Northern Commandery.

  Tai Ridge, outside the Azure Dragon Gate.

  Ximen Xianzhi stepped out of the Dragon Gate, sword case on his back.

  The Xuanwu Guards on duty instantly recognized him and sent word to Tantai Xuan.

  Moments later, Tantai Xuan arrived with Mo Ju and Mo Beike in tow.

  Northern Xuan Palace.

  The new imperial palace of Great Xuan, built at the foot of Tai Ridge around the newly established Great Xuan Academy—the first academy of the land. Tantai Xuan had moved the capital here. The old Imperial Capital, though no longer the seat of power, remained prosperous thanks to its proximity to Northern Luo City and the presence of the Black Dragon Gate.

  Ximen Xianzhi had come bearing the jade talisman array.

  Xie Yunling and Sword Saint Hua Dongliu had gone to Western Liang with the other set.

  “Lord Xie has successfully replicated Young Master Lu’s talisman array. He asked me to deliver this one to Great Xuan,” Ximen Xianzhi said, hands still clasped behind his back.

  If not for this errand, he would still be charging toward greater heights in the Nine Prisons Secret Realm.

  Worth mentioning—he had now stepped into the Heavenly Lock realm. With the Rebirth Pool’s energy and the Body-Tempering Pills forged from Spirit Opening Crystals, the threshold had become far easier to cross lately, likely due to the shifting origin of the world.

  Tantai Xuan stared at the eight jade talismans on the table, expression grave.

  Mo Beike studied them with heavy-lidded eyes.

  Mo Ju gently waved his feather fan, mood somber. Though it was just a simple array, the implications were anything but.

  It was a gate to the blood-colored battlefield.

  Without life-saving talismans, entering was suicide.

  “Young Master Ximen, set it up,” Tantai Xuan said without hesitation.

  He looked up at the sky.

  His stance on invaders had never changed.

  Different tribe, different heart.

  Anyone who invades us—fuck them up!

  That was why he insisted on activating the array.

  Ximen Xianzhi stepped forward, exuding the transcendent air of a swordsman.

  At the center of the martial arena, he arranged the eight talismans exactly as Xie Yunling had instructed.

  Then he stood at the heart of the formation, formed a seal, and released a strand of divine sense.

  Hum…

  The talismans spun. Mist billowed forth.

  Tantai Xuan had already donned full armor, blade resting across his saddle.

  War drums thundered.

  “King of Northern Xuan,” Ximen Xianzhi reminded, “the array can only send ten people at a time, once every half hour. Exceed that and it collapses.”

  Tantai Xuan nodded.

  From the distance came the thunder of hooves.

  Jiang Li rode forward in silver armor, cold and sharp.

  Behind him marched row upon row of Xuanwu Guards.

  “My king, let us open the path—let us carve the way into that blood-colored battlefield!”

  Tantai Xuan’s face darkened, but he clenched his fist.

  “Get your ass back here alive!”

  Jiang Li laughed.

  He had yet to reach Heavenly Lock—he still qualified.

  Spear in hand, silver cloak snapping in the wind, he led nine Xuanwu Guards and charged fearlessly into the swirling mist.

  His blood sang. This—this was the life he had always craved.

  The sound of hooves vanished instantly.

  Dead silence fell over the arena.

  Great Xuan Academy students watched from afar.

  They knew Jiang Li and his men were risking their lives to forge a safe road for everyone else.

  That was a soldier’s duty.

  Lu Jiulian stood at the edge of the arena. The solemn atmosphere stirred something deep in his calm heart.

  Meanwhile, in Western Liang’s martial arena, Overlord sent ten Xiang Family Army soldiers into the mist.

  …

  Lake Heart Island.

  Ni Yu returned with tears in her eyes, ready to share Young Master’s burden.

  Lu rejected her mercilessly.

  “Cultivate well and refine pills well—that’s the greatest help you can give me.”

  Leaning back in his Thousand Blades Chair, sipping plum wine, he looked utterly relaxed.

  Where was the pressure?

  Ni Yu wiped her tears, suddenly feeling cheated.

  She knew Young Master too well.

  He had definitely been fooling everyone again.

  Lu paid no mind to her thoughts. After sending her off to cultivate, he looked up.

  He sensed a dead, withered continent drifting closer outside the heavens.

  The plane lords of Prajna and Golden Body continents had appeared as well.

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  “Called for reinforcements?” Lu murmured, chin propped on one hand, fingers idly spinning the Dark Profound Ring.

  He hadn’t expected that.

  Reinforcements—for what?

  It didn’t take long to figure out.

  They wanted help breaking his array.

  The only thing stopping the full invasion of Golden Body and Prajna forces was the Heaven Covering Formation.

  “An array-breaker?”

  The corner of Lu’s mouth curved.

  His array dao had been built upon the Preaching Platform and his own research.

