The sky kept changing color.

  Within the Nine Prisons Secret Realm, a figure in flowing daoist robes stepped out, exuding quiet elegance.

  Li Sansui raised her head, long lashes trembling, gem-like eyes staring at the heavens.

  “There’s an array fluctuation up there,” she murmured, red lips barely moving.

  Li Sansi, cloaked in black, emerged behind her.

  “A great crisis seems to be descending…”

  The three foreign continents hovering beyond the world had long become common knowledge among cultivators. Young Master Lu from Northern Luo had shouldered unimaginable pressure to shield the world beneath a peaceful sky.

  Everyone admired and revered him for it.

  “Are the experts from those three continents finally making their move? They’re trying to break the formation?”

  Worry surfaced in Li Sansui’s eyes.

  The only reason Five Phoenixes remained untouched was Young Master Lu’s grand array. If an array-breaker succeeded, once it fell, how could Young Master Lu alone fend off three entire worlds?

  Li Sansi glanced upward from beneath his black hood.

  After a long pause, he spoke softly, “No need to worry. Young Master Lu’s methods are boundless. His formation will not fall so easily. What we must do is cultivate harder…”

  His words silenced Li Sansui.

  After a while, she looked straight at him.

  “Li Sansi, I’m going to the blood-colored battlefield.”

  His body stiffened.

  “You can cultivate just as well in the secret realm.”

  “Sooner or later you’ll reach Heavenly Lock Golden Core.”

  He was clearly refusing her.

  Li Sansui shook her head.

  “I can’t wait any longer. Only the pressure between life and death can force the fastest breakthrough… Besides, I’m skilled in formations. On the blood-colored battlefield, I can save many lives.”

  She had always been stubborn. No one could change her mind once it was made.

  The next day, she left the prison gate and headed for Tai Ridge.

  She wasn’t the only one.

  Outside the Nine Prisons Secret Realm, Meng Haoran bowed deeply to Kong Nanfei, shouldered his pack, and set off north toward Great Xuan.

  Kong Nanfei, disheveled in his scholar’s robes, took a long swig from his gourd.

  He watched Meng Haoran’s figure disappear over the hills and sighed.

  That path led to the blood-colored battlefield—life or death unknown.

  He hadn’t wanted Meng Haoran to go, but the man had chosen to break through between life and death. All Kong Nanfei could do was watch him walk the path he’d chosen.

  …

  Beneath the swirling mist lay a vast blood-colored plain.

  Crimson earth had been piled into a defensive wall five li across. Behind it swirled the vortex exit of the jade talisman array—anyone who stepped through the formation in the mortal world emerged here.

  In front of the wall was a true slaughterhouse.

  Muscle-bound cultivators with terrifying physical strength.

  Monks with serene faces yet ruthless hands.

  These were the enemies Five Phoenixes cultivators faced upon entering—exactly like those Zhao Zixu and Lu Jiulian had once fought.

  But Jiang Li commanded the defense. The moment the battlefield opened, he ordered walls raised. Cultivators built fast; within hours a five-li fortress ringed the exit. Military formations held the line, stalling the enemy advance.

  Casualties were inevitable.

  Yet as more and more Body Storage cultivators from Five Phoenixes poured in, the tide slowly turned.

  The blood-colored earth grew ever more drenched in gore and littered with corpses.

  Wave after wave of battle.

  Behind the walls, Five Phoenixes’ Body Storage cultivators refused to yield an inch. Their spirit sharpened with every clash, on the verge of transformation.

  …

  Outside Five Phoenixes Continent.

  A transmission rang out from Golden Body Continent.

  The burly man and Monk Wuxing exchanged glances, shock in their eyes.

  “They found a flaw in the formation?”

  “The Foundation Establishment cultivators who entered met natives desperately guarding an array—that must be the passage into the world!”

  Excitement spread across the burly man’s face.

  “Even the toughest fortress has cracks…”

  “This turtle shell finally revealed a weakness!”

  A gleam appeared in Wuxing’s eyes—excitement he rarely showed.

  They immediately ordered more Foundation Establishment cultivators to storm the breach and seize the passage.

  Golden Cores and above couldn’t enter, but Foundation Establishment? They had endless numbers.

  Meanwhile, the giant sat cross-legged in the void, face dark as iron.

  His second Array-Breaking Talisman—with divine sense attached—had vanished too.

  His cheeks burned with humiliation.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  As the Ninth Disciple of the Liujia Array Sect, heir to its true teachings, the sect’s name alone struck fear across the void wanderers.

  He had come expecting an easy job, even boasting in front of Wuxing and the burly man.

  Yet he had failed—twice. Both talismans swallowed without a trace.

  “This formation…”

  Cold light flashed in the giant’s eyes.

