The crimson light continued spreading through the central hall.
At first, it was only a faint glow beneath the ancient stone floor.
Then the glow intensified.
Thin lines of red energy emerged from the countless formation fragments scattered throughout the hall. They connected one another like veins beneath flesh, forming an enormous network that covered almost every corner of Baspina Speenzo Castle.
The ancient runes awakened one after another.
The entire ruin trembled.
From every formation node, a stream of crimson aura rose into the air.
One stream became ten.
Ten became hundreds.
All of them moved toward the same point.
Yi Zhau.
His expression became solemn.
He could feel the terrifying nature of the formation before it had even completely activated.
"This formation..."
His eyes narrowed.
"It doesn't simply imprison the soul."
"It feeds on it."
The crimson streams suddenly converged.
Boom!
A massive red sphere formed around Yi Zhau.
It was completely transparent at first.
Then its surface gradually became denser, layer after layer of crimson energy compressing around him.
Within moments, Yi Zhau was completely enclosed.
The pressure descended.
His translucent soul body trembled.
Yi Zhau immediately raised both hands.
Silver soul power surged outward.
"Break!"
Boom!
A powerful shockwave slammed against the inner surface of the crimson sphere.
The sphere shook violently.
But it did not break.
Instead...
The energy Yi Zhau had released disappeared into the crimson barrier.
His expression changed.
"So that's how it works."
The formation wasn't resisting his strength.
It was consuming it.
Every attack he launched became nourishment for the formation.
Outside the sphere, Lhan Ze stood calmly.
His black robes fluttered beneath the pressure.
He looked at Yi Zhau through the crimson barrier.
Then...
He smiled.
A thin stream of red energy traveled from the sphere toward his body.
The moment it entered him...
His aura surged.
Boom!
His Elemental Focusing cultivation climbed rapidly.
Lhan Ze's eyes widened slightly.
"So that's it..."
He looked at his own hands.
"I understand."
Another stream entered his body.
His aura became stronger.
"Your soul power..."
"...is being transformed into energy."
A dark smile appeared on his face.
"Your power is making me stronger."
Yi Zhau's eyes became cold.
"You've built a formation that steals from an Emperor Soul..."
"And you still dare to stand there smiling?"
Lhan Ze laughed.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"As long as you resist..."
"...you will become stronger fuel for me."
He raised his dagger.
"And as I grow stronger..."
"...this formation will become even more powerful."
Yi Zhau remained silent.
His eyes slowly moved across the crimson sphere.
There had to be a weakness.
Every formation had one.
Even an ancient formation.
Even a formation designed specifically to imprison souls.
He closed his eyes.
His spiritual perception spread through the sphere.
The entire formation immediately appeared inside his consciousness.
Countless crimson lines.
Hundreds of nodes.
Thousands of energy pathways.
And at the center...
A strange crimson core.
Yi Zhau's eyes opened.
"So..."
"You hide the heart of the formation there."
He raised one hand.
Soul energy gathered around his palm.
A gigantic silver palm materialized inside the sphere.
"Ghost Emperor's Soul Suppression Palm!"
Boom!
The palm slammed directly toward the crimson core.
The entire sphere shook violently.
The ancient hall trembled.
Several pillars cracked.
But the red core merely pulsed.
The attack disappeared.
Yi Zhau frowned.
The energy had been absorbed again.
"Annoying."
He immediately changed his approach.
Instead of attacking the formation...
He attacked himself.
A thin blade of soul energy formed between his fingers.
With precise control, Yi Zhau attempted to separate a small portion of his soul from the crimson chains beginning to form around it.
His expression became increasingly serious.
"This formation is entering my inner soul space."
He closed his eyes.
His consciousness descended inward.
Everything around him disappeared.
Within his inner soul space...
There was darkness.
Endless darkness.
Yi Zhau's enormous spiritual presence floated in the center.
But crimson chains had already wrapped around his inner soul.
One chain.
Then another.
Then dozens.
They pierced through the surrounding darkness and locked themselves around his spiritual body.
Yi Zhau looked at them.
"So you've reached this far."
He raised his hand.
Soul power erupted.
The chains tightened.
Yi Zhau pulled.
His spiritual body moved several inches.
But the chains immediately released a stronger crimson glow.
His soul power was drained again.
Yi Zhau stopped.
"Interesting."
He gathered his power into his fingers and attempted to sever one chain.
A silver blade flashed.
Crack!
The blade broke.
The chain remained intact.
Yi Zhau's expression became colder.
