Chapter 00436: The 434th Array, Nearly Broken
# The 434th Array, Nearly Broken
Chapter 436
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 436 – The 434th Array, Nearly Broken
Wang Xuan was filled with despair.
Although he had clearly dodged the long halberd and even changed his direction, when he charged forward he still found himself facing a spear-like beam exuding the aura of death.
It was the array’s instantaneous positional shift within the formation.
Desperation flashed in Wang Xuan’s eyes.
While he couldn’t set up an array like the one before him, he was fully aware how positions shifted in an array in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that the spear beam was about to tear through his brow, Wang Xuan made no further attempt to dodge this time.
Instead, his entire body’s aura suddenly surged and exploded with a destructive force.
In that deadly moment, with death written on both sides, he thought it was better to self-detonate.
Lan Xiaobu could feel himself being enveloped by this destructive aura.
How could he dare continue his attack on Wang Xuan now? That fellow had chosen self-detonation! In a frantic retreat, Lan Xiaobu tried to put distance between himself and Wang Xuan.
Boom! No sooner had Lan Xiaobu taken a step back than a violent, overwhelming burst of energy swept over him.
The rules were shattered as an aura far exceeding even immortal essence exploded.
Pfft! Lan Xiaobu’s mouth spat out a blood arrow as his chest was pierced by a deep gash.
In that moment, his internal organs were torn apart.
His sea of consciousness buzzed and crackled, and even his divine thought was unable to extend.
Lying on the ground, Lan Xiaobu dared not move.
Even though he was confined within his Void Entrapment Slaughter Immortal Formation, he had lost his ability to act.
If a few more powerful experts or someone like Wang Xuan self-detonated, he was doomed.
They must not self-detonate—in the presence of even one careless Immortal Emperor, he would surely be finished.
After several dozen breaths of time, Lan Xiaobu’s sea of consciousness slowly recovered.
He quickly grabbed a few pill medicines and swallowed them.
Just as Lan Xiaobu managed to stand and prepared to reinforce the Void Entrapment Array, more bursts of self-detonation energy erupted.
Furious, savage auras blasted into the sky.
Lan Xiaobu could only watch in horror as his void array, which he had painstakingly repaired, was torn wide open by continuous self-detonations.
This was the aftermath of the first self-detonation.
If more experts detonated consecutively—if more than ten people blew themselves up—the Void Entrapment Immortal Array would surely be shattered by the overwhelming blast.
On the surface it appeared that he had arranged an array surpassing ordinary Immortal Arrays.
After all, if it went beyond a normal array, even a so-called Divine Array should suffice.
In truth, Lan Xiaobu knew all too well that the grand array he had set up still relied on the rules of the Immortal Realm.
Compared with a true Divine Array, it still fell far short.
It was like the case of Cai Shang: though Cai Shang was already a Divine Being transcending even the Immortal Emperor, if he were to enter the divine realm, there would be a qualitative difference between him and the true divine beings of that realm.
This was not because Cai Shang’s talent was inferior or that his cultivation method was lacking—rather, it was due to the influence of the heavenly rules.
An Immortal Emperor, or even one who surpassed that rank into the demigod realm, himself embodied the highest expression of the Immortal Realm’s rules.
Moreover, the cultivators in Silent God Valley all possessed the essence of divine qi.
Now, as they self-detonated, the profound accumulation of their inner essence—stored over millions of years—exploded suddenly.
It was as if an inexhaustible surge of divine aura burst forth, together with the shattering impact of the cultivators’ own internal rules.
Under such violent pressure, it was hardly surprising that Lan Xiaobu’s formation was torn apart.
The Void Entrapment Array was, after all, still just an array.
All arrays needed array flags and array bases.
These bases and flags were merely the manifestations of the array’s patterns.
Even if one did not understand the path of arrays, it was clear that when people detonated one after the other, regardless of how the void array’s base shifted its position, it would eventually be struck by a blast.
Thus, after multiple self-detonations, it was no surprise that cracks appeared in Lan Xiaobu’s void formation.
In addition, Lan Xiaobu was grievously injured now.
His array base simply could not shift, greatly increasing the chance of being hit.
Lan Xiaobu frantically repaired the array while cautiously backing away.
He was badly wounded, and if he were discovered at this time, he feared he might not have another chance to escape.
Those who managed to cultivate to the Immortal Emperor level in Silent God Valley were clearly not mediocre.
Once they were trapped inside Lan Xiaobu’s void array, each of them longed to get out.
However, when a group of several dozen Immortal Emperors had previously attempted a sneak attack on Lan Xiaobu—with not a single trace of their figures and more than ten perishing—the truth became clear: escaping would be extremely difficult.
The self-detonations of the Immortal Emperors revealed the cracks in the void formation, and soon the Immortal Emperors trapped inside began to seize the opportunity.
A group of Immortal Emperors furiously unleashed their treasured magical items on the cracks.
With Lan Xiaobu already severely injured and unable to repair the formation in time, the cracks became increasingly obvious.
Lan Xiaobu retrieved several Mist Jade Immortal Fruits and swallowed them, then, enduring the pain in his sea of consciousness, he hastened to carve new array patterns upon the base of the void array.
He used array flags to try to mend the grand void array—but the breach was too large.
With these people self-detonating, the array would fracture even faster.