  He was always happy to learn new array techniques from other worlds.

  Lu Ping’an was, after all, a studious man.

  Besides—a ground-tier array wouldn’t be that easy to crack, even for a High-Tier Martial expert… right?

  He was actually looking forward to it.

  …

  Outside Five Phoenixes Continent.

  A barren, lifeless land drifted through the void.

  Not a single blade of grass grew. Deathly stillness and cold runes coiled everywhere.

  Yet at its center sat a colossal figure, mountain-like beneath a black robe.

  He looked nothing like an array master.

  Two streaks of light shot over.

  Monk Wuxing in plain white robes landed softly on the dead earth.

  He looked up at the towering giant.

  The burly man from Golden Body Continent was already huge—but beside this titan, he barely reached the ankle.

  “This is the array-breaker the Venerable One sent?” the burly man asked, squinting.

  “His aura isn’t particularly strong—just mid-stage Spirit Severing,” Monk Wuxing observed, palms pressed together, eyes gleaming oddly.

  “This one is a wanderer of the void. The Venerable One sending him reminds me of a certain array sect that survives among the void wanderers…”

  “What sect?” the burly man asked.

  He truly had no idea.

  “The void is vast beyond measure. The Venerable One once said that within it lie countless worlds—some destroyed, some wandering. Even High-Tier Martial worlds can collapse and become wanderers.”

  “This array sect comes from the remnants of a High-Tier Martial world… one they destroyed themselves.”

  Wuxing smiled faintly.

  The burly man scratched his head, speechless.

  “Just say the name.”

  “Liujia Array Sect.”

  The burly man’s eyes narrowed.

  He had heard of them.

  “The Venerable One actually called in the Liujia Array Sect… This world really pissed him off.”

  He stomped the ground and shot upward like a golden meteor, stopping before the giant’s face.

  The seated giant slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the golden-bodied man radiating overwhelming vitality.

  Then he spoke in an ancient tongue.

  Array runes wove together. A massive palm descended, forming a giant array that slammed down over the burly man.

  The burly man’s expression changed—he had only wanted to talk!

  Chills ran down his spine.

  Golden light exploded from his body, indestructible.

  He had heard of the Liujia Array Sect’s reputation and dared not be careless.

  BOOM!

  The array crushed him into the ground. He couldn’t move.

  Even at late-stage Spirit Severing, he was completely trapped.

  “Amitabha.”

  Monk Wuxing pressed his palms together and bowed slightly to the giant.

  “Friend of the Liujia Array Sect, the Venerable One must have guided you here. We are allies, not enemies.”

  The giant glanced at him.

  “A fair trade of benefits, nothing more.”

  “The Venerable One first contacted my master, but he could not descend—the energy here is too weak. So he sent me instead.”

  “Ninth Disciple of the Liujia Array Sect.”

  His booming voice carried calm wisdom as his gaze met Wuxing’s.

  A snap of his fingers.

  The array pinning the burly man dissolved.

  The burly man gasped, drenched in cold sweat.

  Rrumbled.

  The giant stood, towering into the void.

  His eyes shone with intelligence.

  He saw Golden Body Continent, Tianluo Continent, Prajna Continent.

  Finally, his gaze settled on Five Phoenixes, shrouded in mist.

  “This is a game between High-Tier Martial powers.”

  “The reason the Venerable One contacted our sect is to discover which High-Tier Martial world stands behind our opponent.”

  Wuxing and the burly man were startled—they hadn’t expected that motive.

  “Our Liujia Array Sect does not interfere in clashes between High-Tier powers. But since we accepted payment, breaking the array is no issue.”

  He stepped off the dead continent into the void.

  BOOM!

  With every step, array runes bloomed beneath his feet.

  Five Phoenixes loomed close.

  Mist swirled, veiling its beauty like a veiled maiden.

  “How like a beauty draped in gossamer…”

  The giant sighed.

  “The beauty of array dao is pure indeed.”

  The burly man and monk were speechless.

  They couldn’t appreciate that kind of beauty.

  “Please, sir,” Wuxing bowed.

  “No problem. Let me first probe this array.”

  The giant floated forward, stopping just outside the misty veil.

  His long green hair drifted.

  He raised a hand, index and middle fingers pressed together, array runes writhing across them.

  He pressed them to his eyes and slowly drew them apart.

  Hum…

  Purple light burst from his pupils, sweeping across Five Phoenixes like a laser scan.

  “Hm?”

  The light faded. Surprise flickered in his eyes.

  “Our Liujia Array Sect’s records contain no trace of this formation’s origin.”

  Excitement spread across his face.

  “A brand-new branch of array dao!”

  He grinned.

  “But worry not—I’ll break it swiftly!”

  A jade talisman appeared in his hand.

  He crushed it.

  A streak of array runes shot forth.

