"They really were making offerings to these god statues," Wu Xingxue murmured to himself. He looked up and counted, finding that there were exactly thirty-three statues, no more, no less, a number that matched the attendant statues perfectly.

It was as if the person who built this immortal tomb had hoped that even if they were no longer immortals, they would still have companions by their side, never to be silent or lonely.

But thinking this way, the matter of the Summoned commoners didn't make sense.

Why would they stuff themselves into the attendant statues, and why would they scratch the Offering Seals inside to pieces? It was as if... those Offering Seals hadn't provided any comfort, but had instead agitated or annoyed something.

There weren't many oil lamps in this circular chamber. The deeper one went, the darker and more indistinct it became.

Wu Xingxue vaguely saw that at the far end of the forest of statues, there seemed to be something else. Its silhouette was hidden in the shadows, extremely blurry, and only a single flying eave could be seen.

A pavilion?

A jade terrace?

He subconsciously thought of things one might find in the Immortal Capital, the former residences of those immortals. After all, tombs in the Mortal Realm were similar, with house-like structures built inside.

Wu Xingxue held the oil lamp and walked in that direction, wanting to see what it was.

But just as he lifted his foot, his wrist was grabbed and he was pulled back.

"Don't go forward."

Xiao Fuxuan pressed down on his shoulder, his low voice sounding by his ear.

"Why?"

"There's a formation."

"A formation?"

"Mn." Xiao Fuxuan said, "I just looked. These thirty-three god statues aren't placed randomly. They form an array."

As his voice fell, screams and gasps echoed through the chamber, "Ahhhhhh—"

The cries were hoarse and mournful, belonging to both men and women. It was the voices of Gao Er and the others.

Wu Xingxue looked closely and saw the severed limbs crawling rapidly toward the dark area ahead, as if drawn by something, before they began to struggle and shriek. The smell of blood instantly filled the air.

Wu Xingxue could almost see the blood droplets spattering toward him.

His wrist was still being held, so he could only narrow his eyes and turn his head slightly. But then he felt a lightness on his shoulder as Xiao Fuxuan's long, thin hand appeared a hair's breadth from the tip of his nose, blocking the spattering blood.

Xiao Fuxuan withdrew his hand, coolly flicking off the blood droplets, and tossed an oil lamp toward the darkness.

In an instant, that dark area burst into bright flames. The light was a searing white tinged with blue, reaching up to the ceiling.

Scorched by the light, Gao Er and the others cried out and came to their senses, scurrying back and no longer trying to burrow into the darkness.

Yi Wusheng, casting aside his scholarly demeanor, shouted over their shrieks, "Why were you running over there!"

"A voice."

"I heard the Immortal's voice again."

Gao Er said.

The "Immortal" who had sent them dreams, saying that the four cardinal directions were still lacking a bit of immortal aura?

Wu Xingxue narrowed his eyes, peering through the bright blue flames. As the fire slowly died down, he finally saw clearly what was in that dark area—

It was a pavilion carved from cold stone.

It was not an immortal temple commonly used for worship, but more like someone's residence. It had a couch and a screen, stone railings and a flying corridor, like one of the jade palaces in the Immortal Capital. But that palace was connected to a high platform, which was covered in engraved prophecies.

He couldn't make out the prophecies, but there was a plaque on the jade palace. There should have been words on it, but for some reason, they had been chiseled away. Only a corner of the plaque remained; the rest had smashed to the ground, where one could faintly make out the character for "breeze."

...Zuo Chunfeng?

"Zuo Chunfeng."

As the three words flashed through Wu Xingxue's mind, Xiao Fuxuan also spoke them in a low voice, so that he couldn't tell who had been first.

"What is this place?" Wu Xingxue asked, looking quietly at the high platform, then at the flying eaves.

Xiao Fuxuan was silent for a long time before he said, "The Immortal-Deposing Terrace."

Wu Xingxue let out a soft "oh."

Presumably, all the deposed immortals had once stood on that high platform covered in prophecies. Why would a place for deposing immortals be given a name like "Zuo Chunfeng?" It was truly... a waste of a good spring breeze.

The meaning of having this Immortal-Deposing Terrace built here was all too clear. It was obviously meant as a warning to someone.

Wu Xingxue thought of the thirty-three god statues in the circular chamber. In comparison, the lone statue of Yun Hai seemed completely out of place.

Ning Huaishan and Fang Chu still had an extreme reaction to these thirty-three god statues, vomiting and feeling unwell. The statues must still possess some immortal power, likely accumulated from the long-term offerings of the attendant statues.

But the two of them had no reaction to Yun Hai's statue, which meant Yun Hai's immortal title had been truly stripped away.

In that case, it was self-evident who this Immortal-Deposing Terrace was meant to warn.

Wu Xingxue remembered what Xiao Fuxuan had said: Yun Hai had been devoured by an Evil Demon and died in Great Sorrow Valley. This had led Hua Xin to descend with his sword and slaughter all the Evil Demons in Great Sorrow Valley, then build this tomb to house Yun Hai's god statue, and later, the statues of others.

He had been puzzled before. If the master and disciple had such a deep bond, and if he wanted to make offerings to his beloved, deceased disciple, why bury the tomb deep underground, inaccessible to mortals?

Thinking about it now... it probably wasn't just a simple offering.

The bright blue flame continued to burn, like a barrier separating the group from the Immortal-Deposing Terrace.

Under the firelight, the Immortal-Deposing Terrace looked like a tomb, pinning down whatever was inside.

Judging by the smashed plaque, that tomb had been disturbed.

The firelight was intense, its flickering brightness reflecting on the thirty-three giant god statues and in their half-lowered eyes. At a glance, it was as if their gazes had moved.

"Senior Brother... why do I feel like that god statue is looking at us?"

"Am I overthinking it? That statue seems to be turned more to the side than before."

"It must be the firelight."

At the feet of the thirty-three god statues, a faint light seemed to connect the grooves in the stone slabs, as if the laid-out formation was subtly flowing.

"Xiao Fuxuan," Wu Xingxue turned his head to ask, "you said these god statues form a formation. What is this formation for?"

Xiao Fuxuan looked at the faint, crisscrossing light on the ground and said, "To suppress an Evil Demon, or to suppress a remnant soul."

He paused for a moment, then added, "To ensure it may never again see the light of day for all eternity."