Chapter 354 - Spiritual Array House
Due to a single statement by Ling Xi, for the next five days, it was very clear that Mu Chen’s life was unbearably tough and painful. With thirty Fourth Grade Spiritual Arrays grinding him to the point between life and death, he was left battered and exhausted.
However, it was fortunate that after enduring a period of the demonic training, Mu Chen could be said to have developed some resistance to it. Therefore, after successively failing in completing his training of breaking the thirty Spiritual Arrays, Mu Chen finally successfully accomplished it with extreme difficulty on the fourth day. However, the price he paid was an immediate loss of consciousness due to being totally drained upon exiting the Spiritual Arrays, which result in him being dragged back to the Freshmen area by Su’er.
For the fifth day, Mu Chen took the entire day’s worth of time to recuperate, which resulted in him finally recovering. However, there was still a slight lingering fear within him. thirty Fourth Grade Spiritual Arrays; even though it was of the training Grade, it was sufficient to make a huge percentage of people at the Heavenly Completion Stage to completely lose the colour on their faces.
Naturally, having completed this training did not equate to Mu Chen being able to confront thirty Fourth Grade Spiritual Arrays when engaging in battle against others. Training and real life combat were, after all, not the same. The enemies faced during combat would not immediately arrange their Spiritual Arrays like that and leave them without any further control to let anyone search and probe their patterns.
However, this did not mean that the training did not have any effect. As of now, Mu Chen believed that if he met one or two Fourth Grade Spiritual Arrays, he would absolutely be able to effortlessly dispel them, without any kind of consumption of his strength.
His understanding and familiarity towards Spiritual Arrays had undoubtedly become much more refined after this half a month.
The fifth day was being used completely by Mu Chen to recuperate. Only on the next day did he continue to head back to Ling Xi’s small courtyard.
As Mu Chen walked into the small courtyard, a girl dressed in a skirt as white as snow was sitting near the bamboo ledge within the green and verdant bamboo house. Propping her lovely cheek with her white hand, her beautiful eyes gazed onto the ground, with no focal point within her sight, while a faint expression was present on her beautiful face. That vacantness masked her original icy and indifferent expression, causing her to give people an additional beautiful feeling of frailness upon seeing her.
Ling Xi’s appearance was already extremely beautiful, with only her icy indifference that forced people a thousand miles away, making Mu Chen not daring to say much in front of her. However, spotting the former with such a rare expression caused him to go into a daze upon seeing her.
While Mu Chen was in a daze, Ling Xi had also discovered his arrival, causing those beautiful eyes to immediately refocus, becoming the usual iciness and in-differentness once again.
“Hmm, you’ve arrived, Big Brother Mu Chen! Are your injuries healed?” Su’er’s small head extended from the bamboo house at this moment. Upon seeing Mu Chen, happiness filled her little face.
Sending a smile towards her, Mu Chen cupped his hands and greeted Ling Xi, “Elder Ling Xi.”
Ling Xi shot a look at him, before saying in her usual indifferent tone, “Before everything, I have to tell you that the Spiritual Array House is extremely dangerous. Although you’ve gotten seriously injured during your usual training here, that is, after all, within the boundaries of your limits. However, the inside of the Spiritual Array House is different from your training. Once you make a slip, your little life will be lost in there. Furthermore, at that time, I’ll not save you, as this is your own decision. Your life and death is of no concern to me.”
Mu Chen’s expression turned faintly solemn as he asked, “After entering the Spiritual Array House, would I then be able to open my Heart’s Eye?”
With the slightest bit of mercy, Ling Xi destroyed Mu Chen’s hopes with a single reply, “Do you think you’re capable of doing that?”
Mu Chen gave a bitter laugh.
“You’ve already managed to touch the Heart’s Eye State, with the only thing stopping you is your inability to open it. However, the final step you’re lacking in might only be broken through during a life-or-death situation. Although the usual training is dangerous, it hasn’t reached such a degree of danger,” replied Ling Xi with her usual clear and cold voice.
“Naturally, you can choose a different method from this. However, I’ll only give you, at most, half a month of time. If you’re still unable to open your Heart’s Eye at that time, my guidance will also end right there.” Ling Xi’s voice didn’t present many fluctuations within, and same with her emotions and feelings.
She was naturally icy and indifferent, and didn’t have a single shred of a relationship with Mu Chen. If not for Dean Tai Cang and Su’er, she would simply ignore him. As of now, helping him for half a month was, to her, already considered as doing her best.
Already clear about her character and temperament, Mu Chen didn’t feel any anger or frustration. After a moment of deep thought, he nodded his head firmly.
“I choose to enter the Spiritual Array House.”
He was similarly able to feel that he was somewhat lacking just one step. However, regardless of how much more training he did, that one step was difficult to stride over. Perhaps it truly was like what Ling Xi had said, that he need the stimulation present in a life-or-death situation to be able to truly open his Heart’s Eye.
Although he knew that this would be extremely dangerous, courage and bravery were things that Mu Chen never lacked. If he was overly cautious, Mu Chen felt that he would have already died long ago during the days within the Spiritual Road, even more so to walk to the step he was at now.
Mu Chen’s decision caused Ling Xi to take another look at him, before giving a calm and faint nod with her beautiful face as she turned and walked off.
“Follow me.”
Mu Chen immediately followed suited, with Su’er hastily following along. At this moment, worry and concern flooded her tiny face. She was very clear about how frightening the Spiritual Array House was. Once a problem arose while one was inside, even one’s life might have no guarantees.
The three of them passed through the quiet and serene courtyard to the deepest part of the area. This place appeared extremely spacious, with only a dilapidated stone house present in front of them. The stone house was covered in moss, giving people an ancient feeling filled with vicissitudes upon seeing it.
