After spending two hours recovering, he came out into the courtyard. The Pill Treasure Pavilion's medicinal ingredients had long since arrived, and the eight-day deadline was drawing ever closer.
An exquisite scabbard lay on the courtyard's stone table. He picked it up and slid his short saber inside. It fit perfectly.
He drew the short saber, and a terrifying streak of Saber Qi shot out. The pillar standing in the middle of the courtyard suddenly collapsed.
It had been severed at the waist, leaving an impeccably clean cut.
He had mastered all seven forms of the Blood Rainbow Saber Technique, but had yet to fully apply them in actual combat. He lacked no experience, but he did lack practical combat ability.
The two were not the same concept. It was like an architect: he could design a house and be filled with learning, but that did not necessarily mean he could cut bricks and lay tiles. The principle was the same.
Killing was a technical craft, not merely discussing warfare on paper.
He needed actual combat to hone his saber technique and blend his body with his soul, bringing the two into perfect harmony.
He set aside two hours to refine several hundred Heavenly Spirit Pills. Having reached the Xiantian Realm, he found refining them even more effortless, and every batch had an extremely high success rate.
With the Heavenly Spirit Pills tucked away, he left the Xu Household.
Breaking through to the Xiantian Realm was only a beginning. He still had much, much more to do.
He headed neither to the Pill Treasure Pavilion nor to the weapons workshop, but to the Song Household's array hall.
The Song Household was renowned for its arrays. They had set up many arrays for martial artists to cultivate in, including killing arrays, illusion arrays, and others. These could simulate all kinds of scenarios, something the beast-fighting arena could not do.
Each had its strengths. It was not necessarily a matter of one being better or worse.
Hunting Demon Beasts was too monotonous. It suited ordinary martial artists, but not Liu Wuxie.
The Song Household had only one array hall, situated in the far northwestern part of Canglan City. It occupied an enormous area and was divided into numerous arrays. Following his memories, he traveled for two hours before a sprawling complex of buildings appeared ahead, built along the mountain.
This was the Song Household's array hall.
An endless stream of people came and went. Many martial artists liked cultivating in the array hall, with its many variations and comprehensive selection. That was the advantage of arrays.
Those training their footwork chose the Meteor Array, while those who enjoyed slaughter chose the Baleful Intent Breaking Array, and so on.
Everyone could choose an array suited to their particular strengths. The beast-fighting arena could not offer that. Relying on its arrays, the Song Household had maintained its footing in Canglan City for over two hundred years.
Following the crowd, Liu Wuxie reached the registration desk. The arrays were divided into several categories, including Postnatal arrays and Innate arrays. Now that he was in the Xiantian Realm, he naturally could not choose a Postnatal array to cultivate in.
A group hurried in through the main entrance. Liu Wuxie spotted a familiar figure among them: Song Ling.
They entered a great hall, leaving the younger generation outside to stand guard. Something seemed to have happened at the array hall.
"I heard there seems to be a problem with the array hall's central hub. It might have fallen into disrepair over the years, leaving many arrays unable to activate."
Amid the crowd, he heard a great deal of discussion around him, though he did not know whether it was true.
The crowd ahead suddenly stopped moving, and a noisy commotion rose from the counter.
"What the hell? I queued for two hours, and now you're telling me all the arrays are full? No! I'm getting into an array to cultivate today!"
The rough voice carried to every corner. Several young men near Song Ling looked over, and the Song Household's guards began maintaining order.
Over the past few days, the Song Household's array hall had consistently failed to meet demand. Many arrays had stopped operating. Martial artists spent a great deal of time queuing, only to be told there were no arrays available, leaving them disgruntled.
The scene descended into chaos. Several hundred people had failed to get a spot and clamored for the Song Household to find a solution quickly. Many martial artists stuck at a bottleneck needed the pressure of an array to seek a breakthrough.
Song Ling came running over, his fat body jiggling as he apologized. This trouble with the Song Household had caught them by surprise as well.
Liu Wuxie was right there in the crowd. The little fatty spotted him at once and squeezed his bulky body through to stand before him.
"Brother, what brings you here too?"
He admired Liu Wuxie immensely. Last time, Liu Wuxie had swept through all opposition at the beast-fighting arena, and Song Ling had followed his bet in the final round to win three million gold coins. Lately, even his walk had acquired a swagger.
The little fatty had little interest in cultivation, but had studied the art of arrays quite deeply.
"What's wrong with the array hall?"
He had a very good impression of Song Ling. In that situation, only Song Ling had stood up to help him. If he had not later been forcibly taken away, he would certainly have stepped forward to fight at his side. Such a friend was worth having.
"Brother, let's talk over there. There are too many people here."
He pulled Liu Wuxie to a deserted spot that only members of the Song Household could enter. The surrounding clamor faded away.
"Brother, did you come to cultivate using an array too?" Song Ling hurriedly asked after they sat down.
He nodded. Having broken through to the Xiantian Realm, he needed an actual battle to consolidate his cultivation.
"You still haven't told me what's wrong with the array hall."
If he could not cultivate using an array, he would simply find another way. He did not particularly mind. The little fatty's brows knitted together; perhaps some matters were inconvenient to mention.
"It's all aggravating stuff. Better left unsaid. I know an array that still works. I'll take you there now."
Song Ling stood, pulled Liu Wuxie along, and hurried away. Ten minutes later, they appeared outside a dilapidated building.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
This array had not been activated for at least several decades. Dust covered everything around it. What was the little fatty up to?
