Chapter 741 - 372: The Previous Lord’s Hidden Means (Part 2)

Chapter 741: Chapter 372: The Previous Lord’s Hidden Means (Part 2)

This time, it took a full month to reach the East Sea Abyss. The location the Ring Spirit had sensed was right here.

After replenishing his expended Spiritual Power, Cheng Zongyang piloted the Flying Cloud Shuttle and flew swiftly upward.

He kept his speed moderate, adjusting his direction based on the Ring Spirit’s senses to avoid overshooting the location.

After nearly a full day of adjustments, he finally came to a hover in a region that was almost at the edge of the atmosphere.

Here, he could sense the presence of an Array.

After some experimentation, he opened the hidden Array. It revealed a small, floating island.

On the small island, which was about a square kilometer in size, a channel had been set up.

Its style, however, was somewhat different from the other channels. If the Ring Spirit hadn’t confirmed that it was indeed a channel—of the same origin, without a doubt—he would have mistaken it for an altar.

After all five channels had been located, the Ring Spirit’s voice echoed in Cheng Zongyang’s mind.

"I can confirm that the five Teleportation Arrays are arranged in a pattern resembling an inverted ’V’. This one, high in the sky, and the channel in Region Two, deep underground, form a pair. They are located at the upper and lower points of the vertex."

Listening to the Ring Spirit’s explanation, Cheng Zongyang immediately pictured an inverted ’V’ in his mind. The three endpoints of the shape formed three of the channel coordinates, while the remaining two were located in the space above and below the vertex.

At that very moment, Cheng Zongyang heard the Ring Spirit’s tone turn icy. "This is a Three Talents Reversal Array. The Three Talents are Heaven, Earth, and Man. Once all five of these channels are opened, the rules will be reversed."

Cheng Zongyang was confused. "Reverse the rules? What rules? Will the previous Realm Master be resurrected? Or will he just return?"

The Ring Spirit replied, "It’s not for the previous Realm Master. It’s for my own kind. Only beings like me can create a Three Talents Reversal Array. I know how to do it myself. It’s a Forbidden Array that reverses the rules of time. Moreover, it’s not meant for humans, but for beings such as myself. It just requires the assistance of a host; we cannot set it up alone."

"What? Reverse time?" Cheng Zongyang was stunned.

"Your kind wants to reverse time to be resurrected? You can actually do that?"

Cheng Zongyang didn’t understand any of this. It delved into the Ring Spirit’s core secrets and Abilities.

The Ring Spirit was silent for a long moment before it spoke again, slowly. "We come from the Realm Spirit World. The ’Realm’ in our name literally means ’world.’ I am bound by rules and cannot tell you the specifics. But beings like us also face life-and-death crises."

"The Reversal Array exists to reverse our life and death. It is our most important method of self-preservation, and a final measure to be used only when there is no other choice."

"By channeling Celestial and human fate, after making a sacrifice and setting it in motion, we can reverse time to a specific point and be reborn."

"The very existence of a Ring Spirit is a condensation of the rules of Heaven, Earth, and Man, which is why we can accomplish so many things. It is also why we can only bind to intelligent lifeforms, such as humans."

"Even if you were merely a Soul, we could still bind to you, because your Soul belongs to the Human Race and carries its destiny."

"Only when these three types of rules are combined with a host do we gain our nearly omnipotent Ability, a power akin to creation itself. But all of this is granted by the Master of Realm Spirits."

"I believe this must be a contingency plan put in place by the previous Realm Master and one of my kind."

"However, the price for activating this Array is severe. It would sacrifice the destiny of the entire world’s Human Race and consume this world’s Power of Heaven and Earth Rules in order to achieve rebirth."

"Once the Human Race is stripped of its destiny, it means extinction! It would be like a person plagued by the worst possible luck, who could choke to death just from eating a meal."

"And if the Rules of Heaven and Earth are consumed, it’s the same as the world having no rules at all. The fundamental forces of earth, wind, water, and fire, currently constrained by those rules, would run rampant and sweep across the globe, creating a scene of absolute annihilation—just like a planet in its primordial state."

"It is precisely this Celestial Power of Rules that constrains them."

