C9 Maze Illusion Array

Tonight, the Multicolored City was alive with tension, and sleep was a distant thought for its inhabitants.

Hundreds had encircled the Thousand Thunder Inn, while numerous cultivators indifferent to the Boiling Spring Universe Compass watched with keen interest from the shadows, anticipating the imminent clash that was set to rock the entire city.

Deep into the night, not a soul dared to venture even half a step into the Thousand Thunder Inn.

The air was thick with an odd anticipation. They were all waiting.

They knew the inn had sent away all its staff earlier that day, clearly indicating the presence of a Magic Array around its perimeter. The courtyard gate, walls, eaves, and columns all faintly glowed with the grey light of the Magic Array. Yet, the type of Magic Array and its lethality remained a mystery to them.

Hence, they all wished for someone else to brave the Magic Array first. The catch was, if everyone waited for someone else to make the first move, then no one would. And so, they all waited.

This included the one-eyed man, Sunn Liang, and others concealed among the crowd. The one-eyed man grumbled, "To hell with this, what's there to fear? To hell with it, I'm going to take down Qian Xiaoruo today."

But he made no move to step forward.

Soong Yuan and Hsiao Yan, disguised as two middle-aged men using the Shape Transforming Talisman, were also among the onlookers, positioned directly across from the entrance of the Thousand Thunder Inn.

"How advanced is your cultivation?" Soong Yuan whispered to Hsiao Yan.

"Quite advanced," Hsiao Yan replied serenely.

"The most powerful inside is Zhao Mingli," Soong Yuan said, nodding toward the inn. "How do you measure up against Zhao Mingli?"

"I am, of course, the stronger one," Hsiao Yan stated with undisturbed confidence.

"Hehe, excellent. With a formidable bodyguard like you at my side, what's there to fear?" Soong Yuan, no longer willing to wait, declared firmly, "Let's go in."

To the crowd's surprise, a man who appeared to have no cultivation at all approached the Thousand Thunder Inn with a composed demeanor. He opened the door and stepped inside.

Hsiao Yan followed closely behind.

Several minutes later, a second and third person, followed by many others, began to enter the Thousand Thunder Inn from various directions.

Yet, once inside, they all faced the same ordeal: corridor after corridor, an endless maze of passageways. They entered rooms, exited from the other end, and encountered more rooms in a seemingly infinite loop.

"This is the Maze Illusion Array," Hsiao Yan declared, halting in his tracks. "It's a cycle that will trap us here forever if we continue this way."

"What should we do?" Soong Yuan surveyed the surroundings, his voice steady.

"Break the spell with brute force."

With those words, Hsiao Yan summoned a magnificent sword that gleamed with golden light. The Golden Cauldron Sword was as wide as a palm and seven feet long. Gripping it with both hands, he let out a fierce cry and powerfully struck the wall opposite him.

The solid-looking wall began to waver and ripple like an illusion, becoming insubstantial. The other walls, doors, furniture, and columns around them also started undulating as if they were waves on the ocean.

Hsiao Yan struck again and again, infusing the Golden Cauldron Sword with a continuous stream of Vital Spirit. The sword radiated golden light, and each blow landed with the force of a thousand-pound hammer, smashing into the void...

Suddenly, clarity broke through.

Soong Yuan and Hsiao Yan found themselves in a courtyard, still enveloped by the dark night. Only the large house opposite them shone brightly. They realized they had broken through the array and reached the inner courtyard of the Thousand Thunder Inn.

"You two are impressive," Zhao Mingli said, nodding respectfully to Soong Yuan and Hsiao Yan. "You are the first to break through the formation and make it here."

Soong Yuan and Hsiao Yan paid him no mind, their attention captured by the large house opposite them.

The building was as grand as a hall, brightly lit from within, with doors and windows flung open. From outside, one could clearly see hundreds of white Crystal Plates floating in the air, drifting gently. They resembled ordinary dining plates, yet upon their polished surfaces were intricate patterns depicting mountains and rivers, resembling the Universe Compass.

