Chapter 290 - 274: Another Venerable
"An Avoiding Tribulation Curse? You sure know a lot."
The Little Golden Man of God of Wealth Cai Shen hovered nearby, its gaze fixed on the tattoo on Qi Yun’s wrist. It was slightly surprised to see the deep blue light flowing through the faint, ancient patterns.
It had clearly recognized the unique aura of this Ancient Curse.
Qi Yun brushed his fingertips over the throbbing Curse Seal on his wrist. A deep blue light flickered erratically beneath his touch as he frowned and said,
"The Avoiding Tribulation Curse is reacting... Does this mean those Southern True Monarchs have noticed something strange about the Imperial Soldiers losing their spiritual nature and have started to trace it back to its source?"
This was his most immediate concern.
When a True Monarch puts their mind to it, the secrets of heaven resonate, and the threads of cause and effect can be traced back to their origin.
They could even seize him directly from millions of miles away.
The divinations of such a being were no laughing matter.
"They won’t," Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man said, shaking its head with a confident tone.
"If a True Monarch truly set their mind on investigating, their thoughts would be like the inescapable net of heaven, their power like the crushing weight of the Great Dao. Forget your half-baked Avoiding Tribulation Curse—even a Great Master specializing in divining heavenly secrets might not detect it beforehand.
What your Curse Seal is sensing is tribulation qi that has already taken form and is now converging on you.
A True Monarch’s divinations are formless and without a trace; they don’t fall into that category."
As it spoke, it raised a tiny golden palm, its fingers moving through a series of pinches with an ancient, rhythmic trajectory. Faint golden motes of light scattered from its fingertips as if it were performing a divination.
A moment later, a glint of profound understanding flashed in its eyes. "I see..." it whispered.
"It’s not an external enemy. The source is you.
In the Valley of No Life, you stirred up a storm, condensed the Four Seasons wondrous object, and became entangled in vast and complex threads of cause and effect.
Such a violent disturbance of cause and effect caused your Venerable Qi Mechanism to leak.
And it was detected by another Venerable."
"Another Venerable?" Qi Yun’s gaze sharpened, and he tensed.
’I didn’t sense anything, but they did.’
’Doesn’t that mean their Realm is...?’
"Yes," Cai Shen nodded, its Spiritual Sense pulsing with analysis. "But you don’t need to be overly anxious.
Judging from the intensity and nature of the Avoiding Tribulation Curse’s reaction, the other party likely only vaguely sensed the appearance of a ’kindred’ aura in the unseen ether. The sensation was extremely faint and fleeting.
They tried to divine your specific location and origin, but without any anchor, it was like searching for a single speck of dust in the vast Star Sea. They were unsuccessful.
Instead, the tribulation qi stirred up by their attempt at divination was precisely what your Avoiding Tribulation Curse captured, which is why it triggered a warning."
"I see..." Qi Yun said, suddenly understanding. He felt a little more at ease.
’Just a vague sensation, not a lock-on. That means they can’t find me for now.’
But it was also a warning.
The prelude to the war between Venerables may have already begun, unbeknownst to him.
With a single thought, the light from the deep blue Curse Seal on his wrist slowly receded. The tattoo’s pattern gradually faded, sinking back beneath his skin.
Only a faint, icy premonition lingered deep within his Divine Sense, a reminder that tribulation was not far off.
"The matter of the other Venerable can wait for now.
Since they failed to lock onto us, we should be safe in the short term."
Qi Yun quickly collected his thoughts, his eyes regaining their calm.
"The priority now is to return to the Valley of No Life as quickly as possible and deploy the Array of Cause and Effect. We need to sever all causal links between us and the escape of the Imperial Soldiers’ spiritual nature.
If we don’t eliminate this threat, and any of the True Monarchs manage to follow the trail and find even the smallest clue, it will be a true cataclysm for us."
"Exactly," the Little Golden Man of Cai Shen agreed, turning into a streak of golden light and disappearing back into Qi Yun’s sleeve.
Wasting no more time, Qi Yun’s Magical Power surged. His Deep Blue Daoist Robe billowed as he transformed into a highly condensed, blue-gray streak of light. He tore through the sky, streaking back toward the Valley of No Life even faster than he had come.
The clouds parted where the streak of light passed, leaving behind a faint, straight contrail that lingered long after he was gone.
...
