After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 22

At the peak of Azure Cloud Peak, the plaza was wide and open, wreathed in a sea of clouds.

Ye Li sat cross-legged, the ‘Netherworld Emperor Scripture’ circulating slowly within her, rapidly recovering the energy expended from climbing the Azure Cloud Ladder. She was oblivious to the surrounding gazes—be they of shock, scrutiny, or jealousy—her mind remaining utterly tranquil.

Disciples continued to reach the summit. The second to arrive was Luo Bing, the girl with the chilling aura. As she stepped onto the plaza, her figure swayed slightly, and her face was pale, clearly having expended a great deal of energy. She glanced at Ye Li, who had already finished recuperating and whose aura was stable, with a complex look before pursing her lips and moving aside to quietly recover.

Following her was the wild youth, Shi Feng, who had roared his way up, forcefully enduring the pressure. He was near exhaustion upon arrival, kneeling on one knee and gasping for breath, his eyes fixed on Ye Li with unconcealed reluctance and a hint of shock.

The Folding Fan Young Master, Lin Yu, arrived a little later. Although he was also disheveled, he maintained some semblance of composure, though the hand holding his fan trembled slightly. The depths of his gaze towards Ye Li now held intense apprehension and calculation.

Su Wanyun and Ye Shi also successfully reached the top within the first three hundred. Both were severely overtaxed, barely able to stand. Seeing Ye Li already there, their eyes were filled with genuine admiration and joy.

When the time limit expired, all those who failed to reach the summit were eliminated. The original contingent of several thousand had been reduced by nearly seventy percent after the Azure Cloud Ladder test! The remaining survivors, just over a thousand, were all individuals of excellent willpower and foundation.

Before the crowd could catch their breath, the voice of the cold-faced steward was heard again, like ice crashing down, dispelling any lingering sense of relief on the plaza:

“Rest period is over! The second assessment—the Illusory Kill Array! Begins immediately!”

As his words fell, countless intricate runes on the ground at the center of the plaza abruptly lit up. Blue light flowed, instantly outlining a massive array that covered a good portion of the plaza!

Within the array, clouds and mist billowed, light and shadow shifted, emitting a chilling energy fluctuation and an aura of illusion that caused hearts to palpitate.

“Enter the array!” the steward commanded sternly. “This array contains endless illusions and killing intent! Those who can persist for the time it takes an incense stick to burn are qualified! The longer you last, the better your performance! Those defeated by illusions or who lose control of their mind are eliminated!”

The rules were simple and brutal.

Everyone’s expression changed. Having just endured the physical and mental torment of the Azure Cloud Ladder, they now had to face a more perilous and bizarre spiritual attack! The assessment of the Profound Cloud Sect was indeed getting harder with each stage!

But having reached this point, no one retreated. The surviving disciples gritted their teeth and steeling their nerves, rushed into the misty, cloud-shrouded grand array.

Ye Li’s gaze narrowed slightly, and she stepped into the array as well.

The moment she entered, the scene before her abruptly changed!

The plaza, the crowd, the mountain peak instantly vanished. In their place was a dark and eerie ancient jungle. The stench of decay assaulted her nostrils, and chilling roars echoed all around!

“Roar!”

Several ferocious-looking phantom wolves, saliva dripping and carrying a realistic bloody wind, lunged out from the trees, their sharp claws and fangs aimed directly at Ye Li’s vital points! The attack, the killing intent, even the foul stench—everything was incredibly realistic, enough to be mistaken for the real thing!

A person of weak willpower would instantly have their mind seized by this sudden, terrifying spectacle, fearing to fight before the battle even began.

However, Ye Li’s eyes were a picture of icy calm.

“An illusion, is it…” she sneered inwardly. Having experienced reincarnation and witnessed the vastness of the cosmos, how powerful was the essence of her divine soul? This level of illusion was riddled with flaws in her eyes!

She didn’t even use her spiritual energy. Her body merely flickered like a wraith, and the attacks of the few phantom wolves all missed! Their claws passed through her body as if through air, unable to inflict any substantive harm—because they were fake to begin with!

