Jian Lin's heart trembled, filled with even greater worry. Knowing Yuan Shuo's nature, this formation was bound to be sinister and cruel. Jian Lin had no idea what would happen once they entered.
She raised her eyes to look at the Demon Lord, wanting to speak but hesitating, wishing to persuade him again.
Unexpectedly, the Demon Lord gave her no chance. He directly took her hand and pulled her out of the corridor, heading straight for the pond's edge. Seizing the moment before the patrolling disciples noticed, he plunged into the pond.
Jian Lin was speechless. Without even a word of greeting, it was truly befitting of the Demon Lord's demeanor.
She closed her eyes, but the expected sensation of being submerged in water did not occur. She quickly opened her eyes and found herself in a void, looking around. The void was vaster than she could have imagined.
It wasn't pure black; light streamed down from above, and light waves flowed within the void. Jian Lin looked up, and the light source was in the shape of the pond. They hadn't been teleported away; they were still at Yuan Shuo's grand hall on Chiyan Peak.
Jian Lin turned her head to find the Demon Lord and tried to speak, but discovered her voice couldn't be transmitted. The Demon Lord reached out and wrote two words on her palm, signaling her to calm down.
He raised his hand and sent out a wave of energy, causing a disturbance in the void. The airflow swirled and gradually converged into a single point, which was one of the formation's nodes.
The Demon Lord gripped Jian Lin's hand and rushed forward, drawing a long sword and thrusting it directly. This strike seemed to hit a vital point, as if opening another vacuum door, rapidly sucking away the void and airflow. Jian Lin felt the surrounding scenery gradually become real, and then the sensation of weightlessness disappeared. She plummeted downwards.
"Huh?" Jian Lin exclaimed softly, then steadied herself, not wanting to fall face first.
She stumbled a few steps before finally regaining her balance. Turning to look at the Demon Lord, she saw him with his hands behind his back, drifting down elegantly like a flower.
Truly, some people were not human, and it was infuriating.
Jian Lin pouted, looking up to assess the surroundings. It appeared to be the entrance to a secret chamber, with clear signs of artificial excavation. They were far from the light source now; the illumination came from the luminous pearls embedded on both sides of the secret passage. It had to be said that Yuan Shuo's methods were truly extravagant, completely unlike the ascetic practices of immortal families.
The Demon Lord sheathed his long sword and replaced it with a bamboo branch, carefully probing his surroundings, looking for any opportunities.
Jian Lin, however, was concerned about another issue. "Lord Chongyuan, can we return the way we came?"
She was still shaken from the previous incident with the Dragon Bone Spiritual Vein in the demon realm. If it happened again, she wouldn't have so many chances to attract heavenly lightning and dared not use it lightly.
"Don't worry, this is a formation," the Demon Lord said, as if sensing her concerns. "And it's artificially created. No matter how powerful, there's always a way to break it, unlike the Divine Realm."
Hearing this, Jian Lin felt a little bit relieved. Suddenly, she heard the sound of wind breaking through the air. Following her instincts, she dodged to the side. An air blade struck the wall behind her with a "pa" sound, leaving a deep scar.
What was even more terrifying was that the scar healed at a visible speed, quickly returning to a smooth wall surface.
Jian Lin was stunned. She gestured to the Demon Lord, asking, "Lord Chongyuan, did you see that? What is that?"
"A formation. It has self-repairing capabilities," the Demon Lord said, having finished his probing. He signaled Jian Lin to follow him. "Count the square bricks under your feet. Avoid stepping on the third, sixth, and ninth. This is a mechanism set by the formation, which will trigger its attack."
After speaking, the Demon Lord moved forward without hesitation, leaping rapidly across the bricks.
Jian Lin was extremely nervous. Even though she knew the pattern, facing the threat of death, how could she not panic?
"Oh dear, Lord Chongyuan, wait for me," Jian Lin followed the Demon Lord's pace, but soon couldn't keep up. "Don't rush, we have plenty of time."
The Demon Lord slowed down to wait for her. "It's not that I'm in a hurry. I'm afraid that if we linger too long, the formation will react, and someone will decipher its set pattern, causing it to modify its mechanisms."
Upon hearing this, Jian Lin stopped wasting words and, with renewed focus, leaped rapidly following the Demon Lord's footsteps. They soon arrived at the first door.
The Demon Lord first poked it with the bamboo branch, but there was no reaction. He then cautiously pushed it with his hand, still no movement. He boldly stepped forward, pressing his entire body against the door, trying to force it open with brute strength, but it remained unmoving.
"Let me try." Jian Lin had a flash of inspiration. She felt a sense of familiarity with this formation, as her lost spiritual energy had converged within it.
The Demon Lord stepped back, making way. Jian Lin placed her palm on the wall, closed her eyes, and channeled her limited spiritual energy.
As her spiritual energy increased, the stone door began to tremble. Jian Lin closed her eyes, concentrating fully. With continued effort, a heavy sound echoed, and the stone door slowly moved, revealing its true appearance.
When Jian Lin opened her eyes, it was no exaggeration to say she was blinded by the sight.
Behind the stone door was a massive treasure chamber, filled with countless spirit stones and magical artifacts. Precious and valuable items emitted a faint glow under the illumination of the huge luminous pearls.
