Chapter 158: Chapter 157: Order Out of Control

"The Longevity Sect!"

"Quick, look! The Longevity Flying Boat!"

"It’s the Longevity Sect’s Longevity Flying Boat!"

Sudden cries of alarm rang out, and in an instant, a clamor swept through the entire Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace.

The once bright, sunlit sky visibly darkened.

Chu Mu looked up. A colossal shadow completely filled his vision, leaving him with a sense of inexpressible shock.

It blotted out the sky and sun!

The phrase subconsciously popped into Chu Mu’s mind.

Even from a great distance, it seemed to the naked eye that the entire sky was covered by this Longevity Flying Boat!

’A Longevity Flying Boat?’

Chu Mu was dumbfounded. Could the two words "Flying Boat" even begin to describe this behemoth that blotted out the sky?

The Flying Boat was at least a thousand meters long and over several hundred meters wide.

Its silver-white hull was covered in countless complex Array Patterns that faintly shimmered. Rows of dark cannon ports lined the sides of the ship, their barrels, wreathed in intricate Array Patterns, looked utterly menacing.

At a glance, the entire Flying Boat resembled a battleship from his previous life—a symbol of national power that once ruled the oceans.

Having been in the Cultivation Immortal Realm for some time now, he was no longer the naive newcomer he once was.

Based on his knowledge of Artifact Refining, the Flying Boat before him was an Artifact Creation of at least Tier Three.

As for those menacing cannons, he knew little about them. However, given the Cultivation Immortal Realm’s application of Spiritual Power and the vast system of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation Immortal, they were clearly some kind of Artifact Creation designed for Spiritual Power Attacks.

As the ship blotted out the sky, the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace was filled with a roaring din. Countless Cultivators gazed up at the giant vessel, their shock palpable.

In just a few breaths, the Flying Boat drew closer, and the shadow covering Jade Emperor Valley grew larger and darker.

Finally, the Flying Boat hovered in the sky above the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace. A terrifying pressure bore down, and even with the Marketplace’s Grand Array for insulation, its force could not be stopped.

In his shock, a thought occurred to Chu Mu. He looked at the still-active Marketplace Grand Array, then at the Longevity Flying Boat above it.

His gaze shifted between the two, a hint of confusion growing in his eyes.

’The Longevity Sect’s Flying Boat has arrived, but the Marketplace’s Grand Array hasn’t opened a path. I don’t see any Cultivators from the Sun Family going out to greet them either...’

BOOM!

Just as Chu Mu was pondering this, he heard a tremendous roar. He subconsciously looked up to see the hovering Flying Boat descending, forcibly embedding itself into the Marketplace’s Grand Array.

As if under attack from an external force, the Marketplace’s Grand Array flared with Spiritual Light. Countless dense Runes flickered across the sky, swarming around the part of the Flying Boat embedded in the Array, seemingly trying to expel it.

Even from such a distance, Chu Mu could clearly feel the terrifying Spiritual Pressure emanating from the flickering Runes!

Looking down the Marketplace streets below the Flying Boat, he could see that many Cultivators, unable to withstand the overflowing fluctuations, had already fallen to their knees or even collapsed to the ground.

BOOM!

Another thunderous crash. The confrontation didn’t last long. The dense, flickering Array Patterns in the sky began to shatter one after another like kites with their strings cut, their light dimming until they vanished completely.

Finally, the massive Flying Boat hovered steadily over the main street of the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, completely unopposed.

’The Grand Array... is broken?’

Chu Mu was stunned. He scanned the sky but could no longer see any trace of the Valley Protection Array.

As far as he knew, the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace’s Valley Protection Array was a Tier Three Lower Grade Qiankun Array. It integrated both Attack and Defense and was powerful enough to withstand even a Golden Core True Master!

Such a terrifying Grand Array had only lasted a few short seconds against this Flying Boat before being shattered!

’No, that’s not right...’

Chu Mu quickly realized something. Jade Emperor Valley was under the rule of the Sun Family, and the Sun Family was a vassal Clan of the Longevity Sect. Most of its Clan members served in the Longevity Sect.

’Why would a scene like this unfold when a Longevity Sect Flying Boat wanted to enter Jade Emperor Valley?’

’Is the Sun Family trying to rebel?’

Chu Mu looked around. The Jade Emperor Valley Law Enforcement Team, usually a common sight, was nowhere to be found.

On the streets, most of the businesses belonging to the Sun Family were closed.

What on earth had happened during the few days he had spent in closed-door Cultivation?

Chu Mu was bewildered.

"From now on, I guess Jade Emperor Valley will be under the Longevity Sect’s control!"

"The Sun Family must be unwilling to let it go. Not only did they not come out to greet them, but they even kept the Grand Array active to block them..."

"Of course they’re not happy. I heard that the Sun Family has been cultivating the Spirit Vein in Jade Emperor Valley for years as their Clan’s foundation. It’s supposedly on the verge of advancing to a Tier Three Spirit Vein..."

"A while ago, they even moved a large number of their Clan businesses over here. They were probably getting ready for the Spirit Vein to be promoted to Tier Three..."

"The Longevity Sect is just swooping in to reap the rewards. Who would be willing to accept that?"

