Seven Mysterious Spaces: My Rise to Power in the Cultivation World

On the ground, the new formation shimmered with an eerie green light, like a lurking venomous snake, exuding a chilling aura.

Zhuang Yu frowned. This formation was extremely mysterious, completely different from the demonic shadows he had encountered before, and it exuded an ancient and eerie aura.

He held his breath and carefully observed the patterns and direction of the formation, trying to find its flaws.

Wang Yao gripped her spirit sword, cautiously surveying her surroundings to protect Zhuang Yu.

The air around us seemed to freeze, and the atmosphere was so tense it was suffocating.

"Heh, kid, I didn't expect you to have some skill, actually managing to break my Demon Shadow Array," the black-robed man chuckled sinisterly, his voice as piercing as an owl's. "However, this Soul Devouring Array isn't so easy to break! Hand over the ancient treasure obediently, and I might leave you with a whole corpse!"

Chen Ba, accompanied by Li Si, also arrived after hearing the news, watching from afar with greedy glints in their eyes.

"Boss Chen, this kid seems to be studying formations, should we..." Li Si rubbed his hands together, his tone filled with excitement.

Chen Ba slapped Li Si on the head, "Idiot! Didn't you see that man in black robes? Late Foundation Establishment stage! If we rush up now, we'll just be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

Zhuang Yu ignored the surrounding noise and focused only on the formation in front of him.

He had received guidance from a reclusive master in the mysterious space and learned a lot of lost knowledge about formations, which came in handy now.

He took a deep breath, took out some rare materials from his storage bag, and began to repair some nodes in the formation.

The cultivators around him were all surprised by his actions, not understanding what he was trying to do.

"Has this kid gone mad? He actually wants to repair the Soul Devouring Array? Does he want to control this array?" someone whispered.

“I think he’s making a last-ditch effort! Once the Soul Devouring Array is activated, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator will find it difficult to escape!” another person chimed in.

The man in black robes was taken aback by Zhuang Yu's actions, then burst into laughter: "You're really courting death! Do you think you can repair the Soul Devouring Array so easily? You're just asking for it!"

However, as Zhuang Yu continued to repair it, the eerie green light in the formation began to change, the originally violent spiritual energy fluctuations gradually became stable, and a strange power began to gather around him.

Zhuang Yu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a confident smile, and he said softly, "Yao'er, stand behind me."

Without hesitation, Wang Yao walked behind Zhuang Yu and gripped the spirit sword in her hand.

"Ha, what a charade!" The man in black sneered, preparing to make his move, when he suddenly felt a powerful force surging from the formation. His expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "This... how is this possible..."

Zhuang Yu slowly raised his head, his eyes gleaming, and calmly said, "Now, it's my turn." He reached out and gently touched a node on the array...

As Zhuang Yu touched the array node with his fingertip, the original eerie green light suddenly turned into a dazzling golden light, and a vast energy wave swept out, causing the surrounding trees to shake violently and sand and stones to fly.

The man in black robes was the first to be hit, blasted away by the powerful force, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his face deathly pale.

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone.

Chen Ba and Li Si were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they retreated repeatedly.

They never imagined that Zhuang Yu not only broke the Soul Devouring Array, but also turned the tables and used its power.

The power of the formation did not dissipate; instead, it coiled and twisted like a golden dragon, rushing towards a seemingly ordinary mountain wall not far away.

Under the impact of the golden light, the mountain wall slowly cracked open, revealing a hidden cave entrance.

At the cave entrance, a misty atmosphere filled the air, with rays of light shining everywhere, clearly indicating that there was more to discover inside.

"Brother Zhuang Yu, you're amazing!" Wang Yao looked at the scene before her with eyes full of admiration and love.

She stepped forward, grasped Zhuang Yu's hand tightly, and smiled happily.

Zhuang Yu gently squeezed Wang Yao's hand back, a confident smile playing on his lips: "Let's go in and take a look."

The two walked hand in hand into the cave and disappeared into the golden light.

At this moment, Chen Ba arrived with Li Si.

When Chen Ba saw that Zhuang Yu had broken the formation, he was so jealous that he was almost going crazy. The rich spiritual energy emanating from the cave clearly indicated that there were treasures hidden inside!

