Chapter 68

When Mu Chen woke up in the early morning, his mind was still a bit messy. If it weren't for the dark purple Mandala flower still existing on the black paper inside his qi sea, and the Nine Netherbird trapped within it, he would have thought that what happened last night was just a dream.

"Damn beast."

After a long time, Mu Chen finally gradually accepted this reality. He rubbed his face fiercely and cursed angrily. Although the Nine Netherbird was now trapped by the mysterious black paper, Mu Chen still felt uneasy. After all, the Nine Netherbird was too powerful. It was extremely weak now, but what if it recovered a bit and the mysterious black paper couldn't contain it anymore?

This thing left in his body was always an unstable bomb, ready to make him miserable at any time.

Only after experiencing the ferocity and unruliness of the Nine Netherbird could one understand how naive the idea of refining it was. Given the pride of the Nine Netherbird, if anyone tried to forcibly refine it, Mu Chen could guarantee that this damn feathered beast would fight to the death with him.

What use was there in having this spirit beast's essence?

After cursing the Nine Netherbird fiercely in his heart, Mu Chen gradually calmed down. The situation was already like this, and no amount of venting would help. Fortunately, the Nine Netherbird was now trapped by the mysterious black paper, so he still had some time to think about how to deal with it.

Mu Chen got up, tidied himself up, and went out of the room, heading to the place where he usually learned spirit arrays with Mr. Wen Ling. After the Black Nether Abyss trip, Mu Chen had also experienced the power of spirit arrays, and his interest in them had grown even more. The ones he had used were just small spirit arrays, not even qualifying as a first-level spirit array.

In the usual training room, Mu Chen did not see Mr. Wen Ling. He must have come early. However, Mu Chen was not impatient. He sat down on the mat and fell into deep thought. Now that he had officially advanced to the Spirit Wheel Realm, he could feel that his spiritual energy had become much more robust, and his control over it was also more refined.

"I wonder how many spirit seals I can condense now."

Mu Chen muttered to himself, his eyes filled with anticipation. Then he extended his palm, and a swirl of dark spiritual energy surged out, enveloping his hand. The speed and the robustness of the spiritual energy made Mu Chen quite satisfied. Indeed, the efficiency of mobilizing spiritual energy in the Spirit Wheel Realm far exceeded that of the late Spirit Movement Realm.

The dark spiritual energy quickly condensed and transformed at Mu Chen's fingertips. Eight spirit seals were formed almost instantly. Then, Mu Chen's fingertips moved, and the ninth spirit seal quietly condensed. Mu Chen did not stop; the dark spiritual energy continued to condense, and the tenth, eleventh, and finally the twelfth spirit seals appeared, totaling twelve spirit seals.

Mu Chen looked at the twelve spirit seals in his palm and felt somewhat satisfied. He could sense that this was not his limit, but since he had just advanced to the Spirit Wheel Realm, he needed some time to stabilize. He believed that he would do better in the future.

Mu Chen smiled at his progress, clenched his hand, and the twelve spirit seals dissipated. Then he heard footsteps outside the door, and the door opened. Mr. Wen Ling walked in.

"Mr. Wen."

Mu Chen quickly stood up and greeted him.

Wen Ling waved his hand. He looked at the young man in front of him, and a smile appeared on his usually stern face. "I heard from the domain lord that you used small spirit arrays in the Black Nether Abyss. You learn quickly."

Wen Ling had been invited by Mu Feng to teach Mu Chen spirit arrays. The fact that Mu Chen could learn so quickly was also a source of pride for him, although he had to admit that much of it was due to Mu Chen's talent in learning spirit arrays.

Mu Chen smiled awkwardly. His small spirit arrays could only fool spirit beasts with low intelligence.

"For the next two days, you'll have to study on your own," Wen Ling said, looking at Mu Chen. "Your father plans to construct a second-level spirit gathering array in Mu City. This level of spirit gathering array is beyond my capabilities alone, so your father has spent a great deal to invite three first-level spirit array masters to help. During this time, I will be working with them to see if we can succeed."

