Chapter 1760: High Divine Celestial Talisman

Since the disappearance of its previous leader, Sun En, the Divine Heaven Sect had fractured. Wang Youjun, an elder of the sect with the Wang family's backing, was initially the most promising candidate to succeed as leader.

Unfortunately, several other influential elders in the Divine Heaven Sect, whose power was not significantly inferior to the Wang family's, refused to accept Wang Youjun. These elders united to oppose his succession. Furthermore, the three talismans of previous leaders had vanished along with the last leader, Sun En. Without these talismans, anyone claiming leadership would lack legitimate authority.

For years, Wang Youjun searched for Sun En's whereabouts. Persistence paid off: with the Wang family's resources and the aid of his special crimson-glowing yellow talisman, he finally located Sun En not long ago.

According to his gathered intelligence, Sun En had possessed unparalleled martial arts prowess and was only a step away from achieving immortality. Therefore, he specifically sought a remote island to undergo his tribulation. To prevent disturbance or assassination by lifelong enemies, he told no one and even set up various bewildering formations around the island. Regrettably, he ultimately failed the tribulation, was struck down by the lightning, and fell onto the island.

From then on, there was no longer a leader of the Divine Heaven Sect in the martial world. The three talismans of past leaders also lay buried with him on the island. Because the remote island was inherently difficult to locate in the vast sea, and Sun En had set up numerous restrictions around it during his lifetime, its existence remained unknown for many years.

Wang Youjun spent decades conducting covert investigations and overt inquiries, studying Sun En's conduct, his movements before his disappearance, and combining this with testimonies from those who had seen him last. Only then was he able to piece together a rough picture of the full events. He had previously assembled all the necessary talents, but those within the Divine Heaven Sect proficient in formation arrays were connected to his sworn enemies. Fearing information leaks, he had refrained from acting.

It wasn't until he met Xie Daoyun today that he couldn't help but glance at his second son. Though his son often frequented pleasure quarters and received many lectures for it, Wang Youjun realized that this time, his philandering had unexpectedly brought good fortune, making his years of doting on him worthwhile.

Soon, the large ship entered a dense fog. Distantly, faintly visible reefs emerged from the water. Only near these reefs could one barely discern anything; everywhere else was shrouded in a gray haze.

"It seems we'll be fine if we just follow these reefs!" Wang Neishi exclaimed excitedly.

"It's not that simple," Xie Daoyun replied. "These reefs appear chaotic, but they actually correspond to celestial constellations, forming an extremely sophisticated array. A single misstep could lead to utter ruin."

Wang Youjun secretly nodded. "Miss Xie, please take a closer look."

Xie Daoyun carefully observed the arrangement of the distant reefs and then asked Wang Youjun about some astrological aspects of this world. After all, the positions of constellations vary across different worlds, and thus, array formations would naturally differ. Of course, mastering one principle often leads to understanding many others. Once she understood the constellation layout of this world, she could naturally devise a method to break the array.

Sure enough, after Wang Youjun answered a few questions, Xie Daoyun felt confident. Pointing to the distant reefs, she said, "Head that way!"

"That way is the longest route, and it's intermittently bright and dim, with what appear to be whirlpools around. I even see shadows of shipwrecks; it looks more like a dead end," Wang Neishi couldn't help but question.

"Trust me," Xie Daoyun said calmly.

Wang Youjun glanced at her and suddenly chuckled, "Go in the direction Miss Xie indicates." He didn't necessarily trust Xie Daoyun implicitly, but rather respected her mastery of array formations and believed she wouldn't risk her own life.

As expected, when the large ship approached that reef, they discovered that the whirlpools and shipwrecks had vanished. Clearly, it had all been an illusion.

"Miss Xie is indeed brilliant," Wang Youjun said, his previously tense mood completely relaxing.

At that moment, Wang Neishi pointed to the front-right. "There's also a phantom shipwreck there. Should we head towards that reef now?"

Xie Daoyun shook her head. "That's not a phantom; it's a real danger. Going there would lead to a dead end. The array master is truly ingenious in blurring the line between illusion and reality."

Wang Neishi was speechless. He had intended to show off in front of the beautiful woman but ended up being humiliated instead. So, he remained silent to avoid appearing foolish.

Soon, under Xie Daoyun's guidance, the large ship maneuvered through the reefs, sometimes advancing three steps only to retreat five, navigating at various strange angles. As time passed, the surrounding fog gradually thinned, eventually being left completely behind.

Seeing the silhouette of an island suddenly appear in the distance, the people on board cheered. Their gaze towards Xie Daoyun was entirely different; they had previously thought her merely a new female servant favored by the second young master, never imagining she possessed such remarkable ability.

