Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1278 - 496: Nine Curves Corridor (Part 2)
Chapter 1278: Chapter 496: Nine Curves Corridor (Part 2)
Participants must enter the Formation with their own bodies, survive in the “Boundary Array” depicted in the map, and strive to refine and master this Array as much as possible.
The higher the degree of mastery, the higher the rank of the cultivator.
Because the Mountain River Society Map reaches the Refining Void Level and utilizes ancient techniques and ancient formations, among the cultivators participating in the trial, scarcely anyone has surpassed ten percent in refinement and mastery during their time of survival.
As for the rewards, they are minimal. There is only one: the future opportunity to become the master of the Mountain River Society Map!
This is a Xingyun Trial that the Myriad Images Sect has always hosted.
The purpose is to select, as much as possible, cultivators suitable for the Mountain River Society Map, choose the best, and train them to become map masters.
The map masters are not just one person but over a hundred.
The Mountain River Society Map is the foundation of the Myriad Images Sect and cannot be controlled by just one cultivator. Typically, to fully exert the power of this map, it also requires the power of a group to drive and host it.
Earth Fire Abundant Field Formation.
Ice Seal Ten Thousand Miles Formation.
Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Root Formation.
Illusion Sea Formation.
Heavenly Gang Beidou Formation.
Qiankun Shift Formation…
The various trials left Ning Zhuo dazzled.
“I must take out the Taoist Artifact Luoshu and break the Array. To practice the art of Breaking Array, this trial is currently the best choice.” Ning Zhuo carefully selected his next target.
Nine Curves Peak.
A group of cultivators gathered here, waiting for today’s trial to begin.
“Isn’t it said that once you enter this formation, you can’t get out?”
“Indeed. Nine curves, eighteen bends, each curve is a cycle. You think you are moving forward, but you’re actually circling in the same place.”
“Breaking the array is extremely difficult. Any delay, and the formation changes, rendering all previous probing efforts futile. Let’s place a bet on who can hold out the longest!”
This is the Nine Curves Corridor Array!
Another fixed Xingyun Trial at Heavy Array Peak.
Ning Zhuo arrived on the clouds, instantly causing a minor sensation.
“Look quickly! It’s Ning Zhuo!”
“It really is him! Is he going to challenge the Nine Curves Corridor Array?”
“He just exchanged for a copper medal, truly in the limelight.”
“Could it be that he has considerable expertise in Array? This is truly deep foundational strength.”
Amidst divine sense communication, Ning Zhuo slowly walked toward the entrance.
The cultivator guarding the entrance saw Ning Zhuo and dared not neglect him, actively stepping forward to greet him, and publicly expressing the honor of having a genius like Ning Zhuo participate in the trial here, and looking forward to his astonishing performance.
Ning Zhuo waved his hand. “I am not proficient in Array. I simply wish to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain more experience and broaden my horizons.”
The crowd took Ning Zhuo’s words as modesty.
Many cultivators hoping to participate in the trial became tense, believing that Ning Zhuo would be their greatest opponent today!
One person stepped out from the crowd and walked toward Ning Zhuo.
He was slender, with a complexion like cold jade, and brows and eyes as gentle as faintly dyed ink. His hair was tied with an ebony hairpin, the pinhead set with a Sumeru Mustard Seed Stone, exuding the aura of a Magic Treasure Level. A plain blue robe was draped with a Mystic Silkworm Cloud Pattern Cloak, the cloak corners adorned with Yin Yang Glazed Buttons, emitting a protective clear light.
It was none other than Ning Zhuo’s friend, Shen Xi.
Shen Xi smiled wryly. “I didn’t expect to encounter Brother Ning in this trial. It seems the top spot belongs to you, my friend.”
Ning Zhuo quickly shook his head. “Brother Shen, you know my understanding of Array Dao. This time I came purely to broaden my knowledge and widen my views.”
“But why is Brother Shen participating in this trial?”
Shen Xi informed Ning Zhuo that the Nine Curves Corridor Array incorporated the Nine Palace Formation in a very ingenious way, highly esteemed by the entire Shen Family.
Shen Xi, carefully nurtured by his family since childhood, had long heard of the Nine Curves Corridor Array and had always been fascinated by it. Thus, at this Feiyun Conference, he seized the opportunity to experience it firsthand.
