In this world, there existed something called a Soul-Binding Spirit Lamp.
Not every cultivator had the qualifications to refine a Soul-Binding Spirit Lamp, but most cultivators of any standing possessed one.
Thus, the moment Golden Bell Ancestor's Soul-Binding Spirit Lamp shattered, the rebel faction already knew the news.
However, the three great half-god ancestors deliberated and made the decision to suppress the information.
Yet before they could even digest the terrible news of Golden Bell Ancestor's demise, another calamity—the attack on the Yuchi clan—spread through the ranks.
This time, the rebel forces were dealt a devastating blow.
Meng Qianqiu and the other half-god ancestor both desperately tried to persuade Ancestor Yuchi, urging him to consider the bigger picture. Perhaps the news of the Yuchi clan being attacked was merely false intelligence—a smokescreen.
But would Ancestor Yuchi listen to them? His clan was his foundation. If that foundation crumbled, what meaning would the bigger picture hold?
No matter how they reasoned with him, Ancestor Yuchi remained absolutely resolute, insisting on his departure.
In the end, a compromise was reached: Ancestor Yuchi would take a batch of clan elites and return, while the main force remained stationed outside the True Martial Sacred Ground.
Seated within the flying vessel, Ancestor Yuchi contemplated that terrifying possibility, and his eyelids twitched violently.
Outside reinforcements?
This was something the rebellion had not accounted for at all. If outside reinforcements truly existed, that would be anything but good news.
Ancestor Yuchi's mood grew even more agitated.
At that very moment, the flying vessel they were aboard suddenly seemed to lose speed, as though it had struck something invisible. Its momentum noticeably faltered.
"Ancestor, what is that?" someone cried out in alarm.
"Hm? It seems we've gone off course—this isn't the original route!"
The Yuchi clan elites aboard the vessel began shouting in confusion, for they had realized that their vessel had suddenly entered a completely unfamiliar space.
This space seemed to contain countless passages, and those passages branched off into even more passages, stretching on endlessly as though they could never be navigated.
Ancestor Yuchi's heart sank. His experience and knowledge were vast, and one glance told him that the vessel had entered some kind of forbidden zone.
Either they had accidentally stumbled into a secret realm, or they had blundered into a formation.
And judging from his assessment, it was far more likely to be a formation. Ancestor Yuchi drew a sharp breath and barked, "Everyone, stay calm. Don't panic!"
"Ancestor, what's happening?"
Ancestor Yuchi snorted coldly. "We're under attack. Everyone, stay sharp. I'm going out to investigate—keep the vessel under control and follow my lead."
Ancestor Yuchi was, after all, a man of extraordinary ability and courage. Though startled, he did not lose his composure.
His figure flickered, and he materialized outside the vessel. Once outside, he could see clearly—they had indeed entered a formation. It was a spatial labyrinth of sorts.
Ancestor Yuchi let out a derisive snort. "You think a formation of this level can trap me?"
He brought his massive palm down, and from its center erupted a series of ripple-like shockwaves resembling lightning bolts. The void shuddered and tore apart completely.
The spatial corridors before them collapsed one after another, crumbling right before their eyes. The spectacle was nothing short of staggering.
Every single Yuchi clan cultivator cheered in jubilation. As expected of their Ancestor—the moment he acted, the results were nothing short of extraordinary.
This formation was, of course, the spatial array manifested by Jiang Chen's Nine Palaces Enigma Map.
Since Jiang Chen had first risen to prominence, he had used this formation to trap many powerful cultivators. Yet this formation had never been directly shattered by brute force before.
Ancestor Yuchi had simply overwhelmed all technique with raw power, demolishing the spatial formation with nothing but his overwhelming Divine Ability. Even Jiang Chen himself had to admit a grudging respect for that.
However, this spatial formation was merely a false space conjured by the Nine Palaces Enigma Map, and it possessed no significant defensive properties of its own.
Therefore, having this false space demolished posed little threat to Jiang Chen.
At the very least, it had absolutely no impact on the Nine Palaces Enigma Map itself.
After blasting through the spatial labyrinth, Ancestor Yuchi let out an eerie laugh and waved his hand. "Follow me!"
But before Ancestor Yuchi could even begin to celebrate, his gaze suddenly froze and his eyelid twitched uncontrollably once more.
He saw a figure—an exceptionally striking, thoroughly familiar figure.
Sacred Mistress Ningyan!
Any cultivator of the True Martial Divine Kingdom would know this woman—who could possibly be unaware of Sacred Mistress Ningyan? Though Ancestor Yuchi held the lofty status of a half-god ancestor and was far, far her senior in age, he still dared not underestimate this representative figure of the True Martial Sacred Ground.
But wasn't this woman supposed to be at the Spiritual Medicine base right now? For her to appear here—did that mean the attack on the Yuchi clan was connected to her?
Did that mean Golden Bell Ancestor's annihilation was also linked to this woman?