247: Chapter 246 The Great Array of Ten Thousand Immortals

On the surface of the boundless emerald lake, ripples suddenly flickered, spreading into long undulations that slightly vibrated the earth.

Xiao Yan, lying on a rattan chair by the shore, felt this sudden vibration and slowly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, it seemed as if countless stars were flickering within them, emitting a dense and brilliant radiance. However, this light lasted only a moment before fading one by one until they all turned a pale gray.

“Only thirty years, and these Immortals have already suppressed more than half. It’s truly incredible. At this rate, I’m afraid they won’t even last a hundred years,” Xiao Yan murmured softly, his pale gray pupils shifting.

The strength of these Immortals far exceeded Xiao Yan's expectations. They likely could have broken through the array long ago; their delay in withdrawing was probably for the sole purpose of thoroughly killing him!

“Should I take the initiative to break the array now?” Xiao Yan stood up, watching the ripples constantly forming on the lake surface as this thought surfaced in his mind.

After breaking the array, he could undoubtedly quickly devour the world's Origin and absorb the power of Laws, thereby increasing his strength. Perhaps that would be enough to deal with these Immortals.

But just as the thought arose, a Soul body suddenly appeared beside him. This Soul body's appearance was identical to Xiao Yan's, differing only in the Aura it emitted.

The Aura emitted by the Soul body was very strange, possessing an extremely strong aggressiveness that could infect anything it touched, influencing the minds of biological beings and even their Divine Soul.

“Xiao Yan, we cannot relax the suppression of our Fusion.” The Soul body seemed to have an independent consciousness; it moved its head to look at Xiao Yan, speaking in a calm tone.

“What, are you more anxious than I am?” Xiao Yan looked at his own Soul body, a half-smile on his face.

After he unleashed the gray mist, although he had tried his best to suppress his own mutation, he was still inevitably infected. Consequently, a portion of his Soul was completely corrupted, giving birth to the Gray Mist Origin Consciousness.

As soon as the Origin Consciousness appeared, it attempted to devour and merge with his self-awareness. Although Xiao Yan managed to control the situation in time, this already existing consciousness could not be erased; the two had entered a special symbiotic state.

“You know very well that once our consciousnesses merge, those Clones outside will not let us go.” The Soul body ignored Xiao Yan's mocking expression, its eyes hollow.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan gave a cold laugh and did not refute it. He simply looked away from the Soul body and closed his eyes again to rest.

Xiao Yan understood that once he and the Gray Mist Consciousness completely merged, it was uncertain whether he would even still have a sense of self.

Once the array was broken, the three thousand Clones outside would surely notice. They might even join forces with these Immortals to besiege him. Given the Clones' familiarity with the gray mist, there would certainly be no way out then.

Not only Xiao Yan, but the intelligent Gray Mist Consciousness also understood this point. Therefore, the two had reached a consensus for the time being, maintaining a strange balance.

While maintaining this balance, both were waiting for an opportunity—an opportunity to either completely expel or completely devour the other.

In any case, the Clones outside were the key. Whoever could grasp control of the three thousand Clones would achieve final victory.

But what Xiao Yan did not realize was that his thoughts had already begun to change. Even if the Gray Mist Consciousness were completely expelled, these thoughts might never be reverted...

As the ripples on the lake increased, black voids gradually appeared in the sky, and the earth immediately shook violently. Lake water flowed toward the sky, and countless fragments of rock, grass, and soil on the ground floated up until they entered the black hole that generated a powerful attraction.

Seeing this, the Soul body beside Xiao Yan looked up. Its deep gray pupils swept over Xiao Yan, who was resting with his eyes closed. Seeing his indifferent appearance, the Soul body slowly raised its hands.

As the Soul body raised its hands, a suffocating Spiritual Pressure was generated, and the surrounding environment instantly shattered, turning into a violently churning thick gray mist.

Xiao Yan, who had closed his eyes and fallen into a deep sleep again, sank directly into this endless thick mist and vanished.

Xiao Yan believed that the Gray Mist Consciousness cared about his survival far more than he did himself. Therefore, he left everything to the Gray Mist Consciousness without any burden...

This sleep lasted until a hundred years later when Xiao Yan was forced to wake up again.

Unlike the last time, as soon as Xiao Yan opened his eyes, he felt that something was wrong.

Tens of thousands of Immortals, whose Aura weighed down upon heaven and earth, stood in the Void Realm, completely surrounding the place where Xiao Yan was. Behind these Immortals was a crystal wall that completely suppressed the gray mist.

“A hundred years... it was too short...” Xiao Yan slowly straightened his body from his sleeping posture, then looked around helplessly, finally staring at the indifferent Gu Huojin with a frown.

“Xiao Yan, this time, you won't be able to escape.” Gu Huojin looked down at Xiao Yan from above, his expression cold. A rare look of impatience appeared in his eyes.

He truly had not expected that such a minor character could cause tens of thousands of Great Immortals, including himself and even Dao Ancestors, to spend nearly two hundred years just to truly corner him!

Though impatient, Gu Huojin remained extremely cautious. Upon discovering Xiao Yan's true body, he immediately formed the Great Array of Ten Thousand Immortals, surrounding Xiao Yan to cut off any possibility of escape.

Looking around, Xiao Yan discovered that those closest to him were all figures at the Dao Ancestor level—there were actually over a thousand of them!

Each of these Dao Ancestors controlled one of the Three Thousand Great Daos. Their strength was earth-shaking; they were Supreme beings of the Immortal Realm, holding incredibly high status and revered by countless people.

Yet these Supreme Immortals were now joining forces to deal with him, a being whose strength was far inferior to a Dao Ancestor. If the outside world knew, it would surely be considered absurd or even inconceivable!

Even these Immortal Realm Supremes, with a few exceptions, had incredibly solemn expressions, clearly extremely wary of Xiao Yan.

In their eyes, judging by common logic, if Xiao Yan's Clones were this difficult to deal with, his true body must be immeasurable—a powerhouse that had to be handled with extreme care.

Therefore, they surrounded Xiao Yan but hesitated to make the next move, as if waiting for Xiao Yan to strike first.

Faced with this situation, the surroundings fell into a complete, deathly silence for a time, though they were happy for it to be so.

The great array formed by tens of thousands of Immortals slowly flowed with light. As time passed, the array became increasingly solid and powerful.

They stared intently at Xiao Yan, their powerful Aura even causing space itself to solidify, to the point that Xiao Yan's breathing hitched.

Xiao Yan's state was clearly noticed by them, and a trace of doubt immediately rose in their hearts.

Could it be that Xiao Yan's strength isn't actually that great?

However, this thought was fleeting and was immediately cast out of their minds. If he truly weren't strong, how could he have kept them at bay for a hundred years?

“This Xiao Yan is truly cunning, to still be able to make our resolve waver at a time like this!” Many Immortals thought this as they exchanged glances, the wariness in their eyes growing even thicker.

But this was their misunderstanding. Aside from the very beginning, Xiao Yan had let the Gray Mist Consciousness act autonomously; the previous battles really had nothing to do with Xiao Yan himself.

And Xiao Yan's true strength was nowhere near as powerful as they imagined. After all, during these years, Xiao Yan had not been Cultivating at all; his strength had only just reached its original Peak!

Thus, as Xiao Yan's breath hitched, his heart immediately tightened. (End of Chapter)