"Rumble..." With the long sound of massive stones shifting, a beam of white light burst from the low-lying ground, piercing through the waves and shooting toward the middle of the sea. Ye Xiu's mouth dropped open in shock; in opening it so wide, he immediately swallowed a great deal of seawater. He thought to himself, This is it; I'm dead this time.

"Boom!" The sound grew louder and louder, and the movement of the stones seemed to intensify. Where that broad beam of white light illuminated, the entire South Sea began to split in two, starting from the crashing wave that had been bearing down on him. A path through the ocean instantly appeared before Ye Xiu.

"What the hell is this? Are they filming a movie?" Ye Xiu couldn't process it, scrambling awkwardly onto the ground to stare at this absurdly wide, ocean-floor road. He had only ever heard tales of Moses parting the sea with his staff; he never imagined that the hideous Guigu Token he carried could perform such a feat. Ignoring the impossibility of it, Ye Xiu rose, gripped Tianyi, and resolutely stepped onto the path. The water on either side towered over his head but showed no sign of collapsing. Ye Xiu felt a sense of ease, reaching out to touch the water flowing beside him. The wall of seawater was strangely alive; as soon as his hand made contact, a spray of droplets scattered. "If only my phone still had battery life," Ye Xiu lamented deeply. Such a magnificent spectacle truly deserved to be shared with Xu'er and Ji Jiang.

"Whoosh..." As he ambled along, he suddenly heard a great commotion behind him. Ye Xiu turned back and froze in terror. The path he had just walked was already submerged deep beneath the rising seawater. That alone wasn't the main issue; the terrifying part was that the water rushing up from behind was rapidly closing in on him.

"Damn it all!" Ye Xiu cursed heavily and bolted, but his legs were clearly insufficient. Before long, Ye Xiu felt a chilling sensation behind him. "Shit, what the hell is happening!" He looked back to see a massive wall of water looming directly above his head, about to crash down upon him. Ye Xiu thought his luck had finally run out this time. He had assumed the Guigu Token would guarantee his safety, but who knew the sea was so uncooperative, acting as if it were crossing a bridge and then tearing it down.

"Ziyan Chain, Ziyan Chain, show your power now!" In desperation, Ye Xiu thought of the treasured artifact that had saved his life repeatedly. However, this accursed magical tool was notoriously willful, activating only when it pleased and never according to Ye Xiu's wishes.

"Hurry up, help me, Sister Ziyan! Auntie Ziyan! Great-Aunt Ziyan!" Ye Xiu spouted a stream of frantic pleas, hoping to invoke the treasure's aid. To his shock, he succeeded this time. Purple smoke coiled around his arm immediately after he finished reciting that string of titles. All the surrounding tides and splashes slowed down, and the wall of waves behind him became a majestic and awe-inspiring sight. Ye Xiu breathed a sigh of relief and quickened his pace toward the end of the ocean passage. He was quite surprised that this damned thing liked being addressed as 'Great-Aunt.'

He dared not look back, nor did he dare to delay, sprinting with his head down until he reached the island at the end of the passage. At that moment, the effect of the Ziyan Chain was nearly over. He heard a foul, bloody gust surge up behind him as the towering walls of water, like furious giants, violently slapped the sea, trying to drag Ye Xiu back down.

"Hush..." The tension in Ye Xiu's chest finally eased. He picked up a large rock and hurled it forcefully into the sea, venting his rage. But when he turned to look at the island he stood upon, an ancient, decaying stone stele stood firmly before him, bearing the inscription: "Tianjing."

"Is this Tianjing Ghost Trace Island?" Ye Xiu knew he had reached his destination, and his mood grew heavy again. Ji Jiang was here. No matter how many hardships or ambushes lay ahead, he had to rescue Ji Jiang.

"Hmph, this is merely the outer island of Tianjing; you have not yet reached Ghost Trace Island!" Suddenly, a figure draped in blue materialized directly in front of Ye Xiu. The man’s face was cold and grim, dressed in a Daoist robe of deep blue, holding a horsetail whisk with utmost refinement—clearly a cultivator.

"You... what did you say?" Ye Xiu finally looked up, realizing this wasn't a single island but a cluster of three. He hadn't known such a vast expanse existed beyond the South Sea. "Who are you?"

The Daoist slowly said, "I am Yuli Daoist, the Emissary of Light Stewardship for Tianjing. I have been waiting for Young Master Ye here on the Master's orders for quite some time."

"Oh, the Gate Stewardship Emissary?" Ye Xiu pulled himself together and sneered coldly, "The Guigu Sect Master sent you here to welcome me—is it for a drink, or do you intend to kill me?"

"Young Master Ye speaks too seriously." Yuli flicked his whisk, leaping several yards away. "I merely wish to invite Young Master Ye to try your hand at my Flowing Light Returning Heart Formation! Rise!"

Ye Xiu was immediately struck by a blinding flash of light. When he squinted and looked again, rings of shimmering glass walls had sprung up all around him. "The Flowing Light Returning Heart Formation!"

Ye Xiu knew his visitor harbored ill intentions, but facing these dazzling, reflective walls, he naturally had to be extremely cautious: "Daoist, your Flowing Light Returning Heart Formation doesn't seem like much—it’s nothing more than a simple Eight Trigrams Array."

"Heh heh." Yuli stood on high ground, shaking his head and smiling. "Young Master Ye is so confident. Why don't you step inside and try? I will certainly play with you to your heart's content."

