Hearing that familiar voice, Liu Wuxie instinctively turned around, and surprise flashed across his face the moment he recognized the person standing before him.

"Jiao Ba!" Liu Wuxie exclaimed in disbelief. He was surprised to see him there.

Back in the True Martial Continent, he had once mistaken Jiao Ba for the mastermind behind the poison that had nearly killed his grandfather and caused the Liu Clan's decline. Only after traveling to the Eternal Spirit Mountain had he learned the truth. If Jiao Ba hadn't intervened, his grandfather would've already died under Liu Xiaotian's scheme.

In other words, Jiao Ba had been the one who had saved the Liu Clan from complete collapse. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"It has been a long time since we last met, Young Master Liu," Jiao Ba said as he bowed slightly, gratitude evident on his face. He understood clearly that without Liu Wuxie's assistance, the young lady would never have inherited her ancestor's legacy so smoothly.

"Where's Ye Hongyi? Isn't she with you?" Liu Wuxie asked. The moment he saw Jiao Ba, the image of that woman dressed in fiery red surfaced in his mind once more. Her breathtaking beauty remained deeply engraved in his memory.

"The young lady has already ascended to the celestial realm," Jiao Ba replied as he raised a finger toward the sky. Several years ago, Ye Hongyi had chosen to leave the mortal realm behind and ascend.

Liu Wuxie wasn't surprised by the answer. Deep down, he had always felt that Ye Hongyi never truly belonged to the mortal realm.

That realization also allowed him to piece together the truth behind the battle that had occurred 300,000 years ago. Not only had the Sacred Astral River Scroll been swept into the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain through the spatial crack, but the tomb of Ye Hongyi's ancestor had also fallen into the astral domain alongside it. Later, when the Indigo Bamboo Star had shattered, the tomb was carried into the True Martial Continent.

Only after countless years had passed did she finally obtain her ancestor's inheritance.

"Then why didn't you ascend with her?" Liu Wuxie asked. Jiao Ba's cultivation clearly wasn't weak. He had already stepped into the higher levels of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, so logically, he should've ascended alongside Ye Hongyi long ago.

"The young lady foresaw this disaster long ago, so she instructed me to remain in the mortal realm and help you. Once everything is settled here, I will return to the celestial realm as well," Jiao Ba said frankly, without hiding anything. He had stayed behind for this very moment.

"Your young lady predicted that I would face this calamity?" Liu Wuxie asked as his brows furrowed slightly. Although he had only crossed paths with Ye Hongyi a handful of times, he had always sensed that she was impossibly mysterious.

"You'll understand in the future," Jiao Ba replied calmly. He offered no further explanation because he couldn't clearly explain certain matters either. He had merely followed the young lady's instructions.

While the two conversed, Gan Xingzhou and the others had already launched another attack.

"If you people wish to die here, then continue attacking. Even if you manage to kill Young Master Liu, every one of you will remain trapped inside the Eighteen Arhat Array. I doubt any of you are willing to die in this place," Jiao Ba warned while staring at Gan Xingzhou with open ridicule.

"We can naturally find a way to leave this place after killing all of you," Gan Xingzhou replied coldly. He no longer wished to delay killing Liu Wuxie. Joining forces with the remaining twenty-seven immortals, he once again formed the Nine-Star Immortal Slaying Array, though its power had clearly weakened compared to before.

At that exact moment, a deafening buzz echoed through the air. A heaven-shaking aura descended from above as Gong Gong appeared in the sky. With the head of a python and the body of a human, he radiated a terrifying pressure that forced Gan Xingzhou and the others to take several steps back.

More importantly, Gan Xingzhou had already stepped into the High Immortal Realm. During his time inside the Sacred Astral River Scroll, he had clearly obtained numerous treasures.

With Gong Gong joining their side, Liu Wuxie's group reached equilibrium with Gan Xingzhou's faction. If both sides truly fought to the death, the outcome would be mutual destruction.

"Brother Gan, what should we do?" Liang Hong asked as he turned toward Gan Xingzhou.

They no longer held much of an advantage. Although they still possessed a trump card capable of killing Liu Wuxie, they would all end up trapped to death inside the Eighteen Arhat Array afterward.

