Luo Lu held a compass in his hand, continuously calculating the conditions of the Spiritual Energy. It took him the time of a full cup of tea to finally place a Third Grade Array Flag in a specific location.
As an Intermediate Array Master, and proud of his profession, he rarely used an Array Plate.
Although Array Masters created Array Plates, they were meant for laymen who didn’t understand formations; true Array Masters completely looked down upon Cultivators who used Array Plates.
The spot in Five Lang Mountain was so critical that Luo Lu didn’t want to use an Array Plate either.
The biggest drawback of the Array Plate was that it was easily deciphered by a more skilled Array Master.
Only a formation arranged using Spiritual Objects would merge with the terrain and Spiritual Energy, unleashing the formation’s greatest might.
Of course, another reason was he wasn’t in a hurry as there were no other Cultivators here. The local Cultivators who had discovered this place had already been silenced.
His task was to wait here for the arrival of the next group from Skywalk Trading Company, and he had nothing else to do during this period.
"This Array Flag is ingeniously placed; I truly have a talent for formations!" Feeling the operation of the formation, Luo Lu said proudly to himself.
Just as he was feeling complacent, the formation suddenly emitted a crisp sound of breaking, and the formation he’d laboriously set up was shattered before his eyes, all the Third Grade Array Flags turning into fragments.
He didn’t even have time to react, nor did he notice any Cultivators approaching, when the formation was broken just like that.
As Luo Lu was about to investigate what had happened, his body stiffened. A terrifying pressure emanated from behind him, rendering him immobile.
He was a cultivator in the Late-stage Golden Core, yet he was completely unaware of when an enemy had approached from behind.
Fortunately, the Cultivator behind him did not wish to kill him. A large hand grabbed his neck and lifted him up as if he were a chick.
"Boy, tell me what you are doing here?" Elder Zuo held Luo Lu in front of him and asked indifferently.
Luo Lu felt that he was not unjustly treated as he saw eight Nascent Soul Ancestors. Just any one of them was enough to pulverize him.
Upon hearing Elder Zuo’s question, he clenched his mouth shut.
He was raised by Skywalk Trading Company since childhood, deeply indebted to their great kindness, and would never betray them.
"Mr. Zuo, leave the interrogation to us from the Demon Sect. Your methods are too gentle!" Ancestor Lou from the Earth Evil Sect said with a smile.
Upon hearing his laughter, Luo Lu felt the hairs on his body stand on end.
"Indeed, I’ll leave him to you!" Elder Zuo didn’t think much of it and threw Luo Lu to Ancestor Lou.
Ancestor Lou caught Luo Lu and gently struck him on the head, causing Luo Lu’s eyes to roll back.
A sinister aura enveloped him, and strands of black mist surged toward Luo Lu’s head, entering through his facial features into the interior of his skull.
Venerable Huike’s brows furrowed slightly, recognizing the technique as extremely cruel, targeting the spirit. Undergoing such a Secret Technique, a Cultivator was almost as good as ruined.
But considering they were facing an enemy of Skywalk Trading Company and pursuing a greater secret, he did not intervene.
The Nascent Soul Ancestors from the other two major sects of the Righteous Path showed no unusual reaction, quietly waiting for the outcome.
Without uttering a word, Ancestor Lou’s Secret Technique intruded into Luo Lu’s spirit, probing all his secrets through the technique.
This Secret Technique was not very effective against peers, but it worked well on the weaker ones.
After thirty minutes, Ancestor Lou nonchalantly dropped the unconscious Luo Lu on the ground.
"Skywalk Trading Company is very cautious. This Cultivator named Luo Lu only used a specially made compass to check if the readings met the standard, he knows nothing else!" Ancestor Lou said, shaking his head.
Although Luo Lu was Late-stage Golden Core, his status within Skywalk Trading Company wasn’t really high.
About the Grotto Heaven, even the five later Great Elders didn’t know much; very few Cultivators were truly informed, and the original three Great Elders were in the know.
"We are at the place now, let’s first find the secret!" Ancestor Lan from the Yin Yang Sect chuckled and gestured towards the area originally designated for the formation.
Although Luo Lu didn’t know much, he had arranged the formation to mark the location of the secret. These Nascent Soul Ancestors just needed to find it.
"Haha, Mr. Lan is right!" Ancestor Lou laughed heartily.
The Nascent Soul Ancestors began their search, but no matter what methods they used, they found no abnormalities.
From the sky to the ground, and even a hundred meters beneath the ground, they searched without any discovery.
The expressions of the eight Nascent Soul Ancestors showed a hint of difficulty; it wasn’t that they lacked power, but that they lacked knowledge.
Although Elder Sword came from Sword Intent Chongxiao Pavilion, his strength was limited in the early days, and he was engrossed in practicing as a Sword Cultivator, leaving him with little understanding of other knowledge.
As for the other seven Nascent Soul Ancestors, they were local Cultivators from the Beishu Continent and inherently somewhat deficient in knowledge.
"I sense that the space fluctuations here are incredibly intense, but I have tried many methods and still can’t determine the source of the fluctuations!" Venerable Huike remarked, relying on the Divine Foot Skill to detect the peculiarity of the space fluctuations.
However, he still couldn’t find the existence of the Grotto Heaven; finding a Grotto Heaven requires some special methods.
"The people from Skywalk Trading Company should be arriving soon. Let’s set up first and let them pave the way for us!" Ancestor Lu said in a heavy tone.