Sun Yicheng returned to the cloud ship and Qiu Huahui asked him, "How was it?"
Qin Ran's arrogant laughter was still ringing in their ears, and her expression was solemn, not looking very good.
"This man is impervious to reason," Sun Yicheng shook his head, "We'll have to attack forcefully."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Huahui pointed to the array below where the light and shadow were shifting and said, "To attack forcefully, we need to break the array. Do you know what kind of array it is?"
"I have not delved into the art of arrays, nor have I seen such an array before," Sun Yicheng sighed, "But from our conversation just now, I know that this array was also created by him. Compared to his level in alchemy and his shrewdness, this array will not be simple. We need to be extra careful."
Qiu Huahui had witnessed Qin Ran's alchemy skills; his poison pills and death pills had caused chaos in Zhican Valley that had yet to settle.
"Such a person..." she was puzzled, "Why was he not well-known before?"
"His background is very clean; he is from the northern Chu region, a disciple of Wang Yuanyi. He entered the Dao Sword Sect at the age of five with a medium-grade water spiritual root and average comprehension. It took him several years to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. After Wang Yuanyi's tribulation failed, he has been cultivating in the alchemy peak of the Dao Sword Sect, never leaving the mountain."
Sun Yicheng was also puzzled, "I don't know why his alchemy skills are so high; Wang Yuanyi's alchemy skills were ordinary; as for arrays, no one ever taught him."
A too-clean background added more mystery."Could it be that he was born with knowledge?" Qiu Huahui asked, "Or perhaps... he was possessed by a great master; is he a great master reincarnated..."
Sun Yicheng didn't know either. Although he had dealt with Qin Ran many times, such people would only show their enemies what the enemies wanted to see.
If they couldn't figure out Qin Ran's origins, they wouldn't bother. After all, it wasn't important.
Qiu Huahui raised her hand and summoned an Elder Lin, instructing him, "Elder Lin, you have considerable research in arrays. Please go and see what level this array is."
Elder Lin complied and flew out of the cloud ship to the edge of the Divine Ghost Eight Trigrams Array.
The Divine Ghost Eight Trigrams Array was a large-scale array that encompassed the entire Dao Sword Sect. It could be said without exaggeration that it was another protective array of the Dao Sword Sect.
Due to the short time the Divine Ghost Eight Trigrams Array was set up, many details were not handled, making it appear very crude. For example, the defensive barrier it formed was not hidden, with a very obvious light forming an inverted bowl outside the Dao Sword Sect.
Elder Lin flew around the light barrier to determine its orientation and size, then returned to the front.
He stopped in mid-air, holding a seal in his hand, muttering incantations, and gathering a spell of light in his hand.
When the spell was formed, he lightly shouted "Hurry" and struck the light barrier with the light in his hand.
In an instant, the array barrier disappeared, revealing the array base, array patterns, and other basic elements of the array behind the barrier.
The array looked simple from the outside, just a barrier, but the array patterns were extremely complex.
The array patterns intertwined like a tangled mess, with a pattern and yet no pattern, forming a huge inverted bowl like the barrier.
Seeing so many, chaotic, and complex array patterns, Elder Lin felt his eyes go blurry at just one glance.
But he did have some real skills. After much effort, he tried to find the array's pattern. He searched for a long time, but when the spell effect disappeared, he still hadn't fully understood the array patterns... He felt some of the array patterns were different from those in the Xian Yi region.
As for breaking the array, it was even more impossible to say.
After pondering in mid-air for a while, he took out a spindle-shaped magic treasure and activated it.
The spindle turned into a beam of light and struck the restored light barrier, producing a "dong" sound, failing to break the defense and bouncing back.
After retrieving the spindle, Elder Lin flew back to the cloud ship and reported to Qiu Huahui, "Reporting to the Valley Master, this array is a defensive array, based on the Eight Trigrams, incorporating the Qian Kun Array and Illusion Array.
"The array setter is quite skilled. Just now, I attacked it with the Xuan Yi Breaking Array Spindle, but there was no significant effect."
What kind of array it was, what level it was, and how to break it, Qiu Huahui didn't really care.
