Supreme of the Heavenly Realm
Chapter 367 - 364: The Puzzle Array

Chapter 367: Chapter 364: The Puzzle Array

The grand hall was imposing and spectacular, the curved archway door alone towering two to three dozen meters high. Etched onto this massive door were rows of ancient patterns, emitting a sense of vicissitude brought about by the long passage of years.

Bang!

As Ye Xuan and his companions arrived at the doorstep, two mighty warriors, having touched the door, were repelled by a burst of light, tumbling awkwardly onto the square.

"This doorway has a prohibition."

Ye Xuan’s gaze rested on the great door. After the flash of light from just before quickly retracted, no abnormalities could be seen from the outside.

"Let me do this."

Ao Wuchang walked out from the crowd, his wrist turning to draw a slender treasured blade as he walked towards the arched doorway.

Ye Xuan said nothing, for the prohibition of the great door, although tricky for ordinary people, had weakened over the long years. With Ao Wuchang’s strength, he should be able to open the prohibition.

Whoosh!

Ao Wuchang lifted his long sword, grasping it with both hands. He let out a roar and brought the sword down in a vertical slash, heavily impacting the prohibition.

Crack!

The door shimmered with light, revealing a crack, which was then followed by a loud "boom." As the ancient door creaked open.

"Go."

Before Ao Wuchang could take pride in his feat, Zi Yuqing gestured to the others to proceed and entered through the doorway.

The light dimmed as they entered the grand hall, where they were greeted by towering stone pillars, dozens of meters tall and thick enough to require two people to embrace. The pillars were adorned with reliefs, majestic in their bearing. On either side of the grand hall’s center stood numerous bronze statues, each towering and muscular, arms bearing long spear-like weapons, stationed to the left and right.

After Ye Xuan and his group stepped into the hall, other strong warriors on the square also followed suit, finding themselves inside the grand hall.

Some warriors were drawn to the bronze statues, occasionally manipulating them and touching the weapons, trying to find something valuable.

"This is unfortunate. Such a magnificent hall and all it contains are these broken statues."

Ao Wuchang was very dissatisfied, looking around irritably. Apart from the bronze statues, the grand hall seemed empty, devoid of anything else—let alone any valuable treasures.

Seeing this, Ye Xuan simply furrowed his brows slightly. From these guardian statues, he felt a very subtle fluctuation.

Boom!

Suddenly, not far behind, a bronze guardian sprang to life, its gears squeaking. Its long spear thrust out abruptly.

Crack!

Caught off guard, a warrior’s head exploded, struck down instantly, his brains spattering, falling into a pool of blood.

"Be careful!"

As soon as the warrior was slain by the bronze guardian, Zi Yuqing’s pupils shrank, but as her words fell, two more bronze guardians around them moved, their eyes emitting a crimson gleam, appearing excessively blood-red.

Sssss...

Ye Xuan’s eyes shifted to the nearby corpse, observing astonishingly how the body’s blood and vital energy were swiftly absorbed by an invisible force, eventually flowing into the bronze guardians.

At the same time, the aura of these bronze guardians rapidly grew stronger.

"Not good."

Ye Xuan inwardly cursed the situation. This place seemed highly unusual; the grand hall was undoubtedly set with some Evil Formation, capable of absorbing the essence and blood from these bodies to bolster the bronze guardians’ strength.

Crack! Crack!

Just as Ye Xuan was feeling a sense of dread, the previously motionless bronze guardians all began to move, a red glow igniting in their eyes. Their tarnished weapons were now in motion, targeting the warriors who had entered the grand hall.

In an instant, the grand hall was swept by a storm of blood and gore, screams of agony piercing the air.

Ye Xuan’s side was also under the fierce assault of the bronze guardians. On his left and right, a bronze guardian bore down on him, their spears piercing through the void toward Ye Xuan.

Thump!

The two spears almost simultaneously struck where Ye Xuan had been, but his figure swiftly dissipated—a mere afterimage. Unable to stop the momentum, the spears instead impaled through the bodies of the bronze guardians.

Crack!

A flash of sword light, and Ye Xuan drew his sword from its scabbard, cleanly severing the heads of the two bronze guardians.

Clang!

The bronze helmet fell to the ground with a clear ringing sound, but there was nothing inside the bronze armor, save for two streaks of red light that shot out from the armor and attached themselves to two other bronze guards.

The two bronze guards that the red light attached to had their aura greatly increased, as if they had absorbed the powers of the two slain bronze guards.

"We can’t stay here for long, we need to break out fast!"

