After the barrier appeared, multiple entry points to the barrier materialized above it.
Passing through those entry points would lead to the Endless Abyss.
However, those entry points were also covered by a protective barrier.
To truly enter, one had to break through that protective barrier.
But breaking it was no easy task.
Nearly all the spirit formation masters realized this issue.
It wasn’t an ordinary barrier.
To break it, not only did one need exceptional spirit formation skills, but a special key was also required. Without it, even the greatest abilities would be insufficient to breach the barrier.
Swish, swish, swish—
At that moment, a shower of objects fell from the Long Clan’s warship.
Upon closer inspection, they were ancient bronze fragments radiating an ancient aura.
The bronze fragments seemed to scatter with purpose, spreading in all directions.
“Each clan leader, take one. No fighting over them.”
As the bronze fragments descended, an elderly voice echoed from the Long Clan’s warship.
Seeing this, Long Daozhi and the others didn’t hesitate, each catching a bronze fragment in their hands.
They could tell that these bronze fragments were the keys to unlocking the barrier at the entry points.
However, the keys were incomplete. Five fragments were needed to combine into a single, complete key.
At first, Long Daozhi and the others were puzzled.
If five fragmented keys could combine into one whole key, why didn’t the Long Clan simply combine them before distributing them, instead of giving out the fragments?
But soon, they understood everything.
Upon understanding, Long Daozhi and the others frowned, some even turning pale.
It turned out that activating the key required a cost.
Not spirit formation power, nor martial strength, but the bloodline power required by the Long Clan.
Moreover, there was a cultivation restriction: only the bloodline power of a Supreme Realm cultivator could activate the key.
Bloodline power was crucial, the very foundation of martial cultivation.
Using bloodline power to activate the key was essentially trading one’s future for another.
Even if the key was activated and combined, it wouldn’t directly break the barrier at the entry point. The success still depended on the strength of the spirit formation masters they had invited.
This put many in a difficult position, including Long Daozhi.
However, among the Supreme Realm experts present, aside from the leaders of the various factions, there were quite a few others.
So, many faction leaders chose to delegate the task of activating the key to their clan members.
This way, the key could be activated without damaging their own bloodline power.
The unfortunate ones would be the clan’s experts.
But before they could act on this decision, the elderly voice from the Long Clan’s warship rang out again.
“As clan leaders, are you going to pass such a heavy responsibility to your clan members?”
“If you lack even this much resolve, you’re unworthy of returning to the Long Clan. Leave now.”
The voice was filled with anger.
Clearly, the Long Clan elder strongly disapproved of such behavior.
This put the faction leaders in a bind.
Since they weren’t allowed to let clan members use their bloodline power in their stead, they had to do it themselves.
If expending bloodline power guaranteed entry to the Endless Abyss, they might have accepted it.
The critical issue was that even after expending bloodline power, they might still fail to enter the Endless Abyss.
If they couldn’t even enter, let alone obtain the Dragon Vein Source Stone, the cost of bloodline power was simply too great.
While grappling with this dilemma, Long Daozhi and the others finally understood why the Long Clan required five factions to form an alliance.
They hadn’t expected that just activating the key would involve such a difficult choice.
Buzz—
Suddenly, a light radiated from the crowd.
Looking closely, someone had activated their key.
Soon, more and more people chose to activate their keys.
Faced with the chance to return to the Long Clan, they were willing to pay a steep price rather than miss the opportunity.
“Are you lot bold enough or not? If you’re not, forfeit.”
“I’ll go ally with someone else.”
The middle-aged man with a black beard spoke up.
After saying this, he began channeling his bloodline power into his key.
Soon, his key was activated, but not only had his black hair turned snow-white, his beard had too, and his face looked utterly haggard.
Seeing this, everyone was shaken.
He hadn’t just lost bloodline power; he had also lost lifespan.
But Long Daozhi and the others no longer hesitated.
They all wanted to return to the Long Clan. Even if it meant sacrificing themselves, most were willing.
“City Lord Long, wait a moment.”
