Chapter 422 421: Breaking the Formation

Mu Lin traveled west and soon arrived near Cyan Void Mountain.

The scenery here was beautiful and lush. It was hard to imagine Qiao Canhua calling this a godforsaken place.

It was truly hard to imagine why anyone would feel that way about such a wonderful spot.

After a short while, Mu Lin ventured a little deeper into Cyan Void Mountain.

That's when he felt something was different.

There was a high-level concealment Array here that gathered all of Cyan Void Mountain's Spiritual Qi. From the outside, it actually made the area seem lifeless and dead.

It was a testament to the Array Master's incredible skill. However, Mu Lin had already cultivated a Yin Spirit, so an Array like this was no obstacle for him at all.

He was completely unfazed.

He observed it for a moment, then shook his head. 'The Array's layout is decent, but it's still too amateurish. If it were better integrated with the mountain's terrain and aligned with the flow of the earth's ley lines, it would be perfect. I guarantee even the mountain rats would be scared enough to pack up and move overnight.'

'But I can't be too forceful,' Mu Lin mused. The old man hadn't taught him much about this, so he decided to put aside the thought of adjusting the Array for now.

Right now, he needed to focus on how to break the Array. If this Array was broken, countless opportunities would present themselves.

Qiao Canhua's dream of turning Cyan Void Mountain into a scenic area might actually have a chance.

But breaking the Array would be a hassle and take a lot of time. Rescuing Xu Jishan was more important.

He would think about breaking the Array after he rescued Xu Jishan.

Meanwhile, in an elegant villa nestled in the mountains, Elder Deng was meditating with his eyes closed. An incense burner by his side emitted a fresh, clean fragrance.

His butler stood nearby, reporting, "Sir, the Master says Mu Lin has already reached the borders of Cyan Void Mountain!"

"So Elder Jue failed..." Elder Deng let out a long sigh, his voice filled with sorrow. "Elder Jue followed me through thick and thin. Half the credit for what I have today belongs to him. To think he would die at Mu Lin's hands. That man is evil to the core. We absolutely cannot let him live any longer."

"We must take him down today. Otherwise, how can I appease Elder Jue's heroic spirit?"

As he finished speaking, several figures appeared by his side.

Elder Deng glanced at one of them. "Master Xiang, Mu Lin is rotten to the core. He desperately needs someone to teach him a lesson. Can I entrust this important task to you?"

Master Xiang, dressed in light green robes, spoke slowly. "He's still on the fringe of the Array and hasn't felt anything yet. Once he enters the core of the formation, he'll find the flow of his energy starts to collapse. I'm afraid he won't be able to sustain his formidable strength."

"At that point, we can use countless methods to deal with him, and he'll be completely helpless."

"We can certainly help you avenge Elder Jue."

Elder Deng was very satisfied with Master Xiang's words. This Master Xiang was an Array Master whom Elder Deng had gone to great lengths to recruit.

"Master Xiang, I naturally have faith in your formation. But Mu Lin has a strange background; he might notice something is off. We should still set up more measures to ensure he steps into the trap!"

"Haha," Master Xiang said. "Elder Deng, you can rest assured. Right now, there's a trap every few steps in these mountains. I guarantee his every move will be fraught with peril. He'll find it difficult to even move."

Hearing this, Elder Deng truly felt relieved. He really trusted Master Xiang's skills; after all, no one was more reliable than Master Xiang.

The other three men radiated a baleful aura, and their very movements hinted at deadly efficiency.

One of them held a long saber, his eyes fierce and his murderous aura overwhelming.

His name was Zhang Chongbei, captain of the Military Suppression Bureau's 10th team and Shi Qian Dong's superior.

The other two were also Grandmasters of immense power. Like Zhang Chongbei, they specialized in aggressive, deadly combat. An ordinary Martial Artist, even another Grandmaster, would be left without a complete corpse if struck by them.

What then of Mu Lin, suppressed by the Array to the level of a mere Grandmaster?

Master Xiang suddenly exclaimed, "Elder Deng, Mu Lin actually broke the core of the main Array!"

Elder Deng frowned. "Doesn't that spell trouble?"

