Chapter 196: Haven't You Realized It Yet?

Inside the main hall on the ground floor of the mausoleum.

Su Ping discovered that the murals stopped abruptly after depicting the bringing back of the black giant egg.

Feeling that it should not have ended there, Su Ping once again circulated the Greedy Wolf Divine Sense within the body of the Fire Knight.

Just like the Greedy Wolf stone carving on the hillside outside the Secret Realm.

As the Greedy Wolf Divine Sense emerged in the form of a phantom.

The surrounding murals were stimulated by some force, and every stroke and line on them emitted a white light.

Then, in the empty air of the hall, a light orb appeared, so dim it seemed about to extinguish.

"Immortal Body... has it finally been found?"

"No, the Great Array has already collapsed; it cannot be repaired..."

The light orb flickered a few times and slowly descended from mid-air:

"Sect Master, unable to connect."

"Vice Sect Master, unable to connect..."

"Sanshiliu Xingsu... unable to connect!"

The light orb seemed to be following some kind of programming, emitting a hoarse voice like a machine that echoed in the empty space.

At this moment, Su Ping recognized what the light orb before him was.

This must be the Array Spirit of the Great Array that the Beidou Qixing Sect had set up in the Secret Realm!

To give an array a spirit, besides using heavenly materials and earthly treasures as an Array Tool, the array level must be at least Fourth Tier.

And considering the glorious history of the Beidou Qixing Sect.

This Secret Realm might even be one of the foundations left behind by the older generation, plus it had been suppressing that terrifying existence beneath it—the one that made the Old Ancestor of the Artifact Heart Sect suffer—for so many years.

The possibility of it being a Fifth Tier array is even greater!

As for such an Array Spirit, every fluctuation it emitted at this moment.

Was recorded by Su Ping with all his might.

Even if he could not understand it now, it did not matter; when he became a peerless prodigy, he would naturally be able to analyze something by recalling this memory.

"Immortal Body... incomplete, confirmed as Canque Xiantili."

"Divine Sense level: Second Tier high-grade, qualified!"

"Come forward, are you willing... to become an inner-chamber disciple of the Beidou Qixing Sect?"

The light orb shot out a beam of white light, enveloping Su Ping, and issued the inquiry.

Su Ping could faintly sense that once he agreed to this inquiry, some kind of spiritual contract similar to a curse would be bound to his Divine Soul.

But it did not matter.

After all, the one agreeing was Fire Knight Alwin; what did it have to do with him, the Market Master of the Jiuye Mountain Market, if the promise was broken?

The Fire Knight released his self-protection, allowed the white light to permeate his body, and sincerely expressed his consent.

Then, Su Ping discovered that his position was suddenly and continuously rising!

First, it was inner-chamber disciple.

Then Inner Sect Disciple, True Disciple... and Elder of the main peak.

Then, after inheriting the position of Greedy Wolf Star Lord, he concurrently served as the Acting Sect Master of the Beidou Qixing Sect.

The reason it was "Acting" was because, according to the rules of the Beidou Qixing Sect, a new Sect Master must undergo at least a ten-year observation period before they could be confirmed as the true Sect Master and take charge of all the sect's mysteries.

"I... have already become the Acting Sect Master just like that?"

"But it seems there's nothing wrong with that; I'm the only living person in the entire sect now, so what would be the problem if I even self-appointed myself as Supreme Elder?"

Watching the light orb actively approach again, the Fire Knight took the opportunity to reach out and press against it.

Instantly, just like reading an Inheritance Jade Slip.

Su Ping saw the memories from the light orb through the Fire Knight.

These were the memories left behind by the founding Sect Master of the Beidou Qixing Sect.

This was also the Cultivator who had set up the Qixing Mixin Great Array and left behind the Array Spirit to guard the sect.

Aside from encouragement for the new Sect Master, the inheritance mainly consisted of introductions to certain secrets of the sect.

Among them, two points were of the utmost importance.

One was to find an Immortal Body capable of cultivating the Greedy Wolf Divine Sense to inherit the sect's peerless divine art, thereby allowing the sect to restore its former glory.

The other was to ensure the secret of the black giant egg beneath the Qixing Mixin was guarded at all costs.

According to the old Sect Master.

That black giant egg came from a world outside the territory filled with Evil Qi.

It was suspected to be a key item for that world to invade this realm.

And shortly after the black giant egg appeared, the entire Cultivation World underwent a great change; not only did many Cave Heaven Secret Realms lose contact.

Even the faint connections that once existed with the Immortal and Demon worlds were completely severed after that period passed!

This caused top-tier powerhouses to be filled with suspicion and uncertainty, leading to successive great battles in search of clues.

The old Sect Master keenly realized that this black giant egg might hide clues about the world outside the territory.

Driven by ambition, he hid this object deep within the Secret Realm and, after making heavy preparations, studied it day and night.

Only, by the time he was heavily wounded by Chiyuan Xianren and his life was coming to an end.