  Whoever set it was challenging the Liujia Array Sect.

  Fine. No more holding back.

  Even if a High-Tier Martial expert stood behind it, provoking the Liujia Array Sect meant face no longer mattered.

  BOOM!

  The giant rose.

  The burly man and monk looked over, puzzled by his sudden aura.

  In pure combat strength, the giant was weaker—mid-stage Spirit Severing, focused on arrays, while they were late-stage.

  Yet now, an aura that made even them wary rolled off him.

  He formed dozens of seals in a single breath, each one releasing profound ripples.

  “ROAR!”

  He bellowed.

  A vertical eye opened on his forehead.

  Within its spinning pupil blazed the massive character “臨” (Lin), radiating terrifying pressure into the void.

  “What is that?!”

  Even the burly man, protected by his indestructible golden body, paled in shock.

  “That is the ‘Lin’ Array Word. If I’m not mistaken, it is one of the legendary Nine Array Words of the Liujia Array Sect…”

  “This giant is no ordinary disciple—he wields one of the sect’s supreme treasures. He must be a direct successor!”

  Monk Wuxing exclaimed.

  The giant glanced over—he had heard.

  This monk knew quite a lot.

  The Nine Array Words were the sect’s highest secret. Only the nine true disciples could wield even one.

  “Nine Array Words?” The burly man’s eyes narrowed.

  “Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Shu, Zu, Qian, Xing… Those are the Nine Array Words.”

  “When all nine are combined, they can form an array capable of annihilating a High-Tier Martial world!”

  “That is why even High-Tier powers fear the Liujia Array Sect.”

  Wuxing sighed in awe.

  The burly man sucked in a cold breath. He had never heard these secrets.

  Nine words that could destroy a High-Tier Martial world?

  The Liujia Array Sect was that terrifying?!

  Instantly, his gaze toward the giant filled with wariness and respect.

  “With the Nine Array Words, victory is certain. The previous failures were from underestimating the formation. Now it will fall easily.”

  Wuxing smiled.

  “Indeed. You know your stuff, monk.”

  The giant laughed.

  Then he focused entirely.

  The massive “臨” character burned in the void.

  His belt glowed. Eighteen colossal stone slabs forged from the dead continent rose around him, covered in dense array runes.

  With the “Lin” word as the array eye, he activated the grand formation.

  BOOM!

  A magnificent array unfolded in the void.

  The giant raised both hands as if lifting the sky itself.

  He drove the formation crashing against the Heaven Covering Formation.

  CLANG!

  The two arrays collided—countless runes tangled and clashed!

  Array duel!

  The giant stood tall in the void, utterly confident.

  Once a Nine Array Word of the Liujia Array Sect was deployed, all formations in the world bowed!

  BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

  Explosions rocked the void.

  The giant’s third eye blazed.

  He was serious now.

  And when he got serious—he never lost.

  That was the pride of the Liujia Array Sect’s Ninth Disciple.

  …

  On the blood-colored battlefield, the sky churned.

  Amid the stench of blood and mountains of corpses, every head turned upward.

  Even the crimson earth seemed to tremble.

  Atop the blood-colored wall sat a blood-soaked daoist robe figure, head raised, black hair dancing in the wind.

  “Array runes…”

  “Someone is forcibly trying to break the formation!”

  Li Sansui’s delicate brows furrowed with worry.

  But the next moment, she stared transfixed at the intertwining runes in the sky.

  They reflected light in her eyes like a revelation.

  “What an incredible path of arrays… So this is how powerful formations can be!”

  Her breathing quickened. She fell into deep contemplation—almost enlightenment.

  Jiang Li noticed first. His brow tightened, and he immediately ordered guards to protect her.

  Enlightenment was a priceless opportunity.

  To interrupt it would be a lifelong regret.

  Li Sansui’s formations had already saved countless lives in this war. Without them, casualties would have been two or three times higher.

  Now she was gaining enlightenment—how could Jiang Li not be overjoyed?

  He stood atop the wall, gazing into the distance.

  The first enemy wave had been repelled, their forces annihilated, though a few had escaped.

  More would come soon.

  They could not let their guard down.

  Immense pressure weighed on Jiang Li’s shoulders.

  The blood of the former Great Zhou War God, dormant for so long, boiled once more on this battlefield.

  …

  Origin Lake, Lake Heart Island.

  A giant whale breached the surface.

  Little Yinglong swam freely.

  Lu, arranging a game of Yin-Yang Spirit Pressure Chess, suddenly paused.

  Countless lines danced in his eyes—he saw the scene beyond the heavens.

  “An array duel?”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  They still wouldn’t give up. They even wanted to fight array against array.

  “This is a ground-tier defensive formation. Did they really think it would fear a duel?”

  Lu shook his head and returned to his chessboard.

