Outside the lake, Zhang Wuzong had no idea what Ye Xuan had done.
Before long, the lake began to glow. Drawn by an unseen force, the water within rose into the air, twisting and writhing like soaring serpents. The earth started to tremble, though this time, the tremor was incredibly faint. After all, this was the second time the array had been activated.
Soon, the lake was completely drained, revealing a pitch-black, void-like gateway on the stone wall.
"How did you do that?" Zhang Wuzong’s astonished voice rang out from right beside Ye Xuan. He had investigated the lakebed himself but had found absolutely nothing.
Ye Xuan explained, "I merely released my Spiritual Qi and touched that character. That was enough to trigger the mechanism."
Zhang Wuzong turned to look at the wall. There was indeed a peculiar character carved into the stone, but he had previously assumed it was a natural mark left by the flowing water. There were countless such marks on the underwater walls. Who would have thought that a simple infusion of Spiritual Qi into these seemingly ordinary grooves could open a secret passage?
"It’s that simple?" Zhang Wuzong muttered to himself. Sometimes, the simplest things were the most mind-boggling.
As his voice faded, he grabbed Ye Xuan by the shoulder and swiftly dragged him into the stone gateway. He needed to confirm if everything inside matched Ye Xuan’s description.
Not long after they entered, the towering pillar of water crashed back down. The lake was restored to its tranquil state.
Soon, the two arrived at the three-way fork.
"There really is a three-way fork."
"Sir. I wouldn’t dare lie to you."
"You said you took the path on the right? And you encountered nothing?" Zhang Wuzong narrowed his eyes, a faint trace of killing intent leaking out.
"Yes," Ye Xuan nodded.
Suddenly, Zhang Wuzong lunged and clamped his hand around Ye Xuan’s throat. "There’s clearly more than one set of footprints on the right path, yet you claim you encountered nothing? Forget it, it doesn’t matter. Now that I’m inside, you’ve outlived your usefulness. Die."
Zhang Wuzong’s grip tightened viciously. He had never intended to let Ye Xuan live from the very beginning. Since they were already inside, Ye Xuan had to die. He didn’t know if Ye Xuan had obtained any treasures, but even if he had, they would definitely be in his Qiankun Bag. A thorough search of his corpse would suffice.
"I lied to you... On the right... are the Elders of the Zhang Family," Ye Xuan forced the words out.
"Oh?" Only then did Zhang Wuzong loosen his grip. "You really are a dishonest little ant. Take me there."
He could crush this ant whenever he pleased. But since the boy still seemed to be hiding the truth, he would let him live a little longer. His sudden attack just now was actually a tactic to pressure Ye Xuan. He hadn’t expected the boy’s facade to crumble so quickly.
At this moment, Ye Xuan rubbed his throat and bent over, gasping for air. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as well. He etched today’s grudge deeply into his heart. Once he returned and broke through to the Super Spirit Realm, he would definitely make Zhang Wuzong pay.
Ye Xuan led the way forward, with Zhang Wuzong following closely behind.
Soon, the two Elders of the Zhang Family came into view. They were sitting on the ground, panting heavily. Having attacked the array for so long, they were completely exhausted.
"Fourth Elder, Third Elder, what are you doing lying around here?" Zhang Wuzong asked in confusion upon seeing them. However, the two men seemed completely deaf to his words, showing absolutely no reaction.
Zhang Wuzong frowned and took a step forward, intending to approach them.
Ye Xuan’s eyes lit up. As long as Zhang Wuzong stepped inside, he would succeed!
But Zhang Wuzong was evidently a cautious man. He abruptly halted and glanced at Ye Xuan. "You go."
Ye Xuan was slightly taken aback, but he complied nonetheless. With a push off the ground, he leapt directly into the range of the Illusion Array. Once again, the grand avenue materialized around him, leading toward the city at its end.
After jumping in, Ye Xuan didn’t move any further. Instead, he turned back to glance at Zhang Wuzong. His look seemed to say that there was no danger. But only he knew that he couldn’t actually see Zhang Wuzong. He was merely putting on an act.
