal! I'd wager their formation-planting tools have been nearly exhausted by now," Elder Fu said with a chuckle.
"But what are these things? I've never heard of puppets made of stone." One of the five Nascent Soul cultivators, a burly man, furrowed his brow after scanning the debris on the ground.
"These aren't stone puppets. The correct term is 'stone spirits' — a secret art in which the refined souls of demon beasts were forcibly implanted into specially crafted stone statues. It was quite prevalent in ancient times, but for reasons unknown, the art was suddenly lost to history."
One person calmly bent down, picked up a piece of rubble from the ground, and examined it while speaking in an unhurried manner. It turned out to be none other than Han Li, who had rarely spoken since departing from the stone pavilion.
"Oh? Fellow Daoist Han knows of this ancient secret art as well?" Tian Qi looked at Han Li with surprise.
"It's nothing. I happen to have some knowledge of puppetry. It's just a shame these are all damaged — otherwise I'd really like to study them properly." As he spoke, Han Li casually tossed the stone aside. It landed on the bluestone floor with a thud and rolled several times.