Ye Xiu understood the profound mystery of the Eight Trigrams Array lay in its orientation, divided into the eight gates of Xiu, Sheng, Shang, Du, Jing, Si, Jing, and Kai. Entering from different directional gates could trigger various illusions. Furthermore, once the enemy was trapped within the formation, the external gates would randomly shift their positions, locking the adversary securely within the eight formations. Its changes were unpredictable—one could enter but not retreat, step in but not get out. Coupled with the towering reflective walls within the array, Ye Xiu was unsure of their true purpose and hesitated.

"Swish..." Ye Xiu steadied his resolve, finally drawing Tianyi. He spun it a few times in front of him, choosing to enter the formation through the Jing Gate directly opposite him. The moment his foot touched the circular ground, he felt his head spin and his vision swim; the floor beneath him had suddenly tilted to a sixty-degree angle. Strangely, his entire body was also tilted sixty degrees along with it.

"How is it?" Yuli seemed confident of victory now that Ye Xiu was inside the array. "I fear Young Master Ye may not take the next step after this one."

Ye Xiu knew this was all illusion, but the sensation from the Jing Gate was profoundly uncomfortable. He intended to follow the formation's alignment to the right, seeking the adjacent Du Gate entrance. However, just as he was about to step across, a towering wall moved directly in front of him. "Young Master Ye, you can barely stand steady, yet you still intend to dance with your sword?" The shining wall was transparent, like a mirror. Through it, Ye Xiu clearly saw the Daoist Yuli situated inside that mirror.

"Ah! Maple Red Autumn Separation!" Ye Xiu assumed he was about to be ambushed and unleashed a fierce sword strike, drawing on the ultimate skill of the Mozi Swordplay, aiming directly at the wall. With a "Clang!" Tianyi plunged into the wall.

"Hahahaha! Young Master Ye, how is your head? To still manage such powerful sword energy—you truly are worthy of being invited by the Sect Master." Yuli, safe behind the wall, was clearly unharmed. But strangely, as the Tianyi sword sank into the wall, the tip of the blade cast a reflection upon the wall's surface.

Not a mirror? Ye Xiu hastily retracted his sword and looked behind him. Yuli was nowhere near him. Looking back at the wall he was facing, he couldn't see his own reflection either. What was going on? Could that Daoist Yuli truly be hidden within this colossal stone?

"Hahahaha, HAHAHAHA!" Yuli, aware of Ye Xiu's confusion, bellowed with laughter, trying to disrupt Ye Xiu’s footing.

Ye Xiu still felt his body swaying, and the ground beneath his feet seemed to be moving in the opposite direction. Ignoring the disorientation, he leaped high, intending to clear the massive wall. To his surprise, the wall, which had been only slightly taller than him, grew instantly as he jumped.

"Autumn Wind Frost Falls, Water Sky Cold." Mo Li's profound sword techniques surfaced in Ye Xiu's mind. He twisted his body, circling the wall, searching for a weakness. But no matter which side he viewed from, Yuli's figure seemed delicately embedded within the stone, offering no discernible flaw. "Strike!" Ye Xiu could only shout a command and randomly chose a spot, stabbing downward fiercely. With a "Rumble," smoke billowed as Tianyi harshly punctured a small hole in the stone wall, pushing the rock back a considerable distance.

"Oh?" Yuli was genuinely surprised. He grunted, and his figure instantly slipped away from that stone slab, relocating to another wall to approach Ye Xiu from behind.

Ye Xiu stumbled as he landed, finally understanding the function of these stone walls. Yuli was using them to conceal his form, coordinating with the mysteries of the Eight Trigrams Array to lure the enemy, thus finding opportunities to kill them—a truly despicable tactic. Just then, the Du Gate before him opened as the stone wall retreated. Following the arrangement of the (Dunjia), he swung his sword and charged directly into it.

The world inside the Du Gate was nothing but thick fog, and the stone wall displaying Yuli’s figure closely followed him.

"Young Master Ye has great skill, but you won't be so lucky this time." Yuli controlled the stone wall and slammed it toward Ye Xiu. Seeing this, Ye Xiu cried out that it was bad, kicking off the pursuing wall behind him to use its force to spring himself outward. Though the move was suitably flashy, this gate was filled with white mist, making the situation ahead completely obscured. He only heard a deep rumbling sound—the sound of the earth cracking—followed immediately by three colossal stone walls.

"Hah!" Ye Xiu realized the danger and roared, grabbing his sword and sliding it back and forth across the three stone walls, attempting to halt their advance. But Yuli was no longer idle. Hidden within each of the three walls before Ye Xiu was a likeness of himself. The three figures simultaneously flicked their horsetail whisks, and in an instant, several flying darts shot out fiercely from the stone walls, striking Ye Xiu.

"Ouch!" Ye Xiu was bewildered by Yuli's phantom-like movements. Although the pain from the hidden weapons was excruciating, he managed to suppress it, ignoring his wounds. The stone walls in front of and behind him had not stopped moving just because he was wielding his sword. To avoid being crushed into a paste, Ye Xiu braced his rear foot against the pursuing wall and firmly planted his front foot against the oncoming slab, thinking this would keep him safe. However, the momentum of those walls was immense; they paused only briefly before beginning to converge again. Ye Xiu knew his strength was inadequate and, using their momentum once more, propelled himself high into the air.

"Clang!" With a deafening crash, before Ye Xiu could react, a row of stone walls appeared directly above him, pressing down heavily.