Chapter 276 Trapped

"Enter," Huang Tianci said slowly, his back to the crowd, his eyes glinting with a strange expression.

He led the way into the water mansion's gate, and the rest followed closely, not sparing a glance at the jade lions flanking the entrance.

It was only then that Ji Yuan suddenly realized that since arriving at the bottom of the lake, these people had been staring at the water mansion's gate, completely ignoring the blood jade lions. These lions, though inanimate, possessed a semblance of 'life' and even the power of the third realm.

Not even a rogue cultivator of the second realm, let alone a cultivator of the third realm from a prominent sect, could have remained so calm. They would surely have examined them more closely.

Before he could ponder further, as soon as he stepped into the water mansion with the others, a beam of light descended from above, enveloping him.

Ji Yuan's first instinct was to circulate the magic power within him. However, no matter how he willed it, all his magic power remained confined to his dantian, unresponsive to his summons.

In an instant, he felt as if he were being seen through from head to toe, as if a gaze was scrutinizing his very being through the beam of light.

Yet, this beam of light, which had appeared swiftly, vanished just as quickly. After only two or three breaths, it collapsed and dissipated.

"What was that?" Ji Yuan immediately asked, looking at the people ahead.

The beam of light had been incredibly blinding, preventing him from seeing anything outside while he was within it. Therefore, he didn't know if the others had experienced the same thing.

"It seems to be a method of identity verification, to determine if any demons or devil path practitioners are attempting to infiltrate the water mansion," Huang Tianci mused for a moment before offering his conjecture.

The others acted as if suspicion was unknown to them, always believing what he said.

Hearing this, Ji Yuan's doubts lingered, but he couldn't openly refute it. He could only nod with a half-hearted belief. Since it had caused him no harm and he detected no hidden traps, he decided not to dwell on it for the time being.

The most crucial matter now was to discover what opportunities lay within this water mansion and whether he could indeed obtain all the pill recipes and insights of a third-realm Pill Dao Grandmaster as anticipated.

As he followed Huang Tianci and the others through the water mansion, Ji Yuan realized that it was not filled with lake water. A layer of colorful rosy clouds shimmered overhead, separating the entire lake from the mansion.

This discovery filled him with awe. He found it hard to imagine what kind of power was required to achieve such an astonishing feat.

As far as he knew, even a peak third-realm cultivator could not exhibit such a magnificent ability, isolating an entire lake with a mere shower of multicolored clouds.

It was likely only a Golden Core Great Cultivator who could possess such might!

"Is that a scent I detect?"

Suddenly, Ji Yuan's brows twitched, and he murmured to himself.

Although the scent was extremely faint, almost imperceptible even when he deliberately tried to catch it, as a alchemist, he spent most of his time with medicinal pills. How could he not detect the aroma of elixirs?

Indeed, a faint aroma of pills permeated the air within the water mansion. While it was exceedingly thin, it was remarkably pure, indicating that only high-grade elixirs, meticulously refined, could emit such an aroma upon completion.

For such a faint pill scent to permeate such a vast mansion, it would likely require hundreds of years of continuous furnace operation.

From this alone, the master of this place was indeed worthy of the title Pill Dao Grandmaster, his attainments here undoubtedly reaching the pinnacle.

However, as he passed through layer after layer of courtyards, Ji Yuan felt a strange sensation. The place seemed unnervingly quiet.

Entering the water mansion's gate with just a token was one thing. He had expected that, even if it wasn't a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, there would at least be a multitude of dangers and obstacles.

Yet, as they were nearing the core area, they had encountered not a single trouble. The entire water mansion seemed to exude an aura of peace.

Even the mountain peak housing the Miaoyuan Yanshen True Method, which he practiced, was infested with countless monsters. But here, apart from the two jade lions outside the gate, no living creature could be seen.

Ji Yuan could clearly sense that the entire water mansion was filled with formations, and these formations had not been damaged in the battles of millennia past, nor had they been significantly eroded by the long passage of time.

Yet, not a single formation had activated to impede their progress.

Furthermore, amidst his growing doubts, Ji Yuan noticed that Huang Tianci and his companions seemed remarkably familiar with the mansion's layout. The maps they had obtained did not record the internal structure of the water mansion at all.

"Fellow Daoists, it appears you have been here more than once?"

He couldn't suppress his growing suspicion any longer, as he felt unsettled without probing further.

However, the individuals before him offered no reply, nor did any of them turn to look back.

The seven people, led by Huang Tianci, had abandoned their usual conversational demeanor and become uncharacteristically silent.

Helpless, Ji Yuan could only proceed step by step, deciding to react spontaneously if any unforeseen circumstances arose.

