Chapter 570: Secretly Altering the Formation

"Yes, yes, thank you, Brother Xiong! Thank you, Brother Xiong!" The skinny Martial Artist's face darkened. 'Welcome ten thousand guests? Would I even be human after that?'

「At the bottom of the lake.」

Ye Xuan sped toward Lake Heart Island. He suffused his body with Profound Power, forming a transparent shield of light as he steadily approached the island.

'Since all these places have Martial King experts standing guard, my only option is to find the simplest and most convenient point of entry. On the surface, Lake Heart Island appears impossible to approach, surrounded by open space. In reality, the underwater route is the most clandestine.'

However, just as he was about to reach Lake Heart Island, Ye Xuan discovered an invisible barrier of Profound Power ahead, sealing off the island.

A few fish swam past this Profound Power, instantly creating faint ripples. Even a shrimp the size of a strand of hair would be detected by this invisible Profound Power.

'A sixth-level Light Bending Array?'

Ye Xuan's brow furrowed. 'Just as I expected. If I could think of this method, the people from the Profound Mystery Sect could too. That's why they set up an Array like this.'

This sixth-level Light Bending Array was a detection-type Array. It had no offensive power but could detect anything that passed through it. The moment it detected a human Martial Artist, it would immediately sound an alarm.

A sneer appeared on Ye Xuan's face. 'A mere sixth-level Array thinks it can detect me?'

He formed a Hand Skill, and the Profound Power around his body began to twist, creating a flowing vortex. As his body passed through the barrier of Profound Power, he surprisingly didn't trigger any ripples.

If a powerful expert were to look closely, they would discover that Ye Xuan's body was currently like a black hole. The Profound Power radiated by the Light Bending Array was instantly absorbed upon contact, with not a single trace being reflected. Naturally, he went undetected.

After passing through several more barriers of Profound Power, Ye Xuan finally cleared the range of the Light Bending Array and arrived at the base of Lake Heart Island.

WHOOSH!

It was now late at night. His black Devouring Martial Soul spread out, melting into the darkness, making it completely imperceptible.

The entire Lake Heart Island was only a few miles in circumference. Two Tier Seven First Layer Martial Kings from the Nine Yang Sect were sitting lazily in a stone pavilion. One of them periodically scanned the surroundings with his Profound Sense.

"Relax. There's a sixth-level Light Bending Array around Lake Heart Island. Even a bug flying in would be detected. We just need to watch the Compass in our hands. No need to constantly scan with our Profound Sense. Nothing's going to happen," one of the Martial Kings said with a yawn.

"You have a point." The other man thought he made sense and immediately withdrew his Profound Sense.

Just then, a SPLASH suddenly came from the lake.

"What was that?"

The two shot to their feet and looked toward the center of the lake, where they saw faint ripples spreading across the surface.

They hastily picked up the Compass and looked, but there was no reaction from it at all.

The two exchanged a glance, suspicion immediately filling their eyes. They quickly flew to a spot above the lake's surface and extended their powerful Profound Sense into the water.

In the instant they left, a jet-black shadow suddenly appeared in the stone pavilion. It pressed a switch on the side of the pavilion, and with a CLICK-CLACK, a dark opening appeared. After the black figure rushed inside, the entrance quickly closed again.

Above the lake, the two men searched for a long time but found nothing unusual. Only then did they return to the stone pavilion.

At the bottom of the lake, Ye Xuan, having barely dodged the two men's Profound Sense scans, once again merged his consciousness with his Devouring Martial Soul.

Beneath the stone pavilion, there was a huge secret chamber. All sorts of Array Patterns were engraved everywhere, shimmering with mysterious and complex lines.

'It really is the Seven Star Earth Element Array.'

Ye Xuan focused all his attention on his Devouring Martial Soul and began to observe the various Array Patterns in the secret chamber.

'The Array is formless, shift the Li Palace, turn the Nine Pivots... This Array Base should be Alkaid of the Seven-Stars…'

A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Ye Xuan's face.

In the Seven Star Earth Element Array, every single Array Base was a crucial point that absolutely could not have any mistakes.

Among the Seven-Stars Array Bases, the base for each star had its own function. Some were for control, some for slaughter, some for energy, and others for defense. This Alkaid Array Base was primarily for slaughter.

Ye Xuan's original goal for this trip was to alter the Array Patterns inside, creating a flaw in the entire Seven Star Earth Element Array so he would have a chance to escape when it was activated.

'I can't believe that of all the options, I picked the Array Base that controls slaughter. As long as I can break this Array Base and take control of it for my own use, I won't have to worry too much even if I get trapped.'

Immediately, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged, a sharp light in his eyes. He swiftly began to sort through the Alkaid Array Base's formation, poring over every talisman and every Array Pattern, carefully analyzing the structure of its array pathways.

'The Seven Star Earth Element Array is merely a Seventh-level Array. I've seen it in my past life. Modifying it and making it my own is actually very simple. But since this Array Base was set up by the Profound Mystery Sect, they might re-inspect it just in case. My modifications must be extremely subtle, almost imperceptible, to avoid arousing their suspicion.'

A light flickered between Ye Xuan's brows as his mind worked furiously, running through deductions. For him, this was no simple task.

