The cultivators gathering in the square continued to increase in number, with many strong individuals among them.
As time passed, when it was nearly midnight, the relic at last began to stir.
Everyone quickly stood up from the ground and ran toward the entrance of the relic.
"Click, click!" The sound continued incessantly.
All eyes were glued to the entrance, and after about a quarter of an hour, with a "click!" the sound abruptly stopped. To everyone’s surprise, the entrance to the relic was still shrouded in mist, obscuring any view of what the entrance actually looked like.
The cultivators at the forefront couldn’t wait and rushed toward the entrance.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Before they could enter the relic, they were repelled by a terrifyingly powerful force and fell to the ground, their fates unknown.
"Such a powerful Formation!" The crowd was shocked as they looked at the entrance, and nobody dared to act recklessly.
"Let me try!" An elderly man clad in a Daoist robe, hair and beard both white, stepped forward.
He carefully examined the entrance of the relic for a while, then waved several Formation Flags from his hand, followed by a flick of his horsetail whisk toward the position of the relic’s entrance.
"Boom!" The horsetail whisk collided with the Formation, producing a thunderous noise.
The old man staggered back several steps, his face paling as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"What kind of Formation is this? Why is it so powerful?"
"Even Great Mahayana Stage Cultivators can’t enter, how are we supposed to get in?"
"Did we come here for nothing?" The crowd discussed among themselves, but no one intended to leave.
As time slipped by, less than half the time remained until the relic’s entrance would close, and during that period, five or six cultivators with knowledge of Formations had attempted entry, but none had succeeded.
"It seems we have come here in vain," Hua Mengran said, looking unwillingly at the entrance of the relic.
Yun Han looked at Lu Hanmo, who was resting with his eyes closed as if everything happening around him had nothing to do with him, and Yun Han shook his head with a wry smile, "Let’s just treat it as a sightseeing trip." The composure and calmness of Lu Hanmo was something he feared he could never achieve in this lifetime.
Luo Qianyu watched Lu Hanmo with a hint of anticipatory excitement in her eyes. She knew that Lu Hanmo was probably discussing with Shushu the strategy to break the Formation. While others might not be able to break the Formation, Shushu possibly could, for her space contained the all-knowing Xiao Qing, as well as two elders from the Dragon Clan.
"This Formation can absorb the essence of the night. At the moment of dawn, it’s at its weakest. Then, if you place the Formation Flags at the Kun and Xun positions, and attack the Dui position, it will work," the elder from Long Jing carefully explained the method to break the Formation to Lu Hanmo.
"I understand," Lu Hanmo replied with a slight nod.
At that moment, another Great Mahayana Stage Cultivator stepped forward. After throwing out Formation Flags, he forcefully attacked the Formation with the long halberd in his hands.
"Crack!" A fissure appeared in the Formation.
"The Formation is loosening!"
"Such an incredible cultivator!"
"Let’s go up and form a team with him." Many in the crowd began to cluster around the cultivator.
The long halberd in the hands of that cultivator emitted a dazzling light, trying to pry open the Formation that had already cracked. However, the Formation was absorbing essence at a speed far faster than he could break it.
After sustaining it for a while, the cultivator was eventually flung away by the Formation.
The onlookers let out a collective sigh of disappointment. Just when they thought they saw a glimmer of hope, the result remained the same.
Lu Hanmo opened his eyes and looked at the cultivator. The other was a very formidable cultivator, and also profoundly skilled in formations, just too eager for success.
Looking up into the distance, he saw a hint of dawn breaking at the edge of the sky, heralding the imminent arrival of daybreak.
"Let’s go break the formation," Lu Hanmo stood up and strode toward the entrance of the relic.
Yun Han and Luo Qianyu promptly got up to follow. They had some understanding of Lu Hanmo.
Hua Mengran sighed and stood up with the other three, heading towards the entrance of the relic. She had almost given up hope on entering the relic. Lu Hanmo was a Great Mahayana Stage Cultivator, but his strength was barely stronger than those cultivators who had just attempted to break the formation. It seemed this trip was in vain.
Seeing Lu Hanmo and his group approach the entrance of the relic, the surrounding people just watched them with a faint interest. They didn’t hold much hope for Lu Hanmo’s group; although the three male cultivators looked calm, the female cultivator clearly lacked confidence. If their own people were not optimistic, why would others be?
Lu Hanmo stopped at the entrance of the relic, his gaze calm and undisturbed as he watched the entrance, waiting for the right moment to arise.
As time ticked by, the crowd began to talk among themselves when they saw that Lu Hanmo was not making any moves.
"Why isn’t he moving? Isn’t he here to break the formation?"
"Seems like he’s just a boasting spearhead, doesn’t even have the courage to break the formation."
"Maybe he’s looking for a way to decipher the formation, hahaha..."
"If the formation were so easy to break, those cultivators before would have already broken it; his cultivation is about the same as theirs."
"Looks like everyone is going to return disappointed this time."
The moment the first ray of sunlight shot across the sky, Lu Hanmo’s calm eyes suddenly sharpened, like a sword drawn from its sheath, instilling fear in onlookers, and he waved his hand, causing several Formation Flags to fall into place.
Then, with a flash of cold light in his hand, a long sword appeared, bursting forth with a powerful presence and striking swiftly towards the entrance of the relic.
"Boom! Crack crack crack!" With a loud bang, a crisp sound followed, and instantly a man-high gap appeared in the formation.
Hua Mengran couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked at the gap. Was the formation broken?
"Quick, get in!" Lu Hanmo called to the three Luo Qianyu.
Luo Qianyu and the others didn’t hesitate, immediately dashing into the formation.
After the three entered, Lu Hanmo followed closely behind.
The split formation closed quickly, until it completely disappeared.
The surrounding people snapped into action, rushing forward but it was already too late.
"Everyone, attack the formation quickly, maybe we can get in too."
"If they could break the formation, surely we can too."
"Hurry up, people! Otherwise, the treasures inside the relic will be taken by them."
The crowd shouted anxiously, each brandishing their magic artifacts and attacking the formation rapidly, but the formation had by now reverted to its original state, and the cultivators at the forefront were repelled by the formidable power emanating from the formation before they could even attack.
When Lu Hanmo and his group entered the relic, seven endless paths unfolded in front of them.
"Do you want to split up or go together?" Yun Han asked, looking at the others.
"Split up!" Lu Hanmo and the others said in unison.