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Chapter 74: Ancient Qianyou

"Linger, what happened just now? Why did it seem like you were crying over there?" Yun Qian walked over from nearby with a suspicious look on his face, followed by several other disciples from the Kaiyang Sect, all wearing similar expressions.

"Nothing, Senior Brother Yun Qian, you must have mistaken something." Tian Ling'er smiled immediately, as if nothing had happened just now.

The scene just now was only known to the few people around here—Bei Qingsi, Tian Sha, Zhongshan, and Yinglan naturally wouldn't speak out at this moment.

Just as Yun Qian was about to argue, suddenly, both Tian Sha and Bei Qingsi's gazes froze, and they looked towards the northeast direction on guard together.

Because, from the northeast direction, three people suddenly flew over.

Leading them was a woman, followed by two sword-wielding men, seemingly her subordinates. The direction they were facing was the mountain peak where Zhongshan was located. It wasn't that the three came abruptly, but rather, the way they arrived.

They flew on the wind, without flying swords, just like that, riding the wind here?

Without using magical treasures for flight, only those in the Yuanying stage could do this. Only those in the Yuanying stage could soar between heaven and earth without magical treasures. Even in the Golden Core stage, even at the peak of the Golden Core stage, it wasn't possible.

Were all three of them in the Yuanying stage?

"Yuanying stage? What are they doing here? Who are they? Which sect do they belong to? And why are there three of them?" Zhongshan's group fell silent, each one of them on high alert.

The three arrived riding the wind and gently landed in front of everyone.

The woman at the forefront was very tall, her slender legs clad in beautiful leather boots. She wore a gorgeous purple robe that accentuated her exquisite figure. Her beautiful face exuded a powerful sense of confidence, no, it was arrogance—a kind of pride filled with nobility.

The two men behind her stood with swords in hand, resembling two guard puppets. They seemed very taciturn, but no one dared to underestimate them. In the Yuanying stage? To be able to portray such a taciturn image, it could only mean that the woman in front was exceedingly noble.

"Who are you?" Tian Sha grasped his sword and asked coldly.

Tian Sha, born with arrogance, even if his cultivation was not as high as others, he was filled with a confident arrogance.

Everyone looked at the three in front of them. Zhongshan squinted his eyes slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in them because Zhongshan had just noticed that the woman at the forefront had glanced at him casually earlier. Did she know him?

The woman stood still, smiling faintly, and with a turn of her hand, she suddenly produced a spoon-shaped colorful token.

What was this?

"Kaiyang Sect Elder's Token? Are you Elder Zixun?" Yun Qian suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Elder Zixun? Zixun? Hearing this name, Zhongshan paused. Elder Zixun? Was she the Zixun Fairy? The one he encountered after the Dragon Gate Assembly, who obtained the Crimson Phoenix Scripture? The Zixun Fairy with whom he had a one-night encounter? No, it couldn't be her.

"It's not the Kaiyang Sect Elder's Token. Who are you?" Tian Sha frowned suddenly.

Glancing at Tian Sha, the woman revealed a beautiful smile and said, "I am an elder of the Yuheng Sect. My name is Gu Qianyou."

"The Yuheng Sect?" Tian Sha and Bei Qingsi both furrowed their brows slightly.

"May I borrow the token for a closer look, Elder?" Tian Sha's tone was no longer as rigid as before.

The woman smiled faintly and handed the token to the man behind her. The man immediately took the token and handed it to Tian Sha.

Tian Sha carefully examined it and then returned the token to the man behind the woman, who then gave it back to her.

"Greetings, Elder of the Alliance," Tian Sha said respectfully.

"Greetings, Elder of the Alliance," the others also bowed respectfully to the woman before them.

Zhongshan remained silent because he had no idea what an Elder of the Alliance was. He could only speculate—Alliance? A sect allied with the Kaiyang Sect? Yuheng Sect?

The Kaiyang Sect was already an upper-level sect, so why would they need to ally with another sect?

However, from this brief conversation, Zhongshan gleaned some useful information. Although he hadn't seen the Zixun Fairy again, he could be certain that she was indeed from the Kaiyang Sect and even held a position as an elder.

"What brings you here, Elder?" Tian Sha asked Gu Qianyou.

"Are you planning to break through the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation?" Gu Qianyou's eyes sparkled with wisdom.

"If you have something to say, please be direct," Tian Sha frowned at Gu Qianyou.

Glancing at Tian Sha, Gu Qianyou smiled faintly and said, "Alright, since the Yuheng Sect and the Kaiyang Sect are allied, let me be straightforward. I see that you have come here early, and you even entered the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation for a while, only to return empty-handed. I presume you are also here for the inheritance of the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, right?"

Bei Qingsi's brow furrowed slightly, but she remained silent because what she sought was not what Gu Qianyou mentioned, but merely the evidence to clear her father's name.

Staring at Gu Qianyou, Tian Sha remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I originally only speculated, but since Elder has mentioned it, does this formation indeed have a formation spirit?"

