Chapter Forty-Two: The Mysterious Formation

After a long flight, Leng Bingyan, who had already reached the Immortal Emperor realm, soared effortlessly through the air. Sword of Amethyst in hand, he returned to the small cottage before Tianya Valley.

Awaiting him was Mo Wuxie, his face brimming with satisfaction. Indeed, Leng Bingyan’s rapid growth into an early-stage Immortal Emperor was enough to fill Mo Wuxie with pride. For ordinary cultivators, even reaching such heights was uncertain; those who did, spent hundreds or millions of years in pursuit.

Yet Bingyan had accomplished this in barely over a year. Beyond his innate destiny, fortune played a crucial role in his rise.

“Back already?” Mo Wuxie gently stroked Bingyan’s head, a gesture befitting an elder to a younger generation.

Leng Bingyan nodded vigorously, his expression proud, clearly hoping for words of praise. How could Mo Wuxie not understand the boy’s thoughts? After all, he was only fourteen years old! Reflecting on it—a fourteen-year-old Immortal Emperor—was truly astonishing.

“Don’t let pride overtake you,” Mo Wuxie said softly, shattering the budding arrogance in Bingyan’s heart and restoring his calm. “You’ve been blessed with extraordinary fortune, but you must never become complacent.”

Mo Wuxie nodded. “You are teachable.” He then led Bingyan to the open courtyard, before the Grand Reversed Star Array. “This array is woven with great powers. The Grand Reversed Star Array can invert yin and yang, forming its own space.”

“I’m aware of what’s happened to you. The Lingyu Amethyst Qi within you is abundant, yet your Lingyu body has reached saturation. From now on, your rate of merging and transforming Amethyst Qi will be greatly slowed.” Leng Bingyan sighed inwardly. How long would it be before he could fully recover his masculine form?

But Mo Wuxie’s next words made his eyes shine. “However, with this Grand Reversed Star Array, your efforts will be multiplied. The array is forged with chaotic power, and your transformation is to convert Amethyst Qi into chaos. The two complement each other. While you are within the array, your speed of transformation will be several times, even dozens of times, faster than outside.”

“And it possesses another crucial advantage—the realm of time. A moment outside is equal to years within. Where else would you find such wondrous benefits?”

Leng Bingyan’s eyes sparkled again. A moment outside, years within? How miraculous! Training and meditation would become effortless; who could possibly surpass his cultivation speed?

Yet where there is gain, there is loss. Leng Bingyan quickly realized that if such an array truly existed, wouldn’t cultivators become as common as grains of sand, their achievements worthless?

Sensing his doubts, Mo Wuxie laughed. “The Grand Reversed Star Array is not easily constructed. Not only does it disturb yin and yang and defy the heavens, but the heavenly laws will bring divine punishment, deterring any from attempting it. Even if someone dared, only those with the power of chaos and great abilities could set it up. Don’t look at me... I was not the one who created this array.”

“Then who was it?” He remembered the courtyard had never held such an array before.

“Don’t ask me who. When the time comes, you’ll know. And he was willing to set this up for you.” Mo Wuxie’s gaze grew nostalgic. “Enough talk. The array has been activated. It would be wasteful to squander the chaotic power within. Hurry inside.”

Without waiting for Leng Bingyan’s response, Mo Wuxie tossed him into the array. He turned away, sighing, “The Great Dao is the law; the heavenly principle governs the world. Minor trends can be changed, major ones cannot. The Trial Forest was born for you and will perish because of you.”

Inside, years passed; outside, barely a moment. Mo Wuxie stood before the array for a month, while inside, countless years may have flown by.

Another month passed, and the Grand Reversed Star Array began to shake violently, causing the entire Tianya Valley to tremble. Mo Wuxie’s face was filled with surprise and doubt; the array’s reaction was extraordinary. It seemed Bingyan was about to emerge.

Indeed, as he thought this, the entire array exploded. The magnitude of its energy was immense, but Mo Wuxie was no ordinary man. He raised a shield to protect himself and quietly waited for Bingyan to step forth.

From the swirling dust, a figure in white emerged, appearing fourteen or fifteen, yet his eyes held steadfastness and a touch of world-weariness. Within the array, all physical processes still followed the outside world.

This was naturally Leng Bingyan.

His power was fully restrained. Mo Wuxie felt a surge of relief. The Lingyu Amethyst Qi within Bingyan had merged substantially, with only a small portion left. Had he stayed longer within the array, complete fusion would have been possible, but the array’s endurance was not infinite—it had just reached its limit and detonated.

“Excellent, excellent! The Amethyst Qi has almost fully merged, the rest will soon follow, and your realm has been solidified. Good! Very good!” Mo Wuxie was truly delighted. Leng Bingyan was indeed teachable.

“Too bad I’m still just a little short,” Leng Bingyan said regretfully.

Mo Wuxie’s eyes widened as he scolded, “You don’t know how fortunate you are! Do you think everyone is as lucky as you? Speaking such nonsense? All things follow their laws, progress naturally, step by step. There is no shortcut to mastery.”

Leng Bingyan stuck out his tongue sheepishly. His complaint was only a passing remark. Though his mind had endured ancient years within the array, his temperament was still that of a young boy, otherwise he wouldn’t have acted so childishly.

“Come, let us spar and see how much you’ve improved,” Mo Wuxie said expansively.

This was exactly what Bingyan wanted. He was eager to test the true extent of his Immortal Emperor abilities.

The two moved to an open space, each preparing for battle.

“Begin!” Mo Wuxie shouted, and both figures vanished. A second later, “Boom!” A loud explosion, and Leng Bingyan was sent flying...

“Just one move? I’m an Immortal Emperor, aren’t I? Does the Immortal Emperor realm have so little combat power? How could I not even withstand a single move from Grandpa Mo?” Bingyan was confused, and more than that, astonished.

Of course, reality was nothing like he imagined. Was an Immortal Emperor weak? Ridiculous! Throughout the Upper Realm, Immortal Emperors were rare, and only five had gathered enough strength to command the allegiance of all immortals, each ruling over the East, South, West, North, and Central regions. The strongest among them governed the Central Continent and had only just reached the late Immortal Emperor stage.

So was Leng Bingyan’s early Immortal Emperor stage weak? The only explanation for his defeat in one move was that Mo Wuxie was simply too powerful—beyond the Immortal Emperor realm, perhaps even from the Divine Realm above the Immortal World.

“Hmm, you have some strength,” Mo Wuxie nodded with satisfaction. To him, Bingyan’s full-force strike merited only a “some strength” evaluation.

I hope everyone won’t be stingy with their votes—give me your support for greater motivation!