Chapter 66#
An Wuxue took a step back.
He had just been inspecting the array patterns because there was no need to restrain himself anymore. With no one else around, he naturally acted more casually, taking the opportunity to see if the sword array had undergone any subtle changes over the past thousand years.
The teleportation array had been repaired by Pei Qian, so it was safer to leave its activation to him as well.
He yielded his position to Pei Qian, indicating that the latter would remain responsible for the upcoming teleportation.
Pei Qian produced a compass, and as spiritual energy converged, the robes of those present rustled in the rising wind.
Xie Zhefeng raised his hand, sending another beam of sword light soaring into the sky.
The sword light dispersed, reinforcing the barrier that shrouded the entire city to prevent demon cultivators in the neighboring branch cities from noticing anything.
Before long, clouds surged from all directions, the giant sword hummed, and fine silver light began to flow through the entire formation.
The entrance to the teleportation array materialized before their eyes!
However, Pei Qian’s expression suddenly turned grave.
An Wuxue and Xie Zhefeng also paused.
The ominous array surrounding the First City…
Pei Qian murmured, “How can there be two entrances at the other end?”
“Since it’s an ominous array with two entrances, it likely employs Life and Death Gates.”
Life and Death Gates were exactly as they sounded: one path led to life, the other to death. One gate offered a chance for survival, while a single wrong step into the other would lead deeper into a death trap.
There were many such arrays where a momentary lapse in judgment could lead one thousands of miles astray. From their current distance across the teleportation formation, they couldn’t yet determine which specific ominous array it was.
Xie Zhefeng said, “Then we’ll just pick an entrance and enter at random.”
Brute force could overcome any obstacle.
Whether it was the Life Gate or the Death Gate, Xie Zhefeng didn’t care.
Pei Qian adjusted the compass in his hand. After a moment, he frowned. “I can’t choose. If we were standing outside the First City, we could enter the same gate together. But through the teleportation array, there will inevitably be deviations upon arrival…”
Which gate they ended up in would be purely a matter of luck.
They couldn’t even guarantee that all three of them would pass through the same one.
An Wuxue spoke up, “Let’s get inside first and then find a way to regroup. Regardless, we must enter. We need to know what happened in the First City, where City Lord Shangguan is, and exactly where the turbid energy infecting the North Abyss Sword Master’s array is coming from.”
He was focused on the matters concerning North Abyss, but Xie Zhefeng turned to look at him with a dark, unfathomable gaze.
The man’s lips moved slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if he wanted to say something, but he ultimately swallowed his words.
Spiritual energy swirled around the teleportation entrance, and the giant sword continued its rhythmic humming.
Before An Wuxue could speak, the man finally said, “Entering the array is necessary, but Master…”
Xie Zhefeng’s tone softened, almost as if he were showing vulnerability. “You said you would stay.”
An Wuxue found this strange.
“We are discussing the teleportation,” he said. “Why is the Immortal Venerable suddenly bringing this up—”
He cut himself off. Catching the flicker of worry in Xie Zhefeng’s eyes, he suddenly understood.
“I am standing right here. Do you really think I’d wander off on my own after entering an ominous array?” An Wuxue felt truly speechless. “Does the Immortal Venerable really need to keep his eyes on me every waking moment to feel at ease?”
“Are you worried I won’t stay, or are you afraid that once I’m out of your sight, I’ll start committing atrocities and wreaking havoc on North Abyss, acting as the mastermind behind all this?”
Xie Zhefeng stiffened.
“I didn’t…”
He wanted to explain.
But he already knew that any explanation he gave would seem incredibly hollow to An Wuxue—perhaps even like a form of mockery.
So he fell silent for a moment and produced the Soul Bell that An Wuxue had returned to him.
“I forged this Soul Bell for you long ago,” he said. “Only you can ring it, and only you can use it. Sound transmission talismans can be forged, but no one can impersonate this Soul Bell.”
“If we are separated after entering the array, ring it if you encounter danger. I will be able to sense your location and come to you.”
An Wuxue didn’t particularly want to take it.
He found the object irritating; it was this very Soul Bell that had caused him to be too clever for his own good, leading him right into a trap.
But he didn’t reach for it, and Xie Zhefeng didn’t withdraw his hand.
