Immortality Begins With The Alchemical Master Chapter 551: Nine Palace Trigrams, Inviting the Wolf into the Room - Novel Cool

Chapter 551: Nine Palace Trigrams, Inviting the Wolf into the Room

Chapter 551: Nine Palace Trigrams, Inviting the Wolf into the Room

"Is the area ahead the Obsidian Island?"

High above the Nine Heavens, dark clouds covered the sky, and the wind and rain were about to arrive.

A black cloud hid among them.

Luo Chen stood atop the clouds, and the Celestial Whirl Sea Eagle, which had shrunk in size, stood at his feet, nodding like a chick pecking at rice.

A nautical chart fell into his hand, and Luo Chen carefully examined it, pursing his lips in thought.

The Obsidian Sea was vast, even larger than the Jade Cauldron Domain he was familiar with. If calculated, it was as vast as two to three Jade Cauldron Domains.

However, the Obsidian Island, from which the name originated, was not actually that big.

In his gaze, the vast blue ocean was dotted with islands like stars, scattered around this area.

The central island was the main one.

Together, they formed a mysterious array, like a maze.

One, two, three... seventy-two!

Upon careful counting, there were indeed seventy-two islands of various sizes, arranged in a ring around the Obsidian Island.

Comparing the nautical chart with the actual islands, Luo Chen exclaimed in surprise.

"An array?"

With his current understanding of arrays, he could already discern some clues.

These islands below, combined with the sea veins and reefs, formed a natural grand array.

However, Luo Chen could only get a rough idea.

At that moment, he took out the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and awakened Han Zhan.

After hearing Luo Chen's guess, Han Zhan carefully examined it and finally gave an answer.

"It is indeed an array, but it's not naturally formed. There's human involvement, and at least a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator personally arranged it."

Nascent Soul True Monarchs possessed boundless mana.

They were capable of moving mountains and filling the sea, demolishing cities, and splitting mountains.

With such abilities, transporting islands and arranging grand arrays with special terrain was not a difficult task.

Luo Chen humbly sought guidance, "Senior, can you tell me what array this is and its effects?"

"Trigrams..." Han Zhan shook his head, "No, it should be the Nine Palace Trigrams Array, corresponding to the number seventy-two. As for the effects..."

After a long pause, Han Zhan slowly said, "It's a common method to gather spiritual veins, known as 'Hiding the Wind and Gathering Water, Circulating Qi and Nurturing Spirits.' Although the Obsidian Sea is vast, the spiritual veins are scattered. The master of this place arranged an array, concentrating the spiritual energy of an area, forming a Fourth Stage Spirit Vein here. After thousands of years of evolution, it's no different from a natural spirit vein."

Then, he added, "Additionally, this Nine Palace Trigrams Array has both offensive and defensive capabilities. The seventy-two islands are interconnected, with the outer ones being stronger than the inner ones. However, if you ignore the outer islands and directly attack the inner ones, it will create a situation where the enemy can launch a counter-offensive."

"If I were the master of this place, I would station capable generals on the outer islands, with one guarding the central palace."

Upon hearing this, Luo Chen was puzzled.

"If it's not like this, won't the central area be vulnerable, allowing enemies to strike directly at the heart, employing a decapitation strategy?"

Han Zhan smiled silently, "What if the strongest is in the central palace?"

Luo Chen suddenly understood.

Indeed, this way, the so-called 'outer strength and inner weakness' became a balanced situation.

If a powerful enemy were to strike at the heart, they would not only face a fierce counterattack from the central palace's strong cultivator but also be surrounded by the seventy-two islands, creating an awkward situation where they couldn't advance or retreat.

If a Nascent Soul cultivator were stationed in the central palace, even if an opponent of the same cultivation level invaded, without a force several times their number, they might not be able to break through this Obsidian Island.

After this analysis, Luo Chen finally understood why the Ringed Turtle Clan could remain as stable as Mount Tai despite the siege of the Five Great Demon Crab Clans for years.

"The Obsidian Demon Emperor is indeed meticulous, leaving no room for error!" Luo Chen sighed.

However, Han Zhan disagreed.

"Arrays are static, but people are dynamic. In my opinion, although there's a Demon Emperor's aura on the Obsidian Island, it's extremely weak, and the deathly aura is thick."

Luo Chen was startled.

"Is the Obsidian Demon Emperor dead?"

"At least, he's not in this realm. Otherwise, the deathly aura wouldn't be leaking out."

Now Luo Chen understood why the Five Great Demon Crab Clans dared to attack the Obsidian Island.

It was like a monkey wanting to be king in the absence of a tiger.

The Demon Crabs planned to rise above their station and become the true overlord of the Obsidian Sea.

