Chapter 489: Bi Shui Palace

One and a half months later.

The largest lake in the Chaos Spirit Realm, known as the “Cloud Xia Lake” and nicknamed the “Little Spirit Sea,” spans a thousand li in area, containing not only one Class-Three major spiritual vein but over ten large and medium-sized spiritual veins.

Around this vast lake, resembling a small ocean, thick white mist constantly shrouded the area; not only ordinary mortals, but even typical Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment cultivators could not penetrate even a fraction of the lake.

Occasionally, cultivators or spirit vessels passed in and out of the mist, mostly dressed in Bi Shui Palace attire or bearing the emblem of a “green water droplet” representing the Bi Shui Palace.

Wherever these Bi Shui Palace cultivators and spirit vessels passed, the mist parted automatically—clearly, they all carried special artifacts capable of identifying their identities.

On this day, a bone boat soared through the sky from afar.

The boat bore no markings, but one young man dressed in Bi Shui Palace robes simply raised his hand; a semi-transparent green token flew out and plunged directly into the front railing, instantly radiating brilliant blue light.

The moment the white mist touched the green light, it rolled apart, clearing a passage.

The bone boat flew straight in without pause.

“Comrade Wang, this mist may seem unremarkable, but it is in fact the outermost barrier of the sect’s Class-Four grand array: the ‘Ten Thousand Waves, Thousand Folds Water Absorption Array.’

This mist is not an ordinary illusionary barrier—it possesses extreme corrosive power; even cultivators like us, at the Foundation Establishment stage, if trapped inside for too long, will dissolve into a pool of thick fluid.

On the bone boat, Yan Lingxiang, standing at the front to guide the way, explained this to Wang Yu beside him.

“Class-Four grand array!”

Hearing this, Wang Yu’s heart tightened.

The Four Symbols Sect also had a sect-wide array; back then, its Golden Core cultivators had even used the sect array to fight off more numerous demonic Golden Core cultivators.

Yet even so, the Four Symbols Sect’s array barely reached Class-Three level.

It took the combined effort of the sect’s only two array specialists, years of labor, to complete it.

Array specialists were naturally ranked by tier.

Those who could independently utilize celestial timing and terrestrial advantages to establish complete large-scale arrays were collectively called formal array specialists.

Those who could only set up partial arrays or localized barriers were merely called array specialist apprentices.

Unlike alchemists and artifact forgers, formal array specialists began at Class-Two—there was no such thing as a Class-One array specialist. Those who could independently establish a complete Class-Two array were Class-Two array specialists; those who could establish a complete Class-Three array were Class-Three array specialists.

This was because Class-One arrays were useless—whether for trapping enemies or inflicting damage, they only worked on Qi Condensation cultivators, so most sects classified those who could set up Class-One arrays as apprentices.

Ximen Mei had been exactly like this.

Though young, she could already establish a complete Class-One array alone, showing great potential in array arts; yet in the Four Symbols Sect, she remained merely an array apprentice, not a formal array specialist.

For cultivation sects, it was better to invest heavy resources in nurturing young apprentices with array potential and talent than to recruit middle-aged or elderly array specialists who could only set up Class-One arrays.

After all, the former still had hope of advancing to Class-Two or Three, offering great value to the sect, while the latter had reached their limit—lifelong, they could only ever set up Class-One arrays.

Yet compared to alchemists and artifact forgers, array specialists were far rarer. Though major sects looked down on “Class-One array apprentice,” outside the sects, even a Class-One array was valuable to wandering cultivators or small factions—better than having no array protection at all.

Thus, beyond sect walls, “Class-One array apprentices” remained in high demand, often hired by cultivation families or wandering cultivators to set up and maintain arrays, and respectfully called “array specialists.”

The Sang Daoist who helped Wang Yu set up the “Three Peaks Water Mist Array” in Mi Shan Sect was exactly like this—he could only set up Class-One arrays, so he was merely listed as a guest minister of the Bi Shui Palace, never directly taken in and cultivated by them.

After all, even though Class-Two array specialists were scarce, for a top-tier sect possessing Nascent Soul elders and controlling one-third of a major region, they naturally had no shortage—what they likely lacked were only Class-Three and above array specialists.

Wang Yu quickly weighed this in his mind as the bone boat transformed into a white light and flew over ten li; suddenly, the view brightened, revealing before him a vast, boundless lake, white as mist.

Beneath the bone boat, slender leaf-shaped boats floated on the water, where numerous agile mortal fishermen cast nets to catch fish.

After the bone boat flashed past, it left these boats far behind.

After flying forward only a few li, over a dozen Bi Shui Palace disciples were gently herding flocks of snow-white, pointed-beaked water birds, calmly capturing large fish from the lake.

Thus, after flying across the lake for some time and encountering over a dozen waves of Bi Shui Palace cultivators and ordinary boats, they finally saw ahead a massive wooden wall, over ten zhang tall, stretching endlessly on both sides.

As the bone boat flew directly over the towering wooden wall, they could see on the lake behind it a cluster of giant wooden ships forming floating islands.

The largest were several li in diameter, the smallest about an mu in size, densely packed, countless in number, linked together by wooden bridges.

On these wooden ship islands, countless mortals could be seen walking, while cultivators flew low above them.

“This is the outermost mortal settlement of the Bi Shui Palace. All boats here are made of non-tiered ‘Ironwood’—harder than ordinary stone and able to float on water for a hundred years without rotting. The residents are all mortal relatives of palace disciples and the usual haunt of outer sect disciples.

Many of our disciples grew up here, and only after their spiritual roots were detected did they join the Bi Shui Palace—I myself was one such case.

The Bi Shui Palace’s External Affairs Hall maintains a branch here, along with several external shops, and the palace’s enforcement squad patrols regularly. This is also where the second layer of our sect’s grand array lies.”

On the bone boat, Yan Lingxiang gazed down at the floating islands as he spoke, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“So that’s how it is—there really are many mortals here.” Wang Yu looked at the endless expanse of floating islands, visibly moved; yet after scanning with his spiritual sense, he detected no trace of the so-called “second layer barrier,” and grew suspicious.

Yan Lingxiang offered no further explanation; under his urging, the bone boat flew past this “floating island” region and continued another ten li across the lake.

Before them appeared a massive island shaped like a pyramid.

From afar, the island’s diameter was at least thirty to forty li, rising a thousand zhang above the lake’s surface, narrowing layer by layer upward, each tier densely planted with lush green trees, and faintly visible structures—appearing entirely emerald green. Above its peak, countless five-colored ribbons danced in the air, exuding profound mystery.

“Is this the Bi Shui Palace?” Wang Yu asked, gazing at the distant emerald giant.

“Heh, of course not. Since it’s called the Bi Shui Palace, it’s naturally a palace—you’re only seeing the very top of it.” Yan Lingxiang chuckled, his tone tinged with mystery.