If the void array were completely shattered, he feared he wouldn’t even be able to escape to the Annihilation Realm.
Nevertheless, things were gradually turning in Lan Xiaobu’s favor.
As long as none of the Silent God Valley people managed to lock in a self-detonation in his face, he was confident he would win today.
Chenyi, the valley lord of Silent God Valley, his face growing increasingly grim, knew that far too many were overcome by fear.
Otherwise, this grand array would already have been shattered.
With that in mind, Chenyi immediately ordered, “Qing Yi, Feihui, Yu Qing… all of you, self-detonate immediately—do it now! Otherwise, once the Entrapment Immortal Array closes in again, none of us will be able to get out. I promise that for any Silent God Valley companion who self-detonates, I will find a way to preserve your memories for reincarnation…”
None of them wished to self-detonate, but all understood: if the array closed again, any further self-detonations would come too late.
Boom, boom, boom! More blasts of self-detonation energy erupted.
The void array that Lan Xiaobu had just painstakingly repaired was torn open once more—and this time the breach was even larger.
Chenyi had called over twenty names, yet in the end only about a dozen actually detonated themselves.
By now, no one cared about the names.
Everyone was desperately unleashing their treasured magical items to attack the locations where the Entrapment Array had cracked.
Lan Xiaobu, with a trembling hand, retrieved several Mist Jade Immortal Fruits and ingested them.
Despite the pain in his sea of consciousness, he forced himself to work faster, repairing the base of the void array using freshly carved array patterns.
He tried to mend the void array with array flags, but such gaps only hastened the disintegration after self-detonation.
Once this void array was completely shattered, he feared he would not even have a chance to reach the Annihilation Realm.
Time was slipping away.
Yet the situation seemed to be gradually shifting in Lan Xiaobu’s favor.
As long as no one in Silent God Valley self-detonated on the spot, he was assured of victory today.
Chenyi’s face grew ever more sullen as he realized how many were too fearful.
Otherwise, this grand array would have already been obliterated.
Thinking on his feet, Chenyi roared, “Hu Taishang, Feng Hong Taishang… remain here. All the others come with me and self-detonate entirely. Even if I have to expend all the strength of Silent God Valley to kill this person, then so be it. If we have no chance of survival, why not choose reincarnation? Once our Silent God Valley cultivators reincarnate, within tens of thousands of years they can regain their strength.”
After Chenyi finished speaking, the first self-detonation occurred.
Following his lead, over a dozen savage bursts of self-detonation energy exploded.
Watching as the grand void arrangement was torn open once more—and this time someone nearly broke through—Lan Xiaobu’s heart sank.
At that point he could no longer care about his injured sea of consciousness; he frantically carved out layer after layer of void array patterns.
In his heart he thought, these people regard others’ lives with utter disregard—they are truly ruthless, even towards him.
But considering the nature of his Entrapment Formation and the deadly lacerations of the space blade arrays within it, this self-detonation was hardly unexpected.
Self-detonation meant death; not detonating also meant death.
Faced with the choice, why not choose self-detonation?
If asked who was ruthless, Lan Xiaobu himself was no stranger to harsh measures.
He could even tear apart a soul.
What was there now to fear? No matter how terrible the damage to his sea of consciousness, he continued carving out new void array patterns.
He watched as the fissures in the array—wrenched apart by more than a dozen self-detonations led by Chenyi and others—slowly began to narrow again.
The cultivators trapped within the Entrapment Array of Silent God Valley were drenched in terror.
If Chenyi were still alive, he would undoubtedly have erupted in fury.
He had summoned five or six dozen people to self-detonate with him, yet in the end only a dozen or so did.
Had all of them detonated, even the true Divine Array that Lan Xiaobu had set up would likely have been shattered.
Unfortunately, too many were too cowardly, and their sporadic self-detonations failed to make the necessary impact.
Lan Xiaobu could feel his sea of consciousness tearing apart, the sensation growing ever more dreadful—as if it might collapse entirely in the next moment.
Yet he dared not be careless; he had to repair the Entrapment Array as quickly as possible before he could launch his killing formation.
At this moment he dared not begin his killing intent.
If he did, those trapped inside would feel utter despair, causing the number of self-detonations to multiply uncontrollably.
Grand Elder Feng Hong of the Silent God Valley looked at the gradually disappearing fissures and sighed inwardly.
He chose to self-detonate.
He knew that without him, Silent God Valley was finished.
If things had gone according to Chenyi’s plan, at least thirty Immortal Emperors might have survived.
But sadly, so few dared follow Chenyi’s orders.
Feng Hong Taishang’s self-detonation rendered any effect on Lan Xiaobu’s Entrapment Array useless.
Although his cultivation was formidable, it still could not compare to that of Wang Xuan.
More importantly, the reason Wang Xuan could tear through the array by self-detonation was because he was standing directly opposite Lan Xiaobu.
In detonating, Wang Xuan had severely injured Lan Xiaobu.
Within the Entrapment Array, Lan Xiaobu was like its soul.
Once that soul was gravely injured, the entire formation would instantly become inflexible, increasing the chance of self-detonation and array collapse manifold.
The moment after Feng Hong Taishang self-detonated, Lan Xiaobu fully repaired the Entrapment Array and then activated his strangulation array patterns.
(That is all for today’s update.
Good night, friends!)
(The chapter ends.)