However, this gave Luo Chen an opportunity.

After all, the Ringed Turtle Clan had produced a Demon Emperor, and even if the Demon Emperor is gone, their foundation is still not something ordinary Demon Clans can compare to.

Luo Chen: Indeed, if they fight, there will be casualties.

This gives me, Luo Chen, a chance to benefit from their conflict.

But for now, finding a suitable base is the priority.

Since he had summoned Han Zhan, Luo Chen wouldn't let go of such a helpful assistant.

"Senior, your understanding of arrays and experience surpass mine. Please help me find a hidden and suitable base."

Han Zhan smiled, "There's no need for me to do this. You have a powerful tool in your hand, and you can solve this yourself."

Luo Chen was taken aback.

Then he saw an object floating out from the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

It was the array disk he had given to Han Zhan before.

He had intended to have Han Zhan modify it so that he could set up some suitable arrays for himself.

Seeing the array disk fly out, he was puzzled.

Han Zhan immediately explained, "There are nine small arrays and three grand arrays on it. Apart from the Sea Banishing Trigrams Array and the Billowing Cloud Mist Formation, I've thoroughly studied the last array."

"Oh, please enlighten me, Senior," Luo Chen's eyes flashed with interest.

"This array is called the Spirit Seeking Formation. It appears to be a Third Stage array, but its effects are no less than a Fourth Stage spell array."

"Spirit Seeking Formation?"

Hearing this name, Luo Chen couldn't help but repeat it.

...

Above the clouds, a blurry figure of a Taoist sat with closed eyes.

He held a compass in his hand, and the mechanisms on it slowly turned.

The terrain was depicted by his divine sense and projected onto the compass.

Suddenly, the Taoist made a hand gesture and slowly pointed at the compass.

In an instant, the compass needle, condensed with mana, started spinning wildly, and an unknown force radiated in all directions.

Finally, the compass needle slowed down and gradually pointed to a location.

Luo Chen opened his eyes, revealing a hint of joy.

With a slight movement, he flew towards that direction without leaking a trace of his aura.

After a while, Luo Chen bypassed some patrolling demons and infiltrated an unnamed desolate island.

On the desolate island, there was only a half-abandoned first-stage spirit vein, and aside from some unintelligent beasts, there were hardly any living creatures.

Luo Chen looked around and was extremely satisfied.

This island, located within an array, was not part of the grand array nor among the seventy-two islands.

There was no patrol, and no one paid attention.

It was the perfect place for him to settle down.

Thinking of this, Luo Chen couldn't help but carefully examine the array disk in his hand, which he had obtained from Zhu Qi.

What a treasure!

Aside from its offensive and defensive capabilities, it was an invaluable tool for cultivators to train outside. The Billowing Cloud Mist Array was suitable for concealing and obscuring caves. The Spirit Seeking Array was ideal for searching for treasures and spirit veins, and once activated, it would automatically explore the area with the strongest spiritual energy for the cultivator. Luo Chen did the opposite and found the weakest spiritual energy, using it as the base for his next actions.

As for the Sea Banishing Array, at this moment, he felt that it might not be for combat. Its original purpose should be to seal and contain spirit veins, preventing the leakage of spiritual energy.

During the previous battle, the array that suppressed Luo Chen was actually modified by Zhu Qi, combined with his own limbs, forming the so-called suppression array.

However, this modification also created a natural flaw, which Luo Chen exploited to break through.

Now, looking at the array disk, it combined the functions of concealing and obscuring caves, searching for treasures and spirit veins, and sealing and suppressing, making it an indispensable tool for both home and travel, as well as for killing and arson.

"Good treasure, I don't know what your original name was, but from now on, you shall be called the Sealing God Compass!"

Inspired by the names of the three arrays and their functions, Luo Chen gave this treasure a new name.

Then, he began to work on this desolate island.

...

Deep in the ocean, a five-colored clam, nearly a hundred feet in size, slightly opened its shell.

A figure, riding the ocean currents, arrived with a thunderous roar.

He glanced at the five-colored clam and coldly humphed, "Hmph, it's just the remains of a failed transformation of the five-colored clam. Jin Hun, this old fellow, carries treasures with him wherever he goes."

Although he said this, the envy in his eyes was undeniable.

As if sensing the arrival, the five-colored clam flashed with colorful light, and a light screen opened.

The person moved his eight legs and entered.

As soon as he stepped inside, a deep voice echoed in the warm and moist hall.

"Brother Chi Yan has arrived!"

Chi Yan looked up and saw three figures, each sitting in a different direction.

One was entirely golden, as if clad in golden armor, exuding dominance.

Another was surrounded by a blue aura, adorned with green algae, revealing a hint of beauty.