"I can't guarantee whether there is a formation spirit or not, but I imagine it does have one internally. You have already broken through the main formation. Just relying on you, can you break through this formation?" Gu Qianyou's eyes flashed with a sinister light as she spoke.

Tian Sha fell silent! The others also remained silent, as Tian Sha was the leader here.

"The formation is arranged very intricately. It's basically impossible to break without enough people. Therefore, I propose an alliance to break through this formation together. As for who obtains the formation spirit within the formation, it will depend on each individual's luck. What do you think?" Gu Qianyou smiled faintly, her eyes flashing with confidence, a strong confidence. It seemed as if she was certain Tian Sha would agree.

Frowning as he looked at the "elder" before him, Tian Sha fell silent again for a moment, then glanced around. Tian Sha squinted his eyes slightly, then finally looked at Gu Qianyou again and said, "And what about the spirit stones within the formation?"

"Since you've agreed, if we encounter spirit stones, we won't take a single one, but we'll be in charge and break through the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation together," Gu Qianyou spoke again.

"Agreed," Tian Sha nodded immediately.

With Tian Sha's promise, Gu Qianyou smiled slightly in satisfaction, "Then follow me."

After saying that, Gu Qianyou led the two people behind her towards a high mountain in the northeast.

Tian Sha and Bei Qingsi exchanged a glance, signaling for everyone to follow. Zhongshan once again boarded Yun Qian's flying sword, Tian Ling'er had Hongling, Bei Qingsi carried Yinglan, and the eleven of them flew after Gu Qianyou.

In the distance, within the mountain to the north of the formation, Gulin and Master Shuijing had been watching the direction Princess Qianyou went.

"Shuijing, didn't you say that none of these people had reached the Yuanying stage in their cultivation? Then what use do they have coming here?" Gulin furrowed his brows and asked Master Shuijing.

"Breaking through the formation is different from martial arts competitions. Inside the formation, the roles of these people are not inferior to those in the Yuanying stage; it depends on how they are arranged. Just like the Crown Prince, even though he is in the Golden Core stage, if he were to enter the formation, it wouldn't be difficult for him to defeat those in the Yuanying stage," Master Shuijing said, shaking his feather fan.

"Ah," Gulin nodded in satisfaction, as if for the first time he found Master Shuijing's words so insightful.

Before long, everyone landed on the summit of the mountain.

Zhongshan dismounted from Yun Qian's flying sword and, together with Yinglan, looked at this group of people—a handsome young man, an elegant man wielding a feather fan, and the rest who seemed like guards.

These people all exuded a sense of arrogance. Even the guards seemed to look down upon Zhongshan's group. Although they didn't openly disdain them, there was no warmth in their demeanor.

"Master Shuijing, I've brought people from the Kaiyang Sect. How to break through the formation will be up to you," Gu Qianyou said to the man with the feather fan.

The man smiled faintly and walked up to the group. The other handsome young man just glanced briefly, only pausing momentarily at Bei Qingsi, Tian Ling'er, and Tian Sha's faces before ignoring them and turning to Gu Qianyou.

"Thank you, Princess," Master Shuijing nodded.

"Princess?" The crowd looked at Gu Qianyou with some confusion.

"I am Shuijing, and you are all from the Kaiyang Sect. I wonder what your opinions are on breaking through the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation?" Master Shuijing looked over the ten individuals and then suddenly asked.

"I only know that the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation is a battle formation, difficult to break through. Not long ago, we just broke through this formation, and it's too complex," Tian Sha frowned and said.

Behind Tian Sha, everyone nodded in agreement.

Bei Qingsi bit her lip and didn't say much. Although she had some understanding of this formation, she chose to remain silent. Zhongshan also stayed quiet, refraining from interjecting. At this moment, he believed it was more prudent to keep a low profile.

The disciples from the Kaiyang Sect behind Tian Sha nodded in agreement.

"Tsk~~~~"

The young man who had never looked at Zhongshan and the others directly suddenly made a mocking sound, clearly disdainful of this group from the Kaiyang Sect.

"The Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, with its Closing, Injury, Duress, and Terror Gates, is a battlefield formation. It contains the transformations of the Jia, San Qi, and Liu Yi, the changes of the ten heavenly stems. When the formation opens, life and death alternate, soldiers change without exhaustion. To break the formation, there should be an elite team entering through the Closing Gate, disrupting the formation and exiting through the Duress Gate. Meanwhile, the main force should take advantage of this chaos to charge through the Injury Gate and directly attack the core," he explained.

Perhaps it was Yinglan's straightforward nature, or perhaps it was her experience leading troops for many years that made her blood boil. After seeing the disdainful glances cast their way, Yinglan didn't hesitate to speak up.

As Yinglan spoke, Zhongshan looked at her, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. He was pleased with Yinglan's achievement because when it came to the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, Yinglan had more expertise than himself and her understanding was more thorough. What Yinglan spoke of was the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation she had previously arranged—a formation built with people rather than the fantastical sandstorm formation before them. Nonetheless, Zhongshan still felt proud.