Chapter 1286: Strange Array

"Fellow Daoist Gui Wu, this swamp appears to be quite calm at the moment, but I presume that it's not a safe place, either, am I right?" Han Li asked.

"There are no truly safe places in the underworld, but compared to other places, this swamp is relatively innocuous. A blanket of miasma constantly hangs over this swamp, and over the years, it has condensed into these five-colored poison clouds in the sky. However, you should be fine as long as you don't fly too high and directly enter the poison clouds," Gui Wu replied.

"I see. Where is the Yama Manor?" Han Li asked.

"It's not far away, we should be there soon," Gui Wu replied.

"You've already said that five or six times. Is the Yama Manor in this swamp or not?" Weeping Soul asked with slightly furrowed brows.

"This place looks far too barren for there to be any buildings here. Are you lying to us?" Jin Tong asked with a skeptical expression.

"I wouldn't dare to lie to you! The Yama Manor is on an island in the middle of the swamp, but it's surrounded by a strange array, and no one has ever been able to enter the manor. As for what's so strange about the array, you'll understand once you see it," Gui Wu hurriedly replied.

"In that case, please lead the way there, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu," Han Li said.

"There's a forest roughly a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers west of this peninsula. The trees in the forest are rather... special. Let's go there first," Gui Wu said.

Han Li's trio immediately set off in a westward direction, making sure to fly at an altitude of less than a thousand feet.

Shortly thereafter, a withered, black tree that was several thousand feet in height appeared on the distant horizon.

The tree had an extremely thick trunk, but it was entirely charred black and completely devoid of any vitality. Its branches were bare of leaves, resembling ghostly claws that extended in all directions.

Masses of vines were draped over the tree, with countless decaying bodies hanging from them, presenting a harrowing sight to behold.

The landscape beyond the tree was enshrouded in a cloud of miasma, but it was still possible to make out more trees of a similar appearance stretching into the distance as far as the eyes could see.

Right as Han Li's trio was about to reach the tree, Gui Wu suddenly cautioned.

"These trees are Corpse Hanging Ghost Vines, and they're rather difficult to deal with, so make sure you don't get too close to them. From this point, we have to travel northward for around eight hundred and fifty thousand kilometers to find a floating rock that resembles a ghostly figure. From there, we travel four hundred thousand kilometers to the west, and we'll be able to reach the island that the Yama Manor is situated on."

Han Li's trio immediately set off northward upon hearing this.

......

Under Gui Wu's guidance, Han Li's trio was able to reach the island that was home to the Yama Manor after roughly three more days of travel.

At the moment, they were situated close to a thousand kilometers away from the island, which seemed to have been encompassed within some type of restriction that kept out all of the surrounding miasma, ensuring the air around the island remained clear and pure.

Han Li quickly noticed that the restriction contained immense time law powers.

The three of them were suspended in mid-air outside the restriction, and from there, they could see that time seemed to have been standing completely still on the island.

"Is this the Yama Manor?" Weeping Soul asked.

"That's right," Gui Wu confirmed.

"What's going on with everything on the island?" Jin Tong asked.

"This restriction is filled with time law powers, and as a result, everything inside is frozen in time. No one has ever been able to breach this restriction, let alone reach the island," Gui Wu explained.

After a brief examination, a perplexed look appeared on Han Li's face as he said, "This restriction does indeed contain immense time law powers, but it's not a powerful offensive array, nor is it an impregnable defensive array, so why has it never been breached before?"

"Rather than have me explain, you can pass through it yourself to find out," Gui Wu replied in a mysterious manner.

"I bet he's just trying to scare us! Wait for me, Uncle, I'll give it a try," Jin Tong scoffed in an unconvinced manner, then flew into the restriction before Han Li had a chance to stop her.

In the next instant, Jin Tong reappeared outside the restriction, then scoffed, "I bet he's just trying to scare us! Wait for me, Uncle, I'll give it a try."

