Chapter 1557: Affordable Alternative Version

One of his subordinates whispered, "Lord Dushi, this array is unlikely to malfunction on its own. Its design is too simple, from the materials chosen to its layout and operation."

The more complex something is, the more prone it is to errors, and arrays are no exception.

However, this Great Heavenly Gang Array truly embodies the principle of "The Great Dao is Simple." Even its array pillars are made from robust, dark giant fernwood, a material renowned as a living fossil of ironwood, capable of standing for seven or eight centuries without issue.

"For such a simple array to operate so efficiently, its core must be exceptionally powerful," Bai Ziqi mused, stroking his chin. "A core selected by True Master Thousand Illusions is highly unlikely to be spontaneously damaged mid-operation. That means—"

The array's core was most likely intentionally removed.

Who could see through True Master Thousand Illusions' illusion, precisely locate the array core, and take the divine artifact within?

A thought flashed through the attendant's mind, and he blurted out, "Could it be the Rakshasa Armor, manufactured by the Yuyang Sect? Did Emperor Nine Nether take it?"

Bai Qi immediately countered, "The Rakshasa Armor hasn't been on Dragon Head Mountain for a long time. It was taken by the founding emperor of the Glimmergold Empire a thousand years ago!"

"Oh, right," the attendant said, slapping his forehead. The Rakshasa Armor originated from Mount Ke. How could he have forgotten?

"We can't just guess," he said. "But since this place is called Dragon Head Mountain, and it's the legendary site of the Dragon God's demise, perhaps the item is related to the Dragon God."

Bai Qi couldn't help but ask, "Can we activate the grand array to find out where the spiritual energy is being channeled?"

Throughout thousands of years of conflict, the surviving ancient immortals learned to be as cunning as a fox with three burrows. Their abodes were rarely located directly beside spirit-gathering arrays. However, having gone to such lengths to set up these arrays, they would undoubtedly channel the gathered spiritual energy to their own cave dwellings.

Thus, wherever the array channeled the collected spiritual energy, that would be the immortal's hiding place!

Bai San, who was skilled in array magic, immediately countered, "No, we don't have the appropriate divine artifact."

"We have so many treasures..." Bai Qi said, glancing at Bai Ziqi. "Can't any of them be used temporarily?"

"You don't know what kind of divine artifact is needed to activate the grand array," Bai San explained. "For instance, the Void Mountain Array requires a star map as its guide to function. Would just any divine artifact work as its core?"

Bai Ziqi had been pondering repeatedly, "Why is this Heavenly Gang Array so different? Why were these modifications made?"

Of the Great Heavenly Gang Array set up by True Master Thousand Illusions, seven of its array pillars deviated from the conventional design.

A conventional Great Heavenly Gang Array would also function, so why make these specific changes?

True Master Thousand Illusions would surely understand that simpler designs are less prone to error.

"Let's assume the divine item originally placed in the array core was related to the Dragon God," Bai Ziqi said, pulling a rectangular white jade box from his robe. He solemnly opened it. "Let's try using this."

Bold assumptions, but careful verification is key.

On the brocade cushion inside the box lay a beautiful green scale, precisely one foot in length!

The scale was rhomboid, very thick, with a raised center, sharpened edges, and tiny serrations. Upon closer inspection, its surface revealed concentric ripples that, when illuminated by moonlight, seemed to undulate like a gently rippling lake.

Its extraordinary nature was evident at first glance.

"This is..." Bai Qi was still somewhat confused, but upon closer inspection, he recognized it and couldn't help but exclaim, "The Emperor's scale!"

It was unmistakably a scale from the Demon Emperor Beijia!

"This is a token bestowed by the Emperor, used to mobilize Beijia's forces in Glimmergold. For now, let's try using it as an emergency measure," Bai Ziqi told him. "Go wait by the nearest giant fernwood and be ready to report anything."

A giant fernwood stood nearby, approximately two hundred zhang from the dry stone beach.

Bai Qi dashed over with lightning speed.

Bai Ziqi, holding the scale, looked around, wondering where best to place it.

"This was shed by the Emperor at the end of his juvenile period. It's the scale from the center of his forehead, which once absorbed the purple qi from the east at dawn. In terms of hardness and spiritual essence, it's second only to the inverse scale."

At the end of the dry stream was a cliff, which in the days when water flowed, would have been a magnificent waterfall.

Bai Ziqi walked over with the scale, saying, "The Emperor is not only of dragon lineage but also a descendant of the Dragon God. Assuming—just assuming—this spirit-gathering array only recognizes the Dragon God's aura, perhaps the Emperor's scale could work."

The Heavenly Palace members understood: he intended to use the power of the Dragon God's bloodline to 'pass off a fish eye as a pearl,' or in other words, to trick the array.

This was also an alternative method to deduce the type of divine artifact required for the array core.

Bai Ziqi took out half a candle from his robe, blew on it, and a lamp spirit emerged.

Unlike usual, it rapidly consumed the remaining candle, burning a finger's length of its body within mere seconds.

At this point, the lamp spirit was the size of a fist, seemingly holding a ball of fiery energy in its center, a dazzling and somewhat frightening crimson.

Bai Ziqi slapped it onto the green scale, and the lamp spirit adhered to the scale, even turning it red.

Of course, the green scale's durability was astonishing; even when scorched by the lamp spirit, it remained completely unharmed.

There was a depression on the stone wall before them, and Bai Ziqi forcefully pressed the burning green scale into it.

If the array core encompassed this five-li radius, theoretically, he only needed to ensure the substitute divine artifact made contact with the earth.

Given the characteristics of this array, its core was likely deeply connected to the earth.

Indeed, the moment the Emperor's green scale was embedded in the stone wall, the surrounding mountain forest rustled, and a strong wind arose seemingly from nowhere.

Soon, it formed a tornado, with one end reaching into the clouds and the other touching the ground, slowly moving towards their position.

Its presence was immense.

Bai Ziqi and the others immediately retreated into the forest, watching as the tornado moved all the way to the riverbed, precisely where he had embedded the green scale, and then, with a whoosh, it vanished!

The world and its surroundings returned to tranquility, as if nothing had happened. Only the shower of leaves falling from the sky indicated that the previous moments had not been peaceful.

Bai Ziqi let out a long breath, having gambled correctly!

The others cheered, "It worked! It worked!"

Soon after, Bai Qi ran back from a distance to report, "Lord Dushi, the giant fernwood has transformed into a venerable tree!"

Bai Ziqi, having already made his assessment, nodded at the report. "The array pillar's disguise has been restored, meaning the spirit-gathering array is operational again. Let's make haste."

The others looked at the stone wall again. The green scale remained in place, but the fiery red lamp spirit was gone.

Bai Ziqi again took out the purple-gold disk. "Look," he said, "and note the position."

On the purple-gold disk, a new point of light appeared, no longer golden, but a fiery crimson.

Everyone knew this was the lamp spirit that had been attached to the green scale.

It was not stationary on the disk but continuously moved forward, relentlessly heading northwest!

The attendant watched, barely daring to breathe. "This is the direction the spirit-gathering array is channeling spiritual energy!"

Spiritual energy is colorless and formless, making it difficult to trace. That's why Bai Ziqi used the lamp spirit, attached to the array core, to track the spiritual energy's transmission.

The destination of the spiritual energy would reveal True Master Thousand Illusions' hiding place!