Clayne stared at the formation beneath the flowing waters for several moments before his patience finally ran out. The array lines continued glowing beneath the soil of Silent River Hill while the distant sounds of laughter drifted into his ears from beyond the territory.

The more he listened to them celebrate, the more irritated he became. He could tolerate many things, but someone stealing his resources and then openly mocking him afterward was something else entirely.

Without warning, Clayne raised his fist and slammed it downward.

The impact shook the entire territory. Mountains trembled, rivers surged, several forest trees swayed violently as the force spread through the land. Yet when the tremors settled, the formation beneath the surface remained completely intact.

Clayne frowned.

His fist had destroyed countless things before. He had crushed cultivators. He had shattered treasures. He had even broken barriers separating realms. Yet this strange formation remained unaffected.

Soon afterward, laughter echoed from beyond Silent River Hill.

The voices carried obvious satisfaction. Then one of the cultivators stepped forward. The speaker was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Although Clayne could not see him directly, his voice reached the territory clearly.

The man sounded extremely pleased with himself.

"Respected Deity, there is no need to waste your effort. This formation is not a physical formation. What you are looking at is merely the visible anchor."

The Nascent Soul cultivator laughed softly before continuing.

"A soul teleportation formation operates differently from ordinary arrays. The true structure exists beyond the physical layer. Even if the surface markings are destroyed, the pathway itself remains. Countless generations of formation masters refined this technique. Even Soul Transformation cultivators would struggle to destroy it completely."

His tone gradually became more arrogant.

"Of course, perhaps such knowledge is unfamiliar to a being like yourself. After all, your methods seem rather... direct."

Several nearby cultivators laughed.

The Nascent Soul cultivator continued speaking.

"This formation can transport treasures, herbs, heavenly materials, spiritual fruits, and countless other resources. Living beings cannot pass through it. Souls cannot pass through it. Therefore there is no weakness for you to exploit."

The man chuckled.

"Simply put, your treasures can leave your territory."

His voice became even more confident.

"Yet you cannot follow them."

The surrounding cultivators immediately burst into laughter.

Many clearly enjoyed watching the situation unfold.

Some had been terrified of Clayne before, some had viewed him as an invincible deity, yet now that they believed they had discovered a weakness, their courage began growing rapidly.

Clayne merely smirked.

"Oh really?"

His tone caused several cultivators to pause. Then, without warning, Clayne reached into his pocket and retrieved another fragment of mirror.

The moment the mirror appeared, the laughter immediately weakened.

Many cultivators remembered what had happened to Ling Taiyin.

The terrifying scene of the Soul Transformation elder being dragged into the mirror remained fresh in their memories.

Clayne casually lowered the mirror toward the formation.

The Nascent Soul cultivator watched nervously. Several moments passed. Nothing happened.

The formation continued glowing. The spiritual pathway remained active. The array showed no signs of damage.

Relief immediately appeared on countless faces.

The Nascent Soul cultivator could not help laughing again.

"I thought so."

His confidence returned.

"That mirror is certainly terrifying against souls, but formations are not souls. Arrays are not souls. Spiritual pathways are not souls."

His voice grew increasingly smug.

"Even powerful treasures have limitations."

The surrounding cultivators nodded.

That explanation sounded reasonable.

Meanwhile, Clayne remained silent.

The truth was that he had not expected the mirror to work. He had merely wanted to test it. Unfortunately, the result was exactly what the Nascent Soul cultivator claimed.

The formation remained intact. The laughter gradually returned. The Nascent Soul cultivator even sounded bolder than before.

"Respected Deity, there is no need to feel upset. You still possess many treasures."

More laughter followed.

The cultivator continued speaking.

"We forgot something earlier. Our formation only exists on the ground. We neglected to establish one in the air."

His tone contained obvious greed.

"But that mistake will soon be corrected."

Several cultivators chuckled.

The Nascent Soul cultivator’s voice became increasingly respectful on the surface, yet increasingly insulting beneath it.

