Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8 - Chapter 324 - 173: Unifying Jiuzhou, Seeing the Immortal Palace Again

Other arrays were usable, but their effects were far inferior to high-end ones like the Five Elements Immortal Array. They simply weren’t worth much research or practical use.

To see results as quickly as possible, he went to find Elder Hun—the manifestation of the World Consciousness—and asked about the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array they had used before.

At first, Elder Hun refused.

After all, the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array was uniquely connected to him as the World Consciousness.

But a persistent pest is the hardest to get rid of.

Unable to withstand Li Chang’an’s endless nagging, Elder Hun finally sighed. “I can teach you this array, but you must remember: activating the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array consumes a vast amount of Destiny. If you lack sufficient Destiny and still force its use, the Heaven and Earth Consciousness will strip you of your lifespan and Divine Soul…”

“Furthermore, the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array requires the Heaven and Earth Consciousness to be willing to assist you. If you become an enemy of the Heaven and Earth Consciousness, this array will not work. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Li Chang’an understood.

’This so-called Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array was actually designed specifically for the Children of Destiny.’

’If you don’t have enough Destiny, you can still force its use, but the price is your lifespan and soul. Moreover, you have to be on good terms with the Heaven and Earth Consciousness and earn its approval.’

’You could say the restrictions on this array were immense.’

’Failing to meet even one of the conditions would make it impossible to unleash its true power.’

’But these multiple layers of restrictions only served to highlight how miraculous and terrifying the array truly was.’

’After all, he had used this very array to single-handedly turn the tide of battle, slaughtering those twelve Cultivators on their Five Elements Immortal Array without giving them a chance to even fight back.’

’In the end, he had wiped them all out near the border.’

After receiving the diagrams for the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array from Elder Hun, Li Chang’an studied them for a long time. Once he was certain he had memorized every detail, he handed them over to the members of the Array Research Institute for study.

The version of the Heaven and Earth Soul Refining Array Elder Hun provided was absurdly powerful, but its restrictions were also too strict. Li Chang’an wanted to use the research institute, combined with his Heaven-defying Comprehension, to modify the array and make it more widely applicable.

To get these research institutes up and running smoothly, Li Chang’an recruited nearly every talented and extraordinary individual he could find from across the land, assigning them to the various institutes to get them operational as quickly as possible.

Just as Li Chang’an’s efforts were in full swing, the Cultivators’ counterattack arrived swiftly.

Although Li Chang’an had used his Soul Fire to intercept and eliminate most of the Cultivators in the Lower Realm, letting none escape, the simultaneous loss of so many avatars meant that as long as the Cultivation Realm wasn’t blind, they could guess what had happened on the Jiuzhou Continent with their eyes closed.

…

「In the 13,367th year of the Great Zhou Calendar, Li Chang’an turned thirty.」

He had forged several new realms beyond the existing Martial Arts Realms.

His strength was now on a completely different level from before.

It was at this very moment that a colossal Immortal Ship, dozens of meters long, appeared high in the skies above the Great Zhou Imperial City, looking down upon the soldiers and fortifications below.

Aboard the Immortal Ship were dozens of Cultivators.

One of them stared coldly at the scurrying ants in the Imperial Palace below and said in a low voice, “Who dares to cause trouble in a world under my Immortal Palace’s dominion? All who dare to offend my Immortal Palace shall die!”

Seeing the Immortal Ship appear, the Martial Artists responsible for the city’s defense immediately dispatched a messenger to inform Li Chang’an while simultaneously preparing their armaments for a defensive battle.

The next second, however…

SHOOO—

A piercing sound rang out as a beam of light shot out casually from a cannon at the front of the Immortal Ship, effortlessly destroying the entire outer wall of the Imperial Palace.

Everything the Great Zhou soldiers took pride in was like paper before the Cultivators’ Immortal Ship. They weren’t even in the same league.

The soldiers, weapons in hand, had been preparing to mount a fierce resistance.

But when they turned to see the Great Zhou’s strongest imperial wall vanish in the blink of an eye, they were plunged into a state of profound bewilderment.

For years, they had prepared numerous measures to deal with the Cultivators’ potential arrival. They had thought that even if these measures were inadequate, they would at least hold out for a few breaths against the invaders.

They never imagined the enemy would be so much more terrifying than they had anticipated.

In a single exchange, their proudest wall had been pierced through, leaving a massive hole.

The Cultivators aboard the Immortal Ship were clearly disdainful.

One of them glanced at the smoldering wall and the chaotic soldiers below, his tone cold and calm as he spoke: “The Immortal Palace values life. Ants, hand over your rabble-rousing leader at once, and we shall grant you a path to survival. Otherwise, this entire world will be buried today for your recklessness and betrayal!”

Hearing that ethereal, almost divine voice, the soldiers below couldn’t help but grit their teeth.

One hot-tempered soldier, veins bulging on his forehead, roared, “Immortal Palace my ass! You’re just a bunch of bandits and animals! If you’ve got the guts, jump down from that thing and we’ll see who’s tough!”

At lower realms, Martial Artists often lacked long-range attack methods.

Now, with the Cultivators flying high in the air on their Immortal Ship, no matter how indignant the Martial Artists were, their limited long-range attacks couldn’t threaten them at all.

Of course, given their current strength, even if the Cultivators actually came down from the Immortal Ship and stood still to let them attack, they probably couldn’t even break through their defenses.

…