Chapter 650: Breaking the Array

What's going on?

Sha Li Fei heard and immediately grew frantic.

This is a trap.

Yin Jiuling, gritting his teeth from pain, spoke: "After entering Luoyang City, we realized something was wrong… to stabilize the array's core, we had to split up; and to breach the Wang Fu, only the young brother could do it—no one else could."

"I thought that with Li Yan's cultivation, no matter what array, if he could disrupt even a little, forcing Wang Xuanmo to reveal a trace of Qi, we could summon the Yin Si troops to assist—so I went along with the plan."

"But now it seems the opponent's array is far more complex than we thought…"

Then how do we break the array?

Sha Li Fei asked, his eyes filled with worry.

Yin Jiuling shook his head: "Too far away to see clearly—we need someone to hold the array here, while the rest escort me into the main hall; perhaps we might…"

Boom!

Before he could finish, a thunderclap from the sky cut him off.

The thunder was extraordinarily loud, deafening, and the lightning instantly illuminated heaven and earth.

Everyone couldn't help but look up.

Above, the heavens had changed utterly.

The sky had been a deep crimson, transformed into blood-red after the clash between the "Six Nations Demon Army" and the "Sui Hou Snake Pearl"; now, a massive vortex appeared.

At its center, lightning flickered, and the clouds faintly took the shape of a tripod.

"No good—the Yu Zhou Ding is about to emerge!"

Yin Jiuling saw it and his face turned pale.

At that moment, Wang Daoxuan also sensed something, pulling out his Luo Pan from his robe.

This Luo Pan was unusual—its base was petrified turtle shell.

It had been forged from the "Xuan Yuan Jia" Wang Daoxuan obtained from the Long Gong water palace.

At this moment, the needle on the Luo Pan was leaping rapidly.

It seemed chaotic, yet carried some hidden pattern.

"You have the 'Xuan Yuan Jia'?"

Yin Jiuling saw it and cried out: "Quick, let me see it."

Wang Daoxuan handed it over, puzzled: "Senior, I've never seen such signs before. With the earth Qi so chaotic, it may be impossible to discern anything."

"You don't understand."

Yin Jiuling didn't waste words—he explained directly: "In ancient times, the 'Xuan Yuan Jia' was used for divination; the Luo Pan forged from it doesn't just observe earth Qi—it's also influenced by the stars, so it requires a special method."

As he spoke, he glanced around and spotted several broken green lanterns beside some Japanese monks; he quickly ordered Sha Li Fei to retrieve a still-intact mirror from one, then swiftly traced dots and lines with a cinnabar brush, drawing a simple star chart.

Sha Li Fei turned to look at the royal palace, growing more anxious: "Senior, can this thing break the array?"

Yin Jiuling said gravely: "I misjudged one move. If Wang Xuanmo wanted to set an array capable of trapping Li Yan, he couldn't possibly have done it in such a short time within the Wang Fu's main hall—unless he borrowed the ancient Mangshan array."

"Qin-era arrays differed from today's—they mostly used celestial configurations…"

As he spoke, the star chart was complete, reflected onto the Luo Pan.

By candlelight, everyone examined it closely.

The previously erratic needle now appeared orderly in the mirror's reflection.

Each pause pointed precisely to a star.

"I understand!"

Yin Jiuling glanced again at the royal palace and said gravely: "This is the 'Eight Gates Life-Death Array.'"

"Within Qianyang Hall, the eight gates—Rest, Life, Injury, Obstruction, Scene, Death, Alarm, Opening—are arranged to correspond with the False Yin Si's Twenty-Eight Mansions and Luoyang's Seven Stars Dragon Lock Array; it's the Tian Peng Snake Formation. The Sui Hou Snake Pearl corresponds to the Qimen 'Tian Peng Star,' governing water's sinister transformation, concealing the Zi Wei Yuan star position."

"If I'm not mistaken, the Ghost Emperor can alternate the Death and Alarm Gates, causing the Injury and Scene Gates to cycle…"

Sha Li Fei's head spun: "Senior, just tell us what will happen!"

It will create a situation where things are close yet unreachable—no immediate danger to life, but impossible to escape.

Yin Jiuling said gravely: "The method to break it is simple—this array requires the Three Odd and Six Yi to lock it. The array's core must be hidden in the six palaces to the east and west; smash it, and the array collapses."

He looked up at the sky, his face filled with sorrow: "Li Yan's side is manageable—but once the Yu Zhou Ding emerges, the Central Plains will face a great calamity."

"Senior, don't worry—there's still time."

Wang Daoxuan said gravely: "The Shaolin monks have brought the Dharma Shadow Wall."

"Then that's good!"

Yin Jiuling's eyes lit up: "Quick! I'll hold this place—you go break the array!"

…………

Mangshan, Northern Wei Imperial Tombs.

Since the collapse of the Qin Palace's False Yin Si, the place had already been in ruins.

The clash of two forces had flooded the sky with bloodlight, widening the cracks like a spiderweb across the earth.

Amidst the bloodlight, Buddhist chants echoed.

Even the thunder could not drown them out.

