Undoing

When they set out the next day, Chen Anyue's Golden Rope was tied around each of their wrists, from herself to Yuan Xuelan to Liu Sumeng. This way, they wouldn't lose each other so easily in the mist.

Yuan Xuelan looked at the glowing Golden Rope and frowned, "Maybe we should use a normal rope."

Feng Yu poked his head out from Liu Sumeng's robes, "I have plenty of that back in the cabin."

Liu Sumeng shook his head, "No. This is better."

"What if something were to happen?" Chen Anyue noted, "with my Golden Rope, we won't get separated so easily."

Yuan Xuelan frowned but at last, conceded to the fate of being tied with the Golden Rope. If Chen Anyue chose to fling him off a cliff, he supposed he wouldn't really have any other choice but to concede.

Again, Liu Sumeng walked in front, though this time it was because Feng Yu was hiding in his robes and leading the way. He had told them that there were strange flags that appeared around the mountain along with the fog. These flags were surrounded by a barrier that prevented him from approaching. It was no doubt part of the array that was responsible for the strange happenings on the mountain.

"There's one just up ahead," Feng Yu supplied. Unfortunately, they could see nothing, with the fog being as dense as it was. But sure enough, Liu Sumeng could already feel the pressure of a barrier not far away. There was an oppressive weight to it that was rather unusual.

An ominous glow pulsed through the fog. A barrier thick with yin energy stood before them and a faint outline of a black flag quivering in a light breeze could be seen past the oppressive mist. "We're here! This was what I was talking about."

"I've never seen anything like this before!" Chen Anyue eyed the strange energy with both wonder and caution.

A protective hand held her from wandering too close. "Be careful, don't just touch it," Yuan Xuelan warned.

But much to his chagrin, Liu Sumeng reached out to do exactly that. The tips of his fingers prodded the yin barrier, causing a dark ripple to extend outwards. A burning sensation ate away at his skin and when he finally pulled away, his fingertips were red, dripping with blood.

"I just said not to touch it, so why the heck did you touch it!?" Yuan Xuelan exclaimed.

Liu Sumeng shook his head. "It's no problem," was all that he said. He thought that Xuelan was only talking to Anyue, but he also needed to check something about the barrier. He, for one, was familiar with the power and technique behind the barrier in front of them.

The reason why the two youngsters from the Ascending Dawn Sect thought it was strange was no doubt because they've never witnessed this level of refinement in a technique used by demons.

"..." Liu Sumeng furrowed his brows, wondering if demons were involved with this whole incident in his previous life as well. Not to mention, a technique like this…probably meant the perpetrator was someone close to the Demon King. While it wasn't a guarantee, the chances were high and the implications…

He wasn't sure what the implications were yet, but Liu Sumeng suddenly thought, there were a lot of details that remained murky surrounding major events in his last life. Maybe he could uncover those secrets this time around.

Beside him, Yuan Xuelan wore a deep frown as glared at those bloody fingers. A feeling of annoyance washed over him, the same grudging feeling he got when Liu Sumeng carelessly put himself in front of the tainted goddess and told them to run.

Liu Sumeng was ignorant of Xuelan's inner turmoil and explained, "This was not done by human hands."

"Not by human hands…? Then…" Chen Anyue questioned with a soft tone.

"Demons? Is this some sort of demon technique then? I guess that makes sense but…" Yuan Xuelan narrowed his eyes as he inspected the barrier closer, "You don't often see this precise and intricate of a technique used by demons."

That was exactly Liu Sumeng's thought. It wasn't common, and only the highest-ranked and most powerful of demons were capable of such feats.

Still, while the barrier was intricate and elegant in its design, it wasn't terribly powerful. Liu Sumeng reached for his sword, but something grabbed his arm, stopping him. He was surprised to see Yuan Xuelan glaring at him with disapproval.

"...?"

Yuan Xuelan clicked his tongue, "What, you think I'm going to let an injured person take care of something as simple as this?"

Injured? Liu Sumeng looked at his hand. Well, it was quite thoroughly bloody but it was barely anything he was bothered with, much less be concerned about, "This is nothing."

"You-!" Yuan Xuelan's mouth flapped open and then closed again, "Stop being impossible for a moment and let Shijie and I take care of this!"

"..." His words weren't unreasonable so Liu Sumeng lowered his arm and stepped away. Secretly, he felt a little warm that Yuan Xuelan was being kind to him, even in the smallest of ways. So he treasured this small gesture in a corner of his heart and allowed the other two to take the lead.

"Shijie, do you know Undoing?"

Chen Anyue looked at her Shidi and tilted her head, "Of course but…would it work on a Demon Technique?"

There were various ways to break a barrier, depending on its strength, origin, and specifics of its power. Undoing tended to be longer, but a safer way of dismantling a lot of different instances because it would target the root of the barrier's power. At least that was the theory behind it.

"I have a way," Yuan Xuelan hummed, "I'm going to alter the spell a little."

"Is it really safe to do something like that…?" Chen Anyue was a little hesitant, like most cultivators she'd been taught to stay true to her teachings, lest she desired to invite trouble. Those that tempered and played with arrays and spells on their whims were either geniuses or fools.

Luckily for her, Yuan Xuelan was a genius. "It'll be fine," Liu Sumeng said, with total confidence. He knew of Xuelan's prowess and genius, and in his past life the entire world and all three Realms had come to know of it as well.

"R-right!" Yuan Xuelan stuttered, oddly embarrassed by Liu Sumeng's vote of confidence, "Don't worry, just follow my lead ok?"

A small spirit stone was extracted from his interspatial ring. With it clasped within one palm and Yuan Xuelan began to form seals with his other hand. Chen Anyue was quick to follow, making sure that she did not deviate from her Shidi's spell. Before them, the barrier pulsed in greater intensity, yin energy flowing outward in waves. Beads of sweat formed on their brows but both Yuan Xuelan and Chen Anyue wore calm expressions of concentration and focus.

The barrier faltered and then shattered. They all let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah…I'm glad that actually worked," Yuan Xuelan discarded the broken spirit stone before rubbing the back of his neck.

"For a moment I was actually quite concerned," the giggle on Chen Anyue's lips contrasted her words, "Now let's take care of the flag."

A single slash from Yuan Xuelan's sword was all that was needed to sever the flag. With it gone, the fog thinned and they found that they could make out the surroundings a little bit better than before.

"Wow I can actually see the grass below my feet now!" Yuan Xuelan stomped around.

"If we can destroy all the flags then…" Chen Anyue's smile was bright and cheerful.

Then that would be one thing accounted for and sorted. Liu Sumeng nodded. Their spirits were good now, and with this improved determination, it shouldn't take long to dismantle the entire array.

"There are only eight more flags around this mountain." Feng Yu said. It didn't take long for the little frog to lead them to the next one. Again, they repeated the steps and destroyed the flag. The fog thinned in response.

"If we keep this up, we'll be done in no time!" Yuan Xuelan cheered. But perhaps he shouldn't have opened his mouth and invited bad luck because on their way to the next location they encountered an issue.