Chapter 199 - 198: Breaking the Array

Chapter 199: Chapter 198: Breaking the Array

"Chen Qingyang, what are you spacing out for?"

Seeing him standing there motionless, Liu Tao chided playfully.

Chen Qingyang snapped back to his senses. He saw her radiant smile, and his cheeks flushed an even deeper red. ’She must think I was just staring at her.’ "Senior Sister, you misunderstand. I was just thinking about some things!"

Liu Tao wouldn’t let it go. She leaned in closer, and a faint fragrance wafted around the tip of Chen Qingyang’s nose, making him unable to resist a small sniff.

"Well then... tell me, what were you thinking about?" There was an interrogative edge to her tone.

Chen Qingyang didn’t argue with her. Instead, he sat down cross-legged with a serious expression. "Senior Sister, it’s about Cultivation."

With that, he closed his eyes and fell silent.

’Cultivation isn’t something you can just start on a whim.’ Liu Tao thought he was spouting nonsense and leaned in closer. But then she saw that Chen Qingyang was perfectly still as a Qi Mechanism gradually began to emanate from his body.

’He really started, just like that!’

Instantly, half of Senior Sister Liu’s ardor vanished. She let out an indignant huff and ignored him. After a long while, she snuck another peek, only to find Chen Qingyang still in the same state.

After fuming for a while, she finally pouted and muttered a single word: "Blockhead!"

Chen Qingyang, of course, had no idea about the turmoil in her heart. His mind was already hundreds of miles away on Cyan Bamboo Peak.

His consciousness merged with the stone pillar, allowing him to clearly sense the subtle flow of its Qi Mechanism. As long as this Array was active, he could follow this aura and surely glimpse the Array’s profound mysteries.

However, the process was mentally draining. Every step his consciousness took required him to make a corresponding judgment. With his mind completely immersed in the Array, he naturally had no attention to spare for Senior Sister Liu.

His thoughts were immersed in the world of the Array. Everything he perceived was formed from the Qi Mechanism; there were no physical objects, only waves of light drifting back and forth. His consciousness roamed freely among them.

It was profound beyond measure, wondrous beyond belief—impossible to describe with mere words!

The world was vast, and the Array was immense; unraveling its secrets would not be easy. At this level, every step forward for Chen Qingyang required an enormous amount of time. It was just like meditation—the deeper one’s Cultivation, the longer each session would last.

Sitting beside Liu Tao, his only concern was that she might get angry. With nothing else to worry about, he dedicated his full effort to studying the Array.

After hundreds of attempts and countless twists and turns, by following the subtle flow of the Qi Mechanism, his consciousness finally sensed a barrier right before him.

’So the Array is hidden this secretly.’ Someone unfamiliar with it wouldn’t even be able to find the entrance, let alone break through it. Perhaps all advanced Arrays were like this; the greatest difficulty before breaking one was simply finding the way in.

Now that the path was familiar, he spent a few more days and finally passed through the barrier. He saw towering mountain peaks, a vast expanse of fertile plains in the center, and a brilliant sky overhead. Yet, an aura of decay and deathly silence permeated everything.

Chen Qingyang instantly understood. He had returned to the Lost Secret Realm of the Ancient Divine Court. By passing through one more barrier from this Secret Realm, he could reach the domain presided over by Qing Yao True Monarch.

His consciousness continued onward. Before long, it arrived above the central ruins where he saw the high platform and the Star of the Southern Dipper upon it... For the time being, the greatest opportunities he had found here were the Five Elements Cave Mansion and the Earth Vein Spiritual Energy. So, he passed through another barrier, arriving at the Mirror Land—the Sumeru Illusion Realm.

As soon as he arrived, Chen Qingyang proceeded with extreme caution, terrified of being detected by the Golden Core True Monarch. But then he had another thought. ’I’m not the only one in this Illusion Realm. There are also many people planting Spirit Grass, which means there’s more than one Qi Mechanism. It’ll be difficult for the True Monarch to single me out.’