The last demon, although smaller in size, had a pointed beak and eight legs with two pincers, giving off a terrifying and hideous impression.

If a human cultivator familiar with the Demon Beast Compendium were to see them, they would recognize their races from their appearances: the Tyrant Crab, Azure Emperor Crab, and Nine Claw Poison King Crab clans.

"Jin Hun, Green Sleeve, and Nine Claw, we rarely see you, but this time, you've come so early!" Chi Yan coldly smiled, his words laced with sarcasm.

Jin Hun remained silent, but Nine Claw retorted.

"You old fellow, always hiding in the dead volcano at the bottom of the sea, even the sun is too precious for you to come ashore. How dare you criticize us for coming out this time?"

Chi Yan's anger surged, ready to rebut, when a gentle voice interrupted.

"Enough quarreling. We're all gathered here for the future of our Demon Crab clans. There's no need for such bickering."

It was Green Sleeve, the only female clan leader among the five great Demon Crab clans.

Hearing this, Chi Yan humphed and decided not to argue further with Nine Claw.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Jin Hun, the host of this gathering, slowly spoke, "We're just waiting for Zhu Xiang to arrive..."

The Zhu Xiang he mentioned was the clan leader of the Demon Spider Crab clan.

Although Zhu Xiang hadn't arrived yet, Green Sleeve spoke softly, "Brother Jin, why don't you explain the situation in detail, and we can discuss it together."

Jin Hun looked at the three demons, "It's not complicated. It's just about attacking the Obsidian Island."

Chi Yan humphed, "We can't even see the surface of the Obsidian Island, let alone talk about attacking it?"

"What I want to say is this," Jin Hun sighed, "No one expected that the Obsidian Demon Emperor would leave behind a life-saving grand array for the Ringed-Head Turtle clan. Arrays, for our demon race, are you ok?

This sentiment resonated deeply within everyone.

Over the years, they had fought countless battles against the Ringed-Head Turtle clan of the Obsidian Island.

The best outcome was capturing twenty-seven islands.

However, after the Ringed-Head Turtle clan activated their arrays for a counterattack, sixteen to seventeen of those twenty-seven islands were recaptured within a few days, leaving only nine islands in their control.

At this rate, they would be the laughingstock of everyone.

The five great Demon Crab clans?

Is this all they could do?

Chi Yan's eyebrows furrowed, and he humphed, "If all else fails, I'll use the power of my clan to explode the underwater volcano and wash away this entire sea area!"

Green Sleeve" quickly stopped him, "That's not possible. What if it affects the fourth-stage spirit vein here? How will we advance to the Transformation Stage in the future?"

Chi Yan was extremely frustrated, "This won't work, and that won't work either. You want the Obsidian Demon Emperor's remains and want to preserve the fourth-stage spirit vein. Don't you humans have a saying, 'You can't have your cake and eat it too'?"

Nine Claw scoffed, "The spirit vein can be shared, and the remains will go to the one with the right opportunity. Why can't we have both?"

"You!" Chi Yan's anger surged.

"Enough quarreling," Jin Hun said coldly. "Either we're stuck at the third stage perfection or just a step away from the Transformation Stage. We're all here for the chance to advance. Whoever seizes the opportunity will have a chance to reach the Transformation Stage, and the rest of the clans will have a backer."

At this moment, we should be working together with utmost care, not acting on impulse."

Chi Yan was taken aback, "Your Tyrant Crab Clan is the most domineering, Jin Hun. When did you start considering the bigger picture?"

Jin Hun glanced at him coldly and said, "The Obsidian Sea has no Demon Emperor guarding it, and it will eventually become a hunting ground for humans. Even with the collapse of the human sacred site, we've only been given a brief respite. Despite this, some cultivators have already received news and come here to hunt. If, within the next few hundred years, none of us can produce a Transformation Stage Demon Emperor, once the humans recover, I fear the Obsidian Sea will be renamed!"

The old crab spoke at length, his cold and indifferent words carrying the weight of a mountain.

The others listened in silence.

They all knew that there was a demon-hunting ship patrolling the nearby waters.

The cultivators on the ship were targeting Ringed-Head Turtles, otherwise, they would have joined forces to destroy it long ago.

Even so, there had been several close encounters.

Once, Jin Hong, a powerful member of the Tyrant Crab Clan, had even torn apart a Golden Core cultivator.

If not for mutual restraint, they might have already fought to the death.

Seeing that everyone understood the situation, Jin Hun paused and continued, "The grand array on Obsidian Island is extremely mysterious and complex. With our knowledge, we can't decipher it, and at most, we can only use brute force to attack."

"But the Ringed-Head Turtle Clan was once the largest clan on Obsidian Island!"

