Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Breaking the Stone Gate Array

Song Zhan never expected that the woman in front of him, who was arrogant with a cold expression, was actually surnamed Long.

Didn’t that mean she came from the royal family of Huoyun Country?

After this thought surfaced in his mind, he felt a chill run through his body.

Now he understood why she had disregarded him all along the way.

Fortunately, he had been wise not to force his status on her, even earlier, he had merely vented his dissatisfaction.

Otherwise, if a conflict had truly broken out, he feared his sect wouldn’t have been able to protect him.

Song Zhan took a deep breath, cupped his hands in salute, and said, "I never expected that you, friend, came from the royal family; I was abrupt."

Nowadays, impersonating royalty meant even several lives weren’t enough to survive.

So when she stated her surname, he had already believed her seventy to eighty percent.

Even if she wasn’t genuine, he wouldn’t lose much.

Such things were better believed than doubted.

Long Yunshuang didn’t look at him, stepping forward ahead: "Keep moving forward."

Song Zhan pressed his lips together and ultimately chose to follow.

At the same time, a sense of seriousness arose in his heart.

Even the royal family of Huoyun Country had appeared; it seemed that spiritual artifact wouldn’t be as easy to obtain as he had imagined.

He stared at her graceful figure, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

He did not know what her status was in the royal family.

The royal family of Huoyun Country was divided into direct lineage and collateral branches; the collateral branches had nine Grand Princes, stationed in the five major states respectively.

For example, in Jinyun State, two Princes resided here.

Since she appeared in this place, she was probably related to those two Princes.

As for specific identity details, he still did not know them.

But thinking of what his master had instructed before the journey, a resolute expression flashed across Song Zhan’s face.

If her status wasn’t high, then he absolutely couldn’t yield that spiritual artifact.

Long Yunshuang did not know the thoughts of the person behind her; she passed through that corridor and continued deeper downward.

Shortly after the two disappeared, two more figures arrived at the spot where they had been earlier.

They were precisely two Foundation Establishment cultivators whose identities had been unknown before.

Both of them were shrouded in black robes, revealing only a pair of sharp eyes.

They stood in place, holding a magical artifact in their hands; on the artifact, a Bagua diagram was displayed, and a golden pointer guided them in a direction.

"The Ninth Princess has many people around her; we can’t make a move easily," one of them said in a strange tone.

Even in front of his own companion, he didn’t want to reveal any information.

Because the two had simply gathered together temporarily due to orders from some powerful figure.

"Don’t worry, they’ll turn on each other; we can just sit and watch the tigers fight," the other’s voice was also raspy and rough.

Just after speaking, he went on to ask, "What about those three behind?"

He was referring to those three loose cultivators.

"Probably already left," the companion responded.

They always kept a certain distance from Long Yunshuang; now that they had caught up, they weren’t in a hurry and planned to chat for a while.

After all, with the magical artifact in hand, they didn’t worry about losing track.

This time, their assignment wasn’t the so-called ruins, but Long Yunshuang.

As they advanced deeper, the dangers Zhou Luo and Shangguan Qianxue encountered gradually decreased.

However, while passing through those zones, they saw many coffins.

The coffins sat there quietly, tempting one intruder after another.

The two chose not to touch them.

From the journey so far, they knew the Golden Core master was unlikely to leave genuinely valuable items in such spots.

Also, based on the position clues left by the other duo, they understood clearly that both sides were closing in on the final target.

At such a time, whoever moved faster could gain the upper hand.

So the two didn’t stop.

Outside, in that mountain region, Qi Refinement cultivators battled everywhere.

The ruins’ emergence had indeed released some treasures.

These treasures held little attraction for Foundation Establishment practitioners but were different for Qi Refinement cultivators.

Likely, the Golden Core master had hoped intruders would take these treasures and leave it at that.

Naturally, some Qi Refinement cultivators accidentally stumbled upon cave entrances leading deeper into the ruins.

But with their power, they couldn’t venture far inside.

Mostly, the moment they entered a cavern, they lasted under three seconds against the Golden Core master’s traps and perished completely.

Gradually, everyone grew afraid to go deeper and stuck to the outskirts.

One day after the ruins emerged, deep within, Zhou Luo and Shangguan Qianxue appeared before a stone gate.

Besides them, from another passage, Long Yunshuang and Song Zhan arrived at the scene too.

They exchanged glances.

Song Zhan was the first to inquire, "Junior Sister, what did you face earlier?"

He was talking about that huge energy wave.

Shangguan Qianxue didn’t answer, but just looked at Zhou Luo.

"Encountered the means left by that Golden Core master; fortunately, there was no real danger," Zhou Luo replied calmly.

Song Zhan looked suspicious, but seeing that his Junior Sister didn’t say anything, he did not continue to ask.

Instead, Long Yunshuang frowned slightly and said, "Why couldn’t we get in touch with Qi Chuan? Couldn’t any of you contact him either?"

"Perhaps he was trapped by something; anyway, his position information has disappeared," Zhou Luo said indifferently.

When Qi Chuan was killed earlier, the controlled puppet also disappeared, and the position information on it naturally vanished along with it.

According to everyone’s agreement, when the position information disappeared, it meant the cooperation had ended.

Long Yunshuang did not say anything further.

Zhou Luo then looked towards the stone door before him and said, "We should first figure out how to get inside."

This stone door was over three meters tall and a bit more than one meter wide, covered with various golden formation patterns.

It itself was a powerful formation.

If applying brute force, it really wouldn’t be easy to open.

When he said these words, Zhou Luo looked towards Song Zhan.

Based on what he knew, the other party was a Second Level Formation Master.

Song Zhan had actually not wanted to display his ability because, after learning of Long Yunshuang’s identity, he felt that if the cooperation continued until the final battle for the spiritual artifact, it would put him at a great disadvantage.

In this situation, he rather hoped the cooperation would end so he could open the stone door privately.

But obviously, this was impossible.

Because when the other party’s gaze shifted towards him, he realized his identity as a Second Level Formation Master had been exposed.

Thinking this, he shifted his gaze to his Junior Sister.

Shangguan Qianxue wasn’t looking this way; instead, she was focused on carefully studying the stone door.

"Let me give it a try."

Since things had reached this point, Song Zhan had no choice but to take out the formation disk, come to the stone door, and begin deduction and calculation.

He held a white-jade Bagua formation disk, inlaid with several gems used to amplify energy, which appeared very magnificent.

Then, he extended his slender fingers and began to manipulate and operate it.

Zhou Luo, who was also a formation master, silently watched from the side and discovered that his skill in arranging formations was far superior to his own.

It seemed there was still a gap between Second Level and First Level.

Especially in technique and skill in manipulation, the former was clearly more exquisite.