Chapter 97: Deploying the Array (The chapter is now available for subscription, please subscribe)

What happens next has absolutely nothing to do with Xu Chen.

A group of Great Cultivators and Danyuan Realm powerhouses held a closed-door consultation for nearly an hour, and once everything was agreed upon, they set off together to observe the situation at Spirit Fox Valley and set up an array according to the local conditions.

All the cultivators waiting outside the great hall were naturally filled with excitement, and one after another, they rode their swords into the air to follow along and watch the spectacle.

When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up; this is a consensus shared by everyone in both the Immortal and mortal worlds.

The group of Spirit Realm Great Cultivators and Danyuan Realm powerhouses, having the highest cultivation, naturally face the greatest pressure and must exert the most effort.

Once things spiral out of control, perhaps it is mostly low-to-mid-tier cultivators and ordinary mortals who will die, but once the foundation of the Immortal World is shaken, no Immortal Sect, large or small, will be able to protect itself in the future.

Many have even begun to associate this with the reasons for the destruction of the Taiyuan Sect back then, thinking it might be related to this leakage of Nether Qi, and naturally, they became even more nervous and worried, not daring to be the slightest bit careless or shirk their responsibilities.

Xu Chen and Lan You, due to their special status, were taken by the five True Monarchs and arrived near Spirit Fox Valley in a short while.

As for the other low-to-mid-tier cultivators of the Kaiyuan Realm and Zhenyuan Realm, they only arrived two or three quarters of an hour later.

By the time they arrived, the five True Monarchs had already finished surveying the dozens of miles covered by black smoke in Spirit Fox Valley and began directing over ten Danyuan Realm cultivators to prepare for the array deployment.

Chixia Zhenjun stood a thousand zhang high in the air above the center of the pit where black smoke was churning, while the four Spirit Transformation True Monarchs—Xuanchenzi, Baiyunzi, Yuyangzi, and Taiwuzi—were distributed in the east, south, west, and north, and more than ten Danyuan Realm cultivators were also treading on air in the surrounding perimeter, standing by in battle formation.

As for the cultivators who arrived later to watch the spectacle, they all stood on their Magic Treasures ten miles away, suspended in the air to watch, completely unable to intervene.

"Daoist Friend Taiwu, you may begin!" Chixia Zhenjun's voice rang out in the ears of the group of Great Cultivators.

"Very well!" Taiwuzi flipped his hand to retrieve an Eight-Trigram Array Disk, raised his hand to toss it into the center of the pit below where black smoke was rolling, then formed a hand seal and tapped it lightly; the array disk boomed and expanded to a size of a hundred zhang, emitting a terrifying aura, and a massive array of light and shadow exploded in all directions, quickly expanding to a radius of several miles, shrouding the entire pit within it.

"Wow, that is the Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure from Longmen Mountain, the Eight Extremes Sea-Suppressing Disk."

"Such a fierce aura; if a Danyuan Realm cultivator went inside, they probably wouldn't be able to get out."

"Pah, let alone a Danyuan Realm cultivator, even one in the Spirit Transformation Realm wouldn't find it easy to get out. This is the town-sect Magic Treasure of Longmen Mountain, no less impressive than the Five Elements Illusion Cloud Flag of Yuqing Hall."

"Forget it, how can the Eight Extremes Array compare to the Five Elements Flag? The Five Elements Flag is a Fifth-Rank Magic Treasure capable of trapping a True Spirit Realm Great Cultivator."

A group of low-to-mid-tier cultivators stood on the outermost perimeter watching; those who knew their stuff began to get excited and clamor loudly, and some even started to argue.

The group of True Monarchs and Danyuan Realm cultivators knew the matter was of extreme importance, so to avoid causing turmoil in the Immortal World, they held a closed-door consultation to keep the whole affair compressed among the upper echelons; thus, these low-to-mid-tier cultivators did not know the severity of the situation and were instead filled with excitement as they watched the spectacle.

Xu Chen and Lan You stood together without any verbal exchange, but listening to the chaotic noise and clamor before them, they couldn't help but exchange a glance.

Ever since they had witnessed that massive array disk that imprisoned the Ancient Fierce Beast, this so-called Fourth-Rank Eight Extremes Sea-Suppressing Disk before them was completely like child's play to the two of them.

Their broadened horizons were no longer something these low-to-mid-tier cultivators could compare with.

