After much effort, Leo finally reached this place. He had an impulse to immediately sit on the dragon throne, but he restrained himself.
Although his Divine Awareness did not sense any danger, it was better to be cautious.
“Leo, something’s not right,” Sophia’s puzzled voice suddenly broke the silence.
“What is it?”
“Look, we’ve descended three levels and passed through three massive stone chambers to get here.”
“This is undoubtedly a vast underground project beneath the Imperial Palace. Logically, the management would have sealed it off. Don’t you find it strange?”
Sophia voiced her concerns.
Leo had thought of this too, but some things couldn’t be explained by common sense or science.
“Do you remember how we got in?” Leo reminded her.
This made Sophia realize something. She murmured, “Concubine Pearl Well… a mysterious force pulled me into the well…”
“It’s not that we walked here; it’s that this place chose us to be here.”
Leo’s cryptic words made Sophia feel uneasy. Even the majestic dragon throne ahead now seemed eerie.
“Should we sit on the dragon throne?” Sophia asked.
Leo joked, “Since we’re here, wouldn’t it be a pity not to sit on it? But first, we need to do something.”
“What do we need to do?” Sophia was confused.
“Break the formation!” Leo took out four Talismans from his body.
“Break the formation?” Sophia still didn’t understand but showed concern. “Be careful.”
Leo stepped forward and stood at the southern side of the jade platform where the dragon throne was placed.
With his right hand forming a seal and his left hand placing a Talisman on the ground, he pointed at the Talisman with his right hand seal.
Then Leo moved to the eastern side of the jade platform and repeated the process: forming a seal, placing a Talisman, and pointing at it.
Next was the northern side, and finally the western side.
After placing the Talismans, Leo conjured three incense sticks with his spiritual energy and inserted them three meters north of the jade platform.
The platform wasn’t made of stone blocks but carved from a single massive rock. Normally, incense sticks wouldn’t penetrate such a surface, but when Leo inserted them, it was as if they were going into soil-quite miraculous.
After completing these steps, Leo changed his hand seals and muttered incantations. A strange wave of energy emerged.
However, the wave didn’t spread out; it remained within a three-meter radius around the jade platform.
With a soft sound, the Talisman on the northern side of the jade platform ignited.
After burning, a pattern appeared on the ground-a Black Tortoise!
The Black Tortoise is a mythical beast in Atraria legends, associated with water and longevity. It resides in the North Sea and symbolizes immortality and the underworld, thus being the god of the north.
Next, the Talisman on the southern side of the jade platform ignited.
After burning, another pattern appeared-a Vermilion Bird!
Many people mistake the Vermilion Bird for a phoenix or a type of phoenix, but it is actually quite different and more noble than a phoenix.
As the Vermilion Bird pattern appeared, Leo’s movements intensified, causing more intense waves.
Sophia instinctively took a few steps back even though she didn’t feel anything unusual.
Ripples visible to the naked eye appeared in front of Leo.
The ripples quickly covered the jade platform but did not spread outward.
The smoke from the three incense sticks turned golden and rose in spirals.
With a soft sound, the Talisman on the eastern side of the jade platform ignited.
A flash of green light revealed a dragon pattern-an Azure Dragon!
In five-element theory, east corresponds to green; hence, Azure Dragon is the god of the east, also known as “Canglong.”
Legends describe Azure Dragon as having a serpent-like body, a qilin head, a carp tail, long whiskers on its face, deer-like antlers, five claws, and a majestic appearance.
In the twenty-eight lunar mansions, Azure Dragon represents seven eastern stars.
Leo changed his hand seals again and directed another seal towards the three incense sticks.
This time, instead of emitting golden smoke, the incense sticks burst into golden flames.
The Talisman on the western side of the jade platform ignited with golden flames that lasted only a second.
A pattern appeared on the ground-a White Tiger!
In ancient Atraria, White Tiger was the god of war with powers to ward off evil, bring fortune, and ensure good marriages among other abilities.
In the twenty-eight lunar mansions, White Tiger represents seven western stars and is associated with metal in five-element theory, hence its white color.
Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger are known as Four Symbols or Four Spirits.
Azure Dragon and White Tiger govern directions; Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise balance yin and yang.
Azure Dragon is the god of the east; White Tiger is the god of the west; Vermilion Bird is the god of the south; Black Tortoise is the god of the north.
Leo’s actions were meant to summon these Four Spirits to break the formation trapping the dragon throne.
The four Talismans he used were transformation Talismans capable of converting into any type of Talisman at their level.
Leo had a strong intuition that there was a formation around the jade platform.
Cultivators’ intuitions are usually accurate, so Leo converted all four Talismans into Four Spirit Talismans.
Summoning Four Spirits to break the formation!
After White Tiger’s pattern appeared, the three incense sticks burned out completely.
A golden arc connected Black Tortoise to Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and White Tiger.
The previously dim patterns on the ground lit up.
Black Tortoise emitted black light; Azure Dragon emitted green light; Vermilion Bird emitted red light; White Tiger emitted white light.
Leo quickly retreated to Sophia’s side.
He activated a defensive Vajra Talisman that created a golden shield around them both.
Having come so close to life and death situations and now being just steps away from the dragon throne, it was crucial to remain cautious. Rushing forward in excitement could lead to disaster.
Many things are not as they seem. The presence of an unusual amount of purple aura here was highly abnormal; hence every step had to be taken carefully.