Chapter 51: The Array

Hansu took a few steps to the stone wall, studying the patterns intently. Seeing her in action, the Celestial Fox also descended lazily from his throne, though the bulging veins beneath the wide sleeves of his robe betrayed his own tension.

He watched as she paced from one end to the other, scanning from the cave’s ceiling down the walls to the floor. Her attitude shifted from cautious reverence to growing agitation. Her brows drew tighter, her breaths heavier; her little hands gripped tightly, except when she was tracing the carved lines. After what seemed an age, having meticulously examined all, she finally lost her temper. Whirling around, she shouted at the great demon who had shadowed her every step.

“What is all this nonsense? Who embedded these crystals here? Do you have no idea that you can’t just tamper with an array at will?”

The young girl, bristling in her fury, was so fierce it made the Celestial Fox want to laugh for no reason at all. Yet the matter was grave, so he restrained his expression and replied with all due seriousness, “I thought the bare patterns were ugly, so I set some crystals into them. Don’t you think it looks much better this way?”

“Beautiful? Beautiful? Beautiful my foot! Don’t you know that crystals hold energy and affect the arrays? This stone chamber is the core of the entire secret realm’s formation. If you mess with it, you affect the whole realm!”

At this, the Celestial Fox looked deeply struck, stumbling back a few steps to clutch his forehead. “You mean to say the reason I’m trapped here is because I tampered with all these arrays?”

Hansu glared at him in helpless exasperation and poked a little finger at him. “Exactly! If you don’t understand, don’t meddle. By adding those crystals, you inadvertently locked yourself in, and the concealment array of the secret realm was strengthened. It should have reappeared ten thousand years ago, but your crystals reinforced the array, so it took ten thousand more years to be found. And even now that the realm is revealed, you still can’t get out, because your crystals supercharged a protective array and trapped you inside.” She gave him a scornful look. “Ignorance is truly frightening.”

With that, she stuck out her tongue and shrank away. The great demon, reeling from the string of blows, paid her insubordination no mind. His tall, proud figure seemed to droop, as if even his noble head was too heavy for his slender neck. He spoke softly, “I was thrown in here at birth—how would I ever have learned about arrays? They should have told me not to meddle. If they never said so, how was I to know…”

He brooded in silence for a while, then suddenly brightened, “So you can fix it, can’t you? If I pry out all the crystals, will that do?” As he rolled up his sleeves, he realized such work was beneath his dignity, hesitated, and pretended to straighten his clothes, resuming a stately air. “Go pry out the crystals for your king.”

Having figured out this dignitary’s temperament, Hansu thought to herself that he was just a haughty, naive, and somewhat dim-witted fellow, with an added penchant for shiny things. Still, the gap in their cultivation was obvious, so she obediently began preparing materials to amend the array.

Before getting to work, however, she shrewdly set her terms. “Honored elder, I can alter the array and help you leave the secret realm—no problem. But it takes more than just removing the crystals; I’ll have to use a lot of my own materials. Someone as noble as you surely wouldn’t make me pay for everything, right?”

The Celestial Fox, now beaming with the prospect of freedom and once more exuding his earlier languid charm, merely waved a hand at her demands. “I have plenty of ugly stones. Take them all. And call me Huaiyin.”

Time slipped by quietly as Hansu worked hard to repair the tampered array. She and Lord Huaiyin grew more familiar. Huaiyin, having been confined for ten thousand years, was ignorant of current affairs in the cultivation world, so Hansu would often use their breaks to explain the present power structure, gossip, and customs. In return, Huaiyin taught her the methods of demon-kin body cultivation. Both found interests in each other’s worlds. Regretting his earlier blunders, Lord Huaiyin earnestly studied arrays under Hansu’s guidance.

Within the secret realm, Hansu now occupied a status akin to that of a chief minister or princess; no beast dared provoke her. She was, however, frequently summoned by their king to spar, and together they made the realm a scene of chaos, so much so that every denizen hoped the pair would hurry up and leave.

But let us leave them aside for now. The Yaohua Sect was far from tranquil. Ever since the Hexi Secret Realm opened twenty years before, the beloved daughter of Lingwu Peak’s master, Hansu, had been trapped in the inheritance hall and sealed within the secret realm. The sect’s leaders immediately checked her soul lamp.

Though the lamp had flickered in recent years, it had never gone out. Moreover, the Lords Lanhe and Hengbo were still away in the Shiyu Realm, so few were truly anxious for Hansu. Gradually, the matter was set aside. Most believed she had missed the realm’s opening while receiving the inheritance, and would be able to exit at the next cycle. Thirty years might be the prime of life for an ordinary person, but for a high-level cultivator, it was but a single meditation session.

