Chapter 256: Breaking the Deadlock

"Why is it like this? This is impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

Upon discovering with terror that Shen Yu had appeared behind him, Liang Zeheng immediately made the fastest reaction possible.

At this moment, he was inside the Array, manipulating the Chessboard; the Great Array was entirely in his hands, and every change was dictated by his will.

Under his control, countless black and white Chess Pieces were arranged and combined like countless experts, forming a vast and mighty Military Formation that charged toward Shen Yu to surround and kill him.

Blades and spears were like a forest, warhorses neighed, and it seemed as if the sounds of battlefield conquest were ringing in his ears at this moment.

Yet, when these Chess Pieces neared Shen Yu, they seemed to lose their target entirely, passing directly through his body.

The Array he was so proud of could not lock onto him at all. It was as if what stood before him was not a real person, but merely a shadow. No matter how powerful his Military Formation was, it seemed unable to harm this ethereal shadow.

It was precisely this scene that made Liang Zeheng doubt his life, nearly breaking his mental defenses.

He did not understand why an Array capable of burying even those old monsters at their peak appeared so pathetic when it encountered Shen Yu.

Why was there still such a person in this world? He was simply like a hedgehog, leaving one with no way to bite down!

Perhaps he was only facing a shadow, and the real Shen Yu might be hiding in some corner, just waiting for him to reveal a flaw, and then, like a venomous snake, deliver a fatal blow.

This feeling of having a thorn in his back at every moment made him truly uncomfortable and also put Liang Zeheng in mortal danger at any time.

"Shen Yu, I indeed cannot hurt you, but you cannot hurt me either. As long as the Great Array is not broken, I am invincible!"

After probing a few times to no avail, his proud Array seemed unable to do anything to Shen Yu.

However, after the initial panic, Liang Zeheng quickly calmed down. He was also merged with the Great Array; as long as the Great Array did not break, he would be safe.

"Shen Yu, you say you can kill me, but I don't believe it!"

"This Great Array is a remnant from the previous era, and after over a hundred years of our modifications, plus the investment of countless manpower and resources, its power is no longer what it once was."

"Back then, this Array was specifically designed to deal with Mu Zishan, but it is a pity that Mu Zishan chose to suppress the Forbidden Land, which caused this Array to temporarily lose its use, leaving a pearl covered in dust."

"Now it has been reactivated, specifically to deal with all of you."

"Yes, you, Shen Yu, have your methods, and I cannot hurt you. But as long as the Great Array is not broken, you cannot hurt me either!"

As he spoke, the Chess Pieces in the Array gathered together, blotting out the sky and sun as they pressed inward in a mighty wave.

Except for Bai Yi, everyone else in the Array looked dim and lusterless under this magnificent army, and their resistance appeared weak and powerless. Intuition told them that once the Chess Pieces fell, they would all die here.

Only Bai Yi, with his white hair and beard, stood holding his spear, his expression unchanging, like a veteran general on the battlefield, calm yet filled with iron-blooded resolve.

He wanted to break this so-called Military Formation with his own strength and slaughter the invincible soldiers on the other side.

"Bai Yi is still in the Array, and these top experts of the Jianghu are still in the Array. Shen Yu, as long as I kill them, it will also be a great achievement!"

"Heh, is that so?" With a disdainful chuckle, Shen Yu's cold voice rang in his ears.

"You are merely trying to 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao'; do you think I don't know this little trick? You want to force me to make a move; only then can you determine my location."

"But don't take some things for granted. Do you really think your Great Array is invincible? Do you really think you are safe? I said I would kill you, so I will definitely kill you!"

Just at this moment, a Painting Scroll appeared in Shen Yu's hand. The scroll had not yet been unfurled, and it was unknown what was painted inside, but this object left Liang Zeheng completely baffled.

They were fighting to the death here, and Shen Yu brought out a tattered painting—what was he doing, planning to play the scholar?

But in the next moment, the Painting Scroll slowly unfurled, and a heavy aura that seemed to contain everything covered the area, as if everything around it was merging into this mere Painting Scroll.

"Your Array is indeed marvelous, but it still hasn't escaped the constraints of ordinary arrays; it is nothing more than borrowing the power of mountains, rivers, earth veins, the sun, the moon, and the stars to set up the formation."

"It is exquisite, but it is not necessarily indestructible!"

As the Painting Scroll unfurled, the power belonging to this picture was truly revealed before Liang Zeheng's eyes.

At this moment, he seemed to see countless mountains, rivers, and earth veins, countless rivers and lakes, stars twinkling, and the sun and moon shining together.

This was the true momentum of heaven and earth, this was like the majestic power of heaven; everything before this force seemed vulnerable.

The Chessboard he was proud of, which seemed to crush everything, was destroyed bit by bit. Luan Mountain, the very center of the entire Great Array, seemed to be undergoing a massive upheaval.

The mountain ranges began to sink, as if gradually forming a valley. At the same time, a low valley nearby rose from the ground, forming a new high mountain.

The terrain of the mountain ranges was completely altered, and it was forcibly changed under the control of the Array. The current Luan Mountain had the reinforcement of the Array's power, yet its terrain was forcibly changed.

This scene did not resemble mortal power at all.

To be able to change the earth's veins with human strength—how the hell is one supposed to fight this? This is clearly cheating.

The original terrain of the mountains and rivers changed drastically, and the Array instantly developed flaws, shattering completely in an instant under the crushing force of the Painting Scroll.

"Puff!" His mind was connected to the Great Array; as the Array was destroyed, Liang Zeheng was also implicated.

His entire body was backlashed by the terrifying power; his meridians, dantian, internal organs, and bones were all shattered. He could only lie on the ground, large mouthfuls of blood spraying from the corners of his mouth, mixed with clots of internal organs.

With the Great Array gone, he likely had little life left. Why? He had clearly calculated everything, yet he still lost.

It was just like when they surrounded and killed Mu Zishan back then; everything was clearly a sure win, yet in the end, it was a total defeat.

"I must live, I must survive, no matter what, I must survive!"

Even at this moment, a glimmer was still flickering in Liang Zeheng's eyes as he struggled to crawl up. But it was as if he had lost even the last bit of strength; he could not struggle at all.

The next moment, a sword appeared and plunged directly into his chest, extinguishing his life force almost instantly.

"I said, I said I could kill you, so I definitely could kill you. I generally don't lie."

Shen Yu's voice came to his ears, and the last trace of spirit in Liang Zeheng's eyes vanished, yet until the very end, his gaze was looking toward the distant north.

There, in that distant Cold Valley, beneath the ten-thousand-foot glacier, there was still someone waiting for him.

He had used unscrupulous means to survive, not for his own sake, but in the hope that one day she could live.

For this, he could spare nothing; for this, he could use any means; he could betray his conscience, and even his soul, just to be able to see her one more time.

Now, there was no hope; in the end, there was no hope. The final meeting would never happen.

Fortunately, he had left a letter, just in case he was the one to go first one day.

If one day she could luckily survive, he hoped she would see the letter he left behind. She would understand that he was a ruthless and vicious heartless man, and he believed she would forget him and start a new life.

Even if he could live, he was already a man who had killed countless people, while she remained as pure as a white lotus; they were, after all, no longer people of the same path.

Whether he could live or not, it was impossible for them. Of all the regrets in this world, nothing is more heartbreaking than to seek and not obtain.