Just as Long Daozhi was about to channel his bloodline power to activate the key, Master Liangqiu spoke up. “I can sense that the Endless Abyss is extremely dangerous, and the opponents here are formidable. The chances of seizing the Dragon Vein Source Stone are slim. You should reconsider.”
Master Liangqiu cared for Long Daozhi and didn’t want him to risk his lifespan and martial future on such a gamble.
“Long Daozhi, if you’re scared, get lost and stop wasting our time.”
At this, the four leaders allied with Long Daozhi spoke up.
They had already activated their keys.
“Rest assured, I, Long Daozhi, am not one to give up halfway.”
“I won’t hold anyone back.”
With that, Long Daozhi channeled his bloodline power to activate the key.
As expected, after activating it, he became extremely weak and aged, as if half his lifespan had been forcibly drained from his body.
Seeing this, Master Liangqiu had no choice.
He took the activated key from Long Daozhi, and together with the other four spirit formation masters, they combined the five keys into one, then inserted it into one of the barrier entry points.
Buzz—
As expected, once the key was inserted, the protective barrier at the entry point immediately weakened.
But the barrier remained, and entering still required the five spirit formation masters to work together.
The five didn’t hesitate, as they needed to seize the initiative, so they immediately began breaking the formation.
As they had anticipated, even with the key, breaking the barrier was extremely difficult.
Soon, they discovered an even more troubling issue.
They only had five chances to break the barrier.
If they exhausted all five, the key’s power would dissipate.
The Long Clan had also stated that these were the only keys available. If they used them up and still couldn’t enter the Endless Abyss, they could forfeit and leave.
In the blink of an eye, Master Liangqiu and the other four spirit formation masters had failed four times.
They had only one chance left. If they failed again, they would lose their chance to enter the Endless Abyss.
This terrified Long Daozhi and the others, as they had already sacrificed their bloodline power and lifespan. If they couldn’t even gain entry, the loss would be immense.
What frustrated them most was that others had already successfully broken through their barrier entry points and entered the Endless Abyss.
It was worth noting that even if a barrier entry was successfully breached, the number of people who could enter through each entry point was limited.
First, those who used their bloodline power to activate the key could enter.
Beyond that, an additional five people could enter, with no restrictions.
Most who successfully opened the barrier chose to bring the spirit formation masters they had invited.
At such a time, the power of spirit formation masters was indispensable.
Watching others enter the Endless Abyss, Long Daozhi and the others were frantic with anxiety.
But they had no choice and didn’t even dare to rush the process.
After all, these spirit formation masters were their last hope of entering the Endless Abyss.
“Switch someone out.”
Suddenly, a spirit formation master with long yellow hair spoke up.
“Master, what do you mean?” Long Daozhi and the others hurriedly asked.
“This one’s too weak. Replace him with another spirit formation master. With him here, we can’t break this barrier,” the yellow-haired master said, pointing at Master Liangqiu.
“City Lord Long, for something this important, couldn’t you have invited a stronger spirit formation master?”
Immediately, the other three spirit formation masters chimed in, targeting not only Master Liangqiu but also Long Daozhi.
“You…” Master Liangqiu’s face flushed with anger.
He knew his strength was comparable to the other four, perhaps even slightly superior.
The current situation was that none of the five were confident in breaking the barrier.
The other four, who seemed to know each other, were looking to shift the blame.
They knew that, despite the five factions not pressing or scolding them now, if they completely wasted this chance, the faction leaders would not let them off easily.
So, they wanted to pin the blame, and clearly, Master Liangqiu was their scapegoat.
“Long Daozhi, you useless thing. You really are a burden.”
“We told you before we allied that the Endless Abyss is fraught with challenges. Not only do you need a Dragon Mark Saint-cloak Spirit Formation Master, but a powerful one at that.”
“You guaranteed you’d bring a strong spirit formation master, but look at this mess. What kind of trash did you bring?”
“If we’d known you were this useless, we wouldn’t have allied with you.”
Soon, the leaders of the other four factions spoke up, all directing their ire at Long Daozhi.
Now, not only was Master Liangqiu a scapegoat, but Long Daozhi had become one too.