Even the knowledge of the group of Great Cultivators could not imagine the terror of that fierce beast and the impact and pressure brought by the massive array.

Especially when the two of them had fallen onto the array disk, they truly discovered that the disk looked like a continent in their eyes; it was not a flat surface at all, but rather, amidst the churning light and shadow of runes, it presented a vast, boundless land that seemed to have no edges, and it not only had mountains and rivers but also emitted an ancient, terrifying aura that was even more horrifying than the pressure brought by the fierce beast.

Therefore, this Fourth-Rank town-sect Magic Treasure of Longmen Mountain was nothing more than mediocre in their eyes, and there was no need to be so excited or to argue over it.

"Alright, the array disk has been activated. Everyone, follow my Divine Sense, infuse your Spirit Qi, and completely stabilize the array disk."

Amidst the clamor and noise, Taiwuzi's voice soon rang out. The four True Monarchs and more than ten Danyuan Realm cultivators acted simultaneously, and suddenly, rolling Spirit Qi surged into the sky, turning into streams of green light and mist that poured into the array disk like a brook. The massive array of light and shadow became increasingly bright until it finally emitted a blinding five-colored spirit light, and under Taiwuzi's control, it boomed and smashed into the depths of the pit.

Accompanied by a ground-shaking roar, the pit where the Black Wind was gushing seemed to be pressed down by an invisible hand; the black mist suddenly diminished by more than half, and then a large amount of rock and soil rolled up from underground, quickly gathering and taking shape within the light and shadow of the array. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the collapsed cavern of the entire Spirit Fox Valley had completely changed its appearance, forming a strange, sealed array.

The array undulated with the terrain, featuring stone walls and gullies, and was covered in crisscrossing patterns of trigram runes.

In the center of the array was a black-and-white Yin-Yang fish, a hundred zhang in diameter, which was exactly the same size as the expanded array disk.

At this moment, Black Wind gushed out from the black eye of the Yin-Yang fish, thick as ink, but it did not dissipate; instead, it constantly dispersed along the surrounding trigram runes, then slowly gathered again along the stone walls and gullies, and except for a small portion that escaped into the sky, most of it returned and flowed back into the ground through the white eye of the Yin-Yang fish.

Of course, the array disk only suppressed the Black Wind passage in the center of the pit, but wisps of Black Wind still sprayed out from rock fissures around the array, gathering into thick smoke that rushed into the high sky.

However, compared to the previous situation where the Black Wind roared straight into the sky, the scale was more than a hundred times smaller.

"Alright, the Eight Extremes Array is complete. Fellow Daoists, you may stop!"

As Taiwuzi's voice rang out again, the four True Monarchs and more than ten Danyuan Realm cultivators stopped almost simultaneously. Some of the lower-cultivation Danyuan Realm cultivators were already pale-faced with sweat on their foreheads; clearly, deploying this array required a massive amount of Spirit Qi.

Yet, not a single person dared to hold back; instead, they all gave it their all.

"Yeah!"

The hundreds of cultivators watching from the surroundings erupted in cheers and applause.

Although Xu Chen was calm inside, he actually felt a sense of relief.

After all, with this array suppressing it, at least the area near the Taiyuan Sect would be relatively safe for the time being.

The Eight Extremes Array is a Fourth-Rank Magic Treasure, and logically speaking, it should be able to imprison at least a Fourth-Rank Demon Beast from escaping.

The only Fourth-Rank Demon Beast he had seen so far was the Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrow of Yuqing Hall, and based on his cultivation, he could not feel its limit at all.

As for the giant spider and the two-headed giant bat encountered in the cavern, they could absolutely not have reached the Fourth-Rank; at most, they were at the early stage of the Third-Tier.

Otherwise, the two of them would never have had any chance of survival.

After suppressing Spirit Fox Valley, the few Spirit Realm Great Cultivators took the group of Danyuan Realm cultivators and Xu Chen and Lan You to Black Wind Ridge.

Because the distance was relatively far, the group of Zhenyuan Realm and Kaiyuan Realm cultivators could not keep up at all, so they all had to stay behind with regret.

Upon arriving at Black Wind Ridge, Xu Chen discovered that the changes were indeed quite significant. The once bare and towering mountain ridge had collapsed severely; half of the mountain peak was gone, and the fissure they had previously used to enter and exit had collapsed to the point of disappearing. Half of the mountain was still billowing black smoke, and the Black Wind roared straight into the sky, dyeing the sky for over a hundred miles black; the momentum was truly terrifying.

