Chapter 463: Chapter 450: Catching Turtles in a Jar, a Clean Sweep
Shui Tianji said grimly, "My two brothers have already scouted the area for a hundred miles around. Their Divine Thought also swept through the Dark Moon Abyss, but they found nothing out of the ordinary, nor did they sense the auras of those old fools from the Profound Dao Sect."
"Xian’Er’s people are keeping watch on the Profound Dao Sect and haven’t seen any of them leave... Right now, there are already four King Martial Realm powerhouses inside the Dark Moon Abyss. With you two added to the mix, do you really think we need to fear an ambush?"
"To ambush a group like ours, what kind of power would be needed? What sort of force would they have to assemble? It’s simply impossible!"
"Xian’Er is being overly cautious. That boy showing up here was probably just a coincidence... Trying to take on this many King Martial Realm powerhouses is no easy task."
Zhu Feng and Tang Hao exchanged wry smiles and nodded slightly.
The Seal at the entrance to the Dark Moon Abyss rippled like the surface of water, and the two men passed through it, entering the abyss.
A Seal casually placed by a King Martial Realm Third Heaven cultivator could hardly stop two at the King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven.
In the Dark Moon Abyss, sunlight could barely penetrate the thick, swirling mist, and visibility was extremely poor.
Looking up from the bottom of the abyss, one could faintly see the entrance.
The entrance resembled a dim crescent moon, which is how the Dark Moon Abyss got its name.
The abyss grew wider the deeper it went, much like a funnel.
Sheer, blade-like cliffs rose on all sides, dotted with strange rock formations and wreathed in mist.
As Zhu Feng and Tang Hao concealed their auras and descended, they saw He Zongdao of the Holy Light Sect locked in a fierce battle with a member of the Beast Emperor Palace.
The other two powerhouses were protecting their respective subordinates, having retreated a good distance to watch the fight.
A little farther on, faint spatial ripples could be seen appearing from time to time. That had to be the Ancient Array they were all fighting over.
In the void, Shui Tianji fumed, saying resentfully, "Those two idiots just formed an alliance a few days ago! Now they’re going all out, trying to kill each other over whatever’s in there, without even knowing if there are any treasures inside!"
"Huh? Where did Shen Lang go? Don’t tell me he was already killed by the people from the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace?"
Although Shui Tianji’s physical body had been destroyed, her Nascent Soul was a condensation of Soul Thought, so her Divine Thought remained extraordinarily powerful.
The Dark Moon Abyss, while large, was still within the range of her Divine Thought.
But as she spread her Divine Thought outwards, covering nearly the entire Dark Moon Abyss, she found no trace of Shen Lang whatsoever!
"With Shen Lang’s Cultivation, it’s impossible for him to hide right under our noses. But we can’t rule out the possibility that he has an Exotic Treasure for Concealing Form... Or," Zhu Feng said doubtfully, "has he already gone a step ahead and entered the Ancient Array?"
At that moment, Shen Lang and a group of King Martial Realm powerhouses were sitting inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, watching the lively scene unfold.
"Xiaolang, you just said Shui Tianji’s two helpers have also entered the Dark Moon Abyss. Can we activate the Killing Array now and wipe them all out in one fell swoop?" the Profound Dao Sect’s First Ancestor Jiang Haitian asked impatiently.
Even with his level of mental fortitude, the prospect of such an event was incredibly exciting.
The thought of annihilating six King Martial Realm powerhouses in an instant made all the Elder Ancestors present eager to act.
But Shen Lang was still just calmly watching the show, which made the Elder Ancestors look at him with confusion.
They already knew from their time at the Profound Dao Sect that Shen Lang’s Magical Treasure could block the probes of King Martial Realm powerhouses.
But how did Shen Lang know that Shui Tianji’s two accomplices had entered the area?
Those two were genuine King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven powerhouses.
They had used Concealing Form to enter this place; even the few in their own group who had recently advanced to the King Martial Realm Fifth Heaven might not have been able to detect them.
"Not yet," Shen Lang said, shaking his head. "Those two old foxes are sly. They’re still watching the battle from above and haven’t entered the range of the outer Killing Array. If we spring the trap now, they’ll surely escape, and killing them later will be next to impossible."
Just then, the two combatants above suddenly stopped fighting and moved apart.
He Zongdao caressed the jet-black gauntlet on his other hand and said coldly, "Old Monster Han, I’m not afraid to fight you, but our Cultivation is evenly matched. It would take more than a day or two to determine a victor."
"If we keep fighting, people from other factions will likely arrive. If it falls into someone else’s hands, we’ll both live to regret it, don’t you think?"
"Hahahaha, Brother He, you speak too gravely," Old Monster Han said with a loud laugh. "How could I truly fight you here? I had simply heard that you recently acquired the Divine Weapon, the Cyan Demon Hand. Seeing an opportunity to test it, I couldn’t resist. I just wanted to see how powerful it really is."
"I’ve also just examined this Ancient Array. Though it seems somewhat damaged from age, neither of our factions can handle it alone. It’s practically impossible for either of us to claim it all for ourselves."
Old Monster Han smiled. "Our two sects have deep roots, and we recently formed an alliance. Why don’t we join forces here and break this Ancient Array together?"
A faint smile finally appeared on He Zongdao’s grim face.
He nodded and said, "I was thinking the same thing. In that case, the four of us will strike simultaneously and force an opening in this Grand Array!"
The four King Martial Realm powerhouses from the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace had finally formed a united front.
The four of them stood side-by-side in the air, a hundred meters apart, facing the cliff wall before them.
Old Monster Han swept his wide sleeve forward. A cloud of grayish-black mist billowed from his palm, blanketing a hundred-zhang area ahead.