He still had not been able to unravel the secret of the black giant egg.

He had no choice but to entrust this hope to his descendants.

Su Ping, watching the old Sect Master—whose figure and face were blurred within the white light—earnestly hope that he would soon understand the black giant egg and solve the mystery.

Frowned slightly, feeling that the old Sect Master's style was truly incompatible with the current environment of the Secret Realm.

It is only a pity that the Array Spirit does not have the legacy memories left by other Sect Masters.

It is unknown whether it is unable to, or if they realized something and were unwilling.

Fortunately, aside from the various secrets mentioned by the old Sect Master that appear useless for now.

Su Ping saw a massive amount of Beidou Qixing Sect knowledge in the Array Spirit's memory that could be accessed at the Acting Sect Master level.

Within this, there were the Immortal texts for cultivating the Beidou Zhusi Scripture from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, as well as a vast amount of related annotations a thousand times the volume of the Immortal texts.

Then there were also hundreds of simplified versions of cultivation methods improved for Cultivators who could not enter the gate.

Su Ping naturally does not need to learn these cultivation methods, but by recording them, perhaps he can use them to teach and educate others in the future.

"Are there only cultivation method memories, with no Array or other skill storage?"

The Fire Knight withdrew the hand that had been pressed against the ball of light.

His gaze looked at this dim Array Spirit.

He suddenly opened his mouth to ask:

"You should have your own consciousness by now, right?"

"Qixing!"

Following the Fire Knight calling out the name that the old Sect Master had given the Array Spirit.

"Yes... it... is..."

After the ball of light flickered, it emitted a sound.

Then, in this empty space, the sound of the Fire Knight raising his greatsword to condense flames and his inquiry rang out:

"Then, you who have already been polluted, do you wish to be purified?"

Upon hearing this, the ball of light flickered rapidly, and then... it suddenly emitted a sound:

"W... ish..."

"Sect Master... do not go down!"

"Do not... go down!"

Suddenly, the Array Spirit within the ball of light became agitated, and its stuttering speech speed also became a bit faster.

At the same time, black dots suddenly emerged within the ball of light, and as they continuously expanded, they transformed the white ball of light into a black ball in the blink of an eye.

Simultaneously, the Evil Qi emerging within the black ball formed tentacles that looked like solid matter, seemingly wanting to touch the Fire Knight.

Yet, they had only just extended outside the shell of the ball.

The Fire Knight's greatsword had already plunged in with a 'puchi' sound, and he released a ring of raging fire, burning this great hall clean.

Ever since seeing that old Sect Master's phantom and his message.

Su Ping had realized that the content was not right.

Accompanied by the sense of dissonance growing stronger.

As Su Ping had the Fire Knight bite open a Purification Potion capsule.

He immediately discovered that a large amount of black Evil Qi had been cleared from his body.

In this way, Su Ping naturally understood that this Array Spirit... was likely also in big trouble.

Fortunately, the Secret Realm has already collapsed now, so even if it is an Array Spirit of a fifth-rank Array, there is nothing to fear anymore.

As it currently appears, this Array Spirit still has some resistance, and at the very last moment, it was still warning him, this Sect Master, not to go down.

It is just that!

As the Sect Master of the Beidou Qixing Sect!

Although, as it currently appears, the only intelligent Array Spirit that knew this point is also gone.

But since he has already come, he must go down and take a look, right?

Furthermore, the legacy obtained from that polluted Array Spirit this time can be considered a trip not made in vain.

He left the surface building of the tomb.

The Fire Knight officially pushed open the bronze gate of the underground tomb, gazed at the bottomless tunnel, and stepped inside without the slightest fear.

Along this path, Su Ping discovered that he had not encountered the monster mentioned by the female Cultivator from before.

The passageway was even cleaner than he had imagined.

The first underground level, the second underground level...

After coming all the way down and arriving directly at the entrance to the third underground level.

Su Ping's heart stirred, and he sensed that the longing in his heart was right here within this third underground level.

Su Ping resisted the curiosity to use his Divine Sense to probe inside.

After entering the Underground Tomb, Su Ping realized that this underground environment was exceptionally unfriendly to Divine Sense.

If he were to release his Divine Sense.

His Divine Sense would very likely undergo some terrible changes!

At this time, it was instead the physical body that became the only reliance for protecting his Divine Sense and Divine Soul.

Looking at it this way.

If one were to fight against these enemies from outside the domain in the world of Evil Qi.

Wouldn't it be that the higher the level of the battle, the more critical the Body Cultivator is?

Although high-level Cultivators can quickly improve their physique through auxiliary cultivation.

But in the end, it is still inferior to the path of Divine Abilities that they primarily cultivate.

Yet, this path of Divine Abilities is closely linked to Divine Sense; when fighting against Evil Gods, one releases a Divine Ability only to have it polluted and turn to the enemy.

Tsk!

At that time, it would simply be too beautiful to look at.

One can also see that the Evil Qi system is simply suppressing the Cultivation World's system in every aspect!

