Chapter 451: The Spirit Pivot Array
Chapter 451: The Spirit Pivot Array
Within the iron coffin lay an iron corpse, its body preserved in a state of suspended animation.
Iron corpses are a step above wandering corpses. Their skin, a pale and decaying sight, hides a virulent corpse poison within. Though fearless and relentless, their capabilities are generally average, relying mainly on their numbers and the deadly poison they carry to gain an advantage.
The skin of the iron corpse was a dark bluish-black, resembling forged iron. Its strength far surpassed that of the wandering corpses, rivaling even that of a cultivator in the early stages of foundation establishment.
Crafting an iron corpse was a costly and time-consuming endeavor.
Similarly, controlling an iron corpse was an even more formidable challenge.
Only a cultivator at the foundation establishment stage, endowed with a robust divine sense, could hope to control an iron corpse with relative stability, using a corpse-controlling bell as a medium.
For a Qi Refining stage corpse cultivator, their insufficient divine sense would eventually lead to the iron corpse breaking free from their control, often resulting in a dangerous backlash.
This was the very reason Zhang Quan sought to enhance his control through bell consecration, borrowing divine will to stabilize his command over the corpse.
Mo Hua opened the iron coffin, revealing the iron corpse within. Its skin was a dark bluish-black, and its face was fierce, with prominent fangs. It lay there with its eyes closed.
The corpse emanated a dense aura of death, and its flesh was laced with a sinister green corpse poison.
Bai Zisheng held a long spear, its tip pressed against the iron corpse's forehead, ready to restrain it should it break free and threaten Mo Hua.
Bai Zixi, standing by Mo Hua's side, brandished a golden longsword.
Using a dagger, Mo Hua cut open the iron corpse's shirt, exposing its chest—a chilling sight, colored a dark bluish-black.
The surface of its chest appeared unremarkable, devoid of any distinguishing marks.
Yet, Mo Hua's eyes lit up as he sensed something familiar.
He was certain that he could detect the aura of an absolute array.
Mo Hua made several incisions on the iron corpse's chest with his dagger, but the skin was too tough, leaving not even a scratch.
With a sigh, Mo Hua handed the dagger to Bai Zisheng and said, "Senior Brother, it's your turn."
"Step back," Bai Zisheng instructed as he took the dagger.
Complying, Mo Hua retreated several meters.
Bai Zisheng channeled his cultivation technique, infusing the dagger with golden spiritual energy. With utmost caution, he carefully sliced into the iron corpse's chest, peeling away the outer layer of its flesh.
Beneath the surface, the flesh was a sickly green, permeated by the noxious corpse poison.
And upon this flesh, there was indeed an intricate and profound array—a complex web of blood-red lines!
"Mo Hua, come take a look!" Bai Zisheng called out.
Hurrying over, Mo Hua craned his neck to examine the array.
His eyes widened as he recognized the array before him.
It was indeed similar to the one used on the walking corpses, but with slight variations—it was the Spirit Pivot Array!
He quickly retrieved some paper and a brush, eager to record the array's pattern.
However, as he continued to draw, his expression gradually turned somber.
Glancing at the iron corpse, he said in a low voice, "Senior Brother, this iron corpse... it's about to break free from control."
"How do you know?" Bai Zisheng asked, startled.
Mo Hua's gaze deepened as he replied, "The array is active, and someone is controlling this iron corpse from afar. It's breaking free of our control..."
Bai Zisheng's eyes widened in alarm at his words, and he immediately grabbed his long spear, pinning the iron corpse to the coffin.
At that moment, the iron corpse abruptly opened its eyes.
Its eyes, a vivid red, held a fierce and bloodthirsty gleam.
It extended its arms, its long, sharp iron claws dripping with corpse poison. Its body, rigid and tense, struggled to rise.
However, it was immobilized by Bai Zisheng's spear, unable to break free for the moment.
As the iron corpse writhed and struggled, the blood array on its chest became increasingly distinct.
Between the intricate lines of the array, blood seemed to flow, and with each pulse, a strange, pulsating sound grew louder, like a peculiar heartbeat.
The redder the array lines became, the more ferocious the iron corpse's aura grew, and the more fiercely it struggled.