He summoned dozens of soul blades.
Then hundreds.
They surrounded the chains from every direction.
"Break."
All of them attacked simultaneously.
Boom!
The inner soul space shook violently.
Countless silver explosions erupted.
Yet when the light disappeared...
The chains remained.
Not even a scratch.
Yi Zhau stared at them for several moments.
Then he smiled faintly.
"This is getting interesting."
He changed methods again.
His soul transformed into countless strands of energy.
He attempted to pass through the chains rather than break them.
One strand escaped.
Then another.
But the moment the energy passed through the chains...
The crimson formation immediately detected it.
The chains split into countless smaller chains and wrapped around every escaping strand.
Yi Zhau clicked his tongue.
"So it can adapt."
He returned his soul to its original form.
Then...
He released an overwhelming amount of Soul Power.
The darkness inside his soul space became silver.
A gigantic phantom of an ancient ghost emperor appeared behind him.
Its crown reached the darkness above.
Its eyes opened.
"Ghost Emperor Domain."
Boom!
The entire inner soul space shook.
The chains began vibrating.
For the first time...
They loosened.
Yi Zhau's eyes flashed.
"Now!"
He pulled with everything he had.
The chains stretched.
They groaned under the pressure.
But they did not break.
Instead...
The crimson light became brighter.
The formation began absorbing his released Soul Power at an astonishing speed.
The Ghost Emperor phantom slowly faded.
Yi Zhau's expression became serious.
"This formation was designed with one purpose..."
"...to turn resistance into strength."
He slowly clenched his fist.
"Whoever created it..."
"...certainly understood soul cultivation."
Outside the formation...
Lhan Ze's aura continued climbing.
He looked almost intoxicated by the energy flowing into him.
"Magnificent."
"So this is the power of an Emperor Soul."
His eyes turned toward Yi Zhau.
"Continue struggling."
"Every moment you resist..."
"...I become stronger."
Far away...
Alex was already gone.
The moment the crimson aura began filling the central hall, he had understood that remaining there would only become a burden to Yi Zhau.
He had entered the next chamber.
And immediately...
He felt something strange.
Cold.
Not ordinary cold.
The temperature seemed to descend from every direction simultaneously.
Alex slowly walked forward.
His footsteps echoed.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The darkness around him was complete.
There were no blue flames here.
No torches.
No glowing runes.
Only darkness.
Alex stopped.
A faint mist escaped his mouth.
He frowned.
"Cold..."
The temperature continued falling.
His fingers gradually became numb.
Alex immediately released a small amount of elemental aura around his body.
The darkness illuminated for an instant.
Then—
Boom!
A pale burst of light erupted around him.
The sudden illumination revealed countless ice formations surrounding the chamber.
Alex instinctively raised his arm.
Ice fragments flew past his face.
One came so close to his eye that he felt the freezing air against his eyelid.
His expression became serious.
"An ice formation."
He slowly looked around.
The chamber was enormous.
Unlike the lava chamber...
There was no obvious path.
The entire floor was covered with a thin layer of transparent ice.
Some portions were completely smooth.
Others contained strange symbols.
At the far end...
A faint blue light shimmered.
Something was waiting there.
Alex took his first step.
Crack.
The ice beneath his foot fractured.
He immediately stopped.
The sound echoed through the entire chamber.
Behind him...
The entrance suddenly opened.
Ban Zen and the remaining two warriors entered.
Their footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Ban Zen looked around.
Then his eyes landed on Alex.
"There you are."
Alex slowly turned.
The three warriors spread apart.
Ban Zen's spear rested against his shoulder.
"You've been running long enough."
Alex looked toward him.
"You followed me into the second chamber."
Ban Zen sneered.
"Did you think a single room would stop us?"
One warrior looked around nervously.
"This chamber..."
"It feels different."
Ban Zen frowned.
"Stay alert."
Alex remained silent.
Something about this place was wrong.
Not just the temperature.
The silence itself.
He looked at the floor.
Then the walls.
Then the ceiling.
His Heroic Eagle Eyes slowly activated.
The darkness changed.
Countless faint lines appeared.
A massive puzzle.
The entire room was covered with interconnected formations.
Each ice tile represented part of the formation.
If he stepped on the wrong one...
Something would happen.
Alex took a breath.
"Interesting."
Ban Zen noticed his expression.
"What did you find?"
Alex didn't answer.
He crouched.
His fingers touched the ice.
A faint blue rune appeared.
Three symbols.
One represented fire.
One represented water.
One represented wind.