The Valley of No Life had fallen into a profound, dead silence, a stark contrast to the clamor and destructive fluctuations from moments before.
The once monotonous, gray-white landscape of rocky peaks had been completely transformed. As far as the eye could see, the earth looked as though it had been repeatedly savaged by an enraged deity.
Enormous, bottomless craters stretched for dozens of miles.
Twisted rock strata had been heaved upward by immense force, forming menacing waves of stone frozen in place.
The air was thick with a slowly settling dust of motley Dao Rhyme, a mixture of Buddha Light, Star Dust, Sword Intent, Evil Qi, and the deathly cadence of reincarnation that made the light appear murky and dim.
Qi Yun’s figure appeared above the ruins. He retracted his Escape Light and stood suspended in the air.
His expression was grave as he cast out his Divine Sense like a net, carefully perceiving every lingering trace of energy in the area.
"Right below us. The last place my main body was before it was sealed," Cai Shen’s Spiritual Sense transmitted, providing the location.
Qi Yun descended, landing on a relatively flat, black, glazed surface.
It had been formed by the instantaneous searing of rock by extreme temperatures and energy.
Beneath his feet was the very core where the seven Great Masters had intertwined their powers to seal the Imperial Soldiers.
"Let’s begin," Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man said, reappearing before Qi Yun with an incredibly solemn expression.
"The Array of Cause and Effect is designed to obfuscate, sever, and even fabricate specific Cause and Effect Threads.
It requires the Four Symbols as its foundation, the Eight Extremes as its anchors, Residual Cause as its fuel, and the Void Fruit as its flame.
The threads of cause and effect are thickest here, making it the perfect Array Hub.
First, I’ll transmit the Array Map and its secrets to you. Follow my instructions to set up the Array Formation.
I will use my Spiritual Light to help you stabilize the array’s core."
With that, a speck of golden light shot from between Cai Shen’s brows and into Qi Yun’s forehead.
Instantly, a three-dimensional Array Map of ultimate complexity and profundity flooded into Qi Yun’s Sea of Consciousness.
The sheer volume of information in the Array Map was so vast that even a Master specializing in the art of Arrays would need to study it for a considerable time.
Fortunately, his [Array Formation 3.0] allowed him to master an Array instantly.
Qi Yun closed his eyes and focused for a moment. When he opened them again, the phantom of the Array Map was reflected in his eyes. He now understood it completely.
"Rise!"
He shouted, his hands flying up to form hundreds of complex Seal Techniques in a single instant.
The Daluo Heaven Magical Power within him surged out, no longer concealed. It transformed into majestic streams of chaotic-colored light capable of evolving into the Ten Thousand Laws, spreading out in all directions from where he stood.
The first step: establish the foundation of the Four Symbols.
Qi Yun formed a sword-finger and tapped the empty air in the four cardinal directions: East, South, West, and North.
"East, Azure Dragon! Wood Spirit Gathering!"
A hundred miles to the East, amidst the ruins of a collapsed mountain, countless stones and broken rocks began to move on their own. Torrents of Earth Spiritual Energy were forcibly extracted and refined, transforming into a massive, mountain-sized pillar of azure light that shot into the sky. Within the pillar, the faint phantom of a dragon coiled.
"South, Vermilion Bird! Fire Essence Burning!"
To the South, in a Glazed Pit scorched by intense flames, residual, scorching Flame Power was activated. Combined with the crimson Magical Power Qi Yun unleashed, it erupted into a blazing red pillar of fire, its flames twisting like a dancing bird.
"West, White Tiger! Gold Qi Condensation!"
To the West, in an area littered with fragments of golden attribute Magical Treasures and remnants of Sword Intent, a sharp, deadly aura converged, forming a silver-white pillar of light. A metallic clang that rang out like a tiger’s roar echoed through Heaven and Earth.
"North, Black Tortoise! Water Intent Hidden!"
To the North, where the cold, deathly yin qi of the Earth Vein was thickest, dark Gui Water Essence Qi was drawn out. It formed a pillar of black, profound water, heavy and dense, within which the faint shadow of an entwined tortoise and snake could be seen.
The four massive pillars of light, each with a different attribute, stood guard in the four cardinal directions, resonating with one another. They vaguely formed a massive framework that spanned several hundred miles, solidifying the very space within.
The second step: establish the anchors of the Eight Extremes.
