The fish and aquatic plants in the Jade Lake outside the corridor were vividly visible, with a shoal of fish darting through above, the swishing tails stirring the water as if it might surge into the corridor.
Both Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo were stunned by this unexpected spectacle.
With a jolt of realization, Sun Lingtong conveyed through divine sense: "This is Formation Space Construction!"
Ning Zhuo, reminded, was also shocked: "It... it seems so."
Formation Space Construction is a sophisticated art of formation setting, beyond the capabilities of cultivators with only shallow mastery of the Array Dao.
Ning Zhuo had encountered craft of similar difficulty before, which was the Invisible Hub.
On the Black Cloud Battlefield, while Ning Zhuo located the array hub, he couldn’t destroy it. Truly, it was the art of the Invisible Hub!
Sun Lingtong had a deeper understanding of the Array Dao than Ning Zhuo and was the first to recognize it. At this moment, he stared at the corridor before him, eyes shining, and sincerely admired: "This is my first time seeing this formation artistry in person."
"Constructing an internal space with an array is already rare. But Formation Space Construction can deconstruct, reshape, and rebuild the internal space of an array."
"From outside, Shuyu Pavilion’s cave mansion seems just like a palace at the lake’s bottom."
"But from inside, this palace has been restructured and rebuilt with the cave mansion’s formation, entering a wonderful state where architecture and formation are tightly fused!"
"Little Zhuo, to what extent has your mother’s mastery of the Array Dao reached?"
Ning Zhuo was parched and tongue-tied: "I don’t know either. You know my situation, big brother. You’ve seen the manuals my mother left behind."
"Wait, why are you so sure it’s my mother’s setup and not originally of the Shuyu Pavilion’s cave mansion?"
Sun Lingtong shook his head, very sure: "The status of Shuyu Pavilion is similar to Panshi Cave Mansion, among the top cave mansions on their respective peaks."
"You’ve been to Panshi Cave Mansion, how is its formation?"
"Even the Nine Palace Formation set by Xie Hall is absolutely weaker in grade and difficulty compared to the great array here."
"This should be Aunt’s handiwork!"
Ning Zhuo blinked, his eyes a bit red. He sighed: "Ah, if mother had left me some formation manuals, maybe my formation knowledge could be similar to Shen Xi’s."
Sun Lingtong shook his head: "That was likely your mother’s careful consideration. If she left profound manuals, it would have brought you trouble. After all, back then, you were just a two-year-old child. Your mother couldn’t fully trust an outsider like me."
Sun Lingtong stood still.
He dared not move.
This was no ordinary corridor for sightseeing. Beneath the scenic beauty of the lake lay hidden traps and deadly intentions.
Clearly, this was another anti-theft measure.
Sun Lingtong observed for a full 30 minutes before furrowing his brows and attempting.
He tiptoed forward, carefully taking a small step forward. As his front foot stepped on the tile, ripples of water began to undulate across the brick surface.
Sun Lingtong took several steps, his path zigzagging, the rippling patterns he created on the tiles growing more numerous and leading to a qualitative change.
Several water arrows materialized from thin air, all simultaneously shooting towards Sun Lingtong.
Sun Lingtong could only evade by quickly retreating backward.
However, this triggered even more defensive measures, as a stream of water assaulted from behind, wrapping around his waist and binding him tightly.
Sun Lingtong attempted to respond, but the binding water possessed prohibitive power, preventing him from reacting promptly.
Life Hanging Thread!
Spirit Communication Mirror!
In a critical moment, Ning Zhuo immediately intervened, retrieving Sun Lingtong from the scene and relocating to the cave mansion at Vinebrace Cliff.
Sun Lingtong was still shaken: "This formation is truly formidable! Little Zhuo, if not for your timely intervention, I surely would have been seriously injured."
Ning Zhuo: "Big brother, you took the fall for me."
Sun Lingtong waved his hand: "No, I should thank you, for giving me this chance to explore and venture, it really is so thrilling, hahaha."
Sun Lingtong laughed heartily, his eyes bright and full of enthusiasm.
