Chapter 903: Stone Platform and Scars

The walls of the great hall were mottled, runes carved directly into them. The strokes were bold, as if painted with iron hooks and silver strokes, carrying the traces of time. The stone platform was older than the hall itself.

On the surface, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary crescent-shaped stone platform, yet it radiated an inexplicable, ancient aura that stirred the heart. It was clearly not something of the present age.

The platform was covered in scars. No one knew whether it had been damaged in some ancient war, or if it had always been this way. Its surface was crisscrossed with chaotic markings, to the point that it was impossible to tell what kind of design they once formed.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Within the hall, aside from the spiritual array, the platform, and the lightning slurry pool, nothing else remained.

Though the platform seemed ordinary, it floated in mid-air without falling.

A closer look revealed this was not the platform’s own power, but rather the convergence of the spiritual array. The very place where the platform hung was the Array Eye.

The lightning slurry in the pool was so docile most likely because of the array. The platform itself seemed to serve no visible purpose.

The spiritual array and the stone platform clearly did not originate from the same hand, not even from the same era. Whoever left the array had intentionally placed the stone platform here, surely for a reason.

The black-robed man stared fixedly at the platform. This was the very thing the grandmaster of Black Snake Mountain had named.

He cautiously stepped into the hall. Seeing no reaction, he flickered to the side of the lightning slurry pool.

Even though the slurry remained calm, being so close to it made his scalp tingle and his eyelids twitch. Every move he made was filled with caution.

"Is this thing a strange treasure?" He frowned at the platform.

No matter how he looked at it, it did not resemble an astra. There was no sign of contained power, no aura of hidden strength. Yet its timeless, ancient air was awe-inspiring. To have survived from antiquity until now, it was surely no common stone.

Outside, the situation was tense, but the black-robed man was in no rush.

Instead of seizing it immediately, he drew a flying sword and infused it with true essence, then gave the platform a light strike.

Clang!

The clear sound rang out, the flying sword bouncing back.

He replaced it with a spiritual sword astra, struck several times in succession, and still left no mark. The platform was unbelievably hard.

If the scars covering the platform had not already been there, then to damage it to such a degree would have required weapons far beyond ordinary blades.

Resolutely, the man put away his sword and pressed his palm onto the platform, channeling true essence into it.

At once, faint light surfaced across its face. The hall was too bright to see clearly, but one could just make out an illusory, ephemeral glow, like the dim shimmer of starlight.

The platform finally showed change, yet the black-robed man had clearly expected this. His expression remained calm. Even as he poured more spiritual power into it, the platform only grew brighter with starlight, without any further reaction.

"As expected. Even two of the human race’s Spiritual Infant experts could not discern anything, thinking it merely the Array Eye or a tool for cultivation. I should not expect human methods to yield anything more." He withdrew his power and pondered briefly, then his lips moved in strange syllables.

He raised his right hand, fingers spread. Suddenly, eerie tattoos appeared along his arm. It was a divine pattern of the witch race. A ball of silver light condensed in his palm, and with a low shout, he slammed it onto the platform.

It was lightning. Striking the platform, the lightning did not vanish, but transformed into a net that wrapped the stone, trying to burrow within, or to draw forth hidden strength.

But he failed. The platform stayed as before, faintly glowing, and the divine pattern’s power was too weak. Its light was barely visible.

He did not feel discouraged. The witch race’s divine patterns encompassed all things: wind, rain, thunder, lightning.

Their heritage was no less vast than that of the human race. Why it had been cut off so thoroughly remained a mystery.

He invoked other divine patterns, unleashing varied powers, even employing gu insects, but none elicited a response. At last, his means exhausted, he had no choice but to stop.

"No wonder Master called it a strange treasure, not an astra. Whatever secret it holds, only Master or another witch race Spiritual Infant can unravel it."

Muttering, he withdrew his divine patterns. Remembering the words of the abandoned disciples from Douniu Peak, he split his true essence into several streams and sent them into the spiritual array.

The array’s runes lit up. Seizing the moment, he reached out and, with a swift motion, lifted the platform.

A flicker of joy crossed his face. He stowed the platform into his Mustard Seed Pouch. But then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed something strange in the lightning slurry pool.

The once-calm surface now rippled, its aura turning violent, lightning power around it flaring in response.

Clearly, the platform was vital to the array. Without it, the array would destabilize.

The runes blazed with dazzling light, yet they could not suppress the slurry’s fury.

If the entire pool erupted, the whole of Dongming Island would be obliterated. Even this thin layer was terrifying enough to make the black-robed man’s heart tremble. He dared not linger.

With a step, he shot out of the hall.

Outside the Lightning Cave...

The noise of the broken array had already alerted Core Formation cultivators of every sect. Rushing over, they were shocked to discover a group of unfamiliar witch race cultivators on the island.

They immediately realized the three disciples from Douniu Peak were suspicious, and that they had been deceived. The witch race members had slipped in right under their noses.

"Get back!" The witch race cultivators reformed their array. With a wave of the Beast King Banner, golden threads slashed through the air, striking at the two fastest Golden Core human cultivators.

Sensing their power, the two men’s faces drained of color. They hastily unleashed their astras, but the golden threads devoured their attacks, surging on. Alarmed, they stopped short and retreated, already battered and in disarray. Luckily, reinforcements arrived from behind.

"This is the famed Beast King Banner Array of the witch race!" Battle-hardened veterans among them gasped, recognizing it. The forging of these banners was exceedingly difficult, their use reserved for the top witch sects.

"These witch race members are no ordinary foes! The banners are incomplete. Do not be afraid. They dared to infiltrate Dongming Island. Don’t let a single one escape!"

The strongest human cultivators quickly organized a counterattack. Outnumbered, the witch race, even with the Beast King Banner, would not last long.

Just then, the black-robed man emerged from the cave. Seeing the situation, he waved his arm. "We have it! Withdraw!"

At his word, the witch race cultivators brightened, activating the banners to shield themselves as they raced back toward their array.