Chapter 350 – Ling Xi
As the night grew darker, the clear and cold moonlight enveloped the entire Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. However, even though it was already well into the night, the gigantic spiritual academy was still filled with vitality as figures shot across ceaselessly.
The Exchange that had ended today had undoubtedly caused the emotions within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy to flare up and boil. The scene of the final reversal caused many students to boil and turn restless. Originally, all of them had a.s.sumed that they had let the Ancient Cauldron Spiritual Academy get the long end of the stick. Although a loss like that would not let people a.s.sume that their Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy was no longer capable, those slanderous rumors would always raise the ire of people.
Mu Chen had returned and defeated the strongest student from the opposite side with an immensely strong attack. This kind of reversal caused many students from the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy to feel exceedingly elated and inspired. Naturally, relying on this fight, Mu Chen"s 3rd Rank on the Heavenly Rankings had already become impossible to shake. There were even some students that estimated, and were shocked to discover, that the current Mu Chen had already started to gradually catch up to Li Xuantong.
According to the rate of Mu Chen"s increased strength, perhaps it wouldn’t take too long before the 3rd Rank on the Heavenly Rankings to take a s.h.i.+ft forward. This might even happen before a year"s worth of time… There was even the possibly of him rus.h.i.+ng towards the Overlord"s Rank within the Heavenly Rankings that was guarded by Shen Cangsheng after so many years.
At that time, there would definitely be an incomparably spectacular fight between tigers and dragons.
Within the little building in the Freshmen Area, a young girl was standing elegantly. Clasping the black longsword in her jade-like hands, Luo Li"s gaze was focused on it, while one could notice the absent-mindedness present within her eyes. After quite a long time, she gave a faint sigh.
"What"s the matter?" A low and gentle voice rang out behind her as Mu Chen extended his arm around the young girl"s slender waist.
"Looks like the news about me leaving the Luo G.o.d Clan is already spreading." replied Luo Li as she gently leaned within Mu Chen"s bosom, while her eyebrows started to faintly knit together. If her grandfather, Luo Tianshen, was to know about this matter, the time of their agreement might be immediately brought forward.
She was the Queen of the Luo G.o.d Clan, and was the only person within the Luo G.o.d Clan that could shoulder them. If some mishap was to even occur to her, the Luo G.o.d Clan would truly collapse and be wiped out.
At that time, the millions of citizens within the Luo G.o.d Clan would suffer the ruthless ma.s.sacre from the other three Great G.o.d Clans.
To the Luo G.o.d Clan, she was truly too important.
Therefore, once that Xue s.h.i.+ wakes up, he would definitely report this news back to the Blood G.o.d Clan. At that time, the Luo G.o.d Clan would definitely catch wind of it. Therefore, even if she wanted to conceal this matter, she was unable to conceal it for long.
Hearing her words, the arm wrapped around Luo Li"s slender waisted tightened, while fury quietly rose within his eyes. If he had known this earlier, he would have truly killed that fellow. Although, he also knew that wanting to kill Xue s.h.i.+ in front of Fei Qingsong seemed to be an impossible task.
As Luo Li nestled in Mu Chen"s embrace, her fine and exquisite little face rested against his chest, rubbing her face up and down like a little kitten. She was very clear about the immense pressure that she would have to bear if she were to return to the Luo G.o.d Clan once again. This kind of pressure was sufficient to cause an ordinary person to immediately break down and collapse.
However, the lives and deaths of millions of her citizens were all under her control.
Furthermore, at that time, she would no longer have such a heartwarming embrace for her to rely on. At that time, the only person she could rely on was herself. At that time, there would no longer be anyone that would feel heartache to the point of feeling more hurt and infuriated whenever she gets bullied.
Mu Chen looked towards the delicate and porcelain-like face within his embrace, before starting to turn silent. He knew that the day where they had to part would come. Furthermore, this separation might be for a very long time, with her not having another chance to slip out to find him.