Huiyuan, the Shaolin warrior monk leader, led the monks in formation, seated across different zones.

From above, they formed a massive lotus.

All monks sat cross-legged, chanting while striking wooden fish.

"Namo Sātātā, Sūgādāyā, Arhate, Samyaksambuddhāya…"

They chanted the Lengyan Mantra—the king of all mantras.

In addition, eighteen warrior monks circled the perimeter, holding demon-subduing staves.

Tied to the staff ends were horsehair, like brushes, dipped in the temple's sacred sandalwood oil; as they moved, they gradually traced the Nine-Petal Lotus Pattern onto the ground.

As the Lengyan Mantra echoed, the oil marks ignited upon contact with evil.

Blue flames rolled, faintly forming a lotus pattern that enveloped the site.

This was the Buddhist ritual to suppress evil: incense-bound barrier.

Combined with the Lengyan Mantra, even the fiercest demons could be subdued.

Indeed, though the bloodlight remained fierce, the ground's trembling had lessened greatly.

Boom!

At that moment, the thunder Wang Daoxuan had seen above echoed here too.

All monks spat blood and collapsed.

The lotus formed by the incense vanished instantly.

Huiyuan looked up at the slowly forming tripod-shaped cloud, his expression grim: "The Yu Zhou Ding is about to emerge. All of you—invoke the Buddha's treasure!"

"Amitabha Buddha."

The monks struggled to rise, chanting in unison.

A large bronze box was opened, revealing a green stone shadow wall.

Over seven feet tall, its surface pitted by millennia of erosion, faintly forming a blurred human shape.

This was the Shaolin Temple's most sacred treasure: the Dharma Shadow Wall.

In the Daoist world, this artifact was legendary.

Legend says Bodhidharma sat facing a stone wall in a cave atop Wuru Peak of Songshan for nine years, his form imprinting into the stone.

The stone absorbed Zen essence; generations of high monks inscribed Sanskrit passages from the Lankavatara Sutra to repair it, gradually transforming it into a sacred demon-subduing object.

Originally a Chan meditation tool, it was secretly buried by warrior monks during Emperor Wuzong's persecution of Buddhism, escaping destruction.

Its most famous feat occurred during the Yuan You era of the Northern Song: when the Yellow River burst its banks, monks sank the wall into the riverbed for three days.

Three days later, a jiao corpse floated up from the river, along with giant fish and turtles; burning them with peach wood produced foul smoke spreading a hundred li, after which the Yellow River remained calm for ten years.

Faint inscriptions still visible on the wall read: "July 23, Yuan You Fourth Year—Suppressed River Demon Here."

This was why Wang Daoxuan and Yin Jiuling felt slightly relieved.

Now, as the shadow wall was erected in the center of the array, the monks re-formed the lotus formation.

As the monks chanted, Master Huiyuan rhythmically struck the wall with a purple sandalwood mallet.

Visible ripples spread from the indented areas, forcing the surging blood mist back into the cracks.

Then, Huiyuan bit his fingertip and wrote four large characters on the wall's back:

Originally No Mind!

These were the four-character verse from the Northern Wei Taihe era's tale of "Huike Cutting Off His Arm."

It was also the secret incantation to fully activate the Buddha's treasure.

As the blood seeped into the stone's fissures, a faint image of Bodhidharma seated in lotus posture appeared on the wall.

Instantly, the wall's Qi swelled uncontrollably.

It felt like a towering mountain pressing down upon the Northern Wei Imperial Tombs.

The previously trembling, rising ground returned to flatness.

Yet the earth Qi continued to surge.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

With each muffled rumble from below, dust fell from the shadow wall.

"Master."

A nearby monk, eyes filled with anguish, spoke: "Below is the Yu Zhou Ding—this Buddha treasure may not endure it. If it breaks…"

Master Huiyuan gazed at the blood characters he had written, clasped his hands together, and said solemnly, "Amitabha Buddha—originally there is no mind, originally there is no thing; if even a thread of life remains, destroying this treasure is its karmic consequence."

"This… where is any chance of life?"

The monk's face twisted in anguish.

Master Huiyuan cast him a cold glance.

"If you do not persist, how will you ever find where the chance lies?"

"Yes, Master."

The disciple immediately drew back his neck, inwardly sighing in despair.

"What kind of time is this, and he still has the heart for Zen riddles…"

………

Inside Qianyang Palace, the battle had ended.

Li Yan panted, gripping the Broken Dust Blade, while ash filled the air around him.

All the paper puppets and ghost-ship yin soldiers that had surged into the hall had been slain by him.

He had effectively wiped out an entire altar's worth of She Ling troops.

If this feat became known, it would surely cause a sensation.

Yet the thunder stored within the Soul-Grabbing Chain had been entirely consumed.

As Li Yan's shoulders rose and fell, sparks of lightning crackled, and his form returned to normal.

He gazed upward, his eyes brimming with killing intent, yet he did not move.

He had finally witnessed the power of a supreme array.

No matter what method he tried, he could never draw near.

A mere short distance had become as distant as heaven and earth.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Above the hall, applause echoed.

Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo rose slowly, clapping his hands as he shook his head and laughed, "No wonder Zhao Changsheng ordered your pursuit—you're young, yet you've mastered this art. But your cultivation is still shallow."

"In ancient times, Zhang Daoling also knew this method—he suppressed the Six Heavens' ancient qi atop Crane Cry Mountain and established the authority of the Zhengyi Covenant. Though he relied on the power of a Great Luo artifact, back then he was truly peerless under heaven and earth."

"That prestige… hmm, had you even one-tenth of it, you'd never be trapped by me."

"Pity—this realm of laws will never allow such a person to appear again…"

Li Yan paid no heed to his words, turning his gaze to the surroundings, leaving no detail unexamined.

He knew time was running out.

It had already passed Zi Hour—if he did not break this array soon, he could not stop the Ding of Yu Province.

Boom!

At that moment, the hall suddenly trembled.

Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo snapped his head toward Mangshan, his face alight with unrestrained joy. "Hahahaha! It's done!"

"The Ding of Yu Province has been pulled up! The thousand-year plan of Jianmu is now mine to wield. When I take this treasure out to sea, who in heaven or earth will dare oppose me?"

"Dream on!"

Li Yan's heart sank, his voice growing colder. "Out to sea? You won't even leave Luoyang!"

"Heh."

Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo laughed in disbelief. "Long ago, the Northern Court's Daoist sects said the same to me. Yet here I still live, while they've turned to dust—so much so that even their names are forgotten."

"I depart now. You stay here and play alone…"

With that, he formed a hand seal, and a flurry of white paper talismans fluttered from his body.

Each one brimmed with dense yin energy, binding tormented spirits and vengeful ghosts.

Inside the hall, a furious wind howled.

The talismans wrapped him in swirling black smoke.

Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo's figure grew increasingly faint.

The Five Ghosts Transporting Method!

Seeing this, Li Yan's head throbbed.

When perfected, this technique surpasses ordinary escape arts—it can cover a hundred li in an instant.

Back in Chengdu's Wang Mansion, Hou Sheng had used this very method to flee.

He never expected Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo to know it too.

If he escaped now, Li Yan would be trapped here, and no one on Mangshan could stop him.

At that very moment, Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan had each infiltrated the Eastern and Western Six Palaces.

Inside the palaces, corpses littered the ground.

In the center of the hall stood a coffin.

Every corpse had been ripped open, their blood flowing steadily toward the coffin.

Boom!

Without hesitation, Sha Lifei raised his Divine Fire Gun and pulled the trigger.

The Divine Fire Gun's power could shatter bronze coffins—how much more this wooden one?

With a thunderous crash, the coffin shattered.

Half a corpse rolled out—its attire suggested a noble from the Six States, but its body was now covered in hair, transformed into a jiangshi.

Even after being split in two by the Divine Fire Gun, the half-body still trembled faintly.

A violent wind surged through the hall, blinding Sha Lifei.

Meanwhile, inside Qianyang Palace, events took a turn.

Li Yan suddenly felt his Soul-Register grow hot in his chest—he immediately rejoiced.

He didn't know why, but he would not miss this chance.

"Heaven has its order, earth its law; the Yin Bureau seizes souls, the living must retreat!"

Whoosh~

As the incantation was spoken, dark yin winds surged through the hall, plunging it into darkness.

The clanking of chains and the clatter of armor echoed.

"Old man, where are you running?!"

Li Yan laughed aloud, gripping the Broken Dust Blade tightly.

The Yin Bureau troops would not be trapped by this array.

The vast quantity of earth-yin energy carried from the Underworld was enough to shatter the entire array.

Moreover, the Underworld soldiers had already locked onto him—even if he escaped a hundred li away using the Five Ghosts Transporting Method, he would still be captured.

"Die!"

True enough, Ghost Emperor Wang Xuanmo, enraged, halted his technique.

Yet facing the rapidly spreading darkness, he did not panic—instead, he pulled a silk scroll from his robe.

Seeing it, Li Yan's pupils shrank sharply.

The "Precious Declaration of the Earth Official's Pardon of Sins"!

This was a Great Luo artifact—Lu Sheng had used one before, capable of repelling Yin soldiers.

How could such a priceless item be so common?!

Just now, Wang Xuanmo had let slip a name.

Jianmu!

Was that their organization?

Who in the Great Luo Realm was backing them?

A flood of thoughts flashed through Li Yan's mind.

No time to wait—he formed another hand seal, and eight paper puppets shot up, spinning around him.

His Divine Transformation Art was not limited to the Thunder God form.

Absorbing sufficient yin-sha qi, and with the Jiachi of the Eight Outer Altar Generals, he could transform into a Mingshen.

The vast earth-yin qi brought by the Underworld soldiers was perfect for absorption.

True enough, as Wang Xuanmo unveiled the scroll, a voice rang out from the darkness.

"It's the 'Precious Declaration of the Earth Official's Pardon of Sins'—fall back."

"Master… the living yin officer is absorbing yin qi."

"Ignore it."

Meanwhile, Wang Xuanmo, seeing the scroll take effect and the darkness recede, sighed in relief.

Before he could react, a massive black shadow descended from above…

(End of Chapter)