Chapter Thirty-Two: The Erosion of the Immortal Array

“Pollution?” Xuanwen asked in surprise, “What do you mean by pollution?”

At that moment, Tianji Zi suddenly struck Huasheng with a fierce palm. Before Huasheng could react, he was sent flying and crashed to the ground.

“Speak! What’s going on? Are you up to something?” Tianji Zi shouted, staring at Huasheng.

Huasheng climbed to his feet and retorted, “What do you mean by that!”

Tai Shang Young Lord shouted at Tianji Zi, “Enough! How can you blame Huasheng for what’s happening?”

Tianji Zi said, “We were all trapped in this stone box, so how come only he knew how to get out?”

Huasheng was taken aback. “I don’t remember, I really don’t know why…”

“Talking nonsense as usual!”

Tianji Zi leapt forward, ready to punch Huasheng, but Tai Shang Young Lord blocked him. With a loud clang, Tianji Zi’s fist landed on Tai Shang Young Lord’s palm.

Tai Shang Young Lord staggered back a step and said, “Tianji Zi, you’re going too far! You claim Huasheng is behind this—do you have any proof?”

Tianji Zi pointed at Huasheng. “If I say it’s him, then it is!”

“So you’re just making baseless accusations?” Tai Shang Young Lord stood his ground.

Huasheng rose, rolling up the sleeves of his robe. “Fine! If that’s how it is, let’s have a contest. Sooner or later, we’re bound to compete anyway!”

Suddenly, a chilling surge flew from the side, rushing straight at Tianji Zi, who had to defend himself. But the cold wind was so fierce that half of Tianji Zi’s robes froze into icicles.

“Will you all stop it already!” It was Mieying, casting an Ice Curse. “Tianji Zi, if you look down on this ‘ant,’ then why bother with him now? If you have the skills, take me out of here!”

Tianji Zi flicked his robes and said, “No one can leave now—unless this round ends.”

“You mean, finish the ‘Ingenious Box Challenge’?”

Xuanwen asked, “Lucky One, how do you know completing this round will let us out? Oh, right—you guessed it with your skills.”

Tianji Zi glared at Xuanwen. He walked slowly to the Blood Taiji and said, “I’ve participated in the Tianmu Trials for ten years. Though I’ve never seen anything like this, I believe there’s only one possibility.”

Mieying asked, “What is it?”

Tianji Zi replied, “Most rounds in the Tianmu Trials are Immortal Arrays, combinations of many immortal spells. You’re all familiar with immortal spells: if you recite one incorrectly, it fails.”

“Naturally.”

“If you perform two different immortal spells together—say, Cloud Riding and Water Control—what happens?”

Mieying said, “That’s normal; immortals can bring rain, can’t they?”

“Even if spells are combined, they don’t interfere or malfunction. Because immortal techniques are pure and flawless.”

Mieying nodded, “Otherwise, it’d be chaos.”

“Different spells together are like placing iron tools among wood—they can be close, but wood remains wood, and metal remains metal,” Tianji Zi continued. “The Tianmu Trials’ arrays are the same. Our spells within the array are like objects placed in a wooden house.”

Xuanwen agreed, “That’s true.”

Tianji Zi stepped forward and pointed at the Blood Taiji on the ground. “But do you know what’s happening now?”

Xuanwen asked, “What?”

“In this wooden house, a burning torch has been thrown inside. The participants are inside the house, so what we’re witnessing is the rapid deterioration of its internal environment.”

“It looks like the immortal techniques are being polluted by something?”

“What we’re seeing is unprecedented in the five hundred years of the Tianmu Trials.”

Tianji Zi’s words hinted that something was corroding the Ingenious Box Challenge, chilling everyone to the bone.

Everyone sensed that whatever was corroding the immortal array was not friendly.

Huasheng perceived from everyone’s eyes that the idea of immortal spells being polluted was new to all, not just himself.

Yet Tianji Zi’s speculation seemed the best explanation for the current situation.

If immortal spells can be polluted, then arrays composed of many spells would naturally be vulnerable. It had never happened in five centuries, but that didn’t mean it never would.

What kind of power could corrode an immortal array? Another immortal spell, or something else?

No one knew the cause, nor where it came from.

“Corrosion? What does that mean? Are you saying the Ingenious Box Challenge’s array was deliberately sabotaged?” Mieying asked.

Tianji Zi said, “Whether it’s deliberate, I don’t know.” He glanced at Huasheng.

Xuanwen said, “So, this year’s trials were meant to be three consecutive rounds, with no rest in between. We were sent straight here from the Heart Calculation Challenge, and the third round began immediately. Yet we didn’t realize the array was already damaged.”

He thought for a moment, then said, “Wait, if there’s a problem with the Ingenious Box Challenge, the immortal masters outside the array should have noticed.”