But the next moment, the array shifted! An ice-cold arrow silently shot toward her from behind! This time, Ye Li clearly felt a genuine killing intent and energy fluctuation!

The merging of the real and the illusory!

Without turning her head, Ye Li flicked out a finger! A condensed stream of energy precisely struck the energy-condensed arrow, blasting it apart in mid-air!

Simultaneously, several sword streaks cleaved toward her from the left and right sides, also real energy attacks!

Ye Li’s figure was like the wind. Her Phantom Shadow Steps were executed to the extreme in the confined space, easily evading all attacks. Her fingers became a sword, and with every thrust, an energy attack was annihilated!

She wasn’t just countering the illusions and killing intent; she was also analyzing and perceiving the operational pattern of this Illusory Kill Array at an astonishing speed!

Under the perception of her powerful divine soul, the array’s energy circulation paths, the nodes where illusions were generated, and the timing of the real attacks… all seemed to shed their mysterious veil, becoming traceable!

“Left three, Kan position (Water Trigram), the energy fluctuation is subtly sluggish…”

“Front Li position (Fire Trigram), there is a momentary gap during the illusion switch…”

“Right seven, Zhen position (Thunder Trigram), is the starting point for the next wave of real attacks…”

She was like the calmest observer and analyst. Amidst the fierce battle, she had managed to dissect this massive array to a surprising degree!

The time for one incense stick to burn quickly passed. The array did not stop, meaning the qualifiers would continue to be tested to determine their ranking.

The illusions grew stronger. Phantom wolves transformed into more powerful demonic beasts, and even twisted Heart Demon phantoms began to appear, constantly roaring and attempting to disrupt her mind.

“Worthless! You’ll always be worthless!”

“Why do you get to reincarnate? You don’t deserve it!”

“Hand over the Wheel of Reincarnation Mirror! It’s not yours!”

All sorts of vicious, soul-attacking words assailed her, accompanied by terrifying sights.

A cold light flashed in Ye Li’s eyes. A slight anger surged in her heart, but she wasn’t disturbed. She used these Heart Demon phantoms as tools to hone her Dao Heart! The ‘Netherworld Emperor Scripture’ circulated, and her divine soul guarded her spiritual platform, impervious to all evil!

At the same time, she was no longer content with merely defending and evading.

She began to try and utilize the array’s patterns she had deciphered!

When a powerful energy attack erupted from the Kun position (Earth Trigram), she didn’t meet it head-on. Instead, her figure rapidly retreated towards the Qian position (Heaven Trigram) to the side and rear. That spot happened to be a relatively weak point in the array’s energy transition. By the time the attack arrived, its power had naturally diminished by thirty percent, allowing her to easily break it with a finger strike!

When countless illusions surged out from the Xun position (Wind Trigram), she was a step ahead, pointing a finger strike at an inconspicuous runic node in the Dui position (Lake Trigram)! The node trembled slightly, and the illusions pouring out from the Xun position immediately distorted and blurred, their numbers drastically reduced!

She was actually using the array’s power to counter the array itself!

This required an extremely exquisite understanding and foresight of the array, as well as an incredibly precise control over her own power!

Time passed minute by minute.

Outside the array, in the plaza. The massive Illusory Kill Array flickered with light, and clouds and mist churned, occasionally punctuated by disciples’ gasps, screams, or roars. Disciples were constantly being ejected by the array’s light, their faces pale and blood spurting, clearly having suffered damage to their minds and thus eliminated.

The attending disciples busied themselves recording the time and performance of the eliminated.

On the high platform, the eyes of several Elders were focused again. Before them was a massive water mirror, which clearly displayed the situation in various parts of the Illusory Kill Array. At this moment, the center of the water mirror was none other than the gray figure calmly weaving through the illusions and killing intent, occasionally even countering the array!