Jiao Ba was right. The internal world of the Sacred Astral River Scroll existed independently, completely severed from the celestial realm. Otherwise, Lingqiong Mo and the others would've already ascended while fleeing pursuit long ago.

Gan Xingzhou's thoughts began racing as he questioned whether killing Liu Wuxie now was truly worth the price.

"Gan Xingzhou, I know you possess a treasure capable of killing me. But even if you succeed, every one of you will still die here alongside me. Why don't we join forces to break this spiritual array first? Once we leave the Sacred Astral River Scroll, we can continue our fight to the death," Liu Wuxie said with a faint smile as he looked toward Gan Xingzhou's group.

He possessed the experience, while Gan Xingzhou's side possessed the strength. If both sides cooperated, breaking the Eighteen Arhat Array wouldn't be difficult.

"No. You must die today!" A man stepped out from behind Gan Xingzhou. His name was Meng Zhi, and he had also reached the sixth-level High Immortal Realm.

Although Meng Zhi had spoken little since descending into the mortal realm, Liu Wuxie had noticed that Gan Xingzhou always glanced toward him before making any major decision. That alone proved that Meng Zhi's status was far from ordinary.

"I truly don't understand what you're all worried about. My family is still in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. Do you think I'll abandon them and flee after leaving the Sacred Astral River Scroll?" Liu Wuxie asked mockingly.

Naturally, he understood their concerns. They worried he might flee as soon as the Eighteen Arhat Array shattered. Yet they had overlooked the crucial fact that his family and friends remained within the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. There was no possibility he would abandon them and run alone.

Gan Xingzhou and the others hesitated. None of them wished to perish in the mortal realm, and by making the right choice, they still had a chance to escape.

Gan Xingzhou turned toward Meng Zhi, silently seeking everyone's opinion. At this point, they truly faced a choice between life and death.

The others remained silent as well, clearly acknowledging the truth in Liu Wuxie's words.

Since they already possessed a trump card capable of killing Liu Wuxie, they could simply wait to deal with him.

"Very well. We'll work together to break the spiritual array," Gan Xingzhou finally said after a brief discussion with the others. The group retreated more than a dozen meters away while maintaining a cautious distance from Liu Wuxie. It wasn't because they feared a sudden ambush from him, but they merely wanted to preserve their formation.

Only at this moment did everyone realize that a spiritual array had trapped them.

Several cultivators initially refused to believe it and attempted to escape the range of the eighteen pillars. However, the moment one of them reached ten thousand meters, an overwhelming rebound force blasted him backward.

That was the power of the nine heavens and ten earths, capable of destroying even high immortals.

After crashing back, the immortal spat out a mouthful of blood as cracks spread across his entire body. He looked as though death could claim him at any moment.

The horrifying sight stunned everyone. Only then did they finally accept the reality that they had been trapped inside a spiritual array and could very well remain imprisoned there forever.

Although immortals possessed long lifespans, that didn't mean they could waste their lives endlessly. Inside the Sacred Astral River Scroll, where the laws mirrored those of the celestial realm, ordinary heavenly immortals could survive for only a few hundred years at most. In the mortal realm, that lifespan seemed comparable to heaven itself, but in the celestial realm, a few hundred years amounted to little more than the lifespan of an ordinary mortal.

"Liu Wuxie, hurry up and break the spiritual array already!"

The news that Liu Wuxie was the reincarnation of an immortal emperor had yet to spread throughout the mortal realm because Gan Xingzhou and the others had never revealed it after descending. While the spiritual array created by an immortal venerable remained impossible for Gan Xingzhou's group to break, Liu Wuxie didn't find it particularly difficult.

"No rush. Breaking this spiritual array cannot be accomplished overnight," Liu Wuxie replied calmly as he slowly circled the area once more.

Time continued to pass.

Liu Wuxie deliberately dragged things out, as he needed to stall them for 3 days. With merely two days remaining before the Heavenly Sealing Array was complete, he could already sense faint disturbances spreading through the laws of heaven and earth.

Inside the Spirit Sealing Institute, Han Feizi's hair had already turned completely white.

He hadn't rested for eight consecutive days, and not long ago, every strand of his hair had turned silver.

The sight filled everyone around him with heartache.