Ling Xi came to a stop before the stone house. Forming a seal with her jade-like hands, a ray of Spiritual Energy shot out, before enveloping the dilapidated stone house.
Humm! Humm!
Following the enveloping brilliance, the stone house started to shudder, before rapidly expanding within Mu Chen’s astonished gaze. In a short span of a few breaths, the stone house had transformed into a gigantic stone hall. Within the surroundings of the stone hall, one could faintly discern the mysterious runic lines flickering with a dim brilliance.
“This is…” Staring at the stone hall, a faint flash appeared within Mu Chen’s gaze as thick astonishment erupted from within his eyes as he asked, “Is this a Spiritual Artifact?”
From the stone hall, Mu Chen was able to to feel the unique fluctuations possessed only by a Spiritual Artifact.
“Hehe. This Spiritual Array House isn’t any ordinary Spiritual Artifact. According to Elder Sister Ling Xi, it was previously a Quasi-Divine Artifact. However, due to it being broken, its grade had dropped. Now, it’s a Peerless Rank Spiritual Artifact. However, even if that was the case, due to extremely strong Spiritual Arrays concealed within it , even a Sovereign would be trapped and find it hard to escape from within if he ever landed within it,” replied Su’er with a cheeky smile.
“Quasi-Divine Artifact?” Mu Chen involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air as he looked at Ling Xi’s beautiful figure with strange gaze. Exactly what was her background? She was actually able to possess a Quasi-Divine Artifact that would even shake the heart of Sovereign Realm experts. Out of all the many Elders within the entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, even the Heavenly Seat Elders, like Mo You and Zhu Tian, might not even possess a Quasi-Divine Artifact.
Furthermore, what kind of frightening person or thing was able to cause this previously Quasi-Divine Artifact to drop a Rank to become an Peerless Rank Spiritual Artifact?
Mu Chen quietly clicked his tongue. This Ling Xi was truly getting more and more mysterious.
Ignoring the two behind her, Ling Xi stared at the dilapidated stone hall, while going into a daze as a vacant expression flash within her beautiful eyes. Only after quite a while later did she give a faint sigh. With a wave of her white hand, rumbling sounds rang out of the tightly shut stone doors as they slowly started to open, bit by bit. Instantly after this, boundless Spiritual Energy fluctuations swept out from within.
“Prepare to go in. I can only open the first level of the Spiritual Array House. However, even though that's the case, it’s sufficient to kill you. Therefore, you better focus all of your concentration. It’s the same statement I’ve said earlier. Even if you are at death’s door, I’ll not take any action to save you. In all, you can only rely on your own strength.” Ling Xi reminded in an indifferent tone.
Mu Chen took a deep breath, before his expression turned firm and solemn. Facing a frightening thing that was even able to trap a Sovereign expert within, if he just lost even a slight amount of concentration, he might be killed, spick and span.
However, in such a moment, even if there were mountains of daggers or seas of flames in front of him, he would still give it a go.
Mu Chen resolutely stepped forward, before walking straight into the opened stone door. Glowing Spiritual Energy erupted from within, slowly submerging and devouring him.
Bang! Rumble.
As Mu Chen entered through the doors, low rumbling sounds rang out as the stone doors slowly started to close, bit by bit, before restraining the brilliance that blotted the skies back.
Su’er’s little hands were clenched tightly as she looked towards the tightly shut stone doors. Stealing a glance at the beautiful face of Ling Xi, which was filled with an indifferent expression, she asked in a small voice, “Elder Sister Ling Xi, what if Big Brother Mu Chen really can’t hold on any longer. You would save him, right?”
Glancing at Su’er, Ling Xi replied with a tone that was almost devoid of emotion. “That’s his decision, so he has to take responsibility for himself. If this was just due to a spur of hot-headedness, it serves him right if he dies. If he was only of such a level, regardless of what kind of results he ends up in, I won’t feel any pity.”
Hearing Ling Xi’s cold and detached words and tone, Su’er’s big eyes started to uncontrollably turn red as she spoke out, “Elder sister Ling Xi, you’re clearly very good hearted…why do you have to act like that? You’ve scared me.”
Looking over towards Su’er’s reddening eyes, Ling Xi’s expression become much more complicated. Hugging the little girl, she muttered, “Perhaps because I was previously like that. Therefore, the current me would reject such a feeling. Being more cold, being more heartless, that seems to be the only way to better protect myself…”
……
When Mu Chen’s body was enveloped by the Spiritual Light that erupted out, he was able to clearly sense that the surrounding space had started to change. Upon sobering up, he discovered that he was now in a place that seemed to be a world of unending starry skies.
Within the starry skies were boundless rivers of stars, causing people to feel a sense of dread surfacing within their hearts.
As Mu Chen stood within the starry skies, he could gradually feel a sense of danger erupting from within his heart. Raising his head, he discovered that the surrounding starry skies were starting to transform at this moment. As the stars roared, they proceeded to condense and form a shape within the sky. Layer by layer it formed, as if the starlight was permeated out, before forming something akin to a gigantic Spiritual Array.
Boundless Spiritual Energy was present in that Spiritual Array formed from the stars, while the Spiritual Energy fluctuations radiating out of it were even more tyrannical than the “Butchering Demonic Lotus Spiritual Array” form from the two lotuses that Mu Chen had arranged before.
This caused Mu Chen’s expression to faintly change. This Spiritual Array was already at the Fifth Grade. Even people with that had reached the Heavenly Completion Stage would not dare to meet it head-on.
This Spiritual Array House truly was extremely dangerous!
Could he truly crash his way through?
Mu Chen’s expression grew grave, as uncertainty surfaced within his heart.