Chapter 436 - 397: Array Formation

Chapter 436: Chapter 397: Array Formation

"This is the Fire Dragon Mountain Range. Legend says it was formed in the Ancient Era when a Fire Dragon fell from the sky. It’s incredibly scorching, and there isn’t a single living thing for over ten thousand kilometers around!"

「On the third day of their flight,」 Nie Yun began to feel waves of intense heat. Looking down through the Heaven-Supporting Shuttle, he saw a majestic mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of kilometers. It coiled and twisted like a great dragon lying upon the earth.

This great dragon was fiery red from end to end. For ten thousand kilometers around, there was no vegetation, let alone any signs of life. From a distance, it was a picture of utter desolation.

"That’s no Fire Dragon," Nie Yun said with a smile after observing it for a moment. "It’s a place where subterranean molten rock has gathered, formed by the eruption of magma from below."

Although there were many descendants of the Dragon Race on the continent, no one had ever seen a true great dragon. To say this volcano was a great dragon was unrealistic. In truth, it was just a vent for the subterranean molten rock; the entire mountain range was formed from magma eruptions.

Beneath the surface of the Floating Heaven Continent, some areas were oceans, some were filled with molten rock, and others were like hell itself, with endless torrents of cold. In short, while the surface appeared smooth and flat, the world below was entirely different. Without sufficient strength, anyone who dared to venture there would only find a dead end.

Even Nie Yun in his past life, a Peak Powerhouse of Dantian Acupoint Realm, hadn’t dared to rashly enter the world below, which just went to show how terrifying it was.

"The treasure left by the Primordial Qi Master is right there!"

The Heaven-Supporting Shuttle flew for another half a day before coming to a sudden stop. Yi Cheng pointed straight ahead.

Following his finger, Nie Yun saw a massive volcanic crater directly in front of them. Golden-yellow molten rock churned within, and waves of scorching heat blasted upward, making their flight unstable.

"It’s here?"

Seeing such a scorching place of molten rock, even Nie Yun, a Flame Master, felt his heart palpitate. With heat waves this intense, forget a Primordial Saint Realm powerhouse—even an Immortal Realm expert would likely be roasted alive if they went in.

"Yes, it’s beneath this molten rock, about twenty thousand meters down. To get inside, we have to rely on Qing’er’s Flame Talent. However, her Mana reserves are too weak. She can manage to take one person down, but two would be dangerous. Little brother, your True Qi is abundant. In a little while, if you see her struggling, please lend her a hand," Yi Cheng said with a smile.

"That’s easy enough," Nie Yun nodded. "But before we go down, we need to get rid of the tail we picked up. Otherwise, if they wait here and ambush us when we come out, it’ll be a problem."

Nie Yun had already spotted Jiang Feng and his group trailing them with his Celestial Eye. They were still far away, so there was no need to be alarmed yet.

"A tail? What should we do?" Hearing the young man’s confident words, Yi Cheng looked puzzled. "If they really managed to find helpers, I’m afraid we won’t be a match for them!"

"They did indeed find a helper. From the looks of it, someone at the Peak of Immortal Realm," Nie Yun said with a smile.

"Peak of Immortal Realm?" Yi Cheng and Yi Qing jumped in fright.

After the Secret Realm Third Layer, the Immortal Realm, the gap between each level grew exponentially. Even the difference between the early and middle stages was like heaven and earth. Although Early-Stage and Peak of Immortal Realm were only three minor levels apart, the difference in combat power was more than tenfold!

For Yi Cheng, he could handle another two Early-Stage Immortal Realm powerhouses with the help of the Heaven-Supporting Shuttle, but he would be helpless against an expert at the Peak of Immortal Realm.

Of course, there were stronger and weaker experts at the Peak of Immortal Realm. If it was someone who had just reached the peak, that might be manageable. But if it was a supreme powerhouse who was half a step into the Secret Realm Fourth Layer, the Domain Realm, even a hundred of him would be no match for them!

The Secret Realm Fourth Layer, the Domain Realm, was also known as the Pocket World Realm or simply the Domain Realm. Those at this level could form a special Domain around themselves, and within that Domain, they were practically invincible!

It was just like the volcano below them. Its scorching molten rock contained the temperature of the Earth Core. Anyone who wasn’t a powerhouse with a Flame Talent would be burned alive if they entered, even someone at the Peak of Immortal Realm. A Domain Realm powerhouse, however, was different.

Once they opened their Domain, it formed a personal kingdom that could completely block out the heat. Although this consumed a great deal of Mana, within their own Domain, they could make it as cold as winter.

This was the power of a Domain—complete control within a certain range.

"Don’t worry. They’re still at least an hour away. We have more than enough time to set up a Grand Array and wait for them to walk right into our trap. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel."

Seeing the expressions on the father and daughter’s faces, Nie Yun chuckled.

Although Jiang Feng’s group was pursuing them quickly, they had started late and still had some distance to cover. This gave him the perfect opportunity to set up a Grand Array before they arrived and invite them into his trap.

"A Grand Array? Good idea! I know a Grand Array that was left behind by an ancestor of our Yi Family. It’s called the Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation. It’s said to be a simplified version of the Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation, and its power is immense. We can set it up right now!"

At the mention of array formation, Yi Cheng’s eyes lit up. He slapped his forehead as he remembered an extremely powerful array.

’That’s right! We can just wait for them to fall into a trap. Since they have a Peak of Immortal Realm powerhouse, there’s no need for us to fight them head-on!’

