The old Daoist was dead, but the group was still trapped within the array.
Their all-out attack just now had damaged the very source of their Qi Seas, leaving them completely drained.
This was especially true for Fang Cheng and Wang Xingzhi, who had expended even more energy than Wen Qianqian and Chen Yu Yan.
The Five Mountains Prison Suppression Array was still active, and its immense pressure weighed down on the five of them. If they couldn't escape soon, death was still inevitable.
Wen Qianqian came to her senses. Her lovely eyes glinted as she looked at the phantom mountains atop the five stone pillars. "Fellow Daoists," she said, "if we don't get out of this array, I'm afraid we won't last much longer."
The other four glanced at her. 'Obviously,' they thought.
Wen Qianqian continued, "I know a little about arrays. This Five Mountains Prison Suppression Array appears to use the Treasure Beads atop the stone pillars as its core to power its operation. However, the true mechanism is beneath the pillars. If we can dig out the Spirit Stones and Array Flags buried under them, we should be able to break it."
Wang Xingzhi scoffed. "Right now, it's an effort for any of us to lift a finger. Who do you expect to go break the array?"
Wen Qianqian turned her lovely eyes to Fang Cheng and smiled. "Fellow Daoist Fang, your Gu Insects..."
Fang Cheng nodded. With a slight stir of his will, two pale golden Gu Insects flew off the old Daoist's corpse.
After the Vajra Gu flew into the range of the Grand Array, their speed dropped abruptly. An instant later, they plummeted to the ground and began to crawl forward slowly.
It was a good thing these were Vajra Gu—incredibly hard and immensely powerful Gu Insects. Had they been Wine Gu or Love Gu, the Grand Array would have already crushed them into a paste.
Seeing this, everyone frowned.
At this rate, how long would it take for the Vajra Gu to even reach the stone pillars?
At this moment, Chen Yu Yan spoke up. "I have a Blood Burning Pill. Fellow Daoist Yang, can you still manage?"
Yang Heng nodded.
Chen Yu Yan silently circulated what little Magical Power she had left. Her pretty face flushed a deep red as she used her last reserves to open her storage pouch. A pill the size of a longan flew out and landed before Yang Heng.
Yang Heng's muscles bulged all over his body. The simple act of picking up the pill seemed to drain all his remaining strength.
He slowly raised the pill and swallowed it.
「A moment later.」
Crimson patterns appeared on the surface of Yang Heng's skin, and a fiery aura began to rise from his body.
He was burning his own blood and qi. In just a few moments, the aura of his Magical Power surged to the level of the Fourth Layer of Sensing!
The price for this was immense; he would be left weakened for an entire month.
The benefit, however, was a short-term boost in power.
The Demon Sect had many similar pills, but the Blood Burning Pill was the most suitable for Body Cultivators.
After taking the pill, Yang Heng was clearly much stronger. He slowly rose to his feet and walked, with heavy steps, over to the two Vajra Gu, picking them up in his hand.
The other four watched him in silence.
Yang Heng moved as if carrying a mountain on his back, advancing with slow, heavy steps that pounded the ground. His bones creaked with every movement.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he finally reached one of the stone pillars and set the two Vajra Gu down.
Fang Cheng directed the Vajra Gu with his will, and they began to gnaw at the base of the stone pillar.
CRUNCH... CRUNCH...
As the Vajra Gu devoured the hard stone, they produced a harsh, grating sound. To the five trapped cultivators, however, it was as beautiful as celestial music.
The two Vajra Gu chewed through the stone pillar and pushed out the debris. Before long, two small holes were left in the ground at its base.
The five of them waited patiently for a long time. Finally, with a loud RUMBLE, one of the phantom mountains above them shuddered and slowly dissipated.
Four phantom mountains remained, but the group could clearly feel that the pressure on them had lessened by at least half!
Fang Cheng said, "The Gu Insects chewed through the Array Flag buried underneath..."
