144: Chapter 144 Heavenly Sword Dao Palace

Heavenly Sword Dao Palace.

The last time Chen Yuan came here, he was still in the Qi Refinement Stage, and he couldn't even lift his head under a single glance from Elder Heavenly Sword.

This time, though...

"Who goes there?!"

As soon as the mountain-protecting grand array of the Heavenly Sword Dao Palace sensed someone approaching, a majestic shout rang out from within the formation.

Chen Yuan didn't even bother to respond.

His Late Stage of Tribulation Transcendence divine sense spread out instantly, enveloping the entire Heavenly Sword Dao Palace.

Under the probe of his divine sense, the mountain-protecting grand array was as transparent as glass; every formation eye and every vein of spiritual energy was crystal clear.

A Sixth-Rank Array.

To a Ninth-Rank Array Master, it was no different from a structure made of paper.

Chen Yuan waved his hand casually, and his spiritual energy transformed into an invisible blade, precisely severing the connections of the three core formation eyes of the mountain-protecting grand array.

"Boom!"

The grand array shattered, and the light barrier dissipated.

The Heavenly Sword Dao Palace was instantly thrown into a state of uproar.

A dozen or so figures flew out from various locations, with Elder Heavenly Sword leading the way.

His cultivation was at the Perfection of the Soul Transformation Stage, which was considered top-tier combat power in the Spirit Ruins Realm. However, after feeling the pressure released by Chen Yuan's Late Stage of Tribulation Transcendence cultivation, Elder Heavenly Sword's expression changed instantly.

"You... You are..."

"Senior Heavenly Sword, it's been a long time."

Chen Yuan greeted him with a chuckle.

Elder Heavenly Sword's pupils contracted sharply. He recognized Chen Yuan.

That Qi Refinement Stage kid who had been pinned down by a single glance from him back then... the aura he was releasing now while standing before him...

Was countless times stronger than his own.

"Chen... Chen Yuan?"

Elder Heavenly Sword's voice was trembling.

When did a cultivator at the Tribulation Transcendence Stage appear in the Spirit Ruins Realm? How much time had even passed?

"Don't worry, Senior. I'm not here to look for trouble."

Chen Yuan withdrew his pressure, and his tone became much more relaxed.

"I've come to take something. There's someone inside the Heavenly Sword Thunder Pool."

Elder Heavenly Sword's brow furrowed.

"The Heavenly Sword Thunder Pool? The person inside..."

He hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure whether to tell the truth.

Chen Yuan didn't feel like beating around the bush. His divine sense directly locked onto the location of the Heavenly Sword Thunder Pool, and with a flash of his body, he arrived at the entrance.

Elder Heavenly Sword wanted to stop him, but his speed was like standing still compared to Chen Yuan.

By the time he reacted, Chen Yuan was already standing before the sealing formation of the Thunder Pool.

An Eighth-Rank Illusion Array.

It was two ranks higher than the mountain-protecting grand array, and its structure was far more precise and complex.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, they probably wouldn't even be able to touch the edges of the formation.

But who was Chen Yuan?

A Ninth-Rank Array Master.

He didn't even use force to break the array; instead, he directly found a gap in the formation, seeped his spiritual energy into it, and undid the seal from the inside.

The entire process took less than three breaths of time.

By the time Elder Heavenly Sword arrived, the seal of the Thunder Pool had already been cleanly dismantled by Chen Yuan.

"You..."

Elder Heavenly Sword's face turned ashen. This was a seal he had spent a hundred years of effort to maintain.

Chen Yuan ignored him, his gaze falling into the interior of the Thunder Pool.

In the center of the Thunder Pool, several sealing spiritual coffins of Upper Realm Cultivators floated quietly.

Chen Yuan's divine sense swept over these spiritual coffins, confirming their identities one by one.

Most were prisoners or sealed entities of Upper Realm Cultivators, with cultivations ranging from the Void Refining Stage to the Body Integration Stage.

Then, he saw the one in the furthest corner.

A small figure was curled up inside a special spiritual coffin. The surface of the spiritual coffin was covered with dense formation patterns, their light dim yet exceptionally complex.

Guan Qingqing.

She looked exactly as she did in the simulation.

A little girl who appeared to be no more than seven or eight years old, her face pale and her eyes tightly closed, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Chen Yuan stepped forward and activated his Pupil of Supreme Knowledge to its limit.

