Chapter 175

Chapter 175: The Ideal Body as a Compass

“Closer!” Li Hui’s face lit up with joy as he maneuvered around an inconspicuous rock. His view suddenly expanded, and he saw a deep purple fortress standing majestically three hundred zhang away.

The fortress occupied an expansive area and, as he approached, he noticed a chasm resembling a moat, with only a narrow stone bridge leading to the main gate.

“Ah, there really is a purple fortress?” Chef Zhao exclaimed in shock, then, feeling embarrassed, added, “Boss, I’m really useless. I can’t help at all by being beside you. There must be countless dangers here; just put me and Qiniang in the bag of treasures!”

“No, not yet,” Li Hui shook his head, offering no further explanation.

The reason he brought them was that he needed their help to hold the ritual artifacts or treasures when he found them. If there were indeed magical treasures, having a couple wouldn’t be an issue, but if there were too many, the silver snake bracelet would amplify them haphazardly, damaging the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays. Furthermore, he needed to stockpile ritual artifacts to avoid wasting resources when enhancing the success rate for creating talismans.

Next, the three stepped onto the stone bridge, where ancient array maps materialized on both sides. Some were as small as scrolls while others were as large as drapes. Walking across the bridge felt like wandering through an art gallery, but instead of admiring paintings, they grasped the profound meanings of the array maps.

After glancing at a few, Li Hui quickened his pace. Formations weren’t his specialty; as long as he could elevate his Ideal Body, he could break numerous arrays with a single technique. Rather than wasting time here, it was better to enter the purple fortress and experience it for himself. Also, with someone pursuing him, he couldn’t afford to dawdle observing the array maps.

When he was ten paces away from the fortress gate, a hoarse voice suddenly pierced through, “Anyone who is not a disciple of this sect that enters the purple fortress will suffer the agony of violent winds tearing the body, the pain of being pulled apart by five horses, the torture of burning in a cauldron, and even after death, your soul will be whipped until it flees in terror.”

Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang froze suddenly, their faces distorted. Moments later, they rolled their eyes, foaming at the mouth, with burns appearing all over their bodies and many spots on their skin splitting open and bleeding.

“Is this the Devilish Sound that torments the soul?” Li Hui quickly took action, striking the back of Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang’s heads, knocking them unconscious. The burns and cracks on their bodies vanished in an instant, but their faces turned pale, looking as if they hadn’t drawn breath for several days, a frightening sight.

“Anyone who is not a disciple of this sect that enters the purple fortress will be consumed by the Drought Poison Fire, crushed by falling rocks from the heavens, devoured by the Fractal Demonic Ants…” The hoarse voice resounded again, bringing forth a wave of agonizing feelings.

“Stop!” Unbeknownst to them, behind Li Hui stood a six-armed Arhat, roaring like a fierce Vajra.

The hoarse voice faltered, producing a “hiss hiss hiss” sound as if choked, and all feelings of pain receded like a retreating tide, even accompanied by trembling tones, seemingly in fear.

The Arhat was the epitome of ultimate goodness and ferocity; with it presiding over him, the inner demons’ sound could hardly disturb Li Hui. This little devilish sound was nothing more than a gentle breeze, disappearing in an instant.

Li Hui raised his arms, emitting golden light patterns, lifting Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang toward the gate. Before him, illusions flourished; at times, youthful maidens danced and sang, while at other moments, high-level practitioners rushed in a frenzy. The six-armed Arhat gently shook its arms, causing all the illusions to shatter and disperse.

Having passed through the soul tormenting sound array and the illusion array, the great gate ahead thunderously swung open, revealing a narrow opening.

“How interesting! I thought the fortress gate was open, assuming I wouldn’t encounter any obstacles, but it turns out this is an elusive trap.”

Stepping into the purple fortress, Li Hui’s body emitted a “clang clang” sound as numerous golden patterns emerged from his chest, back, limbs, and forehead, resembling intertwined ropes, causing the Spirit Motion Seventh Pattern to activate.

The rate of spiritual energy absorption quickly accelerated, but that was nothing; under the effects of the Heavenly and Earthly Arrays within him, the conversion of spiritual energy into his spiritual power was key. A magnificent iron Ideal Body suddenly floated behind him.

This iron Ideal Body had a graceful arc, resembling the Yin-Yang of Tai Chi. Although it appeared unstable, as if it might disperse at any moment, it emanated a peculiar magnetic force and began to swirl with electric arcs.

“Eh?” Li Hui’s heart leaped with joy as the Ideal Body not only solidified into shape but also began to function similarly to a compass, indicating specific directions within the grand array.

The compass, an ancient tool for guidance, was the oldest array disk, sensing things in the depths of fate, conjuring clear and vague paths in his mind.

“Good, good, good!”

“Surprisingly, the purple fortress extends deep underground. Right now, the Ideal Body senses twelve layers. There are several places worth investigating: the northwest corner of the second layer, the southeast corner of the fifth layer, the central area of the sixth layer, the central area of the eighth layer, and the southern underground cavern of the twelfth layer. Aside from these, every step holds lethal dangers, and with my cultivation level, entering means certain death.”

Having made a rough decision, Li Hui immediately headed to the second layer, swiftly maneuvering to avoid the lurking dangers. Many restrictions blazed with brilliant light, clearly harboring powerful treasures, but he didn’t even cast a glance.

Ritual artifacts and treasures might be incredibly important to other cultivators; to him, they were just fodder for the silver snake bracelet. If he weren’t short a few Nine Patterns monster-conjuring talismans, he wouldn’t even bother investigating the five locations the Ideal Body revealed; he would instead find a safe spot to hide, confident that with the magic of the Ideal Body, he could discover it.

With all seven patterns activated, golden patterns swirling, the effectiveness of the Ideal Body exceeded expectations, and he descended to the purple fortress’s second layer with hardly any effort. Suddenly, he halted.

“This place is…?”

Looking around, the vast hall was etched with ancient seal characters, filling the floor, walls, and ceiling with robust, powerful writing.

Guang Jin suddenly spoke up, “Ah! I know this hall; it is called Fuyi Hall, specifically used for divination. Its effectiveness depends on the brilliance of the Fuyi formation. It was immensely popular many years ago, but due to its association with strange matters, some sects resorted to harming countless souls for divination, which led to a crackdown, and many Fuyi Halls were destroyed, causing this path to gradually decline.”

“Fuyi Hall?” Li Hui scrutinized the surroundings; this location was very isolated and should have remained undisturbed for years, concealed by several maze-like arrays.

“Why don’t you give divination a try, Young Master? If it can still function, it should have gathered substantial array power, and whatever you wish for should come true.”

Hearing Guang Jin’s suggestion, Li Hui was quite tempted. The Ideal Body detected this place not because it was a Fuyi Hall but due to its high safety factor, and the possibility of obtaining something valuable. The other locations were similar.

“Right now, my greatest concern is to leave Wan Nest Island and whether the peach tree demon can successfully hatch and extend my life in the shortest time possible.”

“Good, let’s do some divination!”

“Given the formidable formations on Wan Nest Island and considering Fuyi Hall’s connection to arrays, it should indeed be impressive. I hope, as you said, that whatever is in my heart will not be unanswered,” Li Hui remarked as he stepped into the hall, immediately causing a deep purple light circle to appear beneath his feet. From this circle, twelve blue light bands radiated outward along the floor.