Cang Li, unaware of the truth, had already arrived before the formation. He grabbed a Heavenly Dragon Realm Spirit World Master of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace.
"Go. Let my people out."
"I... I can't do that. The formation isn't controlled by us — it's the Palace Master."
As soon those words left the elder of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace, it confirmed once and for all that it was Jie Tianran driving the grand controlling formation.
"Damn it."
Cang Li shoved the elder aside, then threw a punch straight at the dark-red barrier of light that imprisoned Chu Feng and the others.
The punch landed, sending ripples surging in every direction, yet the dark-red light remained completely unscathed.
Seeing this, the fury in Cang Li's eyes only intensified, but he did not strike again.
Instead, he flicked his wrist and produced a talisman paper. Activating it, a spatial gate opened directly before him.
He stepped through the gate and entered the teleportation tunnel.
The tunnel was short — after only a moment, the exit appeared.
And when he stepped out from it...
He found himself within a vast spatial world.
This spatial world sat at the very apex of the Immortal Star Domain's grand formation.
Within this spatial world, there was no scenery — formations blanketed every inch.
Of course, large numbers of personnel could be seen everywhere as well.
Not only had numerous experts of the Prison Sect gathered here, but also a great many Spirit World Masters of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace.
Cang Li flew swiftly and soon arrived at the central region of the formation world.
The ground below was no longer covered in formations but dotted with formation cores instead.
Within each formation core sat a large number of Seven Realms Sacred Palace Spirit World Masters.
But in the very central formation core, there was only a single person.
That person was Jie Tianran.
Jie Tianran sat with eyes closed, his left hand forming seals while his right hand gripped a golden compass.
The compass was ancient and peculiar — it was not meant for treasure-seeking but for detecting formations.
Above Jie Tianran floated row upon row of golden talisman papers.
Each talisman radiated an aura of primordial antiquity, harboring immense formations within — extraordinarily precious.
And right now, there were over ten thousand of these talismans.
All Jie Tianran had to do was curl a finger, and one talisman would drop into the compass.
The compass and the formation core where Jie Tianran sat would flash with a strange light simultaneously — though only for a brief instant.
"Jie Tianran, you damn well let my Prison Sect's juniors out!"
Cang Li pointed at Jie Tianran and cursed furiously.
Jie Tianran raised his head slightly, sweeping a sidelong glance at Cang Li before closing his eyes once more.
He continued his previous channeling technique, but still spoke: "And here I thought you were a man of the Prison Sect."
"Can't you see that's your Prison Sect's Sacred Artifact doing this?"
"What does it have to do with my Seven Realms Sacred Palace?"
Jie Tianran's tone carried open impatience — he had not the slightest regard for Cang Li.
"I don't care about any of that."
"Even if it's the Sacred Artifact's power, you're the one who triggered it."
"You figure out a way to fix this!"
Cang Li roared.
"My Seven Realms Sacred Palace is currently helping your Prison Sect awaken its Sacred Artifact."
"If you're unhappy with that, just say so."
"My Seven Realms Sacred Palace will leave immediately."
Jie Tianran said.
"Leave?"
"Not until you let my Prison Sect's juniors out — nobody's going anywhere."
Cang Li said coldly.
However, as soon as those words left his mouth, every member of the Seven Realms Sacred Palace within the spatial world — all except Jie Tianran — turned their gaze toward Cang Li.
Clear displeasure shone in their eyes.
At that moment, a figure appeared before Cang Li.
It was Baili Xukong.
"Lord Cang Li."
Even as a prominent figure representing the Prison Sect's New Faction, Baili Xukong still offered a respectful bow before continuing: "I understand your concern for our Prison Sect juniors' safety."
"But look — our juniors appear to be unharmed for now."
As Baili Xukong spoke, he gestured downward.
Below was a large observation formation, and through it one could clearly see the situation around the Sacred Artifact.
Those Prison Sect juniors enveloped in the dark-red light, though their faces were etched with agony...
Judging by experience, they were indeed all unharmed.
All except the dark-skinned young man.