In Zhu Xian, people start to rise from plundering entries

"His star power attribute seems to be extremely special, sometimes as explosive as fire, sometimes as sharp as gold, unpredictable."

"Could it be that he possesses some special physique, or has cultivated an extremely profound martial art?"

Amidst the discussions, Su Han's name steadily rose in the rankings on the light screen, currently standing at sixty-first place. As the competition progressed, many disciples with slightly weaker abilities were eliminated, leaving only elites from their respective sects. The higher the ranking, the smaller the gap in strength, making each battle extremely difficult.

Ye Lingxiao encountered a formidable opponent in the fourth round, fought fiercely but ultimately succumbed to defeat, finishing in the 200s. However, he had given his all, and Master Ziyang did not blame him; instead, he offered words of encouragement.

In the fifth match, Su Han's opponent was Mo Wen, a disciple from the "Tianji Pavilion" who was ranked thirty-third.

The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is not known for its combat prowess, but rather for its ability to deduce celestial secrets and its mastery of array formations and talismans. Its disciples are often not top-tier in combat, but they possess a wide variety of unpredictable and difficult-to-defend methods.

Mo Wen was a seemingly lazy young man, holding a white jade abacus, and yawning as he stepped onto the arena. But when he looked at Su Han, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his seemingly sleepy eyes.

"Su Han of the Ziyang Sect?" Mo Wen fiddled with the abacus beads, saying lazily, "Four consecutive wins, his combat strength assessment has been raised three times. The odds have dropped from 1 to 50 to 1 to 3. Interesting."

Su Han raised an eyebrow. Odds? Is this guy betting on the match?
Mo Wen seemed to see his confusion and grinned, "Don't look at me like that. We disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion have to find a way to make a living. Alright, enough nonsense, let's start fighting. Let me see if you're worth the current odds."

Before he finished speaking, he flicked his white jade abacus, and dozens of beads shot out, not towards Su Han, but scattered across the arena. The beads landed, flashed with a magical light, and instantly disappeared into the ground.

"Activate the formation." Mo Wen shouted in a low voice, forming a hand seal.

hum-

On the arena, countless spiritual runes lit up, crisscrossing and forming a light array that covered the entire arena. Su Han felt a sudden heaviness around him, as if he were sinking into quagmire, and his movements immediately slowed down by a third. At the same time, the scene before him distorted, the arena seemed to be stretched and widened, and Mo Wen's figure appeared simultaneously in several directions, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

"An illusion array? A trapping array?" Su Han remained calm. He scanned the area with his divine sense, only to find that his divine sense was also interfered with by the array, making it difficult to lock onto Mo Wen's true form.

"It's no use." Mo Wen's voice came from all directions. "This 'Minor Heavenly Cycle Maze Formation' is specifically designed to trap the divine consciousness and physical body. Unless you break the spell with force or master the formation and find the core of the formation, you will only be trapped until you die. Of course, you can't kill people on the arena, so I will use other methods to make you admit defeat."

As they spoke, the formation shifted, and chains of spiritual energy erupted from the ground, wrapping around Su Han's legs. Simultaneously, several phantoms of Mo Wen attacked, their finger strikes and palm shadows coming from tricky angles. Su Han swung his sword, severing the chains, and unleashed his movement techniques, dodging most of the attacks within the confined space. However, he was still grazed by two palm strikes, causing his protective star energy to fluctuate.

"Interesting." Su Han's eyes narrowed slightly. This disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion was indeed troublesome. Under the cover of the formation, he was restrained at every turn, while his opponent was like a fish in water.

This can't be delayed any longer. The formation needs spiritual energy to operate, but judging from Mo Wen's calm and composed demeanor, he clearly has plenty. Should they try to break the formation with brute force? Su Han assessed the formation's strength. If he were to unleash the full power of "Wildfire," he might be able to forcibly tear off a corner, but the consumption would be enormous. There are still battles to come; it wouldn't be worth the risk.

Therefore, there is only one option left—find the core of the formation.

Su Han closed his eyes, no longer looking at the illusions or trying to forcefully probe them with his disturbed divine sense. Within the Star Palace, the clear moonlight shone down, mingling with the starlight on the base. He recalled the descriptions of "qi" and "meridians" in the *Primordial Ancient Scripture*, and sank his mind into a state of clarity, sensing the trajectory of spiritual energy flowing within the formation.

Formations, in essence, are the application and combination of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. As long as a formation is set up, there will be a pattern of spiritual energy flow. Primordial Star Power, on the other hand, is a manifestation of the primordial power of all things, and its perception of the flow of spiritual energy far surpasses that of ordinary star power.

In Su Han's perception, the surroundings were no longer distorted illusions, but rather streams of colorful spiritual energy. They moved along specific trajectories, forming a complex network. Most of the spiritual energy circulated within the formation, but at several nodes, the flow of spiritual energy was exceptionally active, pulsating like a heart, and acting as hubs connecting multiple streams of spiritual energy.

The core of the formation!

Su Han suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as lightning, locking onto a seemingly empty spot three zhang to his left. A point of extremely condensed starlight shone from the tip of his "Starfire Sword," and he thrust it out in an instant!

"Huh?" Mo Wen exclaimed in surprise. The sword light pierced straight towards one of the secondary array eyes he was hiding! He quickly manipulated the abacus, the array changed, the direction of the spiritual energy flow changed abruptly, and the array eye instantly moved away.

But Su Han's sword momentum shifted accordingly, following like a shadow, and once again pierced towards another point where spiritual energy gathered.

Mo Wen's expression finally changed. Once might be a coincidence, but finding the array's nodes precisely twice was no longer luck. This kid could actually see through the operating rules of the "Minor Heavenly Cycle Maze Array"?

He dared not hold back any longer, and the white jade abacus moved rapidly, emitting a crisp "crackling" sound. The array was fully activated, illusions abounded, and spiritual energy chains danced like venomous snakes, as streams of spiritual energy attacks came at Su Han from all directions.

Su Han, caught in the midst of the formation, felt the pressure increase dramatically. However, his mind remained calm, and his "Starfire Sword" traced mysterious trajectories, each strike hitting the crucial points of spiritual energy flow—intercepting, guiding, or annihilating it. Seemingly perilous situations abounded, yet he always managed to defuse the crisis at the last possible moment. (End of Chapter)