Before possessing sufficient strength, he was also unable to find her. If he did, not only would he not be able to provide any help to her, he would even become a burden. Although she wouldn"t mind that, obviously, Mu Chen would absolutely not want to see that scene.
"I"ll accompany you for this period of time."
Mu Chen let his hand flow through Luo Li"s long silvery-like hair, enjoying the perfect feeling in his palms. Looking up into the sky, he exhaled a long breath of air. Luo Li, I"m already doing everything I can to run along the path of an unrivalled expert. I"ll continue to run like that, all the way to the point where I can truly stand in front of you and shatter anything that blocks you with a single palm of mine!
The next day, after accompanying Luo Li in the Freshmen area for over half a day. This continued till the young girl became slightly angry, and said that he was being too annoying and making her unable to train. Only then did he leave her alone, while feeling hurt that he was actually being ignored and avoided.
After leaving the Freshmen area, Mu Chen found his bearings and started heading towards the northern side of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. According to Dean Tai Cang, that Elder Ling Xi should be living around there.
Mu Chen already knew about some information regarding Elder Ling Xi from his conversation with Dean Tai Cang and the others yesterday, the majority coming from Ye Qingling. That"s due to the fact that the Elder that had taken Su"er under her wing was the exact same Elder Ling Xi.
That Elder stayed deep within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy and rarely went out, and it was extremely rare for students to catch a glimpse of her, with the number of people being able to obtain her guidance on Spiritual Arrays being even less. Within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, if anyone wanted to obtain some guidance from the Elders, one would need extremely high amounts of Spiritual Values. However, this Elder Ling Xi had a completely firm personality. She didn"t even care if one had Spiritual Values, causing countless students to be unable to shed tears, and were helpless without any other alternative.
In view of this, Mu Chen felt slightly apprehensive about this. This Elder had an overly excessive personality. He didn"t know if the Dean"s words would have any effect…
Holding onto this apprehension, and after approximately ten minutes, Mu Chen started to descend towards the peak of a cloud-covered mountain. An elegant courtyard stood erect on the summit of the mountain. Clouds lingered around it, giving it an extremely quiet and serene feeling.
As Mu Chen descended before the courtyard, he noticed that the main doors were tightly shut, while there was n.o.body around to greet him. Making a bitter laugh, he retrieved the jade slip given to him by the Dean yesterday, before saying in a respectful voice, "This student"s name is Mu Chen, and I"ve come on the behest Dean Tai to meet with Elder Ling Xi."
Wrapped with Spiritual Energy, Mu Chen"s voice rang out within the quiet and serene courtyard. Nevertheless, there was still no activity present within. Regardless of that, he didn"t get anxious over it. Standing outside of the door, without moving an inch, he held the jade slip out, appearing extremely respectful.
Within his respectful stance, he waited for nearly half an hour"s worth of time.
Just as the half an hour mark gradually went by, a ray of light shot out from within the depths of the courtyard. Immediately enveloping the jade slip within Mu Chen"s hands, it retrieved it before heading back. At the same time, the tightly shut courtyard doors started to slowly open, bit by bit.
Huuu.
Seeing the courtyard doors open, Mu Chen quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like the Dean"s jade slip has a bit of use. If it didn"t, even if I stood here for an entire day and night, this eccentric Elder wouldn"t even bother with me.
Mu Chen strode forward, crossing over the courtyard doors before walking into the depths.
Past the courtyard was a secluded and winding small path made of broken stones, with a clear lake by its side. Taking a look at his surroundings, Mu Chen proceeded to follow along this small rocky path.
And this walk became one that was nearing half an hour"s of time.
This small rocky path seemed to continue forever without end. Regardless of how Mu Chen walked, he was unable to walk out of it. At this moment, his expression had turned completely solemn. Obviously, he was able to feel the strangeness of this place.
As his stopped his footsteps and wrinkled his brows tightly, he thought, Is this… to test me?