Wen Qianqian added, "If we destroy one more Array Flag, we'll be able to get out."
Fang Cheng nodded. He directed the two Vajra Gu back to the surface, and Yang Heng once again picked up the insects, carrying them to the nearest stone pillar.
This time, the Vajra Gu moved much more quickly.
Fang Cheng stopped watching them, closing his eyes to rest and recuperate.
「A moment later.」
With another loud RUMBLE, one more of the phantom mountains above them vanished.
The suppressive force on them was now mostly gone. One by one, they got to their feet and walked out of the array.
Fang Cheng felt his entire body lighten as an indescribable sense of relief washed over him. He picked up his Red Feather Sword from the ground, then sat down cross-legged, took out a pill to restore his Magical Power, and swallowed it before beginning to meditate.
The other four also moved a safe distance from the array and began restoring their Magical Power.
...
「Four hours later.」
Fang Cheng slowly opened his eyes. His spiritual energy was about seventy or eighty percent recovered, and he had regained thirty percent of his Magical Power.
Wang Xingzhi and the others had also finished meditating and turned to look at him.
Among the five of them, although Fang Cheng's Cultivation wasn't the highest, his actual combat strength was unquestionably the greatest.
If it hadn't been for him this time, it was unlikely any of them would have survived.
Of course, without Wang Xingzhi's Demon Sound Secret Technique, Fang Cheng would have never been able to break free from the Blood Vines, much less use his sword and his Gu insects on the old Daoist.
And breaking the array afterward was also the result of their combined efforts.
The old Daoist's corpse lay where it had fallen, untouched.
It wasn't until Fang Cheng finished his meditation that the five of them began to discuss how to divide the old Daoist's possessions.
The old Daoist had been robbing other Cultivators for more than a decade, so his storage pouch was filled with a vast and motley collection of items. The sheer number of different Cultivation Techniques and secret manuals was dizzying.
However, according to Wang Xingzhi, their quality was mediocre at best. There wasn't a single Cultivation Technique for the Life Talisman Realm among them.
In the end, the five decided to divide the old Daoist's belongings into five equal shares, one for each of them. As for the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Techniques, they agreed to share them, with each person making their own copy.
After their brush with death, none of the five were inclined to bicker over minor gains or losses.
Simply being alive was the greatest reward of all!
Finally, Wen Qianqian suggested they go check out the great hall at the end of the main path.
The old Daoist had said it was completely empty, but driven by curiosity, the five still entered the great hall with caution.
The hall's interior was magnificent, filled with Golden Court Jade Pillars, but it was just as the old Daoist had claimed: completely empty.
It seemed everything within the hall had been carried away long ago, leaving nothing but the vast, empty space itself. 'Perhaps other Cultivators have been here before,' they all thought. 'The old Daoist wasn't the first one to discover this place.'
Fang Cheng scanned the interior of the hall but saw no clues of any kind. His desire to explore faded, and he prepared to return to the marketplace.
"Everyone..."
He was just about to bid them farewell when he saw Wen Qianqian standing before one of the jade pillars, a look of delight on her face, as if she had discovered something.
Wang Xingzhi looked between the two of them and asked curiously, "What did you two find, Fellow Daoists?"
Fang Cheng shook his head.
Light flashed in Wen Qianqian's lovely eyes. "I know who the true owner of this Cave Mansion was!" she exclaimed.
"How do you know?"
Wang Xingzhi asked instinctively, his face a mask of confusion.
Wen Qianqian pointed to the relief carvings on the jade pillars. "I once saw a rubbing of this exact carving in a Cultivator's travelogue," she said slowly. "This is the Ancient Dragon Elephant Totem. It naturally contains the origin of the Great Dao. An ordinary Cultivator could never carve this; it's impossible unless one can visualize the true meaning of the Dragon Elephant."
"Therefore, it's highly likely that this is the Cave Mansion of the Dragon Elephant Taoist!"