Chapter 563: White Cave, Gone?

"Tianshu Disc, Tianshu Disc..." Xu Xiaoshou stared at the box-shaped array disc in front of him. He could feel that the Dao patterns within it resonated with the Heaven Sealing Great Array. Even with the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array," he believed that with the help of this array box, he could wrest control from the manually operated red-clothed figures. But without Yu Zhiwen... it was so difficult!

"These ghostly patterns, there are so many." The dense array of patterns was enough to make one's head spin just by looking at them. And with his current 'Textile Mastery' only at Grandmaster Lv.1, cracking it would be incredibly difficult. Grandmaster-level 'Textile Mastery' offered only fragmented insights into the techniques of heavenly mechanisms. Xu Xiaoshou could perceive the Dao patterns of heavenly mechanisms only because of Yu Zhiwen's previous insights. Now, taking control of this great array from the opponent's hands was undeniably too challenging.

"But if I can't take it, it's a dead end..." Glancing at the intense battle between the red-clothed figures and the ghost beasts, Xu Xiaoshou's head throbbed. He didn't want to die. However, if he remained merely a bystander, the longer he waited, the greater the chance he would be drawn into the conflict. When that time came, how would he escape? By relying on Elder Sang's reputation? That would only lead to a quicker death!

The Storyteller seemed to have been observing Xu Xiaoshou's movements. "Second Brother, what exactly are you trying to do...""Shut up.""Oh.""Cursed, Passive Point, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou had no time for explanations. When he was at the Tiansang City Lord's Mansion, he had seen partial rubbings of the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" that the Night Watch had brought. At that time, he had easily deciphered it. Now, if he could just calm down, he should be able to do it again... right?

Xu Xiaoshou placed a palm on the Tianshu Disc and began to sense it. However... he couldn't figure anything out! "No, it won't work. This level difference cannot be made up in an instant." Xu Xiaoshou understood in a blink. Grandmaster Lv.1 was just Grandmaster Lv.1; it was different from the Throne level. Based on his current understanding of heavenly mechanism arrays, he couldn't even comprehend the Dao patterns of the Tianshu Disc, let alone control the great array.

"Wait, last time..." His thoughts shifted. Xu Xiaoshou recalled the last time he rescued his junior sister, how he had used Xu Xiaoji to transform into a sword and enter the space within. "Perhaps, inside there, I can sense everything and thus control the great array?" He acted on the thought immediately. Xu Xiaoshou communicated with the straw hat on his head via spiritual sense, then, disregarding its protests, he immediately tossed it into his Yuanfu. When he took it out again, Xu Xiaoji had transformed into a black sword.

"You Si Sword?" A gasp immediately came from his ear; the Storyteller was clearly shocked. "Second Brother, how do you have...""No, wait!" The Storyteller had clearly seen the You Si Sword in the hands of the Holy War Black Angel on the battlefield; that one was real. The one in Second Brother's hand was, without a doubt, a fake! But this fake, it was too real, wasn't it? Including the sword body, aura, and even the sensation... If Second Brother hadn't held it and no demonic patterns appeared on his body, the Storyteller would have thought that the You Si Sword had actually been split in two, and that the one in Second Brother's hand was the other half.

To be honest, Xu Xiaoshou was also stunned when he saw the sword in his hand again. It was too similar! Anyone who had seen the "You Si Sword" would understand just how similar the sword Xu Xiaoji transformed into was. At this moment, an idea involuntarily sprouted in Xu Xiaoshou's mind. "Second Brother, I suddenly have a new tactic..." Xu Xiaoshou instantly understood that the Storyteller had also thought of something. But how could he agree? "Shut up." "Just pretend I don't exist; my mission here is different from yours," he immediately retorted. "Oh." "Disliked, Passive Point, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou immediately plunged the Chicken Sword into the Tianshu Disc. "Buzz!" At the same time, the Heaven Sealing Great Array, which had sealed off the entire Sword-Leaving Grassland, trembled. The tremor was slight, but Lan Ling still detected it.

"There's a Grandmaster!" Lan Ling exclaimed, "Someone is peeking at the Heaven Sealing Great Array; he wants to seize control!""A Grandmaster of Spiritual Arrays?" Yu Zhiwen looked back. "An infiltrator?""That must be it, no doubt..." Lan Ling hesitated, then added, puzzled, "But even a Grandmaster shouldn't be able to do this. I've studied the 'Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array' for so long, and only recently comprehended a Heaven Sealing Great Array. If the other party is an infiltrator, how could he possibly compare to me in such a short amount of time?""The only explanation..." Lan Ling's pupils suddenly constricted. "A Path-Slaying level heavenly mechanism practitioner?""That's impossible!" Yu Zhiwen immediately retorted, "Not to mention heavenly mechanism practitioners are rare on the continent and can only be cultivated within the Dao Department. A Path-Slaying level... heavenly mechanism practitioner? Absolutely impossible!" Yu Zhiwen shook her head, stating emphatically, "This must be either my senior uncle, my junior uncle, or one of my senior brothers or sisters who have already left the Dao Department. These people would never betray the Holy Temple."