Taking a look at his surroundings, he gave a flick of his finger, and explosively sent Spiritual Energy shooting out towards every direction. However, without shooting out far into the distance, all of them dissipated in the air. From the looks of it, this region seemed to an isolated s.p.a.ce.
"Is this a Spiritual Array?"
Mu Chen muttered to himself, as he scanned the surroundings around him acutely. Nevertheless, he was unable to discover any fluctuations caused by Spiritual Seals permeating within the air. In this place, there weren"t any traces of Spiritual Arrays.
After thinking deeply for quite a while, he made a sudden step back.
Following his step back, the surrounding scene turned slightly illusionary. In the next instant, he discovered that he had appeared at the location where he was right after stepping past the main doors, with the little rocky path in front of him. At his back, the doors of the courtyard were still open, seemingly telling him that if he wasn"t able to head forward, he should immediately turn around and leave.
He couldn"t walk forward, and he wasn"t willing to turn around and leave.
Was there a third way for him to walk?
This place was definitely strange. However, it"s just that Mu Chen had yet to discover it.
As he thought about it, his eyes faintly narrowed. After a while, his gaze suddenly turned towards the clear lake beside the little rocky path. As his eyes sparkled, he took a step forward, and heavily landed within the lake.
As his feet descended, there wasn"t any water splas.h.i.+ng out. At this instant, Mu Chen"s taut body finally relaxed. Indeed, it"s like that…
Without stopping in his tracks, he walked straight into the lake, causing the lake water to slowly submerge him, bit by bit.
At the moment when Mu Chen was completely submerged by the lake water, his surroundings seemed to faintly ripple and fluctuate. In the next moment, he started to feel them turn illusionary, with the little rocky path and the lake already dissipating away.
What appeared before him was an elegant and refined bamboo building, with the words "Ling Xi"s Courtyard" being displayed.
Elation filled Mu Chen as he could tell that he had pa.s.sed the slightly strange place.
Suddenly, Mu Chen"s gaze turned towards the front of the bamboo building, only to see a beautiful girl dressed in white sitting quietly there. The girl was extremely youthful, with her skin akin to snow, twirling eyebrows with a serene and quiet gaze, while radiating with an icy and indifferent aura that would repel people to a thousand miles away.
Upon seeing her, Mu Chen instantly gawked, before cupping his hands and saying, "This student…"
Before he could finish his words, the girl dressed in white gave him an icy glare. With a wave of her jade-like hand, the bamboo door instantly closed shut.
Mu Chen was stunned.
"Eh, Big Brother Mu Chen?" while Mu Chen was still stunned, a young and happy voice suddenly rang out from behind.
Turning his head around, the first thing he saw was Su"er, dressed in white, standing right behind him, who currently had her eyes wide open with happiness and surprise as she looked at him.
"Big Brother Mu Chen, why are you here?" asked Su"er happily in surprise.
Feeling helpless, Mu Chen replied, "I"m here to find Elder Ling Xi to teach me about Spiritual Arrays… however, I didn"t see anyone…"
"Hasn"t Elder Sister Ling Xi been here all along?" replied Su"er in confusion, as she pointed towards the bamboo building.
"This place? Elder Sister Ling Xi?"
Mu Chen immediately gawked, before an incredulous feeling erupted out from his eyes as this moment. Staring blankly at the tightly closed bamboo doors, he thought, That beautiful girl in white is that Elder Ling Xi?
Chapter 351 – Guidance
Within the quiet and elegant bamboo house, Mu Chen looked with some awkwardness at the girl dressed in white that was in a seiza position behind the tea table. The latter wore a white dress, with her black hair draped over her shoulders. Coupled with her beautiful face and the lovably pointed jaw, she radiated with a faint icy and indifferent aura, letting people know that it was not easy to get close to her.
The girl in front of him was really quite beautiful, with not a bit inferior to Su Xuan. The only gripe was that icy indifference, which was the greatest among all of the beautiful girls that Mu Chen had ever seen.
He never imagined that this eccentric Elder Ling Xi would actually be this young and beautiful.
