342: Chapter 342 Ninth-Order Array Master, Find a Way

The countercurrent surged over without any warning.

The water, laden with millennia of sediment, carried an aura of decay, like a giant beast waking from its slumber and letting out a yawn.

Chu Sheng felt his body pushed by the force of the water, but the light screen from the sea-suppressing cauldron and Biluo Palace steadied him.

He did not move, his gaze fixed intently on the darkness ahead.

The countercurrent passed quickly.

Immediately after, a low rumble echoed from deep beneath the ground.

The ground began to shake, and the scattered skeletons collided with one another, emitting faint clicking sounds as if bones were questioning each other.

He looked up and saw the outline of the Formation.

Jiuer's voice came from behind, carrying a rare sense of gravity.

"Ninth-Rank Formation Master..." she whispered, "This is at least a Ninth-Rank Formation."

The Bald Monk stood beside her, his gaze also scrutinizing the Formation markings, his expression looking grim.

He did not speak, but the Buddhist beads in his hand were already being squeezed until they were slightly warm.

Chu Sheng did not ask what he was thinking.

"What exactly is this?"

His attention fell on the center of the hall, where a massive skeleton lay.

That skeleton was coiled at the core of the entire hall, roughly estimated to be a hundred zhang long, grey-white in color, with its bones remarkably well-preserved.

It was snake-shaped.

Its skull shape differed from ordinary snakes; there was a pair of short, thick, bony protrusions on its head.

Even after dying many years ago, the skeleton still radiated a heavy pressure that had almost solidified into substance.

Jiuer's gaze fell upon the skeleton's skull.

"This is not an ordinary snake bone..." she whispered, "This is a Teng Snake."

Chu Sheng had never heard this name, but he sensed the change in Jiuer's expression.

Jiuer added, as if talking to herself: "Teng Snake Demon Sovereign, a being who ran rampant in the Western Regions seventy thousand years ago. Legend says he was born in the Yunmeng Great Swamp and grew up in the depths of the Heavenly Pool, once suppressing all the Demon Kings of that era by his own strength. Later, it was said he died under mysterious circumstances, and not even his remains were found. Who would have thought... his remains have been here all along."

She fell silent for a moment, as if digesting the facts she had just seen.

"The old Dragon used his remains as the Formation eye."

Chu Sheng did not respond.

He looked at the skeleton, then at the slowly circulating Formation markings, piecing together a rough outline in his mind.

He no longer had time to continue thinking about it.

The rock wall above suddenly emitted a dense sound of cracking.

It was as if something was piercing through the rock layers from above, falling rapidly.

Chu Sheng looked up and saw several figures, wrapped in water mist and gravel, falling down from the cracks in the dome.

One, two, three—

More and more.

Those figures quickly steadied themselves after landing; some had already assumed defensive postures the moment they hit the ground, while others were still looking around, clearly not having fully reacted yet.

Those were the members of the Yao Race who had previously stayed in the Heavenly Pool to hunt for treasures.

They should have been chasing the Dragon Pearl in the water screen of the Heavenly Pool, but at this moment, they had been sucked into this hall buried deep underground by an unknown power.

After landing, they saw the massive Teng Snake skeleton and the dense piles of bones in the hall, and their expressions changed one after another.

Some Yao began to try to mobilize their spiritual power, only to find that their cultivation base had been suppressed by more than half in this space.

Some Yao tried to return the way they came, only to find that the cracks in the ceiling had closed, as if they had never appeared at all.

A moment later, a heavy and violent aura landed on a high platform in the center of the hall.

A figure, burly with broad shoulders and a thick back, wore dark yellow armor that gleamed coldly in the light of the Formation.

The Tiger King.

His gaze fell upon the Teng Snake skeleton, and he froze for a moment, but he did not panic like the other members of the Yao Race.

He closed his eyes, as if sensing something, and after a moment, he opened them, a rare look of gravity appearing on his face.

"The Formation eye is Ninth-Rank."

His voice was not loud, but it made the surrounding panicked members of the Yao Race quiet down.

"And the person who set up the Formation has been maintaining it for at least several thousand years."

The gazes of all the Yao were focused on him.

A Catfish Yao asked in a low voice: "Lord Tiger King, can you break this Formation?"

The Tiger King did not answer.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his right hand, clenched his five fingers, and smashed a fist toward the ground in front of him.

That punch carried a dull and heavy force, as if intending to overturn the foundations of the entire hall.

The ground shook violently, and even a few stone chips from the hall ceiling were shaken loose.

But the Formation did not budge.

Those deep blue Formation markings did not even flicker; they just shone steadily, as if they had long been accustomed to this level of impact.

The Tiger King frowned.

He himself saw that this punch had no effect at all.

The Catfish Yao's voice rang out again, carrying a hint of panic: "Lord Tiger King... look over there!"

He pointed in the direction where Chu Sheng and the other two were.

The Tiger King looked in the direction he indicated, seeing the light screen of the sea-suppressing cauldron and Biluo Palace, as well as Chu Sheng, Jiuer, and The Bald Monk inside the light screen.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Human Race, Fox Race, Buddhist Sect..."

He seemed to be identifying something, or perhaps quickly piecing together the cause and effect, "How are you three here?"

He took a step forward, and the rest of the Yao Race followed him, surrounding them; although their Formation was loose, they had already implicitly half-encircled Chu Sheng and the other two.

The Tiger King's gaze fell on Chu Sheng, his voice carrying an unavoidable questioning tone.

"Do you know something?"

His tone held no murderous intent, but carried an undisguised sense of oppression, like a prowling beast that might stop at any moment to deliver a final choice.

Chu Sheng did not answer.

He quickly assessed the current situation in his mind.

The Tiger King's cultivation base was far above his, and there were many other experts from the Yao Race around.

He could not confront them head-on, nor should he be in a rush to expose his trump cards.

He glanced at Jiuer; Jiuer did not speak, but she had slightly adjusted her stance, ready to act at any moment.

The Bald Monk stood quietly behind them, the Buddhist beads gently rotating between his fingertips, like an imperturbable statue.

Chu Sheng was silent for a moment, then spoke, his tone calm, neither panicked nor provocative.

"This Junior did arrive one step earlier than you all."

"But regarding this Formation, this Junior does not know much more than you."

His gaze met the Tiger King's.

"However—"

He paused, "If Senior Tiger King is willing to stop and listen to what this Junior has to say first, perhaps we can find a way out together."

The Tiger King did not immediately respond.

He looked at Chu Sheng for a long while, as if weighing the significance of his words.