Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Breaking the Array
’The Array-Breaking Bell, a legendary Spiritual Artifact said to be able to break any array under the heavens. To think Purple Cloud Heavenly Mountain actually managed to refine a replica. Truly impressive.’
’Although this replica is only an Eighth-Grade Profound Soldier, it can still break most arrays below the Sixth Grade. Seventh Elder was an Array Grandmaster. The arrays he laid would require a great deal of effort to crack, even for the real Array-Breaking Bell.’
’However, arrays require Primordial Stones for their foundation. After ten thousand years, even a vast supply would have been mostly consumed by now. It’d be a miracle if the array could display even one ten-thousandth of its original power. This replica Array-Breaking Bell will be more than enough.’
Qin Ya gazed at the Cyan Copper Bell in his hand, his eyes glinting faintly. Muttering to himself, he gave a faint smile and walked toward the dilapidated palace.
"Sir, spare our lives! Spare us!"
"It’s all Murong Hai’s fault! Please spare... spare us."
"That’s right, Sir, please spare us."
Their True Essence invaded by Frost Qi, the frozen Purple Cloud Heavenly Mountain disciples had almost no power to resist. Seeing Qin Ya approach, they all began to beg for mercy, completely devoid of their previous arrogance. Qin Ya sneered, "Those who kill will always be killed. So you really can’t blame me."
As his words fell, he stomped his foot. An intensely frigid aura radiated out, enveloping the surroundings in the blink of an eye. Terror filled the eyes of the frozen Purple Cloud Heavenly Mountain disciples, and their pleas grew more desperate. Yet, Qin Ya’s expression remained unchanged, the coldness in his gaze enough to make one feel as if they’d been plunged into an ice cellar. "No, spare us! No..."
The wails gradually subsided, leaving only a field of ice sculptures at the scene.
Qin Ya stepped past the cluster of ice sculptures and, following the traces of his memory, arrived at a dilapidated side hall. The moment he set foot inside, he felt a faint ripple in the surrounding air. Immediately after, a vast green field suddenly appeared before his eyes.
On the green field, a small stream flowed, and cattle and horses gathered in herds.
’Heh, an illusion.’ Qin Ya gave a faint, knowing smile, a trace of nostalgia in his eyes. He sighed, "Seventh Elder still loves using his Illusion Skills so much."
He recalled how when he first arrived at Dragon Emperor Hall, the Seventh Elder had tried to prank him with a Fifth-Grade Illusion Array. It was only thanks to his extraordinary perception that he hadn’t fallen for it. That incident, however, had sparked the Seventh Elder’s competitive spirit. From then on, every time Qin Ya visited Dragon Emperor Hall, the Seventh Elder would trap him in all sorts of bizarre Illusion Arrays.
Seeing this Green Field Illusion now, he was filled with emotion, his mind inevitably drifting back to those days—especially the memory of seeing through the Seventh Elder’s Illusion Arrays time and time again, and the flustered, exasperated look on the old man’s face.
At this thought, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
"A pity the past is gone." With a sigh, Qin Ya shook off his nostalgia and poured his True Essence into the Array-Breaking Bell. The wondrous patterns on the bell immediately pulsed with a dazzling light, and a clear, pleasant ringing sound echoed out.
The ringing contained a peculiar power. As the sound spread, the Green Field Illusion instantly began to distort. The grass shattered. The cattle and sheep cracked apart.
It was like a painting being torn to shreds.
In an instant, the scene before him reverted to how it had looked when he first walked in.
Qin Ya knew the Green Field Illusion was just a trivial little illusion within the Seventh Elder’s grand design. The arrays to come were the real challenge.
He took a few steps forward, and a stone pillar suddenly appeared before his eyes.
The pillar was carved with images of a soaring dragon and a dancing phoenix. Qin Ya said nonchalantly, "It seems the core Cultivation Room is here. Heh, Seventh Elder... even after ten thousand years, I’ve still managed to break the array you left behind."