"Brother, what realm are you in now?" Acting secretive, Song Ling glanced around. Finding no one else there, he asked in a low voice.
"The Ninth Layer of the Houtian Realm!"
He concealed his true cultivation, not wanting anyone to know yet that he had broken through to the Xiantian Realm.
"Then there's no problem. This array was set up by our Song Household's ancestor. It's a very strange array. It can adjust its level according to your cultivation realm. It hasn't been activated in many years."
Song Ling answered truthfully. The array had been set up by the Song Household's ancestor, but for some unknown reason, it had stood unused for decades.
"Why has it been left unused all this time?" Liu Wuxie asked.
Outside, people were clamoring that there were not enough arrays. Why not activate this one?
"Because... because people died inside. It was closed afterward. They said the array was out of control."
Song Ling felt somewhat regretful. He should not have brought Liu Wuxie here. He had been bewitched, perhaps because he admired Liu Wuxie so much.
"Now that's a little interesting."
Originally, Liu Wuxie had not held out much hope. The Song Household's arrays were suitable for cultivation, but lacked killing power. Only by walking the edge between life and death could he seek an opportunity to break through.
With his abilities, setting up a killing array would be all too easy. But arranging an array required a great quantity of materials, favorable timing and terrain, and a whole series of other conditions. With centuries of heritage, the Song Household had only managed to establish a single array hall. Liu Wuxie could not wait that long. Canglan City's resources were far too depleted.
Pushing open the wooden door, Liu Wuxie walked inside. Dust rushed toward his face, but a sweep of his Divine Sense sent it scattering away on its own.
The room was large, roughly five hundred square meters or more. This was certainly an enormous array.
"Brother, don't go in..." Song Ling hurried to stop him, but it was already too late. Liu Wuxie stepped into the array. "Brother, you're my own dear brother! This array really is strange. Let's get out of here."
Song Ling grew afraid. After they entered, the lights inside the room lit up on their own. The surrounding stone walls were built from rare ink-strip stone, which was incomparably hard.
Ordinary weapons could scarcely scratch it. Considerable resources had gone into building this array chamber. Leaving it unused for decades truly was a great loss.
He walked straight to the southeastern corner, where the array's core lay. Placing Spirit Stones there would activate it.
The other arrays were controlled by members of the Song Household. No one had visited this one in a long time, so Liu Wuxie could only activate it himself.
He placed all five of his remaining Spirit Stones into the recess. The entire room rattled, and the door abruptly slammed shut. Their surroundings suddenly changed, leaving the two of them standing on a plain.
Rumble!
The earth shook and the mountains trembled. Song Ling was so frightened that he fell onto his backside, thinking it was an earthquake.
"This array is quite good. It's suitable for my cultivation. Stay behind me, and keep close!"
With those words, Liu Wuxie pushed off the ground, his body turning into a meteor as he sped toward the source of the sound.
"Brother, wait for me!"
Scrambling up from the ground, he hurried after Liu Wuxie. Now that they had entered the array, they could only wait for the Spirit Stones to run out, or for someone outside to shut it down.
There was no getting out. This was no ordinary array. It could kill people.
A mass of dark shapes appeared ahead, drawing closer from the distance.
"Gray wolves. A thousand of them!"
A wicked smile touched Liu Wuxie's lips. He had suppressed his cultivation to the Ninth Layer of the Houtian Realm, and the gray wolves that appeared were likewise at the ninth layer of the first tier, matching his cultivation.
"Oh, my mother!"
Song Ling nearly wet himself in fright. He was only in the Acquired Seventh Layer Realm, and had reached even that through large quantities of pills. With so many ninth-layer, first-tier Demon Beasts, his fat body would not be enough to fill the gaps between the gray wolves' teeth.
"Turning illusion into reality. That requires the methods of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Could the Song Household's ancestor have been a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert?"
An intrigued look crossed Liu Wuxie's face. He grabbed Song Ling as a gray wolf sailed over his head. His short saber left its sheath, raising a spray of blood, and the wolf fell.
He finally understood why people could die inside the array. It had reached the level of turning illusion into reality. Although the creatures within were false, they could pass for the real thing. If someone who entered died inside, that death was real as well.
This was no ordinary Baleful Intent Breaking Array. It combined the subtleties of various arrays. The Song Household's ancestor truly had been talented.
A thousand gray wolves gathered around them, their eyes gleaming an eerie green that made one's skin crawl.
"Brother, I don't want to die yet!"
Song Ling trembled all over. Surrounded by a pack of wolves, anyone would have found it difficult to stay calm. He had mastered some arrays over the years, but the scene before him left him utterly baffled.
Most of the Song Household's arrays offered very limited scenarios: simple killing arrays that merely simulated two or three opponents.
"You won't die. This array has fallen into disrepair over the years, and many parts have developed serious flaws. Those who enter struggle to find the exit, which is why they die inside."
Liu Wuxie found it strange. Many parts of this array had been modified. The Song Household had probably sent people inside to repair it, but all their attempts had failed.
"Brother, you understand arrays!"
The Song Household had studied it for decades without finding where the flaws lay. Liu Wuxie had been inside for less than a few minutes and had already identified the problem, leaving Song Ling looking incredulous.
Before he could answer Song Ling, a gray wolf lunged at them with great speed, jaws gaping wide as a foul stench assailed their noses.
The scenery and physical objects were exactly the same as those in the real world.
"Break!"
The short saber traced a dazzling arc. Before the gray wolf could approach, Saber Qi struck it, and its body collapsed to the ground, motionless. This provoked more gray wolves, which let out low growls.
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