Boom, boom, boom!

The Fire Knight relied on brute force to push open the great gate.

He discovered that there was no passageway on the third underground level, only a sunken underground plaza.

This plaza was boundless, as if the entire Secret Realm's underground had been hollowed out.

And in the very center of the plaza, a black giant egg as tall as a ten-story building was lying there quietly.

Its body was bound by thousands of chains emitting a dim Golden Light.

Most of these chains connected the ground to the ceiling.

Others extended all the way to the invisible horizon.

These chains were also the ones with the brightest luminosity.

Su Ping looked at the black giant egg and was once again convinced that the Array Spirit's memory inheritance had been tampered with.

Otherwise, how could the contemporary Sect Master not be informed of this black giant egg that seemed to be under a Seal?

Thump!

Seemingly having sensed that someone had arrived, the black giant egg vibrated.

Thousands of chains immediately emitted a clattering sound.

The pressure in the entire space increased sharply; Su Ping could feel a sudden surge of a "get out" reprimand in the Fire Knight's mind.

It was just that these mental attacks were first weakened by the Cheng'e Pixie Stone Lion, then resisted by the Fire Knight's Indomitable Will.

To the Fire Knight, it was nothing more than the buzzing of a few mosquitoes.

However, from the fact that these mental shocks could break through the protection of the Stone Lion, one could tell that the one who left these mental imprints was definitely a Great Ability of the Cultivation World!

A Golden Core would definitely not be able to withstand it; at the very least, it would have to be a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor!

"..."

"Interesting!"

On the side of the black giant egg facing the Fire Knight, strange facial features suddenly emerged.

"To be able to endure the impulse to come down successfully, and to block the arrangements left behind by those old ghosts."

"You... are the second one in these past thousand years."

As the black giant egg said this, the facial features blurred for a moment, turning into a strand of black Qi that appeared in mid-air.

Then, this black Qi gradually transformed into an Evil God over eight meters tall, with wings on its back and spiral horns on its head.

This Evil God's body possessed the golden ratio, and every inch of its physique seemed full of artistic sense.

Although the body type and race were different.

At first glance, it made Su Ping feel that this guy... actually fit human aesthetics quite well.

However, as this Evil God transformed from void to reality and appeared.

More than ten Golden Chains also appeared on his body in quick succession.

Clearly, even as an avatar, he could not escape the binding of these Golden Chains.

Looking at the Golden Chains on his body, the Evil God frowned, then leaned down and looked at the Fire Knight, smiling as he said:

"I sensed your contact with that Array Spirit."

"And since you have come over, you should be able to understand what kind of existence I am by now, right?"

"You, who possess the North Star Immortal Body and have inherited the status of Acting Sect Master of the Beidou Qixing Sect!"

The Evil God said this and, discovering that he could not see any micro-expressions on the Fire Knight, he continued to smile.

Yet in his heart, he was secretly surprised.

From the moment he appeared, he had begun to fully increase the pollution level around that Cultivator.

It was just that, against this Evil Art that even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would fall victim to, the other party remained completely unmoved.

How could this be? Could it be that the Immortal Body in the mouths of those ants has some connection to those higher life forms?

Thinking of this, the Evil God stopped probing and chose to get straight to the point:

"You being able to become the Acting Sect Master is all because I deliberately left that Array Spirit some time."

"Now, use your status as Acting Sect Master to follow these chains to where their source lies, and then order the Seal here to be undone."

"Huh?"

Su Ping heard this command and had the Fire Knight grip his greatsword tightly, revealing a cold sneer:

"Why should I listen to you and set you free?"

"Why?"

The Evil God was slightly startled, his gaze sweeping over the Fire Knight for a moment.

Suddenly, he realized with a start:

"You... are not the successor found by that old ghost?"

"Interesting, this is truly interesting!"

"But it doesn't matter; it just so happens that compared to that old ghost, I prefer to make deals with living beings that have greater potential!"

"Go and help me undo the Seal!"

"I, in the name of the Seventh Son of the Mother God, Nigu, guarantee that you can retain your individual will after merging with me."

"Thereby continuing to survive within the great Mother God, and having the opportunity to evolve and evolve again after absorbing enough nutrition in the future, and finally becoming a higher life form like me, a son of the Mother God!"

"To be assimilated into an Evil Spirit, an Evil Spirit that retains its individual will?"

"For those Cultivators who are about to die of old age, this might actually have great appeal!"

"It's just that this 'pie in the sky' doesn't have a single guarantee."

"What if it's just an Evil Spirit with my memories? Wouldn't I be at a huge loss then?"

The Knight of Fire frowned slightly, hitting the nail on the head.

Evil God Nigu, however, sneered:

"Because you have no choice."

"How long has it been since you connected to other Great Worlds?"

"How long has it been since you discovered a newly appeared Cave Heaven Secret Realm?"

"Have you not realized yet..."

"That the world you are in is actually... already inside the body of the Great Mother God!"