Chapter 655: Array-Breaking Silver Needle

"There should be! Grandmaster Wu Yangzi is not only an artifact refiner but also said to be a master of body refinement!" Startled by his unexpected question, Luo Qiqi paused before answering.

"Then I'll go." Zhang Xuan smiled lightly and nodded in agreement.

Artifact refiners had high demands on their physical bodies; without sufficient strength, many weapons could not be forged. Therefore, every artifact refiner was essentially an expert in body refinement.

If he could obtain the cultivation technique of a six-star artifact refiner, it would be far better than searching within the Featherfall Empire.

"Great!"

Hearing her teacher agree, Luo Qiqi was filled with excitement.

Although she had not spent much time with this alchemy teacher, he gave her an unfathomable impression. With him going along, she would certainly feel much more at ease.

Having settled this, they called everyone over, and Princess Fei'er and the others approached.

"I lost the bet about the Cleansing Pool, but don't think you can push me around because of it!"

As soon as she arrived, Princess Fei'er gritted her teeth and looked at him. "I'll prepare the spirit stones, but I might have to give them to you after returning to the Hongyuan Empire!"

"Since the Cleansing Pool encountered an incident, I didn't win, and you didn't lose either... let's call it a draw!"

Seeing her like this, with no intention of reneging, Zhang Xuan chuckled.

He was the one who had collapsed the Cleansing Pool, and although he had compensated, it was still quite awkward.

Since the time wasn't up and an incident occurred midway, there was naturally no winner or loser.

"A draw?" Princess Fei'er was taken aback.

She had thought he would definitely seize the opportunity to extort her, making her continue as a maidservant, or mock her to embarrass her. Unexpectedly, he simply called it a draw.

Was he really... so generous?

"Of course. But if you're not convinced, we can continue betting. Whenever you're willing, I'm always game."

Zhang Xuan said.

Her mouth twitching, Princess Fei'er quickly shook her head. "No need..."

Just as she thought he was generous, he said that. It seemed it was all fake.

Always game... Do you think I'm stupid?

Having lost twice in a row, to the point of losing herself, if she continued betting, she would probably end up losing everything down to the last hair.

"Does anyone else want to bet with me?"

Seeing the woman so frightened, Zhang Xuan couldn't help shaking his head and looked at Xing Yuan and the others.

If no one bet, it meant losing a source of income. As he cultivated, his spirit stones would eventually run out.

"No betting..."

Xing Yuan and the others were startled simultaneously.

Betting with him almost always resulted in loss. Only a fool would risk their life like that.

"Sigh, I can't even lose if I want to."

Seeing that no one wanted to bet, Zhang Xuan couldn't help shaking his head.

Were these really the top students of the Master Teacher Academy?

They wouldn't even dare to bet—how weak was that!

If the others knew his thoughts, they would surely be in tears. It wasn't that they were weak, but that he was too strong, okay?

Others took years to decipher a stele, while he did it in seconds; others took days to absorb spiritual energy in the Cleansing Pool, while he did it in minutes... Who would knowingly walk into a sure loss?

...

"Let's hurry to the underground palace!"

Knowing that Zhang Xuan had a teacher whom even Hall Master Mo revered, and that his own strength was formidable, Xing Yuan and the others no longer treated him as an ordinary new student but as a peer, not daring to underestimate him in the slightest.

The urgent task was to find the entrance to the underground palace. After familiarizing themselves, they fell silent, quickened their pace, rounded the mountain range ahead, and entered a wide valley.

"According to the map's description, the underground palace should be here!"

Luo Qiqi stopped.

"Here?"

Xing Yuan and the others exchanged glances, utterly confused.

The valley before them was not very large and looked quite ordinary, covered with vegetation and filled with chirping birds, full of life. There was no sign of an underground palace.

Could the information be wrong, or had they come to the wrong place?

"Well, the weapon forged using the 'Zither Forging Method' was discovered here by a hunter. Within three thousand years, seven weapons of the same craftsmanship have appeared in this area. Combined with all the information I've gathered, there must be an underground palace here!"

Luo Qiqi said.

"But... the spiritual energy here is stable, with no anomalies. It doesn't seem like there's a formation?"

Xing Yuan and the others frowned.

If there was an underground palace that couldn't be seen, it meant there must be a formation hiding its traces. But... the spiritual energy here was stable, with no fluctuations, not at all like a formation.

"Let me investigate. I'm a five-star formation master. If there's a formation, I should be able to find and break it."

Princess Yu Fei'er stepped forward.

The reason they could form a team for the trial wasn't just because they had good relations; it was also due to complementary professions.

To qualify as a five-star master teacher, one needed five auxiliary professions at five stars. Princess Yu Fei'er happened to have the profession of a five-star formation master.

"Alright." Everyone nodded.

Princess Fei'er flipped her wrist, and a compass appeared in her palm. She walked around the valley, searching as she went. After a while, she stopped.

With a turn of her jade hand, she produced a spike like a long spear.

It was forged from unknown materials, engraved with special patterns, emitting a chilling gleam that inspired awe.

"This is an Array-Breaking Silver Needle!"

