Breaking the Star-Connecting Formation, Returning to the Mysterious Sheath

The night was as dark as ink, and the wind in the depths of the forest carried a chilling sound.

Xiao Yunsheng, Shen Lingxi, and Su Mobai led more than twenty rescued disciples from various sects, proceeding stealthily without daring to delay for even a moment.

The group stopped at a hidden cave at the foot of a cliff.

Most of the rescued disciples were poisoned by Gu, their faces were pale, and their breath was weak. As soon as they entered the stone cave, they collapsed to the ground, but none of them complained.

Su Mobai distributed all the remaining Qingzhang grass from Qingzhu Mountain and applied it to the most seriously injured disciple.

"Senior Brother Xiao, the Jade Toad Sect will soon seal off all the passes. With so many of us, we're too conspicuous and will be caught sooner or later."

Xiao Yunsheng gazed at the thick, impenetrable night outside, his fingertips lightly tapping the stone wall as he rapidly mentally reconstructed the entire defense map of Yanyu Mountain.

Shen Lingxi walked slowly to his side, her voice soft and gentle:

"Have you already figured out a way out?"

Xiao Yunsheng turned to look at her, nodded slightly, and pointed to a neglected blank area on the defense map:

"here."

Shen Lingxi and Su Mobai approached at the same time.

It was an area located between Black Wind Valley and Forgotten River Forest. There were no markings on the map, only a blurry ink mark, as if it had been deliberately hidden.

"This is..." Su Mobai frowned, "There is no record of this area in the records of the mountains and rivers of my Qingzhu Mountain."

"It's not that there were no records," Xiao Yunsheng said in a deep voice, "it was erased."

He paused, his voice carrying a hint of seriousness:

"Senior Brother Su, you will lead the wounded to take the small path on the east side, bypassing the main road, and wait at Qingshipo outside the mountain. That is a blind spot in the Jade Toad Sect's defenses, so it is safe for the time being."

Su Mobai was startled: "And what about you, Senior Brother Xiao?"

"The Jade Toad Sect has lost its defense map, so they will definitely concentrate all their forces to block the pass..." Xiao Yunsheng said, glancing at Shen Lingxi...

Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Lingxi replied in perfect unison, "I'll go with you."

Su Mobai looked at the two of them and guessed that they must be heading to that area. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"Alright! I'll be waiting for you at Qingshipo!"

Half an hour later, the group parted ways.

Su Mobai quietly led the wounded away, while Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi turned around and stepped into the deliberately erased blank area.

The mountain wind swirled the mist, sweeping across this unnamed valley before us.

Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi stood side by side, their feet on a gentle slope inlaid with dark black prisms, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Each black stone is half-embedded in the earth's veins, its surface engraved with intricate runes. They are connected by an invisible aura, and their seemingly chaotic arrangement actually corresponds to the trajectory of stars.

The twin sword pendants on his chest were slightly warm, the strongest warning he had received since entering the mountains, apart from the old traces of his father.

Shen Lingxi's fingertips traced the runes on the nearest black stone, her expression hardening slightly: "These are the curse runes of the Great Cheng Dynasty!"

Just as Shen Lingxi withdrew her finger, a black stone beside her was hit by pebbles swept down by the wind!

With a soft "click," the black stone sank slightly, and dozens of surrounding black stones instantly lit up with dazzling magical light, as violent magical power surged up and then fell silent in an instant.

The mere touch of a pebble stirred up the patterns across the entire slope.

"Another formation?" Shen Lingxi crouched down, measuring the distance between the black stones with her fingertips, her gaze sweeping across the entire slope. "This is a natural stone formation!"

"A natural stone formation?" Xiao Yunsheng's knowledge was far inferior to Shen Lingxi's. He also bent down to examine the black stones, but he couldn't figure it out.

Shen Lingxi's fingertips quickly traced across the ground, leaving behind a series of uniformly deep and shallow engravings. In just a few dozen breaths, she had completely replicated the black stone arrangement of the entire array onto the ground.

"The core of the formation lies within the seven main stones at the deepest point. Only by triggering all the black stones in the correct order, allowing them to return to their proper positions, will the core open. If the order is wrong, or the force is applied incorrectly, shattering any one of the black stones, the entire formation will explode!"