The Demon Lord rested his hands on the doorframe, bent down to look inside, and couldn't help but sneer, "This True Person Yuan Shuo, I wouldn't dare say his cultivation is first, but if we're talking about wealth, he dares to claim second, and no one would dare claim first."
"Indeed," Jian Lin said, gazing at the wealth of spirit stones and treasures, and sighed, "No wonder he would form a marriage alliance with the Golden Scale Sect. He could even sacrifice his beloved disciples. I think his greatest love is this treasure-filled chamber."
"Then what do you think would happen to Yuan Shuo if we took it all?" the Demon Lord suggested mischievously.
"He would definitely be upset, but that's not important!" Jian Lin still had a shred of rationality in the face of temptation. "Finding my senior brother and sister is the priority. If there's an opportunity, you can move these treasures later."
"Yuan Shuo is greedy for wealth. Our finding this treasure chamber means we are not far from the formation's core," the Demon Lord signaled her to enter. "Let's go inside and see; we're sure to find something."
Jian Lin nodded and stepped inside. She knew she shouldn't look, but couldn't resist the temptation. As she passed a fire tree with silver flowers, she couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
At that very moment, a burning pain struck her. Jian Lin retracted her hand, jumping with pain as if stung. Her finger quickly swelled into a carrot.
"It's poisonous," the Demon Lord said, holding her wrist to examine it, then quickly denied it. "No, it's more like a forbidden curse. As expected, wealth easily obtained always comes with traps."
Jian Lin trembled with pain and said weakly, "Lord Chongyuan, this is not the time for sarcastic remarks. Help me find a way; it hurts so much."
"Then you'll have to bear with it. I don't understand forbidden curses very well," the Demon Lord said, staring at her finger in thought, and deliberated, "I don't know if there's a life-threatening danger. I think dismembering the finger is the best option."
Upon hearing that her finger might be cut off, Jian Lin was extremely unwilling. She endured the pain and said tremblingly, "No, no, no, it's not that bad. It's just a forbidden curse, I'll think of a way myself."
Jian Lin immediately communicated with the system, including what a forbidden curse was in this world, how powerful it was, and how to break it.
The system immediately provided her with extensive definitions. She read the information at lightning speed in her mind, becoming more and more astonished.
It turned out that forbidden curses were the most profound and powerful spells in the mortal world. Cultivators valued talent and opportunity. There were no specific moves or mental techniques; it all depended on personal comprehension.
A powerful curse master was rare and hard to find, and each curse master had their unique way of casting curses. Not only outsiders who didn't understand, but even fellow curse masters found it difficult to break them.
Speaking of which, if one were to ask who the most powerful curse master in this world was, Jian Lin received an unexpected answer.
"Lord Chongyuan, do you know who the most powerful curse master in this world is?" Jian Lin asked with a strange expression.
"No one knows. The first rule for curse masters to establish themselves is to never reveal their identity to anyone," the Demon Lord explained in a low voice. "Even my father only revealed the secrets of the curses he cast on his deathbed."
So that was it. No wonder everyone talked about various forbidden curses but never mentioned specific names.
However, she knew that through her points exchange, she had learned that the most powerful curse master in this world was Bai Xian.
That was the great priest of the demon realm, the sickly one, whom she had sealed and imprisoned in the treasure box.
In just a few sentences of conversation, not much time had passed, but Jian Lin's finger had already turned from a carrot to a purple carrot, and the pain had numbed her entire body.
"Lord Chongyuan, I'm about to do something that might confuse you, but you have to believe me, I have my reasons." Jian Lin gasped, pulling out the treasure box from her Qiankun bag. However, she found she couldn't open it with her injured finger, so she had to ask the Demon Lord to open it for her and take out the white jade bell.
The Demon Lord glanced at it and found it familiar. "This is what I gave you, isn't it? Just a small trinket. What are you taking it out for now?"
"It's a long story, I'll explain everything to you later," Jian Lin said weakly. "Now I'm going to make a big change, don't be scared."
As her words fell, the Demon Lord felt a blur before his eyes. Suddenly, a white figure appeared. The person slowly opened their eyes, their gaze filled with confusion, unaware of their whereabouts.
The Demon Lord was first surprised, then chuckled, and said admiringly, "So the Demon Emperor wasn't wrong. It was indeed you who abducted him."
Upon hearing the words "Demon Emperor," Bai Xian seemed to be stimulated. His eyes slowly blinked, and he said, "It was you who locked me up. Long time no see."
"Yes, yes, long time no see," Jian Lin was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with him. She directly extended her finger in front of Bai Xian. "Quickly take a look for me, it hurts so much. Heal me first, then we can talk about other things."
Bai Xian took a step back. He looked around, shocked by the secret chamber and the spirit stones. "Where is this?"
"You don't need to ask me where this is," Jian Lin pointed to the golden, silver-flowered tree that had caused her swelling and said to Bai Xian, "Go touch it, touch it and you'll know."
Bai Xian's gaze fell on Jian Lin's finger, clearly noticing something. He reached out and touched the golden leaves. Surprisingly, it didn't harm him at all.
"This is..." Bai Xian was also very surprised and looked back at Jian Lin. "This is my forbidden curse."