  As if lecturing, he explained to the two behind him:

  “This is the Liujia Array Sect’s Array-Breaking Talisman. It can shatter ten thousand formations.”

  “Array dao is mysterious and complex, yet all variations stem from the same source. Grasp the root, and even the most intricate array becomes simple. This talisman strikes straight to the core and destroys the array eye.”

  The rune dragon vanished into the mist.

  “That’s it?” the burly man asked, eyes wide.

  The giant chuckled confidently.

  “Once the Array-Breaking Talisman is deployed, the formation will fall within half a day at the soonest, three days at the latest.”

  Wuxing smiled.

  “As expected of the Liujia Array Sect.”

  Flattered, the giant threw his head back and laughed.

  He loved the look of country bumpkins who had never seen the world.

  …

  Rumble!

  The sky above Five Phoenixes changed.

  Some looked up and vaguely saw a dragon soaring.

  But no one thought much of it.

  After all, dragons were hardly rare in Five Phoenixes.

  Each of the eight Dragon Gates had its own Heavenly Dragon.

  People assumed it was just one of the gate dragons playing in the clouds.

  Lake Heart Island.

  Lu knew better.

  He was the father of every dragon here—how could he not recognize his own child?

  That dragon shadow was no dragon.

  It was a strand of array runes.

  “Array runes?”

  Lu smiled from his Thousand Blades Chair.

  With a thought—

  Little Yinglong, happily swimming in Origin Lake, suddenly floated upward.

  When he came to his senses, he was hovering in front of Lu.

  Lu pointed at the sky, smiling.

  “Go pull that thing down for me.”

  Little Yinglong’s eyes lit up.

  Dad was finally sending him into battle!

  Dad had finally recognized his worth!

  His spring had come!

  ROAR!

  With a mighty cry, his fleshy wings unfurled, blotting out the sun.

  He became a streak of golden light and shot into the heavens.

  He spotted the rune dragon racing across the sky.

  Some random cat or dog daring to impersonate a Heavenly Dragon?

  Little Yinglong pounced.

  The illusory rune dragon was solid enough to grab.

  One claw—he yanked it straight out of the sky.

  He dove like a meteor and crashed into Origin Lake, splashing happily.

  Finding the rune snake inedible, he carried it in his mouth and trotted proudly to Lu.

  Lu lounged in his chair, rubbing Little Yinglong’s head fondly.

  He took the rune snake and sealed it into a jade talisman.

  “Interesting. It can crack most formations.”

  “An Array-Breaking Talisman?”

  To Lu, it was like a universal password cracker—effective, but rigid and predictable.

  Using this to break his hardest formation yet?

  Underestimating him a bit, weren’t they?

  “Confiscated.”

  Lu pocketed the talisman.

  He glanced toward the void outside Five Phoenixes and faintly saw the mountain-like giant sitting there.

  “I hope this array-breaker has some fresh tricks.”

  …

  Outside Five Phoenixes.

  The giant was utterly confident in his talisman.

  In the Mid-Tier Martial world, Liujia Array Sect’s Array-Breaking Talisman was nearly unbeatable.

  There was no array it couldn’t crack.

  Yet—

  One day passed.

  The Heaven Covering Formation didn’t budge.

  The burly man began looking at the giant strangely.

  Wuxing still trusted him.

  Two days.

  Three days.

  On the third day, the giant’s face was iron-blue.

  Where was his talisman?!

  “Friend…” the burly man said awkwardly, “the Venerable One paid good money for Liujia Array Sect’s help. Don’t ruin your sect’s reputation.”

  The giant ignored him.

  He formed seals frantically, trying to recall the talisman.

  No response.

  Like a stone dropped into the sea.

  “The basic talisman can’t carry divine sense. It must have failed. This array has some depth.”

  The giant laughed, now genuinely intrigued.

  He took out another talisman, poured his divine sense inside, severed a strand, and tossed it in.

  The talisman exploded within the formation.

  Countless runes wove together, condensing into an eyeball—his divine-sense eye—observing the world inside.

  Suddenly, the strand froze.

  He saw a small dragon panting excitedly, wings flapping, charging straight at him.

  It snapped the rune strand in its jaws.

  Hmm?

  Little Yinglong sensed the slimy, disgusting eyeball watching him.

  He snorted in disgust.

  Pfft!

  A jet of water shot from his mouth and struck the eye dead-center.

  Pop!

  The eyeball exploded.

  Satisfied, Little Yinglong hummed proudly, carried the rune strand back to Lake Heart Island, and sat before Lu—who was sipping plum wine and playing Spirit Pressure Chess—like a dog waiting for praise.

  Lu chuckled, took the runes, and compressed them into another talisman.

  “Still an Array-Breaking Talisman. No creativity.”

  “Can’t you give me something challenging?”

  He glanced once, lost interest, and tossed the talisman into his Dark Profound Ring.