As an eighth-rank Divine Array Master, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t discern that this place was an illusion array, which spoke volumes about its extraordinary level.
Encountering such a high-grade illusion array, Lan Xiaobu knew he was in trouble. He tasked the Cosmic Dimensional Model with constructing the spatial law structure of this area while he searched for the teleportation arrays, void array patterns, and divine sense markers he’d previously set up.
The teleportation arrays he’d placed had disintegrated on their own, the void array patterns remained but were starting to blur, and with time, they’d surely vanish too. His divine sense markers, though still detectable, were also fading.
He could imagine that in a little while, he wouldn’t even recognise this as the spot where he’d left his markers.
This impressive? Lan Xiaobu marvelled inwardly. The erosion of his setups wasn’t human interference—it was a form of law corrosion…
By now, the Cosmic Dimensional Model had built a dimensional structure. Not only was this place an illusion array, but the space itself harboured a unique law—one Lan Xiaobu had never even heard of. This law could transform everything here into the same black sand.
No wonder the area was filled with black sand—it was the remnants of everything that had been here, reduced to this form. These sands were clearly no ordinary matter.
Lan Xiaobu casually scooped some black sand into a jade box, sealed it with restrictions, and tossed it into the Cosmic Dimensional Model for later study. Then he pulled out a piece of Thoughtless Gold.
Thoughtless Gold was classified as a ninth-rank divine material, though it was rarely used because it lacked any inherent laws.
Lawless items were typically highly valuable, but Thoughtless Gold’s scarcity and limited applications kept it obscure.
Lan Xiaobu imprinted a personal divine sense marker deep within the Thoughtless Gold and buried it in the black sand.
A day later, he was pleasantly surprised to find his method worked. The Thoughtless Gold remained untouched by the terrifying corrosive law, intact beneath the sand. Even better, his divine sense marker inside it was unaffected.
Indeed, this law only corroded materials or patterns with inherent laws—Thoughtless Gold, being lawless, was unscathed. As for his void array patterns disintegrating, it was likely due to his array mastery not being advanced enough. Once his array skills improved, those patterns might withstand the corrosion too.
This place was eerie—no wonder it went undiscovered. With no way to leave lasting markers or reference points, how could anyone navigate it? The illusion array must also conceal the black sand’s true nature.
He’d secured a marker—the Thoughtless Gold—but how to escape?
Relying on his array skills to break this illusion array seemed unlikely. The Cosmic Dimensional Model was his best bet, though while it had identified the illusion, devising a counter would take time. Given his familiarity with the Model, it might need nearly a year.
Lan Xiaobu summoned the Longevity Halberd, deciding to test his luck. If he failed, he’d wait for the Model to complete its counter-structure. During that time, he could address the corrosion affecting him—everything here turned to black sand, and he doubted he’d been immune after so long.
The Longevity Halberd stirred the Charm of the Dao, sending waves of powerful cutting energy through the space.
Boom! The Great Cleaving Technique unfurled, piercing the space like a needle. It contracted briefly before splitting open with a crack. Elated, Lan Xiaobu stepped through the fissure.
Instantly, clear laws of heaven and earth greeted him. His divine sense extended unimpeded, and the sluggish flow of his divine energy eased.
Looking back, where was the black sand? The familiar scenery of the Abyssal Relic surrounded him, seamless and unremarkable.
He could still sense the marker on his Thoughtless Gold, confirming the illusion array’s existence—where everything inside was reduced to black sand.
Lan Xiaobu set up a void teleportation array at his position, added a few more markers, and mapped a dimensional structure for himself. Sure enough, an unfamiliar corrosive law lingered in his body, but thanks to the Cosmic Dimensional Model, he was prepared.
A day later, he’d fully purged the corrosion, then summoned the Reincarnation Pot and departed.
The Abyssal Relic remained eerily silent, much like his last visit. After days of travel, he hadn’t encountered a single soul.