Su"er, who had also adopted the seiza position beside Ling Xi, secretly laughed as she looked at Mu Chen"s awkward-looking face.
Regardless of that, the girl in white did not care about the Mu Chen in front of her and was minding her own business as she extended her slender white hand. Picking up the teapot, she gently poured the tea out, bringing along a clear and melodious sound within the quiet room as the tea entered the cup.
Giving a dry cough, Mu Chen cupped his hands and said, "This student, Mu Chen, has seen Elder Ling Xi. I apologize for my earlier conduct…"
"Why did you come here?" asked the white girl in a calm voice, with no presence of any fluctuations.
"The Dean has asked me to come here to find Elder…Ling Xi for guidance on cultivation in Spiritual Arrays," replied Mu Chen, with the word "Elder" being said with slight difficulty, as he had never seen such a young and beautiful Elder.
"I don"t teach people." Holding the jade tea cup in her white hands, the girl in white took a light sip before giving her reply.
Hearing her reply, Mu Chen immediately glared at Su"er sitting beside her.
"I don"t teach males." Seemingly knowing what Mu Chen was referring to, the girl in white added a casual response.
Feeling helpless, the only thing Mu Chen could do was forsake his shame and replied, "It"s the Dean who asked me to come here."
Hearing those words, the beautiful eyes of the girl in white rotated up slightly. Shooting a look at Mu Chen, she replied, "I"m not a person of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. The only reason I"m here is due to owing a favor to Dean Tai Cang. Therefore, I"ve only agreed to help him construct some Spiritual Arrays for the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. As long as I want to, I can leave at any time. Therefore, don"t use his name and try to pressure me."
Mu Chen was immediately speechless. This Elder Ling Xi"s character truly was eccentric. She didn"t even give face to Dean Tai Cang. This turn of events truly made Mu Chen feel slightly at a loss on how to proceed.
The girl in white proceeded to ignore the helplessly feeling Mu Chen and started to play with her elaborately designed jade cup with her usual indifferent expression.
Do to this, the atmosphere within the room quickly became silent and slightly stifling.
Seeing Mu Chen starting to shrivel up, Su"er could not help, laughing up her sleeve, before saying quietly, "Elder Sister Ling Xi, Big Brother Mu Chen"s talent in Spiritual Arrays is very good, and is even better than me."
"There are too many people with good talent. If I were to teach every single one I see, wouldn"t that tire me to death?" asked Ling Xi as she glared at Su"er.
"Elder Sister Ling Xi, can you please help Big Brother Mu Chen, please? He treats me very well," begged Su"er as she started to act like a spoilt kid.
Nevertheless, Ling XI did not budge.
"Elder Sister Ling Xi, if you don"t agree, I"ll not do work anymore," said Su"er as she pouted her small mouth.
"Then, I"ll just have to lock you up in the Spiritual Array House." replied Ling Xi in a soft voice as a smile seemed to rise from the corner of her mouth.
Upon hearing the three words "Spiritual Array House", Su"er immediately turned quiet in fear, her little face quickly showed a bitter expression as she did not dare to continue speaking.
Seeing that Su"er did not dare to continue speaking, Ling Xi turned quietly for a slight moment before looking at Mu Chen. With an indifferent tone, she asked, "So, you"re a Rank 4 Spiritual Array Master now?"
"Yes," replied Mu Chen while nodding his head.
"What problem do you have?" asked Ling Xi.
"I would like to know how to control the Heart"s Eye state." Mu Chen immediately replied. To him, the Heart"s Eye state was extremely important. Once he was truly able to able to control the Heart"s Eye state, he would be able to rely on his strength of a Rank 4 Spiritual Array Master to arrange Rank 5 Spiritual Arrays.
Although it could be said that he had managed to faintly make contact with the Heart"s Eye state, the entirety of this state was extremely complicated. If he only relied on his probing and feelings, he truly did not know when he would achieve the level of full control.
