Chapter 1801: Escape From the Flying Ship
Chapter 1801: Escape From the Flying Ship
As time passed inside the flying ship without any change in the situation outside, Chu Yang and the rest could not help starting to feel somewhat nervous as they gazed out at the ancient pagoda that had already taken the life of over a hundred wandering cultivators. Not just because the number of wandering cultivators still trying to break through the mist had close to halved, but also because the progress made by those dragged outside the flying ship and into the ancient pagoda was nothing short of saddening.
Even with the death of over a hundred wandering cultivators, the longest time that anyone had managed to survive was a little over three minutes, with most not even lasting two minutes inside the ancient pagoda.
The overall progress from the entrance of the ancient pagoda spanned no more than a few dozen meters, as everyone forced inside the ancient pagoda would move slowly and cautiously. Knowing that moving recklessly would only get them killed faster.
As for attempting to run away after being dragged out of the flying ship? There were a few who attempted to do that, but found themselves being forcibly thrown inside the ancient pagoda... And although they did make it far deeper into the ancient pagoda compared to others who had come before them, they didn’t survive for more than a few seconds. Triggering countless deadly traps along the way that caught up with them the second they slowed down slightly.
For this reason, the progress in exploring the danger of the ancient pagoda was rudimentary at most and was far from enough to ensure safety for anyone stepping inside the ancient pagoda. At most, the knowledge gained so far would allow a safe entry and an easy path through the first section of the ancient pagoda, but after that, it would be completely unexplored territory with dangers lurking around every corner.
The person covered in colorful robes standing at the entrance to the ancient pagoda also seemed to have realized this problem as well. Taking longer to drag someone out to test the ancient pagoda, as they were seemingly deep in thought trying to figure out new ways to test the traps inside the ancient pagoda-
Whoosh~
Or that was at least what Chu Yang, and the rest thought the suspected owner of the flying ship was doing, but out of the blue. Instead of dragging another person out of the flying ship to test out the ancient formations, the person in question stepped inside the ancient pagoda themselves. Soon enough, disappearing deeper inside the ancient pagoda before any of them had the time to react to what had just happened.
The traps that should have been triggered along the way being easily bypassed even after the point that past wandering cultivators had managed to reach. Making it clear that the owner of the flying ship had managed to figure out some kind of pattern through the repeated attempts made by unfortunate wandering cultivators. Allowing a smooth travel experience without any of the dangers that had been faced by the wandering cultivators before.
"This... Amazing... To see through the trapping formations and the general flow of the formations guarding the ancient pagoda after only testing the perimeter formations. Even if this person isn’t particularly skilled when it comes to the Dao of Formations, the owner of this flying ship is a master when it comes to analyzing traps."
"Indeed, I guess we are rather lucky that the owner of the flying ship didn’t inspect every inch of the flying ship or this small flaw in the formation might have been discovered."
"Hehe, that is true, but that aside, time for us to get to work now that the owner of the flying ship is trapped inside the ancient pagoda!"
Along with a few short exclamations of amazements at the powerful abilities of the owner of the flying ship, the group of formation masters didn’t waste a second after seeing how the owner was now trapped inside the ancient pagoda. Going to work immediately by starting to forcibly rewrite a small section of the formation guarding the flying ship through the small opening in the formation.
RUMBLE~!
And to no surprise, the formation itself almost instantly detected the intrusion, as it began attempting to fix the flaw that the formation masters had exploited.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Huh? My strength is back...?"
"The formation... Is failing?"
"No... Look over there everyone! Someone seems to have found a flaw in the formation and lifted the seal!"
Almost immediately, the sealing effect was broken, as everyone inside the flying ship regained their original strength. Allowing everyone to immediately sense the situation of the group of formation masters working hard to hold back the formation from resealing their cultivation again.
"Quick, everyone, focus on holding back the formation and prevent it from correcting the flaw, I will create an opening for us to escape through!"
Of course, even with them being found out, they didn’t have the time to split their attention away from their current losing battle with the Saint Grade Formation, as everyone focused on holding back the Saint Grade Formation with their renewed cultivation realm and ability to make full use of their understanding of the Dao of Formations, while the strongest among them dedicated himself to fully focusing on creating a path for them to escape through
Even if Chu Yang wanted to lend a hand in this desperate struggle, he had no way to do so with his current understanding of the Dao of Formations. The best he could do was use his strength to carry them out after the path out of the flying ship was created. After all, holding back a Saint Grade Formation was far from easy and didn’t come without cost...
Craaack~ BANG!
By the time the hull of the ship was blown open, over half of the formation masters holding back the Saint Grade Formation had already thrown up blood and collapsed on the ground. Giving Chu Yang a chance to prove his worth by grabbing the formation masters before carrying them out of the flying ship.
The few who hadn’t collapsed also needed assistance, as they had exhausted most of their strength holding back the Saint Grade Formation and wouldn’t be able to get out in time before the formation closed the gap that had been formed in the hull of the ship...
"An opening!?"
"Agh! Do you have to hit others!?!"
"Don’t block my path!"
And if they delayed too long, the rest of the wandering cultivators who discovered what was happening would push them aside to get out faster themselves. After all, the size of the hole in the hull was far from large enough to accommodate more than a few people at a time. Far from enough to allow everyone to escape before the hole was plugged by the Saint Grade Formation.
Luckily, with Chu Yang’s fast movement and the fact that they were right next to the hole in the flying ship, he and the group of formation masters managed to successfully escape from the ship before any troublemakers could reach them and make things difficult.
"Huh...!? A Flying restriction!?"
"Whaaaa-!?"
But everything didn’t work out as planned, as they soon found themselves plummeting straight towards the ground below, as they suddenly found out that there was a flying restriction on the space outside the flying ship, something that seemed to engulf the entirety of the ancient sect ruins, though... From a glance, it wasn’t powerful enough to restrict someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm or a powerful artifact like the flying ship, something that had made them overlook a situation where they wouldn’t be able to use their domain to keep themselves afloat after escaping from the flying ship.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
However, they were rather lucky, as they didn’t end up falling into some kind of deadly trap, but instead found themselves landing in a large lake located at the base of the ancient pagoda.
The only real danger being the rapidly approaching aquatic demon beast that began approaching the second they landed in the water.
But... As they were the first in the water, the demon beasts were still far away and would take some time to reach them. Allowing them to reach shore relatively unharmed, a fate that those who ended up in the water after them didn’t enjoy, as they had to struggle in a life and death battle against the aquatic demon beasts while slowly making their way towards shore.
Of course, knowing that they were still far from safe, Chu Yang and the formation masters didn’t waste any time after reaching shore, as they immediately began escaping in the opposite direction of the ancient pagoda. Knowing very well that only death awaited them if they waited around too long and the owner of the flying ship emerged from the ancient pagoda and found them.
As for the flying ship above... Given that nobody had come down to chase them, it was clear that there wasn’t anyone else guarding it.
Not that they would be reckless enough to attempt to attack it just because it was unguarded.
Not to mention how difficult it would be to reach in the first place without being able to fly, it was still guarded by a Saint Grade Formation that was simply impossible for them to break with their current cultivation realm...