Chapter 203: Great Evolution Mending Heaven, A Small Punishment

Crack!

A golden sword light flashed, easily slicing through the nearly ten-foot-thick layer of ice, and even bringing out the three corpses inside.

Subsequently, Lu Yuan released a fine sword Qi from his fingertips, bit by bit removing the ice layer on the surface of the corpses, and before long, he had revealed the three corpses intact.

Those two ancient ancestors from seven thousand years ago had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and generally speaking, they were not much different from people today; furthermore, even though they had been dead and frozen for thousands of years, that fierce and heroic expression remained vivid, condensed and undissipated.

As for the corpse of that Qi Refiner, because it lacked a head, Lu Yuan did not know what it had originally looked like.

The most noteworthy things about the three corpses were nothing more than the Bronze Short Spear in the hands of the ancient ancestors, as well as the Dharma Robe on the ancient Qi Refiner and the Circular Disk Dharma Artifact at his side; Lu Yuan carefully touched them one by one and infused them with Dharma Power, but the result was that these three items either had no reaction at all, or they suddenly cracked with a pop.

Clearly, after seven thousand years of being frozen in time, coupled with the current end-of-Dharma era of the world and the severance of Spiritual Machine, these things had completely lost their spirituality and turned into ordinary objects.

Of course, if these items had been discovered a thousand or eight hundred years earlier, and if one had found a way to repair and nourish them, perhaps they might have recovered some supernatural qualities, just like the Abuhulin Spear that Xici once used to assassinate him, and that Fate Spear of the Shenluo Holy See.

Those two items were also likely left over from the transition between the ancient and medieval eras; not to mention the Abuhulin Spear, which had already been damaged and only existed in records, the Fate Spear that Lu Yuan had confiscated was discovered by the Shenluo Holy See by accident two thousand years ago, and successive Popes had continuously nourished it with the power of faith, thereby enabling it to possess extraordinary might approaching that of a Dharma Artifact.

"Looking at it this way, I am afraid there are quite a few ancient corpses buried under this glacier, and all the relics are likely the same as these, basically turned into ordinary objects. It is just that I do not know where the corpse of the Human Emperor Qi is located?"

Lu Yuan's gaze was burning, and with a wave of his sleeve, he returned the three corpses and their personal belongings to their original positions.

Originally, he had wanted to search and see if there were any ancient treasures that could be used, but now that plan could be considered completely dashed.

Of course, if he could find the corpse of the Human Emperor Qi, it would also possess great value and significance, but this ice field was frozen for thousands of miles, and he only possessed the Earth Travel technique, not an Ice Travel technique; wanting to find the Human Emperor Qi, who was buried in an unknown location, was truly difficult beyond measure.

This matter could only be discussed later; Lu Yuan immediately flew back above the Five Glacier Array and then communicated with the Heavenly Book:

"Illuminate, Array Formation!"

As the thought was issued, a large amount of Luck Power burned, and the Heavenly Book also bloomed with brilliant radiance; many characters flew out like spiritual birds and merged into his sea of consciousness.

【Earthly Fiend-Array Formation】: Can mobilize the natural forces of heaven and earth such as the sun, moon, stars, wind, thunder, water, fire, mountains, and marshes to set up various barriers, arrays, and restrictions, with inexhaustible wonderful uses.

In order to understand what this glacier array actually was, and how it caused the Heavenly Ladder to be severed and the void to shatter, he not only illuminated this technique but also went all out, burning all the thousands of points of Luck Power he had accumulated during this period, directly upgrading it to the Heavenly level!

After the 【Array Formation】 was promoted to the Heavenly level, vast knowledge and insights regarding arrays surged and churned in his heart; hundreds of large and small arrays were all-encompassing, and even though Lu Yuan was already a cultivator at the late stage of Refining Essence into Qi, he still spent a full three hours digesting them in this frozen world.

By the time he suddenly came back to his senses, the sky above the polar region had already grown dark; when Lu Yuan looked down at the glacier array below again, his perspective had become completely different from before:

"Gan Zun Yao Ling, Kun Shun Nei Ying, Five Directions Absolute Heaven..."

"This place is the land that connects to Heaven, with the five glaciers as the array eyes; it can mobilize the power of the Moon, the Sun, and even the stars of the celestial sphere, thereby reversing the Five Elements and Yin/Yang, shattering the void, and thus severing the Ladder to Heaven in one stroke. This array might be named the Five Directions Absolute Land Sealing Heaven Array."

"The Spiritual Machine of heaven and earth flows from the Upper Realm to this realm; after the Heavenly Ladder was severed, the Spiritual Machine was completely cut off. Those patches of light mist are the strange phenomena caused by the shattering of the Ladder to Heaven and the collapse of space."

"It is precisely because the passage connecting the two realms was completely shattered that the so-called Upper Realm can no longer have Qi Refiners descend."

After illuminating 【Array Formation】 and upgrading it to the Heavenly level, the current Lu Yuan had transformed into an array master, and he soon saw the mystery of the glacier array.

