Chapter 1734: Exile

Xie Daoyun, a genius in array formations herself, immediately sensed something was amiss.

Zu An was momentarily stunned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Even Yan Xuehen and the other women turned their gazes toward her.

Xie Daoyun bit her lip, then quickly explained, "A few days ago, I was tasked by my master to investigate if any special arrays had been laid in advance on Purple Mountain. Since this is the Imperial Tutor's territory, my master was worried he might have ulterior motives..."

She turned pale mid-sentence, as if realizing something, but continued, "Because the Imperial Tutor's cultivation is too high, and I feared my own lack of skill, my master taught me a few array formations. He said I could use them to detect if there were any other killing arrays in the mountains. I initially conducted a rough survey of Purple Mountain and found nothing. Then, I set up the arrays my master taught me in certain mountain ranges to check. Everything appeared normal at the time, and I was pleased that the work was completed successfully..."

Yun Jianyue sneered. "It seems Yan Xiangu also supports the Grand Master of Rites, secretly helping him set up such a grand array. Purple Mountain is Wang Wuxie's territory, and it wouldn't be easy to secretly lay such a powerful array here without anyone knowing. That's why he sent you."

"To avoid suspicion, he even kept you in the dark. You thought you were eliminating hidden dangers, but in reality, you were setting up the greatest killing array."

Xie Daoyun's face was utterly pale. She couldn't fathom that the master she respected most would use her in such a way.

"No, that can't be," she suddenly realized, immediately defending herself. "Although my master's skill in array formations far surpasses mine, I've dedicated myself to this path for quite some time. If it were truly a killing array, or a grand array of this scale, I couldn't possibly have failed to detect anything."

Yun Jianyue frowned. This was indeed hard to explain.

Instead, Yan Xuehen looked at Xie Daoyun sympathetically. "If I'm not mistaken, the Grand Master of Rites and Master Yan must have laid down the other parts of the array many years ago. They only recently had you place the remaining sections. Neither the parts laid before nor the crucial sections you recently arranged posed any threat individually, so Wang Wuxie and you wouldn't have suspected anything. Only when combined and specially activated would the array unleash its power."

"And at that point, there was no longer any need to conceal anything."

Xie Daoyun's face paled. Being intelligent, she immediately understood that this principle was feasible. It seemed her master had indeed deceived her.

At that moment, the Grand Master of Rites' voice rang out. "Daoyun, don't blame your master. I arranged this entirely; he was not aware."

Xie Daoyun pursed her lips. Her master's mastery of array formations was extraordinary; there were even rumors that he had surpassed his own teachers. How could the Grand Master of Rites' actions be concealed from him? Clearly, he was also aware.

At this point, Zhao Hao scoffed. "Still covering for Yan Xiangu at a time like this? It seems you're worried that if today's plan fails, I'll direct my anger toward him."

The Grand Master of Rites smiled faintly. "Your Majesty is perhaps too confident. Today's plan will not fail."

Zhao Hao's expression changed. "I'd like to see what kind of array can deal with me."

No sooner had he spoken than he vanished from his spot. However, the next second, a ripple of blue light suddenly spread out in mid-air, as if something had collided with it.

Zhao Hao's figure reappeared nearby, his expression turning somewhat solemn. "A spatial confinement array?"

Earlier, the Righteous Yang Sect's mountain-protecting array, combined with some Ancestral Witch tribe array setups, also had a similar confining effect.

However, given Zhao Hao's cultivation, such confinements weren't entirely effective. His feigned capture was a tactic to lure out bigger players.

Yet, with the grand array currently unleashed by the Grand Master of Rites, he found that even with his ability to traverse space, he couldn't leave. A premonition of ill omen immediately settled over him.

Still, he remained relatively calm. "It's quite impressive that you've used the power of Purple Mountain's dragon veins to set up such a grand array. However, by investing so much effort into spatial confinement, your offensive capabilities must be proportionally reduced. I don't believe you can still harm me now."

While everyone wishes to have it all, everything in the world operates by its own rules. Achieving everything is never that simple.

This array's strength lay in its spatial confinement, naturally making it weaker in other aspects.

Perhaps its power was enough to suppress and kill other top experts, but it would be less effective against Zhao Hao.

Either the Grand Master of Rites would have to enter the array himself, but if he did, in a one-on-one fight, Zhao Hao was quite confident.

If the Grand Master of Rites didn't enter the array, then Zhao Hao only needed to wait. Time was on his side.

He knew clearly that even with the Grand Master of Rites' abilities, maintaining an array of this scale certainly couldn't last long. Once the array weakened, it would be the moment to break through and kill the Grand Master of Rites.

To his surprise, the Grand Master of Rites showed no hint of surprise. "Indeed, given your cultivation, this grand array aiming to directly annihilate you isn't realistic. But who said this is an offensive array?"

Zhao Hao was taken aback, realizing only then that while the grand array radiated immense pressure, it hadn't launched any active attacks since its activation.

"What kind of array is this?" he asked in a deep voice.

The Grand Master of Rites calmly stated, "For years, I've been researching how to deal with you. While I believe my cultivation allows me to contend with you, I wasn't highly confident in defeating you outright. So, I began to explore other methods, and eventually, heaven rewarded my efforts; I finally conceived a plan."

He paused, his gaze fixed on Zhao Hao. "Since I cannot defeat you, I will banish you to the void, ensuring you can never return. The effect is the same as killing you."

Upon hearing his words, Zhao Hao's face drastically changed.

At his level of cultivation, he naturally knew that this world was not the only realm; there were many other worlds, such as the various small worlds found within secret realms.

Of course, besides these small worlds within secret realms, there should also be other large worlds.

However, between worlds lay vast turbulent voids. Even Earth Immortals would find it hard to endure those destructive gales, likely perishing in the spatial currents before ever finding another world.

This was why, throughout history, those at the pinnacle of cultivation sought to become True Immortals: partly for eternal life, and partly to freely traverse those turbulent voids, searching for legendary worlds.

The Grand Master of Rites' method was clearly to banish him into those turbulent voids.

If it were the turbulent voids near this world, he might still be able to endure and return. But the Grand Master of Rites had been planning for so many years; how could he make such a mistake?

Realizing this, he could no longer remain calm. With a roar, his entire being transformed into a colossal golden divine image, its immense fist, seemingly imbued with world-destroying power, smashed into the void. "Break!"