Terror

Before the circular grand hall, the white stone steps gleamed bright, and the three characters "Wendao Palace" atop the hall glittered. The hall's grand array hummed as its light flickered intermittently. "Hum..." Both Yuanxiu and Buzi were in the Late Violet Palace stage. Dealing with an array that had already developed cracks and fissures due to the shifts of heaven and earth was naturally well within their power. In less than half an incense stick's time, after inverting several formation bases, the grand array was quickly opened. A dense wave of spiritual qi rushed out to meet them. Chi Buzi narrowed his eyes slightly. Looking ahead, boundless jade slips met his vision. Beneath his feet, countless intricate array runes glowed with a faint luminescence, breathing like a living thing, winding and meandering like a river to accentuate the hall's majestic grandeur. The surging spiritual qi clattered the jade tallies inscribed with technique names between the shelves. He could not help but exclaim in admiration, "The immortal collection of the State of Ning is truly vast as an ocean! It was indeed backed by the power of an entire state, the scions of a Golden Core... This immortal collection far surpasses our Qingchi." He tapped his foot against the floor and channeled his divine ability, yet he merely hovered a foot high before dropping right back to the ground. Furrowing his brows, he remarked, "What a formidable array." Although the array outside the hall had been broken, each tier inside the hall was reinforced by arrays safeguarding the jade slips. The formations interlinked with one another, locking down the winds and clouds here completely. Moreover, the array bore traces of the Fu Water path, so that even Violet Palace Real Persons could not fly. He had no choice but to advance swiftly, hurrying past the jade slips on the first tier and ascending several steps in a row. His gaze scanned across numerous jade slips. After searching carefully for a while, a look of delight surfaced on his face: "Could this be the *Dew-Washing Origin Canon*?" That jade slip was pale azure in hue, emitting an alluring glow. Alas, spiritual sense was suppressed within the grotto-heaven, dissipating rapidly once extended beyond the body. Chi Buzi formed incantation gestures, reaching out to gently touch the jade slip. His spiritual sense tried to probe inside, but was kept out by the array, leaving him no choice but to pinch his fingers and calculate. 'Though this array is formidable, fortunately flaws have already appeared... with some time, it can still be deduced.' Si Boxiu had come all the way inside without pausing his gaze for even a single breath upon the vast immortal collection. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed dead upon Chi Buzi's every move, lurking nearby like a shadow, watching coldly. His feet floated lightly above the ground without making the slightest sound. In this grotto-heaven, spiritual sense was suppressed, making it difficult to detect one's surroundings. Si Boxiu took advantage of this to draw closer bit by bit, his aged face rife with suspicion and hesitation. He quietly hid in the shadows, his eyes showing countless tiny golden runes from running his divine ability at full power. His aged lips quivered slightly, a divine ability gathering at the tip of his tongue, held ready to strike. As Chi Buzi became increasingly absorbed in the jade slip before him, delight showing on his face as he unraveled it piece by piece, his guard against the outside world lowered to the minimum. Si Boxiu abruptly stepped forward! Astonishing golden light erupted from his lips, letting out a muffled detonation like spring thunder: "Chi Wei!!" That voice was produced by a divine ability, terrifying and awe-inspiring. If an ordinary Embryonic Breathing or Qi Refinement cultivator stood before him, that single strike would have annihilated them into dust. Golden ripples blasted outward from his lips, yet when they struck Chi Buzi, it was like a gentle breeze passing over. "Uncle..." Chi Buzi's smile remained calm and unruffled throughout. "Uncle, you have the wrong person." Si Boxiu's eyes seemed on the verge of shedding golden runes as the symbols condensed within his pupils. The old man had not listened to what Chi Buzi was saying at all, relying instead on his divine ability to test something. Magic light flowed between Si Boxiu and Chi Buzi as the two silently confronted each other. The palace was filled with brilliance. Si Boxiu merely murmured in a low voice, like reciting an incantation: "Ning Tiaoxiao." "Kan Xuyu." "Li Jiangqun." He recited those names one by one, his eyes fixed unwaveringly upon Chi Buzi, observing every shift in his gaze. Only after finishing the full round of names did he flick his sleeve, his expression returning to composure. "Who? That one from Luoxia? Or did the Golden Core True Monarch of the State of Ning not die?" "I also did this considering your safety. Buzi, do not blame me." "Thank you, Uncle." Chi Buzi maintained his calm smile throughout. Si Boxiu nodded slightly and finally turned away, heading off into the hall to look for spells that interested him. Chi Buzi watched him walk away and turned his gaze back to the jade slip in his hands. As his fingers pinched incantation gestures, the array's protective radiance on the jade slip dissolved bit by bit. The incident just now seemed not to weigh on his mind at all. He displayed a joyful expression, read through the jade slip in detail, but then furrowed his brows, gently setting the jade slip back on the desk, murmuring, "This..." "Once again it only goes up to Foundation Establishment. Could this divine ability have been declared a taboo by some sect... what a nuisance." He had just ascended that raised platform, where he happened to see Si Boxiu holding a jade slip and perusing it closely. Stepping forward, he called him twice—yet his countenance suddenly froze. Before him, Si Boxiu stood in place like a sculpture. Spiritual energy shimmered brightly within the magical light like smoke and mist, yet Si Boxiu was completely motionless, frozen blankly on the spot. The array patterns along the traces of circulating spiritual qi had originally been glowing faintly like a beautiful river, but now the radiance halted at a certain pattern, motionless. The entire grand hall seemed to hold its breath in dread; the clattering sounds of the jade tallies vanished, and all things stood in deathly silence. The calm smile on Chi Buzi's face finally vanished as terror welled up in his heart. Stiffly twisting his neck, his gaze swept across the array patterns of the platform beneath his feet. He exhaled heavily. The array before him seemed to have undergone a subtle shift, flickering between brightness and dark, making him feel faintly dizzy. A great horror descended upon his soul. All divine abilities within his body ground to a halt; Chi Buzi stood frozen in place like a mortal. Inch by inch, he shifted his gaze, and finally saw a person leaning quietly upon the hall's beams that sparkled like stars overhead. He was neither far nor near, yet all the radiance of the grand palace converged upon him, trembling as if in fear. Chi Buzi's gaze could only trace upward from the hem of his snow-white robe patterned with the sun and moon. The antique garments were austere and august, their patterns piercing his eyes with pain. Multi-colored radiance swirled around him, rapidly transforming into white clouds and mist that reflected the myriad visages of living beings, in joy, sorrow, weeping, and grief. The entire array overhead was trembling, seeming about to follow this immortal away from this world and soar into some white jade immortal capital. Chi Buzi's gaze lingered only at the hem of the robe, not daring to look any higher. The immense terror in his heart threatened to drown him, leaving him shaken with horror. He heard the immortal's voice, soft and cool, floating leisurely down, causing his limbs to tremble: "Have you not always wished to see this Venerable One?" Chi Buzi suppressed his dread with all his might and slowly prostrated himself on the ground, his voice still somewhat raspy: "This humble cultivator is fortunate to behold an immortal's countenance. May I ask which immortal stands before me?" The white-robed man's garments fluttered softly as he tilted his head, answering: "Xiao Xianyou."