The man simply looked at him, his usually cold eyes now misted over with an unreadable emotion.
As the two of them remained at a stalemate, Kun Kun let out a soft whine.
An Wuxue: “…”
Unwilling to waste more time on these futile arguments, he took the Soul Bell, placed it in his spiritual pouch, and turned to Pei Qian. “Let’s go.”
Pei Qian let out a long, relieved sigh. “I can finally breathe again. Thank you for remembering I was here.”
An Wuxue: “…”
He didn’t bother arguing with Pei Qian, nor did he want to look at Xie Zhefeng’s current expression. Without hesitation, he was the first to step into the teleportation array.
The world spun around him as light and shadow twisted into a blur.
Behind him, Xie Zhefeng seemed to follow closely, bringing Kun Kun with him.
The humming of the Twenty-Seventh City’s sword array abruptly ceased.
The teleportation entrance closed, and the winds died down.
The sword array returned to its lonely silence.
Nearby, Qiao Ting leaned against a window in the Cloud-Climbing Tower, a jar of mortal wine in his hand.
Seeing the activity at the sword array stop, he took a long swig and sighed. “Well, Su Xue and the others are gone. The Twenty-Seventh City is still sealed by the Immortal Venerable’s barrier, so I can’t even leave… Doesn’t that mean I don’t even have a safe rooftop to sleep on anymore!?”
…
An Wuxue’s vision flickered, his mind drifting for a split second. When he regained his senses, the scene before him had transformed completely.
The air seemed thick with the bustling sounds of a crowd.
Before him stood a long sword—larger and taller than even the giant sword of the Twenty-Seventh City—blocking out the sun and casting a massive shadow over him.
The sword was identical in design to Zhaoshui and Langfeng.
This was the primary sword of the North Abyss First City—the true North Abyss Sword!
But…
The area around the sword array was extraordinarily peaceful. The giant sword stood tall under a clear sky, and he could even hear the sounds of a prosperous mortal city, a vibrancy he had never associated with the First City before.
The North Abyss Sword was supposed to be corrupted by turbid energy, the entire region was meant to be in chaos, and the First City was supposed to be trapped within an unknown ominous array.
What was this…?
Confused, An Wuxue turned around and began walking slowly away from the sword array.
A ripple in the air behind him heralded someone stepping up beside him. “Su Xue! It looks like we’ve entered the Life Gate, while the Immortal Venerable ended up in the Death Gate.”
An Wuxue looked at Pei Qian. “Are we already inside the array?”
As he spoke, he and Pei Qian walked out of the First City’s primary sword array.
Mortal dwellings came into view—tall buildings and tiled houses far more numerous than those in the Twenty-Seventh City. The noise of a bustling market filled his ears, and figures moved along the distant main street.
He realized it too.
This wasn’t the real First City of North Abyss, but a seemingly artificial version within the array.
Yet he had never seen an array like this.
He asked Pei Qian, “What kind of ominous array is capable of weaving such a massive illusion?”
The First City was vast and complex; how could an array recreate the uncorrupted North Abyss so perfectly?
Illusions could manifest fake objects, but they varied in complexity. Creating an illusion of a single person was simple, but controlling the illusions of hundreds of people simultaneously was exponentially more difficult.
Moreover, this was the entire First City, populated by countless ordinary citizens…
Before his fall in his previous life, An Wuxue had never heard of such a formation.
Pei Qian’s expression was wistful. “I had a bad feeling before the teleportation, but I didn’t expect it to be this array… What we see isn’t exactly a ‘fake’ illusion. It’s the First City of North Abyss as it truly existed in the past.”
“The past…”
An Wuxue considered this for a few moments before it clicked. “An ominous array that bridges time.”
“Yes. It’s called the Guan Ye Array—‘Observing the Leaves.’ It places one in the torrent of time to observe the myriad worlds of a thousand leaves.”
“The Guan Ye Array encompasses the entire First City, allowing those who enter to step into the city’s past. This ‘past’ isn’t woven from thin air; the array’s mechanics directly pull phantoms from the river of time. Consequently, once the array is active, not even the creator can control its progression.”
“The core of the Guan Ye Array is as complex as a thousand leaves. The specific time period into which an intruder falls is unpredictable. The version of the First City in the Life Gate is generally more peaceful, while the Immortal Venerable’s side is likely rife with killing intent.”