She asked, "I only ask you, how long will it take to break the array?"
Elder Lin thought of the profound and complex array patterns and hesitated before saying, "About a month."
Whether it could be broken in a month, he wasn't sure.
Not to mention that he hadn't fully understood the array patterns, even if he did, breaking the array wasn't an easy task.
After all, not everyone could be like Qin Ran, who could deduce the array patterns and arrays both forward and backward.
"A month?" Qiu Huahui laughed. It would take a month to break this array, and the subsequent protective array would take a year. She gave a time limit, "Seven days, I'll give you seven days!"
"Seven days?"
Are you kidding?! You try it!
Elder Lin wanted to protest but held back.
"Is there a difficulty?" Qiu Huahui looked at Elder Lin.
If you can do it, do it; if not, get out.
So Elder Lin thought for a moment and said tactfully, "The Valley Master should let everyone attack together. With thousands of cultivators here, each sending a flying sword, the array can be broken."
"Energy and spiritual power will all be used to break the array!" Qiu Huahui asked, "What will you do for the following battle?"
Elder Lin had no choice but to bow to Qiu Huahui and sighed, "I will do my best, Valley Master."
With that, he turned and flew off the cloud ship.
Time was tight, and the task was urgent. In addition to Elder Lin, more than ten other skilled array cultivators came out to help Elder Lin break the array.
After more than ten array masters worked for two days, they finally sorted out the Eight Trigrams array base from the complex array patterns. In another day, they followed the rules of the Eight Trigrams array to find the life gate of the array.
Once the life gate was found, things became easier. Elder Lin breathed a sigh of relief and reported to Qiu Huahui:
"The array setter, although skilled, is limited. He still has to follow the basic rules of the array. This Eight Trigrams Array has been found the life gate. Once the life gate is found, the method to break the array is also found."
Qiu Huahui only cared about how to break the array.
"How to break it?" she asked.
Elder Lin replied, "This Eight Trigrams Array has eight life gates. We don't need to care about the others; we just need to follow the life gate and break it. The array will naturally be broken."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Qiu Huahui urged.
"Valley Master..." Elder Lin said, "There is someone guarding the life gate, and I need someone to kill the guardian."
"Granted," Qiu Huahui said.
Elder Lin then found eight solid Gold Core cultivators and brought them to the light barrier, describing the task to them:
"Later, array masters will guide you to specific positions. When the array masters stabilize the array and find the life gate,
"A gate will appear at your position. You will enter the gate and find the guardian inside. Kill them.
"Understood?"
Entering the gate and killing the guardian was easy to understand. The eight combat-capable Gold Core cultivators nodded.
Elder Lin and the other array masters positioned these eight people according to the Eight Trigrams array, at the eight directions of the Dao Sword Sect, and then they used array techniques to stabilize the array.
"Life gate, open!"
Elder Lin shouted loudly, found the life gate position, and eight gates appeared on the light-shifting barrier.
"Enter!" Elder Lin hurriedly shouted.
Eight Gold Core cultivators each accurately faced a gate. Without thinking too much, they directly entered the gates.
As soon as they entered, Elder Lin and the other array masters withdrew their power, and the array closed, the eight gates disappearing.
At the moment the eight gates opened, Qin Ran, who was sitting under the Devouring Demon Willow, sensed it. He opened his eyes and looked towards the outside of the Dao Sword Sect, murmuring, "It begins."
Shiyin, Shiyin... you will be fine.
He closed his eyes again.
Lu Xian, a core disciple of Zhican Valley.
As a disciple who practiced swordsmanship in Zhican Valley, not to mention his position in the pecking order among the disciples of Zhican Valley, just the resources he enjoyed were really good... really damn good!
Zhican Valley had few talented disciples in swordsmanship, so each one was treated as a treasure and given key training.
Lu Xian's qi vortex seed was the life-bound sword qi of the legendary sword cultivator Nianhua Sword God;
Lu Xian's life-bound sword was Nianhua Sword God's life-bound sword, a mid-grade magic treasure-level life-bound sword;
Lu Xian's cultivation technique was a direct path to the Unity Stage, "Hundred Flowers Shattering Sword Technique."
