Chapter 219: Guardian Artifact, Another Internal Traitor Captured

Su Lingyue is worthy of her reputation as a genius of the Array Dao; with the assistance of Lu Yuan and Qin Ruoning, it took her no more than two hours to finish setting up the simplified version of the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array.

Once the Array Flags were set and she cast the Dharma techniques to activate the grand array, a formless spiritual machine swept across all directions, and all the light mists in the void immediately began to tremble, becoming extremely lively, as if they were gradually being repaired under some inexplicable force.

Lu Yuan saw at a glance that the effect of this grand array was by no means inferior to the complete version of the Great Evolution Mending Heaven Array he had set up several years ago, and it was even better!

Of course, the Array Flags he used back then were hastily refined, and his cultivation was only at the completion of Refining Essence into Qi; if he were to set up this array again now, the effect would still surpass what Su Lingyue had currently laid out.

The consumption of setting up the grand array was clearly not small for Su Lingyue; her snow-white forehead was beaded with sweat, and her Dharma Power aura was also much more unstable, yet she looked down at the grand array she had laid out and smiled brightly:

"This grand array is indeed very brilliant, but I have also made a small change to it, which is to leave an array eye in this array; if Spirit Stones are inserted between the array eyes to drive it, the repair effect of the grand array can be greatly improved."

Lu Yuan's gaze shifted, and he asked:

"Fellow Daoist Su, in your opinion, how long will it take for this grand array to be completely repaired?"

Su Lingyue looked around:

"The spiritual machine of this Heaven and Earth is already thin; if we rely solely on the grand array to automatically absorb the power of the stars, it will take at least seventy or eighty years to fully repair the Heavenly Ladder, and if we spare no cost to invest Spirit Stones, we can shorten the time by nearly half.

However, in my view, there is no need to wait that long to transmit a large number of Upper Realm cultivators down; at most, in twenty or thirty years, we will be able to transmit cultivators below the Nascent Soul level in batches."

"Twenty or thirty years..."

This time was basically the same as Lu Yuan's judgment, and he smiled calmly:

"That is truly great."

Su Lingyue clearly did not want to talk much with Lu Yuan, so she just nodded faintly, then said to Qin Ruoning:

"My maid Hanyu will temporarily look after this array in the Lower Realm, and after it is completely stabilized, other disciples from the Array Hall will come down to replace her. Fellow Daoist Qin, you two have been operating in this Lower Realm for several years, so you must have already brought the mortal forces here under your control, right? Please take her to hand over and settle down. I will observe here for a few days, and after confirming there are no problems, I can notify True Monarch Huanglong to guide the three of us back to the Upper Realm."

Qin Ruoning glanced at Lu Yuan: "Of course, but..."

Su Lingyue had just become suspicious in her heart, but when she turned her head, she saw Lu Yuan smiling coldly at the side, and a syllable suddenly spat out of his mouth:

"Freeze!"

Hum.

In an instant, a vast power swept across the firmament; within a radius of one mile, the biting, knife-like cold wind, the fluttering ice crystals and snowflakes, and even the warm sunlight from the sun above were all frozen in mid-air at once.

Even Su Lingyue, this heaven-gifted master of arrays and Golden Core Real Person, was shocked to find at this moment that her entire body's Dharma Power and even her Divine Sense thoughts were strangely frozen!

Rumble.

In this instant, she was completely unable to move and could only watch helplessly as Lu Yuan reached out a hand, a huge Qi forming instantly around her, and amidst the roaring wind, it fiercely squeezed inward.

However, at this very moment, seemingly sensing a crisis, a silver-white necklace around Su Lingyue's snow-white neck suddenly erupted with intense clear light, not only protecting Su Lingyue's entire body but also manifesting an illusory figure behind her, which then pointed a finger out.

Hum.

Accompanied by a thunderous, heaven-shaking sound, circles of formless ripples oscillated outward, like thunder, like light, like electricity, like wind, formless and intangible, impossible to grasp.

Wherever the ripples passed, countless lightning and starlight flickered and extinguished, as if containing the power to destroy Heaven and extinguish the Earth.

At the same time, Qin Ruoning, who was preparing to capture the maid Hanyu, saw this scene and immediately retreated, losing her voice:

"Guardian Artifact, a strike at the completion of Golden Core!? Fellow Daoist Lu, retreat quickly!"

However, compared to her loss of color, Lu Yuan's expression did not change at all; he merely protected his body with the Generating Light Supernatural Power, and the Qi continued to grab fiercely toward Su Lingyue.

Boom—

It was as if a heaven-shaking explosion had occurred between Heaven and Earth; it seemed that a large amount of air and primordial energy were boiling and roaring, subsequently forming a triple giant wave composed of sonic booms, air, and Dharma Power vibrations, layer upon layer, high and surging, like a surging, world-destroying avalanche, like a volcanic eruption burning the world, like an extinction tide annihilating everything, sweeping across Heaven and Earth.

