Chapter 2390 - 2293: Formation Array
Chapter 2390: Chapter 2293: Formation Array
They reached a cliff wall and stopped. Qibao turned his head to look at Huo Sining: "Sister, is this the place?"
Huo Sining nodded.
Qibao moved swiftly. The little guy raised his hand and pressed it against the rock wall. Then, Huo Sining and Gu Xu watched as the giant rock wall in front of them began to melt, as if it were being corroded, slowly dissolving and falling bit by bit until it became a pile of fine sand.
A cave large enough for an adult to walk through appeared before the three of them.
"Let’s go."
Qibao beckoned to Huo Sining and Gu Xu who were behind him, while continuing to display his special skills.
During this process, Huo Sining continued to guide Qibao, steering him in the right direction.
Thus, the three of them smoothly penetrated the thick rock wall layer, walked for about four or five hundred meters, and reached the heart of the mountain. There, Huo Sining quickly called for Qibao to stop.
In front of them, only a thin layer of rock remained, and inside was the secret chamber holding the half-mermaid captive.
Huo Sining first explored the rock wall with her hand to confirm she had found the right place before signaling Qibao to continue.
The rock wall was soon torn open into a giant gap, the fine sand rustling down silently, allowing Huo Sining and the others to smoothly enter a sealed ancient tomb space.
As Zhou Shitao had mentioned before, this enclosed space was the true face of the original millennia-old cave. Inside this ancient tomb space, stone spires and hanging stalactites stood everywhere. A clear spring flowed down the rock wall from the top of the cave, gathering into a deep pool at the center.
The water in this deep pool was crystal clear and icy. Around the stone wall grew many shrubs, forming a natural barrier that concealed the small half-acre pond.
The half-mermaid Huo Sining had seen in the Auricle Chamber was now chained in the pond water, perhaps exhausted from struggling during the day, pitifully curled up in the water, eyes closed, unknowingly vulnerable to intruders.
Huo Sining didn’t rush to wake the half-mermaid. In fact, upon entering the space, she felt a deeply uncomfortable aura that she couldn’t quite understand.
Qibao was clearly affected too. Upon entering the space, his lips turned pale, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he whispered: "Sister, it’s so cold in here."
Indeed, Huo Sining felt a frigid aura confronting her. But generally, millennia-old caves are warm in winter and cool in summer; this situation seemed inexplicable.
Gu Xu’s expression showed some surprise, not understanding why Qibao would say this, instinctively contradicting:
"Cold? I don’t feel it, this place is much warmer than outside. The temperature outside must be below five degrees, but in here I feel it’s over ten, maybe twenty degrees, quite comfortable."
Upon hearing this, Huo Sining’s heart tightened, realizing something was amiss.
Gu Xu felt neither cold wind nor aura in this cave, instead warmth and comfort. What was happening?
Could it be... because she and Qibao were Jiaoren?
Logically, the Jiao Clan shouldn’t fear cold, living in the ocean where water temperature is colder than land. Though Huo Sining hadn’t lived in the sea, she clearly felt in recent years she couldn’t tolerate heat in summer but loved the coolness, even jumping into icy pools for hours in winter.
The Jiao Clan and humans differ greatly, with traits akin to fish. This was the first time Huo Sining felt cold—not superficial chill, but soul-deep frigidity.
Seeing Qibao struggling, Huo Sining didn’t bother with the half-mermaid, urgently pushing Qibao back:
"Qibao, wait for Sister back in the cave we entered through!"
Qibao hesitated: "But..."
Qibao wavered, but Huo Sining couldn’t spare the thought, pushing him back, signaling he should stay away.
Retracing their entrance but approaching the ancient tomb, Huo Sining felt the aura’s origin was the central pond.
Pulling Qibao to the cave entrance, the aura weakened as they neared it, disappearing completely inside the cave, replaced by warm wind, making Huo Sining feel relieved.
This gave her some insight, her gaze falling on the deep pond gathering azure pearl-clear water.
The cave was sealed, untouched by wind and sun for years, naturally gathering Yin energy. As Huo Sining approached, her sharp eyes detected an array engraved in the deep pond, eerily familiar.
Suddenly recalling the Gathering Yin Formation above the Han Princess Tomb burial pit on Sanfang Street, its pattern mirrored this—apart from the trapped half-mermaid in the center.
Huo Sining wasn’t sure what the formation’s eye was on Sanfang Street, but remembered Bai Buzhi and the monk’s disturbances there clearly.
If this array was also a type of Gathering Yin Formation, its solution was surely breaking the formation’s eye.
The Sanfang Street array affected everyone there, but when Huo Sining visited, it merely seemed a peculiar magnetic field, not as severe an impact.
Yet this formation unmistakably overwhelmed her with aura, impacting her soul greatly. But, with Azure Pearl’s Spiritual Energy protecting and blocking most aura intrusions, she didn’t collapse on the spot.
Huo Sining’s expression was grave; her impulsiveness was evident, regretful for not surveying outer conditions here beforehand. Had she known, she’d summon Bai Buzhi for help instead of being helpless now.
But retreat was impossible, as Fujiwara Seiho pursued them; the current situation demanded urgency to rescue the half-mermaid.
Huo Sining worried altering this Jiaoren may unleash uncontrollable consequences?