Fang Hao followed the temporarily assembled team of Loose Cultivators, rushing all the way, and after spending more than three days, finally reached the destination—Luoxia Peak on the north side of the Hundred Flowers Mountain Range.

Good heavens, this place was much livelier than where he had stayed before! From a distance, one could see a massive crowd gathered at the foot of the mountain, at least several hundred people. There were those wearing uniform attire, clearly Sect Disciples; there were fierce-looking groups of Loose Cultivators; and there were many lone wolves or small groups like Fang Hao, who had come to try their luck with temporary teams. It was bustling with noise and excitement, like a grand market.

The air was filled with a scent of excitement and greed. Everyone’s gaze was eagerly fixed on the front—a huge rock wall on the mountainside of Luoxia Peak that had collapsed and been exposed due to an earthquake. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Below the rock wall, there was a pitch-black entrance with obvious traces of being artificially carved! The entrance was about three zhang high and two zhang wide, with deep, unfathomable darkness inside, and wisps of cold air wafting out. But what was most eye-catching was not the entrance itself, but the thin layer of light film covering it, shimmering with five-colored light!

The light film appeared fragile, yet it radiated an ancient and resilient energy fluctuation, sealing the entire entrance tightly. On the surface of the light film, countless fine and profound runes could be vaguely seen moving and flickering like swimming fish.

"That is the protective Formation of the ruins’ entrance!" a knowledgeable old Cultivator in the team pointed at the light film and said, "I heard it is the ’Hundred Flowers Maze Formation’ set up by the ancient ’Hundred Flowers Sect’, it is extremely mysterious! Forcing one’s way in is definitely impossible; we must find a way to break the Formation!"

Fang Hao activated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to look carefully, secretly shocked in his heart. This Formation was indeed not simple! The energy flow was integrated, the power of the Five Elements was endless, the defense was extremely strong, and it seemed to also have effects of illusions and spatial disorientation. With his current attainments in Formation, he couldn’t see through its depth at all, let alone break it.

"It seems it won’t be so easy to get in," Fang Hao muttered to himself. He mingled in the crowd, observing calmly.

On the open space in front of the cave entrance, several groups of people were already trying to break the Formation. Some tried to attack with brute force, bombarding the light film with various Spells and Magical Artifacts, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, not even causing a ripple. Instead, several who used too much force were injured by the Formation’s recoil and retreated while spitting blood.

There were also Formation Masters who tried to study the rules of the Formation and find weak points, pacing back and forth around the light film with furrowed brows, obviously making little progress.

There were also a few Golden Core Cultivators who looked like leaders, gathering together to whisper and discuss something, their faces not looking very good.

"Damn it, this Formation is really wicked! It’s impervious to everything!" a hot-tempered burly man cursed and pulled back his fist, which had gone numb from hitting it.

"The Hundred Flowers Sect is indeed an ancient great Sect; the Formation left behind still has such power after ten thousand years..." an old Formation Master with a white beard stroked his beard and sighed, shaking his head.

"We can’t just wait, right? Who knows when this Formation will weaken on its own?" someone said anxiously.

Just as Fang Hao was watching, he suddenly felt several strong Divine Senses sweep through the crowd, seemingly probing for something. His heart tightened, and he immediately restrained his aura deeper, lowering his head to avoid attracting attention. He was currently "carrying a fortune" and also carried the life of True Person Chiyang on his back; keeping a low profile was the way to go.

Just then, the group of Golden Core Cultivators seemed to have reached a consensus. One of the middle-aged Cultivators wearing the attire of the Qingyang Sect stepped out and said loudly: "Fellow Daoists! Just waiting like this is not a solution! This ’Hundred Flowers Maze Formation’ is extremely profound and cannot be broken by one person’s strength. We have discussed that it would be better to join forces and try! If we gather the strength of everyone and attack one point, we might be able to shake this Formation! What do you think?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd immediately became restless.

"Join forces to break the Formation? That makes sense!"

"Who will lead? How should we join forces?"

"What if someone sneak attacks while breaking the Formation?"

Everyone discussed, some agreeing, some worried.

The Qingyang Sect Cultivator seemed to have been prepared, and continued: "For the sake of fairness, the Qingyang Sect, Xuan Shui Pavilion, and Tianjian Sect can take the lead in organizing the breaking of the Formation. During the breaking of the Formation, each family will send people to maintain order to prevent anyone from fishing in troubled waters. After the Formation is broken and the entrance is opened, everyone can enter to search for treasures based on their own abilities, how about that?"

