After descending more than nineteen thousand meters, the trio stopped.

This depth was making Xiao Yueyin feel uncomfortable. Although it was still manageable now, the amount of True Essence she was using would eventually drain her by the end of the day.

Although the ocean contains Heaven and Earth Essence, the water and pressure make it too hard to properly absorb it so Xiao Yueyin was using more True Essence than she was absorbing.

Ji Xian and Xia Lihua had a thin layer of Essence enveloping their bodies that were unnoticeable to the naked eye.

This thin layer was released by the two of them instinctively as the first line of defense as no cultivator would ever leave their body unprotected unless they are either confident or foolish.

The duo remained unaffected by the pressure and their expression was still relaxed.

In front of them was nothing but darkness, to normal people, even if they put their hand out in front of them, it still wouldn’t be visible. Xiao Yueyin was unable to use her spiritual sense to observe her surroundings as it was constantly being disrupted so she was forced to use an alternate method.

She channeled her True Essence to her eyes causing them to glow bright purple in the darkness.

After a few seconds, a frown appeared on her face. She was unable to discover anything even though she was certain that the source of the spatial fluctuation was in front of them. Only sea beasts and aquatic creatures can be seen swimming away and avoiding the trio.

Ji Xian and Xia Lihua's strong spiritual senses moved through the water with no resistance, slicing through the pressure like a hot knife on butter and allowing the two of them to inspect what was in front of them.

Xia Lihua quickly scanned the area before immediately retracting her spiritual sense and wordlessly wait for Ji Xian. It wasn’t that she was unable to find anything, but what was in front of them was a formation. One that she has never seen before, but she was confident that Ji Xian would know.

Unfortunately, Ji Xian was just as clueless as she was.

In the Mortal Haven World and even the Mortal Desolate World, from what he saw from the formation in Solitude City, formations are created using runes, from dozens to hundreds to thousands.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

To use one’s Essence to sculpt out runes that are accepted by Heaven and Earth and have them correspond to each other and harmonize after powering it through True Essence or Astral Essence. This is the way of creating formations that Ji Xian was familiar with. Even from the books and information he obtained through the people from the Upper World, this was also how they created formations.

Yet, the formation in front of him was made from what seemed to be only one extremely complicated rune that was inscribed in that area of the ocean. Even for Ji Xian, he couldn’t make any heads or tails of it.

He took a glance at Xia Lihua and said, “Wait here.”

Nodding her head, Xia Lihua watched as Ji Xian took a step and vanished, appearing directly before the formation. She watched on as he circled it, looking up and down, before finally directing his gaze downwards, in one particular location. His eyes subtly glowed, and after half an hour, he closed his eyes and remained still.

Seeing this, Xiao Yueyin stepped forward and couldn’t help but asked, “What is he doing?”

Xia Lihua had a cold expression and didn’t turn to look at her, and from Xia Lihua’s facial expression, she didn’t seem to have any intention of replying.

Xiao Yueyin frowned.

A thoughtful expression suddenly appeared on Xia Lihua’s face and she couldn’t help but recall Ji Xian’s words from before.

She let out a small sigh and relaxed her face, going from cold to calm in an instant.

She opened her mouth, slowly and calmly she said, “There’s a formation ahead from where the spatial fluctuation is coming from. Ji Xian is currently inspecting it/“

Seeing that Xia Lihua was willing to talk to her, Xiao Yueyin couldn’t help but feel delighted. She glanced at the unmoving Ji Xian before carefully asking, “Ji Xian? Is he your servant?”

A sharp light instantly appeared in Xia Lihua’s eyes as she turned to face Xiao Yueyin. Her face was neutral but Xiao Yueyin inwardly shuddered upon seeing her calm demeanor.

Xiao Yueyin silently swallowed her saliva and slightly bowed her head like an obedient child in front of a parent.

If anyone were to see Xiao Yueyin at this moment, they would question if this was still the high and mighty Dragon Saintess that they knew.

The two no longer spoke to each other. Xiao Yueyin knew her limits and decided she shouldn’t push it after finally getting a somewhat positive response from Xia Lihua.

Ten minutes have passed since Ji Xian closed his eyes. After he meticulously examined the single complex rune, he immediately started the simulations in his mind. Using the knowledge he currently has on formations, he tried to find a solution to the foreign formation.

After what felt like a million trials and errors, Ji Xian inwardly shook his head.

“The problem here is my knowledge of this single rune is lacking. It’s not created from True Essence or Astral Essence, but another form of energy, one that is very corrosive.”

The level of corrosiveness couldn’t burn through Ji Xian’s True Essence, so he didn’t care too much for it, but its uniqueness interest him.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face, “A different cultivation system..?”

“This formation can’t be from this world… and it may not even be from the Upper World… no I can’t rule that out. I can destroy this formation using force but that’s no fun.”

“This rune is like a giant maze where all the paths are blocked, I need to rearrange it in a way so that won’t be the case.”

A glint flashed in Ji Xian’s eyes, “I can recreate this rune…