My low-key cultivation of immortality was discovered by the emperor in my diary.

Chapter 254 Merlin Faces a Choice: Divination or Formation?

"Actually, she is the most compatible with the Dao of Arrays."

Chu Lengyu said with a hint of regret.

Upon hearing this, Elder Merlin paused for a moment, then silently returned the Divine Mirror without saying anything more.

Since ancient times, the Meilin lineage has relied on the art of divination to stand firm in the world, but the art of formations is not their forte.

The study of the Plum Blossom Formation is simply because it is consistent with the principles of the Eight Trigrams, and can be used for mutual verification to supplement the technique.

Chu Lengyu's guidance just now did allow him to glimpse the profound and vast nature of array formations. However, Elder Meilin knew that it was nothing more than an unattainable dream. To try to turn it into reality was nothing short of a fool's dream, impossible to achieve.

On the other hand, the art of divination is truly mysterious and extraordinary. The old man Meilin devoted his entire life to it, immersing himself in it, and the depth of his knowledge was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

He sought a personal disciple precisely to cultivate the next generation of diviners and to pass on his mantle.

Seeing that Elder Meilin avoided discussing the Dao of Arrays, Chu Lengyu understood his attitude and stopped pursuing the topic.

She then asked, "Is the damage to your spirit reflected in the mirror due to divination?"

"..."

Old Man Meilin paused for a moment, his expression changed slightly, and he didn't know how to answer.

His pride in his ability to divine the future seemed to be suddenly diminished.

However, after a moment's thought, he decided to be honest. After all, many people knew about this, and he didn't want to have his past grievances brought up again in the future, causing him unnecessary trouble.

So, the old man Meilin recounted in detail everything, from initially accepting the request from the Ten Directions Forest, to the backlash from the divine secrets during the divination process, and then to the destruction of the Thirteen Plum Blossom Signs. He left nothing out and told it all.

Although he felt helpless, he understood that the fault lay with the Ten Directions Forest, not with Chu Lengyu.

Moreover, it is not a respectable thing to divine the future of others behind their backs, and he was unwilling to hide it.

After listening to Elder Meilin's account of the cause and effect, Chu Lengyu roughly guessed why he had suffered the backlash of the heavenly secrets.

In the eyes of Heaven, she had always been a key target for monitoring and prevention. When the old man Merlin attempted to divine her fate, he attracted Heaven's attention in the instant he connected with the secrets of Heaven, and was thus accidentally injured.

However, this also shows that he really did have a good grasp of the secrets of heaven.

If the calculations hadn't been so accurate, this unexpected disaster wouldn't have happened.

Chu Lengyu thought for a moment and said, "I can repair the damaged magic artifact for you."

Upon hearing this, Elder Merlin's face lit up with surprise, and he hurriedly asked, "Really?!"

This unexpected good news truly delighted him. He stared intently at Chu Lengyu, fearing that it was just a joke she was making.

She nodded gently, and an ancient bronze cauldron slowly emerged in her palm. The cauldron bore the marks of time, exuding a calm and solemn aura.

Chu Lengyu explained, "This is the Jingzhou Cauldron, which is skilled at repairing all kinds of magical artifacts."

After she finished speaking, a radiant array flag flew out of the small cauldron and landed in her other hand.

Chu Lengyu carefully inspected the array flags and saw that the lightning strike cracks on them had been repaired as before, which relieved her.

Recalling the final round of the Five-Nine Thunder Tribulation, the lightning transformed into a dragon, unstoppable, and pierced through the array's defenses in one fell swoop, damaging even the array flags.

Although she lacked the necessary materials for the repair and did not know the specific repair methods, she was fortunate to have the Nine Tripods in her possession.

Therefore, she specially refined this Jingzhou Cauldron to repair the damaged array flags.

With the power of the Star God Annihilation Array, it's enough for her to use until the next tribulation. Even if she "retires" in the future, its powerful offensive and defensive capabilities are more than enough to serve as the city's protective array.

After advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, she can refine several more cauldrons. This will not only enrich her combat methods, but also make up for her shortcomings, such as lack of materials to repair magic weapons, so she will have no more worries.

Meanwhile, the old man Merlin was completely captivated by the incredibly mysterious patterns on the flag.

His eyes were fixed on the ever-shifting starlight on the banner. The tiny stars seemed to come alive, spinning and floating, each containing endless mysteries and power.

His breathing became slightly rapid, and a look of fascination appeared on his face.

The intricate array patterns, like mysterious runes, led him into a profound world. There, stars and the Dao of Heaven intertwined, time and space merged, and everything seemed so mysterious and incredible.

Chu Lengyu originally intended to take back the array flag, but seeing how engrossed he was, she pushed the array flag toward him, allowing him to observe it for a moment.

The power of the array flags was sealed during the repair process, so it would not harm Elder Merlin. However, the gap between him and the Star God Annihilation Array was too great, and prolonged viewing would inevitably damage his soul.

At this moment, Song Yi, Yi Xiaoqi, and the other five finally awoke from their long nightmare.

Everyone's face was as pale as paper, as if they had just recovered from a serious illness, and their eyes were filled with the shock of surviving a disaster.

Yi Xiaoqi slowly looked around. The familiar scenery made her breathe a sigh of relief, but a sense of lingering fear welled up in her heart.

In that illusion, she tried to escape countless times, but even after jumping into that bottomless abyss, she found herself unable to break free and could only wander in that false world day after day.

She knew perfectly well that her loving parents, kind friends, and everything around her were nothing but lies woven from illusions.

She kept reminding herself that it was all an illusion, and that she couldn't let herself get caught up in it or let her guard down.

However, the daily mental torment nearly drove her to the brink of collapse. She lost her appetite and couldn't sleep at night, as if she were tightly bound by invisible ropes.

During that time, she even had extreme thoughts, wanting to end those illusions with her own hands to end this endless torment, but when she looked at the illusions of her parents, she could never make up her mind.

Now, when she finally broke free from that suffocating illusion, she felt as if she had been transported to another world.

The other five people felt the same way as her; each of them had a look of exhaustion and confusion on their faces.

None of them felt fortunate to have finally passed the third test, because the ordeal had been far too difficult for them.