Frowning, Bai Zisheng said, "Move aside, I can't hold it back anymore!"
Gracefully stepping back, Bai Zixi created some distance between herself and the iron corpse.
Mo Hua also took a few steps back, his eyes never leaving the iron corpse.
In just a few breaths, the iron corpse let out a piercing howl. Its body surged with corpse energy, and with a tremendous force, it broke free from Bai Zisheng's restraint, shaking off the bindings of the spear.
Free from its constraints, the iron corpse's face twisted in a sinister grin, and it let out a low, beast-like growl. However, it did not seem driven by bloodlust or a desire to kill.
It seemed to understand that it couldn't kill any of the cultivators present.
With a powerful leap, the iron corpse aimed to burst through the door and escape.
Once it reached the outside and entered Nan Yue City, it would be able to feast on flesh and blood, restoring its vitality.
The iron corpse charged at the door, desperate to break free.
However, the densely woven array patterns surrounding it suddenly lit up, and several spiritual power restraints appeared, binding the iron corpse and preventing its escape.
Enraged, the iron corpse lashed out with its iron claws, tearing through several arrays in an attempt to break free.
Before it could succeed, Bai Zisheng's spear struck, accompanied by Bai Zixi's sword energy, which burned with a pristine white flame, aiming directly for the iron corpse's head.
Mo Hua's fireballs, on the other hand, flew with precision, targeting the joints of the iron corpse's legs.
Within the side room, the arrays trembled, and spiritual power overflowed.
Despite the soundproofing arrays in place, the commotion and fluctuations in spiritual power were too significant to contain entirely.
In the courtyard, Yan Jiaoxi and Zhuang Xiancheng were enjoying a cup of tea.
Hearing the disturbance, Yan Jiaoxi furrowed his brows and asked, "Do you think something's happened?"
Zhuang Xiancheng smiled calmly and replied, "It's nothing. Just the children playing, I assume."
Yan Jiaoxi hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly, only half convinced.
The ruckus inside the side room continued for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea before gradually subsiding.
The arrays inside the room, layered one on top of the other like a silkworm's nest, were too densely woven for the iron corpse to escape.
Moreover, the abilities of Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were exceptionally strong.
With Mo Hua seizing opportunities to launch sneak attacks, they quickly gained the upper hand.
Bai Zisheng's spear pierced through the iron corpse's throat, pinning it to the ground.
However, the iron corpse's limbs continued to thrash and claw at the air relentlessly.
"Junior Brother, do you know any way to stop it from moving?" Bai Zisheng asked.
Mo Hua, his eyes fixed on the array on the iron corpse's chest, thought for a moment before replying, "Destroy that array."
"Have you learned it?" Bai Zixi asked.
Mo Hua shook his head. "Not yet. But I've memorized the array patterns. I'll figure it out later."
The iron corpse's limbs twitched for a while before gradually becoming still.
The three cultivators breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"What should we do with this iron corpse now?" Bai Zisheng asked.
Mo Hua frowned in thought. "Let's seal it back in the iron coffin for now. I'll use an array formation to restrain it and prevent it from causing any more trouble or escaping."
"What about the Spirit Pivot Array?"
"I memorized it," Mo Hua replied.
Bai Zisheng looked skeptical. "Are you sure? You only saw it for a short while."
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "This Spirit Pivot Array doesn't seem that difficult..."
"There's no such thing as an easy Spirit Array!" Bai Zisheng worriedly interjected. "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? We don't want to waste our efforts."
"Don't worry, even if I did make a mistake, there are still four more iron corpses at Senior Sister Situ's place," Mo Hua reassured him.
"Alright then." Bai Zisheng nodded, but then furrowed his brows again. "Do you think the four iron corpses at Senior Sister Situ's place might also be out of control?"
"No," Mo Hua stated confidently. "Senior Sister Situ and the others don't know array formations, so without their interference, the iron corpses won't go berserk..."
"This iron corpse went out of control because someone was afraid of being discovered," Bai Zisheng mused.
"Someone doesn't want me to see the array formation on the iron corpse's heart meridian..." Mo Hua added, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
Bai Zisheng nodded. "Well, study it carefully then. I can't help with array formations, but if you need any backup in a fight, just call me."