A trace of alarm flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. These bronze guards were already difficult to deal with, and now that they transferred their power to other guards after being slain, the situation would only get worse. Even if most of the guards were killed, it was feared that they would end up creating an even more formidable enemy.

"Go!"

Sensing the gravity in Ye Xuan’s tone, Zi Yuqing bit down hard and then drew her long sword, charging forward. However, they had only just burst forth a short distance when the bronze guards inside the hall "came to life" and blocked the way back.

Boom!

Just then, the originally open doors suddenly closed, trapping everyone who had entered the hall inside.

"The doors have been sealed!"

A powerful individual who had rushed to the doorway exclaimed in shock.

Clang!

Ye Xuan swung his sword and sent a bronze guard flying, but his strike only left a white mark on the guard’s body. The material of these bronze guards was very special; in addition to bronze, other materials had been added, making them indestructible. Even Ye Xuan’s Sword Qi could not make a dent in them.

"Charge inside!"

A glint of sharpness flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. The master of this great hall had set up so many bronze guards to protect something inside, so he could guess that there must be treasures deep within the hall.

He had already sensed something when he was outside the hall.

Hearing this, Zi Yuqing and the others changed their direction and charged toward the inner part of the great hall. After all, the people led by Zi Yuqing were Black Market experts, not ordinary folk. Most of the bronze guards that pounced on them were blasted away, paving a narrow path just wide enough for one person.

At this time, the group formed a circle and pressed forward, each guarding an angle and fending off any bronze guards that attacked.

The three Black Market Elders were extraordinarily powerful. Although they weren’t relaxed, they managed to handle the bronze guards without too much difficulty. As for Zi Yuqing, her moves were nimble and precise, and she seemed calm and collected at the front of the team.

The strength of the Young Master of the Black Market was also fully displayed.

Among the group, it was Ao Wuchang who was having the hardest time, not because he was weak, but because he was somewhat panicked facing so many bronze guards, which made his side the one with the most holes, fraught with danger.

In reality, out of the five, it was Ye Xuan who was the most at ease, but he was concealing his true strength. He didn’t seem as flashy as Zi Yuqing. He only repelled the bronze guards coming from his direction and would only help his companions when absolutely necessary. After all, he wasn’t part of the Black Market, and being in this perilous and unknown Ancient Cave Mansion, he naturally couldn’t reveal his hand too easily.

Other than Ye Xuan and the people from the Black Market, the other powerful individuals weren’t so lucky. Without such formation and strength, they quickly suffered heavy casualties under the attack of the bronze guards, with blood flowing in rivers.

At least forty or fifty powerful individuals had already fallen at the hands of these bronze guards.

Ye Xuan had no sympathy for them. Entering such a place meant being prepared to lose one’s life at any time. If they were to blame anyone, it would be themselves for not having the strength. The weak in this world were but lambs to the slaughter.

"We’ve reached the end."

Just then, Zi Yuqing’s voice suddenly came from ahead. Following her voice, Ye Xuan looked up to see a massive arched bronze door at the base of the hall, completely sealed shut.

There seemed to be an Array around the door, densely covered with ancient characters and symbols.

In addition to this, there were some directional buttons and mechanisms.

The group stopped in front of the door and hacked at the bronze door in vain.

"This is an Evil Formation, it seems we can only open the door by solving this puzzle."

After glancing at the Evil Formation, Ye Xuan’s gaze grew intense. An Evil Formation was essentially a kind of puzzle sealed within an Array and expressed in this form. Only by solving the puzzle and coming up with the answer could the Evil Formation be unlocked.

"A puzzle? Let me give it a try."

Zi Yuqing’s eyes sparkled. She walked over and quickly scoped the wall, occasionally revealing a thoughtful expression.

While taking this chance, the bronze guards had once again surged forward, swinging their long spears and stabbing at the group.

Helplessly, Ye Xuan swung his sword, deflecting an oncoming bronze guard. The guard flew back, knocking down two behind it, delaying their advance, while Ye Xuan quickly turned to study the puzzle.

"The owner of this hall must be a freak to have set up such a boring puzzle here."

After several attempts, Zi Yuqing met with failure each time, and despite her composure, she couldn’t help but curse.

The master of the hall had deliberately set such a difficult puzzle, surely meaning to trap people here. Without solving the puzzle, they might very well be trapped here to die.

However, just then, Zi Yuqing felt a warm figure suddenly press close to her back. Then a slightly long hand frequently touched the buttons of the mechanisms, and as he moved, lines of light lit up on the wall. Then, with a "boom," the sealed arched bronze door suddenly swung open.