“Corrosion starts both externally and internally,” Tianji Zi replied.

Xuanwen said, “Like an apple? The kind that looks perfect outside, but when you bite into it, you find it’s rotten inside?”

“Don’t make it sound so disgusting,” Mieying complained.

Xuanwen said, “So, those outside might not notice at all. By the time they do, we’ll have already been affected along with the array…”

Tianji Zi said, “As the trial goes on, the supervising immortals will eventually realize something’s wrong with the Ingenious Box Challenge. But even if they do, they wouldn’t dare to break the array hastily.”

Mieying stomped her foot. “Maybe I should try poking a hole in the sky? This place won’t hold me!”

“No! Mieying, don’t be reckless!” Huasheng stepped forward. “If the array is damaged, we’re like people in a collapsing tower. Further destruction could bring everything down. I think the only way to survive is to find our own way out—no, to obtain the ‘Victorious Buddha Path’ and complete the Ingenious Box Challenge!”

Tianji Zi ignored Huasheng’s words.

But Tai Shang Young Lord supported him, saying, “I believe Huasheng is right. If the trial’s array has an entrance, it must have an exit. Though the process and rules may have changed, as long as we find the Victorious Buddha Path, the array will end and we’ll escape.”

Yet at that moment, an uneasy feeling surged in Huasheng’s heart. The feeling first appeared when he was locked in the stone box beneath their feet. No, perhaps “stone coffin” would be more accurate, given its single bed and desk. What puzzled Huasheng most was that, deep down, he felt he ought to know this place.

He had found the exit to the “stone coffin” by intuition. So he had seen this place before. And now, the sense of unease was suddenly multiplying.

He realized the corroded array was showing a startling coincidence—or rather, there were certain patterns that shouldn’t exist.

Such patterns ought not to be there. Yet the more Huasheng thought, the more disturbed he felt.

The array’s changes seemed linked to something strange—his own perspective.

This odd notion struck him just now.

This pseudo Daoist Academy was clearly designed to entrap them. During his days there, Huasheng had traversed most of the academy, but not every corner.

For example, Qi Guang’s dormitory.

He had only learned of Qi Guang at the end of the Heart Calculation Challenge, because Mieying had attacked other participants.

Before then, he might have passed Qi Guang’s outer wall, but never entered. To Huasheng, the interior was simply nonexistent. And now, what appeared was a unique “void.”

After careful thought, Huasheng found that every place he hadn’t seen appeared as “black space” in this pseudo academy.

His own dormitory’s layout was relatively complete; but places he didn’t know, like the flower Tai Shang Young Lord once turned blue, remained pale yellow in his perception.

All these differences seemed astonishingly tied to his own will. No, it wasn’t coincidence—it was a connection. This shocked him and made him uneasy.

Though Tai Shang Young Lord had stood up for him, perhaps Tianji Zi wasn’t entirely wrong. Besides, thanks to his divine luck, Tianji Zi’s guesses always came close to the truth.

But Huasheng couldn’t voice these thoughts. It would only make things worse, isolate him, and offer no help in escaping. Even if Tai Shang Young Lord trusted him, what about Xuanwen? And Mieying? He had told Mieying she might defeat Tianji Zi; would she stop trusting him? All his efforts could be wasted.

He must not! He must never give up now! He had survived the Candlefire Battle and the Heart Calculation Challenge, and was only a step away from the Victorious Buddha Path. Even if the trial was abnormal, as long as there was hope, he could not give up.

For Wei Yu, he must defeat Tianji Zi!

He would be the first mortal to win the Tianmu Trials!

Moreover, if he got the Victorious Buddha Path and escaped, he could meet the legendary Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!

That was a dream Huasheng had cherished since childhood.

So, he had to see the Tianmu Trials through to the end—even if the game held dangers, he would take that risk!

Huasheng resolved silently.

Yet he couldn’t grasp why this strange situation was tied to himself. He had never been to Sheng Ping Ning, let alone the Daoist Academy.

If something was corroding the array, could it be Huasheng himself? But he was just an ordinary person—how could he damage an array laid by immortals?

If not him, then who?

Aside from himself, Tianji Zi and Tai Shang Young Lord were immortals. Mieying was an Extinguishing Spirit Bird, Xuanwen belonged to the Warhorse Spirits—they were all spirit beings. Then there was Qi Guang, another human. But Qi Guang had grown up in Sheng Ping Ning, his ancestors from there. He and Rong Ping were victims of this Ingenious Box Challenge. Among these people, who was the culprit?

And what was the purpose of the corrosion?

Qi Guang and Rong Ping were likely in grave danger—where had they been taken?

Damn it! Huasheng felt his mind was a tangled mess.

“So, what should we do with the remaining porcelain boxes?” Xuanwen’s question broke Huasheng’s thoughts.

Tai Shang Young Lord said, “It seems we must keep opening them if we want to leave.”