"The Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation?"

"That’s the one. This Grand Array is incredibly powerful; even in the Primordial Heart Sect, it would be considered one of the top-tier ones. It’s our Clan Treasure. The Jiang Family has coveted the formation method for a long time but never managed to get it. You gave us such High-Level Techniques before, and I have no way to repay you. I’ll pass this array formation on to you now!"

Yi Cheng nodded with a smile, a proud look on his face. Clearly, this Grand Array gave him a great deal of confidence.

"Pass it on to me?" Nie Yun’s expression turned strange.

"Yes. Even Qing’er doesn’t know this array formation; I never told her. It’s a secret of our family that we guard with utmost care," Yi Cheng said.

"Then I thank you," Nie Yun nodded.

"This is the schematic for the array. Take a look!" With a flip of his wrist, a jade tablet appeared in Yi Cheng’s palm, and he casually tossed it over.

"The Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation..." Sweeping his Spirit over the jade tablet, a helpless, almost comical expression appeared on Nie Yun’s face. He shook his head in resignation. "Here, you can have this back. Your array is... well, let’s just use mine."

"What? Is my array no good? Impossible! This is our Clan Treasure..."

Before Yi Cheng could finish, he saw the young man spread his hands. Countless fine threads shot out, frantically weaving an array over the volcanic crater.

Each thread he laid consumed an immense amount of True Qi. The array patterns intertwined, drawing on the scorching air currents of the Fire Dragon Mountain Range, and soon formed an Eight Trigrams Array.

"The Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation? Is that the Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation?" Yi Cheng jumped in shock when he saw the array the young man was creating.

The Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation that he had just been boasting about was, in reality, just a simplified version of the Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation before him!

"The Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation? Oh, no. This is the Nine Heavens Profound Dragon Array. The Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation is just one of its variations, hardly worth mentioning," Nie Yun said with a smile as he continued to set up the array.

"The Nine... Heavens Profound Dragon Array? And the Eight Trigrams Golden Dragon Formation is just one of its... variations?" Yi Cheng felt his world crumbling.

Just moments ago, he had been so proud to offer the Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation to the young man, thinking the boy was getting a huge bargain. But in the blink of an eye, the boy had produced an array that was the ancestor of his own...

Seeing her father hovering in the air with a dumbfounded look on his face, Yi Qing couldn’t help but smile.

But when she recalled the scene of being alone with him in the room that night, the corners of her lips curled up again.

’Any other man who got to be alone with me would be falling over themselves to make small talk, trying to make me happy. They’d spend a fortune just to see me smile. But this young man... he just sat there with his eyes on his nose and his nose pointed at his heart, cultivating like a meditating old monk...’

’Cultivation, cultivation... Am I really that charmless? I haven’t gained any weight recently, and my figure is still great...’

"ACHOO!" Nie Yun looked up at the sky. The weather was fine, and he didn’t have a cold. ’Why did I just sneeze?’

’Oh well. Better get back to setting up the array.’

WHOOSH!

His entire body’s True Qi surged. After more than half an hour, Nie Yun finally stopped.

"Alright, this is the Nine Heavens Profound Dragon Array. It uses the unique terrain of the Fire Dragon Mountain Range, drawing power from the molten rock’s heat, and uses the surrounding mountain peaks as its Array Bases. It contains a total of one hundred and eight Killing Arrays, three hundred and twelve Illusion Arrays, and one hundred and seventy-eight death traps. Because I didn’t have any formation materials or Top-Grade Spirit Stones to power it, the array’s full potential won’t be unleashed. However, it should have no problem killing someone at the Peak of Immortal Realm."

Dusting off his hands, Nie Yun looked down at the array he had painstakingly constructed and said with a smile.

"It can kill someone at the Peak of Immortal Realm even without Top-Grade Spirit Stones to power it or special Array Bases?" Yi Cheng trembled.

His Sky Carrying Enchanting Dragon Formation, even with special Array Bases, could at most trap an Early-Stage Immortal Realm expert. Killing one would be extremely difficult.

After all, experts at that level had numerous life-saving techniques. Unless one’s strength was overwhelmingly superior, it was practically impossible to kill them completely.

Yet, the array this young man had set up, even without various formation materials, could kill a Peak of Immortal Realm powerhouse. This... this kind of array was simply too terrifying!

"However, the limit of this array is the Peak of Immortal Realm. It would be useless against a Domain Realm powerhouse. After all, I set it up in a hurry, and many parts aren’t properly configured. If you gave me a month, forget a Domain Realm expert—even a powerhouse from the Secret Realm Fifth Layer might not escape unscathed," Nie Yun said with a smile.

When it came to the art of arrays, if Nie Yun was considered an ordinary person in his past life, then no one would have dared call themselves a master. In this life, he was limited by his strength and couldn’t set up many of the truly super-class Grand Arrays. However, possessing the Celestial Eye Talent gave him a much more thorough understanding of arrays, allowing him to advance even further in this path.

"A Grand Array that can kill a Peak of Immortal Realm powerhouse was just... set up in a hurry? How can such a monster exist in this world?"

Yi Cheng was speechless.

He had seen his share of geniuses in his lifetime, many of whom had amazed him. But this Nie Yun... in terms of cultivation, knowledge, strategy, and array formation... he was on a whole other level of abnormal!

Such an all-powerful, abnormal, peerless genius... he had never even heard of such a person, let alone met one!

’Is he even human?’ (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)