Chapter 291: Researching the Array-Breaking

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

As the group was talking, the white-robed youth suddenly looked down to check his battle imprint. A message had arrived. A moment later, he looked up, giving Gu Canyang a strange look. "Senior Brother, is Daoist Lu skilled in array formations?"

Gu Canyang thought for a moment. "Rumor has it he inherited the legacy of a spirit纹 master and can also activate some spirit纹. Array formations and spirit纹 are closely related... Why do you ask?"

The white-robed youth looked exasperated. "Daoist Lu is at the edge of the sect's protective array, seemingly studying how to break it."

"Break the array?" Gu Canyang and Ji Yan looked astonished.

Array formations could naturally be broken, but cultivators at the Spirit Stream Realm were too low in cultivation. Even if they could break an array, it would only be simple ones. A large-scale array like a sect's protective formation was impossible to break single-handedly. This was also why major sect strongholds were so difficult to conquer; each one was enveloped by its own protective formation.

"Perhaps he's practicing array formations. Send word down, don't mind him." Gu Canyang didn't overthink it. Since Lu Ye wanted to study array-breaking, he could go ahead. There would be no loss anyway.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Divine Hidden Palace's protective array, Lu Ye was observing its operation.

To break an array, one must first find its weak points and then employ specific methods to exploit them. No matter the array, it could never be perfectly flawless. However, the more advanced the array, the fewer its flaws. For instance, the protective arrays in the Spirit Stream Battlefield were generally constructed using array foundations purchased from the Heavenly Secret Treasury. Those who set up and maintained these arrays might not even be proficient in the art.

Take the Blood Jade Sect, for example. Hua Ci, who now controlled their protective array, knew nothing about formations. Yet, with the jade tablet corresponding to the array, she could easily control it. The situation at Divine Hidden Palace was similar. If those controlling the array weren't proficient in it, how perfect could it be? Still, it was sufficient to resist attacks from Spirit Stream Realm cultivators.

At the Blood Jade Sect, Lu Ye had followed Madam Yun in learning the Way of Spirit纹, a process of "first break, then establish." Madam Yun would construct a spirit纹, and he would break it. If spirit纹 were considered array formations, then Lu Ye's act of breaking spirit纹 was akin to breaking an array.

Of course, a true array formation was far more complex than just one or two spirit纹, especially a protective array capable of enveloping an entire stronghold, which might involve dozens of types of spirit纹. Previously, he hadn't known much about array formations, so even after the Blood Jade Sect acquired its own protective array, Lu Ye hadn't studied it. It wasn't until he left the Blood Jade Sect that Lu Ye began to learn about array formations through the book system, steadily improving his proficiency in the art. By the time he was in Immortal Yuan City, he could already set up some simple spell formations himself.

Now, with sufficient theoretical knowledge, Lu Ye wanted to try his hand at it practically. However, once he started, he realized things were far more complex than he had imagined. The entire protective array was seamlessly integrated, and with his current vision and experience, he couldn't discern any weaknesses. He couldn't even find a flaw in the array, let alone break it. So, after only a moment, Lu Ye slowly closed his eyes. Spiritual energy began to gather in them, forming an extremely complex pattern.

Insight!

This was the eleventh spirit纹 obtained from his Talent Tree. When ambushing the Qingtian Sect's mine, Lu Ye had used this spirit纹 to detect the whereabouts of a ghost cultivator.

When he opened his eyes again, the entire world seemed to have changed. Everything appeared less real, with multicolored lights flowing through his vision, shimmering glows, and fluttering ribbons, constantly twisting and transforming—that was the movement of the world's spiritual energy. The greatest function of the Insight spirit纹 was to clearly perceive the flow of spiritual energy and the changes in spiritual power. Lu Ye had vaguely sensed earlier that this spirit纹's purpose wasn't solely to uncover hidden enemies; it might also have remarkable effects when breaking arrays.

With his eyes enhanced by the Insight spirit纹, he looked at the protective array and immediately noticed some differences. The spiritual energy on the light barrier flowed and surged like water, coming from one direction. Since the array's light barrier was generally circular, half above ground and half below, this process could cycle continuously. As long as the array had sufficient spiritual energy stored, it could be maintained indefinitely. Spiritual energy was abundant in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, and each sect stronghold was enhanced by Heavenly Secret Pillars. During peacetime, arrays could store vast amounts of spiritual energy, which could then be used to boost the array's power and increase its defensive capabilities during an attack. However, in peacetime, the arrays typically operated at their minimum level.

From a normal perspective, the entire array's light barrier resembled a transparent water curtain. But to Lu Ye, with his Insight spirit纹 activated, the array's light barrier was formed by interconnected yin-yang duality elements, interspersed with various spirit纹. Each of these spirit纹 served its own purpose, such as enhancing the array's defensive power or increasing the flow rate of its spiritual energy. The entire array was like an incredibly vast, complex, and intricate restriction! However, unlike ordinary restrictions crafted into spiritual artifacts, this restriction, through the circulation of spiritual energy, formed the overall protective array.

