"That... Senior Brother, this is a bit excessive," Zhong Ling stammered as she gazed at the formation flag Wu Huang had suddenly thrust upon her.
At a single glance, it was evident that the artifact was anything but simple; the vibrations it emanated betrayed an ancient origin and a formidable, contained power. It was obviously an object whose energy could not be easily contained for long—a burden that even for a formation genius would prove heavy.
"Don't worry, use it with confidence," Wu Huang insisted, practically forcing the flag into his sister's hands.
Zhong Ling, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by her brother's generosity, nodded and headed to the epicenter of the array. With a fluid movement, she proceeded to exchange the original core for the new, mysterious flag.
For any other cultivator, performing this swap would be as complex as a surgeon attempting a heart transplant on a body in full motion. However, thanks to her absolute control over the runic structure and her innate talent for formations, Zhong Ling achieved the partial substitution with but a single thought. In her hands, the laws of the formation bent and adjusted with astonishing ease.
"This is too... mysterious," Zhong Ling whispered, wonder reflected on her face as she felt the flow of power emanating from the flag.
If her formation could previously barely contain cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage, she now felt she possessed the strength necessary to completely subjugate a Golden Core expert. Even if it were the Mountain Chief himself, Zhong Ling was certain she could subdue him with a single thought.
After stabilizing her mind and synchronizing her breath with the array, she took absolute control.
Within the perimeter, the rogue cultivators lashed out against the formation walls, unleashing the full power of their Foundation Establishment techniques in a desperate attempt to escape. Those with knowledge of runic arts immediately lunged toward the energy nodes, searching for a weak point to dismantle the structure.
However, before they could draw near, the air vibrated with a metallic hum. Innumerable golden chains erupted from the nodes with blinding speed.
The chains soared toward the firmament, interlacing heaven and earth. Like serpents of solid light, they slithered across the battlefield, crossing paths and sealing every exit with a sacred radiance that rendered any escape attempt futile.
"The Golden Containment Formation?" one of the men exclaimed, his knowledge of the mystic arts allowing him to recognize the pattern.
"It's a lost technique of the Hong Family! How is it possible for a disciple of the Tian Yun Sect to possess it?" Questions erupted among the crowd, heavy with incredulity and fear.
Though their bewilderment was total, they knew they had no time for speculation.
"Stop her before the seal is complete!" roared a formation master, frantically attempting to manipulate the energy flow to open a safe passage.
Following his command, the cultivators unleashed their full power. The air filled with devastating techniques: snaking lightning, voracious flames, blasts of absolute ice, and sword auras so sharp they tore through the wind. These were attacks sufficient to wipe an entire mortal city off the map, and they all impacted the nodes and chains with fury in a desperate attempt to halt their advance.
However, the formation remained indifferent to the chaos. The golden chains continued their inexorable march until, in a blink, the seal closed.
Those trapped could only watch, helpless, as the sky and their surroundings were covered by an impenetrable golden net. Wu Huang contemplated the scene from the center of the array with imperturbable calm.
"Good work. These fellows won't be causing trouble for a good while," he said, turning around with total nonchalance. "Watch them closely, Zhong Ling. If they attempt any strange moves, you have permission to eliminate them."
Zhong Ling nodded in silence and closed her eyes, sinking into a deep meditation to maintain absolute control over the formation.
Once that inconvenience was resolved, Wu Huang walked back toward the mountain peak. The mysterious gate of the Secret Realm loomed there, now surrounded by the Golden Containment Formation, though he had ensured a clear space was left around it. It had been a calculated move: he did not want the structure of the seal to interfere in the slightest with the entrance.
After all, attempting to contain or seal a secret realm—even accidentally—was an invitation to catastrophe. The retaliation of an ancestral dimension was not something to be taken lightly; against the counterattack of such power, even a Golden Core Realm expert could only pray to keep at least one limb intact.
"Well, Junior Brother, everything is prepared for you. You just need to obtain this inheritance properly; I hope no unforeseen problems arise," he murmured while observing the colossal gate.
However, in that instant, he noticed something strange. An invisible tug, a vibration that resonated directly in his soul.
"Am I being pulled in?" he whispered, bewildered.
For some reason, he felt something in the depths of the realm calling to him, urging him to cross the threshold.
"A villain's treasure? No, thank you," he muttered suspiciously. "I know well how these things end. If it's something destined for a villain, it will have unpredictable consequences. I might even gain some forbidden magical talent and end up accidentally becoming a demonic cultivator."
Wu Huang had too much knowledge regarding the plots and misfortunes that haunted his kind. He understood that, no matter how tempting the contents were, the wisest course was to maintain a prudent distance so as not to be caught in a tragic or corrupt fate.
In the first place, he didn't lack high-level weapons or materials. Unless it were a Heaven-Grade artifact, he was quite indifferent to what might be found inside.
"A Heaven-Grade weapon appearing in a random Secret Realm would be too strange, even by the standards of this world," he muttered to himself.
With that impeccable logic and without a second's hesitation, he turned around and walked away from the entrance with a firm stride, turning his back on the temptation that would have caused any other cultivator to fall.