Golden light surged from his pupils, beginning to analyze the sealing formation on Guan Qingqing's body.

As in the simulation, the seal was extremely complex, and his Pupil of Supreme Knowledge could only see the outer structure clearly.

But this time, he had something extra.

The insights from the fourth level of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art.

When he re-examined the seal with his fourth-level understanding of formations, details that were completely invisible in the simulation began to emerge.

The formation patterns at the lowest level of the seal, the way they operated...

Had a certain vague similarity to the basic formation logic of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art.

It wasn't a coincidence.

They were from the same source.

"This seal and the Yaojiu Mysterious Art come from the same system?"

Chen Yuan's heart jolted.

The origin of the Yaojiu Mysterious Art was already a mystery. He had accidentally obtained the remnant scrolls of the first three levels in the secret treasury of the Hehuan Sect, and the subsequent techniques were found in that Nameless Ancient Tomb during a simulation.

If the formation sealing Guan Qingqing shared the same source as the Yaojiu Mysterious Art, it meant...

The person who created the Yaojiu Mysterious Art and the person who sealed Guan Qingqing were very likely the same person. Or at least from the same organization.

And the Formation Spirit inside Guan Qingqing's body belonged to the Xuanxiao Chen Family.

"Yaojiu Mysterious Art... Xuanxiao Chen Family..."

Chen Yuan temporarily noted this clue in his heart. Now was not the time for deep investigation; he had to save the person first.

He pressed his hand against the spiritual coffin, and spiritual energy poured in.

With his current cultivation, it wouldn't be difficult to break this seal by force. However, he didn't choose a violent solution; instead, he followed the veins of the sealing formation and found a node that could be safely undone.

The formation patterns on the spiritual coffin gradually dimmed, and the seal peeled away layer by layer.

A moment later, the spiritual coffin dissipated.

Guan Qingqing fell lightly into Chen Yuan's arms.

The little girl's body was very light, unnaturally so. There was not a single fluctuation of spiritual energy in her body, just like an ordinary mortal child.

But Chen Yuan knew that within this seemingly ordinary body lay a dormant Formation Spirit.

Guan Qingqing's eyelids fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

A pair of incredibly clear eyes gazed at Chen Yuan; there was no fear in them, only an indescribable sense of closeness.

"Who... are you?"

Her voice was thin and timid.

"My name is Chen Yuan." Chen Yuan's tone softened a bit. "From now on, you're coming with me."

Guan Qingqing blinked, seemingly thinking about something.

Then she nodded.

No questions, no hesitation. It was as if she instinctively trusted the person before her.

Chen Yuan turned around while holding Guan Qingqing and looked at Elder Heavenly Sword, who had followed him.

Elder Heavenly Sword's expression was complex. He wanted to say something, but in the face of Chen Yuan's presence, he couldn't get any words out.

"Senior Heavenly Sword, I'm taking this child with me."

Chen Yuan's tone was flat but brooked no argument.

"Also, you'd better deal with those Upper Realm people in the Thunder Pool. Once I'm gone, if they happen to escape, you won't be able to handle it."

Elder Heavenly Sword opened his mouth but ultimately just sighed.

"...You may go."

Chen Yuan flew out of the Heavenly Sword Dao Palace while holding Guan Qingqing.

The sky of the Spirit Ruins Realm was a hazy gray, and the wind blew from the east, carrying a hint of chill.

Guan Qingqing leaned on Chen Yuan's shoulder, curiously taking in everything around her.

"Where are we going?"

"First, back to the Giant Flood Dragon Clan Secret Realm, and then to a very far place."

"How far is 'very far'?"

"Farther than you can imagine."

Chen Yuan looked down at Guan Qingqing.

In the simulation, this girl had followed him for several years, and eventually, her Formation Spirit awakened and saved his life in the Void Spirit Abyss.

In reality, they had only just met.

"Follow me from now on and don't go running off anywhere. If someone comes looking for you, no matter what they say or what they offer, do not go with them. Do you hear me?"

Guan Qingqing nodded obediently.

Chen Yuan's flying speed increased as he headed toward the Giant Flood Dragon Clan Secret Realm.

There were many things to do next.

Arrange matters in the Spirit Ruins Realm, contact Zhao Shuyue and Daoist Lan Hai, bring Yang Cong along, and then find the ascension passage.

His gaze pierced through the gray vault of heaven, looking toward a higher place.

The Upper Realm.

He was coming.