Although the glacier array did not belong to the arrays contained within 【Array Formation】, there is a saying that by understanding one thing, one understands all; 【Array Formation】 is the general outline of Daoist arrays and is all-encompassing. Although the glacier array was incomparably mysterious, it did not exceed the scope of the Dao of Arrays, which is why Lu Yuan was able to discern its mystery.

"Remarkable, truly remarkable."

Flying and circling repeatedly above the several ineffective glacier arrays, the more Lu Yuan looked, the more he marveled:

"Reversing the Five Elements, shattering the void... I do not know how the ancient Human Emperor created such an array. To be able to perform such a feat under the noses of ancient Qi Refiners, they were simply a god-like figure."

According to records, in the ancient era, Spiritual Machine was abundant and Qi Refiners ran rampant; millions of tribal ancestors were like slaves, being taken and killed at their whim.

At that time, although human sages had already imitated and created a path of cultivation, compared to the Qi Refiners, it was still the difference between heaven and earth; the contrast in power between the two sides was probably like the difference between ants and elephants.

Under such a huge gap, the ancient people who led the ancestors were actually able to reverse their fate, win against the strong with the weak, seal Heaven and Earth, and open up a new era; it was simply like an epic myth.

Of course, the ancestors also paid a tragic price; even the leader, the Human Emperor Qi, was buried in this frozen land, and his corpse was hard to find, so later generations could only use a cenotaph to pay their respects.

At this point, the greatest mystery of the ancient era could be considered solved; Lu Yuan's figure landed in the center of the glacier array, and as he gazed at the light mist that looked like a heavenly river, his eyes began to flicker.

It was not just curiosity about the Upper Realm that this light mist once connected to, but also a reflection on his own path forward.

This world was devoid of Spiritual Machine; although he possessed the powerful Heavenly Gang Divine Ability of Nine Breaths Serving Qi to forcibly break through the limitations of heaven and earth, he would inevitably be affected.

Furthermore.

Now that the four seas had submitted, he was absolutely a Human God, but being trapped in such a world was truly a bit boring. Now that the existence of the so-called Upper Realm was confirmed, he was actually quite eager to go and see what kind of scenery it was.

It was just that the Ladder to Heaven had already been shattered for seven thousand years, and even the powerful cultivators of the Upper Realm had no way to descend again; going to the Upper Realm seemed to have become an impossible wish.

"No, it is not necessarily impossible."

However, after repeatedly and carefully investigating the shattered light mist, Lu Yuan's gaze became exceptionally bright:

"These light mists, to put it plainly, are the Ladder to Heaven shattered by the Sealing Heaven and Earth Array. If one could find a way to repair them, one could reconnect to the Upper Realm."

"Within 【Array Formation】, there happens to be a Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array, which can use the power of the stars of the celestial sphere to repair all kinds of situations such as shattered voids and collapsed cave-heaven secret realms."

"If this array were used to repair the Ladder to Heaven, perhaps...?"

Thanks to the 【Array Formation】 technique that he had directly upgraded to the Heavenly level, a bold idea suddenly emerged from his heart. Within 【Array Formation】, there existed hundreds of arrays, with functions that were all-encompassing; things like illusion arrays, heart-refining arrays, mountain-protecting arrays, killing arrays, and even teleportation arrays were all available.

And the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array was a type of array used to stabilize and repair the universe, the void, and even large and small cave-heaven secret realms.

It is said in the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array that true Immortals who have reached the stage of Refining Void into Dao can use supreme Dharma Power to open up cave-heavens, creating a cave-heaven secret realm like a small world, capable of accommodating billions of living beings.

Their battles would often cause the void to shatter and secret realms to collapse, bringing great harm to heaven and earth, which is why there later came to be methods of repairing space like the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array.

In terms of its efficacy, it could repair the universe, the void, and cave-heaven secret realms, so the Ladder to Heaven would naturally be no problem. If Lu Yuan could successfully set up the array, perhaps it would be possible to repair this Ladder to Heaven and restore the connection with the Upper Realm!

"But... if the Ladder to Heaven were truly repaired, the Qi Refiners of the Upper Realm would likely discover it and descend."

"The ancient Human Emperor led the ancestors to pay such a huge price to sever the connection between Heaven and Earth, so that countless descendants would not have to be slaves. If one were to destroy the fruits of their hard work and the great sacrifices they made just like that, it would truly be unfilial..."

"I am thinking too far ahead; let me first try to see if the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array can be used!"

The implications were too great; Lu Yuan pondered repeatedly, and then, as if having made up his mind, he turned and flew in the direction from which he had come.

After all, it was useless to think too much now; the first thing he had to do was to determine the feasibility of his idea, otherwise, everything was just empty talk.

Within 【Array Formation】, the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array already belonged to the ranks of high-level Dharma Arrays; setting up this array required forty-nine Great Evolution Array Flags, and even in the most simplified situation, these array flags required Thousand-Year Peach Wood and Heavenly Silkworm Silk as materials to be refined.