His eyes were practically overflowing with greed as he roared at Zhuang Yu's retreating figure, "Boy! Hand over what you got in the cave, or today is your death day!"

Zhuang Yu slowly turned around, shielding Wang Yao behind him. Facing Chen Ba's taunts, he showed no fear whatsoever.

He glanced at Chen Ba with disdain and sneered, "You think you can rob people on the road? You don't even know your own worth."

Enraged, Chen Ba drew his magic weapon—a huge spiked club—and roared, "You little beast, you're asking for death!" The spiked club whistled through the air as it slammed down towards Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu remained calm and composed. A flash of golden light appeared in his hand, revealing a sword covered in golden runes.

He moved swiftly, dodging the spiked club attack like a ghost, while simultaneously unleashing a sharp sword aura from his sword, aiming straight for Chen Ba's face.

Chen Ba was shocked and quickly raised his spiked club to block.

With a loud clang, the spiked club hummed from the impact of the sword energy, and Chen Ba was forced back several steps, his hands going numb.

He was shocked; this kid's strength was actually so formidable!

Seeing this, Li Si turned pale with fright and tried to run away, but was bounced back by the remaining power of the formation and crashed heavily to the ground, howling in pain.

Zhuang Yu pressed his advantage, wielding his sword with lightning speed, his sword energy crisscrossing and completely suppressing Chen Ba.

Chen Ba was overwhelmed and exhausted, and soon he had several wounds on his body.

He was terrified, never expecting to be defeated by a mere Foundation Establishment stage kid!

"Brother Chen, I'm here to help you!" Li Si struggled to his feet, pulled out a throwing knife, and shot it toward Zhuang Yu.

Zhuang Yu didn't even look at it, and with a backhand slash, he cleaved the flying knife in two.

His eyes were icy cold, filled with murderous intent: "Overestimating yourself!"

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Chen Ba began to consider retreating. He feinted an attack and turned to run away.

"Trying to leave? Not so easy!" Zhuang Yu sneered, his sword gleaming with golden light...

A golden light, like a startled swan piercing the sky, shot out from the tip of Zhuang Yu's sword.

This is the ultimate skill he learned from the mysterious space – the "Golden Sun Sword Technique"!

The golden light was incredibly fast, and Chen Ba had no time to dodge. He was struck in the chest by the golden light, let out a scream, and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground, spitting out blood. He was already seriously injured.

Upon seeing this, Li Si was so frightened that he fled in terror.

The cultivators who had been eager to act were all taken aback when they saw Zhuang Yu's formidable strength. Their greedy gazes turned into awe and fear.

They dared not have any further improper thoughts and silently retreated to the side, for fear of angering this evil star.

Zhuang Yu sheathed his sword, turned around and said gently to Wang Yao, "Yao'er, let's go."

Wang Yao nodded obediently, held Zhuang Yu's hand tightly, and the two left the place hand in hand, leaving behind only a mess and the astonished gazes of the crowd.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire cultivation world.

A cultivator named Zhuang Yu, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, defeated Chen Ba, who was in the late-Foundation Establishment stage, single-handedly broke the mysterious formation, obtained an ancient treasure, and became famous overnight.

Some say he is a disciple of a reclusive sect, others say he has obtained an ancient inheritance; various rumors abound, making Zhuang Yu increasingly mysterious and unpredictable.

Meanwhile, in a secluded cave, an old man in black robes was listening to his subordinate's report. A glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes hidden beneath his hood as he muttered to himself, "Zhuang Yu... interesting, truly interesting..."

Zhuang Yu took Wang Yao back to their temporary lodging. He knew that once the news of obtaining the ancient treasure spread, it would bring even more trouble.

He looked at the ancient treasure in his hands, lost in thought...

Wang Yao walked gently to his side and said softly, "Brother Zhuang Yu, what are you thinking about?"

Zhuang Yu raised his head, looked at Wang Yao's concerned eyes, smiled slightly, and said, "I'm thinking..." He paused, looked into the distance, and a barely perceptible cold glint flashed in his eyes, "...where should we go next?"