"Second-level spirit gathering array?" Mu Chen was somewhat surprised. In the entire Northern Spirit Realm, the only third-level spirit gathering array was in the Northern Spirit Academy. As for second-level spirit gathering arrays, only the Liu Domain had one. Even their Mu Domain only had a first-level spirit gathering array. This had always been a matter of concern for his father. After all, a spirit gathering array was a symbol of a domain's strength. The Liu Domain had become the strongest of the nine domains in recent years, and the second-level spirit gathering array had played a significant role.

However, constructing a second-level spirit gathering array was not easy. Even some second-level spirit array masters were not confident they could succeed. Additionally, constructing a spirit gathering array required a large amount of rare materials, and the cost was extremely high. Failure would be a significant loss even for the Mu Domain. Therefore, Mu Feng had been holding back all these years, but it seemed he could no longer wait.

Even with the help of three first-level spirit array masters and Wen Ling, whether they could successfully construct the second-level spirit gathering array was still uncertain.

"Alright, Mr. Wen, you focus on your work," Mu Chen nodded.

Wen Ling nodded, seemingly also troubled by the second-level spirit gathering array. He didn't say much more and turned to leave.

"Mr. Wen," Mu Chen suddenly spoke up. He looked at Wen Ling, who was puzzled, and hesitated before saying, "I now have some understanding of small spirit arrays. I wonder if Mr. Wen could give me a first-level array diagram to study?"

Hearing that Mu Chen wanted to study a first-level array diagram, Wen Ling frowned, his face becoming more serious. "You have talent, which is good, but don't forget what I told you about not being overly ambitious. A first-level spirit array requires at least fifteen spirit seals, and its complexity far exceeds that of small spirit arrays. You should wait until you can condense at least ten spirit seals before attempting to study a first-level array diagram."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly paused, his stern face showing a hint of surprise. He saw the young man in front of him raise his hand, and ten spirit seals appeared at his fingertips, exactly the number he had mentioned.

"You..."

Wen Ling stared at the ten spirit seals on Mu Chen's fingertips, stunned for a moment before regaining his composure. He looked at Mu Chen with a strange expression. How long had this kid been practicing spirit arrays? He could already condense ten spirit seals. His talent in this area was truly astonishing.

"Cough."

Wen Ling cleared his throat, hiding his surprise. "Since you can do it, I'll agree to your request."

Saying this, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red array diagram, handing it to Mu Chen. "This is a relatively simple first-level spirit array called the Fire Flame Spirit Array. It requires at least fifteen spirit seals to construct. Just study it; don't try to construct it. If the spirit array backfires, it won't be a pleasant experience."

Mu Chen took the red array diagram with excitement, nodding repeatedly.

Seeing this, Wen Ling waved his hand and turned to leave. He still had to discuss with the three invited first-level spirit array masters how to construct the second-level spirit gathering array. It was a troublesome task, but it was also a good opportunity for him. Perhaps he could find a breakthrough and advance to the second-level spirit array master level.

After Wen Ling left, Mu Chen carefully opened the first-level array diagram. A red light washed over him, faintly carrying a hint of heat. Mu Chen focused his mind and looked closely.

On the array diagram, red light flickered, and lines extended, intertwining to form a complex pattern.

Mu Chen stared at the array diagram, which would make ordinary people dizzy, and couldn't help but smack his lips. A first-level spirit array was indeed much more complex than a small spirit array, which made it even more interesting.

Mu Chen immersed himself in the "Fire Flame Spirit Array," studying the complex spirit lines. After a long time, he slowly withdrew his gaze. Although he was eager to try, he did not act rashly. A first-level spirit array required at least fifteen spirit seals as a foundation, and he was not yet at that level.

"It seems I need to work on condensing more spirit seals."

Mu Chen put away the array diagram with satisfaction, closed his eyes, and began to try to condense more spirit seals.

Over the next few days, Wen Ling was busy constructing the second-level spirit gathering array and had no time to guide Mu Chen. Mu Chen, on the other hand, was happy to have some free time and spent all his time trying to condense more spirit seals.

His efforts paid off. As he gradually adapted to the Spirit Wheel Realm, his control over spiritual energy became even more refined. On the fifth day, he finally successfully increased the number of spirit seals to fifteen.

When Mu Chen's spirit seals reached fifteen, he was excited. The eager young man then took out the "Fire Flame Spirit Array" again. Now, he finally had the qualifications to attempt this true first-level spirit array.

(To be continued)