Chapter 612: The Choice of the Path of Exile

The dark golden staircase extended downward in the dim light, as if it had no end.

Su Ming strode forward, his footsteps echoing through the empty Realm Gate Bureau. Yet, just as he moved, his steps came to an abrupt halt.

The "Qiming" jade token he had quietly slipped into the depths of his storage pouch was now emanating a faint, icy fluctuation, like an invisible hand gently plucking the string of "fortune" deep within his heart.

"Those who enter shall never return..."

Su Ming silently repeated these four words in his mind, his eyelids drooping slightly, concealing the sharp glint that flashed through his pupils.

If he were to retreat now with Luo Feng, they would certainly be safe, but the secret of this World Gate in the Lantai Secret Garden would inevitably be reported to the sect by Luo Feng.

At that point, Master Xuanheng, or even the Sect Leader, would intervene. This gate leading to the spirit races, which likely held the continuation of the "Spirit Nourishing True Explanation," would no longer have anything to do with him.

Worse still, the secret of the spirit race soul-cultivation inheritance hidden within his body would very likely be exposed under a thorough sect investigation.

This was a consequence he absolutely could not bear.

If he sent Luo Feng away and stayed behind alone...

He could attempt to analyze the World Gate in his own way, or even fully seize control of this gate's initiative in this undisturbed, top-secret space.

Once successful, he would possess a cross-border escape route entirely his own, as well as the hope of completing his master's Soul Body cultivation method.

The payoff was substantial enough to justify the risk.

Besides, with the Grand Teleportation Talisman, the Border Defense True Seal, his lifebound formation plate, and the fact that his master had recently devoured Qingyan's remnant soul in one gulp...

Even if the World Gate went completely out of control, he still had a seventy percent chance of escaping intact before the space collapsed.

Having calculated all of this, Su Ming turned around.

"Senior Brother."

Su Ming called out to Luo Feng, who was clutching that half-genuine, half-forged notebook, looking back with every step, his face written with reluctance. His tone was calm, yet carried an unshakable determination.

Luo Feng looked up in confusion, bloodshot eyes still burning with fervor for the ancient formation lines: "What's wrong, little junior brother? Didn't you say we needed to evacuate quickly?"

Su Ming didn't answer immediately. Instead, he walked slowly back to stand before Luo Feng.

His gaze swept thoughtfully across the grand yet deathly still stargazing platform. Then, from his storage pouch, he retrieved a blank jade slip and quickly copied into it the core foundational theories from the "Great Yan Formation Canon," along with a complete rubbing of the "Hundred Military Formation Solutions" from the outer pavilion.

Finally, he neatly stacked the fragmentary manuscript about the core deductions of the "diversion method" on top.

"Senior Brother, I need you to return to the sect immediately." Su Ming shoved all these weighty items into Luo Feng's arms in one go.

Luo Feng fumbled to catch the jade slips and manuscripts, his eyes wide as bells, his face a picture of bewilderment and shock: "Huh? You're not going back? Why are you giving all this stuff to me?"

Su Ming gave Luo Feng no time to hesitate or react, continuing at a pace that brooked no argument: "I'm staying behind to continue exploring. You take these back to the sect and hand them personally to Master. When Master sees these, he will surely understand the value of the Lantai Secret Garden."

He paused, his tone growing even more sincere. "Senior Brother, your comprehension of formation principles far surpasses mine. If these ancient formation lines were left with me, they'd be nothing but dead objects. But if you bring them back, within half a year, I guarantee our Formation Peak will deduce and develop new formations that will shock the entire cultivation world."

This flattering crown placed upon his head left Luo Feng's already fervent mind in a brief daze.

"That still won't work! How can I leave you alone in this godforsaken place?" Luo Feng might be a formation maniac, but he wasn't stupid. He grabbed Su Ming's wrist, his brow furrowed deeply. "This place reeks of the uncanny. I could feel the sinister chill of that spatial crack earlier. If you die here, Master will skin me alive!"

Su Ming patted the back of Luo Feng's hand in return, smiling slightly as if he had everything under control.

"Senior Brother, you worry too much. The depths of this secret garden are extremely unstable. Just now, using my observation micro state, I sensed the earth vein fluctuations intensifying. Large-scale spatial collapse could happen at any moment." Su Ming began skillfully fabricating a perfectly reasonable lie.

"Your cultivation is higher, but after all, you walk the path of limit-burst explosions. Your understanding and stabilization of spatial formations can't match the lingering depth of my water spiritual energy." Su Ming pointed at the Great Yan star chart beneath their feet. "Once you return, immediately rally the senior and junior brothers of Formation Peak. Under Master's guidance, remap the entire formation structure of the Lantai Secret Garden from the outside. Who knows, you might deduce a safer passage that allows the entire sect to enter in force. By then, won't the formations of this whole secret garden be yours to study as you please?"

Luo Feng was stunned.

Every word Su Ming spoke struck his weak points. He emphasized the righteousness of safely bringing the National Fortune Formation back to the sect, and painted a grand blueprint of joining the full might of the peak to dissect an ancient grand formation in the future. More importantly, Su Ming provided an extremely reasonable reason to stay behind, he needed to remain here to stabilize the space.

Within the Xuantian ring, Lin Yu's Soul Body, which had just settled down, couldn't help but surge with violent ripples once again.

"This kid..." Lin Yu cursed silently in his heart.

"His talent for spinning tales is simply reaching its peak. Pressuring with righteousness, tempting with profit, and finally slapping a protective talisman of self-sacrifice on himself. With this kind of speech, even if Xuanheng were standing right here, he probably couldn't find a single flaw." Lin Yu snorted his outburst, yet the luster on his Soul Body actually grew a few shades brighter than before.

Luo Feng was completely persuaded.

He looked at the heavy jade slips in his arms, then at Su Ming's unwavering face, and his eyes actually reddened slightly.

"Little junior brother, you..." Luo Feng took a deep breath and heavily patted Su Ming's shoulder. He understood that Su Ming was also protecting him. Those fragmented ancient spatial formation lines, if they were to erupt, would absolutely trigger a terrifying chain detonation with his explosive formation principles.

"Fine! I'll listen to you!" Luo Feng gritted his teeth, pulled out a plain-looking golden talisman from the depths of his storage pouch, and shoved it into Su Ming's robes without argument.

"This is my ultimate trump card, the Soul-Stabilizing Talisman, a life-saving secret charm Master bestowed upon me back in the day." Luo Feng's tone was unprecedentedly serious. "This thing can keep your soul from scattering for three breaths in the midst of spatial turbulence. Three breaths is enough time for you to crush the Grand Teleportation Talisman and escape!"

He stared intently into Su Ming's eyes: "Three days! I'm only giving you three days! Three days is the limit. If you don't come out after three days, I don't care about any National Fortune Formation. I'll bring Master here, and I'll use my newest model of chain-detonation puppet to level this damn place!"

Su Ming felt the warmth emanating from the talisman in his robes, and a slight warmth also stirred in his heart.

"Alright, it's a deal." Su Ming nodded solemnly.

Luo Feng hesitated no longer. He pressed those jade slips and manuscripts tightly against his chest, took one last deep look at Su Ming, then abruptly turned, transformed into a gust of wind, and charged up the dark golden staircase.