This Illusion Realm was not just an Array Artifact that drew power from the mountains and Earth Veins; its interior was also rich with Spiritual Qi, nurturing all sorts of strange flora. That was why the Spirit Plants were kept here. Cultivating in this place would surely be of great benefit to the True Monarch as well.

Day after day, his consciousness searched for the Five Elements Cave Mansion only in the remote regions, never daring to approach the center.

After waiting for several days and nights, Liu Tao finally saw Chen Qingyang open his eyes. The playful warmth she’d felt for him earlier had cooled considerably.

"You were gone for so long. What insights did you gain?" She leaned her face closer, her previous annoyance replaced by curiosity.

"In a Sumeru Illusion Realm, I saw mountains and rivers," Chen Qingyang said honestly.

Liu Tao looked puzzled. "What mountains and rivers? So you weren’t seeking Enlightenment, you were spirit roaming? But I’ve heard that only those above the Golden Core True Monarch realm have the ability to spirit roam, to let their Divine Soul leave their body. Don’t tell me you can do that too?"

Seeing that she was teasing him, Chen Qingyang shook his head. "Please don’t joke, Senior Sister. What I said was just a metaphor. How long was I in that meditative state?"

Liu Tao counted on her fingers. "Not long. Just ten days and ten nights. You just sat there, completely still, and I had to act as your Guardian the whole time!"

’That long again? Haven’t I delayed my business with the Fulu Workshop? I heard they deduct Spirit Stones if you’re late.’ "I can’t stay, I have to go."

Liu Tao clicked her tongue in frustration. "You finally come to visit me for once, and before we’ve even exchanged a few sentences, you enter a trance. The moment you wake up, you’re in a hurry to leave. If you don’t want to talk to me... then don’t ever come back!"

Her tone was heavy with resentment, as if she wished she could give Chen Qingyang a good slap. Liu Tao tilted her head and turned her back to him, but after waiting for a long time, she didn’t hear a single word in reply.

"You’re spacing out again!" Fuming, Liu Tao spun around, only to see Chen Qingyang with his eyes closed, having entered a meditative state once more. All she could do was stomp her foot hard on the floor.

Her skin was like cream, her toes small and round, her ten toenails perfectly clean and tidy—the very picture of cuteness.

...

Chen Qingyang’s mind had once again journeyed far away.

Several huge boulders stood in the valley, flanked by steep, treacherous peaks. At the far end stood a White Jade Archway, upon which were inscribed the four large words: "Five Elements Cave Mansion." His consciousness was paused beneath it.

However, as he passed back and forth through it, he didn’t feel like he was entering the Cave Mansion at all. The archway was just an archway, with no special properties.

The more he wandered, the more Chen Qingyang came to understand the Sumeru Illusion Realm.

This Cave Mansion was a place where the Five Elements Qi converged; it was illusory, not real. Only the White Jade Archway standing here was solid, serving as a marker.

To enter the illusory from the real, he had to use this White Jade Archway as an Array Base. He needed to carefully sense the Qi Mechanism, just as he had done before, to find the true entrance to the Five Elements Cave Mansion.

The only reason he could use this as an entrance last time was because Qing Yao True Monarch had used his own methods to make it possible.

His consciousness could remain here to search for and absorb the Five Elements Fire, or he could continuously cultivate the Nanming Red Emperor’s Method. This method was currently equivalent to the Essence Condensation Second Realm. If his consciousness could break through to the Essence Condensation Four Realms before his physical body did, then Chen Qingyang would possess a genuine Fourth Realm Cultivation.

This could be called the second-greatest opportunity he’d had since he began his Cultivation. The first, of course, was the Great Soul Scripture that Liu Tao had brought him.

’Oh, right, Liu Tao. She was just talking to me. I hope she isn’t angry again.’

He left his consciousness lingering on the archway to continue sensing the Qi Mechanism, while his Divine Sense returned to his body.

Directly opposite him, Liu Tao sat with her back straight and her arms hanging loosely, deep in meditation. Her Qi Mechanism was balanced. Spiritual Qi rose from between her legs, swept through her entire body, and formed a line connecting her Dantian, Mingtang Hall, and Mud Ball Palace.