"What can they do about it? The Longevity Flying Boat is here. Even if the Sun Family’s Ancestor came, he’d have to accept it..."

"The winds... are changing..."

As the conversation of the nearby Cultivators reached his ears, Chu Mu’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed. Such matters were too far removed from him; they had nothing to do with him.

As he was lost in thought, a sudden, inexplicable wave of Palpitations washed over him. This time, it was far more intense and terrifying than any he had felt before, as if life and death were hanging in the balance of this very moment.

Subconsciously, Chu Mu threw himself to the side. A terrifying wave of Spiritual Power swept past, barely grazing his body.

BOOM!

Flames shot out as a violent wave of Spiritual Power surged through the street.

"Li Quezi, what are you doing!"

"You’re courting death!"

Still reeling from the shock, Chu Mu had already conjured a Fireball, ready to retaliate against his attacker with a single thought.

But the scene that met his eyes left him momentarily stunned.

On the street not far from him, several Cultivators were locked in battle. Spells of Magic flew and figures darted about. The Fireball that had just attacked him seemed to have been cast by one of them.

’Was I just caught in the crossfire?’

Chu Mu wasn’t sure. He extinguished the conjured Fireball and hastily retreated. As he did, that inexpressible sense of mortal danger rapidly faded.

Chu Mu didn’t linger on the street any longer. He sprinted back toward his residence. The fighting before him made it clear that during this brief gap in the power struggle between the Longevity Sect and the Sun Family, the Marketplace’s once-strict order was already beginning to collapse.

Given the self-serving nature of Cultivators, once order broke down, there would surely be no shortage of people looking to fish in troubled waters.

As a mere Qi Cultivation First Layer cultivator, if he stayed any longer, he might get caught in the crossfire again.

He ran all the way to the door of his residence. With the Marketplace’s Grand Array shattered by the Longevity Flying Boat, his residence’s Array Restriction had clearly been affected as well.

Even though Chu Mu didn’t understand Array Restrictions, he could clearly sense that his residence’s Array Restriction was damaged.

Fortunately, the Array Restriction was only damaged, not destroyed like the Marketplace’s Grand Array. It should still offer some Defense.

Seeing this, Chu Mu breathed a small sigh of relief. He took out his Token and had just opened the door when, at the very moment he was about to step inside, the inexplicable sense of Palpitations that had just faded returned.

With no time to think, Chu Mu shot into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. In that instant, despite the insulation of the Restriction, a loud roar clearly reached his ears.

The entire room trembled from the impact. The previously hidden Array Restriction materialized under the Attack, its Array Patterns flowing and its light shimmering as it protected Chu Mu within.

Before he could recover from the shock, a series of roars sounded from outside the door. The flowing Array Patterns flickered repeatedly, seemingly unable to withstand the assault, on the verge of collapse.

Only then did Chu Mu see the cause of the situation clearly.

Through the window, he could clearly see a man in black robes casting one spell of Magic after another, recklessly bombarding his residence.

The unseen watcher was now right before his eyes, appearing outside his residence at the very moment order had collapsed, just as he was opening his door.

How could Chu Mu not understand the reason for this!

It wasn’t so much that he had been targeted, but rather that the residence’s Restriction Token in his hand had been.

’There must be something inside this residence that the black-robed man wants!’

And he was clearly just an innocent bystander caught in the middle once again!

Gazing at the crumbling Array Restriction, Chu Mu’s expression grew increasingly grim.

The damaged residence’s Array Restriction, on the verge of collapse, clearly couldn’t withstand such an Attack for long.

If this continued, he would truly be a turtle trapped in a jar!

He wasn’t naive enough to think that the black-robed man would be merciful and spare him after breaking in!

Countless thoughts raced through his mind as he wracked his brain for a way to escape.

But being inside the room was like being a turtle in a jar. With the Marketplace’s order in chaos outside, he was practically on an isolated island, helpless, as a tidal wave of danger surged toward him!

’Control the Array Restriction?’

It was an almost fantastical idea. Chu Mu’s gaze fixed on the damaged Array Patterns inside the room.

The Longevity Sect had arrived. With the Longevity Flying Boat hovering over the Marketplace, the Sect would never allow this chaos to continue if they wanted to take control of the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace. They would surely use a Thunderbolt of a response to restore order!

He needed to... hold out for reinforcements!

But the damaged Array Restriction, if left to defend on its own, definitely wouldn’t last much longer!

In the end, however, Chu Mu had to suppress this unrealistic idea.

He was completely clueless about Array Restrictions; there was no way he could possibly control the Array to buy himself more time.

’Buy more time...’

Chu Mu scanned the room, spreading his Divine Sense to search for whatever the black-robed man wanted inside.

This time, his search was not as fruitless as before.

Right beneath his feet, under the broken floorboards, a small, exquisite Wooden Box was clearly visible.

’How did he do it?’

Chu Mu couldn’t hide his astonishment. The entire residence was enveloped by an Array Restriction. To damage the residence was to damage the Array Restriction, which would have certainly been detected.

Yet this Wooden Box was embedded within the floorboards, covered by the Array Restriction.

If the Array Restriction hadn’t been damaged, with its insulating effect still intact, he would never have found this Wooden Box even if he had turned the room upside down!

...