Xie Daoyun couldn't help but ask Wang Youjun, "Senior Wang, although that array was very troublesome, since you possess that special talisman for finding people, why didn't you use it for guidance?"

Wang Youjun replied, "I tried before, but this fog array seems specifically designed to counter talismans. My crimson-glowing yellow talisman couldn't penetrate the mist."

"Oh? Why would this array specifically be designed to counter talismans?" Xie Daoyun asked, bewildered. Could the designer have anticipated someone possessing such a talisman?

Wang Youjun chuckled dismissively, "This is actually quite expected, Miss. Don't trouble yourself over it."

Sensing that he was concealing something, Xie Daoyun suppressed her doubts for the moment. She exchanged a glance with Yun Jianyue, silently reminding each other to stay vigilant.

Soon, the large ship docked by the island. The group disembarked and found the island rugged with strange, jagged rocks and almost no trees. Everywhere stood peculiar stone pillars. They appeared chaotic yet vaguely hinted at an underlying order, making it unclear whether they were man-made or naturally formed.

However, what truly alarmed everyone was that the entire island seemed enveloped in a terrifying thunderstorm. Around them, lightning occasionally snaked across the stone pillars. At the very center, lightning as thick as tree trunks continuously struck down, creating a scene like the end of the world.

Everyone swallowed hard. Wasn't such a place a forbidden zone for humans?

"Patriarch, have we come to the wrong place?" someone couldn't help but ask. A place like this seemed impossible to traverse.

"No, this is it, it must be here!" Wang Youjun's eyes gleamed with excitement. Leader Sun En had perished when he failed his lightning tribulation, so all this lightning must be remnants from that event.

Seeing his certainty, others found it hard to argue and could only begin to strategize how to navigate through this terrifying thunderstorm.

Wang Youjun looked at Xie Daoyun. "Miss Xie, are these thunderstorms controlled by some array formation? Is there a way to break or dispel them?"

Xie Daoyun's gaze fell upon the stone forest. "My sixth sense tells me these stone pillars are largely intertwined with this thunderstorm. However, I can't figure out what kind of array this is for the time being. If these truly are man-made formations, then the designer's mastery is clearly far superior to mine..."

"Stone pillars?" Wang Youjun murmured thoughtfully. He then assigned one of his subordinates to strike one of the pillars, to see if it could disrupt the array's operation.

The man nodded, let out a loud roar, and his aura surged. He unleashed his fists, and the force of his punches formed the phantom of a giant bear, which lunged towards the stone pillar. His powerful punch, capable of splitting stone tablets, was strong enough to pulverize a stone pillar of that size.

To everyone's surprise, when the phantom bear struck the stone pillar, the pillar remained completely unharmed. The man froze instantly, thinking, "This is impossible."

Just then, electricity suddenly flickered on the stone pillar. Xie Daoyun quickly warned, "Careful!"

Unfortunately, almost simultaneously, a chain-like bolt of lightning shot out from the pillar and instantly struck the man. A horrific scream pierced the air. The man, chosen by Wang Youjun to be on the ship, was naturally not weak and wore valuable armor. Yet, in an instant, his armor turned to dust, his body burst into sparks, and he fell straight down. By the time everyone regained their senses, only a charred, smoking object remained on the ground, and a strange, meaty smell permeated the air.

The crowd was silent.

Wang Youjun's eyelids twitched. He finally dispatched his group to search the surroundings, hoping to find another path to bypass the thunderstorm. An hour passed, and everyone returned, having found no other routes. Xie Daoyun also explored the area, but many stone pillars were shrouded in the thunderstorm, preventing her from fully observing the stone forest's layout and thus devising a method to break the array.

"Since there's no way through, perhaps we should return and reconsider our plan," Wang Neishi suggested. For some reason, he felt a constant unease today, vaguely sensing an ominous presence.

"We've already come all this way, how can we leave!" Wang Youjun exclaimed, gazing into the depths of the thunderstorm. He thought, "This must be the 'Supreme Divine Heaven Talisman,' one of the three talismans belonging to the sect leader, which can control lightning."

The lost talismans are indeed here!

With that thought, he no longer hesitated. Suddenly, with a sweep of his hand, the eight beautiful maids behind Wang Neishi were ensnared by an invisible force and thrown directly into the thunderstorm ahead.

"Ah!" Horrific screams rang out. Soon, the beautiful women's flesh and blood vanished, leaving behind only charred skeletons.

However, after this, the nearby thunderstorm was no longer as violent as it had been.