Seeing the puzzled looks of Ye Qian and the others, Luo Qiqi explained.

"Array-Breaking Silver Needle?"

"Yes. Some high-level formations absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, hiding according to the terrain, making them hard to detect. To make them appear, you need this item. It is engraved with special formation patterns that can disperse the spiritual energy stabilizing the formation, causing an imbalance and thus revealing the formation's form."

Luo Qiqi said.

Everyone understood and nodded in unison.

Zhang Xuan also responded, looking at it with curiosity.

He had read about the Array-Breaking Silver Needle in books from the Formation Master Guild. It was said to have the effect of breaking formations. He had thought such items could only be seen in higher-level formation master guilds, but unexpectedly, Princess Yu Fei'er had one.

It seemed they had indeed come prepared.

After taking out the Array-Breaking Silver Needle, Princess Yu Fei'er did not act hastily. Instead, she walked around a few more times with the compass, even bending down to pinch some soil and pull up a few weeds.

Powerful formations could alter their weaknesses according to the surrounding environment. If the key position was not found, extracting spiritual energy would have no effect on the formation.

It was like wanting to capsize a large ship; one had to open a hole at a critical point. Without finding the right spot, even making a large hole in the deck would have little effect.

"Everyone, step back!"

After another look around, as if finding something, Yu Fei'er turned to the crowd and waved her hand.

Knowing the danger of formations, Luo Qiqi and the others said nothing and retreated, soon arriving outside the valley.

Seeing them leave, Princess Yu Fei'er shed her previous demeanor. Her brows furrowed, revealing a solemn expression. In an instant, her aura surged, exuding an heroic spirit that inspired awe.

"Whoosh!"

With a flick of her wrist, the Array-Breaking Silver Needle shot out, landing vertically in a spot not far from her. Then, her fingers formed several hand seals, and she pointed sharply.

Hum!

The silver needle on the ground began to spin rapidly.

As it spun, the patterns on the needle's surface seemed to become a vortex absorbing spiritual energy, drawing the surrounding spiritual energy inward, eventually forming a pillar of spiritual energy that extended into the sky.

"The Array-Breaking Silver Needle can extract surrounding spiritual energy. Once the spiritual energy fluctuates violently, even the most hidden formation will reveal its form!" Luo Qiqi explained.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Formations were maintained by spiritual energy. Once the spiritual energy was drained, they would naturally lose balance and reveal their form, much like how rocks emerge when water recedes.

The collapse of the Cleansing Pool was also due to a broken balance.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The silver needle spun faster and faster, extracting more and more spiritual energy. Soon, sweat appeared on Princess Fei'er's forehead.

"Open!"

With a sharp cry, the area around the silver needle shook violently, and a mist seemed to appear and disappear intermittently.

"There really is a formation!"

Seeing the mist, everyone's eyes lit up.

The rising mist was a sign of a formation. Its appearance indicated that a very powerful formation was indeed hidden here... meaning Luo Qiqi's inference was correct, and there was likely an underground palace here!

Woo, woo, woo, woo!

At this moment, the silver needle spun even faster, and Princess Fei'er's face was already full of exhaustion.

Able to remain hidden for so many years without being discovered, this formation must be of a high level. Even as a five-star formation master, she was struggling to hold on.

Whoosh!

Exhaling a mouthful of turbid air, she stopped and collapsed to the ground like a瘫痪, sitting down without regard for her image.

"How is it?"

Seeing her like this, Luo Qiqi rushed over and fed her a Qi-restoring pill. Her complexion recovered somewhat.

"There's a six-star formation here. My cultivation is not enough to fully draw it out."

After adjusting, Princess Fei'er stood up and shook her head.

She had used all her strength just now, only managing to make the formation appear faintly. She was clearly unable to fully reveal it before everyone.

"Even you can't draw it out? Then how do we get in?"

Luo Qiqi frowned.

If the formation couldn't even be drawn out, naturally there was no way to break it, let alone enter the underground palace.

They had come here with high hopes to complete the trial, never dreaming that they would be stopped at the first step.

If they went back like this, they would probably be laughed to death by many.

"I don't know either..." Princess Fei'er shook her head.

She had thought that with her five-star formation master abilities, even if she couldn't break the formation, making it appear would be simple. Unexpectedly, after all that effort, she returned empty-handed, and she couldn't help feeling dejected.

"If I can't do it, I'll rest and try again..." Gritting her teeth, she was about to continue when a faint voice sounded.

"Breaking the formation like this definitely won't work."

Turning around, she saw Zhang Xuan approaching.

"You understand formations too?" Seeing it was him speaking, Princess Fei'er snorted. "If that's not the way, what is your brilliant suggestion?"

"Brilliant suggestion? Not really. Since we've confirmed there's a formation here, why not just break it directly? Why go through the extra step of drawing it out to reveal its form?"

Zhang Xuan said.

The goal was to find the hidden underground palace. Why not just break the formation directly? Why go to all this trouble to bring it out?

"Break it directly? Hmph, do you even understand formations?"

Princess Fei'er flicked her sleeve and snorted coldly.