After all, stopping now, in his state of ignorance, would be worse than following the group ahead for the time being.

Before long, under Huang Tianci's guidance, the group arrived at a vast plaza.

The plaza was approximately a hundred zhang long and wide, paved with white jade. Each slab was about a zhang square.

On the plaza, a white jade pillar stood every ten zhang. They were seven to eight zhang tall and about a zhang in diameter, intricately carved with various plants, as well as diverse flora and fauna.

However, as Ji Yuan took in the scene, his pupils constricted. He instinctively tried to retreat, to flee this place.

This was because the plaza was already occupied by a considerable number of people. At a rough glance, there were at least a dozen figures, each emitting a faint medicinal aroma.

At that moment, Ji Yuan finally understood why Huang Tianci and his companions possessed newly refined elixirs and why they were so familiar with the water mansion.

It was because they had entered before, deceiving alchemists each time!

He instinctively looked around, observing the cultivators on the plaza, their faces etched with expressions of pain and despair. He knew they must be trapped here.

However, as Ji Yuan retreated a mere three to four zhang, two dark blurs streaked across his peripheral vision, moving faster than he could with his lightness technique.

In his memory, among the second-realm cultivators he had encountered, only Lin Yubai's speed could reliably surpass theirs.

"Since you're here, you're not leaving. A great opportunity awaits you ahead!"

A familiar voice sounded in his ear. Ji Yuan quickly turned his head and saw Xu Luoxuan.

She and another woman had moved with incredible speed, appearing behind him. They now looked at him with sweet smiles.

Neither of them exuded killing intent, and their expressions were remarkably serene, as if what they said was the absolute truth – that a world-shattering opportunity truly lay ahead.

Ji Yuan naturally did not believe them. In fact, at that moment, he would have paid no heed to anything anyone around him said. He only wanted to escape as quickly as possible.

The art of water refinement into elixirs, the insights of a Pill Dao Grandmaster – even if they truly existed, he had no desire for them at this moment!

However, as he attempted to channel his magic power, he found that no matter how he willed it, all his magic power remained stubbornly within his dantian. Even his various magic artifacts and treasures showed no response.

Subconsciously, his mind recalled the beam of light that had descended from the sky upon his entry into the water mansion.

His current abnormal state was likely a consequence of that beam of light!

"Don't dally, let's go in!" Xu Luoxuan said with a smile.

The next moment, both women unleashed a stream of magic power, their gentle force enveloping Ji Yuan's body, sending him back and directly onto the plaza paved with white jade.

As the magic power dissipated from his body, he immediately unleashed his physical strength and sprinted towards the edge of the plaza.

However, after only a few steps, he collided with a semi-transparent light barrier. No matter how much he exerted his physical strength, he could not cause the barrier to waver even slightly.

"Give up. Even a third-realm cultivator cannot force their way through." Huang Tianci slowly stepped forward, sighing. "In another half hour, your magic power will be restored. However, I hope you can conserve your strength."

Feeling the gazes upon him, Ji Yuan silently took two steps back, then turned to look at the white jade-paved plaza.

He then saw the cultivators there sizing him up with various expressions. Some even had a glint of ferocity in their eyes.

Although some harbored malicious intentions, he noticed that none dared to act. They merely sat beneath the white jade pillars, feigning deep thought.

"What exactly are you planning, and what are all these people doing?" Ji Yuan took a deep breath and turned back to face Huang Tianci.

The smile was gone from Huang Tianci's face, replaced by a look of profound melancholy and wistfulness. It wasn't just him; Xu Luoxuan and the others behind him shared the same expression.

After a long silence, Huang Tianci finally spoke, "If I told you this was an opportunity, I doubt you would believe me now. However, if I phrase it differently, you might be more inclined to listen."

"Each of these white jade pillars is imprinted with a pill recipe, but they have all been thoroughly scrambled. And each pill recipe details the method for refining a grade-one elixir. If you can restore ten pill recipes, you will be allowed to leave this place."

Ji Yuan's brows furrowed. He did not believe the other party's words entirely but did not dismiss them outright either. He pondered internally which parts were true and which were false.

Simultaneously, he quietly waited for what else they might say.

After a pause of more than ten breaths, Huang Tianci continued, "This is a test. Those who pass will receive the inheritance; others will be annihilated by the water mansion's formations."

At these words, Ji Yuan felt the auras of the dozen people behind him fluctuate instantly. Silently, a sense of dread seemed to spread.

Sensing this, his heart sank. The reactions of these people confirmed that Huang Tianci's words were not entirely lies. At the very least, the part about annihilation seemed to be true.

"How can I believe you? How can I be sure this isn't another lie?" Ji Yuan's expression darkened as he spoke, asking slowly, word by word.