Chapter 749 - 376: Array Soul Stele

Chapter 749: Chapter 376: Array Soul Stele

He immediately placed his hand on it and vanished the next second.

A pit about a meter deep appeared in the ground. Seeing no other changes, Cheng Zongyang let out a sigh of relief and disappeared as well.

「Hall of Ten Thousand Races.」

"What are the results?" Cheng Zongyang asked impatiently.

"According to my senses, the ruins were once a great city. The city was called Dark Spirit City. All other information has long since been erased. What I could gather from the ruins were some records indicating it was a region where assassins and killers lived."

Cheng Zongyang was a little disappointed with this outcome. ’I thought I’d find something good.’

But the next moment, the Ring Spirit said, "The Stone Stele is a little different. It’s somewhat similar to the Soul Gathering Stele."

Cheng Zongyang was taken aback. "The Soul Gathering Stele? How is this anything like it?"

As he spoke, he looked at the Stone Stele before him. Its material and size were both different from the Soul Gathering Stele.

"Appraise it," the Ring Spirit reminded him.

Cheng Zongyang froze for a moment. He had forgotten about that. He immediately used an appraisal skill on it.

——

Array Soul Stele

Tier: Upper Grade Array Treasure

Array Realm: 1000 kilometers (Area the Array can cover)

Soul Spirit: 0/1000 (Tier Seven Divine Soul)

Array Energy: 0

Abilities: Teleportation Level 6 (Can teleport anywhere within the Array Realm, ignoring barriers); Array Dao Level 6 (Can ignore any Array below Tier Seven); World Array Level 1 (Can set a teleportation point that ignores spatial boundaries, already marked);

Other: Willful Deployment (Array setup); Size Manipulation; One Thought, One Array (Gathers the principles of the world’s Array Dao; a myriad of Arrays formed from a single thought, manifesting instantly);

Controller: None

Points: 20,000,000

Note: Dormant. Can be awakened with a Divine Soul.

——

"Holy hell!!" Cheng Zongyang stared at the Array Soul Stele’s description, utterly dumbfounded.

He never would have imagined that the Teleportation Stele deep in the heart of the Shadow Alliance’s core was actually such a precious Array Treasure! A Treasure specifically for Arrays, and at a price so high it was staggering.

"Ring Spirit, can you buy this kind of thing in the Jade Stone Market?" Cheng Zongyang swallowed hard, still finding it hard to believe.

’I only came in here to collect the Spirit Vein and investigate the so-called Dark Realm, but I ended up with such a major Treasure. I’ve hit the jackpot.’

"You can, provided you have twenty million Points. Or you can buy the initial version for 100,000 Points and then slowly upgrade it by absorbing Soul Spirits."

Cheng Zongyang: "...Just asking."

Without the slightest hesitation, Cheng Zongyang had the Ring Spirit help him claim ownership.

Afterward, he spent 10,000 Points to buy a mindless Tier Two Demon Divine Soul. As the Divine Soul was absorbed, the Array Energy changed to [100/100]. The Array Soul Stele awakened, and the Controller’s name changed to Cheng Zongyang.

He couldn’t wait to test the One Thought, One Array ability in the Realm of Ten Thousand Races.

Cheng Zongyang focused his mind and mentally pictured a Tier Six Defense Array with a ten-meter radius.

Instantly, the Array Soul Stele flew out and landed on the ground. The moment it landed, it became the center point. Light flickered, and mysterious Array Patterns emerged from the ground, rapidly extending outward in all directions.

In a flash, an Array covering the surrounding ten meters sprang up from the ground.

He was thrilled to see the Array form in just about three seconds. The Array emanated a powerful aura of Energy, as if it could repel any attack.

’A Tier Six Defense Array, just like that?’

Exhilarated, Cheng Zongyang then tried an Attack Array filled with a murderous aura. With a slight activation, countless Energy Arrows shot forward with astonishing power.

He continuously tested various types of Arrays, even combination Arrays. Whether it was a combination of two, three, or even five or six, it could handle them all. He even shrank the Array Soul Stele and placed it on the ground, using it to protect himself with a nearly form-fitting Array, like a shield.

The only difference was the time it took. But none of them took more than thirty seconds!

This made him truly appreciate the power of the Array Soul Stele. But a problem also arose.

The initial one hundred points of Array Energy were already depleted.

"Is it really that demanding?" Cheng Zongyang was shocked. The energy, worth about as much as a Tier One Divine Soul, was completely used up just from him testing various Arrays.

’Damn it, this thing burns through Divine Souls,’ Cheng Zongyang finally understood. Divine Souls were the Array Soul Stele’s power source.

