Chapter 254

Chapter 254: Out of Options

After receiving Chang Xiang’s agreement, Lou Yun decisively shut his eyes. He sealed off his innate senses, even completely closing his spiritual awareness. The young man plunged entirely into a state devoid of speech, sight, hearing, sensation, or touch. For anyone else, entering such a condition would be incredibly reckless, but Lou Yun relied on Chang Xiang’s presence within him.

It didn’t hinder their communication at all.

"Go!"

Following Chang Xiang’s command, Lou Yun resolutely strode down the path toward the nearby forest. Inside him, Chang Xiang eyed the pitch-black woods ahead. The forest resembled a monstrous beast with jaws agape, just waiting for Lou Yun to blindly walk into its trap.

Lou Yun, feeling nothing, took bold steps. In just a few strides, he entered the forest’s embrace. The instant he crossed its threshold, Chang Xiang suddenly muttered, "Trouble!"

"What’s wrong, Brother Chang?"

"Unseal your innate senses and see what’s before you!" Chang Xiang’s voice carried a distinct note of resignation.

Lou Yun hastily opened his eyes. The forest remained unchanged before him—only profoundly dark, like the dead of night. Yet the dense canopy of leaves likely blocked sunlight, casting this gloom throughout the woods.

"What’s wrong? Nothing seems off here."

Scanning his surroundings, Lou Yun found no abnormalities aside from the darkness—not even his innate senses detected any disruptions.

"Then look up!"

Lou Yun obeyed, tilting his head skyward. His eyes instantly flew wide open.

From Lou Yun’s reaction, Chang Xiang knew the youth had spotted the anomaly. "See it now?" he asked lightly.

"Yes, I see," Lou Yun responded mechanically. "This really is a formation. And your innate senses are also being disturbed here!"

High above, only deeper darkness met his gaze. Between the dense foliage’s gaps, only pure blackness was visible—though outside moments ago, the sky had been bright with daylight. The sun might be nearing the horizon, but sunset couldn’t have plunged them into night so abruptly. Only one possibility remained: this truly was a formation, disrupting him and Chang Xiang’s innate senses.

Realizing this, Lou Yun gave a bitter chuckle. "But since we’re already trapped inside, heading deeper seems the only option. Retreating is impossible now, right?"

Even as he spoke, Lou Yun turned—the path behind him had vanished. Only the same boundless, ink-black forest remained, stretching endlessly.

"This formation is formidable," Lou Yun shrugged his shoulders and said. "Just one step brought me deep into the woods instantly. Escaping won’t be easy."

"Well then, move forward. Let’s see what makes this formation unique," Chang Xiang settled down. Given the circumstances, forging ahead blindly was all they could do.

Lou Yun nodded and marched on. Now indistinguishable was any path’s direction; he simply picked a bearing and walked straight ahead. To avoid disorientation, every few strides he carved a clear mark onto a tree trunk.

After roughly half an hour, Lou Yun suddenly froze: he’d walked straight back to his starting point. Right before him stood one of his marked trees.

This didn’t surprise him. Taking a deep breath, he redirected his path, again marking trees as he went.

Another half hour later, he returned exactly where he began. This time, Lou Yun stopped walking. Further attempts would only circle back endlessly; he knew that now. Slumping flatly onto the ground, he began earnest contemplation.

Formations remained utterly beyond his grasp. No solutions for escaping surfaced in his mind—and Chang Xiang fared little better, mentally drifting without progress.

What if brute force sufficed? Chopping down or uprooting the trees might break the formation. Or—since heavenly fires consumed nearly anything—why not incinerate the entire forest to ash? Wouldn’t that shatter the formation too?

With no alternatives left, Lou Yun decided to give it a try. First, he stepped toward a large tree, drew his Dream Emperor Sword, and sliced horizontally through its trunk.

Clang!

The blade sliced cleanly through. The tree toppled with a heavy thud. Lou Yun proceeded to chop down several more trees.

He lifted his gaze: darkness remained unchallenged. Without retracing his steps, he knew it—the formation persisted. No formation would simply surrender so easily.

But burning with heavenly fire yielded stranger results. Whether Thunderstorm Fire or Fusang Fire, when unleashed upon a tree, bright flames would engulf it… yet even after prolonged burning, any tree remained unscorched. Not a single patch of bark burned away.

Both attempts had floundered. Lou Yun truly felt out of options. He sank back onto the earth, lost in thought.

He understood now why Mo Linsheng revered the Three Immortals of Eastern Ling so highly on Carefree Island. Likely, like him, Mo Linsheng had trespassed, gotten ensnared in this maze, and wandered helplessly until sudden release taught him awe.

Imagine such an opponent: you’ve mustered strength and resources for battle—only to find yourself defeated before seeing your foe’s face! Naturally, one avoids tangling with them ever again!

Anxiety gripped Lou Yun lightly still. Mo Linsheng had escaped unscathed after all—and so tyrannical a man being spared suggested the Three Immortals of Eastern Ling wouldn’t be overly severe toward Lou Yun himself. He lacked malice; perhaps they’d only imprison him briefly before releasing him.

Thinking of his eldest brother, Leng Cangqiong, though, sparked fresh worry. Cold as his name, Leng Cangqiong’s pride wouldn’t tolerate imprisonment. What reckless things would he attempt? And if he offended the Three Immortals of Eastern Ling, consequences would be dire!

No!

Lou Yun shook himself alert. Sitting idle wasn’t an option. He had to devise an escape—for himself and his brother!

"Brother Chang, among my master’s teachings… was there anything covering formations?"

Long silence followed. Eventually, Chang Xiang seemed to rouse himself: "I don’t think so. I am searching now…"

"Ah—"

Chang Xiang had already considered this and acted upon it. So Lou Yun pursued other routes while the elder searched.

Lou Yun activated his spiritual awareness. Scanning the ink-dark forest revealed energies within—but disorderly chaos reigned. Some swirled together densely, others twisted into knotted coils.

Such chaotic energy was signature of an array: deliberately disrupting mortal perception, preventing seekers from sensing what lied hidden deep within.

Lou Yun knew his awareness stood no chance against such pandemonium. Still, idly, he watched the tangled energies play.

As he observed, his body suddenly shuddered gently. His expression deepened with intense focus—one twisted energy mass resembled a shape in the Chaos Seals etched upon his Chaos Golden Cauldron.

Long ago, Chang Xiang introduced heavenly and earthly marks to him: nine sets existed, each with nine hand gestures. Different marks were necessary to perform the awakening the spirit ritual for various common weapons.

Yet Chaos Seals held no likeness to the Azure Cloud Seal or any heavenly and earthly marks Chang Xiang had taught. Fewer gestures existed, and under normal conditions, Lou Yun couldn’t execute even one. Ordinary heavenly marks merely commanded heavenly forces to awaken a common weapon’s spirit, while Chaos Seals could bend cosmic energy directly—their difficulty made sense.

Near Binhai Village, against the six-tailed giant snake, seeing Shui Lingluo’s sealing gestures stirred sudden insight in Lou Yun. He performed a Chaos Seal for the first time then—and had suddenly perceived the sea exactly as Shui Lingluo did!

Here, before him, twisted energy mirrored yet another Chaos Seal form. Insight struck Lou Yun again: If formations influenced innate senses through cosmic energies… Couldn’t channeling a Chaos Seal capable of dominating such energies then unravel this prison?

Simplistic, perhaps—but Lou Yun had no time for deeper analysis. Such epiphanies vanished swiftly. He needed to seize this moment now! So his hands shifted again: unconsciously, involuntarily, moved solely by instinct, beginning another sacred configuration…