Chapter 24: Array Spirit

Ji Ning looked at the light orb on the stone coffin, feeling a trace of excitement. After all, this was one of the treasures left by Lord Wanshen. He was truly fortunate to have obtained this treasure so soon after entering the Wanshen Mansion.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning reached out to grab it, his fingers touching the light orb.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning's expression changed. He grabbed at it twice more, astonished. "How is it empty? There's nothing inside the light orb?"

His hand passed through the light orb as if it were nothingness. Indeed, there was nothing inside.

Hum~~~

Suddenly, a beam of light descended out of nowhere, coalescing beside the stone coffin into the figure of an old man in a white robe.

Though startled, Ji Ning remained calm. He knew well that the formations and restrictions left by Lord Wanshen were so powerful that even killing a Dao Lord would be effortless. If they wanted to kill him, he would have no means to resist! Moreover, based on the experiences of countless generations of cultivators over endless chaos cycles, retrieving treasures was safe—no one had ever lost their life while taking a treasure.

"A祖神?" The white-robed old man looked at Ji Ning, naturally exuding a profound aura. He chuckled softly, "Can you tell me your name?"

"Beiming." Ji Ning looked at the old man. "And you, senior?"

"I am the array spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains. My master named me 'Wanshan'." The old man said.

"Array spirit?" Ji Ning was astonished.

It was normal for a treasure to develop sentience. But for a grand formation to develop sentience? That was extremely rare. The ancient spacetime teleportation arrays, scattered across many territories, had never been known to have sentience. Some powerful formations appeared in treasure-gathering events, but none were said to have array spirits.

"Is an array spirit so strange? The Ten Thousand Mountains Formation, the Mist Sea Formation, and the Mansion Formation laid down by my master were his highest achievements in formations. They could all develop sentience and possess intelligence." The old man looked at Ji Ning. "My master's greatness is beyond what someone at your level can imagine. Don't compare those Life-Doomed Dao Lords you've encountered to my master! They are not worthy! Unless one day they can also hunt down an Eternal Emperor, then they can compare with my master."

Even after endless ages, the array spirit 'Wanshan' of the Ten Thousand Mountains still held pride in his master.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

Boasting without strength would seem ridiculous.

But Lord Wanshen's strength was such that even Lord Yiyi deeply admired him, admitting he was far inferior, and Lord Damo sighed with emotion before his disciples. His fame endured even after countless ages of death, still known to later cultivators.

"My master's greatness needs no further words from me. When you become a Dao Lord in the future, you will naturally understand." The white-robed old man said.

"Me, a Dao Lord?" Ji Ning laughed. "Senior has such confidence in me?"

"You are merely a祖神, yet you can unleash strength comparable to a perfected World-level cultivator." The array spirit Wanshan sighed. "You kill some weak World-level cultivators too easily. A祖神跨越阶位 can easily kill a World-level cultivator! Such a prodigy is extremely rare. You have the chance to meet a Life-Doomed Dao Lord. But such prodigies are hard to come by."

"Such prodigies all have strong luck. As far as I know, about eighty percent can become Life-Doomed Dao Lords." The array spirit Wanshan said.

"Oh? Eighty percent?" Ji Ning nodded lightly.

In the Three Realms, there was talk of luck.

Luck was intangible! It wasn't fixed for each cultivator. For example, beings in the Three Realms, some born with good fortune, such as those with powerful immortal or demon parents, had high luck from birth. But if they became idle and lazy in cultivation, their luck would gradually decline.

As for Ji Ning, his birth was decent, and with the Nuwa Diagram, his luck was relatively high from the start. Later, he obtained the inheritance of Lord Sanshou, and his luck increased further.

Luck also had to be fought for.

Luck within the Three Realms was insignificant compared to the endless chaos. What mattered then was the luck of the boundless territories! Some World-level cultivators slaughtered chaos world after chaos world, accumulating great sin. Lord Wanshen once hunted countless great sinners, earning him merit. In the boundless territories, there were both merit and sin, and also luck!

In the Three Realms, whether Nuwa, Ji Ning, or the Three Pure Ones, obtaining the 'Ninefold Chaos Seal' could greatly boost their luck.

Without the Ninefold Chaos Seal, Ji Ning would not have been able to easily kill weak World-level cultivators at the祖神 stage.

"But the path of cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall back." The array spirit old man looked at Ji Ning. "My master was even more prodigious than you in his time, yet he still failed in his Dao Integration and perished. So cherish every opportunity."