No one discussed what had happened in the inheritance hall. The sect assumed Hansu had triggered a mechanism and gained the inheritance, so the others were teleported out. After all, the incident involved four disciples, three of whom were from prominent backgrounds. When the four emerged, none spoke of the matter, tacitly agreeing that it was Hansu’s inheritance that caused their expulsion, all affecting joy for her and regret for themselves.

Lu Tanxian, having returned, secluded herself in cultivation and even declined a summons from Lord Yuheng, who had heard she’d refined a fourth-tier pill. She remained in closed-door training for seven or eight years, and when she emerged, she had reached the third level of Foundation Establishment. Her first act was to visit Lord Yuheng’s cave to apologize.

Though Lingyao Peak’s outer and main peaks were not far apart, Lu Tanxian, having not left her home in years, was glad to stretch her legs. In just a few years, so many new disciples had arrived that many no longer recognized her—a reminder of how the world of cultivation was even more ruthless than the mortal realm. She had long understood this: only by becoming more ruthless than the rest could one rise to the highest path.

As she walked, she recalled that day in the inheritance hall. She had known of the place for a long time. Years earlier, while adventuring with two senior brothers, she had accidentally entered an array on a mountain and, by chance, broke it. There, she discovered an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling.

There was little in that cave, save for a skeleton turned to dust. Beside the remains, she found a storage ring containing a compendium of array theory and a cultivation journal.

The journal revealed that the owner had been an elder of the Deceptive Array Sect. When the Construction Sect’s four elders were dying, the Deceptive Array Sect intended to annex them and seize their secret arts. Though they slaughtered all members of the Construction Sect, the sect’s secrets vanished without a trace. In the end, they soul-searched a young disciple and learned that the elders might have built an inheritance hall in the Hexi Secret Realm. The elder was obsessed with finding it, but the Construction Sect’s grand elder, Fairy Yayan, had foreseen this and concealed it by altering the realm’s master array. The Deceptive Array Sect soon perished for various reasons, and the elder, unable to pass on his skills, inscribed his life’s work on jade slips for a worthy successor.

Lu Tanxian would not let such knowledge slip by. She mastered the array arts and longed for the Construction Sect’s inheritance. But the Hexi Secret Realm was hidden, and she could only bide her time. Her luck changed when the secret realm was discovered and the sect sent fifty Foundation Establishment disciples to explore. She, of course, secured a place, but the journal did not specify the inheritance hall’s location. She had to seek it herself.

Thus, she did not team up with Yuhan Mountain's group, whom she had watched closely. Their backgrounds were different, and Ning Xin clung to him, making Lu’s chances slim. To force her way in would only court humiliation. Besides, that group was experienced and might snatch her opportunity.

Events soon unfolded out of control. Someone used a Thunderfruit, blasting the inheritance hall into view. Though unexpected, she managed to enter and began the trial.

Once inside, she quickly realized it was an illusion array. If she could break it, she might claim the inheritance. She set about dismantling it, only for Su Yunmo to follow her in.

She had long believed that revenge could wait ten years. If not for Su Yunmo, she might already be Lord Yuheng’s disciple—the most promising Nascent Soul lord, with an impeccable background and no dark history, a pure and icy beauty, the perfect match for any heroine.

Naturally, Lu Tanxian never doubted she was the heroine of her own story. Early hardships, later glory, a personal space, a knack for finding treasures wherever she went—if not for Su Yunmo meddling, she would already be Lord Yuheng’s only true disciple, whispering by his side...

So, in that moment, she was ready to kill. No one could know what transpired in the inheritance hall. Everyone knew trials awaited those seeking inheritance, and failure meant death—so if Su Yunmo died mysteriously, who would question it?

Yet she dared not leave any trace, for Su Yunmo’s background was different. What if she carried some soul token capable of recording her attacker? Fortunately, Lu Tanxian had mastered the subtle arts of deceptive arrays. By modifying the Construction Sect’s trial illusion, she could set a deadly trap. Everything was going according to plan—except for the array’s reaction. Before she could trigger her trap, the corridor-like illusion array went berserk, unleashing blades, spears, swords, fireballs, and lightning. Su Yunmo screamed, used an unknown defense, and they were both teleported out.

Missing the chance to kill was no great loss—other opportunities would arise. In fact, to kill her would be too kind; it would be better to make her wish for death. What truly pained her was missing the inheritance. Even a glimpse at the Construction Sect’s array revealed its power. If only she had gained the inheritance—it would have gone to that little girl instead.

“Sister, the peak master asks you inside.” An attendant disciple approached her in the main peak’s plaza. Lu Tanxian composed herself, flashed a dazzling smile, and gracefully made her way to the peak master’s residence.

Author’s note: Three chapters today! Starting tomorrow, it’ll be one every other day. Thank you for your support—I’ll do my best!