This technique collects the essence of a hundred exotic flowers to condense sword qi, which will then be used to slay the avatar of a Nascent Soul cultivator to achieve Dao integration. It is an exceptionally ingenious technique, and mastering it almost guarantees Dao integration.
Although Lu Xian is currently only at the late stage of the Golden Core.
As for other treasures, elixirs, and pills, Zhican Valley certainly wouldn't be stingy with Lu Xian.
Although he hasn't met Lu Junxing and Bu Tianming yet, Lu Xian believes he will cut down Lu Junxing with his sword and trample over Bu Tianming.
To put it modestly, he doesn't even consider his peers worth his attention.
So when he entered the Heavenly Life Gate of the Ghost-God Eight Trigrams Array and saw Li Shiyin, who had risen to prominence in the past two years, he looked her up and down, smiled, and asked, "Sister Li, is your sword as beautiful as your face?"
Due to time constraints, Qin Ran's Ghost-God Eight Trigrams Array requires the cultivator guarding the array space to take the lead, rather than the array itself.
The Heavenly array space where Li Shiyin resides is a space specifically constructed for her. Called "Heaven," it is actually a starry sky, a celestial space.
The main theme of this space is darkness, with stars twinkling above and below. Walking into this space feels like walking in mid-air, in the starry sky, or on a mirror, or on the surface of a lake.
It is a place that is both novel and extremely romantic.
Li Shiyin sat in the center of the array space, with Muran Sword floating in front of her.
The star power of the entire array space was concentrated on Muran Sword, causing it to rise and fall with each breath.
Hearing Lu Xian's voice, Li Shiyin opened her eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes, filled with cold starlight and sharp sword intent, made anyone who looked at them tremble.
"Zhican Valley, the Hundred Flower Sword God Lu Xian?" Her voice was as cold as moonlight.
Although her question carried no emotion, Lu Xian sensed a hint of disdain.
Lu Xian smiled modestly, loosely clasped his fists in a salute, and said, "Indeed, it's me. It's rare that Sister Li remembers me."
He practiced the Hundred Flower Dao Slaying Sword Technique and was also known as the Hundred Flower Sword God, so he naturally understood how to pick flowers. In every sense of the word, as a core disciple of Zhican Valley, he was never short of women.
And a female sword cultivator who was both skilled in sword techniques and beautiful, he had yet to sample.
So he smiled, he saluted, and his gaze never left Li Shiyin's body.
"I remember you because among the famous sword cultivators in the Hengduan Mountains, none are known for their abundance of treasures like you."
Lu Xian's impolite eyes made Li Shiyin's words sharp, "Sword cultivators take pride in the strength of their sword qi, the strength of their sword intent, they discuss the secrets of fast sword strikes, and the secrets of fast body movements, but no sword cultivator brags about how many treasures they have."
"Heh!"
Unexpectedly, Lu Xian took it as a point of pride.
No one else did, didn't that just prove his uniqueness and his strength?
"Sword qi and sword intent, I comprehended them the moment I reached the Foundation Establishment stage.
"My qi vortex seed is the life-bound sword qi of the Flower Picking Sword God, who is of the same origin as me. I naturally comprehended the sword qi and sword intent of a Dao Integration cultivator without wasting energy or time.
"Only those with poor resources need to comprehend sword qi and sword intent on their own."
He boasted with a smile, "I walk on the path of my predecessors, inherit their sword qi and sword intent, practice their sword techniques, naturally I can walk more easily and further than you. You are foolish, short-sighted, jealous, and desire what you cannot have."
Li Shiyin shook her head and sighed, "You are too foolish. Some say that everything can be saved, but foolishness is beyond saving. You are beyond saving.
"Other people's things are always other people's, only your own things are truly yours.
"You are not Lu Xian, you are just the Hundred Flower Sword God."
She stood up, placed her hand on the Muran Sword, which shimmered like a galaxy,
"My master said, free things are often the most expensive.
"You completely follow the path of others, without a single thought of your own. The easier and faster you walk, the greater the price you pay. The price you pay is your future, your life."
"Hum!"