The cliff wall, which had been right before them, suddenly vanished, revealing a faint, almost imperceptible barrier of light.
The Ancient Array, the source of everyone’s excitement, now lay exposed before them.
Then, Old Monster Han extended his hands, palms facing each other.
A cyan light welled up between his palms, and a Short Sword, barely a foot long, materialized out of thin air.
The Short Sword didn’t look particularly sharp, but it radiated an ancient, time-worn aura.
Old Monster Han gripped the hilt with his right hand and ran his left index finger lightly along the blade!
"WHUM!"
The Short Sword let out a low hum as a blinding light erupted from it, its aura overwhelming.
Across from them, He Zongdao and his companion from the Holy Light Sect stared unblinking at the Short Sword in Old Monster Han’s hand, a flicker of apprehension in their eyes.
Old Monster Han’s lips began to move, emitting a sound inaudible to ordinary people.
He seemed to be chanting in some profound, esoteric language.
As he chanted the Spell, strange, pale-gold characters began to emerge from his mouth. As if they had a life of their own, the characters floated one by one toward the Short Sword, enveloping it.
Then, all the characters imprinted themselves onto the blade, merging with the Short Sword.
As the characters fused with the blade, the Short Sword’s already terrifying aura surged once more, growing even stronger!
A triumphant look crossed Old Monster Han’s face. He formed a sword-finger and pointed down at the very center of the Grand Array!
"WHOOSH!"
The Short Sword transformed into a streak of light, shooting violently toward the Grand Array and striking the very top of the light barrier.
"BOOM!"
With a deafening crash like the roar of the Nine Heavens Thunderbolt, the light barrier erupted in a blinding flash, forcing everyone from both the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace to instinctively shut their eyes.
When the light faded, they opened their eyes.
The Short Sword had pierced into the light barrier, and a spiderweb of cracks now spread across its surface.
One of the cracks was nearly half a foot wide, stretching from the top all the way to the ground.
"There it is!"
He Zongdao shouted, punching with his Cyan Demon Hand toward the bottom of the largest crack in the Grand Array!
The air roiled as a terrifying phantom fist slammed into the crack.
The Grand Array shook violently under the powerful Fist Gang, and the punch blasted the crack open to a width of two feet!
"Move!"
He Zongdao shouted, hammering the array with one punch after another.
Meanwhile, Old Monster Han, drenched in sweat, was still concentrating on controlling the Short Sword at the top of the Grand Array.
The other two men attacked simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right!
The other powerhouse from the Holy Light Sect reached out, and an Exotic Weapon resembling a sharp claw appeared in his palm.
The Exotic Weapon, enveloped in a ball of Spirit Light, expanded rapidly, transforming into a giant claw. It grabbed one side of the Grand Array and pulled, as if trying to rip it open.
On the other side, the Elder Ancestor from the Beast Emperor Palace opened his mouth and spat out an inch-long stream of blue light.
The blue light suddenly expanded, revealing the form of a Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape. The ape grabbed the other side of the crack in the Grand Array and pulled hard in the opposite direction of the giant claw!
As they both pulled, the crack widened further with a deafening RUMBLE.
Finally, a portal about a meter wide formed in the Grand Array!
A seven-colored treasure light shone out from within the Grand Array.
An incredibly rich wave of Spiritual Qi gushed out from the portal like a tide, bringing looks of joy to everyone’s faces.
At that exact moment, a Small Cauldron appeared out of thin air right in front of the portal.
The Small Cauldron spun once and vanished. Shen Lang appeared in its place, waving with a smile. "Thanks for all your help, everyone."
The words had barely left his mouth when he turned and slipped through the portal into the Grand Array.
"You brat! You’re courting death!"
He Zongdao roared in fury. The Cyan Demon Hand swelled to several times its size and shot through the portal, grabbing viciously!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Lightning flashed within the Grand Array, and several thunderbolts blasted the terrifyingly huge Cyan Demon Hand right back out!
He Zongdao’s spirit trembled, and his face went pale.
Disregarding everything else, he moved like a flash of lightning, diving through the portal right after Shen Lang.
"Let’s go in together!"
Old Monster Han shouted and recalled his Short Sword.
The instant he retrieved the Short Sword, he and the other two men entered the Grand Array at almost the exact same time!
The Energy within the Grand Array surged as if sentient, violently flinging back the Heaven-Reaching Giant Ape and the giant claw!
The small portal snapped shut in an instant, and the Grand Array returned to its original state.
Two figures flickered into view. Watched by the groups from the Holy Light Sect and the Beast Emperor Palace, Zhu Feng and Tang Hao appeared where the portal had been moments before.
"A step too late! Dammit!"
Shui Tianji’s furious voice echoed throughout the Dark Moon Abyss.
The portal had appeared for too brief a moment, and Shen Lang’s arrival had disrupted the others’ plans. Zhu Feng and Tang Hao were ultimately left stranded outside the Grand Array.
But before Zhu Feng and Tang Hao could even speak, a voice that made their faces drain of color sounded from above the Grand Array.
"Too late? Not at all."
Shen Lang, who had clearly entered the Ancient Array, was now slowly rising from the top of it!
But the sight of him lasted for only a second.
The next second, the world spun around Zhu Feng and Tang Hao. The two of them, who had been standing right beside the Ancient Array, suddenly found they had lost sight of each other and were now adrift in a vast, starry expanse!
This starry sky was infinite, filled with shimmering stars. It was impossible to tell north from south, or even up from down!
"It’s a trap! Shen Lang set up a second Grand Array outside the Ancient Array! We’ve fallen into it!"
Zhu Feng roared, his face ashen.
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