Alex looked toward the next row.
There were five tiles.
Each carried a different symbol.
His mind rapidly processed the arrangement.
This wasn't simply a cultivation test.
It was a logical puzzle.
The symbols followed a sequence.
Water suppressed fire.
Wind moved water.
Fire transformed wind.
The pattern continued.
Alex took one step.
Then another.
He avoided the glowing tiles.
Ban Zen watched carefully.
"He's solving the formation."
"Follow his path!"
One warrior immediately stepped where Alex had stepped.
The moment his foot touched the tile—
Crack!
A giant ice spike erupted from the floor.
The warrior jumped backward.
Another spike appeared.
Then another.
Within seconds, dozens of ice spears shot through the chamber.
The warrior barely avoided them.
Ban Zen's expression darkened.
Alex continued moving.
His body was calm.
His eyes moved constantly.
Every tile.
Every symbol.
Every temperature change.
Everything contained a clue.
After several minutes...
Alex reached the middle of the room.
The temperature had become so low that even his elemental aura began freezing at the edges.
He continued.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Then—
A faint blue glow appeared beneath his feet.
The entire formation became silent.
Alex looked ahead.
The remaining path had changed.
A straight line of ice tiles appeared.
At the end...
A small pedestal emerged from the floor.
Upon it rested a jade token.
It was bright blue.
Almost transparent.
Ancient patterns slowly moved within it like clouds trapped inside crystal.
Alex approached cautiously.
The closer he came...
The stronger the resonance became.
He reached out.
The moment his fingers touched the token—
Boom!
A wave of icy energy rushed into his body.
Alex's eyes widened.
For an instant...
He saw an enormous frozen palace.
A woman in white standing beneath a snow-covered tree.
A gigantic ice dragon circling the heavens.
Then...
Everything vanished.
Alex looked at the jade token.
"What exactly are you?"
There was no answer.
He could sense immense power sealed inside it.
But he couldn't determine its purpose.
"Master might know."
Alex immediately placed the token into his storage ring.
The moment it disappeared...
The entire chamber became quiet.
The ice formations slowly stopped glowing.
The exit gate at the far end opened.
Alex glanced back.
Ban Zen and the two warriors were still crossing the formation.
They were struggling.
Alex took the opportunity.
He rushed toward the exit.
"Stop!"
Ban Zen roared.
Alex disappeared through the doorway.
Ban Zen slammed his spear into the ground.
"Damn it!"
The second room's gate slowly closed.
Alex had escaped again.
But this time...
Something had changed.
Deep inside his storage ring...
The bright ice jade token suddenly trembled.
A faint ancient symbol appeared across its surface.
Alex did not notice it.
Meanwhile...
Back in the central hall...
Yi Zhau was still trapped.
The crimson chains had completely surrounded his inner soul.
His Soul Power continued being drained.
Yet suddenly...
Yi Zhau stopped struggling.
His expression changed.
The corners of his mouth slowly rose.
A strange smile appeared.
Lhan Ze frowned.
"Why are you smiling?"
Yi Zhau opened his eyes.
His arrogance returned.
"Hey, kid."
Lhan Ze's expression darkened.
Yi Zhau raised one finger.
"You are..."
"...still a little inexperienced compared to me."
Lhan Ze's pupils contracted.
"What did you—"
Yi Zhau's finger gently touched one crimson chain.
His smile widened.
"I've spent thousands of years studying souls."
"You spent decades studying formations."
"You made one mistake."
Lhan Ze's expression changed.
"What mistake?"
Yi Zhau's eyes flashed with silver light.
"You forgot..."
"...a formation is only as strong as the person controlling it."
His finger moved slightly.
A tiny silver rune appeared.
Lhan Ze's face suddenly turned pale.
"Impossible..."
Yi Zhau whispered:
"Reverse."
Boom!!
The crimson sphere violently distorted.
Every formation node throughout the hall suddenly erupted with silver light.
The red aura reversed direction.
Instead of flowing toward Lhan Ze...
It began rushing toward Yi Zhau.
Lhan Ze stumbled backward.
"What did you do?!"
Yi Zhau's smile disappeared.
His eyes became cold.
"I've been letting you absorb my power..."
"...because I wanted to know how your formation worked."
The entire central hall shook.
Then—
BOOM!
A gigantic explosion erupted from the center of the Scarlet Formation.
The crimson sphere shattered.
And from within the explosion...
A terrifying silver aura emerged.
For the first time since the battle began...
Lhan Ze's face showed genuine fear.