The Palace of Supreme Wisdom was both a real palace from the ancient times and an array formation. No one really knew how old it was, but it had probably been erected way before the enslavement of mankind by the demon race. As such, it dated from the Legendary Era. From that era, almost nothing remained but ruins. Even the language spoken at that time was unknown. Many historians postulated that some traces of the first languages might still be present in the current Nuhua. However, even by comparing the Nuhua, both recent and ancient, with the Primitive Nuhua or even the Moshenhua, the language of the demons, it was impossible to reconstruct the languages spoken before.
The most likely hypothesis was that humans were speaking several different languages but the demons had subdued the entire species and had forced their own language on them all.
Because of all that mystery, it was impossible to know anything about that period at all. But many assumed that cultivation had been superior than during the current era while being inferior to the cultivation of the demons themselves. There were other hypotheses and historians often argued among themselves. Most likely, the civilization or civilizations prior to the enslavement had still been in the process of discovering the complete way to immortality. However, they had achieved great things in various domains. As such, there were relics that had been studied even during the Founding Era or the Seven Treaties Era that no one could replicate.
Some of the knowledge of that time had been lost forever. And this was also the case for the array formations of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Even the demons had studied them without being able to pierce all their secrets. However, they had been able to understand enough to manipulate this palace and even use it for their own purposes.
When the demonic cultivators had found documents belonging to the demons who had enslaved humanity, they had also found ways to manipulate the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. And now, the time had come to put them to use. Within the palace was something they needed, something that was related to a terrible secret buried under the Wubei Sect that even Sect Leader Xuan could not fully suspect. Once the secret was unearthed, all would kneel before the Demon King.
Mo Zi was standing in a remote region with nineteen others. All were Mortal Warriors and all were under twenty-two. No matter how much they could manipulate the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, they could not circumvent its fundamental rules. There had to be a way for its creators to get within, but even the demons had failed to discover it. But that also meant that this place was a perfect place to hide treasures. Indeed, it was easy to protect something from the hands of children and young men. Even in the old times, no one could become a Spirit Warrior at the age of twenty-two. No one knew why that limit had been chosen though.
In the Hongchen Kingdom, a boy was considered an adult when he turned twenty. Maybe the adult age had been different back then, or maybe there were different symbolic ages. Anyway, that was the limit of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. And all had to abide by that rule. Thus, the demonic cultivators had chosen their best disciples who were both under twenty-two and Mortal Warriors.
This mission was maybe the most important one but it wouldn't take long. They had to infiltrate the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, somehow get to the real palace within and get the key out. Without this key component, nothing else could go on. And Mo Zi was in charge of the mission. With his 108 blood runes, he had the strength of a 5th-grade Mortal Warrior. Right now, he was the strongest of the group and he was also an array formation master.
Finally, Mo Zi activated the array formation he was in. It had been set up by his own master, Mo Tian. During the previous year, Mo Zi had implanted special crafted tools inside the Palace of Supreme Wisdom that would act as a form of anchor. And with this array formation, they would get transported directly to them. However, they had no way of knowing where they would arrive. Most likely, they would appear within the test of some unfortunate disciple. Hopefully, they would not appear right under Cao Yun's nose, but this was a risk that was worth taking. After all, even Cao Yun could not take twenty Mortal Warriors alone.
Besides, they knew techniques from the era of the demons. Some of those techniques had been lost to time and no one was ready for them.
When the array formation got activated, a membrane of light appeared on the ground. There were rocks and trees around and this membrane spread as though it was the web of a spider. Then, it began to rise chaotically, as if it was a tide rising high. Before long, the entire group was engulfed in the light and disappeared completely. All of their senses failed them. They were unable to even feel their own body. Any indication of up, down, left or right disappeared and they felt as though they were leaves caught inside a hurricane.
But suddenly, something even more violent happened. Mo Zi felt that the array formation had been disrupted and it was rapidly falling apart. If he did not act, not only would they not reach their destination, they might even suffer a terrible backlash. This array formation was dealing with space and Mo Zi had no real idea of what would happen if it were to stop in the middle of their transport. Maybe they would find themselves back from whence they came, or somewhere along the way. Or they could simply just be crushed by space itself. Thus, he acted as fast as possible and he tried to salvage this array formation.
Unfortunately, he wasn't an expert in space and this array formation was a 5-star Heaven one, almost a 1-star Spirit one. Even his master had spent several decades working on this single array formation to finally be able to set it up. Mo Zi could not simply improvise something on the spur of the moment. However, he had to do something anyway, or die. With all his efforts, the array formation was able to endure long enough to complete the transport.
But when the demonic cultivators opened their eyes, they were not twenty. In fact, Mo Zi was alone with one of his sisters.
"What happened?!"
Panicked, the young woman asked her brother who was the specialist in array formations.
"Our array formation almost collapsed when it pierced through the veil of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. We knew the risks, after all... But we've reached our destination nonetheless."
"And the others? Are they all...?"
"No! We've just been separated! Most likely, we've all been sent into several realms within the Palace of Supreme Wisdom."
"But, with just the two of us, we won't be able to..."
"I know! We at least need to find some others to open the way to the true palace! Let me think!"
"Wait, Brother. If we're inside one of the realms of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, shouldn't there be a Wubei disciple with us?"