“This… how is this possible?!” The red-faced Elder abruptly stood up, his eyes wide. “She’s actually utilizing the pattern of the Illusory Kill Array? How long has she been in there? And she’s already seen through the operation of this ‘Lesser Thousand Illusory Kill Array’?!”

The green-robed Elder’s teacup paused in mid-air, his face etched with disbelief: “It’s not just seeing through… her grasp of timing, her precise control of power… it’s simply terrifying! This girl… her divine soul power is definitely far superior to her peers! And she has an incredibly profound instinct for Array Dao!”

Even the white-haired old man who had been sitting steadily like a seasoned fisherman now leaned forward slightly, a breathtaking brilliance erupting in his cloudy eyes: “A genius! This is a true Array Dao genius! No! A combat genius, even! Given time, her future is limitless! This girl, my Azure Cloud Peak wants her!”

“Nonsense!” The red-faced Elder immediately bristled and glared. “Old White Hair, your Azure Cloud Peak focuses on the Sword Dao, what do you need an Array Dao genius for? This girl belongs in my Heavenly Array Peak!”

“Hmph, those with exceptional talent should not be confined to a single path! My Azure Cloud Peak is all-encompassing, it’s perfect for her overall development!” The white-haired old man refused to back down.

The green-robed Elder also joined the fray: “Two Senior Brothers, don’t rush. This girl’s temperament is calm, and she is decisive in battle, which aligns quite well with my Enforcement Hall…”

Several Elders, normally figures of high esteem, were now squabbling like commoners over a disciple who hadn’t even formally joined the sect, leaving the surrounding attending disciples dumbfounded.

Inside the array, Ye Li had no idea she had triggered a bidding war among the Elders. She felt a long time had passed. The surrounding attacks grew stronger, and the Heart Demon phantoms became denser.

She realized that this assessment wasn’t about endless persistence; it likely had its limits.

Her gaze swept over a corner of the array where the energy circulation was slightly chaotic. That spot was one of the several secondary energy nodes maintaining the entire Illusory Kill Array—not the core, but interfering with it would undoubtedly greatly reduce the pressure, or even prematurely end the assessment.

However, after a moment’s contemplation, she chose not to attack.

Prematurely exposing her ability to fully decipher the array was not a wise move. She understood the principle that the towering tree attracts the wind.

She chose a different approach.

When another powerful wave of Heart Demon phantoms, accompanied by solid sword streaks, assailed her, she feigned a stumble, her figure “staggering” and “desperately” retreating toward the direction of that weak energy node.

During her retreat, she “coincidentally” stepped on a special runic connection point near the node. At the same time, a trace of icy spiritual energy she “inadvertently” leaked subtly seeped into the node!

Buzz!

The entire Illusory Kill Array violently trembled! The energy operation of that node instantly showed a momentary sluggishness!

Although it recovered in a flash, the power of the array noticeably dropped. The illusions and attacks became much sparser.

Ye Li took the opportunity to stabilize her figure, continuing to “strenuously” fend off the remaining attacks, acting as if she had luckily survived the most dangerous moment.

After another quarter of an hour, the light of the Illusory Kill Array finally slowly dissipated.

The assessment was over!

When the mist completely cleared, revealing the plaza, less than a hundred people remained! Every one of them was pale-faced and spiritually agitated, most slumped on the ground, still reeling with fear.

Only Ye Li, though slightly sweating on her forehead and breathing a little quickly, still stood tall and straight, her eyes clear and calm, as if she had merely undergone a warm-up exercise.

Her appearance formed an incredibly stark contrast with the disheveled state of the others.

All eyes focused on her again, filled with complex, inexpressible emotions.

On the high platform, the Elders’ argument abruptly ceased, but the look in their eyes towards Ye Li became even more fervent and determined.

Ye Li slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air. She knew that her performance in this second test was probably even more “stunning” than the first.

More trouble, perhaps, would follow.

But so would the opportunities.

Her gaze calmly drifted towards the venue for the final assessment—the several battle rings that had already been erected not far away.

The final ranking was about to be decided.