At the intersection of several towering mountains, there was a naturally formed small basin. Surrounding the basin were lofty peaks that pierced the clouds. Following the contours of the mountain paths, several roads converged from afar and ultimately led here.
This place marked the boundary between the inner and outer regions of the Northern Heavens Realm. Since no powerful spiritual beasts roamed nearby, it had gradually become a resting ground for the examinees.
As more people gathered, trade naturally emerged, and the resulting increase in popularity turned this area into a bustling hub. Across the spacious flatland in the basin, tents were sprawled out in every direction, and the flow of people gave the area an atmosphere that felt almost surreal.
"This is a temporary gathering point. From here, one can advance deeper into the Northern Heavens Realm, so many people pass through this area," An Ran explained lightly as she walked beside Liu Bai. Though she tried to make her tone less cold, it was not something that could change overnight.
"Also, this place serves as a trading ground. Many people sell the items they acquire here, such as various spiritual arts, spiritual beast essences, and even spiritual artifacts. Of course, to trade for something, one must offer a price that satisfies the other party."
An Ran had already visited this place on the first day. After all, among the nearly one hundred thousand examinees within the Northern Heavens Realm, not all of them were clueless like Liu Bai and others who had come from the Northern Spiritual Realm.
Many powerful factions or spiritual academies had already sent people into the Northern Heavens Realm in past examinations. As a result, many possessed substantial knowledge about all four of the Northern Heavens Realm.
This accumulation of intelligence gave newcomers an early advantage. The Northern Heavens Spirit Academy was well aware of this situation and tacitly permitted it.
Many who disliked or were not skilled in combat would seek out such places after entering the domain, choosing instead to wait for buyers to come to them. As long as they had valuable items, they didn't need to worry about their imprint level.
Liu Bai, having read the original work, was naturally aware of this. After all, wasn't the boy who traded the Dragon Elephant Spiritual Array to Mu Chen someone like that? He even went so far as to steal his father's Array diagram beforehand…
But Liu Bai didn't let any of this show on his face.
"By the way, although you can use Spiritual Coins here, the most valuable currency is still this…" She pointed to the golden imprint on her forehead and continued, "If you want to exchange for something, you have to offer spiritual energy from your imprint that satisfies the other party."
Liu Bai nodded in realization. "I see!"
"Also, this is a place where various kinds of information gather. If you're lucky, you might even hear about the whereabouts of a Heaven-class spiritual beast," An Ran added at the end.
Liu Bai simply nodded and didn't say anything more as the two of them entered the basin.
Walking through the trading area, Liu Bai noticed there were indeed many people present, but most were vendors selling goods. Few were actually engaged in transactions.
This was to be expected. After all, everyone had only been in the Northern Heavens Realm for a few days. Not many people had spare imprint spiritual energy to use for trading.
Unless someone already had a high imprint level and was confident they could continue raising it quickly, no one would be willing to trade so early. What if something unexpected happened later on? Would they just wait to be eliminated?
For this reason, when the crowd noticed Liu Bai and An Ran approaching, one with a violet-gold seven-grade imprint and the other with a golden five-grade imprint, many eyes immediately lit up. A major business opportunity had arrived.
"Hey there, young man. Freshly acquired Spirit-grade Low-level offensive art, Breaking Edge Eight Strikes. Powerful and easy to train, only costs grade-three imprint spiritual energy. Don't miss out!"
"Young man, check out this ultra-rare Spirit-grade Low-level movement art, Spiral Nine Shadows. Mysterious and ever-changing. Only grade-Four imprint spiritual energy. It's a blood-price clearance sale!"
"Low-tier spiritual artifact, Thunderflame Sword. When unleashed, lightning and fire strike together with overwhelming power. Only grade-five imprint spiritual energy!"
"…"
Seeing these vendors suddenly become so enthusiastic left Liu Bai momentarily stunned. He clearly hadn't expected such a scene.
Seeing this, An Ran, who seemed to have anticipated the reaction, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile. It seemed she quite enjoyed seeing this typically confident youth caught off guard.
"Among Spirit-grade Low-level techniques, offensive arts are the cheapest, followed by movement arts, and finally cultivation arts. As for spiritual artifacts, their prices are far higher."
Liu Bai couldn't help but sigh. From the vendors' attitudes, this was clearly evident. The boy selling the Thunderflame Sword was the calmest of all, looking like he was just going through the motions with an air of indifference.
Of course, that made sense.
Once everyone's imprint level increased, that Thunderflame Sword would undoubtedly be in high demand.