“I spent time in North Abyss centuries ago, so I recognize this. We’ve fallen into the First City as it was several hundred years ago.”
Pei Qian looked around at the thriving world, nodding to himself. “To put it simply, by entering the array, we have begun traveling through time.”
An Wuxue raised an eyebrow. “This Guan Ye Array is incredibly sophisticated, spanning time and space on a grand scale. The one who created it and the one who deployed it must be grandmasters of array paths. In North Abyss, only the Qu clan is capable of such a feat. Why is your surname Pei?”
Pei Qian: “…You’re very direct.”
He studied An Wuxue. He had begun to feel that ‘Su Xue’ was quite different from when they had first arrived in North Abyss.
An Wuxue said, “I’m currently inside an ominous array. Naturally, I want to ensure there are no issues with the people by my side.”
“My knowledge of arrays does indeed come from the Qu family,” Pei Qian said, spreading his hands. “But I am definitely not a Qu. This Guan Ye Array truly has nothing to do with me.”
An Wuxue didn’t press further, simply asking, “You said the Life Gate is a phantom based on the First City from centuries ago. What happens if we break through it?”
“We’ll end up back where we started—faced with two paths, Life and Death. Stepping through them will drop us into another time period, trapping us in a different era of the First City.”
“Then is there no end to it?”
“There is. Breaking the entire array is the only way out. To set up a Guan Ye Array, one must use a specific point in time as a foundation and designate an object or person from that era as the array’s core.”
“If we can navigate the cycle of Life and Death Gates correctly, find that specific time, and destroy the core, the leaves will wither and the flowers will fall. The array will then dissipate.”
As they spoke, they continued walking away from the sword array.
Regardless of the era, as long as the sword array existed, there would be Tribulation-Transcending experts guarding it.
As An Wuxue and Pei Qian spoke, someone approached.
These were ‘people’ within the array—individuals who had truly lived hundreds of years ago.
Pei Qian whispered urgently, “Once the Guan Ye Array starts, its course is uncontrollable. The people here truly existed at this point in time, and their cultivation levels are the real deal!”
The newcomer was a Tribulation-Transcending cultivator.
An Wuxue didn’t move.
Pei Qian’s words came faster. “The Immortal Venerable gave you that thing to call him—aren’t you going to use it? We’re likely to run into every Tribulation-Transcending expert stationed in the First City at this time, maybe even City Lord Shangguan. We can’t just explain away our presence here—”
An Wuxue remained still.
He had no intention of ringing the Soul Bell.
The newcomer was now upon them.
Though the cultivator was at the late stage of the Tribulation-Transcending realm, his hair was white, and he was clearly nearing the end of his lifespan.
An Wuxue froze.
He recognized this man.
He was a North Abyss cultivator who had reached the Tribulation-Transcending realm during the Immortal Calamity and had served under Shangguan Liaoliao when the sword array was first established. When An Wuxue had killed Shangguan Ran all those years ago, this man had stood among the experts behind Shangguan Liaoliao, asking him, “Why?”
What had An Wuxue said in response?
What was the man’s name?
He seemed to have forgotten everything. There were too many things to remember, and in the process of trying, he had lost it all.
The man was nearing the end of his life.
Did that mean he had passed away several hundred years ago in the real world?
Lost in thought, An Wuxue did nothing. The man descended from the air in front of him and Pei Qian, his eyes suddenly widening. His expression was even more shocked than An Wuxue’s.
Pei Qian realized it was too late to flee. He was about to step forward and try to bluff his way out when the man raised a trembling hand, pointing directly at An Wuxue.
“An Wuxue!?” the man gasped.
Pei Qian froze in his tracks, turning to stare at An Wuxue. “What did he just call you?”
An Wuxue finally came back to himself, his voice calm. “You heard him.”
“Isn’t An Wuxue that… that…” Pei Qian couldn’t finish his sentence.
An Wuxue finished it for him considerately. “The person you once said you would have to admit defeat to, were he still alive?”
Pei Qian: “???”
He watched as An Wuxue stepped forward, walking toward the Tribulation-Transcending cultivator from centuries ago.
He heard An Wuxue say to the man, “It is I.”
Pei Qian: “…”
“.”
Holy shit!