But Master Xiang just chuckled. "Don't panic, Elder Deng. It's a good thing he found it! I set the first trap near the concealment Array. Since he broke it, that means he has already entered the range of my first major Array. He's fallen for the bait in a big way!"

Elder Deng was a bit confused. "Really? Then isn't that a good thing?"

"Of course it's a good thing! Besides, the cores for all the traps I've laid this time are on my person. No matter what Mu Lin does inside the Array, he'll never be able to find a way to break it!"

"And with three top-tier Grandmasters here to attack a single Grandmaster, it's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Victory is all but guaranteed!"

Elder Deng's eyes lit up. "Excellent!"

Zhang Chongbei's eyes glinted with murderous excitement. "If he dares to come, I'll make sure he dies without a burial place! I'll grind his bones to dust, ensuring he never rises again."

Zhang Chongbei was about to add more threats, but Master Xiang held up a hand and took out a few sheets of talisman paper, handing them over.

"Mu Lin is getting close. Quickly, take this talisman paper and enter the Array. It will exempt you from the effects of its suppressive power."

Zhang Chongbei snatched a talisman and put it on. "Thank you, Master Xiang. Now we have nothing to worry about. Just wait for us to bring back Mu Lin's corpse!"

With that, the three Grandmasters transformed into streaks of light and plunged into the heart of the chaos.

Just then, Mu Lin arrived in front of a courtyard and felt the obscure fluctuations of an Array.

He frowned slightly. This Array was quite formidable, truly integrated with its surroundings, a harmony of conflicting and complementary forces. Even his Yin Spirit hadn't detected anything amiss.

When he tried to retreat, he found that obscure feeling followed him like a shadow, giving him no chance to escape.

How could Mu Lin not know? He had definitely fallen into a trap.

'This is bad. I've definitely been ambushed.'

He thought it over and over. He had probably fallen for it the moment he broke the concealment Array's core.

It was just that when the concealment Array had first dispersed, it created a false sense of relaxation. This illusion had masked the unique aura of the trap.

Now that he had been walking for a while, his senses had adapted, and he finally noticed something was wrong.

He could feel the circulation of his True Qi slowing down dramatically, as if it had suddenly turned thick and viscous.

This feeling was truly awful—

Mu Lin frowned slightly. 'They're pretty good. This method of restricting one's strength is very clever. It means this person is an expert.'

'Right now, I can still exert the strength of the Peak of Grandmaster, but that's not good enough. This is probably going to be bad.'

Elder Deng had experts as numerous as clouds. A mere Peak of Grandmaster was likely considered second-rate among his forces.

To target him, Elder Deng had clearly planned extensively. Even going after his friends' companies was all a ploy to lure Mu Lin into coming after him alone.

Because Elder Deng must have known that Mu Lin was a person who valued relationships and wouldn't easily forgive someone who targeted his friends.

So now, he had turned this trait against him, using it to lure him into a trap. And sure enough, Mu Lin had fallen for it.

Moreover, Elder Deng placed extraordinary importance on dealing with him, going so far as to find an Array Master to set up such an exquisite Array in the mountains.

Mu Lin felt truly honored. 'Goodness knows how fortunate I must be to deserve this level of special attention.'

At the same time, Mu Lin saw three people step into the Array's range.

But Mu Lin didn't sense that obscure feeling from them. Clearly, they weren't being suppressed by the Array.

This suppression was either personally tailored for him, or they were carrying something that exempted them from the Array's effects.

Mu Lin guessed the latter was more likely. After all, creating a precisely tailored, personal Array was an incredibly difficult task.

It was much easier to create a wide-area effect and then grant exemptions to allies.

Mu Lin glanced at the Grandmasters, first surprised, then breaking into a self-deprecating smile.

'Three Grandmasters to deal with just me. I'm really blessed, aren't I?'

'An Array and Grandmasters... Elder Deng must have spent a fortune to kill me! What have I, Mu Lin, done to deserve such service?!'

'If this were the Mu Lin who had just come down the mountain with no improvements, they probably would have finished me off in minutes.'

After all, they were three Grandmasters. They crushed him in numbers alone.

Not to mention, there were other variables at play.