Unfortunately, while the Thunderflame Sword would certainly enhance his combat strength, it still wasn't enough for Liu Bai to challenge a Heaven-class spiritual beast. What he truly hoped to find was a powerful spiritual Array scroll.
Preferably a Rank-3 spiritual array, though that was nearly impossible to find among these examinees. Therefore, his true target was a top-level Rank-2 spiritual Array.
After browsing several stalls and failing to find anything suitable, Liu Bai grew a little disappointed.
In the end, he stopped searching altogether and instead raised his voice. "I need a Array diagram. At least Rank-2. Who has one?"
His shout caused a brief moment of silence before the entire area erupted.
"A Array diagram? And a Rank-2 one? Could this guy be a Rank-2 Spiritual Array Master?"
"So what if he is? Look at that violet-gold imprint on his forehead. To reach grade-Seven imprint level in such a short time, he's clearly no ordinary person!"
"Right, right. And look at the beautiful girl beside him. Definitely not a regular guy…"
In an instant, the two discussing voices turned to glare at a third person.
"We're having a serious conversation and you bring up girls…"
"Hey, you're not wrong though. That girl is gorgeous, and she's strong too. Just a bit cold."
"…"
Watching this group veer so far off-topic, Liu Bai was rendered speechless. Just as he was about to check elsewhere, a figure suddenly stepped into his path.
"You're looking for a Array diagram?"
A clear, crisp voice rang out beside him, and Liu Bai felt it sounded familiar.
Turning his head, he saw a familiar black training outfit, a well-shaped figure, and a seductive yet elegant face. Liu Bai blurted out instinctively, "Li Qing?"
Indeed, the girl who appeared was the same bear-slaying girl from before.
And Li Qing was clearly surprised to find that the one seeking a Array diagram was someone she had met once before.
"Your name is?"
"Liu Bai."
Only then did Liu Bai realize he hadn't even introduced himself.
Li Qing nodded. "Come. Let's talk somewhere quiet."
Clearly, unlike the others here trying to trade diagrams for imprint spiritual energy, Li Qing had other motives.
Liu Bai could tell as much. After all, she herself had a Grade-seven imprint, so there was no need for her to trade spiritual energy.
The three of them moved to a quiet corner. Liu Bai directly asked, "Miss Li Qing, do you have a Array diagram? May I ask how you wish to exchange it?"
Just as he finished speaking, the black-clad girl raised her hand and tossed him something.
With a wave of his palm, a green scroll appeared in Liu Bai's grasp.
"Ding. Discovered incomplete Rank-3 spiritual Array : Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array. Would you like to record it?"
Liu Bai's eyes twitched.
If he record it right away and then denied receiving it, wouldn't that be shameless?
"But… it's incomplete…"
"Record it!"
"Ding. Recording complete. Incomplete Array diagram detected. Spend 5000 experience to simulate and restore it?"
"What the hell?!"
Liu Bai's expression changed dramatically in shock.
As he noticed the surprised gazes of the two girls, he quickly changed his expression and went along with it. "You actually have a Rank-3 spiritual Array?"
As soon as the words "Rank-3 spiritual Array" were spoken, An Ran was also visibly shocked, though this time her gaze shifted directly to Li Qing.
"It's only an incomplete diagram. At most, it can exert the power of a Rank-2 Array. If you want it, you'll have to agree to a condition"
Li Qing said calmly.
Liu Bai frowned slightly. "Tell me your condition first."
Li Qing stared deeply at Liu Bai, slightly surprised by his composure. She couldn't help but wonder if her bargaining chip was too weak.
After taking a deep breath in secret, she finally spoke. "My condition is that you must agree to assist me once. Help me slay a Heaven-class spiritual beast."
Liu Bai was taken aback. Why did Heaven-class spiritual beasts suddenly seem so common? Had they become as abundant as cabbage in the Northern Heavens Realm?
Still, this wasn't a big problem.
"Alright, but I'll need a few days. The reason I'm seeking a Array diagram right now is also to deal with a spiritual beast. Let me finish my own task first, then I'll help you."
Li Qing thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. I still need to find a few others anyway. Let's meet here again three days from now. How about that?"
"Deal," Liu Bai agreed without hesitation.
Once the agreement was made, Li Qing simply turned and left.
This left Liu Bai somewhat speechless. Did this girl trust him too much? She had handed over such a valuable item based solely on a verbal promise. Wasn't she afraid he'd back out?
However, Liu Bai had no intention of going back on his word. He immediately turned to An Ran and said, "We'll rest here for the night. Tomorrow, we head to the underground cavern."