’Her Cultivation is progressing faster than I thought.’

While Liu Tao meditated, she would periodically open her eyes to check on Chen Qingyang. This time, as she did so, her gaze met his, which was fixed upon her.

"Have you... had your fill of looking?"

Chen Qingyang didn’t look away, simply stating calmly, "I see your Cultivation has improved significantly, Senior Sister. It’s much faster than when you were in the Qi Refining Realm."

"You... were only looking at my Cultivation?"

Chen Qingyang nodded. "That’s right. No wonder a single Tier Four Earth Root Rejuvenation Pill is worth twenty-four hundred Spirit Stones. Taking it consistently over time provides an even greater boost to one’s Cultivation than taking Qi Gathering Pills during the late-stage Qi Refining Realm."

Liu Tao was quick to anger, but she couldn’t stay mad when Chen Qingyang brought up elixirs. "Are you only now realizing how capable you are?"

"Heh heh!" Chen Qingyang chuckled. "Senior Sister, how long was I in that state this time?"

"Not long. Only three or five days. I couldn’t be bothered to keep an exact count."

Hearing this, Chen Qingyang stood up. "Right, then. I really must be going. My business with the Fulu Workshop has already been delayed for too long."

Liu Tao didn’t try to stop him, merely rising to her feet as well. "Mm. You don’t have to keep sending me so many elixirs. Just focus on Master’s affairs."

This time, Chen Qingyang didn’t reply. He leaped into the wind and snow and vanished. By the time he returned to Cyan Bamboo Peak, he was once again surrounded by lush greenery.

He left his consciousness to seek opportunities in the Five Elements Cave Mansion on its own, while he attended to matters concerning the elixirs in the outside world. He took out all the elixirs he had refined recently—exactly forty of them—packed them all up, and headed for the Fulu Workshop.

There, at the Commander’s Lower Palace, he met Senior Brother Liu.

"Junior Brother Chen, Junior Brother Ji already spoke to me. If you’re really having trouble with this elixir, I can arrange some other tasks for you..."

’So that’s why Senior Brother Liu is still being so mild-mannered. It’s thanks to Ji Rang.’ ’Senior Brother Ji is really good to me. I’ll have to give him an elixir when I get the chance.’

"Senior Brother Liu, you’ve misunderstood. My Cultivation has recently improved, and I received an opportunity from my master that allowed me to raise the grade of the elixirs from Tier Four to Tier Five. That’s what caused the delay."

As he spoke, he took an elixir from his basket and handed it over for inspection. Senior Brother Liu took it and glanced at it. "So quickly? You truly have a great talent for this. I’ve never seen someone in the Essence Condensation Realm who could refine an elixir like this."

He was already surprised, but when he heard Chen Qingyang say that all forty elixirs in the basket were Tier Five, he was completely flabbergasted, his face a mask of shock. "These... you made all of these?"

Chen Qingyang instantly realized he had been a bit too conspicuous. He immediately sighed and put on a pitiful expression. "Senior Brother, you don’t know the half of it. I worked day and night on this task and still ended up delayed. I beg your forgiveness!"

Senior Brother Liu’s attitude toward him became even more respectful than before. "It’s no problem. A few more days is just a few more days. In the future, once your Cultivation has risen, my Fulu Workshop will have even more advanced elixirs waiting for you to study. You must understand, the higher one’s Cultivation, the harder it is to advance, and the greater the need for elixirs becomes!"

His meaning was easy to grasp. Anyone who could enter the Essence Condensation Realm could basically reach the Second Realm. But whether they could reach the Third Realm was another matter entirely.

Chen Qingyang asked, "Senior Brother Liu, I’d like to know what kind of Pill Formulas I can exchange for at the Fulu Workshop?"

The Cloud Scripture Jade Pavilion wasn’t enough, and Master Jing Yuan, believing he was still in the Essence Condensation Realm, thought the Earth Root Biochemical Pill was sufficient. Therefore, if he wanted more advanced Pill Formulas, his only option was the Fulu Workshop.

’He wanted something that was both valuable and suited to his own needs.’