Chapter 46: Breaking Free from the Great Formation

The multicolored cloud mass finally condensed into one, with the five elements’ energy transforming into a dreamlike, colorful cloud shaped like a human head. It resembled the shape of the Heart Demon’s Breath Cloud, only much larger. It turned out that this heavenly calamity energy had merged with the Heart Demon’s Breath Cloud, just as a human cultivator’s Yuan Ying and Yuan Shen become one.

Suddenly, the entire cloud descended. Wherever it passed, the surrounding space collapsed, and a massive spatial rift appeared in the air, looking utterly terrifying. Just as the cloud was about to fall on Qu Yi’s head, the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation could no longer bear it and immediately activated all its arrays to resist the heavenly calamity.

When the Jingxiao Calamity and the Yuxiao Calamity struck, the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation only activated some of its arrays, allowing those two calamities to pass through easily—this was the formation’s proper response to them. But now, the most powerful Langxiao Calamity was about to descend, and its terrifying energy was enough to destroy some of the formation’s key points, effectively reducing its power by much.

Thus, as if possessed of a will of its own, the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation activated its full array to resist the calamity. If most of its energy could be dispelled, the calamity wouldn’t destroy its key points, allowing the formation to remain intact and continue to deceive those who entered it.

Seeing that the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation truly helped him resist the calamity, Qu Yi couldn’t help but admire the Orchestral God’s prediction. Yet he dared not get distracted, as the calamity progressed too quickly. Though the formation could help him withstand part of the Heart Demon’s Breath’s power, the calamity’s energy remained unaffected.

Qu Yi didn’t need to worry about the calamity’s energy at all. When the dreamlike, colorful calamity struck him, the Xingluo Ding quickly absorbed it, transforming and refining all of its energy. Meanwhile, the Heart Demon’s Breath first became entangled with the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation, fighting against it. Lightning, rays, and light dots flashed throughout the formation’s area, creating a spectacular sight.

But in the end, the Heart Demon’s Breath, which the Sumi Myriad Spirits Formation couldn’t influence, recondensed into a head shape. It passed through the formation’s defenses and landed on Qu Yi’s head. Its power had already diminished significantly, as it hadn’t descended along with the calamity’s energy, allowing Qu Yi to deal with it calmly.

Once the Heart Demon’s Breath entered Qu Yi’s body, it immediately found his Yuan Shen and attached itself to it. In an instant, countless thoughts surged through Qu Yi’s mind, chaotic and tangled.

“The Fire Moon Gate, Xuan Yang Temple, and Jade Constellation Sect—how dare you oppose our Immortal Cloud Sect? I will slaughter you all!”
“Cultivators, demons, and fiends of Tianfeng Star, our Three Tripod Gate has been established. We will first exterminate you all.”
“Cultivator and demon sects of Tianhua Star, how dare you oppose the fiends of our Heavenly Punishment Mountains? You are seeking your own death.”
“The ten major sects, you have occupied all the resources in the cultivation world. Our Three Tripod Gate will surely eradicate you and dominate the entire cultivation world.”
“I am the ruler of the cultivation world. Those who defy me shall be killed; those who violate my rules shall be killed; those who resist shall be killed.”
……
In moments, various thoughts surged forth, almost filling Qu Yi’s entire spiritual essence, as if he were on the verge of being possessed by demons.
Qu Yi was prepared. His mind had already condensed into a single entity, allowing the temptations of his inner demons to influence him. Suddenly, a bright light appeared within his spiritual essence, spreading instantly to form a sphere of light that dispelled all the thoughts created by the inner demons, restoring his spiritual essence to a state of clarity and clarity once again.
The final trial of the Six-Nine Heavenly Calamities—the Langxiao Calamity—was overcome once more!
After successfully passing the Langxiao Calamity, Qu Yi sat down on the ground, completely calm, as if he had merged with the entire universe. The fluctuations of his Yuan Ying could reach distant places, and the consciousness of his spiritual essence captured all matter within space.
His spiritual essence and Yuan Ying were now fully integrated.
Qu Yi had successfully passed the Six-Nine Heavenly Calamities, meaning he had reached the mid-stage of the Calamity Crossing phase. Now, he needed to sit in meditation to stabilize his cultivation level.
……
Meanwhile, in the other eight regions of this northwest wasteland, the powerful members of the eight major sects were each inside their own formation, diligently advancing through trials.
However, as they faced these trials, they also sensed Qu Yi’s experience with the calamities.
“Qu Yi actually crossed the heavenly calamities here? That’s utterly unfair.”
“I remember Qu Yi chose the Sumeru Ten Thousand Spirits Formation. He’s crossing the calamities now—those calamities must have helped him a lot, probably destroying that formation.”
“I see. The reason Qu Yi chose that Sumeru Ten Thousand Spirits Formation was to use it to resist the calamities while also using the calamities to destroy it. How cunning.”
“It’s over. Qu Yi, who was only in the early stage of the Calamity Crossing, is no longer under our control. Now that he’s reached the mid-stage, how can we subdue him?”
“Hmph. I guess only an Upper Immortal now has the power to kill Qu Yi.”

