None of these people know what happens after their primordial spirit is taken—most just imagine something terrifying. So, once the first person ignites their primordial spirit, more follow, burning themselves and charging recklessly at the bugs, attacking them madly. At that point, they don't care if they live or die.
Their numbers keep dropping. Out of the original hundred and ten, nearly twenty have already burned their primordial spirits. Now, when Evan Yang looks back, fewer than ten remain. He never expected this, but faced with the situation, Evan can only sigh helplessly and keep searching for a way out.
The last few people left are all at Soul-Forming Great Perfection. They thought their strength would help them find the Five-Spirit Pill and break through, but instead they ran into this disaster—and so many bugs.
These bugs are all incredibly strong, with extreme speed and defense. It's impossible to guard against them. Only a spiritual-energy shield can buy a little time, but in the end, it just drains your energy—so people are forced to burn their primordial spirits.
The survivors all deeply admire Evan Yang, because they know he's only at late-stage Soul-Forming, yet his abilities far exceed their expectations. After several hours, every cultivator below Great Perfection has either sacrificed themselves or burned their primordial spirit and died—except Evan Yang.
Evan Yang doesn't know what they're thinking; he just keeps searching for his own way out. Finally, he finds a spot with very few pillars—and fewer bugs. Excited, he tells everyone.
Everyone sends their divine sense toward the place Evan points out and sees there really aren't any pillars—and no bugs either. They rush over, thrilled. The bugs follow behind, but there are far fewer now. It's much better than being surrounded by pillars where bugs could pop out at any moment.
Evan Yang follows everyone there and finds the space is very open. Not only that, the bugs trailing them stop once they reach the pillarless area. At last, the group gets a chance to rest.
The group rests there and slowly recovers their spiritual energy. Evan Yang stands and looks around, curious why the bugs don't rush in.
"Is there something here they're afraid of?" Evan Yang scans the area, sending out his divine sense to search for anything unusual.
This area has no pillars and no other bugs—just the few of them.
Evan Yang secretly activates Heaven’s Eye Sight to check for any formations. He finds the surroundings blurry; there really is a formation here, and it’s very advanced. Even Evan, who can see through ninth-tier formations, finds it unclear—unless it’s something above ninth-tier, perhaps an Immortal-grade array.
Could this be an Immortal-grade array? Evan Yang looks around suspiciously, but it’s still a blur. The blurry patterns swirl around everyone, and the bugs outside seem afraid—they won’t come in.
"What kind of array is this?" Evan wonders. So far, nothing’s happened to anyone, but there’s definitely a formation here.
There are only a few possibilities: it could be a trapping array, an illusion array, a defensive array, or a killing array.
But there’s been no sign of a killing array, and no illusions either. That leaves either a defensive array or a trapping array. But a defensive array wouldn’t work—everyone could just walk in, so it’s got to be a trapping array.
Curious, Evan Yang walks to the spot where they entered. The bugs are still lingering there. Under everyone’s puzzled gaze, Evan reaches out to touch the area—and a flash of light appears, as if his hand hit something.
"It really is a trapping array," Evan exclaims in shock.
The others hear Evan and stand up, testing the area themselves. Each time someone touches a spot, a flash of light appears. "An array? A trapping array?" someone wonders aloud.
Then someone tries attacking it, but no matter what they do, it doesn’t work.
The masked man stood side by side with the bugs, as if they wouldn't harm him at all. He looked at the group and said, "Long time no see, everyone."
"It's you!" someone shouted angrily.
The others also cursed furiously at the masked man, but Evan just stood there, watching his every move.
The masked man locked eyes with Evan and snorted coldly, "Damn you, now I'll have to delay my mission for several more years because of you."
"Me?" Evan was puzzled by his words.
"If I had just one hundred primordial spirits left, you all would have been enough, but you ruined everything. No matter how strong you are, today you'll be trapped here forever. And soon, there'll be something special waiting for you," the masked man said to Evan with hatred.
Something special? Evan muttered suspiciously. But someone else cursed, "Damn you! What kind of so-called emissary are you? Let us out now!"