He wasn’t sure if the Relic had changed or if, as before, most cultivators here were still gathered outside the Divine Origin Pill Spring, awaiting its eruptions.
The Reincarnation Pot moved swiftly. Days later, Lan Xiaobu reached the hilly region again. Last time, Bei Suting had used her blood essence to open the array gate.
Bei Suting bore a memory imprint from a powerhouse. Lan Xiaobu had intended to remove it, but the Model hadn’t finished constructing the necessary structure by the time he left, so he hadn’t succeeded. If she was still here, he’d help her erase that imprint now.
With the Cosmic Dimensional Model, Lan Xiaobu didn’t need blood essence. Besides, he hadn’t been tampered with or imprinted—his blood wouldn’t work anyway.
Using the Model’s structure, he activated his void array patterns in half a day, revealing an array gate in the void. Stepping through, he landed once more on the white jade platform.
Here, he saw clearly: the pill spring was still spewing Divine Origin Pills, but Meteor was nowhere in sight.
Wasting no time, Lan Xiaobu tore through the stone wall and rushed inside.
The moment he entered, an overwhelmingly dense chaotic divine energy hit him. The pill sea was vast, seemingly undiminished after all these years…
But his attention quickly shifted from the pill sea to a withered corpse nearby.
Bei Suting? Lan Xiaobu’s heart jolted. Had she become a dried husk?
Not quite—she still had a faint trace of life, not fully fallen. He stepped beside her, about to slip a pill into her mouth, when he noticed a stream of Divine Origin Pill energy flowing into her from beneath her feet, only to vanish within her.
This wasn’t her cultivation speed. Anyone absorbing pill energy this fast would be terrifying—perhaps leaping from mortal to immortal in a year.
Without needing the Model, Lan Xiaobu understood. Bei Suting was being exploited, the cause rooted in the memory imprint deep in her sea of consciousness.
That powerhouse had made her sense the pill sea, then used her body to siphon its energy. The energy flowed through her into a void array gate, which then transported it elsewhere.
What a vicious scheme.
Had he not brought Bei Suting here, her Divine Monarch cultivation wouldn’t have allowed her to reach this place. Perhaps the schemer had planned for her to find it after reaching Harmony God. Brought here by Lan Xiaobu, her cultivation had surged—now at least late Divine King—making her ripe for exploitation.
Realising this, Lan Xiaobu reached for her but stopped mid-motion. Moving her now would shatter her soul, ensuring her demise.
She’d become an integral part of the spatial conduit for the pill energy. Likely, no one in the Rootless Divine Realm but him could save her.
To rescue her, he needed to silently sever her link to the spatial transfer. Who else but him, with his Great Cleaving Technique, could cut such a law-bound connection?
Lan Xiaobu took a deep breath but refrained from using the technique just yet.
He felt he might have misjudged something. He’d assumed the powerhouse who discovered this pill sea couldn’t take the pills, but that might not be entirely accurate. Even if they couldn’t remove the sea itself, they could tear a rift in it—otherwise, how could they exploit Bei Suting to siphon its energy so aggressively?
He began inscribing void array patterns, ensuring that after saving her, the pill sea wouldn’t reseal, leaving him unable to claim a single pill.
An hour later, with patterns linking to the pill sea in place, he summoned the Longevity Halberd. A ferocious cutting aura slashed downward.
Crack! The sound of spatial laws snapping rang clear. The next moment, this space seemed to lose all connection to the outside.
As Bei Suting collapsed, Lan Xiaobu poured a wisp of Primordial Vitality over her.
He then noticed the stream of pill energy—previously surging into her like a whale gulping water—had vanished. Thanks to his preparations, he could still sense the pills in the sea.
A Five-Coloured Immortal Mushroom, a dao fruit, melted into liquid as it entered her mouth, absorbed instantly.
Lan Xiaobu’s fingers formed a blade of light, slicing open her brow. In the next instant, he extracted the imprint from her sea of consciousness, sealing it into a jade box.