After an unknown amount of time, a jolt went through him as a series of patterns appeared clearly in his mind.

'I've got it.'

An Array Pattern pen and several mid-grade Profound Stones had appeared in the Devouring Martial Soul's hands at some point. It then strode forward and began to alter the Array Patterns.

The Devouring Martial Soul itself was formed from martial soul power, an energy-based substance, and could enter the secret chamber from anywhere. The reason Ye Xuan had lured the two men away earlier was to allow the Devouring Martial Soul to bring the Array Pattern pen and mid-grade Profound Stones inside.

This was because modifying the Array Patterns required these two items.

The Array Pattern pen was used to inscribe Array Patterns, and the raw material for inscribing them had to be Profound Power. The Devouring Martial Soul was a martial soul and did not possess Profound Power on its own. The mid-grade Profound Stones were to provide it with Profound Power support.

Under Ye Xuan's control, the originally fixed Array Patterns seemed to come to life. Esoteric scripts flowed along them continuously, emitting a dense aura.

The changes Ye Xuan made were all extremely subtle. Furthermore, during the modification process, he used a few illusionary tricks from array theory. He believed that even the original creator of this Array Base wouldn't necessarily be able to spot the differences.

Just as Ye Xuan was controlling his Devouring Martial Soul and carefully modifying the Array Base...

WHOOSH WHOOSH!

Two streaks of light suddenly shot across the sky above the lake and landed swiftly on Lake Heart Island.

"Who's there?"

The two Martial Artists guarding the Array Base immediately shouted.

"It is us."

After the two streaks of light landed, the leader spoke in a deep voice. It was surprisingly the Vice Sect Master of the Nine Yang Sect, Yan Song.

"So it is Lord Yan Song." The two guards immediately bowed respectfully.

Yan Song said coldly, "Has anything unusual happened here recently?"

This afternoon, people from the Profound Mystery Sect had secretly contacted him and told him what had happened at the imperial palace. They had asked him to send people to inspect all the Array Bases. Yan Song immediately set out without stopping, inspecting the Array Bases one by one.

"Reporting to you, Lord, there has been nothing unusual."

Yan Song nodded. "Good."

He turned and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped. "I remember the Array Base is supposed to be under this stone pavilion, right? Open the entrance. This old man will go down and take a look."

"Yes." The two guarding Martial Kings opened the passage without any hesitation.

Yan Song descended the stairs and arrived in the secret chamber.

The entire secret chamber was silent, just as it always was.

Yan Song scanned the area with his powerful Profound Sense but found nothing out of place.

Inside the stone wall of the secret chamber, Ye Xuan's Devouring Martial Soul hid carefully. His heart was in his throat. Yan Song had come down just as he'd finished modifying the final Array Pattern, before he had a chance to leave.

In his haste, he had no choice but to hide inside the rock wall.

Yan Song's Profound Sense swept over Ye Xuan. He held his breath, his focus absolute, his body tense. If he were discovered, all his previous efforts would have been for nothing.

Fortunately, the secret chamber was filled with the aura of Profound Power and the fluctuations of Array Patterns, so Yan Song didn't notice anything amiss.

Yan Song finished his inspection and looked at the middle-aged man who had come with him.

This person was an Array Master from the Nine Yang Sect. He carefully inspected the Array Patterns, then nodded at Yan Song, indicating that everything was safe and sound.

Yan Song nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed something in a corner. He picked it up and saw that it was an Array Pattern pen.

'This is bad.' Ye Xuan's heart jumped. That was the Array Pattern pen he had just left behind.

Yan Song's gaze fell sharply on the two guards. He asked in a cold voice, "Where did this Array Pattern pen come from?"

The two guarding Martial Kings were stunned for a moment before replying, "Lord, we have been on guard duty here and have never come inside. We don't know."

The middle-aged man at his side took the Array Pattern pen and examined it closely. As he looked, his eyes suddenly lit up. He then said in a deep voice, "Vice Sect Master Yan, this Array Pattern pen is a work of Master Tuzuo from back in the day. Could it be that those Array Pattern Masters from the Profound Mystery Sect accidentally left it behind when they were constructing the array?"

Master Tuzuo was an Array Pattern Master from the Dream Realm Plain a thousand years ago. His attainments in the dao of arrays were heaven-defying, and the Array Pattern pens he crafted were always masterpieces. It's just that they rarely appear on the market anymore.

Ye Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. 'As long as they don't suspect me, it's fine.'

Yan Song said with dissatisfaction, "Those guys from the Profound Mystery Sect are so scatterbrained. Give it to me. I'll return it to the Profound Mystery Sect later."

Ye Xuan's heart jumped into his throat again. That Array Pattern pen had been a gift from Master Lu Li back when he was in the Sky Empire.

The Devouring Martial Soul could slip into the stone wall, but the Array Pattern pen couldn't, so it had been left behind. As for the mid-grade Profound Stones, he had already used them all up, so none were left.

Once Yan Song handed this pen to the Profound Mystery Sect, given the shrewdness of that old man in the imperial palace, there was no telling what he might discover. If that happened, wouldn't all his efforts be for nothing?

In an instant, Ye Xuan's heart tensed up.