Within the Jiulong Mountains, Ding Yan made a retreat and cast a talisman into the air. Instantly, dry vines shot out from the void, entwining the white python that was about to emerge from the water. At the same time, Ding Yan flipped his right hand and cast another brown talisman.
Two talismans were successively cast out, while Ding Yan's left palm faced the ground with fingers closed. Vaguely, it seemed like a trace of breath surged into his palm, integrated into his body, and then infused into the talisman.
In the void, the power of the talisman surged again.
The dry vines entwined, restraining the white python about to emerge once more.
However, the white python's strength was astonishing. The restraint of the dry vines lasted for less than two breaths before being shaken off, and the broken vines scattered on the ground.
At the moment when the white python was about to pounce on Ding Yan again, a brown talisman above his head began to rapidly expand, turning into the size of a small mountain in the blink of an eye. The inscriptions on it flickered with a dim light, emitting a heavy sensation.
"Earthward Talisman, Suppress!"
Ding Yan stretched out his right hand and pressed into the void.
Roar!!
The white python roared, its enormous body being pressed down by the talisman and once again struck into the water.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Ding Yan didn't hesitate and flew upwards. With a single grasp, he wrapped the lotus peach on the lotus leaf and the leaf itself, collecting them all into his sleeve. After doing all this, Ding Yan didn't pause for a moment and promptly flew toward the direction of Dayan Mountain...
Once he realized that the fog could affect the mind, Ding Yan stopped wandering and sat down, picking up a dry branch and beginning to draw. These drawings depicted the rough direction of the mountains that Ding Yan had seen in the air and the specific distribution of the fog.
In Ding Yan's view, this kind of place should not have formed naturally, and if he wasn't mistaken, it should be some kind of formation. With a past life of a thousand years of cultivation, Ding Yan naturally had some knowledge of formations.
The Dao is one, and although the formations of the world are varied, they all adhere to the same fundamental principles. Drawing from his previous observations, Ding Yan quickly deduced a clue to the array he was currently in.
After a long time, Ding Yan dropped the branch and a spark of realization flashed in his eyes. "Although this place is dangerous, it is not without a way out. As the saying goes, 'there is always a way out'. That cultivator from the Zhao country must have inadvertently found this way out and survived." As for Xing Laoguai, Ding Yan didn't even consider him.
Because that person was simply a mortal warrior, with no elemental energy inside him. If he was lucky and didn't encounter the demonic cultivators in the Jiulong Mountains, he could still find a way to leave.
Although Ding Yan understood that there must be a way out in the mountains, he couldn't determine where that way out was.
After much contemplation, Ding Yan waved his sleeve and produced a small golden insect in his hand. This insect was called a Spirit-Transmitting Bug, capable of temporarily housing a person's consciousness to explore and seek treasures. It was the perfect tool for the task at hand. Moreover, this kind of insect was extremely common and could be purchased even in the mundane world, though those people did not know its true purpose and only sold it as a plaything, for many nobles enjoyed watching these bugs fight.
"Let's try it out first." Ding Yan concentrated his celestial consciousness on the Spirit-Transmitting Bug.
The bug on the ground trembled, then began to crawl forward unsteadily, soon disappearing into the fog. Ding Yan then dispatched a bug in the same manner to explore every direction.
These bugs were bought by Ding Yan before entering Dayan Mountain. With the experience and knowledge from his past life, Ding Yan would never venture into dangerous places unprepared.
After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the celestial consciousness from the first bug was cut off. Ding Yan picked up the dry branch and made a mark in the eastern direction.
Shortly after, several other bugs successively ceased sending messages. According to their locations, Ding Yan made marks in each direction.
"Now, only the north remains." After a while and confirming the safety of the last bug, Ding Yan tossed aside the dry branch and headed in that direction.
Although the exploration method using the Spirit-Transmitting Bugs had many uncertainties, Ding Yan currently had no better alternative and had to follow this relatively feasible direction.
As he journeyed, Ding Yan's consciousness coalesced and continuously operated his mind formula, guarding against situations where his consciousness might be influenced by the fog without his knowledge.
The fog was eerily quiet. After an unknown amount of time, Ding Yan suddenly saw a bright light before his eyes. His feet stepped on thin air, and when he stabilized, he found that he had unknowingly arrived on a stone staircase.
Looking up, he saw about three hundred stone steps stretching all the way to the mountaintop.
"This should be the stone staircase I saw outside the mountain earlier," Ding Yan thought.
Carefully, he made his way up the stone steps.
The steps were unremarkable and, after about half a cup of tea, Ding Yan finally reached the mountaintop.
At the summit was a small bamboo forest.
A cobblestone path extended from the bamboo forest to the end of the stone steps. Ding Yan did not immediately enter the bamboo forest but instead spread his celestial consciousness to explore it. However, he soon found that on this mountain, there seemed to be an invisible pressure limit the range of his celestial consciousness to just ten meters around him.
"To think that they can suppress celestial consciousness." Ding Yan pondered for a moment and then stepped into the bamboo forest.
The cobblestone path was not very long, and before long, Ding Yan reached its end.
At the end of the path lay a stone platform, upon which stood a stone statue, with a half-fallen stone tablet nearby.
Ding Yan walked over and examined the stone statue.
The statue depicted an unknown Taoist, an old man with long beards and a demeanor akin to an immortal. He was carrying something behind his back and holding a measurement tool in his right hand, pointing directly into the empty space, as if angrily rebuking the heavens. After observing for a while and finding nothing of interest, Ding Yan turned to look at the half-fallen stone tablet nearby.