468: Chapter 468 Defense Line

The assassin spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "Even if you kill me, the Dark Palace will not let you off." He closed his eyes and said no more.

Luo Li did not ask any more questions. She searched his Storage Pouch and found a secret letter. The handwriting on the letter was identical to the one Gao Feng had found on the Dark Palace assassin—a direct order from Shadow Fiend: "At all costs, retrieve the Tianyin Stone. Black Crow, accept this order."

Elder Qingfeng put away her Jade Sound Flute and looked at Luo Li, remaining silent for a moment. Her gaze was complex, filled with recognition, reluctance, and a hint of relief. "Your musical Spell is indeed stronger than mine," she finally spoke, her tone carrying a trace of unwillingness.

"Without the support of Junior Martial Uncle Qingfeng, I could not have won," Luo Li shook her head. "The defense of Tianyin Pavilion requires everyone's joint effort. The assassins of the Dark Palace are more dangerous than the Charm Clan of the past; their assassination techniques, poisons, and God-Sealing Talismans are all specifically targeted at musical Cultivators. Relying on me alone, I cannot protect Tianyin Pavilion. We need the strength of everyone."

Elder Qingfeng snorted and turned to leave. After a few steps, she stopped and said with her back to Luo Li, "That 'Star Battle Song' of yours, teach it to me another day. Your melody is better suited for combat than the 'Tianyin Secret Scripture'."

Luo Li smiled, "Alright."

Black Crow was imprisoned in the dungeon of Tianyin Pavilion, where Elder Qingfeng personally set up a musical Seal to completely lock away his spiritual power. Luo Li forced some intelligence out of him regarding the Dark Palace—the Dark Palace was gathering fragments of the World Heart and various Heaven And Earth Treasure everywhere, preparing for Blood Venerable to Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage. The Tianyin Stone was only one of their targets; they were taking action in various places.

Luo Li looked at the secret letter, her brows furrowed tightly. Gao Feng must have encountered assassins on his side as well, perhaps even more. She took out the Heart Sound Talisman that Gao Feng had left for her and injected spiritual power into it. The Heart Sound Talisman glowed slightly, but there was no response. She waited for a moment and tried again, but still received no response. Gao Feng was deep in the trials within the Lost City, and the Heart Sound Talisman could not penetrate the ancient Restriction.

"You must be safe," Luo Li whispered as she tucked the Heart Sound Talisman back into her bosom.

Afterwards, Luo Li strengthened the defenses of Tianyin Pavilion. Using the Tianyin Stone as the core, she set up a complete musical grand array on the seven main Peaks—the "Tianyin Seven-Star Array." This array used the seven main Peaks as array eyes and the Zither Spirit of the heavenly sound zither as the array spirit, capable of automatically sensing malicious musical rhythms and launching counterattacks.

Yun Xi led the Disciples to carve array patterns, bury array foundations, and tune the flow of spiritual power on the seven main Peaks. Elder Qingfeng and Elder Mingyue also began to learn the "Star Battle Song." The overall combat strength of Tianyin Pavilion was steadily improving.

On the Peak of Tianyin Mountain, the moonlight was like water. Luo Li held the heavenly sound zither, standing by the cliff, gazing at the distant horizon. That was the direction of the Dark Domain, and also the direction where Gao Feng was. It had been several months, and she did not know how they were doing. Tianxin was in the Shadow Realm, Su Ning was at Taixu Palace, Chu Lan was in Changsheng Valley, Yaoguang was in the Green Wood Realm, Lin Yue was at the Ten Thousand Array Sect, and Lin Jingyu and Situ Lan were at the Sword Abyss. Everyone was becoming stronger, and everyone was working hard for the reunion in one year.

She could not fall behind.

The Zither Spirit jumped out from the strings, transforming into a ball of silver-white light, dancing in front of her. It communicated to Luo Li through intent—I will accompany you. Luo Li reached out and gently touched the ball of light; it was warm, like the temperature of Gao Feng's palm.

"Dark Palace, come. I am waiting for you." Luo Li looked up at the distance, her eyes firm and gentle.

The moonlight spilled over the seven main Peaks, and the array patterns of the Tianyin Seven-Star Array flowed slowly across the mountains, like countless silver rivers. The night at Tianyin Pavilion was very quiet, but this quietness contained power. It was the foundation of an ancient sect spanning a thousand years, and it was also the conviction of the new generation of musical Cultivators. The assassins of the Dark Palace would come again, but they were no longer afraid. Because they had a defensive line, they had preparations, and they had each other.

Luo Li took the Heart Sound Talisman from her bosom and held it in her palm. The aura of Gao Feng's spiritual power still lingered on the Heart Sound Talisman, faint but warm. She closed her eyes and waited quietly under the moonlight. Waiting for Gao Feng to return from the Lost City, waiting for her teammates to return from their respective places, waiting for the day of the one-year promise.

The heavenly sound zither vibrated gently on her lap, and the Zither Spirit danced on the strings. Luo Li opened her eyes and played a piece— "Waiting for Return." There were no lyrics, only the melody, but every note was saying the same thing. I am waiting for you; you all must return.

Under the moonlight, the zither music echoed through Tianyin Mountain. The array patterns on the seven main Peaks flickered slightly with the music, as if responding to her. The people of the Dark Palace would not give her too much time; she had to complete the final array tuning before dawn and fully activate the Tianyin Seven-Star Array before the Dark Palace sent the next batch of assassins.

Elder Qingfeng walked over from the mountain path, holding the Jade Sound Flute in her hand, saying that the spiritual power flow of the West Peak array pattern was still a bit unstable and needed you to go over and take a look. Luo Li picked up the heavenly sound zither and followed her toward the West Peak. The moonlight shone on the two of them, casting long shadows on the mountain path.