The Thousand-Year Peach Wood was easy to handle; with Lu Yuan's current status, if he were to issue a reward and mobilize all the countries in the world to search for it, perhaps it could be found, but as for this so-called Heavenly Silkworm Silk, he could not be certain if it existed.

As various thoughts turned in his mind.

Before the sky turned dark, Lu Yuan crossed thousands of miles of ice fields and returned to the Sunlight Exploration Ship that was still waiting at the edge of the polar region.

After resting for a night, without waiting for Saint Peter and Guan Ye Yixin, who were rushing over to plead for mercy, to arrive, he set off again and spent several hours returning to Tianjing in Shenzhou.

After returning to the Dao Palace on Xiantai Mountain, he immediately passed a message through Chen Zhantang to the Council, mobilizing the power of the entire New Nation to search for the Thousand-Year Peach Wood and Heavenly Silkworm Silk for him.

Upon learning that this was what the Immortal was looking for, the provinces of the New Nation were instantly stirred by the news; both the authorities and the public were exceptionally excited, and provinces with famous mountains, great rivers, or primeval forests saw countless people heading into the mountains and forests to search everywhere, with great fervor.

After all, this was something required by the Immortal; if one could find it, one would surely receive the Immortal's favor or even a reward, which for countless people was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And just as the news spread throughout the provinces.

Whether it was the Pope of Shenluo, Saint Peter, or the Prime Minister of Sunlight Country, Guan Ye Yixin, after they had gone to the Arctic Ice Plain to offer a humble apology only to find nothing, they had then sent letters to the New Country Parliament and traveled thousands of miles to come to Tianjing again to pay respects to Lu Yuan.

At that time, Lu Yuan was wholeheartedly studying the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array and had no time to pay attention to these two; let alone meeting them, he had not even allowed them to set foot on Xiantai Mountain.

Such an attitude undoubtedly made Saint Peter and Guan Ye Yixin even more terrified, especially the latter, who, after being refused by Chen Zhantang to ascend Xiantai Mountain to see Lu Yuan, actually went back and committed ritual suicide to atone for his crimes with his death!

Of course, before he died, he also left a final testament, which was that he hoped Lu Yuan would not vent his anger on others for all his sins and would leave a path of survival for Sunlight Country.

As a prime minister of a country, to actually commit suicide to atone for his crimes in the New Nation—this level of decisiveness left even Chen Zhantang stunned, and he reported it to Lu Yuan immediately.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan remained completely calm; upon learning that Saint Peter was still lingering at the foot of Xiantai Mountain like a piece of sticky candy, he immediately had Chen Zhantang bring this person up.

"Lord Immortal, Saint Peter has come specifically to apologize to you."

Inside the great hall, as soon as he came up, Saint Peter bowed tremblingly with a face full of shame:

"I was deceived by that villain Guan Ye Yixin; I did not know that his invitation for Shenluo to explore the Extreme North together harbored such intentions. I hope you can forgive my sin of negligence!"

On the prayer mat, Lu Yuan looked on with a smile that was not quite a smile:

"Guan Ye Yixin took all the blame upon himself before he died, so are you trying to leave me with no proof of death?"

Saint Peter felt a chill in his heart and bowed even lower:

"Heavenly Master, please see clearly, how would this one dare?"

Lu Yuan's smile slowly faded:

"At a time like this, you still dare to use glib words; you do not know whether you are living or dead."

Before the words had faded, he flicked his finger, and a brilliant golden glow shot out like a meteor; Saint Peter was suddenly seized with terror, and an extremely dense Saint Power instantly appeared on the surface of his body, wrapping around him like armor.

However, Lu Yuan was already able to crush the opponent when he was at the late stage of Refining Essence into Qi, and now that he was at the perfection of Refining Essence into Qi, it was something Saint Peter could not resist; even though he reacted quickly and used his Saint Power to defend instantly, he still could not block the intrusion of the golden glow.

*Ssh! *

The golden glow pierced into his body; only a shallow wound appeared on Saint Peter's abdomen, but the next moment he let out an earth-shattering scream, then stumbled and fell to the ground, struggling in pain.

The reason was none other than the Sword Qi Lu Yuan had casually released, which had drilled directly into his body and was currently rampaging along his Meridians, directly destroying the foundation of his cultivation!

"This Sword Qi contains less than one-tenth of my power; if you can withstand it, you will live, and if you cannot, then the Shenluo People will just have to change to a new Pope."

"Let me see, can your Lord of Heaven really protect you?"

As if being sliced by a thousand knives, Saint Peter was still trembling and struggling on the ground, but Lu Yuan gently flicked his sleeve, causing him to be thrown out of the hall by a gust of wild wind like a withered branch or fallen leaf.

This finger of his would not take Saint Peter's life on the spot, but it would cripple the opponent's cultivation foundation and continuously consume his life until the Sword Qi was completely worn away.

Whether he could leave Shenzhou alive depended entirely on his own fortune; it was a small punishment he had bestowed.