"Heart"s Eye?" muttered Ling Xi, as a trace of astonishment revealed itself within her eyes. She truly didn"t imagine that Mu Chen was actually able to make contact with the Heart"s Eye state at his current level. It looked like what Su"er said was true, that he possessed an extremely high talent for Spiritual Arrays.
"The Heart"s Eye state is a rather high and deep state within the path of a Spiritual Array Master. It"s known in two forms, the Void Heart"s Eye state, and the Real Heart"s Eye state. However, from the looks of it, you aren"t even at the level of full control over the Void Heart"s Eye state."
Hearing her explanation, Mu Chen faintly gawked. Obviously, he never thought that the Heart"s Eye state would actually have such a differentiation within it.
"What"s the difference between the two?"
"The Void Heart"s Eye state is an illusionary feeling and comprehension. If a Spiritual Array was arranged by two Spiritual Array Masters, one with control over the Void Heart"s Eye state, while the other doesn"t, not only will the amount of Spiritual Energy consumed by the one with control be less, its might would be even stronger, with even the chances of failure being drastically lowered. An extremely significant reason why some outstanding Spiritual Array Masters were able to arrange boundary-breaking Spiritual Arrays is due to their control over this state."
"As for the Real Heart"s Eye state…" Ling Xi"s voice paused slightly at this moment, before continuing, "Spiritual Array Masters that have such a degree of control over the Heart"s Eye state would feel a good deal of Spiritual Arrays become incomparably simple in their eyes. This is due to them already being able to see through a lot of their complicated structures and peer into their cores. If you were to meet an enemy of such caliber, they would be able to see the weakest point of the Spiritual Arrays that you"ve arranged with a single look, and break them easily…"
"In addition, once one trains their control over the Real Heart"s Eye state to an extremely deep and high level, it would no longer continue to be an illusionary feeling. It would turn substantial, akin to an existence of a genuine eye. That"s the true Heart"s Eye state."
"Under the gaze of the Heart"s Eye state, no Spiritual Arrays would exist. If you come face-to-face with such a Spiritual Array Master, it"s best that you don"t arrange any Spiritual Arrays in front of that person. That"s because he would be able to see through your constructs in a single look. Perhaps, in an instant, he would be able to arrange a Spiritual Array identical to the one you"ve arranged."
Hearing her complete explanation, Mu Chen was completely dumbfounded. Reproducing an opponent"s Spiritual Array with a single look? Wasn"t that too perverted and abnormal? He never imagined that this Heart"s Eye state would actually be that formidable. However, it seemed too far away from him. To him, what he wanted now was not the other benefits that it would provide, but only the little bit of allowing him to arrange boundary-breaking Spiritual Arrays…
"Exactly when would one be able to control this state?" Mu Chen posed his question cautiously.
"That"s very simple. You just have to train and practice more," replied Ling Xi with a downplaying tone.
Mu Chen instantly felt sweat dripping down from his forehead. Isn"t this making it sound too simple?
"What should I do?" asked Mu chen helplessly.
"Do you really want to control it?" asked Ling Xi as her intelligent and bright eyes focused on Mu Chen, while the icy in-differentness within them seemingly weaker than before. However, what replaced them was an indifferent laughing intent, which made Mu Chen feel a little uneasy.
However, at this time, regardless of his unease, the only thing he could do was steel himself. It was not easy to get this eccentric lady to guide him, If he showed the slightest bit of hesitation, he might be sent flying out once again.
"Yes." replied Mu Chen with a nod.
Hearing his reply, Su"er used a sympathizing gaze as she looked at Mu Chen, she was already able to picture the unlucky look that would soon appear on his face.
"Follow me," said Ling Xi and she stood up, revealing her slender and exquisite physique wrapped within the white clothing, Bringing along a slight trace of fragrance, she walked directly out of the house, leaving Mu Chen looking at her graceful and slender back figure.
The three of them headed out of the bamboo house and entered a bamboo forest, before stopping at a s.p.a.cious clearing within its depths.