"The number of Third Stage Demon Kings within their clan far exceeds that of any of our clans. Only by joining forces can we suppress them."

"With the support of the array, brute force won't work. So, we still need to figure out how to cleverly break the array."

At this point, it seemed like a dead end.

But Jin Hun changed the topic, "As far as I know, Zhu Xiang has a highly regarded junior who received human cultivation techniques and has some understanding of arrays."

The others were surprised that a Crab Demon could learn human cultivation techniques.

Green Sleeve hesitated, "Could it be that little Zhu Qi?"

The Venomous Spider Crab Clan had produced a genius, which Green Sleeve was aware of.

It was said that this junior was born with deficiencies and was rather weak, often bullied within the clan.

Later, while wandering outside, he accidentally stumbled upon a human cultivator's cave abode and obtained a legacy, which marked the beginning of his rise.

After several hundred years, he had become a Third Stage expert!

Because of this, Green Sleeve had once considered a marriage alliance, offering a Second Stage Azure Emperor Crab to win him over.

"Indeed!" Jin Hun confirmed.

Green Sleeve suddenly realized, "If it's him, I think there's a chance it might work."

Nine Claws spoke with a sinister tone, "The problem is, if we ask Zhu Xiang's people to break the array, does that mean we have to share more of the spoils with them later?"

Jin Hun was puzzled, "Nine Claws, aren't you on good terms with Zhu Xiang?"

Nine Claws scoffed, "Friendship is one thing, but interests are another. We're not yet at the Transformation Stage, but we're not ignorant beasts either. I can still differentiate between these matters."

"It doesn't matter if we share a bit more, after all, what we want the most..."

Just as the four Crab Demon clan leaders were discussing how to distribute the spoils in the palace made from the Five-Colored Clam's body, a light screen flashed.

A figure walked in.

"There's no need to consider this matter anymore. My Xiao Qi has already perished."

Everyone turned to look, and it was indeed Zhu Xiang, the clan leader of the Venomous Spider Crab Clan!

True to their reputation, the Venomous Spider Crab Clan had the sharpest senses, and even from outside, they had overheard every word spoken within the Five-Colored Clam.

However, the news that Zhu Qi had perished shocked everyone.

Jin Hun's body flashed with golden light, and he exclaimed in anger, "How could this have happened!"

This was the only chance for the Crab Demons to rise.

After various efforts, the outcome largely depended on Zhu Qi.

Now, to hear that Zhu Qi had perished?

He couldn't accept it!

Zhu Xiang shook his head, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

He proceeded to recount the details of Zhu Qi's demise to everyone.

After a while, Jin Hun clenched his teeth and said, "It was the hidden master behind that Evil Serpent Bandit Gull that did this! I had a bad feeling about it before and sent Jin Hong to deal with it, but I never expected that we'd miss the mastermind behind it all!"

Nine Claws seemed a bit lost, as their Nine Claw Poison King Crab Clan had been spared from Luo Chen's schemes in recent years.

Therefore, they didn't feel as strongly about it.

Green Sleeve was also furious, "If we hadn't focused our attention on Obsidian Island, we would have sent a large army to capture that mastermind and tear him limb from limb!"

Her Azure Emperor Crab Clan had also suffered losses among their lower-tier members in recent years.

Chi Yan chuckled, not too concerned about these matters.

Their Crimson Rock Crab Clan lived in an underwater volcano and rarely ventured onto land, usually moving in groups, which made them less vulnerable to attacks.

They had heard that once, they encountered a Black Scaled Python, and it was almost killed by the leading Crimson Rock Crab Elder.

Hearing about the misfortunes of the other three clans, he felt a bit of schadenfreude.

However, with Zhu Qi's death, the question of how to break the array remained.

His schadenfreude dissipated.

Zhu Xiang coldly observed the scene unfolding in the hall.

Suddenly, he spoke up, "I have a way to break the grand array on Obsidian Island, but I have one condition. After it's done, you must help me hunt down that mastermind behind the scenes!"

This condition was not an issue.

Everyone's attention turned to his proposed solution.

For a moment, the four Crab Demons stared at him intently, eager to know his plan.

Zhu Xiang stomped his foot, emitting a crisp sound.

The sound reverberated through the Five-Colored Clam's shell and reached the outside.

"Jin Hun, please open the door."

Jin Hun stared at Zhu Xiang intently.

He opened his mouth to speak.

"I hope you're not inviting a wolf into your home."

The next moment, the light screen trembled, and a tall figure appeared.

He was dressed elegantly, with a handsome face.

Upon entering, he clasped his fists and bowed.

"Gu Shaoshang of Flying Cloud Gorge pays his respects to all fellow cultivators!"

It was a human cultivator!

(End of Chapter)

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