She drew Muran Sword from the starry sky, and meteor showers streaked past her feet.
"As a sword cultivator, I am ashamed to fight you. You are a sword cultivator without a sword cultivator's soul." She looked at her dazzling life-bound sword and said, "But fortunately, you are an enemy. I will kill you as quickly as possible. To avoid sullying my sword."
Being humiliated by Li Shiyin from a spiritual level, Lu Xian's smile faded.
He extended his right hand, and a sword with a hilt like a flower stem, a guard like a flower calyx, and a blade like a closed flower appeared in his hand.
"This is the Jinghong Sword of the Flower Picking Sword God! Its sword qi surges like a blooming flower, graceful and swift!" He introduced solemnly.
With his left hand, he grasped a sword that emerged from his arm like old tree roots.
"This is the Kushen Sword of the Withered Tree Sword Demon! Once unleashed..."
"Enough!" Li Shiyin interrupted him directly, "I'm not interested."
What is the Withered Tree Sword Demon, what is the Flower Picking Sword God? When they stand before her, are their sword daos superior to hers?
A sword cultivator who has been dead for hundreds or even thousands of years, perhaps his sword dao was highly refined and exquisite in his time, but after so many years, his sword techniques are not worth such admiration from Lu Xian.
The swords of some great gods, the sword techniques of some great immortals, the sword daos of some great demons, these are the foundations that Lu Xian is proud of from Zhican Valley.
But there is nothing of his own.
No sword technique of Lu Xian, no sword qi of Lu Xian, no sword intent of Lu Xian.
Lu Xian doesn't realize that when he boasts about how powerful his swords are, when he boasts about his abundance of treasures, it is precisely when he is deeply insecure.
In a sense, he just wants to prove that his sword dao is not inferior to top sword dao geniuses like Li Shiyin.
"Ah!" He didn't know why, but he sighed.
He looked up, trying to see Li Shiyin, but could only see the starry sky, as if a drop of water had hit the surface, with meteors spreading out like ripples.
"Ding!"
Someone stabbed at his side, and he looked over to see Li Shiyin's fleeting figure.
He looked down at his waist, where his Immortal Flower Thousand Threads Robe had been marked.
"Such sharp sword qi." He sighed.
"Ding!"
Another sword grazed his neck.
The Golden Scale Dragon Ring Jade Pendant around his neck activated, and a thin shield appeared close to his neck.
"Such a fast sword!" He praised again.
"Ding ding ding..."
Li Shiyin fully unleashed her body technique, as if there were countless Li Shiyins around Lu Xian, each striking with a sword.
In an instant, various defensive treasures on Lu Xian activated, creating shields of various colors around him, protecting him from any harm.
"Such a fast body technique." Lu Xian said again.
Seeing that Li Shiyin's hundreds of sword strikes couldn't break through his defenses, he laughed.
He looked at the fluctuating silhouette in the starry sky and asked, "Sister Li, how do you feel now?"
Li Shiyin appeared in the starry sky, standing high above, looking down at Lu Xian, and said, "My master said, even the strongest defenses can be broken, one cannot simply defend. If you don't draw your sword, you won't have a chance to draw it."
"Hahaha..." Lu Xian laughed and shook his head, thinking Li Shiyin was just stubborn, and said, "Sister Li is really playful!"
He raised his sword again and said, "But I'll give you a chance to see the sword technique of the Flower Picking Sword God."
"Huh..." Li Shiyin took a deep breath
The array space existed because of her, and the stars in the starry sky breathed with her.
She brandished Muran Sword and slashed forward, sending thousands of star sword qi like fine hairs towards Lu Xian at high speed.
She used her body technique, while her left hand condensed dreamlike stars, and she flew towards Lu Xian.
"This is the Peony Flower!" Lu Xian smiled, and the Jinghong Sword in his right hand lit up.
He performed the sword technique, and the dazzling light at the tip of the Jinghong Sword appeared in the dark starry sky, like a brush, drawing a huge peony flower with intricate sword light.
He whispered, "The golden petals press down with a fragrant scent, each petal cleverly cut with a dark purple heart."
As his voice rang out, one after another, peonies bloomed fiercely around him.
