Chapter Fifty-Four: The Teleportation Array
The seven others besides Li Xingyu also extended their senses into the cave, hoping to investigate the situation within. Yet, in just an instant, all seven withdrew their perception, feeling a surge of blood and energy within their bodies; one or two, whose cultivation was weaker, even suffered minor internal injuries. All at once, their faces turned pale. Had they not been hardened by years of experience in the martial world, their resolve unshaken, they might have turned and fled without a second thought.
“What’s inside there? Such a powerful presence—it’s on par with the legendary masters among cultivators and certain high-level spirit beasts. How could such a formidable existence be found on our Cultivation Remnant Star?” Even the usually composed Mu Chenhua was shaken.
“It should be a spirit beast, but its strength is indeed extraordinary. By rights, it shouldn’t exist on our planet. I suspect it was awakened by the commotion we made when breaching the defenses.” Li Xingyu understood the urgency of the situation; in the face of such a mighty being, any mistake could cost them their lives. He cared little for their shock and quickly detailed what his spiritual sense had detected.
After hearing him, the others had no time to marvel at Li Xingyu’s ability to probe so deeply. Each began to think rapidly about how to confront this immense crisis. No one cared for their original purpose anymore. Even though they recognized the urgency and peril, no one acted rashly. Their extensive experience in the martial world taught them that the more dangerous the situation, the more calm and cautious one must be. Any impulsive move would only hasten their demise. Li Xingyu, though less experienced in the martial world, was from modern Earth, and his familiarity with ancient knowledge and history made his insights considerable. Moreover, he possessed exceptional wisdom, and his training as an astronaut and repeated space adventures had taught him the importance of remaining calm and planning carefully in times of crisis.
Seeing that no one spoke, everyone silently contemplated their options. It was the Master of Linglong Sect who finally broke the silence: “Everyone, I estimate this spirit beast suffered a severe injury or some other misfortune when the cultivators departed, preventing its original master from taking it along. So its master sealed it within the Heaven’s Gift Mountains. Now, it has been awakened by our attack. I suggest we not act rashly, lest we provoke misunderstanding or hostility from the spirit beast within. If that happens, we’ll be in grave danger.”
“Indeed, judging by the aura inadvertently released, its strength far surpasses ours. If we arouse its hostility, even if we try to escape, our chances of getting away unharmed will be slim. Also, I believe that as we breached the cave’s defenses, the energy dispersed was absorbed by the external formation. The defensive array we passed through earlier has now intensified, leaving no gap for us to escape.” Li Xingyu added after hearing the Linglong Sect Master’s analysis.
The others were no ordinary people; after hearing them, they understood that caution was imperative, especially since even Li Xingyu, the strongest among them, said so. They recalled how, when breaking the defense, Li Xingyu had displayed true essence far beyond the realm of innate masters, but wisely chose to remain silent about it. First, whether they could survive the present crisis was uncertain, so other concerns seemed trivial. Second, since Li Xingyu had previously concealed his abilities, it was clear he did not wish to reveal more, and now his cultivation was obviously above theirs—they would not risk provoking his displeasure.
They had already checked the situation outside: the passage they had entered was now impossible to traverse again, adding insult to injury—their last hope of escape was gone. When they turned their gaze once more to the cave, the dust had settled, and the interior was now clearly visible.
The cave was indeed not deep, and its layout simple—a hollow about ten meters deep. At its center lay a spirit beast none of them had ever seen before, radiating a powerful aura that filled the cave with turbulent energy. As their eyes fell on the beast, it opened its eyes and looked back at them. The sharp gaze made their hearts tighten, and they felt as if something had swept over their bodies. Only Li Xingyu understood that this was the beast’s spiritual sense scanning them. While it merely glanced over the others, its sense lingered slightly on Li Xingyu—perhaps it sensed he was the only true cultivator among them.
After the spirit beast stirred its spiritual sense, the sparse spiritual energy in the area suddenly surged violently, concentrating around the beast. As the energy fluctuated, even the space surrounding it began to ripple. The sudden change was not strongly felt by the group, nor did they understand the cause. The beast itself seemed puzzled at first, then closed its eyes, as if pondering. After a moment, its aura vanished entirely, and the spatial anomaly ceased.
The beast, after opening its eyes, glanced behind itself as if it understood something, nodded, then turned to look at the group once more before moving deeper into the cave. Their eyes followed its movement, and they saw it stop at a spot on the cave floor engraved with many unfamiliar symbols. These formed a diagram in the shape of a Bagua, deeply etched into the stone, with exotic objects embedded at certain points. Li Xingyu felt that the items set into the eight corners resembled the ruby he held—could these also be rubies? In the cultivation world, rubies provided energy for formations. Could it be that the so-called “spirit stones” used by cultivators were actually terrestrial rubies? Knowing that rubies could indeed supply powerful energy, he felt his guess was likely correct. The others, however, had no knowledge of rubies; Li Xingyu knew that on Nastar Star, rubies were exceedingly rare or perhaps nonexistent. He was quite familiar with the planet, but had never heard of rubies or similar gems.
The spirit beast glanced once more at the group at the cave entrance, then, with its forepaws, began to perform a series of intricate gestures, almost human-like, while chanting a mantra none of the group could understand. Upon finishing the gestures, a surge of energy radiated from its body and merged into the formation on the ground. As its energy spread, the spiritual energy and space around it trembled slightly, just as before. This time, the beast showed no surprise—it had evidently learned the cause by some means. Li Xingyu, upon truly entering the cultivation world, realized that the spirit beast had received information from its master, sealed into its consciousness during its slumber, thereby understanding the situation and its master’s arrangements.
When the formation on the ground received the beast’s energy, it was as if it had been activated. The rubies at the eight corners flared with intense energy, which rapidly spread through the formation and enveloped the beast. After a brief spatial ripple, a flash of white light flickered across the diagram, restoring calm once more. Yet the spirit beast vanished from the formation in that instant of white light.
Looking again at the diagram, it appeared unchanged from before, save for the rubies—or spirit stones—at the eight corners, which no longer emitted energy or light. Their surfaces were now covered in fine cracks, appearing completely depleted. In truth, this was a one-way teleportation formation, capable only of sending, not receiving, leading to an uninhabited moon-like planet near Nastar Star. This was the arrangement made by the beast’s master before departing. Li Xingyu, observing the scene, was stirred with excitement, realizing at last what kind of formation lay before him.
At that moment, the Ouyang family patriarch, having guessed the nature of the formation, exclaimed in amazement, “A teleportation array! It’s the legendary teleportation array used by cultivators!”