Chapter 415: Deity Transformation Realm Existence

Sun Lingtong, controlling the万里游龙 (Ten Thousand Mile Dragon), tracked the suspicious hooded black-robed cultivators.

The Ten Thousand Mile Dragon shrunk to its smallest size, cloaked and hidden, weaving through the mountain forest without a sound.

Sun Lingtong gradually delved deeper into the giant Heavenly Pillar tree.

The mountain rocks on the surface of the giant tree were quite thick, intertwined with countless plants, the vegetation exceedingly dense.

A constant moaning wind echoed, like the lamentations of ghosts.

Beneath the shadows cast by the intertwined plants, phantom figures seemed to shimmer, or perhaps lurking monstrous beasts, prompting Sun Lingtong to raise his guard to the highest level.

Tracking them the entire way, not a single one of the hooded black-robed cultivators discovered the Ten Thousand Mile Dragon.

This did not surprise Sun Lingtong.

This was because the cultivation base of this group was relatively low. The few leading figures possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation, while the majority were merely Qi Condensation cultivators.

"Another cave... already fifty or sixty now?"

"The caves in this giant tree mountain are unusually numerous."

Sun Lingtong had just been observing from high above, and now, having ventured into one of the giant Heavenly Pillar trees, he noticed more details.

This giant tree mountain was riddled with large and small caves, like dark mouths, silently watching passersby.

Strangely, every so often, a great gust of阴风 (yin wind - shadowy, ominous wind) would blow out from within the caves, making different sounds. Some were low whimpers, chilling to the bone, others were like the roar of a tide, immense in volume, forcing one to block their ears.

The hooded black robes moved swiftly, their steps light, like phantoms in the night, constantly moving forward in silence.

Upon reaching the mountainside, they stopped for the first time.

The few leaders each took out maps or tokens, compared them, and together chose a nearby cave.

The black robes filed in.

Sun Lingtong followed closely.

The entrance to the cave was pitch black, with only a faint light emanating from the magical artifacts held by the black-robed figures, barely illuminating the path ahead.

Initially, the cave walls were covered in thick moss, emitting a damp and decaying smell, and the air was filled with a suffocating sense of oppression.

But as they went deeper, the stone walls of the mountain path became smooth and bare.

A profound stillness enveloped the entire mountain path.

Suddenly, someone among the black robes ahead stepped on loose stones, making a slight sound.

In an instant, all the black-robed cultivators stopped, standing still like stone statues.

They glared furiously at the cultivator who had made the noise, some even revealing direct killing intent.

The black-robed cultivator who had made the mistake began to tremble slightly.

Seeing this scene, Sun Lingtong became even more curious: "What exactly are these people trying to do? They seem very afraid, as if afraid of waking someone up."

The structure of the mountain path was unusually complex, extending in all directions, like a giant maze. Sun Lingtong focused his attention, silently noting the scene at every fork in the path.

He imprinted the specific route map in his mind. His judgment and memory for paths and directions had been cultivated since childhood and were quite outstanding.

A familiar feeling arose in Sun Lingtong's heart; this complex terrain couldn't help but remind him of the days he had spent in the Fire Persimmon Mountain.

"Compared to the underground tunnels in Fire Persimmon Mountain, this place is obviously dozens of times more complex, winding and twisting."

"However, although these mountain paths are intertwined, the terrain doesn't undergo dramatic changes. Unlike the tunnels in Fire Persimmon Mountain, which would undergo large-scale rerouting and changes whenever there was an eruption or ground tremors."

"With terrain like this, after walking it a few times, it will eventually be completely explored and understood."

The deeper they went, the wider the mountain path became, and there were no stalactites, stalagmites, or the like.

This abnormal geological feature also made Sun Lingtong secretly wary.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the hooded black-robed figures arrived at a massive cave chamber.

The ceiling of the cave was high, and the surrounding stone walls were smooth.