Qi Yun’s figure flickered, moving like a phantom. He appeared in the eight intercardinal directions—southeast, northeast, southwest, Northwest, and so on. Each time he appeared, he used his fingers to draw in the air, condensing eight large, ancient Array Talismans and viciously "pressing" them into the depths of the void.
As the talismans entered the void, they acted like eight invisible, giant nails, firmly "pinning" this ravaged land in place and stabilizing its structure.
The third step: gather the Residual Cause as fuel.
Qi Yun returned to the center of the Array Hub and faced downward.
He made a "gathering" gesture with his hands, as if embracing the air.
Instantly, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, the faint remnants of cause and effect connected to him and Cai Shen from all over the Valley of No Life converged. They took the form of innumerable Cause and Effect Threads, each thinner than a human hair, of various colors, and shimmering with hazy light, all flocking toward him.
They swirled and condensed before his chest, gradually forming a constantly rotating, chaotic mass of energy, its interior filled with shifting light and shadows.
This was the Residual Cause that needed to be severed.
Meanwhile, the Little Golden Man of Cai Shen flew above the Array Disc. Its expression was focused as it murmured an incantation and pressed its palms downward.
Incredibly fine golden patterns, imbued with a unique Daoist Intent, flowed from its palms. Like living things, they crawled onto the array and inscribed themselves upon its structure.
To light the fire and activate the Grand Array, Qi Yun carefully pushed the chaotic mass of energy—the gathered Residual Cause—into the central recess of the Array Disc.
As the mass of energy sank in, the Array Disc trembled violently and burst into brilliant light.
The countless Cause and Effect Threads writhed wildly within the Array Disc, like trapped beasts.
"Now!
Use my Spiritual Light as the catalyst.
Ignite the Void Fruit to overwrite the Residual Cause!" Cai Shen yelled.
Without hesitation, Qi Yun flicked the speck of Dark Gold Spiritual Light Cai Shen had given him earlier into the Array Disc.
The instant the Dark Gold Spiritual Light sank into the chaotic mass of energy—
BOOM!
The light on the Array Disc shifted from chaotic to a strange, ashen gray that seemed to absorb all color.
A silent, ashen-gray halo spread out from the Array Disc, instantly sweeping past the Four Symbol pillars and the Eight Extreme talismans to envelop the entire Array.
Wherever the halo passed, the gathered Cause and Effect Threads began to twist, snap, and dissolve as if thrown into an invisible furnace.
Simultaneously, based on the "preset ending" Cai Shen had provided—that the Imperial Soldiers’ spiritual nature had gone dormant when its main body was suppressed—the Array Disc began to reverse-engineer countless new, seemingly plausible but entirely illusory "causal fragments."
Like newborn vines, they spread rapidly, covering and replacing the original, real traces.
The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism throughout the Valley of No Life underwent a subtle change. The lingering, motley Dao Rhyme was washed away and neutralized by the ashen-gray halo.
Gradually, it settled into a false calm, giving the impression that the event was completely over and all the dust has settled.
The last trace of causal connection that Qi Yun and Cai Shen had to this place was completely erased and overwritten.
The Array of Cause and Effect was complete!
Qi Yun’s face was pale, and a sheen of sweat appeared on his temples.
Deploying this array had been extraordinarily draining, consuming not only a massive amount of Magical Power but also immense mental effort.
Now that the Array was complete, no one could discover the truth about the Imperial Soldiers’ spiritual nature or their connection to it—not unless a True Monarch came here in person and conducted a destructive, microscopic search with their immense power.
But this was the heartland of the Northwest. Unless every single Northwest True Monarch was blind, they would never stand by and let a Southern True Monarch trespass on their territory.
"Hurry and leave. The Array is complete; we can’t linger."
The Little Golden Man of Cai Shen’s aura had weakened to an extreme degree. It quickly vanished into Qi Yun’s sleeve.
Although Qi Yun had been the one to set up the Array of Cause and Effect,
in truth, Cai Shen had shouldered ninety percent of the pressure in guiding it.
The effort had nearly exhausted his spiritual nature and forced him back into dormancy.
Qi Yun took one last look at the ruins where he had personally "smoothed over" the threads of cause and effect, then transformed into an Escape Light and vanished silently over the horizon.
The Valley of No Life returned to its dead silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only the afterglow of the ashen-gray halo remained, slowly washing away the last, faint ripples of disturbance.
...