"Why should I let you out? Ridiculous." The masked man ignored the rest, treating them like dead things. Only Evan made him wary. Now that he had them trapped, he sneered, though inside he was furious that Evan had ruined his plan.
People shouted in rage, even bringing up their family backgrounds, but the masked man just looked down on them with disdain.
Evan stood there calmly, making the masked man feel uneasy. He turned and asked, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Death? If cultivation could keep people from dying, there wouldn't be so many deaths every day." Evan replied simply, his words revealing the hardships and dangers of the cultivation path.
"So tough now, let's see how tough you are later." The masked man sneered at Evan's calmness, while the others, not as composed, kept demanding to leave.
But the masked man ignored them and stood there, laughing. "Let's begin. I'll let you taste this array for yourselves."
The once peaceful array suddenly turned chaotic. The spiritual energy inside became wild—not ordinary spiritual energy, but the kind that, once inhaled, rampaged through the body, fighting against it.
Many people's bodies began to change. Thin streams of blood seeped from their pores—the result of spiritual energy wreaking havoc inside. "This is bad!" Everyone panicked, quickly sealing their bodies to keep the energy out.
But everyone had already absorbed some of it—including Evan. Yet Evan stayed calm, since his Heaven-Cold Seed had already devoured the chaotic energy. To him, it was no threat, but to the others, it was pure torment.
They tried to block the spiritual energy, but it kept rampaging inside. If they didn't expel it, their bodies risked exploding from within.
"Ha! Enjoy your suffering." The masked man laughed as he saw blood streaming from everyone.
"No, I have to force it out!" someone thought, trying to expel the energy. But as soon as they did, more energy rushed in, making their condition even worse and causing more bleeding.
"It's useless! You'll die even faster that way!" The masked man sneered when he saw them trying to expel the energy.
Evan glanced at the companion next to him, who was already covered in blood. He stepped over and said, "Don't move. Calm your mind. Wait for my instructions before sealing off spiritual energy."
The person nodded, trying to steady himself, while Evan continued to observe the surroundings with Heaven's Eye Sight.
Meanwhile, the others kept searching for abnormal signs, but found nothing.
Just then, the bugs outside suddenly parted, revealing another figure—the masked man.
Everyone's attention was drawn to him, and Evan was shocked that the masked man would show up at this moment.
The masked man stood with the bugs as if they were his allies, and he greeted the group again, "Long time no see, everyone."
"It's you!" someone yelled in anger.
The others cursed him, but Evan just watched the masked man's every move.
The masked man stared at Evan and said coldly, "You've ruined my plans again. Now I'll have to wait years to finish my mission."
"Me?" Evan was confused.
"If I had just one hundred primordial spirits left, you all would have been enough. But you messed things up, so now you'll all be trapped here forever. And soon, something good is coming for you," the masked man said, glaring at Evan.
Evan was suspicious about this 'good thing,' while someone else cursed, "Damn you! What kind of emissary are you? Let us out now!"
"Why should I let you out? Ridiculous." The masked man ignored everyone else, treating them like dead things. Only Evan made him wary, and now that he had them trapped, he sneered, though inside he was furious.
The others shouted in rage, even mentioning their status and families, but the masked man just looked down on them with disdain.
Evan stood there calmly, making the masked man uneasy. He turned and asked, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"Death? If cultivation could keep people from dying, there wouldn't be so many deaths every day." Evan replied, his words showing the hardships and dangers of the cultivation path.
"So tough now, let's see how tough you are later." The masked man sneered at Evan's calmness, while the others, not as composed, kept demanding to leave.
But the masked man ignored them, laughing. "Let's begin. I'll let you taste this array for yourselves."
The array suddenly turned chaotic. Spiritual energy inside became wild—not ordinary spiritual energy, but the kind that, once inhaled, rampaged through the body, fighting against it.
Many people's bodies began to change. Thin streams of blood seeped from their pores—the result of spiritual energy wreaking havoc inside. "This is bad!" Everyone panicked, quickly sealing their bodies to keep the energy out.
But everyone had already absorbed some—including Evan. Yet Evan stayed calm, since his Heaven-Cold Seed had already devoured the chaotic energy. For him, it was no threat, but for the others, it was pure torment.