"Tomorrow? You've only just obtained the Array diagram. You think you can master it in just one night?" An Ran looked confused. This didn't match her understanding of how spiritual Array masters operated.
"Heh, no need to worry about that," Liu Bai chuckled without explaining. He then sat down cross-legged on his own.
An Ran: "…"
Time passed quickly, and night fell.
Liu Bai remained seated with his legs crossed. After studying the Array diagram briefly at first, he put it away.
"Ding. 5000 experience points consumed. Acquired complete Array Diagram: Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array."
A Rank-3 spiritual Array required 150 experience points to reach the entry level, 2000 for Minor Mastery, and 5000 for Greater Mastery. After spending 5000 experience to restore the formation, Liu Bai then used another 7150 points to level it up. Previously, he had gained nearly ten thousand experience points from slaying the Northern Golden Patter Seahawk, but he had spent 9000 of that to enhance the Mountain God Art. Now, he was left with fewer than 20,000 experience points.
"Looks like I'll really need to hunt a few more Heaven-class beasts to replenish."
A single Heaven-class beast could yield nearly ten thousand experience points. Because of the bonus from defeating creatures of a higher level, the experience gained from a Heaven-class beast was several times greater than that of a high-level spiritual beast. Although they were more difficult to hunt and less common, the rewards more than made up for it, so Liu Bai still hoped to hunt more of them.
After a moment of consideration, Liu Bai decided to raise his Scroll of Formations to the Minor Mastery level as well.
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Player: Liu Bai
Realm: Mid-Phase Divine Soul Realm
Profession: Spiritual Array Master (Rank-3)
Spiritual Pulse: Grade Three Earth Pulse (50/1000)
Constitution: Spirit-Skin Jade-Bone Physique
Cultivation Techniques:
Blazing Sun Art (Seventh Layer – 150/4500)
Hundred Scrolls of Array Dao · Volume 1(Minor Mastery ·Heart Array Mid-Tier 0/3000)
Low-grade Body Refining Deity Art · Frost Skin Jade Bone Art ( Greater Mastery – 200/30000)
Mountain God Art (Fourth Layer – 0/18000)
Skills:
Spirit-grade Low-level Star Shattering Fist · Shatter (Perfect)
Spirit-grade Low-level Blaze Step · Flame Phantom Body (Perfect)
Spirit-grade High-level Great Sun Burning Sea Palm (Minor Mastery – 0/1200)
Spirit-grade High-level Mountain-shaking Divine Fist (Minor Mastery– 0/1200)
Spiritual Array:
Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array (Greater Mastery)
Experience Points: 19580
Beast Soul Points: 92
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A Rank-3 Spiritual Array Master with Mid-level Heart Array State comprehension and mastery over the Demon Vine Strangulation Spiritual Array. Although this Array leaned more toward entrapment and killing tactics, and its rank was only average among Rank-3 Arrays, it was still enough proof that Liu Bai now had the qualifications to confront Heaven Fusion Realm opponents head-on.
With that, he now had more confidence in hunting Heaven-class beasts.
The night passed uneventfully. At dawn the next day, Liu Bai and An Ran had already made preparations and followed An Ran's lead toward the location of the underground cavern.
It was a desolate stretch of rocky wasteland. The entrance to the cavern lay within a massive canyon in the wasteland, and the cave mouth was over three meters tall, with smooth marks that clearly showed signs of wear.
Liu Bai could sense a terrifying aura dormant deep within the cave. It felt as if it could erupt like a volcano at any moment.
Taking a deep breath, even though he had already become a Rank-3 Spiritual Array Master, Liu Bai still couldn't help but feel a little tense.
After all, this was different from when they fought the Northern Golden pattern Seahawk. Back then, Zhou Fan had led hundreds of powerful cultivators to attack it. Liu Bai had merely waited on the sidelines to reap the rewards.
"Let's go. Be careful. That thing below won't be easy to handle," Liu Bai warned the girl beside him solemnly.
An Ran nodded silently. In truth, she was even more nervous than he was.
However, after fusing with a spiritual beast essence, her strength had increased rapidly, so she now had some confidence as well.
Very soon, the two ventured deeper inside. The surroundings gradually turned darker. A cold and foul-smelling aura kept drifting into their noses, causing both Liu Bai and An Ran to wrinkle their brows in discomfort.
This kind of cold and rotten stench was likely characteristic of serpent-type spiritual beasts. Snakes were inherently yin in nature. No matter what element they belonged to, their habitats always carried such qualities.
.....
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