“I see,” Ning Zhuo nodded and asked, “Why haven’t I seen fellow cultivator Su Lingkou?”
“Oh, she’s fully engaged in tackling a weaving-related trial,” Shen Xi replied.
Their conversation briefly continued, and the entrance to the Nine Curves Corridor Array gradually opened.
The crowd entered in succession.
Ning Zhuo bade farewell to Shen Xi and stepped in as well.
In an instant, his vision changed dramatically.
The corridor was wide, with vermilion pillars on either side, engraved with intricate patterns. Sunlight slanted in from outside the corridor, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Everything appeared so normal, so serene.
Ning Zhuo first took a step forward, walking normally, and after over thirty steps, he paused.
He had been moving forward all along, yet the pillar patterns on the sides were identical to those at the starting point.
Behind him, the corridor stretched endlessly, as did it ahead. Ning Zhuo seemed to be standing on an endless line with no apparent start or end.
He closed his eyes and spread his divine sense.
As his divine sense expanded, its consumption grew more intense.
The divine sense cultivated by the Mirror Stand Spirit Communication Technique was not known for its volume or range. But Ning Zhuo had compatible methods.
Immediately, he released a multitude of mechanical mirrors, sending them flying swiftly in both forward and backward directions.
His divine sense was continuously refracted among the mirrors, rapidly expanding its detection range and undergoing a qualitative change. Remarkably, as the range soared, the divine sense’s consumption drastically diminished.
Soon, Ning Zhuo discovered a clue—the surrounding Spiritual Energy was flowing slowly, forming a massive ring. He stood at a point on this ring.
Ning Zhuo’s mind stirred slightly.
He no longer proceeded blindly but stood still, waiting patiently.
After 30 minutes, he had fully grasped the pattern of Spiritual Energy flow. He found: This ring had nine nodes corresponding to the nine curves. His current location was the starting point of the first curve.
To exit the first curve, one needed to find the endpoint.
“That ought to be where the Spiritual Energy flows most slowly.”
With this hypothesis, Ning Zhuo began moving.
Following the flow of Spiritual Energy, outwardly showing: the big-headed youth no longer walked straight ahead but advanced and retreated alternately. Sometimes he moved forward two or three steps only to retreat five or six steps.
What seemed to be foolish actions successfully led him out of the first corridor, allowing him to enter the second curve.
Despite the corridor around him being identical to the first, showing no difference.
The cultivators hosting the Array conversed in secret.
“Ning Zhuo has exited the first curve, and he’s done so quickly!”
“Indeed, he must have delved into Array knowledge.”
“But he’s not the fastest.”
The fastest was Shen Xi.
“The first corridor is the simplest. For a genius like Ning Zhuo, breaking through it is not surprising. Let’s watch what happens next.”
At this moment, Ning Zhuo’s attempt at divine sense probing had failed.
The second corridor severely suppressed divine sense, limiting him to detect no more than a three-zhang radius even with various mechanical mirrors.
Moreover…
Ning Zhuo paused, quietly observing the crossroads ahead.
The second corridor presented crossroads, unlike the first.
Deciphering it became extraordinarily more difficult. Based on Ning Zhuo’s current perception, at least ten times more so!
Ning Zhuo took a deep breath and pondered for a moment before suddenly starting to sprint.
His physical foundation was robust, now capable of bearing a million Human Souls. Coupled with the use of spells to augment himself, his speed was exceedingly fast. The corridor pillars rapidly receded behind him.
As a result, crossroads appeared one after another in Ning Zhuo’s view.
He chose directions at random, without concern for left or right.
What mattered was that each time he entered a crossroad, the Array in his perception had minor fluctuations.
Those fluctuations were the lingering rhythms of the Array’s operation.
Ning Zhuo sprinted for the length of a cup of tea, finally achieving results in his calculations through accumulated lingering rhythms.
He chose one crossroad without hesitation, left, right, left, left, right, left, right, left, right, right…
After more than ten crossroads, he felt a collective lightness as he stepped from the second curve into the third.
The Array-hosting cultivators glanced at each other.
“Ning Zhuo is significantly behind now.”
“It seems he was truthful when he said he came merely to broaden his knowledge.”
“With such Array Dao skills, it seems challenging for him to get past the third curve.”
Ning Zhuo’s use of a simplistic method cost him much time. At this moment, many Array Dao cultivators had already surpassed him.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
