When they arrived at Changsheng Temple, they saw that the Ascending Immortal Platform had collapsed in flames. Li Qinglin was directing soldiers to put out the fire, and the thick smoke made it hard to breathe.
Amidst the smoke, Qin Yi noticed nine eunuchs lying at Li Qinglin's feet. The grim scene had a touch of absurdity, so he asked, "What happened here?"
Li Qinglin chuckled, "My father came to deliver a decree, but of course, they got lost. I didn’t receive any order."
Qin Yi couldn't help but laugh. He returned the jade pendant to Li Qinglin, saying, "Thanks for the life-saving charm, this flower is beautiful."
Li Qinglin weighed the jade pendant in his hand, then said, "I've arranged for people to secure the area inside and outside the city. As long as there aren’t tunnels leading out for dozens of miles, it will be hard for Dong Hua Zi to escape. If there really are such long tunnels, we’ll just have to accept it. If we stabilize the situation, he won’t be able to turn things around."
A tunnel dozens of miles long seemed unlikely; it was probably just a passage to somewhere in or out of the city. Qin Yi admired Li Qinglin's meticulousness. With such a capable ally, the enemy really had no chance of turning the tables.
"So, did you call me here to search the underground palace?" Qin Yi asked.
"Yes... I tried to send smoke down earlier, but I found there’s a strange formation below that makes the smoke come back. Attempting to flood it or dig a channel won’t be quick. We can’t maintain the outer security for long. If we don’t go down and deal with him soon, the chance of him escaping will increase every day."
Qin Yi nodded. The more protective formations there were, the more it proved that the core area below could hold out for a long time. Things like the Demon Refining Formation could very well be down there. There could be countless traps and strange techniques, so Li Qinglin naturally didn’t dare to rush in.
He walked to the entrance, where the burnt wood had been cleared by soldiers. The mechanism at the entrance had been destroyed, revealing a dark passage with stone steps leading down, the depth unknown.
Li Qinglin said from behind, "I believe Brother Qin can easily break the formations down there. But in this environment, if Dong Hua Zi knows what he’s doing, it wouldn’t be hard for him to bury everyone alive who goes down. We must think this through and not act recklessly."
Qin Yi shared this concern. Having read many novels and seen many shows, he knew that places like underground palaces often had self-destruct mechanisms. It could be very dangerous to go in.
He pretended to walk around the area, mumbling to himself, "Is there a way?"
Of course, he was speaking to Liu Su. She replied, "Set up a Wutu Great Formation to solidify the area. That way, even if it self-destructs, it won’t collapse."
Such a powerful formation? Qin Yi felt a bit uneasy and continued to mumble, "If it’s the Wutu Great Formation... my spiritual power might not be enough..."
"Your spiritual power is insufficient, but you can use some useful spirit items to make up for it," Liu Su said. "Right here in the ruins of the Ascending Immortal Platform, I can see countless valuable items, many of which are just what we need."
Qin Yi thought it was quite satisfying to use the treasures Dong Hua Zi had collected to defeat him. He pretended to have a sudden idea and rushed back to the ruins to search for items, shouting, "You, you, you! Move that piece of wood aside. Yes, and move that cauldron over there... Also, have you seen the jade on the plaque above? Take that down..."
The soldiers moved quickly, and soon they had everything Qin Yi needed neatly arranged.
Qin Yi took a sword and drew it with a "clang," its cold light flashing.
"It has a lot of spirit energy; it’s been refined," Liu Su commented. "It’s not quite good enough to be called a magical tool, but it’s great for carving formation patterns."
Following her guidance, Qin Yi arranged the various items in their positions and quickly used the sword to sketch patterns in the center. The soldiers stared at him, seemingly confused by his chaotic and meaningless lines.
"Your Highness, what is he doing..." an old general frowned and said. "Is he just another one of those tricksters like Dong Hua Zi?"
Li Qinglin raised his hand to signal him to stop talking and smiled slightly, "Actually, Dong Hua Zi does have real techniques. General Xie, what are you and I opposing? Surely you know in your heart?"
"Yes, even if he has real techniques, they are of no benefit to the country," the old general sighed. "I fear that Your Highness getting too close to this Qin Yi may lead you down the wrong path again."
