A Body

In Cangyuan, would this teleportation array at the mountain gate ever disappear? The answer was no. A dungeon exit was just a dungeon exit; no matter how recklessly players sought death in the Vault Palace, it would always be waiting there for you. Yet now it was gone. Xu Yuan felt this was something he should have anticipated. Whether it was discovering powerful spies within the mountain gate and preparing to shut the doors to beat the dogs, or facing an invasion of foreign enemies at the city walls, this teleportation array situated at the palace gate entrance would inevitably be forced shut. Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan spoke up and asked, "Old Man Luo, do you have a way to crack this formation and force it to activate?" Just now, when his intent-soul linked to the Sky-Peeking Array, he hadn't sensed any powerful offensive formations here at the mountain gate, so forcing it to activate shouldn't trigger other formations... "No way." In a single sentence, the Saint's remnant soul shattered Xu Yuan's hopes. "..." Xu Yuan. The Saint's remnant soul sounded entirely unbothered: "If it were someone well-versed in formations here, forcing this teleportation array to activate wouldn't be difficult, but unfortunately, this old man doesn't know formations." Xu Yuan felt this old grandpa was thoroughly unreliable. "You've lived for over ten thousand years. Have you been sleeping in the soul ring all this time?" The Saint chuckled, not the least bit hurried. "Not entirely. I was awake for about a thousand years or so, but most of that was spent studying cultivation methods. I've had no interest in array arts since I was a boy. "All right, enough about me. What do you plan to do now?" "..." Xu Yuan fell silent for a few breaths, swept his gaze over the magnificent jade mountain gate, and spat out a single word: "Wait." Wait until Tianyan was killed and the mountain-protecting grand formation shut down on its own. "Wait?" The Saint's remnant soul found it slightly amusing, then said leisurely, "Actually, large sects like the Qionghua Sect usually leave behind backup plans so they won't lose their entire legacy when facing annihilation. There should be other hidden teleportation arrays within this mountain gate, though such places are usually only known to the sect's upper echelons—" "Old Man Luo, stop probing," Xu Yuan interrupted. "..." Caught red-handed, the Saint's remnant soul showed no embarrassment, answering nonchalantly: "Fine, this old man spoke out of turn. But kid, if you want to wait, that wait might be rather long." "What do you mean?" Xu Yuan frowned. The Saint's remnant soul pointed a finger at the grand formation overhead and chuckled. "The crazy woman we saw earlier was clearly not in her right mind. Are you counting on her to manually stop the formation?" Xu Yuan's gaze shifted. "Shutting down the mountain-protecting grand formation requires manual control?" "Naturally." "..." Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, glancing at Ran Qingmo, who stood quietly to the side. Meeting his gaze for a second, Ran Qingmo thought about it and answered: "Mr. Luo isn't lying to you... Usually, after a sect's mountain-protecting grand formation is fully activated, it requires the Sect Master or the unanimous agreement of the Council of Elders to be shut down." As her words fell, the Saint's remnant soul chimed in with a chuckle to explain: "The reason is obvious if you think about it. Formations are dead things after all. If it automatically shut down just because it detected no enemies, it would be far too easy to exploit." Xu Yuan remained silent, then asked in a low voice, "How long would it take for the formation to dissipate on its own?" The Saint's remnant soul took control of the Sky-Peeking Array to examine the various active formations throughout the Vault Palace, then replied: "Not too long. Assuming the Source Qi in this pocket of space remains plentiful, at most five to eight years before these formations completely break down. They are, after all, relics over twenty thousand years old." "..." The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched. Five to eight years? To an old geezer like you, of course that wasn't long, but if he stayed here for eight years, the Great Yan Dynasty outside would probably have already descended into utter chaos. At this thought, Xu Yuan glanced at Ran Qingmo beside him. Ran Qingmo was also looking at Xu Yuan, hesitating as if wanting to say something. She was thinking of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. According to Tianyan's prophecy, the countdown to the destruction of the Tianyuan Sword Sect had less than two-odd years left. The Saint's remnant soul cared nothing for this, still smiling as he said: "Kid Xu, why not take this opportunity to consider switching to this old man's cultivation method? I spent over a thousand years studying and refining it, drawing upon the Heaven-Deducing Art and several other peerless techniques. "If you cultivate it, with this old man's guidance and your talent, in five years you could reach Body Integration at least. If you're a bit faster, there's even a chance to become a Grandmaster." His voice carried a hint of temptation. Xu Yuan said nothing upon hearing this, casting a meaningful glance at the old geezer before letting out a soft chuckle. *Figure it out from my look.* "..." The Saint's remnant soul's expression didn't change, but deep down, he felt a creeping chill, as if he had been seen right through. Without exposing the other party's little scheme, Xu Yuan merely said softly: "No, we must get out." Forcing his thoughts back in order, the Saint's remnant soul gave a light cough and asked: "Ahem. Kid Xu, didn't you come here to claim opportunities? Once Tianyan is killed by that crazy woman, won't this place be safe? "I just looked through the Sky-Peeking Array. The formations in the Qionghua Sect's cultivation chambers, the spiritual herb gardens, and several other places are still running. You have the Saintess soul key, so you can freely come and go in many areas. Why the rush to leave?" The story's protagonist had died too early. Before his death, he had still been scheming against minor lackeys, with no qualification whatsoever to touch upon the Chancellor's Manor's grand plans. And the Saint's remnant soul who had been following him naturally knew nothing about it either. At this thought, Xu Yuan had no intention of explaining to the old man. Instead, he asked: "Old Man Luo, to deploy a Dao domain, one must possess both Source Qi and an intent-soul, right?" Hearing this, the crazy woman immediately surfaced in the Saint's remnant soul's mind, and he keenly sensed a hint of unease. In a grave voice, he asked: "Kid Xu, what are you trying to do?" Xu Yuan's eyes were calm as he uttered a single sentence: "Kill that woman in red. She has the Sect Master token on her." Kill her, and she would drop the Sect Master token; then, he could use it to control the mountain-protecting grand formation. Upon hearing this, the Saint's remnant soul immediately spoke up in rebuke: "Kid, that woman is a first-rank Transcendent!" Xu Yuan looked back, staring at the soul form with a smile: "Old Man Luo, didn't you just say earlier not to be blindly superstitious about cultivation ranks?" The Saint's remnant soul tried to dissuade him: "That was between the Origin Realm and the Transcendent Realm! You're a mere seventh rank—she could blow a breath and shatter you to pieces." "Don't I still have you?" Xu Yuan said, smiling warmly. The Saint's remnant soul glared at Xu Yuan, enunciating each word: "Before an expert like that, I cannot protect you at all." Xu Yuan waved his hand nonchalantly: "No need to worry. I have my own confidence. Let's head back." "Confidence my ass! That's a Transcendent!" For the first time, the Saint's remnant soul cursed. With the heart demon knot still present, if this Xu Changtian was bent on seeking death, he would end up perishing right here along with him. Xu Yuan smiled and said: "Old Man Luo, trust me this once. The worst that could happen is you being buried with me." "..." The corner of the Saint's remnant soul's mouth twitched. After staring in silence for a long time, knowing he couldn't dissuade him, the Saint's remnant soul sighed and said: "How... do you plan to kill her?" Xu Yuan replied calmly: "If what you said is true, and that crazy woman can use a Dao domain as a soul body, then there must be a physical body producing Source Qi for her."