Lu Ye had an epiphany. No wonder Madam Yun had previously said that array cultivators could be considered a branch of spirit纹 masters, as array formations themselves were restrictions composed of individual spirit纹. Observing the embedding techniques used for those spirit纹, Lu Ye even noticed some familiar patterns. The leaves on his Talent Tree contained not only spirit纹 but also a large number of special embedding methods and techniques. These could loosely be considered spirit纹 because if constructed, they could exist stably. However, unlike normal spirit纹, they couldn't function independently. They merely served as bridges for embedding different spirit纹.

Lu Ye continued to observe. Failing to find any obvious flaws in the light barrier before him, he mused for a moment, then stepped forward, carefully examining as he walked. After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he suddenly stopped and looked up ahead. This particular spot had subtle differences from other areas. If the rest of the array appeared seamless, this area showed signs of embedding. These embedding marks were the weaknesses, the nodes of the array. If he wasn't mistaken, the spot where he stood should be the midpoint between two array foundations.

The Blood Jade Sect's protective array was constructed from sixteen array foundations. The foundations were spaced far apart, and even if they resonated to form the array, the connecting points would be weaker than other areas once the formation was complete. If the Blood Jade Sect's array were likened to a puzzle, it would be composed of sixteen pieces. Each piece would represent the area covered by an activated array foundation. Even if the pieces fit together perfectly, there would still be tiny gaps—these gaps were the nodes. Ordinary people couldn't see them, nor could Lu Ye himself, but with the Insight spirit纹 activated, it was different. Upon detecting the node, Lu Ye felt a great sense of certainty, knowing that his earlier intuition was correct: the Insight spirit纹 truly had miraculous effects in breaking arrays.

Gazing at the node ahead, Lu Ye slowly drew his Cragblade. Spiritual energy surged, and a fleeting gleam flashed across the blade. With the dual sharpness enhancement, he poured his entire strength into a direct thrust. The blade tip pierced the node with pinpoint accuracy. The Cragblade hummed, spiritual energy surged, and in the next instant, the protective array shook violently. Its steadily flowing light barrier severely warped. Lu Ye withdrew his blade and continued his assault. The long blade became a series of afterimages in his hands, repeatedly striking the array's node.

Boom, boom, boom…

The array twisted continuously.

The entire Divine Hidden Palace stronghold was alerted. All cultivators who noticed the commotion looked around in shock, and some even shouted, "Enemy attack!" Although no enemy was visible, it was clearly a sign that the array was under attack. Gu Canyang, the white-robed youth, and Ji Yan were all startled and appeared. The white-robed youth even directly pulled out the jade token that controlled the array, decisively boosting its power to maximum.

After a brief flurry of activity, news arrived a moment later: there was no enemy attack; it was Lu Yiye, the guest, attacking their own protective array. Looking at the junior disciple reporting the situation, Gu Canyang's eyelid twitched. "He made all that commotion by himself?"

"Yes, I just saw him attack the array with a spiritual artifact," replied the reporting cultivator, who had been close to Lu Ye and seen everything clearly. Frankly, he too was startled, never having imagined that someone could single-handedly cause such a significant reaction from a protective array. And Lu Yiye was only at the eighth level of the Spirit Stream Realm! If he cultivated to the ninth level of the Heavenly Rank, wouldn't he be able to break a protective array with a single strike?

"Let's go take a look," Gu Canyang said, evidently realizing this point. He led the white-robed youth and Ji Yan towards Lu Ye's location, followed by a large contingent of cultivators. Upon arriving, they saw Lu Ye sitting cross-legged, seemingly recovering his spiritual energy. Lu Ye had stopped his actions once the white-robed youth manipulated the array to strengthen its power. He knew his earlier actions would surely attract an investigation from the Divine Hidden Palace, so he simply waited for them there. However, what he didn't expect was such a large crowd.

"Brother Yiye, were you attacking the array just now?" Gu Canyang asked, stepping forward.

"I had some ideas and wanted to test them," Lu Ye replied.

"Any breakthroughs?" Gu Canyang raised an eyebrow.

"More ideas, actually. My apologies for disturbing everyone."

"No trouble at all, no trouble," Gu Canyang waved his hand repeatedly. "Brother Yiye, if you have anything you want to test, feel free to try it, and rest assured. The Divine Hidden Palace will fully cooperate!"

His enthusiasm was understandable. Not only had Lu Ye saved many cultivators from the Divine Hidden Palace previously, but if Lu Ye's current actions genuinely led to him breaking the array single-handedly, the implications would be enormous! Everyone knew the benefits of conquering another's stronghold, but conquering a stronghold was never easy, especially with a protective array in place.