Successive, uninterrupted, vast heavenly sounds rang out; the sky was trembling, the glacier and earth were shaking, and the firmament seemed to have been completely cracked by this giant wave, then turned into a vast sea of boiling, exploding, raging waves composed of destructive light and flames, drowning and crushing everything.

And it was amidst such a heaven-shaking scene.

Lu Yuan's Qi and the mysterious figure on Su Lingyue's body all shattered, which also made the latter, who had barely recovered a little of her mind, feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar:

"How could this be!?"

The Dharma Artifact that had just been triggered on her body was a Guardian Artifact bestowed upon her by the Su Family ancestor, Old Matriarch Su.

This Dharma Artifact was a third-grade mid-tier Spirit Tool; although it had no other functions, it contained a full-strength strike from Old Matriarch Su that combined offense and defense.

Old Matriarch Su was at the completion of the Golden Core realm, and the core she had formed was not a common Golden Core, but a True Core that only cultivators with Earth Grade Spiritual Root had a chance to condense, with strength surpassing that of ordinary Golden Core completion cultivators.

Although she was already old, the strike stored in the Dharma Artifact also contained terrifying power; possessing this trump card, Su Lingyue in the Upper Realm was completely fearless even when facing high-level Corpse Kings or sieges by other Golden Core cultivators, and had even repeatedly killed them in return.

But she never expected that today in the Lower Realm, she would encounter an inexplicable attack from Bai Qianfeng, and that the vastness of his Dharma Power could actually block a strike from Old Matriarch Su, which completely exceeded her cognition!

"No, wait..."

Although the illusory figure behind her and the offensive were completely shattered, the protective clear light of Dharma Power still remained a little; Su Lingyue spoke with extreme difficulty, shocked and angry:

"You, you are not..."

Having no time to waste words with the other party, Lu Yuan reached out and grabbed again; this time he successfully grasped Su Lingyue's graceful figure within the Qi, and fiercely squeezed her protective clear light until it broke, causing her to groan and vomit blood.

Subsequently, just like when he controlled Bai Qianfeng and Qin Ruoning, he lightly pointed the index finger of his other hand, and then several sharp light cones formed in the void, fiercely piercing into her slender body, instantly forming the Seal Spirit Absolute Array, tightly sealing her Divine Sense and Dharma Power.

On the other side, although surprised that Lu Yuan had blocked a strike from a Guardian Artifact with a single move, her hand movements did not pause, and she immediately captured and controlled the maid Hanyu, who was also frozen by the Body Immobilization Supernatural Power.

At this point, almost in a crushing manner, this master and servant who had descended from the Upper Realm again under the orders of True Monarch Huanglong had completely become Lu Yuan's captives.

At this moment, as the sealing power on her body faded slightly, Su Lingyue, this heaven's pride, turned pale, staring at Lu Yuan in front of her in disbelief:

"Impossible, with such cultivation and means, you are absolutely not Bai Qianfeng..."

"Who, who exactly are you!?"

Although the Embryo Transformation and Shape Changing could allow Lu Yuan to perfectly transform into another person, it could not fully replicate the other person's cultivation and means, so it was inevitable that he would reveal flaws when taking action; he looked at her and smiled:

"You will know soon."

After saying that, he took her to his front with one hand, and then silently activated the Nightmare Prayer Supernatural Power.

Hum.

His gaze and Divine Sense seemed to turn into a nether abyss, instantly swallowing Su Lingyue whole.

Although she was already a managing Elder of the Array Hall, Su Lingyue's cultivation was only at the early stage of Golden Core, still one step away from the mid-stage cultivation.

And Lu Yuan had been practicing with the supreme Refining Qi Supernatural Power 【Nine Breaths Serving Qi】 over these past few years, and his cultivation progress was extremely fast; although he had not yet broken through to the God Embryo Realm of the mid-stage of Refining Qi into Spirit, he was not far off, and both his Divine Sense and Dharma Power were naturally more than a notch above Su Lingyue's.

Just like that, although she had struggled, she eventually had chaotic and confused eyes, clearly having her Divine Sense defense line broken by the Nightmare Prayer Supernatural Power, and her memory and cognition twisted and reversed.

In the distance, the maid Hanyu, completely unaware of what Lu Yuan was doing to Su Lingyue, was filled with grief and indignation; however, with her cultivation only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, she could not break free from Qin Ruoning's control and could only let out shrill cries:

"Stop, stop, what are you trying to do to the Young Lady!?"

"The Young Lady is the heaven-favored daughter of the Su Family, the apple of Old Matriarch Su's eye, and a capable subordinate of True Monarch Huanglong. If you dare to harm her, they will absolutely not spare you!"

"Stop at once—!"

It was clear that this maid was quite loyal to Su Lingyue; her shrill cries echoed in the frozen world for a long time, yet no one paid her any heed, and she was even silenced by Qin Ruoning.