"You know? The harder the obstacles ahead, the more it fuels my desire for a challenge. Little Zhuo, let’s both contemplate the formations in this corridor."
Ning Zhuo nodded firmly.
The two brothers first consolidated the information they had gathered so far and then discussed the corridor’s formations.
During this discussion, Ning Zhuo even brought out the manuals his mother had left behind for both himself and Sun Lingtong to examine together.
Despite the materials being relatively basic and involving more Mechanical Techniques, they did reveal some subtle clues.
After all, these were writings by Ning Zhuo’s mother. They offered insights into the author’s character and habits of thought.
"Hard, still too hard," Sun Lingtong lamented.
Although they had gained some insights, the gains were limited.
Ning Zhuo: "We’ll need to probe a few more times to fully understand the corridor’s formation setup."
Sun Lingtong’s expression was serious: "I feel we shouldn’t attempt too many times. Aunt wouldn’t set it up this way. Based on the current array patterns, a few more triggers and the entire corridor might be sealed off."
"At least, that’s how it is."
"What I fear more is that it might activate the central array plate, causing the entire Shuyu Pavilion to self-destruct!"
Ning Zhuo gave it some thought: "If that’s the case, perhaps we need to improve our understanding of formations."
Sun Lingtong shook his head: "That’s unreliable. Mastering cultivation hundred skills doesn’t happen overnight. Opportunities like your previous Five Elements Realm encounter are exceptionally rare."
Ning Zhuo sighed: "Ah, we should just try and see first."
Though Ning Zhuo had a solid foundation in formation arts, Sun Lingtong’s understanding was stronger, yet even their combined efforts were dwarfed by the formations set by Meng Yaoyin.
Despite having the Array Gap Traveling Shuttle as a tool, Sun Lingtong struggled to find moments to utilize it—finding no flaw or gap in the formations.
Using the Earth Escape Technique to enter the mountain, Sun Lingtong passed through the Thousand Vine Drinking Cloud Formation with the Array Gap Traveling Shuttle and entered the Transmission Stone Chamber.
Through the Transmission Array, he re-entered the Shuyu Pavilion.
Passing through the Array Core Room, he still chose the same door as before.
Pushing open the door into the corridor, he and Ning Zhuo faced the challenge once more.
The corridor hadn’t completely calmed down, ripples continued over the tiles. This was a new occurrence, validating Sun Lingtong’s previous grim conjecture—they hadn’t tried many times at all!
But just as Sun Lingtong was about to continue testing the formation, a thunderous explosion suddenly sounded.
"What’s going on?!" Sun Lingtong looked up at the sky, bewildered.
Currently at the lake’s bottom, he saw the water above shaking, creating turbulent waves. It wasn’t just Jade Lake, even the entire area around it seemed disturbed.
Sun Lingtong quickly composed himself: "What’s happening?"
Ning Zhuo rapidly dispatched Chef to investigate the situation.
Chef was new here and not skilled in gathering information.
It wasn’t long before Yu Heye’s flying message appeared before Ning Zhuo.
Yu Heye’s message stated he was also startled, before informing Ning Zhuo that a young cultivator named Niu Cheng was causing the disturbance while attempting to obtain the Array Dao Treasure of the Xie Hall, triggering the Nine Palace Formation.
This particular Nine Palace encompasses the Vinebrace Cliff and Yunmo Peak.
Yu Heye indicated that Niu Cheng seemed to be close to success and offered to do everything in his power to help Ning Zhuo obtain this Array Dao Treasure if he wished it, as a gesture of gratitude for Ning Zhuo saving his life!
Ning Zhuo wrote a message to reassure Yu Heye, telling him that he didn’t need to worry about this matter.
Chef still hadn’t returned yet.
Mengye Tiger and Night Tiger had not been repaired and it was cumbersome to fix them.
Originally, he was relying on Chef, but he had sent him out to gather information.
Ning Zhuo swiftly sent a flying message to call Chef back. He then contacted Sun Lingtong.
Just as Ning Zhuo was deep in thought, wondering about the situation, Sun Lingtong managed to regain his composure, fairly certain that the problem was not on their end.