Zhang Wuzong pondered for a brief second before stepping forward. However, after taking just three steps, Ye Xuan’s figure vanished from his sight, as did the figures of the two Elders.
Ye Xuan thought, "He should be inside the array now. Time for me to leave."
His eyes gleamed as he consumed a Profound Level high-grade Healing Spirit Medicine, recovering the injury on his leg. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Dragon Capturing Cauldron began to rotate. Following the sequence provided by the Cauldron, he navigated his way out of the Illusion Array once again.
He turned his head to look at the bewildered Zhang Wuzong, a terrifying killing intent shooting from his eyes. Spiritual Qi manifested into a massive hand and slammed toward the man.
When a person entered the Illusion Array, their senses would be deceived. But Spiritual Qi would not.
At this moment, inside the Maze City.
Zhang Wuzong was walking briskly when he suddenly sensed a wave of killing intent approaching from his side. Turning his head, he saw a streak of golden Spiritual Qi. Spiritual Light bloomed from his body as he instinctively moved to defend himself.
BOOM!
A muffled explosion rang out as the walls of the labyrinth crumbled one after another. Zhang Wuzong stood firmly in place, completely unharmed. Even with a sneak attack, Ye Xuan could not injure him.
However, this was well within Ye Xuan’s expectations. He didn’t launch a follow-up attack; instead, he simply turned and left. His goal had been achieved, anyway. With the Illusion Array trapping Zhang Wuzong, he had enough time to escape. Ye Xuan had no intention of exploring the other two paths, because he knew better than anyone that all three paths ultimately led to the thatched cottage in the center.
"This is an array," Zhang Wuzong muttered. "A Killing Array? What a pity. I, Zhang Wuzong, specialize in breaking arrays. Three Hundred Demon Swords!"
Spiritual Qi surged from Zhang Wuzong’s body like roaring ocean waves. Wielding a Spirit Level weapon, he looked like an absolute deity. The weapon shimmered with light, and suddenly, three hundred Spiritual Energy Longswords materialized in the sky above.
RUMBLE!
Violent explosions echoed through the air as brilliant light from the array erupted across the corridor.
"Three hundred swords aren’t enough to break it? Eight Hundred Demon Swords!"
One attack fell, and another immediately followed. The Illusion Array was subjected to a relentless barrage of attacks. Yet, it remained intact. This array was far sturdier than he had anticipated.
In the end, Zhang Wuzong unleashed the Three Thousand Demon Swords. The sky was completely blanketed by Spiritual Energy Swords. They fell like a meteor shower, carrying an oppressive momentum that seemed intent on annihilating the entire city.
Five minutes later, Ye Xuan stepped through the Teleportation Gate and left the Secret Realm. This time, he didn’t linger and rushed straight toward the entrance.
Unbeknownst to Ye Xuan, not long after he left, the Illusion Array was shattered by Zhang Wuzong.
The Three Thousand Demon Swords was an extraordinary Group Attack Martial Technique. Generally speaking, such Group Attack Martial Techniques were more effective at destroying arrays. Of course, this was also largely due to Zhang Wuzong’s formidable personal strength.
"Wuzong, it’s you!"
"I was wondering why the array’s power was weakening. So you were the one breaking it. But Wuzong, how did you get in? The cave doors sealed shut right after we entered."
The surprised voices of the two Elders rang out.
As soon as the array broke, they caught sight of Zhang Wuzong. He didn’t reply; instead, he scanned his surroundings. His expression darkened considerably.
That brat was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he had escaped. But that was impossible. The array had only just been broken; there was no way that boy could have slipped away from right under his nose so quickly. Unless... that kid knew the method to traverse the Illusion Array.
"I was careless," Zhang Wuzong muttered coldly. He knew he had been played by Ye Xuan. He had only his own negligence to blame for not anticipating the presence of such a formidable Illusion Array here.