Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Twin Cities Merge

Yun Xi did not reveal her findings to anyone. It would be impossible to explain why her spirit sense exceeded her cultivation by so much. Instead, she secretly placed a strand of her spirit sense onto the rogue cultivator.

The man wore a plain black robe, the attire of an ordinary rogue cultivator. His only valuable possession was the spirit sword in his hand. With such an unremarkable appearance, he easily blended into the background, unnoticed by the others.

An hour passed, and everyone gathered in the courtyard of the City Lord’s estate. They anxiously exchanged questions, hoping someone might have discovered a clue. Yet disappointment shadowed every face.

Zuo Die’er’s mind was entirely on escaping; she had no mood to pester Zhou Lang Chen further. Instead, Ming Ya’s gaze lingered upon Zhou Lang Chen from time to time.

Yun Xi secretly sent a voice transmission to Qin Tong Shuang, sharing this amusing observation. Qin Tong Shuang nearly broke her cold facade, giving Yun Xi a look that clearly said, [You’re still in the mood to gossip now?]

“Did you notice anything else?” Qin Tong Shuang pressed.

“…Not yet,” Yun Xi replied cautiously, unwilling to close off any possibilities.

No one else had made any discoveries either. Their faces grew increasingly grim. The longer they stayed trapped, the slimmer their chances of escape became.

Zhou Lang Chen pondered for a while before saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, do not lose hope. The fact we haven’t found anything doesn’t mean nothing exists. Perhaps it will only appear on a special day. If my memory is correct, tomorrow is the day of Li Cang Yuan’s bonding ceremony. Let’s wait and see.”

He had a feeling something would happen tomorrow that might change their fate.

Everyone could only comfort themselves with this idea and returned to their temporary quarters.

Yun Xi and her companions gathered quietly, discussing their strange experiences. Zuo Die’er was no longer interested in Zhou Lang Chen; her only concern now was escaping. Ming Ya reluctantly followed her, glancing back every few steps toward her lost opportunity.

At daybreak, the empty Twin Peaks City had returned to normal, as if the terrifying space compression from the night before had never happened.

The day passed in torturous silence. As night fell again, everyone anxiously stared out toward the ghostly Hollow City beyond the City Lord’s manor.

As soon as midnight arrived, the space once again began to shake, the oppressive spatial force returning—but this time was unlike any other.

Through her hidden spirit sense, Yun Xi saw the rogue cultivator slip unnoticed into the back courtyard of the City Lord’s manor. He swiftly tossed a talisman into a deep pool. Instantly, water surged, sending rippling waves of red energy radiating outward throughout the entire manor.

The sudden commotion alerted other cultivators, whose spirit senses quickly uncovered the rogue cultivator’s suspicious actions.

“Qu Sheng, what have you done?” someone shouted in anger.

The rogue cultivator, a man named Qu Sheng at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, sighed and said simply, “I’m sorry, everyone. I just wanted to survive.”

After speaking, he crushed a teleportation talisman, attempting to flee. Cultivators quickly attacked, hoping to stop him. Their first two strikes missed, and Qu Sheng’s figure faded from sight.

Yet in a shocking twist, moments later, Qu Sheng reappeared, confusion written all over his face. Before he could react, a sharp sword light from Zhou Lang Chen struck him down.

Qu Sheng groaned and collapsed to the ground. As he fell, countless figures suddenly emerged all around them within the City Lord’s estate.

Yun Xi was equally astonished, her gaze fixed outside. The phantom Hollow City was rapidly merging with the real Twin Peaks City. More and more figures materialized in the previously empty streets and rooms, each wearing expressions of confusion.

“What’s happening?” someone cried out in panic.

Zhang Yan responded quickly, “Two spaces are merging. Perhaps the real Twin Peaks City has already been pulled into this strange dimension.”

“What does the mastermind behind this want?” Zuo Die’er anxiously asked, her voice trembling.

Yun Xi blinked, unease growing in her heart as she watched the increasing number of confused faces appearing. Mu Ning Zhu evidently had the same realization and immediately ordered, “Activate all your defensive treasures now. This isn’t simple.”

Everyone swiftly obeyed, wary of the cultivators who kept appearing around them.

Dragging the wounded Qu Sheng, Zhou Lang Chen approached, having also realized something sinister was unfolding. He cast a spell to awaken the rogue cultivator, sharply asking, “Tell us everything you know! You’ve lost your value now and are trapped here with us. Keeping silent means death.”

Qu Sheng clutched his bleeding chest, knowing he had nowhere left to run. After a deep breath, he admitted, “It was Daoist Master Li who ordered me. He told me to watch the cultivators transported into this space. I was supposed to report any discoveries to him and activate the formation in the pond at a specified time.”

“What exactly does the formation do?” Zhou Lang Chen pressed further.

“I don’t know. Daoist Master Li never told me,” Qu Sheng confessed bitterly.

“How did you enter this place?”

“Daoist Master Li himself sent me here.”

Qu Sheng had merely wanted to earn some spirit stones; he hadn’t imagined it would cost him his life.

While everyone stood bewildered, the pond in the City Lord’s back courtyard suddenly released a pillar of scarlet light. Rising high into the sky, the light expanded into a massive crimson formation centered upon the manor.

Similar red pillars rose from various points across Twin Peaks City, each blossoming into a great array. Soon, nine immense formations slowly rotated in midair, completely enveloping every cultivator within the city.

“Not good! It’s the Nine Wheel Sacrificial Array!” an expert specializing in formations cried out, fear clear in his voice.

Though Yun Xi knew little about formations, the name alone filled her heart with dread. Anything involving sacrifice surely meant loss of life.

Someone quickly explained further, “This is an evil formation, supposedly destroyed long ago! How could it appear here?”

“What does the mastermind want, sacrificing an entire city of cultivators?”

“Has City Lord Li gone insane? So many deaths will certainly draw attention.”

“But City Lord Li is supposed to be in secluded cultivation!”

Yun Xi tightly gripped her Life Ending Staff, realizing the situation had become extremely dangerous.

“This space has merged completely with the real Twin Peaks City. Even if we all perish here, both cities will vanish together without a trace,” someone whispered hopelessly.

“The Hollow City’s space compression was just City Lord Li’s attempt to fuse the two dimensions. We were nothing more than his experimental subjects.”

“What do we do now?”

“Do we have any formation masters here? Quickly think of something!”

In panic, the cultivators pieced together the horrifying truth. But the hidden villain had yet to show himself, leaving them no choice but desperate self-preservation.

Within fifteen minutes, the Nine Wheel Sacrificial Array was fully activated. The formation masters among them still struggled to pinpoint a weakness, raising everyone’s anxiety.

Two breaths later, a powerful suction erupted from the formation, draining spiritual energy from every cultivator.

“Activate all your defenses! Quickly replenish your spiritual energy! If your energy is drained completely, the array will begin to devour your souls!” one of the formation masters urgently warned.

Several Qi Refining stage cultivators had already collapsed, their spiritual energy depleted. Helplessly, their souls floated upward into the array above, their bodies dissolving slowly into dust.