"If you knew about this, I wonder if you’d sigh at how unpredictable the world can be."
As he spoke, Qin Ya fiercely poured his True Essence into the Array-Breaking Bell. The ringing instantly intensified, and tangible sound waves rippled outward one after another.
At that moment, the dragon and phoenix images on the pillar suddenly erupted with radiant light. Amidst the glow, the cries of a dragon and a phoenix rang out. The pair seemed to come alive, soaring into the air to roam the nine heavens. Instantly, the wind began to howl and clouds gathered.
RING, RING, RING! With the appearance of the dragon and phoenix visages, the Array-Breaking Bell’s chimes intensified, surging toward them like a soul-reaping mantra.
"ROAR!!" "KREEE..."
Earth-shattering dragon roars and phoenix cries resounded, carrying a majesty that lorded over all creation, as if to shatter the Azure Sky and cow the world into submission.
Not to be outdone, the Array-Breaking Bell in Qin Ya’s hand changed its tune. The clear, pleasant ringing gradually deepened, becoming as heavy and resonant as a temple’s morning bell and evening drum, shaking one’s very soul.
The two sets of sound waves collided. The environment around Qin Ya changed in an instant; the palace gradually faded away, replaced by a vast, white space.
In the void, only the flying dragon and dancing phoenix remained, glaring at him with fury.
An immeasurably vast and powerful pressure bore down on him.
Qin Ya smiled faintly, completely unfazed. He murmured, "If this Dragon and Phoenix Array were at its peak, it would truly be like the descent of a True Dragon and a real phoenix. A pity that its power is now less than one ten-thousandth of what it was. It’s useless against me."
As he spoke, the Bronze Array-Breaking Bell in his hand erupted in brilliant light, its sound waves surging out like the tide. Above, in the void, the dragon and phoenix let out uneasy roars.
Then, under the power of the Array-Breaking Bell, the Dragon and Phoenix Array collapsed.
The Dragon and Phoenix Array was a Ninth-Grade Grand Array. The mere replica of the Array-Breaking Bell in Qin Ya’s hands should have been far from enough to break it. Unfortunately, time is the enemy of all. Ten thousand years was simply too long, and the array’s power had been drastically reduced.
Once the Dragon and Phoenix Array was broken, the entire palace began to tremble!
Amidst a great RUMBLE, it was as if a dormant beast was awakening beneath the palace. The entire structure actually began to part, splitting down the middle. A pillar of golden light then shot into the heavens, illuminating the region for a hundred miles around.
"Dammit, Seventh Elder, why’d you always have to be such a show-off?" Qin Ya slapped a hand to his forehead, a helpless, bitter smile on his face. He remembered now—the Seventh Elder had a quirk that left everyone in Dragon Emperor Hall speechless: his love for pomp and pageantry.
Every time the man went out, his entourage was even grander than that of the Dragon Emperor Hall’s own Hall Master.
And now, he’d made the unveiling of his core Cultivation Room into such a massive spectacle. Everyone for a hundred miles around would know about this.
"Heh, even if I hadn’t come, I doubt Murong Hai and his little group could have held onto whatever is in this core Cultivation Room," Qin Ya mused with a bitter smile.
A pillar of light piercing the heavens. Everyone for a hundred miles knew.
"Look, a pillar of golden light shooting into the sky! A powerful treasure must have appeared!"
"Haha! That treasure is destined to be mine!"
"The Hidden Dragon Secret Realm really lives up to its reputation! I haven’t even been here for two days, and a treasure like this has already shown up. What a pleasant surprise!"
"Hmph. No matter what caused this phenomenon, the treasure belongs to my Vast Sea Divine Palace. No one will take it from us!"
"Anyone who tries to stop me from claiming this treasure is courting death!"
In an instant, factions from all over were on the move.
Countless chosen geniuses, all training within the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, rushed toward the Seventh Elder of Dragon Emperor Hall’s cultivation palace, their hearts burning with fervent greed.