"There are 372 black stones in total, and only one path is available!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunsheng didn't frown. "According to you, the margin for error is zero?"

Shen Lingxi nodded, but a charming smile quickly appeared on her lips. "Elder Bai Xuan's Gui Xuan Sword has come in handy!"

Xiao Yunsheng didn't understand what Shen Lingxi meant, but he still slowly drew the Guixuan Sword from his back.

He hasn't used the Guixuan Sword since he crossed the Xuanlin River!

"Your Flowing Cloud Sword is too sharp; it's easy to shatter rocks," Shen Lingxi said with a smile. "But this Returning Profound Sword has a calm and concentrated sword aura, which is just right for use."

Xiao Yunsheng immediately understood, quickly drew his sword, and a murderous aura emanated from the scabbard!

Shen Lingxi pointed her finger at the black stone slope: "I'll help you lock onto each black stone node in sequence to stabilize the fluctuations in the formation. This will test your sword control skills, and you can only land on the stone path I've positioned; there can be no deviation!"

"Let's begin!" Xiao Yunsheng didn't waste any words. He lightly touched the ground with his toes and darted out without causing any unnecessary tremors.

The Guixuan Sword, carrying a wisp of concentrated sword energy, precisely struck the groove on the side of the first black stone!

Click!

The black stone sank steadily by half an inch, the runes lit up, and the energy was precisely transmitted to the node of the second black stone along the veins of the earth!

Xiao Yunsheng landed steadily, placing one foot on the first black stone!

Clearly, this demonstrates his ultimate control over force, angle, and sword technique!

Shen Lingxi smiled slightly, always inexplicably trusting the young man in blue before her.

Immediately afterwards, the second sword, the third sword... Xiao Yunsheng's figure weaved among the black stones, the Guixuan Sword accurately hitting the predetermined black stone!

He incorporated the essence of the Flowing Clouds Three Styles into each of his thrusts!

With a swift and decisive movement, he deftly evaded the enemy's advance, swiftly set the course, and cleared the way through the chaos, without the slightest hesitation!

Shen Lingxi followed closely behind, the two of them taking turns attacking and defending, one calculating and the other steady, moving with ease.

Three hundred and seventy-two black stones, three hundred and seventy-two swords!

Not a single sword strike went astray, not a single step was misstepped.

As the final sword strike landed, the seven main stones at the deepest point lit up simultaneously, and the black stones on the entire slope sank down one by one, the runes connecting to form a dazzling star map!

Then, with a loud rumble, the ground slowly cracked open, revealing a passage just wide enough for two people to pass through.

The formation is broken!

Xiao Yunsheng sheathed his sword, his fingertips brushing against the scabbard of the Guixuan Sword. The remaining white Xuan aura on the sword trembled slightly, as if in response.

Shen Lingxi walked to the entrance of the passage and found that the passage was long and the inner walls were covered with many characters!

Just then, shouts and footsteps came from the distant dense forest, clearly coming in pursuit of the broken formation.

Xiao Yunsheng grabbed Shen Lingxi's wrist and said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

The two slipped into the passage, and the stone door behind them slowly closed!

Tianque Sect, Nine Swords Platform, the residence of Ling Xuzi, the sect leader of Tianque Sect.

On the dark jade steps, he held a secret report from Yanyu Mountain between his fingers, listening expressionlessly to the report from his disciples below.

The secret report detailed Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi's exploits: breaking the Xuanchan Formation, storming Black Wind Valley, rescuing disciples from various sects, and breaking the Zhenzhou Lianxing Formation.

Ling Xuzi remained silent throughout, only his fingertips paused slightly on the four characters "burning and circulating curse power" on the secret report, and a ripple of emotion, unnoticed by anyone, flashed across his eyes.

At the same time, thousands of miles away, in the old capital of Dacheng, deep in the Huangling Mountains.

The Dragon Cauldron, sealed for a hundred years, suddenly trembled violently, and the Qilin pattern engraved on its body lit up with golden-red flames, while the earth veins in the mountain belly emitted a muffled rumble!

The stone gate of the forbidden area suppressed by the Dragon Cauldron of the Nation, which had been closed for a hundred years, slowly rose, and a burning curse power of the same origin as Yanyu Mountain quietly spread out.