Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Upon hearing this, Song Mingyue stuck out her tongue and exclaimed, "It’s that incredible!"

Ling Xiao explained, "Normally, we wouldn’t have been able to trap it this long. I was just thinking we’d have to use the Crystal Cores you’re holding!"

Song Mingyue smiled gently. "What’s mine is yours, isn’t it?"

Ling Xiao glanced down at the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon still frantically assailing the Ice Blue Water Light Array and smiled knowingly. "If we’d used the Crystal Cores you have," he said, "we would’ve needed an excellent excuse. This Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon is actually extremely intelligent and not easily fooled. If we didn’t have this way of trapping it, we’d have had no hope of escaping its grasp. It just goes to show, in the face of absolute power, all schemes and plots are useless."

"Too bad for it, my husband had a way!"

Song Mingyue giggled, her eyes fixed on Ling Xiao’s face. ’How many more secrets are hidden behind his world-weary eyes?’ she suddenly wondered.

Just then, Song Mingyue suddenly bent over and coughed twice. The spiritual pressure she’d just endured from the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon had left her with considerable injuries. Ling Xiao immediately pulled her to his side, took out a few Elixirs, and fed them into her mouth. "Quick, take these," he urged softly.

Song Mingyue looked at Ling Xiao with gentle eyes, her heart filled with sweetness. She said softly, "You’re injured too. You should take some Elixirs as well."

Ling Xiao smiled. The greatest benefit of reaching Golden Core Great Success wasn’t how quickly one’s power increased, but that the Golden Core itself was the best Elixir in the world. No matter how severe the injuries, as long as the Golden Core remained undamaged, the vast True Essence within it would swiftly repair all wounds.

After taking the Elixirs, Song Mingyue instantly felt much better. She was already in complete awe of Ling Xiao’s miraculous Alchemy skills. She looked down at the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon still struggling frantically below. Each time it struck, the great, shimmering blue net of light rippled like a tranquil autumn pond, the disturbance vanishing in an instant.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "My husband, this Array is so incredible. How does it work?"

Ling Xiao was always one to hold nothing back from his woman, so he smiled and said, "To put it simply, an Array borrows the power of heaven and earth to fight enemies. Once you’re trapped inside one, it’s like you’re fighting against heaven and earth themselves. A masterful Array is tremendously powerful—terrifyingly so. It can sunder the heavens and shatter the earth, or even create a new world. The mysteries of Arrays are so profound that even with a lifespan of thousands of years, you might never uncover all their secrets. Mastering just a fraction of them would be more than enough for a lifetime!"

If these words had come from anyone else, Song Mingyue would have scoffed. ’You must be dreaming!’

But coming from Ling Xiao, Song Mingyue believed him completely. Her unwavering faith in him was one reason, but having witnessed his power with her own eyes on several occasions was an even more important one.

This Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon was powerful enough to crush both of them with a single claw. Yet it had suffered a major defeat at the hands of this shimmering blue net of light. No matter how it struggled, it couldn’t break free. The miraculous nature of it all was simply dumbfounding.

"Then... what if someone came and destroyed the Array? Could it escape then?" Song Mingyue thought to herself. ’The East Sea Qin Family is by no means weak or easily bullied. I’m sure it won’t be too difficult for them to find this place. If they were to release this Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon... it wouldn’t just be a disaster for Ling Xiao and the Sea Domain Song Family, but for the entire continent. If a freakishly powerful creature like this were to truly go berserk, no one could stop it unless someone from the Holy Sanctuary intervened!’

Ling Xiao’s face broke into a calm smile. "Are you thinking," he asked, "that if someone were to pry out that Tier Eight Crystal Core, this Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon could escape?"

Song Mingyue was taken aback; that was exactly what she had been thinking. She was indeed clever. Seeing Ling Xiao press the Tier Eight Crystal Core into the wall and watching all the light converge upon it had made her wonder if the Array could be broken simply by prying the core out.

Ling Xiao reached out and gently brushed Song Mingyue’s flawless cheek twice. With a smile, he said, "If Arrays were that easy to break, they wouldn’t be considered formidable at all. Watch..." As he spoke, Ling Xiao reached out and plucked the Tier Eight Crystal Core from the wall. Its light had dimmed only slightly. He offered it to Song Mingyue, saying, "It’s yours."

"Ah! I—I can’t take this!" Song Mingyue was so startled she didn’t catch it. As she watched the Tier Eight Crystal Core fall, Ling Xiao flicked his wrist, and it flew back into his hand. He then grinned at her. "See? It’s fine, isn’t it? The Array is still holding up perfectly."

"But... how is that possible?" Song Mingyue was stunned by what she saw, and it completely overturned her previous assumptions. Though she knew nothing about Arrays, she felt a faint sense of disappointment, realizing that this kind of Array was completely inscrutable. Below them, the blue net of light shone as brightly as ever, and the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon was still frantically ramming against it.

"The Crystal Core was only needed to activate the Array," Ling Xiao explained, seeing her dazed expression. "Once it’s running, the core no longer serves a purpose." Taking this opportunity to rest and recover himself, he took her hand and flew upward. The cavern was incredibly deep, and it took them a long while to fly back to the entrance. Only when they reached the mouth of the cave did they see that the sky outside was still filled with vast stretches of stars. Not much time had passed at all, yet down in the cavern, it had felt like an eternity.