"Sure," Mo Hua agreed.
From then on, Mo Hua dedicated her time to studying the array formation on the iron corpse.
Combined with the array on the walking corpse, it formed a relatively complete Spirit Pivot Array—a first-rate, twelve-patterned Spirit Array that facilitated the smooth circulation of spiritual energy and produced a coherent and responsive effect.
This array was indeed the Spirit Pivot Array.
A few days later, Mo Hua sat in the courtyard, her eyes fixed on the array formation before her, deep in thought.
She had managed to replicate the Spirit Pivot Array.
This was far beyond Mo Hua's expectations.
Initially, she had assumed that learning the Spirit Pivot Array would require her to grasp the special rules governing the flow of spiritual energy, if not comprehend some unique profound principles.
Yet, she had mastered this array remarkably quickly.
In just a few days, she had gained a thorough understanding of it.
Mo Hua decided to test the Spirit Pivot Array by inscribing it onto a wooden toy tiger that Guai Lao had made for her.
After drawing the array, she inserted a spirit stone into the tiger and channeled her spiritual power to activate it. To her delight, she found that she could control the toy tiger's movements with her divine sense.
It could walk, sit, run, sprint, crouch, and jump—its movements were incredibly lifelike.
Both Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi were intrigued when they saw this.
Regular toys in the cultivation world could move on their own, often powered by small spirit stones.
Mo Hua had bought several such toys in Tongxian City, and with the spirit stones providing the necessary spiritual energy, the wooden puppets would clatter and move forward.
However, their movements were mechanical and fixed.
This was vastly different from what Mo Hua had achieved with the wooden tiger.
The tiger could be controlled with her divine sense, allowing for a wide range of subtle movements.
While they looked similar, the array formations within were worlds apart.
One required only a few simple array patterns, while the other demanded a first-rate, twelve-patterned Spirit Array that surpassed the usual standards.
Mo Hua delved deeper into the principles of the Spirit Pivot Array.
She realized that Yan Jiaoxi had been right—the core of this array indeed lay in the concept of "control."
It involved dividing spiritual power into finer strands, allowing for meticulous and delicate manipulation.
But was that all there was to it? Had she only grasped the superficial aspects of the array? Were there deeper, more profound insights that she had yet to uncover?
Mo Hua's brow furrowed in thought.
Moreover, aside from her understanding of the array's principles, she noticed something else peculiar about it.
This array formation might still not be the complete Spirit Pivot Array.
Even though it was functional, why did it feel incomplete? Mo Hua pondered this for a long time but couldn't quite figure it out.
Then, she remembered the iron corpse's apparent loss of control, and suddenly, everything clicked into place.
The iron corpse's rampage was, in fact, a controlled act of rebellion.
In other words, just as the iron corpse controlled the walking corpse, it, too, was being controlled by something else.
The array formations on the iron corpse and the walking corpse formed a fundamental framework for spiritual power circulation, achieving the effects of the Spirit Pivot Array.
However, there existed a higher-level Spirit Pivot Array that governed the iron corpse.
This array formation was superior to the ones inscribed on both the iron corpse and the walking corpse.
It was a component of the Spirit Pivot Array that belonged to a higher tier.
This meant that what Mo Hua had mastered so far was only the middle to lower-tier Spirit Pivot Array.
This type of array formation exceeded her previous understanding of array formations.
"Array formations are indeed profound and complex," Mo Hua marveled.
If her suspicions were correct, the so-called Spirit Pivot Array wasn't merely a single array but an entire category of special array formations that derived from a single prototype, forming a hierarchical system with varying levels of authority.
All Spirit Pivot Arrays belonged to the same category, but each held different levels of control.
The array on the walking corpse was the most basic level with the lowest authority, only capable of being controlled by others.
The array on the iron corpse was a higher level, with greater authority to control the walking corpse.
Given this hierarchy, there had to be something else controlling the iron corpse!
Was it a demonic artifact, a cultivator, or perhaps another zombie? This unknown entity, be it object, human, or corpse, held the highest authority in the Spirit Pivot Array system, capable of dominating all the lower-tier arrays and the zombies marked with them.
It could control all the walking corpses and iron corpses!
Just the thought of it sent a chill down Mo Hua's spine.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