"I am taught." Ji Ning nodded.

"Throughout the Ten Thousand Mountains, the ten thousand treasures are all empty." The array spirit old man looked at Ji Ning. "Once the trial is passed, it is entirely up to me to decide what treasure to give. My master left a large number of treasures with me. To give a treasure, I simply teleport it into the light orb with a thought. My master didn't have the patience to distribute them one by one."

Ji Ning suddenly understood.

"For this treasure, I had originally set a fire-element statue containing some mysteries of the fire path." The array spirit old man said, flipping his hand to reveal a palm-sized fiery red statue with eight faces—some beautiful, some ugly, some solemn—covered in countless runes.

"However—"

"Every prodigy who enters my Ten Thousand Mountains and breaks the formation by force, with attacks reaching the power of a perfected World-level cultivator, can succeed." The array spirit old man looked at Ji Ning. "Such prodigies are each qualified to obtain a treasure, provided they can discover it."

Ji Ning understood.

"This opportunity is only once."

"You came for the first time and broke it by force—let's call it a good connection. But for subsequent treasures, even if you discover them, breaking by force won't work." The array spirit old man said.

"Understood." Ji Ning was surprised. "But senior mentioned a good connection. Though Beiming is confident, senior is the array spirit of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Does senior have something for Beiming to do?"

The array spirit old man said, "There is one matter, but it's not forced. I only hope you can help."

"Please speak plainly, senior." Ji Ning was puzzled.

"My master had an enemy." The array spirit old man's eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity, his voice carrying killing intent. "My master pursued this enemy relentlessly, expending endless effort... but ultimately failed to kill him, and he escaped."

Ji Ning was startled. "Senior refers to the Eternal Emperor who was hunted?"

"Yes, an Eternal Emperor." The array spirit old man said. "His name is Emperor Melobo."

"Emperor Melobo?" Ji Ning repeated the name. It sounded like an alien race.

"I heard from Damo that Emperor Melobo has now returned." The array spirit old man sneered. "He fled into the endless darkness when pursued by my master, knowing my master would surely perish, and only then returned."

Though surprised by the relationship between Lord Damo and the array spirit Wanshan, Ji Ning asked doubtfully, "Does senior want me to deal with this Eternal Emperor in the future?"

"Yes." The array spirit old man nodded.

"Senior overestimates me." Ji Ning was speechless.

An Eternal Emperor was a truly eternal great power who had succeeded in Dao Integration! Lord Wanshen had been dead for ages, yet Emperor Melobo still lived well.

Back then, Lord Wanshen pursued Emperor Melobo for so long without killing him, showing their strength was comparable. After so long, Emperor Melobo might have grown even stronger.

"Haha, I'm just sowing a seed, not expecting it to succeed." The array spirit old man said. "Moreover, Emperor Melobo is an enemy of the entire Dao Alliance. You came with Fúlong World God of the Damo Academy, and since he trusts you, you should be on the side of the Dao Alliance. A prodigy like you would never defect."

"What Dao Alliance?" Ji Ning was bewildered.

"The alliance of almost all cultivators in the boundless territories." The array spirit old man looked at Ji Ning. "Lord Damo is one of them. I had a good connection with him in the past. Haha, he is the most dazzling seed I've sown so far. I know all the disciples of his Damo Academy. Since you came with Fúlong World God, you should be from the Dao Alliance. Are you a disciple of Damo Academy, or?"

"Tiancang Palace." Ji Ning spoke.

Lord Yiyi and Lord Damo had a good relationship and met openly, so they should be on the same side.

But the Dao Alliance sounded truly powerful.

An alliance of almost all cultivators? That sounded exaggerated.

"Mm." The array spirit old man nodded. "I've heard Damo mention Tiancang Palace. It is indeed part of the Dao Alliance. It's normal that you haven't heard of it. You are too weak. Even among World-level cultivators, ninety-nine percent don't know about the Dao Alliance! Only truly dazzling World-level cultivators are recruited. The main force of the Dao Alliance consists of Life-Doomed Dao Lords... Fúlong World God might have heard of the Dao Alliance."

"The mysteries of the boundless territories are beyond your exploration. There are threats that target all cultivators... Emperor Melobo is one of them." The array spirit old man looked at Ji Ning.

"Enough said. Some secrets of the boundless territories, when you become a World-level cultivator, your sect will tell you. What I know is rather outdated." The array spirit old man said. "Tell me, what do you want?"