Hearing his sister's remark, Mo Zi immediately looked around. The only thing he saw was the strange building on which the bow taken by Sun Liao used to be. But there was no one anywhere. However, it was clear that the test of this place was related to this rocky thing. Looking even more clearly, Mo Zi was able to sense something but he wasn't completely sure.
-
On the other hand, Sun Liao was able to distinctively see Mo Zi and his sister. As much as he couldn't recognize the woman, he had recognized Mo Zi instantly. But he knew him as Meng Hanyi. Two years ago, when he had investigated what had happened in the Wubei Sect, he had found two suspicious individuals, Lü Bai and Meng Hanyi. The former had died and thus the latter had seemed innocent. Clearly, he wasn't.
In fact, now that he thought about this, Lü Bai had died when there had been an illusion array activated. Maybe they had orchestrated his death. It was not impossible that Lü Bai had been innocent and Meng Hanyi the true culprit. But such a thing would have been seen through by his master. If that were true, it would mean that either his master was the demonic cultivator infiltrated in the sect, or that someone even better than him in array formations was. Both hypotheses seemed ludicrous to Sun Liao.
That being said, he had no time to lose. If they discovered him, everything would be over. He had to try out the only method he had been able to think of to survive. Usually, the only way to leave a realm was to succeed the test. And only the one who had a Supreme emblem would be transported. If Sun Liao was right, everything and everyone else within the realm would be crushed when the realm itself would collapse.
Even the Palace of Supreme Wisdom could not maintain hundreds of realms. As such, it would simply destroy them to create new ones each time it was necessary.
Thankfully, Sun Liao knew how to succeed the test that was in front of him. But he was running low on time and he only had three arrows left. Besides, Mo Zi had finally figured out what was going on. From his spatial ring, he took out a compass and began to decipher the world around him. More than the presence of an array formation, Mo Zi had also guessed who was with him.
"Brother Sun, there is no need to fear us. Instead of dying in here, you could still join us. I am certain that our master would be delighted to have you among us. You should think about it, Brother. If I break down your array formation before you answer, my proposal will be retracted."
-
In another realm, Cao Yun had finally solved the problem of the jungle around him. He now knew exactly which pills he had to refine to succeed this test. As he was working on the very first pill, his attention was distracted. This single instant of distraction almost caused his cauldron to explode. Thankfully, Cao Yun's mind was stronger than that and very quickly, he regained full control over the cauldron. But the time for alchemy was over. Instead of pursuing the refinement process, he stopped.
Both the furnace and the cauldron were absorbed in a blue light. Cao Yun extended his Qi over them and focused on the spatial ring. Then, they both went back in his ring with the ingredients he had already prepared.
That disturbance was not something small. Although it was rather far, Cao Yun had clearly felt the presence of human beings. If someone had suddenly appeared within his own realm, that could only mean one thing. The demonic cultivators had put their plan into action. Thus, he had to act as well.
Without waiting a second more, Cao Yun circulated 'Ashen Feather Seal'. Thanks to his new blood cultivation, Cao Yun had been able to push this stealth art even further than before. Sadly, he wasn't at the level of Huang Liyue where she could literally become invisible in the eyes of others. But thanks to this jungle, he had many places to hide. Unless there was a Spirit Warrior in that group, they had absolutely no chance of finding him if he didn't want to be found. And for now, he didn't!
Stealthily, Cao Yun got as close as possible to the disturbance he had felt.
There were three young men who were clearly disorientated. Just by looking at their faces, Cao Yun knew they were demonic cultivators, for the simple reason that he had never seen them in the Wubei Sect. Outsiders could never get inside the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Thus, someone had helped them. But he had an even better way to know. As a Mortal Warrior, he could now feel Qi all around him. But that was not all. Although he had no spiritual senses, he had the Drop of Wrath. And it was especially sensitive to Evil Qi. Each one of those three men had traces of Evil Qi in them.
Not only had they practiced some demonic method, Cao Yun was clearly able to feel several seals in each one of their Dantian. The strongest of the men was a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior and the other two were 2nd-grade Mortal Warriors. Right now, Cao Yun had almost no doubt he could kill them. The only problem was that he wanted to learn as much as possible from the trio. If he attacked right away, their seals would be a problem. Usually, before a demonic cultivator could talk, the seals within him would destroy him, all the way to his very soul, just to be sure no secret was spilled.
For some time, Cao Yun had had some ideas about those seals, but he wasn't completely sure of himself. For now, he would try to listen to them. Maybe they would reveal some crucial information if they thought they were alone.
After the three young men got their heads straight, they started to talk among themselves. The two weaker ones were clearly afraid. But they were afraid that they would fail and of what their master would do to them. However, their conversation was just too vague to get anything out of it. Cao Yun just understood that they had used an array formation made by Mo Zi to get inside and that they were looking for something. Right now, they had no idea what to do but wait for this Mo Zi.
As he was still pondering on how he should handle the situation, Cao Yun got surprised.
The 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior had been meditating for a few minutes when he stood up. Then, he shouted as loudly as he could.
"Are you going to spy on us all day long?! Get out!"
Could he have found him out?! Impossible! Cao Yun was certain that only a Spirit Warrior could discover his presence... Yet an early Mortal Warrior had?
But if he had been discovered, he had to act now! Unlike his previous self, he was not hesitant anymore!
Abandoning 'Ashen Feather Seal', Cao Yun took out his spear and leapt in front of the trio, weapon in hand.