"In general, although Spiritual Arrays are complicated,to a Spiritual Array Master, the most important part of it would be the Array Core. Once the core is broken, even the most powerful Spiritual Array would dissipate into thin air. However, wanting to identify the Array Core of an incomparably complex Spiritual Array in operation would be an extremely difficult task."
Looking towards Mu Chen, Ling Xi extended her slender jade-like finger and gave the s.p.a.ce a tap. In the next instant, ripples seemed to undulate out from the touched s.p.a.ce, as Mu Chen was able to feel the Spiritual Energy in this stretch of the world seemingly becoming disordered and chaotic.
Spiritual Energy akin to a storm condensed within the s.p.a.cious clearing within the bamboo forest, as a scarlet-red glowing array started to form in the air. In the next instant, a strong Spiritual Energy fluctuation started to spread out, while radiating with a scorching-hot aura.
Looking at the scarlet-red Spiritual Array that had taken shape in an instant around him, Mu Chen"s expression changed uncontrollably. This Spiritual Array should be a Fourth Grade one. If he was the one arranging it, it would require ample preparation before attempting to arrange it. However, with a single tap of her jade-like finger, this Ling Xi was able to form a Fourth Grade Spiritual Array. Furthermore, Mu Chen did not even see her condense a single Spiritual Seal…
She had directly controlled the Spiritual Energy of the heavens and earth to arrange a Spiritual Array. This way made it even harder for people to guard against it.
One had to know that when a Spiritual Array Master arranges a Spiritual Array, the first thing that needed to be done was to condense the Spiritual Seals. However, it would give a clear indication to one"s enemy what one"s actions were. However, from what Ling Xi had done, she had directly omitted this step.
Shock quietly flooded Mu Chen"s heart as he thought, A Great Spiritual Array Master, she truly is worthy of that t.i.tle. She"s on a completely different level from me.
However, just as Mu Chen was secretly feeling shocked, Ling Xi wasn"t done with what she was doing. With another tap of her jade-like finger, one could see two similarly gigantic and complicated Spiritual Arrays surfacing in the air, enveloping the scarlet-red glowing array within them.
Three complete Rank 4 Spiritual Arrays. Furthermore, they were arranged simultaneously.
Unable to bear it any more, the corner of Mu Chen"s mouth started to twitch.
The three Rank 4 Spiritual Arrays enveloped the entire clearing with Mu Chen at their very most centre location. Currently, he did not even dare to make the slightest movement, since a single movement from him would cause the three Spiritual Arrays to launch erratic attacks at him.
"Elder Ling Xi…"
With a dry laugh, Mu Chen asked, "May I know what this is for?"
"Before being killed by them, you"ll have to find the Array Cores of these three Spiritual Arrays, before breaking them to escape. Remember, you"re not allowed to use your Spiritual Energy to forcefully break them. You"re only allowed to break the Array Cores," replied Ling Xi in an indifferent tone.
Mu Chen immediately opened his mouth wide. What the h.e.l.l is this h.e.l.lish form of training? Immediately asking me to deal with three Rank 4 Spiritual Arrays, can"t we stick to the norm? This truly can kill me!
"I"ll give you an hour. If you can"t break them, there"s no need for you to continue staying here, and just return to where you"ve come from. I won"t teach such stupid people." Nevertheless, Ling Xi completely ignored the feelings of Mu Chen. After speaking her words in an indifferent tone, with a wave of her sleeve, she turned around and left.
"Su"er, make sure to watch him. If he dares to forcefully break the arrays, you"ll be the next one that enters."
As Ling Xi"s beautiful figure headed into the distance, her clear and cold voice fluttered over, causing Su"er"s little face to turn bitter. In the next moment, she looked towards Mu Chen, currently in the middle of the arrays with an extremely pitiful expression.
"Big Brother Mu Chen, you have to listen to Elder Sister Ling Xi"s words… Su"er doesn"t want to go in there…"