Chapter 231: 151, Obtained the Ancient Mysterious Treasure: Seven Spirits Chain (4K Big Chapter)
His meditation concluded.
Xu Xing took a token from his sleeve and handed it to Shi Yuyan. "If you encounter an enemy," he said, "crush this token, and I will come to you immediately."
After speaking, he paused in thought for a moment. Then, without further comment, he led Shi Yuyan to another room in Moyun Palace. There, he set up a simple array technique beside Shi Yuyan—the Concealing Breath Array.
The Concealing Breath Array, if used properly, could shield her from detection by Returning Core Realm cultivators.
The Bloodline World’s legacy of cultivation was incomplete. King Li Hong of Chu was a physical warrior, not a Ghost Immortal, so his perception was considerably weaker. It would be a fool’s dream for him to bypass the Concealing Breath Array and detect Shi Yuyan’s whereabouts.
Xu Xing took a booklet detailing some true array explanations he had written from his Storage Bag. He handed it to Shi Yuyan and instructed, "This is the array map. The methods for setting up the array and practicing its use are written in this booklet. Whether you are navigating Jianghu or seeking seclusion in the mountain forests, this array will prove useful..."
When he finished speaking, he saw Shi Yuyan seemed to want to say something but hesitated. He didn’t leave immediately, pausing for a moment with his back to her.
Shi Yuyan pursed her red lips. After a long pause, she finally spoke, "I wish... you success in your cultivation."
The door slowly closed.
Xu Xing transformed into a streak of Escaping Light and departed, riding the Cloud Mist.
The Immortal Path is not one of forgetting love.
However, on the Immortal Journey, as one’s cultivation advances, one’s lifespan extends. When companions and loved ones from younger days turn to dust, cultivators must eventually make difficult choices.
When he departed from Kunhua Palace in Fengxi Country, Xu Xing did not look back at Zhao Yunniang, who, in her finest attire, bowed and then lifted her Qiufu head. He chose to leave in silence.
Now, he would not allow himself to linger on the maternal bond he had shared with Shi Yuyan in this lifetime.
I am the fifth disciple of the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch, Xu Xing mused. My four senior brothers either perished on the Immortal Journey or died of old age... That’s probably why the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch was unwilling to let me stay by his side. A wave of emotion washed over him as he considered this. To watch four disciples progress from youthful vigor to eventual death, the elder outliving the younger—no matter how much affection the Giant Sword Daoist Monarch had invested in them, his initial warmth must have inevitably cooled to detachment over time.
According to the Three Great Demon Immortals, Moyun Palace was divided into an outer area and the Inner Three Palaces.
Although the outer area held some treasures, they had long since been claimed by cultivators who had entered Moyun Palace in previous eras. Only the Inner Three Palaces still held numerous treasures, even after more than a thousand years of exploration. This was due to the many prohibitions and the entry requirement: one had to be at least a Seven Tribulations Ghost Immortal or in the Leakproof Realm.
The palace where Shi Yuyan was imprisoned was in the outer area.
However, one could not simply find a path to the Inner Three Palaces of Moyun Palace from the outer area. One either had to be at the main entrance of Moyun Palace from the very beginning and use overwhelming Magic Power—equivalent to that of the Golden Body Realm or an Eight Tribulations Ghost Immortal—to teleport directly into the Inner Three Palaces. Alternatively, one could find a spatial node within the Celestial Constellations on the ceilings of the outer area’s halls, a node that connected to the Inner Three Palaces, open it, and teleport through.
This spatial node, however, was different for each person. It required constant probing to find.
The Three Great Demon Immortals had entered Moyun Palace once before, eighteen years ago. Every one hundred years, the Celestial Constellations on the ceilings of Moyun Palace would shift. This was why Heavenly Fox King Xiang Jun and Blood Snake King Dai Feng were so eager to enter Moyun Palace again; eighteen years prior, they had already located the specific spatial nodes that suited them for entering the Inner Three Palaces.
After Moyun Palace opened, the Inner Three Palaces would begin to gradually close one month later. Finding a suitable spatial node often took more than half a month. Consequently, by the time one entered the Inner Three Palaces, even if they discovered valuable items, there would be insufficient time to overcome the prohibitions and claim the treasures.
Therefore, entering Moyun Palace a second time within the same one hundred-year cycle was a tremendous opportunity. It meant having a full month to explore the Inner Three Palaces and seek fortuitous encounters.
These Celestial Constellations must form a fourth-level array technique, or perhaps even higher, Xu Xing pondered. With my current strength, breaking this array technique would be difficult. However, finding the spatial node within this large array shouldn’t be too hard for me.
Xu Xing moved through the corridors of the outer area, continuously observing the star map on the ceiling. He took out Calculation Chips from his Storage Bag and began his calculations.
Propelled by green and red Magic Power, the Calculation Chips danced in the air. Occasionally, they formed an array technique resembling the Celestial Constellations. Though simpler than the vast star map on the palace ceiling—capable of simulating only one of the Twenty-eight Lunar Mansions within the Three Enclosures and Four Symbols at a time—his movements were swift. Calculating the star map for a single lunar mansion didn’t take him long.
「Three days later.」
Xu Xing’s brow furrowed slightly, and he felt a faint dizziness.
Aided by deductions from his Yan Shen Art, he finally located the spatial node suitable for him. Compared to other powerful individuals who had to test each node one by one, his method of using array calculations was undoubtedly much faster. Moreover, with this experience, he was confident that if he were to visit Moyun Palace again in the next one hundred years, he could calculate his suitable spatial node within a single day.
Others fumbled blindly. He, however, was methodically solving it step by step—a naturally different approach.
"Enter!"
Xu Xing waved his sleeve robe. Cloud Mist rose beneath his feet, and he easily merged into the star map on the palace ceiling.
In an instant, the world spun around him.
He found himself in a region where the sky was clear and the waters pristine.
Before him lay a vast, immeasurable blue lake, stretching out in all directions. Gazing southwest, he could see a small island lush with green vegetation.