"After all, once the aerial formation is completed, every treasure you place inside Silent River Hill will eventually belong to us."

The laughter grew louder.

"Respectable Deity."

The title sounded more like mockery than respect.

Yet Clayne did not respond. Instead, he reached into his pocket again.

The cultivators immediately became alert.

Everyone expected another fruit. Another heavenly treasure, another resource, even the Ascendant elders focused their attention.

Then something unexpected happened.

Clayne froze.

His hand stopped midway.

A strange expression appeared on his face.

The object in his palm was not a dried strawberry.

It was not food, it was not a fruit and it was a crystal.

The crystal belongs to Mother Mantis.

For a moment, Clayne simply stared at it.

He distinctly remembered reaching for a dried strawberry. Yet somehow, this crystal had ended up in his hand instead.

His first instinct was to put it away, his second instinct was to retrieve the actual strawberry, yet for some reason, he hesitated.

Curiosity appeared inside his heart.

What would happen?

The crystal originated from a mutated creature.

Unlike fruits and snacks, it was a genuine product of evolution.

A genuine supernatural material.

The more Clayne thought about it, the more curious he became.

Eventually, he decided not to interfere.

Meanwhile, outside Silent River Hill, the cultivators were equally confused.

The Ascendant elder from the Cleaving Heaven Sect narrowed his eyes.

The Ascendant elder from the Nether Corpse Sect frowned.

Neither recognized the object.

"It is a crystal."

"It appears to be some kind of beast core."

Several experts exchanged glances.

The Nascent Soul cultivator who had been speaking earlier looked puzzled.

"What is the Deity planning now?"

Nobody knew.

Then the crystal entered Silent River Hill.

The moment it touched the territory, the entire world changed.

A low rumble echoed throughout heaven and earth.

At first, the sound seemed distant.

Then it rapidly intensified, the air trembled, the mountains shook, the rivers surged.

Countless cultivators immediately looked upward.

Expressions of confusion gradually transformed into shock.

Spiritual energy.

An absurd amount of spiritual energy.

The entire region suddenly erupted.

Streams of spiritual energy began pouring toward Silent River Hill from every direction.

The phenomenon resembled countless rivers converging toward a single ocean.

The sky darkened, clouds swirled, spiritual energy became visible.

Even ordinary cultivators could see enormous currents moving through the heavens.

The Ascendant elders immediately stood up, their expressions changed, because this was no longer the scale of a heavenly fruit.

This was something else entirely that’s far above it.

The crystal absorbed spiritual energy at an alarming rate.

The process accelerated, then accelerated again.

The surrounding cultivators gradually realized something terrifying.

The spiritual energy was not merely being gathered.

It was pulling them.

At first the force was weak.

Many ignored it.

Then several Foundation Establishment cultivators lost their footing.

Their expressions immediately changed.

"What is happening?"

One of them suddenly slid forward.

Another stumbled.

A third was dragged several steps despite desperately resisting.

The phenomenon rapidly intensified.

Soon Core Formation cultivators were affected.

Then Nascent Soul cultivators.

Panic immediately spread.

The Ascendant elder from the Nether Corpse Sect released his cultivation, the Ascendant elder from the Cleaving Heaven Sect unsheathed several swords, yet even they felt a strange pulling force.

The crystal continued absorbing, the attraction continued increasing, cultivators began shouting, several attempted to flee and others activated treasures.

Formation masters desperately tried reinforcing the surrounding arrays.

None of it mattered.

The force only grew stronger.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly screamed as his body flew through the air.

Before anyone could react, he shot directly toward Silent River Hill.

The moment he crossed the boundary, he disappeared from sight.

Silence fell.

Then another cultivator lost control. Then another. Then another. The panic instantly exploded. Because everyone finally understood. The crystal was not merely gathering spiritual energy. It was dragging everything toward Silent River Hill. And one by one, the cultivators outside began getting pulled into the territory.