The five Great Cultivators and the group of Danyuan Realm cultivators were also filled with horror.

If Xu Chen had not told them what happened below, perhaps everyone would not have been so afraid, but knowing that below was a passage leading directly to the Netherworld and that it had lost the suppression of the Ancient Fierce Beast, everyone was even more worried.

This time, the one responsible for presiding over the array deployment was Chixia Zhenjun. He waved his hand and unleashed five-colored Spirit Qi—green, red, crimson, white, and black—which transformed into command flags over a hundred zhang high, standing like giant pillars supporting the sky above the ridges and valleys around Black Wind Ridge. On the large flags, the five spirit-light characters for Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth fluttered noisily, their brilliance shining and reflecting across a hundred miles.

After everyone once again injected massive amounts of Spirit Qi together to activate the array, the five command flags descended from the sky, roaring as they smashed into the ground and disappeared. Then, five-colored brilliance soared into the sky, transforming into five giant peaks standing within a ten-mile radius of Black Wind Ridge, releasing a terrifying aura that instantly suppressed the spraying and roaring Black Wind.

With the black mist losing its source of replenishment, the black fog that had been permeating and churning began to dissipate. In less than half an hour, the large areas of mountains, fields, and valleys that had been shrouded in black fog slowly revealed their original appearance.

However, the trees and plants within the area covered by the black mist had all withered, and the lingering black mist left no sign of life.

And within this black mist, they actually discovered dozens of black demon beasts of varying sizes and strange shapes, resembling sea beasts.

Although the group of Great Cultivators crushed all these demon beasts into fragments with a wave of their hands, causing them to dissipate into black mist, and also harvested more than ten Soul Beads of varying sizes, everyone's expression became even more solemn and uneasy.

"Alright, the array is complete. As long as no extremely powerful Soul Beast appears in the short term, it should be able to temporarily suppress the Nether Qi. However, we must not lower our guard. According to the previous arrangements, each Immortal Sect shall quickly select and arrange personnel to take turns guarding this place, rotating every six months. At least one Danyuan Realm cultivator must be stationed here. This time, my Yuqing Hall will take the first watch. Where is Yiyun Zhenren?"

"This Disciple is here!"

At Chixia Zhenjun's inquiry, a burly, black-haired cultivator from Yuqing Hall, appearing to be about forty years old, stepped forward and bowed with his hands folded.

"You shall be stationed here this time. You may select ten Zhenyuan Realm Disciples from Yuqing Hall to stay behind, and other Immortal Sects will also arrange for cultivators to come and assist. Observe everything carefully, act with caution, and do not be careless."

"This Disciple obeys the order!" Yiyun Zhenren bowed again and withdrew.

Only then did Chixia Zhenjun turn his head to say to Xuanchen Zhenjun, "Spirit Fox Valley is right near the Taiyuan Sect; I must trouble Daoist Brother Xuan Chen to arrange for people to keep watch. If anything happens, you may send word to notify all the Immortal Sects, and we will certainly come to assist in time."

Xuanchen Zhenjun's heart felt much lighter at this moment, and with a face full of gratitude, he performed a formal bow and said, "That is only natural. Many thanks, Senior Chixia!"

"No need for such formalities. This matter concerns the safety of both the immortal and mortal realms of our Great Song; it is truly a matter of course. Since the Spirit Transformation Ceremony is concluded and the Array has been completed, I shall not stay any longer. Upon returning this time, I still need to go to the surrounding kingdoms to inquire if there are any other strange phenomena, and at the same time, notify the immortal worlds of the neighboring countries about this matter. Farewell, fellow Daoist Friends!"

"Respectfully sending off Senior Chixia!"

Amidst the bowing of a crowd of Spirit Transformation Realm and Danyuan Realm cultivators, Chixia Zhenjun transformed into a red cloud and departed in an instant, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Today is the launch, so I won't post a separate launch announcement. I hope new and old readers will give plenty of support to this new book by Lao Ke. If you have money, please support with money; if you don't, please support with your presence. Please also try your best to support with your monthly guaranteed votes. Lao Ke will also try his best to write a fairly exciting cultivation story.

(End of this chapter)