Lan Ling fell silent for a moment, then, after a long pause, said, "Are you sure?""Yes.""Then..." Lan Ling was speechless now. Indeed, anyone who could enter the six departments of the Holy Temple had an absolutely clean background. Betrayal? Completely impossible! Under the Dao Hall Master's power of heavenly mechanisms, even the past, present, and future of those individuals could be thoroughly revealed. How could they betray? But if it wasn't a Path-Slaying level heavenly mechanism practitioner, how could the Heaven Sealing Great Array be so easily triggered?

"Could it be a Grandmaster of spiritual arrays who secretly infiltrated the White Cave and has been studying for a long time?" Yu Zhiwen tentatively asked."No." Lan Ling immediately denied it. "The red-clothed have already confirmed that within the range of the 'Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array,' not even a fly can get in, let alone a person...""Wait, there's one more possibility." Lan Ling suddenly thought of something and blurted out, "The Tianshu Disc!""Huh?""A Path-Slaying level heavenly mechanism practitioner isn't needed. As long as a Grandmaster of spiritual arrays obtains the Tianshu Disc, they can indeed control the great array through it, but..." Lan Ling frowned as she spoke. The red-clothed had also sent people to search for the Tianshu Disc. However, it was only recently that they discovered that the Tianshu Disc, which no one could find, had actually been in the Tiansang Prefecture's City Lord's Mansion all along. Even Fu Zhi, who had gone missing after obtaining the Tianshu Disc during the last opening of the White Cave, was also in the City Lord's Mansion. He had merely locked himself away due to his obsession with studying heavenly mechanism techniques. "Fu Zhi didn't enter the White Cave. And if the Tianshu Disc fell into someone else's hands, they wouldn't be able to study anything from it in a short period. So, this possibility can essentially be ruled out..." Lan Ling muttered to herself.

"No." Yu Zhiwen suddenly interrupted, a certain figure drifting through her mind. And, within that person's Yuanfu, the array box filled with Dao patterns of heavenly mechanisms, quietly sitting in a corner. "I know who it is." This sentence, by some strange impulse, was not spoken aloud, but only echoed in Yu Zhiwen's heart."What?" Lan Ling tilted her head to look at her."N-nothing." Yu Zhiwen hesitated for a moment, then looked at the battlefield. "How about you continue to regulate the great array to help the red-clothed, and I'll handle the one trying to usurp control of the array?" Suspension flickered in Lan Ling's eyes. Clearly, the woman in front of her had discovered something. But if she didn't say it, Lan Ling couldn't force the information out of her. After all, this was the Dao Hall Master's niece. In terms of status, she was several levels higher than Lan Ling. Strictly speaking, this was a superior sent by the higher-ups... "Alright, I'll leave it to you." Lan Ling didn't say much more. Regardless of Yu Zhiwen's inner calculations, her origin and status determined that she could never betray the Holy Temple. Some things were destined from birth."Mhm." Yu Zhiwen extended her palms, and her spiritual sense, like Lan Ling's, connected to the Heaven Sealing Great Array. After a moment of hesitation, she, feeling uneasy, split off another portion of her spiritual sense and connected it to the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array." Though unlikely, if it was him... "It's better to be careful!"

On the other side. "It's connected." Xu Xiaoshou was overjoyed. The moment the Chicken Sword was inserted into the Tianshu Disc's slot, he immediately sensed the internal space of the Tianshu Disc once again. At the same time, a faint, ethereal connection seemed to have been established between the Tianshu Disc and the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array.""I can control it?" Xu Xiaoshou was instantly astonished. As he held the Tianshu Disc, the entire spiritual array structure of the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" appeared in his mind. He could clearly perceive that if his spiritual array level was high enough, with a mere thought, this great array could be put to his use. "There's no need to decipher it at all..." Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. He completely understood. This so-called "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" was, like other heaven-and-earth great arrays in the White Cave, created to protect the Tianshu Disc and the You Si Sword. However, because the You Si Sword's power was too immense, the level of this naturally formed heaven-and-earth array was greatly elevated. But in essence, these things were all the same. It was like how he could manipulate the frozen world to shatter just by possessing the "Three-Day Frost Tribulation." By obtaining the Tianshu Disc, the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array" could also be activated in a similar manner. However, because the array's level was too high and it had become self-contained, fully activating it still required a certain level of spiritual array mastery. Xu Xiaoshou's current level truly prevented him from fully activating it, but partial activation, that was possible.