"Water and fire represent Yin and Yang, while earth and wind form the foundation of life. The power of these forces, when constrained, creates the most Basic rules for life’s survival."

"So, what do you think the result will be when the Three Talents Reversal Array is activated?"

"From this perspective, this so-called seal wasn’t just to stop Divinity Transformation Cultivators from appearing. And the channel in Region Two wasn’t opened merely as collateral damage from some battle."

"It was all part of the contingency. The goal was to let the Human Race develop and grow stronger until it reached a certain critical threshold, which would cause the Array to loosen."

"Once activated, time will be reversed. My counterpart will return to the present, and then it will resurrect its host!"

Cheng Zongyang was utterly dumbfounded. He had never imagined that the Three Talents Reversal Array, a technique the Ring Spirit also knew, could possess such terrifying power! ℯℯ𝑙.

Cheng Zongyang’s heart suddenly grew heavy. "Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Sacrificing everyone in the entire world... wouldn’t that trigger your Restriction rules? Can you really consume the lives of the Human Race so wantonly?"

The Ring Spirit fell silent for a moment before continuing, "This is the self-preservation Ability granted to us by the rules. As long as we are capable of using it, it is our means of survival. If we are not capable, there’s no one to blame. Don’t you agree?"

Cheng Zongyang was speechless, not knowing what to say.

He sat on the Suspended Island, gazing down at the scenery below. It was captivating and magnificent.

But the truth the Ring Spirit had revealed was so chilling. The thought of that primordial, planetary-birth-like landscape replacing the current beauty was simply too cruel.

"So, the previous Realm Master... his purpose for developing the Martial Arts Realm and the Cultivation Immortality Realm, for controlling both worlds... was it all for this day?"

The Ring Spirit didn’t respond, but its silence was an answer in itself.

In the end, however, the Ring Spirit spoke. "Everyone has their own methods. Perhaps that was his plan. The prerequisite would be that they genuinely couldn’t defeat their enemy. Only then would they set up such a contingency. If they could win, this backup plan would never be activated."

"It’s like if you had a method to save your own life, but using it came at a terrible price. Your lifestyle and your strength might reduce the chances of you ever needing to use it. But there’s always that one-in-a-million chance."

"What if, one day, an enemy truly appeared that neither you nor I could resist? Would you choose to use that method then?"

Cheng Zongyang fell silent once more.

’Without a doubt, people are selfish. I would definitely use it.’

’I’m no Saint, sacrificing myself for the good of all. And an unsung Saint at that, one nobody would even remember?’

’How stupid would I have to be to do something like that?’

’That’s a job for Saints.’

Thinking of this, he understood the previous Realm Master’s mindset. They were the same kind of person. Truly cut from the same cloth.

The only problem was, once that person was resurrected, he and his Ring Spirit would likely become the enemy.

To put it bluntly, they would be enemies!

He immediately asked, "Region Two is open. If I open one more now but leave the other three untouched, will that have an effect?"

He still didn’t want to abandon his goal of developing the Immortal City. He couldn’t just throw the baby out with the bathwater. He wasn’t going to stop walking for fear of falling, or stop eating for fear of choking!

’The five channel-altars are for the purpose of resurrection. As long as they aren’t all opened, the Array can’t be activated.’

The Ring Spirit’s answer confirmed this, but it also pointed out a problem.

The issue of time.

One of the five altars had been activated, which meant the other four would naturally begin to loosen. It was only a matter of time.

It was like a stable structural wall that couldn’t be toppled no matter what.

But after one or two supports were removed, could you guarantee it wouldn’t start to wobble, shake, or even fall apart?

If it were left alone, its loosening would eventually lead to a total collapse.

Cheng Zongyang understood immediately.

"Does that mean I can reinforce the seal on it, or even dismantle it?"

The Ring Spirit’s answer was blunt. "You can’t destroy it! The five altars are infused with my counterpart’s Realm Spirit Power, as well as its host’s Power of Rules."

"With our current strength, we are incapable of affecting or dismantling them. Besides, I never moved the original channels; I just generated new ones in safe areas for convenience. I never expected these five channels to have such a secret behind them."

"So you’re saying that sooner or later, they will loosen and open on their own, all because the one in Region Two was activated?"

"Yes," the Ring Spirit affirmed.