Immediately thereafter, she returned to the same spot and repeated for a third time, "I bet he's just trying to scare us! Wait for me, Uncle, I'll give it a try!"

It was as if she had been caught in a time loop, one that she was completely oblivious to herself.

After reappearing outside the restriction once again, Han Li caught her by the arm before she could continue the futile cycle.

"What are you doing, Uncle? Let me give it a try!" Jin Tong complained as she struggled free from Han Li's grasp.

"You've already tried many times to no avail," Han Li said.

"What do you mean?" Jin Tong asked with a perplexed expression, then turned to Weeping Soul with an inquisitive expression.

"Master's not lying, you really have already tried many times," Weeping Soul confirmed.

"Why don't I remember?" Jin Tong asked with a dazed expression.

Han Li offered no response. Just as Gui Wu had said, it was much easier to explain the effects of the restriction by demonstration than through words.

"It seems that anyone who tries to enter the restriction will be affected by the time law powers within, taking them back to the instant before they entered the restriction. If there's no one to stop them, then they'll probably be doomed to repeat the cycle for all of eternity," Han Li said.

"I don't get it," Jin Tong said in a puzzled manner.

"Essentially, even if you had tried to enter the restriction a million times, you would've only been transported out of every single time, and you wouldn't have been able to realize that," Han Li explained.

"That is indeed the case, Fellow Daoist Han," Gui Wu chimed in in confirmation. "However, one thing I'll add is that this cycle won't repeat itself for all of eternity. Instead, once someone has entered the restriction a certain number of times, their physical body will be broken down by the time law powers within, and their immortal spiritual power will flow into the array as sustenance for it."

Both Weeping Soul and Jin Tong were quite alarmed to hear this, while Han Li didn't seem particularly surprised as he inspected the array with a contemplative gaze.

"Why didn't you say that earlier, you old bastard? Were you trying to get me killed?" Jin Tong yelled.

"You only entered the restriction a few times, so you'll be fine. One would have to enter the array at least tens of thousands of times before their body completely breaks down, and unless someone stops them, they won't be able to feel the deterioration in their own condition at all, which means that if you come here with no companions, then your fate is sealed from the moment that you decide to enter the restriction for the first time," Gui Wu said.

"Do you know how to unravel this restriction, Fellow Daoist Gui Wu?" Han Li asked.

"The answer to that question should be obvious, Fellow Daoist. If I could unravel the restriction, then everything in this Yama Manor would've already been mine," Gui Wu replied with a wry smile. "Having said that, what I can say is that seeing as this a time-attribute restriction, it should also require time law powers to unravel."

Han Li nodded in response with a thoughtful expression, then made a hand seal as he began chanting an incantation, and waves of time law power fluctuations surged out of his body as his five time law treasure manifestations appeared before circling around him.

He channeled his Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra as he swept a sleeve through the air, and the five time law treasure manifestations rose up into the air before descending upon the restriction from five different directions.

Five different types of time law power fluctuations began to sweep over the restriction, causing its surface to ripple like the surface of a disturbed lake.

Han Li raised a finger before gently prodding the restriction with it, and the entire light barrier disintegrated on its own with a faint pop.

All of the surrounding miasma in the air instantly began to converge toward the island, while the birds that had been suspended in mid-air for countless millennia were finally able to fly again, but their joy was short-lived as they were quickly suffocated by the converging miasma and fell out of the sky.

"That was way too fast!" Gui Wu exclaimed in an incredulous manner.

Han Li offered no explanation as he flew onto the island, followed closely by Jin Tong and Weeping Soul.

As soon as Han Li set foot on the island, he was immediately able to detect a faint burst of time law power fluctuations emanating from its center.

The island was filled with lush greenery, but there wasn't even a single, trodden path, so Han Li's trio was forced to advance through the overgrown grass and shrubs.

As they continued onward, the terrain on the island began to elevate, and the greenery wasn't as lush and dense as before. By the time they reached the summit of the island, the greenery had mostly receded, and Han Li was greeted by the sight of a dilapidated stone plaque.