"Genius, I truly am a genius!" At this moment, the words Fu Zhi had spoken in the City Lord's Mansion's flower sea seemed to reappear in his mind. That guy, obsessed with spiritual arrays, had indeed spent many years trying to decipher the Tianshu Array Disc but failed. But a tool is just a tool. More often than not, the user doesn't need to fully understand its internal structure or creation process. Being able to use it is enough! Just as Fu Zhi could use the Tianshu Disc as a tool to put his junior sister into its internal space, Xu Xiaoshou could also use the Tianshu Disc to control certain functions of the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array." Yes, not the Heaven Sealing Great Array, but the "Thirty-Six Heaven Sealing Array"! The Heaven Sealing Great Array was merely a derivative of the latter; in front of the Tianshu Disc, it was nothing.

"This is incredible!" Feeling the power that could literally turn the world upside down, Xu Xiaoshou was genuinely awestruck. This sensation of secretly observing from a god's-eye view during a life-and-death struggle between powerful figures, while also being able to borrow some of those godlike abilities, was truly exhilarating. "No, I can't act recklessly." He had the urge to use the array's power to secretly eliminate someone as a test, but Xu Xiaoshou quickly suppressed his impulse. "Currently, gaining control of the great array will likely attract the attention of Yu Zhiwen and Lan Ling. But with the Storyteller's heavenly mechanism shielding, they won't be able to find me. However, if I use the array's power, it'll be different. They'll be able to trace it back and easily pinpoint me. The immediate priority..." Xu Xiaoshou turned his head to look at the Heaven Sealing Great Array in front of him. He wanted to seize control of the array not to fight, but to escape. This original intention, he had never forgotten.

"If I use the great array to secretly open a barrier gate, as long as I get out, everything will be a success." "As for the You Si Sword, whoever wants it can have it. I, Xu Xiaoshou... can't afford to mess with it!"

Sensing the Heaven Sealing Great Array was simple. Holding the Tianshu Disc, Xu Xiaoshou immediately sensed this derivative array. With a slight movement of his spiritual sense, the barrier in front of him began to thin layer by layer."There's movement." Lan Ling immediately noticed."Mhm." Yu Zhiwen nodded, instantly locking onto the trace. However, halfway through, the array's power was directly cut off. Throughout the Sword-Leaving Grassland, particularly the areas near the great array, the Heavenly Dao was severed, making it impossible to trace anything."Someone is interfering..." Yu Zhiwen's face instantly paled."Who?" Lan Ling asked while assisting the red-clothed in battle."Path-Slaying!" Yu Zhiwen said in alarm, "Peak Path-Slaying, or even, possibly a Grand-Void..." Lan Ling's body trembled violently, her figure swaying. This meant that within this Sword-Leaving Grassland, there wasn't just one Grandmaster of spiritual arrays suspected of having the Tianshu Disc, but also a peak Path-Slaying expert? "Holy Slave, the Storyteller!" Lan Ling instantly realized. Among the top combat powers in the White Cave, the only ones who could match this description were the "Holy Slaves," who had yet to make a move. However, ghost beasts were against the red-clothed. Holy Slaves were against the white-clothed! Those beings were already far beyond what the current red-clothed could handle. "Contact the outside world. If necessary, Senior Wuyue might need to intervene," Lan Ling secretly transmitted to the red-clothed behind her. The red-clothed figure nodded slightly and immediately retreated. But soon after, he reappeared beside Lan Ling, trembling again. "C-can't connect...""What?!"

"It's opening soon, it's opening soon." Xu Xiaoshou looked at the thinning layers of the small barrier gate, his heart pounding with excitement. At this point, the defensive strength of the small barrier gate could no longer block the power of his 'Perception.' Xu Xiaoshou immediately focused all his mental energy on 'Perception,' trying to extend it outward. He wanted to find an escape route for himself in advance! However... "Hiss, hiss, hiss." The image transmitted by 'Perception' was one of darkness and void, with high-frequency spatial shards continuously moving outside. "Spatial currents?" Xu Xiaoshou was completely bewildered. "This..." Had the area outside the Sword-Leaving Grassland exploded? Had everything turned into spatial currents? He stubbornly continued to extend his 'Perception' range, but the more he saw, the more he panicked. It was gone. Everything was truly gone. The entire White Cave, except for the Sword-Leaving Grassland, had turned into spatial currents! "This, then, means that going out is death?" Xu Xiaoshou's heart skipped a beat, his face suddenly paled, and his thoughts froze. What had happened outside? The White Cave, gone?