Beside the Blood Taiji, there were eight trial porcelain boxes: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.

The Qian box had already been opened. Gen and Dui had been opened by Tianji Zi—they were empty. Kun was opened by Qi Guang, which released the beast Qiongqi, who captured Qi Guang. Qiongqi’s eyes were stabbed out, and it brought a female doll with its eyes gouged.

What did these represent? What signals were they sending? The remaining boxes were Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li. By the trigrams: Zhen is thunder, Xun is wind, Kan is water, Li is fire.

“I’ll open them,” Tianji Zi stepped forward and reached for the Zhen box.

Because of earlier events, everyone instinctively backed away, fearing some monster might leap out.

But after a while, nothing happened.

“What, is it empty?” Mieying asked.

“No,” Tianji Zi replied slowly, “It can’t be opened. It seems locked.”

“Locked? How could you open them earlier?” Mieying wondered.

Tianji Zi walked over to the Xun box and tried to open it. Everyone held their breath, watching.

But Tianji Zi said, “Still locked. It won’t open.”

Then he tried Kan and Li, but both were sealed.

“What does ‘locked’ mean?” Xuanwen asked, “Is the opener wrong?”

Mieying flew to the far side and shouted, “Which one of you will try?”

Tai Shang Young Lord conjured a blanket from his hand, covering the female doll, and rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll try!”

“No! Wait!” Huasheng rushed ahead, saying, “Let me try!”

Huasheng felt that since Tianji Zi claimed this was connected to him, only he might find out the reason.

He stopped Tai Shang Young Lord and walked slowly to Tianji Zi.

“Would you mind moving aside?” Huasheng asked.

Tianji Zi didn’t budge.

“If something happens, innocents could get hurt.”

Tianji Zi said, “It won’t hurt me. If anyone gets hurt, it’ll be you.”

He had a point—Tianji Zi’s divine luck protected him from harm.

Huasheng didn’t argue further, raising his hand to touch the porcelain lid. As his fingers touched it, the box began to shake violently, thumping and jumping as if something inside was desperate to break out.

Huasheng quickly withdrew his hand, just as Tai Shang Young Lord shouted from behind, “Look at the other boxes!”

Indeed, the Zhen, Xun, Kan, and Li boxes all began to shake, producing urgent knocking sounds that grew louder and louder.

“What’s happening!” Xuanwen cried.

Huasheng turned to look, but with a thunderous crash, the Zhen box burst open, sending a bolt of lightning skyward.

Before anyone could react, three more crashes followed—the other boxes he hadn’t touched also sprang open. Wind, water, and flames shot from Xun, Kan, and Li, piercing the clouds.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared above, and then floods poured from all sides!

“What’s happening!” Mieying, who had flown furthest, was soaked by the flood. She used Water Control to resist, but the waves kept rising. She shouted, “Where is all this water coming from! How can there be so much!”

The flood poured from the heavens, leaving nowhere to hide in the Daoist Academy. As everyone looked for shelter, a colossal wave towering above Black Tortoise Spirit Mountain rolled toward them.

“No, the flood will fill this place! There’s nowhere to hide!” Xuanwen shouted.

Curly-haired Mieying braced herself against the hundred-meter waves, yelling, “I can’t hold out much longer!”

Huasheng flew over and used Water Control, shouting, “By order of the law!”

But the flood kept rising from all directions, impossible to resist.

“You fool! Don’t get in the way!” Mieying yelled at Huasheng. “Worry about yourself!”

“No! I can’t leave you behind!” Huasheng’s veins bulged as he struggled to hold back the flood.

“Everyone get into the stone box! It’s watertight!” Tai Shang Young Lord shouted.

Huasheng called to Mieying, “Get down!”

Mieying shouted, “You ant, you can’t hold out! You’ll be swept away!”

“I’m fine! Go!” Huasheng yelled, “I’m an ant, my life is cheap. You, young lady, go!”

Mieying paused, gritted her teeth, and said, “Don’t you dare die!” With that, she flew toward the stone box.

As Mieying’s strength withdrew, Huasheng felt the waves crash down with overwhelming force. His arms burst with blood from the strain. Agonizing pain shot through his muscles.

He gritted his teeth, enduring—just one more second! One more second!

With a sharp snap, a gash split open on his arm, blood streaming out. He could no longer hold on, and the flood swept him away.

He nearly lost consciousness. Gritting his teeth, he sliced through the water, shooting downward.

He saw everyone had already taken refuge in the stone box below, with Tai Shang Young Lord shouting, “Quick, Huasheng, hurry!”

“By order of the law!” Huasheng shouted, accelerating downward; the giant wave surged behind him, soaking his shoes.

Just as he squeezed inside the stone box, Tai Shang Young Lord quickly closed the heavy stone door. With a muffled rumble, they were plunged once again into darkness.