’Looks like the Soul Gathering Stele has a competitor,’ Cheng Zongyang thought, speechless. But this Array Soul Stele was too powerful. With this thing, even without the Realm of Ten Thousand Races, he could stand undefeated against the Five Great Immortal Sects!

In fact, as long as he had enough Array Energy, he could tie up the entire Shadow Alliance and annihilate them.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Cheng Zongyang marveled. But with more and more Ten Thousand Races Spirit Seals being bound, his Divine Soul absorption had decreased.

He shrank the Array Soul Stele and left it in the Hall of Ten Thousand Races, then resumed his search for the Spirit Vein.

This time, he headed upward. Since there was no Spirit Vein below, he would search above.

As he dug a new tunnel and entered a new layer of earth, he instantly felt an extremely dense Spiritual Qi.

’Damn it, it really was above me. Was it separated by an Array?’ Cheng Zongyang cursed inwardly. He then extended his Divine Sense slightly.

But the situation here gave him a bit of a headache.

As he expected, there were many cave abodes near the Spirit Vein. Clearly, many people were already cultivating here. Cheng Zongyang knew he couldn’t repeat the Ji Family situation.

This time, he left thirty percent of the Spirit Vein’s Spiritual Power untouched and began to set up an Array.

This time, he planned to try out the Array Soul Stele.

He spent 100,000 Points to buy five Tier Two Divine Souls, replenishing the Array Energy to 5,000 points.

He then immediately began setting up the Array in his own way.

The Array he set up had two abilities: Defense and Shielding.

Thanks to the "Willful Deployment" ability, the Array extended according to his thoughts. The convenience was extremely comfortable compared to the Tier Six Array from before, and the speed was incomparable.

The Array bypassed each cave abode, leaving a certain amount of the Spirit Vein behind, and then it formed.

He took out the Spirit Storage Dharma Pearl and set it to work.

The Array operated normally, consuming little Array Energy. Only when it was attacked or used for an attack would the consumption accelerate.

This time, he no longer had to worry about encountering a situation like the one with the Ji Family again. He had Points and could replenish the Array Energy at any time. Moreover, he could move it whenever he wanted, leaving nothing behind.

As the Spirit Storage Dharma Pearl began to absorb the Spirit Vein, Cheng Zongyang took out a Spiritual Energy Ball and started his Cultivation inside the Array.

These Spiritual Energy Balls were practically inexhaustible, all of them extracted from the "prisoners" in the Realm of Ten Thousand Races.

This had also greatly reduced the crime rate.

Of course, this was only temporary. In the future, this rule would be changed, and the factions inside would be allowed to "self-govern." He would only intervene under certain circumstances, such as major disasters or wars.

He always tried to be careful to avoid trouble, but a problem still occurred.

Given the situation in the Cultivation Immortality Realm, where even Spirit Testing Restrictions were deployed, how could the Shadow Alliance not have its own methods for monitoring the Spirit Vein?

The moment the Array formed, the thirty percent of the Spirit Vein that was sectioned off caused a change in the overall flow, which in turn triggered some detection measures.

And so, just as Cheng Zongyang entered his Cultivation stage, the Shadow Alliance personnel who constantly monitored the Spirit Vein noticed an anomaly.

It was just a sudden anomaly that quickly returned to normal. This made the monitoring personnel suspicious.

One of the black-robed figures wearing a ghoul-faced mask reported the information up the chain of command.

A sudden, massive fluctuation that then returned to normal had never happened before, so naturally, it aroused some alarm.

However, when the personnel reported it, the department head was in the middle of Cultivation. After hearing the report, he asked without even opening his eyes, "Was there any disturbance in the Spirit Testing Restriction?"

The subordinate in the ghoul-faced mask said, "Sir, there was not."

"Then there’s no need to investigate," the department head replied indifferently.

The Spirit Testing Restriction covered the entire Underground Spiritual Vein, and the core of the Restriction was located in the headquarters. As long as there were no problems at the headquarters, the Restriction could not be disabled.

Since there was no feedback of Spiritual Power or Demon Power from underground, it wasn’t a major issue.

"Sir, this fluctuation was extremely large. I am worried there might be a problem," the ghoul-faced subordinate persisted.

"A breakthrough from someone in the underground cave abodes can also cause such a situation. No need to be alarmed. You may leave," the department head said with a slight frown.

"Yes, sir!" Seeing this, the subordinate could only clasp his fist and withdraw. He had done his duty. Since his superior didn’t care, he wouldn’t pursue it either.