Chapter 4529

After an indeterminate amount of time, Kai suddenly felt his body relax. The crushing pressure of the pond and the ominous aura of the sword puppets had vanished. He opened his eyes and was startled to find himself no longer underwater, but in a strange, otherworldly space.
Looking up, he could see the mud, sand, and flowing water above his head, held at bay by some invisible force. The elements seemed suspended in midair, defying gravity.
“Where am I? Is there another dimension hidden beneath the Sword Washing Pond?” Kai wondered aloud. He scanned the area, but everything around him was an endless expanse of white. It was impossible to distinguish time, space, or direction. Even extending his spiritual consciousness yielded no clues.
Cautiously, he began walking forward. After a short distance, a faint, dark-red glow appeared in the distance. Kai’s curiosity flared, and he hurried toward the light.
Upon reaching the source, he stopped in surprise. Floating before him was a glowing talisman mark. It didn’t resemble the formation patterns he was used to but seemed more like an ancient script or symbol.
Frowning, he studied the mark, but it made no sense to him. With no other choice, he pressed on. Soon, he encountered another glowing talisman mark, but this one bore a different symbol. Intrigued yet baffled, Kai continued forward, discovering a total of seven talisman marks. Each was distinct, and their meaning remained a mystery.
“What is this place? And what do these marks mean?” Kai muttered in frustration.
Just then, the voice of the Red Cloud Demon Lord echoed in his mind.
“Boy, haven’t you noticed that these seven marks form a circle?”
“A circle?” Kai paused, startled. “But I didn’t feel like I was walking in circles. I was moving straight ahead.”
He glanced around, confusion deepening. Though he was certain he’d walked a straight path, the suggestion that he had been unwittingly tracing a circular pattern unsettled him.
Kai pondered for a moment, confused by the notion of walking in a circle despite feeling like he’d been moving straight ahead.
“How could I have walked in a circle after finding those talisman marks?” he asked in disbelief.
The Red Cloud Demon Lord chuckled softly. “You’ve lost your sense of direction in this space. How can you be sure you’ve been moving forward?”
Realization struck Kai. He had been wandering aimlessly, unable to detect that he was walking in circles due to the disorienting nature of this space.
“Heavenly Eye!” he muttered, deciding to rely on his Heavenly Eye to reveal the truth hidden within this mysterious place. As his Heavenly Eye activated, his vision changed, and the surroundings were unveiled in a new light.
To his astonishment, he realized he was standing in a sealed chamber no larger than a few hundred meters across. Yet, he had walked for what seemed like an eternity, unknowingly circling within the confined space.
Focusing on the talisman marks, he saw with clarity that they indeed formed a circle.
“Qian, Kan, Zhen…” he murmured, recognizing the symbols. Upon closer inspection, the arrangement of these marks followed the precise alignment of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Formation.
His brows furrowed. “But this formation needs eight marks, not seven. Why is there one missing?”
Even with the Heavenly Eye activated, he noticed a patch in the center of the chamber that remained obscured, a place his vision couldn’t penetrate.
Curious, Kai walked toward the hidden area. As he approached, a wave of shimmering light appeared before him, rippling like water when disturbed. He extended his hand and gently touched the surface. The light shimmered and expanded outward in concentric ripples.
“A formation within a formation?” he mused aloud, frowning. The wave of light was undoubtedly a barrier created by a formation. There was no way such a phenomenon could exist naturally within this secret chamber.
His mind raced with possibilities as he prepared to unravel the deeper mystery hidden within.