Welcome to the Hundred-plate House. Within these walls, only one Crystal Plate is the true Universe Compass. You have the time it takes an incense stick to burn to find it. If you succeed, it's yours. If not, you must immediately leave the Thousand Thunder Inn and abandon any further fantasies." Zhao Mingli's voice rang out clearly, "If you desire it, we're willing to offer it, but it's up to you to prove you're capable of claiming it."

As cultivators continued to arrive in small groups, having broken through the Magic Array, they too heard Zhao Mingli's words and mulled them over in silence. "Could it be true? Is the Universe Compass really inside? Or is Qian Xiaoruo playing tricks on us with another Maze Illusion Array? The Maze Illusion Array isn't particularly dangerous; it's designed to bewilder and make one vanish. But could this seemingly tranquil Hundred-plate House be harboring lethal traps?"

"To enter or not to enter?" Hsiao Yan whispered to Soong Yuan. Over the past two days, Hsiao Yan had grown to rely on Soong Yuan for decisions.

"Enter," Soong Yuan stated with conviction.

He had secretly activated the Universe Crystal Ball, confirming that the genuine Universe Compass was indeed inside the Hundred-plate House.

While the others hesitated, Soong Yuan strode confidently forward, the first to approach the house.

"All the plates in this house now belong to the Blazing Fire Sect, and none but our sect's cultivators may enter!" a harsh and overbearing voice declared. The one-eyed man, Sunn Liang, with his twenty followers, had emerged from the Maze Illusion Array and made their presence known.

Soong Yuan paused, casting a glance at the one-eyed man before resuming his march toward the house. The Universe Compass was his to claim, and he wouldn't be deterred by a mere declaration.

Hsiao Yan stepped forward, placing himself squarely in the path of the one-eyed man and his group. His stance was unmistakable: anyone wishing to hinder Soong Yuan would have to contend with him first.

The others present were torn. They had all come in pursuit of the Universe Compass. Soong Yuan appeared certain he'd be the first to enter the house, and naturally, they didn't want him to succeed. While the one-eyed man's sudden intervention was a welcome obstacle to Soong Yuan, they were equally averse to the idea of the one-eyed man claiming all the Crystal Plates for himself.

At that moment, the onlookers had no desire to intervene. They simply stood by with the detached amusement of spectators at a play.

Just then, Zhao Mingli, an elder of the Thousand Thunder Sect and the owner of the house and Universe Compass, silently slipped away without uttering a single word.

"Damn it! You think you can stand against the Blazing Fire Sect? You're asking for trouble!" The one-eyed man glared venomously at Hsiao Yan, cursing under his breath as he brandished the Ghost Fire Blade.

Sunn Liang, with a slow flourish, opened his Samadhi True Fire Fan, his eyes dark and foreboding as they fixed on Hsiao Yan. Leaning in close to the one-eyed man, he whispered, "Second Brother, our true goal is the lovely Qian Xiaoruo. Why bother with a Universe Compass we don't even need?"

"Hehe, Third Brother, haven't you realized? The Universe Compass is a coveted item. Many would kill to have it," the one-eyed man murmured back. "Once we seize it, we can auction it right here. The highest bidder wins, and I bet we could easily fetch thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of Spirit Stones. Damn it, we'll nab the Universe Compass with one hand and rake in the Spirit Stones with the other. We can't pass up a chance for such easy profit."

"Indeed, Second Brother, you're brilliant," Sunn Liang said with a sly smile, his scholarly robes belying his cunning nature. "Our Blazing Fire Sect has the numbers here. Once we dispatch this obstacle, no one else will dare to challenge us, and the Universe Compass will be ours."

Without warning, they launched their assault.

The one-eyed man lunged forward, his blade slicing through the air. With a thunderous explosion, the blade light transformed into a ghastly, fearsome ghost head. Its jaws opened wide, spewing a stream of gray ghost flame straight at Hsiao Yan.

Sunn Liang, moving with agility, flanked from the side. The Samadhi True Fire Fan in his hand unleashed twin fire dragons, one deep red and the other icy white. The intense heat of the red flame and the biting cold of the white flame converged in a dual onslaught against Hsiao Yan.

Hsiao Yan drew his sword...