A high-grade spiritual array diagram?
Mu Chen stared unblinkingly at the black scroll in his hand, his eyes wide. At his current level, he couldn't discern the grade of this spiritual array diagram, but he guessed its power would be even greater than a Grade 2 spiritual array diagram.
Even a rumor of such a high-grade spiritual array diagram would send the Spiritual Array Masters of the Northern Spiritual Realm into a frenzy, fighting over it. For them, nothing was as precious and alluring as a high-grade spiritual array diagram.
Mu Chen wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, then turned to Zhou Ye and Lei Shan, raising the scroll. "Uncle Zhou, I want this one too."
Zhou Ye and Lei Shan took the black scroll, flipping it over and examining it. Unable to make heads or tails of it, they chuckled and returned it to Mu Chen.
Mu Chen took it, secretly chuckling to himself. He knew that Zhou Ye and Lei Shan had no talent to discern the mysteries within the scroll. Otherwise, why would even a powerful expert like Yang Gui casually toss it aside in his treasure vault? If Yang Gui had known that the value of this discarded black item was several times greater than the rest of the vault, he probably would have risen from his grave and died of blood loss again.
As for Mu Chen being able to perceive the scroll's mystery, it was fortunate that he had already mastered the method of entering the Heart Array state. If a Grade 2 Spiritual Array Master had held it, they might not have even discovered that it contained a spiritual array within.
The Heart Array state could only be explored and touched upon by at least a Grade 3 Spiritual Array Master, and even then, it wasn't absolute, only a small percentage. Therefore, he wasn't worried that some Grade 3 Spiritual Array Master might see it and unravel the profound mystery within this black scroll.
With excited delight, Mu Chen put away the scroll, intending to study it later. With his current ability, he naturally wouldn't dare to try setting it up. Just looking at the spiritual array earlier had caused his qi and blood to become chaotic from its fierce aura. If he had the guts to try, he would probably die before seeing the sun.
After acquiring the two treasures, he had no intention of coveting anything else. He let Zhou Ye and Lei Shan divide the rest of the treasure vault. Once everything was settled, both sides led their people back to their respective territories.
"Great Chieftain Lei, this time, we owe much to the Nine Dragons Stronghold. If you need anything in the future, just send someone to our Mu Territory, and we will certainly do our utmost to assist."
At the entrance of the Mang Yin Mountain Range, Zhou Ye and numerous soldiers from the Mu Territory had arrived. The old man stood with his hands clasped, smiling as he bid farewell to Lei Shan.
"Haha, Brother Zhou, you're too kind. The Nine Dragons Stronghold should be thanking you all for your efforts in eliminating the dark forces of Mang Yin Mountain. Once I stabilize the situation here, I will personally visit the Mu Territory to pay my respects to Territory Lord Mu Feng!" Lei Shan replied with a laugh.
"Very well, farewell." Zhou Ye also smiled, not lingering further. He waved his hand, leading the numerous soldiers, who were shouting in triumph, back, quickly disappearing from Lei Shan's sight.
The decisive battle on the peak of Mang Yin Mountain quickly spread and became a topic of discussion. Mang Yin Mountain was completely annihilated, and Yang Gui was killed on the spot, causing quite a stir in the Northern Spiritual Realm, especially among the dark forces. After all, the reputation of being the number one dark force in the Northern Spiritual Realm wasn't gained for nothing, yet today, that power was completely wiped out, making it hard for others not to be shocked upon hearing it.
In particular, the news of Yang Gui's death caused even greater fear. He was a powerful expert of the Divine Soul Realm, one of the peak individuals in terms of strength in the Northern Spiritual Realm, yet he had been executed...
That fate stemmed from his killing of a city lord from the Mu Territory. It seemed the Mu Territory was indeed an unprovokable power in this Northern Spirit Realm.
All the major and minor powers had long heard the inside story, but they originally thought the Mu Territory wouldn't be able to swallow their anger, and would at most fight a few battles to weaken the enemy. They never expected the Mu Territory's combat power to be so high, their revenge to be so swift, and their actions so fierce and unyielding.
…
Liu Territory, Liu Manor.
Liu Qingtian sat grim-faced in the main seat, with Liu Mubai beside him. Below them were Liu Zong and Liu Ming, both with ugly expressions.
"Why did you fail?" Liu Qingtian asked, frowning.
Liu Ming gritted his teeth and replied, "It was all because of that little bastard Mu Chen. He unexpectedly managed to set up a Tier 2 spirit array with powerful might, and allied with Lei Shan to kill Yang Gui, turning the tide of the situation."
"What?" Liu Qingtian's expression changed. Mu Chen could set up such a powerful spirit array? This brat was truly a root of disaster; in such a short time, he had made such rapid progress.
Liu Mubai also widened his eyes and gritted his teeth, clearly showing envy and hatred. Unconsciously, the gap in combat power between him and Mu Chen had widened, making it difficult for someone who had held the title of the Northern Spirit Academy's number one for a long time to bear.
"Big Brother, what do we do now? The incident at Mangyin Mountain has greatly increased the Mu Territory's prestige, and even the people from Jiulong Stronghold have used this to forge close ties. This is not good for us at all," Liu Zong asked.