Li Qinglin shook his head gently, "I am Li Qinglin."
The old general was taken aback but nodded and said no more.
However, at that moment, Li Qinglin suddenly held his forehead, seeming a bit dizzy. The old general hurried to support him, "Your Highness?"
"Oh, I’m fine." Li Qinglin quickly regained his composure and, after checking himself, found nothing wrong. He said, "Perhaps I’ve been too exhausted lately."
The old general replied, "After this matter is settled, Your Highness should rest well."
Meanwhile, Qin Yi’s seemingly chaotic lines began to connect all the arranged items into one. The central cauldron suddenly shone brightly, and the light spread from the ground’s patterns, gradually illuminating the entire area with brilliant radiance.
The ground seemed to creak, and there was a noticeable feeling of solidity. Qin Yi sighed in relief and smiled, "It worked! The earth veins are solidified, so we probably won’t be buried alive when we go in... If there are formations relying on the movement of the earth veins below, they might become ineffective."
"Thank you, Brother Qin." Li Qinglin cupped his hands and led the team straight down.
As Qin Yi stood at the entrance, ready to go down, he suddenly remembered something and looked up, asking, "Ming He, aren’t you coming to watch?"
There was no response. Qin Yi shook his head, knowing Ming He was definitely watching but chose to ignore her as he turned and descended into the underground.
The underground wasn’t dark; instead, it was lit by luminous pearls embedded in the walls, creating a soft glow. After a short walk, they entered a vast hall. Before Qin Yi could take a good look at the hall, Li Qinglin and the others had already stopped.
Even though Qin Yi was prepared, he couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight of countless demon bones scattered all over the floor.
The entire hall was arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, with ghostly faces on both sides, emitting eerie red smoke from their mouths. Amidst the swirling red smoke lay countless layers of bones, most of which had human shapes but were somewhat different, often having tails or wing bones. The corpses were in various states of decay, but they all shared a common feature: their marrow was broken in the center, as if something had been extracted from within, leaving a very tragic scene.
"This is the demon core that has just condensed from the marrow, cruel beyond measure," Liu Su said. "This is not the righteous way to exterminate demons; it’s witchcraft. Dong Hua Zi’s foundation is not in Dao techniques but in witchcraft, and it’s the evil kind at that."
Qin Yi reminded Li Qinglin, "Brother Li, this is witchcraft, not Dao techniques."
"Witchcraft?" Li Qinglin suddenly realized, "So it really is an insider from the Western Wilderness."
As soon as he finished speaking, he frowned again, "I’ve been feeling weak lately, and this thick smoke is making me uncomfortable. Let’s leave this hall."
Qin Yi took out a talisman.
A low-level Wind Control Talisman.
A gust of wind surged from him, blowing away the thick smoke. Not only that, but it also blocked the ghostly faces from spewing out more smoke.
This was something that could never be done so easily with martial arts alone. Li Qinglin chuckled, "You’re impressive, Brother Qin."
Perhaps blocking the smoke triggered something, as the entire hall shook violently, seeming like it would collapse. However, despite the shaking, only a little dust fell, and it didn’t collapse at all. Flames erupted from the ground, but they wouldn’t catch fire, only small flames flickered weakly, looking quite pitiful.
It was the effect of the formation they had set up to solidify the earth veins.
Even the old general Xie Yuan couldn’t help but bow to Qin Yi, saying, "You are truly a remarkable person. I had previously disrespected you, Mr. Qin; please don’t take offense."
Qin Yi waved his hand, not feeling proud at all. Instead, he cautiously took out some pills and talismans to distribute, saying, "Witchcraft often uses poison and can disturb the mind. Everyone should take an antidote pill and keep a focus talisman handy."
In the past few days, he had indeed prepared quite a bit related to combat, not just the floating technique that seemed useless. This performance made him appear to be the top support in the team, loved by everyone. However, he had no confidence against the possible presence of witchcraft techniques ahead.
Because Liu Su had said that it didn’t understand witchcraft, which was a completely different system from what it had learned.
If there were any witchcraft setups inside, no one would understand!