"How about it? With these several array formations completely enclosing this area, even if something truly major should arise, we'll be able to handle it. Besides, we've been wasting our time all along." After inserting the final flag of the array into a corner of the water pond, the Nán Lǒng Marquis clasped his hands and chuckled with a sigh. "Heh! I'd rather spend more time than risk any unforeseen mishaps. If the chamber behind this gate truly houses an ancient master's hidden treasure, that would be ideal. Should it not, then at least we've made preparations—better than doing nothing. Though I'm quite eager for the treasures, I value my life even more." Lu Weiying smiled lightly and said this with ease. The Nán Lǒng Marquis listened and then shook his head, saying nothing further. At this moment, the elder arranged the final array disk and activated its seal, causing a faint, ethereal glow of white light to hover gently around the perimeter. Satisfied, he nodded and then turned to face the stone gate once again, glowing with blood-like radiance. Nan Long Hou, growing increasingly impatient, immediately, without ceremony, snapped off a storage scroll from his waist and tossed it high into the air. Instantly, a wave of white light surged out, revealing a translucent, ancient cultivator's ossuary materializing on the ground. "This Blood Covenanted Gate is quite unusual," Nan Long Hou said, his voice steady. "To dispel its seal, one must use the cultivator's own essence or flesh—flesh, of course, will be hard to find. Yet, within this seated, lifeless ancient cultivator's remains, there should still be some traces of their essence." As he spoke, he exhaled a golden, flying sword. Then, he reached out and grasped the void above the ground; the ossuary instantly rose, floating several meters above the surface. With a flick of his finger, a white spell struck the small sword resting motionless before his chest. A hum resonated, and the sword trembled slightly, then suddenly burst forth with a brilliant, radiant blade of light—golden, dazzling in its brilliance! Then the sword glow intensified, gradually transforming into a golden orb. A moment later, the luminous orb instantly detached from the small sword and shot forth, striking the floating skeletons directly. Upon impact, the orb burst into splinters, its light radiating outward. Sharp, intersecting sword currents surged forth, completely engulfing the entire skeleton. Immediately afterward, fine, uniformly sized bone dust, like sand grains, drifted down from the sword glow. Nanlong Hou's eyes flashed with keen light as he swept his sleeve aside, and a cascade of golden radiance surged forth from within, neatly gathering every single translucent bone dust particle without a single one escaping. The golden sword glow then gradually faded. Observing the compact, luminous bone dust now gathered in a radiant orb, Nanlong Hou nodded silently. Then he turned his gaze toward Lu Weiying beside him. The elder, naturally understanding Nanlong Hou's intent, did not hesitate—simply cupped his hands together, and the pale, misty banner instantly appeared between them. With a gentle shake, a hurricane spontaneously emerged near the legal banner. At this moment, Nanlong Marquis sat cross-legged, clasping his hands in seals and murmuring low incantations. One after another, various spells shot forth from his hands and struck the golden mist enveloping the bone powder. Stimulated by these spells, the golden glow gently rolled and spun, carrying the bone powder within. The semi-transparent powder shimmered with various luminous hues, flashing and sparkling, appearing exceptionally vibrant. Meanwhile, the Lu elder, standing by, lightly attacked the stone gate. Without panic or rushing to raise his banner, he simply lifted one hand, and as a flash of red light appeared, a series of fiery balls the size of fists shot toward the gate. "Puff, puff"—a few soft, muffled sounds. As the fire balls approached the gate, the stone surface flashed with blood-like light, then suddenly came to life. A broad expanse of crimson gathered at the center, interwove and condensed, forming a massive ghost face identical to the carved ghost head on the gate—reaching nearly a zhang in height. The ghost-faced figure gulped down several fire balls whole, and after a brief flash, they instantly dissolved. The stone gate returned to its original state. Witnessing this, the elderly man with the Lu surname was startled. Yet after a moment's hesitation, he pointed his hand-flag toward the stone gate. The gust of wind already visible on the flag instantly coiled into a wind dragon, roaring forward to strike the gate. The ghost-faced figure reappeared, opened its wide mouth again, and spewed out vast patches of crimson light, which immediately engulfed and absorbed the wind dragon, drawing it into its own mouth. Then, amidst the elder's growing astonishment and anger, the ghost-faced figure vanished once more. The Lu surname elder and Nan Long Marquis exchanged glances, and both found themselves at a loss. "This blood-curse gate truly seems peculiar. We should simply follow Master Cangkun's method of unlocking it, step by step," sighed the Nan Long Marquis, speaking calmly. Upon hearing this, Lu Weiying stroked his chin and could only nod in agreement. Though he had even more powerful attacks at his disposal, this ghostly face on the stone gate seemed rather eerie. He was determined not to undermine the carefully laid plans. Given the former Master of Qingkun's renowned reputation, he surely had a solid chance of finding a solution. "Go!" South