Chapter 1715: The Five Elements and Three Wonders Monument Array
After Sima Xu fled in panic, Ling Feng followed Despicable Donkey's guidance and continued deeper into the third level of the Mystic Sword Underground Palace, searching for the entrance to the mysterious fourth level.
About an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination.
"This should be the place."
Despicable Donkey lazily folded his hooves across his chest. His tail swished back and forth, stirring up clouds of dust from the ground.
Ling Feng swept his gaze across the surroundings before glancing at the donkey in confusion.
"Here?"
"Heh heh, take a closer look at those stone monuments around you and see what's different about them."
Despicable Donkey's long ears flapped excitedly as he grinned with a crafty expression.
Ling Feng examined the monuments one by one, his brows gradually knitting together.
The area was densely packed with all sorts of oddly shaped stone monuments. At first glance, they seemed no different from one another.
Then he noticed something unusual.
Among the forest of monuments stood eight special ones.
They were significantly larger than the others, and there were exactly eight of them.
Each monument exuded a completely distinct aura.
One felt like a blazing lava hellscape.
One resembled a boundless ocean.
Another carried the oppressive weight of towering mountains.
Yet another radiated the overwhelming force of countless bolts of thunder.
"Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth... and Ice, Wind, Thunder!"
Ling Feng's eyelids twitched slightly as realization dawned on him.
These were the most common elemental attributes of the martial world: the Five Elements and the Three Wonders.
Coincidentally, the first eight forms of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art corresponded perfectly to these eight attributes. Because of that, Ling Feng was exceptionally sensitive to their presence.
"Heh heh, exactly right. These eight stone monuments are the legendary Five Elements and Three Wonders Monument Array. They're also the key to entering the fourth level."
Despicable Donkey spoke with a smug grin.
At that moment, numerous figures came rushing over from behind.
Their eyes quickly locked onto the eight monuments as well.
As expected. Very few people know the secret of the fourth level, but that doesn't mean nobody knows it.
Ling Feng narrowed his eyes and quietly observed the martial artists gathering nearby.
Among them, he spotted Wang Bodang, the man who had previously taken the initiative to greet him.
Unfortunately, the moment Wang Bodang learned that Ling Feng came from the Dongling Region, his interest had evaporated and he had not bothered speaking to him again.
Still, judging from his aura, Wang Bodang was undeniably powerful.
His sword intent was sharp, steady, and thoroughly refined.
He was leagues above the two lackeys from Sima Xu's side who had died beneath Ling Feng's sword.
Besides Wang Bodang, there were two other powerful auras that immediately caught Ling Feng's attention.
Those individuals were likely the true elite geniuses among this group of entrants to the Mystic Sword Underground Palace.
As for the geniuses of the Beihan Region, most of them had already been stopped on the second level.
Their overall strength was respectable, but when it came to attainment in the Sword Dao, they were still far behind the geniuses of the Xijian Region.
"I never expected this kid to make it all the way here."
"So there are actually sword cultivators from the Dongling Region who have comprehended Sword Force. That's a rare sight indeed."
The Xijian Region geniuses looked at Ling Feng with obvious surprise.
However, they were hardly united among themselves.
The group had subtly divided into three separate camps, and for the moment nobody paid much attention to Ling Feng.
After all, judging purely by his aura, he seemed pitifully weak.
"Since everyone has come here, I assume you're all here for these eight monuments as well?"
One of the three strongest cultivators present, a burly man dressed in a green robe, swept his gaze across the crowd before fixing a wary stare on the other two leaders.
His voice was low and serious.
"What nonsense."
Wang Bodang sneered.
He met the green-robed man's gaze directly without the slightest hint of fear.
Their strengths were roughly on the same level, so he had no reason to back down.
The leader of the third camp, a swordsman clad in purple, narrowed his eyes as well.
"At a time like this, there's no point pretending otherwise."
"Good."
The green-robed man chuckled.
"It seems everyone here already knows about the existence of the fourth level."
He paused before continuing.
"In that case, why don't we work together for now?"
Everyone wanted to enter the fourth level.
Naturally, no one objected.
Thus, at the green-robed man's suggestion, the entire group agreed to cooperate temporarily and focus on activating the Five Elements and Three Wonders Monument Array first.
The green-robed man was named Xu Jie.
According to him, he had once seen the method for unsealing the monument array in an ancient text.
The activation sequence was extraordinarily complicated.
Not only did each monument need to be activated multiple times, but the process also involved various calculations and deductions.
Even with everyone working together, the procedure lasted for more than half an hour.
At last, all eight monument arrays were fully activated.
At the same time, deep rumbling sounds echoed through the void.
Pure elemental energies surged skyward simultaneously.
Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Wind, and Thunder erupted together in dazzling pillars of power.
The overwhelming aura shook every person present to their core.