These three are all famous great Sects in the Southern Border, and having them take the lead could indeed stabilize the situation. Most Loose Cultivators and small forces thought about it and felt it was the only way for now, so they agreed one after another.

Fang Hao naturally had no objections. He was eager for someone to break the Formation quickly so he could go in and get some benefits.

Soon, under the organization of the three Sects, the hundreds of Cultivators present were roughly divided into several phalanxes, taking turns to attack the same point on the light film. Golden Core Cultivators were the main attackers, Foundation Establishment Cultivators assisted, and those in the Qi Refinement Stage shouted from behind.

"Ready! Attack!"

Following the order, the first wave of attacks began! Dozens of Spell lights of various colors and Magical Artifact bombardments hit the marked point on the light film like a rainstorm!

Rumble—!

A deafening loud noise came! The light film fluctuated violently, five-colored light flashed crazily, and the speed of the runes on the surface suddenly accelerated! The attack that gathered the strength of hundreds of Cultivators was indeed effective!

But the toughness of the light film was beyond imagination; although it fluctuated violently, there was no sign of breaking at all.

"Continue! Don’t stop!" the commanding Golden Core Cultivator shouted.

The second and third waves of attacks followed one after another! The fluctuation of the light film became more and more intense, and it even began to make a "humming" wailing sound! The rocks around the cave entrance were shaken off.

Fang Hao also mingled in the crowd, pretending to release low-power Spells, while his mind was entirely focused on observing the changes in the Formation. He noticed that as the attack continued, the energy at the point on the light film that was being focused on seemed to be slowly draining, but the Foundation of the entire Formation remained stable.

"It seems it’s hard to break it completely just by brute force," Fang Hao thought. "This Formation can automatically absorb energy from the earth veins to replenish consumption. Unless the power of a single strike far exceeds its replenishment speed, or the Formation eye is found, otherwise it’s just a waste of effort."

Sure enough, after attacking continuously for more than half an hour, everyone’s spiritual energy was insufficient, and although the light film’s light had dimmed a lot, it still stubbornly existed.

"Stop!" the commanding Golden Core Cultivator shouted to stop helplessly. Everyone looked at the still-stable light film, and all felt a bit discouraged.

"It seems brute force doesn’t work..."

"Do we really have to wait for it to weaken on its own? That would take forever!"

Just as everyone was at a loss, a sudden change occurred!

The five-colored light on the light film suddenly began to flash rapidly without warning! Immediately after, ripples rippled across the surface of the light film like water waves, the color in the center gradually faded, and the deep cave entrance behind was vaguely revealed!

"The Formation is weakening!" someone shouted in surprise!

"No! It’s not weakening! The Formation has reached a certain cycle, and the entrance is about to open temporarily!" a knowledgeable Formation Master saw the trick.

Sure enough, after just a few breaths, the center of the light film became completely transparent, forming a short-term passage that could accommodate one person! A thick, ancient Spiritual Qi that couldn’t be dissolved rushed towards them from the passage!

"The entrance is open! Charge!"

I don’t know who shouted, but the crowd exploded instantly! Everyone’s eyes were red, and they rushed towards the narrow passage in a scramble!

"Get out of the way! Let me in first!"

"Damn it! Don’t squeeze!"

The scene instantly lost control! In order to get in first, many people started fighting directly! Spells flew everywhere, swords clashed, screams and curses rang out! The order that was barely maintained just now disappeared instantly!

Fang Hao looked at the chaotic scene in front of him, his brows furrowed. He didn’t want to be the first bird. He calmly retreated to the edge of the crowd, watching those impatient people rushing in, feeling even more vigilant in his heart.

Ancient ruins, how could it be so easy to enter? This entrance opened too coincidentally! Maybe there are more powerful Restrictions waiting inside! It’s better to let these greedy guys go and explore the way first.

He waited patiently until the first wave of crazy crowds subsided a little and the entrance was not so crowded, then he used the Divine Spirit Steps, like a swimming fish, quietly mixed behind a few relatively calm teams, and flashed into the five-colored passage.

His vision blurred, and a slight feeling of weightlessness came to his body. The next moment, he was already standing on an ancient stone staircase that was dim, damp, and covered with moss, with the still-noisy entrance behind him, and unknown darkness and silence in front of him.

Hundred Flower Ruins, here I come! Fang Hao took a deep breath, gripped the yitian sword in his hand, and walked carefully towards the bottom of the stone steps. The real adventure has just begun.