Taixu Palace floated above the sea of clouds. The palace complex was built with Spatial Crystal, refracting colorful light under the sunlight, like a huge gemstone floating in the sky. Su Ning stood in front of the mountain gate, looking up at the white palace, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Three years ago, she had been here once. At that time, she was a Disciple of the Wuxiang Sect and had come to Taixu Palace with Gao Feng for an exchange of learning. Master Void of Taixu Palace had taken a liking to her space-time talent and wanted to take her as his Disciple, but she refused. She said no, I want to be with my companions.

Now she was back. Master Void's words were still ringing in her ears: "If your space-time talent is not further cultivated, it would be a waste of a heavenly gift. The gates of Taixu Palace are always open for you."

Su Ning took a deep breath and stepped into the mountain gate. The mountain gate was a screen of light condensed from the Space Power. The moment she passed through the screen, she felt her body enveloped by an invisible force, as if passing through a film of water. The scene before her suddenly opened up—the main hall of Taixu Palace, the "Space-Time Hall," stood towering, and dozens of Disciples were practicing Spatial Magic on the square in front of the hall. Some were practicing Space Folding, compressing a small piece of space in front of them into a sheet of paper; some were attempting time acceleration, letting a Spirit Plant in front of them grow rapidly in a short time. The scene was bustling.

A young Disciple in a white robe came up to greet her and asked politely, "Senior Sister, may I ask if you are here to..." Su Ning revealed the Guest Elder token of Taixu Palace from her sleeve. It was given to her by Master Void when Gao Feng was traveling among the five sects; the token was entirely silver-white, with the character "Void" engraved on it. The young Disciple's expression changed when he saw the token, and he bowed respectfully, "Please, follow me."

In the Space-Time Hall, Master Void was meditating. His hair and beard were white, his face kind, and his Golden Core ninth-layer Peak cultivation was restrained like an ordinary old man. When Su Ning walked into the hall, he opened his eyes, a look of gratification flashing in them.

"Have you finally figured it out?" Master Void's voice was not loud, but it echoed in the spacious hall.

Su Ning nodded, "I want to further my study of Spatial Magic."

"Why?" Master Void asked.

Su Ning was silent for a moment and said, "To protect the people I want to protect."

Master Void smiled, his smile filled with approval, "Very good. Becoming stronger for the sake of protection is more enduring and powerful than becoming stronger for the sake of revenge." He stood up and walked to Su Ning, taking a Jade Slip from his sleeve and handing it to her. "Taixu Palace has three great space-time secret arts—Space Cutting, Time Reversal, and Space-Time Stasis. You have already mastered the basics of Space Cutting; next, I will teach you Time Reversal and Space-Time Stasis."

Su Ning asked how long it would take. Master Void said it depended on talent, three months at the fastest, three years at the slowest. Su Ning shook her head and said she did not have three years; she had to return in a year. Master Void looked at her, silent for a moment, and said then three months it is.

Master Void told Su Ning that Taixu Palace had an iron rule—all Disciples must complete the introductory trial in the "Space-Time Labyrinth" before they could officially learn space-time secret arts. Although Su Ning was a Guest Elder of the Wuxiang Sect, she was no exception. The Space-Time Labyrinth was the treasure of Taixu Palace, a labyrinth constructed by Spatial Magic, with chaotic time flow and twisted space inside. Those who entered by mistake might experience a thousand years in an instant, or an instant in a thousand years.

Su Ning asked what if one could not walk out. Master Void said that since the founding of Taixu Palace three thousand years ago, no one had ever failed to walk out. But some walked for three months, some for three years, and some for thirty years.

Su Ning was brought to the entrance of the Space-Time Labyrinth. It was a huge stone gate, engraved with space-time array patterns. The patterns were dense, extending from the door frame to the lintel, like countless silver rivers intertwined together. Master Void told her that the time flow in the labyrinth was different from the outside world; you might feel like you have stayed inside for a long time, but only a few days have passed outside. Do not panic, trust your space-time perception. Su Ning pushed the door and entered.

The first layer of the labyrinth was an endless Void Realm. All around were countless floating space fragments, each piece leading to a different direction, some as smooth as mirrors, others as sharp as broken glass. Su Ning perceived with Spatial Magic and discovered that among these fragments, only one was the path of survival; the rest were dead ends—walking the wrong way would result in being teleported back to the starting point.

She did not rush to step forward but closed her eyes and spread her spiritual sense. The space fragments presented different spiritual power fluctuations under the perception of her spiritual sense, some sharp, some low, some chaotic. She probed one by one; the first one was wrong, the second one was wrong, the third one was wrong... The eighteenth one had a stable and regular spiritual power fluctuation, like a heartbeat. She opened her eyes and stepped into that fragment.

A flash of light passed, and she was teleported to the second layer of the labyrinth.

The time flow of the second layer was extremely fast. Su Ning felt that for every step she took, a day passed outside. She tried to slow down the time flow with the "time perception" she had just explored, but she had not officially learned this Spell yet and could only try by feeling. Fail, try again, fail again, try again. After countless failures, she remembered Master Void's words—time is not a river, but the ocean. Do not try to swim against the current; learn to go with the flow.

Su Ning stopped and no longer resisted the flow of time, but instead let her perception synchronize with time. She closed her eyes and integrated her spiritual sense into the surrounding environment, "feeling" the flow of time. It had its own rhythm, not uniform, but fast and slow, like a heartbeat, like breathing.