Liu Qingtian chuckled, his eyes growing even colder. "What's the rush? Our instruction for Mangyin Mountain to act was merely to attract the Mu Territory's attention. Our venerable elder is making smoother progress by the day. He should be able to successfully emerge from seclusion within a month. By then, he will become the only expert in this Northern Spirit Realm with the strength of the Three Thousand Realm."
"At that time, what will the Mu Territory count for? They'll just be struggling in vain. As for the other powers? Those who follow us shall live, those who defy us shall perish." Liu Qingtian's fighting spirit blazed, and he clenched his fists, saying, "Then, the Liu Territory will truly become the overlord of the Northern Spirit Realm. This vast territory will be entirely in our hands!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Zong and Liu Ming immediately became much more excited and stirred. The time for the Liu Territory to unify the Northern Spirit Realm had finally arrived.
…
Mu Territory.
After the incident at Mangyin Mountain concluded, Mu Chen remained quietly in the Mu Manor, spending most of his time studying and comprehending the contents of that mysterious black array diagram.
He also showed the array diagram to Wen Ling. As he had guessed, even though Wen Ling had successfully advanced to become a Tier 2 Spirit Array Master, he still lacked the 'Heart of the Array' state, and thus could not uncover the hidden mysteries within the scroll. Nevertheless, Mu Chen did not hide it. After all, Wen Ling was the teacher who had guided him onto the path of a Spirit Array Master, and the array diagrams the old man had collected were also generously given to him, which truly made him immensely grateful to this strict teacher.
Wen Ling was very interested after hearing Mu Chen's account, but unexpectedly, Wen Ling bypassed the high-level array diagram instead of insisting on studying it. The old man's principle was that if there was no predestined affinity, one should not force it.
Mu Chen could only throw up his hands. Wen Ling was unable to see the array diagram within, and he himself lacked the ability to replicate and draw it. He could only keep it and retreat to his room to study it on his own.
After some time, Mu Chen vaguely understood a bit of the hidden meaning within the method, gaining a deeper understanding of the mysterious formation diagram. If his research was correct, the name of this formation diagram should be the "Demon Lotus Diagram Formation." Its specific rank was unclear, but it was at least a Rank 3 formation diagram. Of course, it would be a long time before Mu Chen would be capable of reaching that level.
Mu Chen felt helpless about this. He had the formation diagram, but fundamentally lacked the ability to test it, which truly made his heart itch. He could only put it away and wait until he was capable enough to try it out.
Finally, he decided to channel that irritating itch into cultivation. His current strength was already sufficient to reach the intermediate stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm, but he had not yet broken through, continuously suppressing his spiritual energy, preventing himself from truly becoming a powerhouse of that level.
It wasn't that he wanted to hide his strength or didn't want to enter the intermediate stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm; rather, his ambition was far greater. He wanted to advance directly to the late stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm in one go.
Such an idea was normally unthinkable. After all, progressing from the intermediate to the late stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm required a vast accumulation of spiritual energy day and night. Mu Chen himself didn't have the ability to absorb all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in one go to enhance his strength. However, the recent battle had yielded him a spoils of war: the Nine Cultivation Blood Ginseng, which sparked this audacious idea.
The Nine Cultivation Blood Ginseng contained violent yet pure spiritual energy. As long as Mu Chen could refine that enormous amount of spiritual energy, then unleash the spiritual energy he had painstakingly suppressed during this time, pushing it to its peak before releasing it, the spiritual energy would erupt like a long-dormant volcano, creating an impact that would break through both bottlenecks.
With this theory and that formidable power, Mu Chen was certain he would successfully break through the bottleneck to the late stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm.
For now, it was still a time of waiting and suppression.
And that wait lasted for nearly half a month.
Half a month later. In a courtyard of the Mu Estate, Mu Chen sat cross-legged in silence. Spiritual energy continuously seeped out from his body, indicating that it had already filled to its absolute limit and could no longer be contained.
At each level of strength, the body's capacity for spiritual energy has a limit. Mu Chen was still maintaining his strength at the early stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm, yet the amount of spiritual energy in his body had already exceeded the limit of the early stage of the Spirit Wheel Realm.
In this situation, if not controlled properly, it would be like compressed gas filling a sealed container, capable of shattering the container at any moment and causing damage to the meridians.
"Phew."
Mu Chen exhaled a long breath, his breath also containing traces of dark, overflowing spiritual energy, clearly a mixture of spiritual energies.
"It's time."
Feeling the overflowing fullness that caused a slight ache in his body, he smiled. This reckless act was quite dangerous. Fortunately, the Great Pagoda Art was extremely overbearing, allowing him to control the suppressed spiritual energy well, preventing it from running wild and damaging his body. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to grasp the consequences.
Mu Chen clenched his hand, and a jade box appeared. He opened it. The blood-red Nine Cultivation Blood Ginseng emitted a rich fragrance. Taking a deep breath, he felt the spiritual energy already packed tightly within him expand a little more, aching a little more.
"Amazing."
Mu Chen praised silently, his eyes serious. He picked up the Nine Cultivation Blood Ginseng and immediately threw it into his mouth.
A burning hot liquid erupted in Mu Chen's mouth, transforming into surging spiritual energy that poured into his body like a great river, making his entire body flush red like roasted pork.
Mu Chen felt the spiritual energy within him threatening to erupt. Without daring to delay, he immediately closed his eyes and entered a cultivation state, circulating the Great Pagoda Art to frantically refine the massive, violent spiritual energy.
Now was the time to break through!