In the midst of the chaos, as the eight sect’s powerhouses fought against the various grand arrays, they all had their own thoughts. But one thing was clear to everyone: Qu Yi was now a giant in his own right, his strength far beyond what any cultivator at the Tribulation stage could match.

※※※

Ten days passed. Qu Yi, who had been in meditation, finally opened his eyes, a proud smile on his face. “Mid-stage Tribulation? It’s so easy,” he said, standing up with a light laugh.

Before he could finish speaking, the Artifact God transmitted a message through his spiritual sense: “Is it really easy? If it weren’t for the Sumi Myriad Spirits Array weakening the power of the Heart Demon Breath and delaying its attack, you would have become an idiot even if you hadn’t died.”

Qu Yi’s confident expression quickly turned to anger. “Artifact God, can’t you congratulate me? Can’t you encourage me even once?” he demanded.

The Artifact God fell silent.

Qu Yi stopped arguing with him. After all, it was difficult to expect such a mysterious being to give him approval. He then focused his thoughts on the Sumi Myriad Spirits Array. After all, he had been inside it for over ten days, and during that time, the powerhouses from the eight sects might have already broken through the array and left.

Soon, as Qu Yi used his spiritual sense to sense the situation inside the array, he was delighted to find that he could clearly sense each array node. He remembered that when he first entered the array, his spiritual sense had been obscured by the illusions created by the array, preventing him from seeing the surroundings clearly, let alone locating the array nodes.

Now, Qu Yi had found all the array nodes and became familiar with how the entire array functioned. “Haha, Artifact God! I can get out of this Sumi Myriad Spirits Array on my own!” he exclaimed upon discovering this astonishing fact.

Immediately, the Artifact God’s voice replied, “You can only say you’re lucky, kid. It’s because of the heavenly tribulation that allowed the Heart Demon Breath to interact with the Sumi Myriad Spirits Array, thereby connecting your original spirit to the entire array and enabling you to understand it clearly.”

Hearing this, Qu Yi laughed even more happily. While others spent ten thousand years preparing for the heavenly tribulation and ended up exhausted after overcoming it, he had not only passed it easily but also gained unexpected benefits. If other cultivators at the Tribulation stage knew about this, they would be so furious they might spit blood.

After calming himself down, Qu Yi began to move around inside the Sumi Myriad Spirits Array. The ever-changing scenes before him couldn’t affect him at all.

Since Qu Yi had already figured out the entire formation, these illusions naturally couldn’t deceive him. The direction he walked in was always his own choice. If anyone were by his side at this moment, they would likely be terrified by his boldness. Ahead lay an abyss thousands of feet deep, yet Qu Yi stepped across it in one go, walking right over the top without using any of his vital energy. Then the scene changed suddenly—there was a swamp filled with an ancient, ferocious beast roaring. Qu Yi still paid it no attention and actually stepped into the beast’s mouth. The scene changed again abruptly—flames appeared ahead, rolling toward Qu Yi like torrents. Yet he remained unafraid, leaping left and right to pass through the flames. … One terrifying scene after another appeared, but Qu Yi braved them all, emerging unharmed from each. This was because he had already understood everything about the formation and was not at all confused by the illusions it created, allowing him to pass through effortlessly. Another ten days passed, and Qu Yi actually walked out of the Xumi Wanling Formation on his own feet. Meanwhile, the powerful warriors from the eight major sects were fighting fiercely against their respective formations.