Despite countless attempts to persuade him to rest, Han Feizi remained unmoving. He intended to devote every last ounce of his strength toward completing the Heavenly Sealing Array.

Elder Han wanted to stop him, but Han Shanzi stopped him. After all, no one understood Han Feizi better than his own father.

From the moment Han Feizi had insisted on activating the Celestial Star Platform, Han Shanzi had realized his son had truly grown up. All he could do now was stand beside him and support him with everything he had.

"Let him continue. He won't rest until the Heavenly Sealing Array is complete," Han Shanzi said softly, his heart aching as he watched the scene unfold. No one could truly understand the pain of watching their son's hair turn white before their very eyes.

The soul that once pursued freedom without restraint had now become the new headmaster of the Spirit Sealing Institute—a man others could rely upon to shoulder immense burdens.

And all of it stemmed from Liu Wuxie.

That was correct. Han Feizi had already inherited Elder Han's position and taken charge of the entire Spirit Sealing Institute. Following his recent breakthrough into the Heavenly Immortal Realm several days ago, even his cultivation had surpassed Elder Han's.

Most of the many disciples from the Spirit Sealing Institute surrounding Han Feizi belonged to the Han Clan. They rotated shifts constantly, ensuring the Heavenly Sealing Array's construction never stopped for even a moment.

Finally, on the ninth day, a faint smile appeared on Han Feizi's lips as he looked at the completed Heavenly Sealing Array.

"Only one final step remains. The Heavenly Sealing Array is finally complete!" Han Feizi declared, nearly collapsing to the ground before someone quickly supported him.

"Headmaster, we succeeded!" the disciples of the Spirit Sealing Institute shouted excitedly.

They had begun preparing the Heavenly Sealing Array roughly a year ago and had poured countless resources and manpower into its construction. More than ten thousand people had participated in the project, and now, at long last, they had finally completed it.

The Heavenly Sealing Array required four treasures for its construction: the blood of a divine dragon, the feather of a phoenix, the bone of a vermilion bird, and the shell of a black tortoise.

To gather those four materials, Liu Wuxie had expended tremendous effort, mobilizing both the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Heavenly Dao Society. Now, the spiritual array required only one final step before activation.

Once activated, the spiritual array would continuously consume vast amounts of resources day and night. Fortunately, with the Heavenly Dragon Sect's current foundation, they could sustain its operation for some time.

"Activate the spiritual array!" Han Feizi ordered immediately.

At the center of the Spirit Sealing Institute stood an enormous altar. More than a thousand disciples surrounded it and pushed against it with both hands.

As the altar slowly began rotating with a thunderous rumble, the entire Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain shook violently.

Countless people became alarmed, including Emperor Haoyuan himself. Everyone instinctively turned toward the Heavenly Dragon Sect, desperate to understand what had happened.

After the altar completed ten full rotations, a terrifying force erupted from deep within it and shot straight into the sky. Invisible ripples spread outward across the heavens.

The Heavenly Sealing Array had a single function of severing the connection between the mortal and celestial realms, preventing the celestial realm from sensing the mortal realm's existence.

As long as the spiritual array remained activated, immortals would no longer be able to ascend to the celestial realm or descend to the mortal realm. Its function was precisely that simple.

Liu Wuxie feared that the celestial realm would continue dispatching immortals downward. The only solution was to sever the connection between the two realms completely.

He understood those people's nature all too well. Once he ascended to the celestial realm, they would inevitably continue sending people into the mortal realm to capture his family and friends to threaten him.

With the Heavenly Sealing Array activated, Liu Wuxie no longer needed to worry about the mortal realm after ascending.

The moment the Heavenly Sealing Array activated, the Sacred Astral River Scroll began to tremble violently.

That reaction indicated that the Sacred Astral River Scroll could no longer return to the celestial realm.

The moment Liu Wuxie sensed the ripples spreading through the Sacred Astral River Scroll, a devilish smile finally appeared across his lips.

"Liu Wuxie, you've already circled this place for an entire day. Can you even break the spiritual array?" Gan Xingzhou asked impatiently after a growing sense of unease filled his heart.

"I need everyone's help to break this spiritual array. I cannot accomplish it alone," Liu Wuxie replied calmly. The activation of the Heavenly Sealing Array had finally allowed his heart to settle completely.