These peonies, clearly composed of sword energy, emitted a rich fragrance.
Li Shiyin's stellar sword energy flew towards them, each sword strike meeting the peonies in mutual annihilation, dissipating into the stars.
Indeed, these were the sword energies of the Flower Sword Deity.
And that rich fragrance wafted out, reaching Li Shiyin. As she inhaled it during her intense battle, she found herself thinking of her master, recalling their intimate moments.
She understood what was happening, frowned, stopped, and looked at Lu Xian with clear disgust, saying, "You are truly disgusting!"
Lu Xian's lips curled into a sinister smile, "Sister, aren't these peonies beautiful?"
"Huff!" Li Shiyin exhaled, addressing Lu Xian, "You chose not to maintain your dignity!"
With that, she plunged her Muran Sword into the ground before her, softly declaring, "All celestial bodies, heed my command!"
The dreamlike stars she had gathered in her left hand rose with her words, flashing like a command in mid-air. Around her, the starry sky began to manifest more dreamlike stars, rising in droves, resembling the dense stars in the night sky.
"And what is this move?" Lu Xian asked confidently, relying on his defensive treasures.
Li Shiyin flicked her finger, sending a dreamlike star towards Lu Xian, she said indifferently, "This is called, Dreamlike Stars!"
"Boom!"
The tiny dreamlike star exploded violently before Lu Xian, releasing countless tiny sword energies that, under Li Shiyin's control, all shot towards him.
The massive explosion's impact sent Lu Xian flying, and the tiny sword energies clanged against him, yet still failed to breach his defenses.
But Lu Xian's expression changed, for the sky was filled with dreamlike stars.
One dreamlike star was already so powerful, what then...
Li Shiyin didn't give him time to think, raising her hand to send the entire sky of stars hurtling towards him.
"Sister, spare me!" Lu Xian cried out.
Li Shiyin ignored him.
Seeing this, Lu Xian frantically channeled his internal energy, shouting, "The fragrance of the sky pierces the stars, my flowers bloom to kill all others!"
In an instant, one after another, golden chrysanthemums bloomed in this starry sky!
The chrysanthemums burst open, releasing a sense of annihilation.
Chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, when other flowers wither and fall. Just like now.
The ground was covered in golden chrysanthemums, and as the dreamlike stars fell and exploded, the chrysanthemums were shredded, golden petals flying everywhere, all sword energies, blocking the stellar sword energies from the exploding dreamlike stars.
However, Lu Xian's move only managed to block the initial dreamlike stars. When the dreamlike stars shredded the ground chrysanthemums, it was then that Lu Xian faced the dreamlike stars directly.
In a blink, he was engulfed by the dreamlike stars.
"Boom boom boom..." The explosions continued, the third-tier stellar sword energies shooting wildly within this starry space.
Who was stronger, Li Shiyin or Lu Xian?
This question had no answer.
But within this starry space, Li Shiyin was far stronger than Lu Xian.
The starry space gave her too much support, far more than the various treasures gave Lu Xian.
She only needed to gather one dreamlike star, and this starry space would naturally help her gather hundreds and thousands.
Just like the scene before them.
Lu Xian experienced a feast of dreamlike stars!
When the explosions subsided, streams of stellar sword energies darted like meteors through the starry space. Li Shiyin looked towards the center of the explosion and saw Lu Xian, drenched in blood, riddled with sword wounds, and asked, "Can you withstand it?"
"You..." Lu Xian opened his mouth, and blood poured out like a waterfall, "This is not your true strength."
What he wanted to say, perhaps, was that she lacked the spirit of a sword cultivator.
"I originally wanted you to die with dignity," Li Shiyin said, "But you used such despicable moves. You brought this upon yourself."
...It was like a pay-to-win player encountering a cheater.
Lu Xian tried to say something else, but he couldn't, his strength failing, he finally collapsed.
Li Shiyin drew her sword, walked to the center of the array space, sat down, and the Muran Sword floated before her, bobbing up and down as she meditated.
The array space was the first line of defense for the Dao Sword Sect, but for the cultivators guarding it, it was also an opportunity.
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