Lang Prince suddenly issued a low command, pointing once at the shimmering light in the sky. The golden light burst brilliantly, emitting a resonant hum, and then surged directly toward the stone gate without hesitation. Bloodlight flickered, and the ghostly face reappeared on the gate. This time, however, as the golden light met the face, the bone dust interwoven within the light suddenly transformed into fine white luminous specks, rushing eagerly to adhere to the face. Upon contact with these specks, the ghostly face suddenly released waves of gray-white mist, and the face began to dissolve instantly. Soon, the entire stone gate was enveloped in a gray mist. Within the mist, the cries of the ghost grew sharp and mournful, the bloodlight flickering incessantly. Then, one after another, thick, blood-colored tentacles surged forth from the mist, vigorously thrashing the jade stone floor, as if the entire stone gate had come to life. But moments later, when the gray mist enveloped them, the tentacles instantly melted and dispersed. "Now! Act!" Nan Long Hou saw the scene on the gate and shouted decisively without hesitation. He then raised his golden sword before him, pressed his palms together in a series of gestures, and channeled his full spiritual energy through the incantation into the flying sword. The golden flying sword instantly transformed into a brilliant golden arc, piercing through the air and shooting forward. Meanwhile, an elder on the side grew increasingly grave, channeling most of his spiritual energy into his banner and hurling it into the air. After a flash of white light, the banner instantly split into several wind dragons, charging boldly toward the stone gate once more. In a short while, both the golden arc and the wind dragons plunged into the gray mist. A thunderous roar erupted from within the mist, where golden light, blood glow, and gales intertwined before explosively merging and bursting forth. After a violent gust of wind, the stone gate became clearly visible, the gray-white mist instantly swept away by the explosion. Seeing this, Nanlong Marquis narrowed his eyes. The blood glow on the gate was entirely gone, as though the seal had completely vanished. He slightly shifted his gaze and then examined the golden small sword embedded halfway into the stone surface. With a mere flick of his consciousness, the sword suddenly launched itself from the gate, transforming into a golden archway several feet long, and began slashing wildly across the stone gate in a dense, intersecting pattern. A tumultuous roar of sound followed, and amid the brilliant golden light, the entire stone gate was reduced to a heap of scattered fragments. A most pungent, foul odor suddenly spread throughout the area. Yet upon closely inspecting the fragments of the gate, both Nanlong Marquis and the elderly Lu elder were struck with alarm. The cut surfaces of the fragments appeared remarkably human-like, gushing out dark, almost black blood. And precisely from this dark, rich blood came the intense, foul smell. The scene was truly astonishing and utterly strange. Although the stone gate had been shattered, the two southern Lu侯 did not see anything remarkable. For behind the stone gate, a dark staircase appeared, extending downward into the earth. "Come on!" said the southern Lu侯, gazing at the passage that seemed to lead straight to the depths of the Nine Tombs, "I'd like to see what treasures this blood-curse gate actually holds. It's been making such a big deal out of it." Without pausing to招呼 the elderly man with the Lu surname, he strode forward and soon entered the passage himself. The hall was not very spacious, only about seven or eight zhang wide. Aside from a single altar, the entire hall was empty, with nothing else in sight. When the elder entered, Nanlong Marquis was standing at the center of the hall, staring blankly at the several items placed on the altar, as though he were frozen in thought. The elder approached with some surprise and looked over as well. Immediately, he was struck silent. "The Tianyuan fruit! Did I see that correctly? The fruit said to extend one's life by a hundred years when just one is consumed. That deep-purple lingzhi—could it indeed be the legendary "Heaven-Complement Lingzhi"? Judging by its condition, it must have lived for over ten thousand years, and even just eating it could enhance one's cultivation by several decades. And this golden bamboo—could it be the Jinlei Bamboo among the Three Divine Trees? And then there's this..." Upon clearly seeing the six or seven kinds of flowers and plants arranged on the altar, Lu Weiying first stood stunned, then grew increasingly alarmed, speaking in a disordered rush. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, and without hesitation, took two steps forward to get closer and "Lu friend, if I were you, I wouldn't have acted so impetuous. Do you really think these medicinal herbs are simply laid out here, waiting for us to pick them up? Please take a good look around before you make any remarks," said the elder, who was excited beyond measure. "South Long Brother, what exactly do you mean?" Hearing this, the elder felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, instantly clearing his mind. He hurriedly took a fresh look around, puzzled. "Hm! This seems to be the Small Shumidi Golden Buddha Array mentioned in the tales—the Buddhist sacred array—how could it have appeared here?" Only after carefully observing the subtle symbols subtly appearing on the walls did the Lu elder begin to make sense of what was going on, and he was deeply surprised.