Subsequently, after Lu Yuan finished casting the Nightmare Prayer Divine Ability on Su Lingyue, he took advantage of her chaotic consciousness to grab her with one hand and repeated his old trick.

During this process, Qin Ruoning remained silent, her eyes vacant, as if she had seen nothing at all.

This was because, at this moment, Lu Yuan's Nightmare Prayer Divine Ability was not only acting upon Su Lingyue but was also triggered once again on Qin Ruoning, planting a memory patch while simultaneously forming a strange Knowledge Barrier that would cause her to automatically ignore everything related to this divine ability.

Brainwashing a Foundation Establishment cultivator was much easier than brainwashing a Golden Core one; just as Su Lingyue regained a sliver of clarity, he released the maid Hanyu.

"Huh?"

Su Lingyue, having just undergone memory tampering, looked slightly dazed, and only after seeing Lu Yuan and Qin Ruoning did she seem to remember something:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, Fellow Daoist Qin, what happened to me?"

Lu Yuan said calmly:

"Just now, you consumed too much Dharma Power to set up this restoration array, and only now have you recovered a little."

"The array, right..."

Su Lingyue turned her head abruptly, looking at the array she had just set up, her gaze solemn as she said:

"Once this array is set up, it will surely bring grave disaster to this world, but since True Monarch Huanglong has given the order, I must execute it. Do you two fellow Daoists have any good ideas?"

With parts of her memory and cognition tampered with, Su Lingyue had already become a loyal ally; Lu Yuan stepped forward and smiled:

"Fellow Daoist Su, there is no need to worry. In a word, just go through the motions without putting in real effort. I can help you modify this array further to weaken its restorative effect, so that even after a hundred years, this Heavenly Ladder will not be fully repaired."

He could have originally deceived everyone and ascended to the Upper Realm with Su Lingyue after she finished setting up the array.

The reason he was going to such great lengths now was to kill two birds with one stone: he could ascend to the Upper Realm while also protecting the foundation of this Lower Realm, buying time to prevent the Upper Realm from getting its hands on it.

As it was now, with Su Lingyue and her servant having become his own people, he only needed to tamper with the set-up array to drag things out for a considerable time, allowing him to make more preparations.

Qin Ruoning frowned and said:

"But it won't take a hundred years; in just ten or twenty years, if True Monarch Huanglong discovers that the Heavenly Ladder hasn't been repaired much, he will likely discover Fellow Daoist Su's little tricks, and then..."

Lu Yuan said with a burning gaze:

"In ten-plus years, if he still refuses to give up and covets the Lower Realm, I have other means to deal with him."

"Good."

Su Lingyue was not one to dither, and she said immediately:

"Since that is the case, please, Fellow Daoist Lu, modify this array."

Lu Yuan nodded, then flew above the restoration array and activated his Array Formation Supernatural Power; with a wave of his hand, all the Array Flags rose from the ground, circling around him as if they possessed life.

Immediately, he cast one Dharma seal after another, and in an instant, the nodes of several Array Flags shifted slightly; then, with a wave of his long sleeves, he caused the entire set of Array Flags to be driven back into the frozen earth below, forming an array slightly different from the one before.

Most importantly, the chaotic and vast Spiritual Machine that the array emitted, which repaired everything, suddenly diminished significantly, and its efficiency was clearly greatly reduced!

Seeing this scene, Su Lingyue was filled with admiration, and her maid Hanyu was so shocked her jaw dropped:

"Senior Lu has such attainments in the way of arrays; I fear even the Old Matriarch..."

Although Su Lingyue had astonishing talent in the way of arrays, she was, after all, a rising star and had not been famous for long.

In the entire Longshan Immortal City, the one with the highest attainments in the way of arrays was the current ancestor of the Su Family, Old Matriarch Su; she was also the only person in the Immortal City who could set up a Four-Tier array with Golden Core cultivation.

At this very moment, in the eyes of Su Lingyue and her servant, Lu Yuan's method of raising an array with a wave of his hand and setting it up with a flick of his sleeves simply overturned their understanding, and they subconsciously began to compare him to their ancestor.

He did not care about the shock in their hearts.

Soon, after re-arranging the array, Lu Yuan descended:

"It is done. This array can still repair the Heavenly Ladder, but its efficiency will be greatly reduced. Even if True Monarch Huanglong discovers something is wrong, it will be more than a decade from now. However, it is best to leave someone trustworthy in this world to look after this array and respond to changes at any time."

Su Lingyue nodded:

"True Monarch Huanglong also has this requirement, so I can only let Hanyu stay in this world to look after it for a few years and swap her back later. She knows nothing about this Lower Realm now, so Fellow Daoist Lu, could you..."

Naturally understanding what the other party meant, Lu Yuan smiled slightly:

"Since Miss Hanyu is to be stationed in this place where the Spiritual Machine is thin, we should make proper arrangements. Follow me."

As he spoke, he turned to signal, leading Qin Ruoning and the two newly subdued moles as they flew toward the New Nation.