CBGC - ch120.1
Added 2023-07-12 01:43:36 +0000 UTC1/2
Chapter 120: Secret Technique
Who could have set up the secret realm of the Immortal Palace?
Do outsiders call it 'Immortal Palace' because the place looks ethereal and divine? Just the thought of almost eating a person's corpse is making Su Tingyun's entire body break out in goosebumps, and she feels a faint nausea in her heart.
However, it was indeed because of her carelessness. She and Big Bai had such an easy time in the dense forest. If not for Zhang Zhizi, they wouldn't have been trapped in the Spider Forest. The spiders there were quite friendly and had even taken the initiative to lead them out. This made them less cautious when they came out of the forest and entered the array.
Had they been on edge throughout the journey then felt hungry in the pond, seeing the fish would have triggered their suspicion about a trap. Even though they won't be able help themselves from wanting to eat the fish, their first reaction should have been that there was a trap. It's because Su Tingyun, despite her high cultivation level, had never been cautious about food, which almost led her into the trap.
If this array is a test of withstanding the torment of hunger, and coming out of the pond area would lead to a successful breakthrough, it might be a test of one's willpower. But even so, the design is a bit repulsive, making Su Tingyun have a faint suspicion that the owner of the Immortal Palace might not be a good person.
If Li Xinmei wants to break through to the Golden Core stage, Su Tingyun will naturally support her. Her purpose for entering the Immortal Palace was to save Li Xinmei, and now, she's even obtained the Hongmeng Cauldron on top of that. She's already gained a lot, and she can't be too greedy.
Of course, the most important thing to consider is that Big Bai has devoured too much Kunlun Divine Tree in one go. Its body has now expanded by a full circle, and its cultivation aura is gradually climbing, indicating that it's about to re-enter the Tribulation Transcendent stage again.
Perhaps it has eaten too much without digesting them properly, as Big Bai appears uncomfortable. It's going to attempt to break through the Tribulation Transcendent stage, which means that both Big Bai and Li Xinmei need to break through. Su Tingyun can only wait on the side.
They are responsible for the breaking through, while she is responsible for protecting them.
Unexpectedly, Big Bai lets Li Xinmei break through inside its belly. The pressure from breaking through to the Golden Core stage wouldn't cause any harm to Big Bai at all. Moreover, Big Bai's entire body is filled with rich spiritual energy during its own breakthrough, which will be extremely beneficial for cultivation.
As a result, Su Tingyun returns to Wei Yun's body to cultivate. However, she's not able stay in that body long enough. Before the spiritual energy can complete a full cycle, her body can’t withstand the intensity of her primordial spirit. It feels like a bottle about to burst, preventing her from harnessing the abundant resources at her fingertips. After several unsuccessful attempts, she has no choice but to give up.
In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.
Big Bai successfully returns to the Tribulation Transcendent stage, and Li Xinmei, inside Big Bai's body, easily breaks through to the Golden Core stage. Even the big Golden Carp doesn't struggle anymore. It stands upright like a fish with its tail touching the ground. Spiritual energy flows around its body, indicating that it’s also cultivating.
Su Tingyun has been afraid that it might lack water, so she occasionally uses the skill Spring Wind and Rain to water it. After all, it’s Li Xinmei's brother, and she has to take care of him while Li Xinmei is cultivating.
But Su Tingyun still remains cautious. Whenever it’s necessary to change bodies, she makes sure that Big Bai separates them, and she always appears in front of the big Golden Carp with the same appearance, without revealing her cards.
After Li Xinmei successfully breaks through, she cries tears of joy. Without delay, she leaves Big Bai's body and begins using her Qiankun Formation Eyes. At this moment, she discovers that the eyes of this formation are located on the artificial mountain in the lotus pond, hidden among the colorful stones.
One can’t fly high in The Immortal Palace, so Li Xinmei's body is only three feet off the ground. She spreads her divine sense, and her eyes shimmers with silver light. The fishes in these ponds are all human corpses, but they are fully dressed and intact, their bodies are well preserved, appearing as if they are still alive but merely asleep.
The water in the pond ripples as the wind blows, causing the lotus leaves to sway. The bodies beneath also move with the water's waves. It is because of this disturbance that the fishes only appear lazy and sluggish, and not completely motionless.
She looks at them one by one through her Qiankun Formation Eyes, then discovers something unusual.
In the most remote corner of this place, there is a small pool where the bodies are incomplete. One of them is reduced to mere bones, as if it had been gnawed by a wild beast. However, Li Xinmei notices the teeth marks on the bones, which are unmistakably human teeth marks.
In other words, someone actually ate the bodies in that pool.
As Li Xinmei sees all of this, her eyes suddenly sting, and a fishy stench rises in her throat. Some images abruptly appear before her eyes: endless yellow sand, fragments of battle armor, blood-soaked figures, and a pair of bulging eyes with bloodshot veins.
It's a pair of red pupils, as red as rubies of the highest quality, radiating dazzling light. They should have been beautiful and mesmerizing eyes, but because of their fierce gaze, they make people's hearts tremble.
These beautiful colored beads, resembling a pair of eyes, causes Li Xinmei's whole body to shiver. In her mind, the sound of golden drums seems to ring out, shaking her sea of consciousness and causing her blood and qi to surge.
Li Xinmei has silver eyes as well, which weren't originally silver, as they are a result of a secret technique, the Qiankun Formation Eyes. And at this moment, she understands something.
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Su Tingyun has been keeping a close eye on Li Xinmei. When she notices something unusual, she immediately pulls the other down.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Li Xinmei's face is a bit pale. She rubs her temples and points a finger, saying, "The key to breaking the formation is in that pool."
Thinking that they needed to go to that pool, Su Tingyun is about to ask Big Bai to get to work. However, she sees Li Xinmei purse her lips. Li Xinmei says in a lowered voice, "This formation is formed from the grudges of the master of the Immortal Palace. To break the formation, we may have to find the true master here first."
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Elder E's Qiankun Formation Eyes are probably touching the beginnings of a profound secret technique, or perhaps she had learned it from some ancient ruins and didn't create it herself.
And these people here, these corpses and these eyes, they were the ones who truly mastered that secret technique. Li Xinmei can’t break the formation through other forced methods. There’s a significant gap between her formation skills and theirs. Only by finding the master of the Immortal Palace will it be possible to unravel this formation.