Only the few leaders, holding magical artifacts, continuously emitted a faint light, barely allowing them to see. This was clearly intentional.

At the other end of the cave chamber was a never-before-seen giant cave entrance.

The cave entrance was as black as ink, like the gaping maw of an ancient beast, waiting for prey to voluntarily enter, giving a sense of hidden great danger.

The black-robed cultivators began to set up a formation.

A large circular formation was drawn on the ground, and then everyone stood within the large and small formation points of the circular formation.

The black-robed figures chanted incantations in low voices, and the spiritual energy fluctuations grew stronger and stronger, causing the entire cave chamber to tremble slightly.

Sun Lingtong tried to identify this formation but was unsuccessful.

He found that the form of this formation was completely different from mainstream formations, and it was filled with numerous divine characters, winding and intricate, making it impossible to discern anything.

Sun Lingtong waited patiently.

The formation was activated to its fullest extent, emitting a faint幽芒 (youmang - ghostly glow).

The ghostly glow drifted into the giant cave entrance directly in front like smoke.

But as time passed, there was no movement or change.

Some of the Qi Condensation cultivators standing at the formation points began to show signs of being unable to sustain themselves, becoming anxious.

They dared not communicate loudly, and using the formation, they communicated with divine sense and spiritual consciousness, expressing that they could no longer hold on and needed to pause and rest.

However, the Foundation Establishment level leaders ignored them.

The Qi Condensation cultivators realized something was wrong and tried to break out, but their desperate struggles were restrained by the formation's core.

Seeing this, Sun Lingtong immediately knew that this formation at least possessed the ability of sacrifice.

As expected, in the next moment, the Qi Condensation cultivators shriveled up, eventually collapsing completely, a pile of skin, flesh, internal organs, and the like falling to the ground, their entire skeletons drawn out, becoming sacrifices.

But the cave entrance still remained silent.

The remaining few Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances, then each took out a dagger and fiercely stabbed themselves.

They simultaneously committed suicide, their cultivation and bones all turning into offerings, pushing the power of this formation to the highest level.

However, it still had no effect!

The remaining four cultivators could only gradually stop the formation, each communicating with divine sense.

Sun Lingtong, however, had no ability to eavesdrop, and his heart ached with curiosity.

He speculated in his mind: "These demonic cultivators are probably here to communicate with some powerful existence."

But what exactly was this existence?

Sun Lingtong's eyes gleamed, and while he was still hesitating in his heart, his hand had already begun to move.

He controlled the Ten Thousand Mile Dragon and quietly drilled into the giant cave entrance.

This mountain path was quite wide, and its length was much shorter than Sun Lingtong had guessed.

And the entire way was peaceful, without any danger, at most just a little dark and dim.

At the end of the mountain path was a stone, the size of a house.

The stone was round like a sphere, its surface very smooth, with a slight lingering trace of vitality, revealing a hint of aura that was higher than the Nascent Soul level.

Sun Lingtong's heart pounded: "Higher than the Nascent Soul level, does that mean this is a Soul Transformation level expert?"

He felt a rush of excitement.

If it were Ning Zhuo, he would never risk entering the cave to investigate. But Sun Lingtong was naturally adventurous and sought excitement.

But this excitement was too great.

Sun Lingtong broke out in a cold sweat, carefully urging the Ten Thousand Mile Dragon to slowly retreat.

The Ten Thousand Mile Dragon was only at the Nascent Soul level; placing it directly under the nose of a Soul Transformation level expert, the possibility of being discovered was very high.

However, when Sun Lingtong had retreated halfway, he voluntarily stopped.

"Wait a moment, it seems... it seems... it's like..."

"This Soul Transformation expert is already dead?"

He observed carefully again, using the detection methods within the Ten Thousand Mile Dragon to observe.

A moment later, Sun Lingtong wore a complex and strange expression.

He was certain that this Soul Transformation expert was already dead!