  But then—he saw something.

  His hand froze mid-move.

  He looked up again.

  His gaze pierced all barriers and landed on the ferocious array the giant had deployed.

  It passed the eighteen stone slabs and fixed directly on the mysterious “臨” character blazing in the giant’s third eye.

  “What is that?”

  Curiosity and wonder filled Lu’s eyes.

  The word looked ordinary, yet upon closer inspection, it radiated profound mystery.

  It felt… familiar.

  “Right… it’s similar to the array words on the Preaching Platform!”

  Lines flashed faster in his eyes.

  The Preaching Platform’s Eight Trigrams Array had words: Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun, Zhong…

  Different from this one, yet the principle was the same.

  The previous two Array-Breaking Talismans had disappointed him.

  Now, Lu was genuinely interested.

  This array-breaker actually had some skill.

  Lu smiled.

  His eyes sparkled as he stared at the “臨” Array Word.

  …

  Outside Five Phoenixes.

  The giant roared.

  He formed seal after seal, controlling his array.

  With the “Lin” word’s power, his formation became a world-crushing millstone, slowly descending.

  BOOM!

  The mist shrouding Five Phoenixes began to collapse!

  “It’s working! The formation is breaking!”

  The burly man’s blood surged, late-stage Spirit Severing aura exploding with excitement.

  Monk Wuxing pressed his palms together, a smile on his serene face.

  Once the formation fell, nothing could stop them.

  A newly ascended top-tier Mid-Tier Martial world?

  Even if a High-Tier power backed it—so what?

  They had the Venerable One.

  BOOM!

  The mist parted.

  Wuxing and the burly man saw the blood-colored plain.

  “That’s the blood-colored battlefield—the natives’ final defense line.”

  The burly man sneered.

  On the battlefield, Jiang Li looked up in disbelief as the mist cleared.

  He clearly saw the three continents.

  And the terrifying giant looming above.

  So these were the enemies?!

  Overwhelming pressure made his silver armor tremble.

  Li Sansui remained in enlightenment, comprehending her own path of arrays.

  BOOM!

  A sonic boom.

  The blood-vitality burly man moved.

  He raised a hand. Endless bloody mist poured out, forming a gigantic crimson palm that slammed down toward the battlefield.

  “Hahaha! Mere ants! Why resist?!”

  His laughter boomed.

  Yet the moment his palm descended—

  Mysterious array runes surged.

  PFFT!

  His entire arm exploded.

  He roared in fury, golden body blazing with metallic clangs.

  Only then did he save his arm.

  “What the hell?! The formation isn’t broken yet?!”

  He glared at the giant, enraged.

  The giant frowned.

  “What’s the rush?”

  “This is very likely a ground-tier formation—something impossible for a Mid-Tier Martial world. Breaking it naturally takes time.”

  The burly man’s face darkened.

  He had nearly lost his arm twice to this damned array.

  “The lord of this plane is nothing but a coward hiding behind his shell!”

  “He definitely knows we’re here, but he’s too scared to come out and fight like a man!”

  “The formation will fall eventually. They’re all going to die anyway. Why not come out and show some backbone?!”

  “What a pathetic turtle!”

  His curses rang loud and clear, no attempt to hide them.

  Origin Lake, Lake Heart Island.

  A gentle breeze lifted Lu’s white robes.

  Leaning back in his Thousand Blades Chair, Lu narrowed his eyes.

  His fingers tapped the armrest.

  “Is this guy… cursing me?”

  “I have such a good temper, and he still curses me?”

  “Heh.”

  …

  On the blood-colored battlefield.

  Just when despair seemed certain, they realized even that monster couldn’t descend.

  Everyone exhaled in relief.

  Li Sansui snapped out of enlightenment—the burly man’s commotion was too loud.

  She felt her understanding of formations had leaped forward.

  The giant’s array dao had been like divine revelation.

  The giant naturally paid no attention to the ants below.

  The mist rolled back in, once more veiling the battlefield.

  Monk Wuxing looked over, puzzled.

  “This formation won’t break easily. We must find the array eye.”

  The giant spoke calmly.

  “The array eye?”

  Wuxing’s eyes sharpened.

  “Yes. Every formation has an eye. Find and destroy it, and the formation collapses.”

  “This one’s eye is inside the world itself.”

  The burly man paled.

  “Then how the hell do we break it?!”

  The giant formed a seal.

  The “Lin” Array Word compressed into his palm.

  “I cannot destroy the formation yet, but the ‘Lin’ word can send one person inside to shatter the eye.”

  “Its power is domineering. Only a sufficiently strong body can withstand it.”

  The giant finished.

  The burly man fell silent.

  Because the giant was staring straight at him.

  Needed a strong body?

  Who else but him?