"This Valley Formation should still be missing one step…" Liu Chen muttered to himself, lost in thought, as he stood before the Valley Formation. His gaze was like a torch, as if it could penetrate this seemingly complex Valley Formation and discern its mysteries.
"So that's it!" After some observation and contemplation, Liu Chen suddenly understood. "This is asking me to complete the Valley Formation." He mused to himself that if he successfully completed the Valley Formation, he would be directly teleported to the Legacy location; but if he failed, he would likely be directly teleported out, missing out on this precious Legacy.
However, Liu Chen did not hesitate in the slightest. He had absolute confidence in his Dao of Arrays attainments. He stepped into the center of the Valley Formation and, without hesitation, opened the four sandbag Gu.
Inside the sandbag Gu, four Gu insects were clearly visible: the Mud and Sand Gu, the Flying Sand and Rolling Stones Gu, the Quicksand Hell Gu, and the Gathering and Dispersing Quicksand Gu. All four Gu insects perfectly matched this Valley Formation, but only one could truly be effective.
Choosing the wrong Gu insect meant failure. For those whose Dao of Arrays Realm was insufficient, they would probably have to rely on luck to take a gamble. However, Liu Chen's Dao of Arrays Realm had long since reached the Grandmaster Realm, and he was intimately familiar with the characteristics and uses of these Gu insects.
With almost no hesitation, Liu Chen decisively chose the Gathering and Dispersing Quicksand Gu. He gently took it out, refined it instantly, and then placed this Gathering and Dispersing Quicksand Gu on the central node of the Valley Formation.
With the addition of the Gathering and Dispersing Quicksand Gu, the previously calm Valley Formation was like a lit powder keg, instantly erupting with powerful energy. The solid ground beneath the Valley Formation suddenly cracked open, forming a giant quicksand vortex, like a bottomless black hole, devouring everything around it.
At the same time, quicksand from all directions seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, pouring down like a surging flood, rapidly filling the space. The sky-high yellow sand made it almost impossible to open one's eyes, and one felt as if the entire space was enveloped by this powerful force.
Facing such terrifying quicksand, Liu Chen dared not be negligent in the slightest. He immediately unleashed his defensive killer move, Sword Shield, and a transparent Sword Qi shield rapidly expanded around him.
The quicksand tightly enveloped him. Liu Chen felt as if he had been swept into an underground current, and his body offered no resistance, moving downwards continuously with the quicksand.
After an unknown amount of time, Liu Chen finally felt his body stop falling. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a bronze palace buried deep underground. This palace was incredibly grand; just its main gate was hundreds of meters high.
Even more astonishing was that on that grand gate was a huge chessboard, with a pre-set endgame. And on the side of the chessboard, a line of text was inscribed: "Only those who can solve this chess game are qualified to inherit this Legacy."
"What kind of intricate chess game is this?" Liu Chen thought to himself, gazing at the chessboard before him.
This chess game was clearly not simple, containing the profound mysteries of the Dao of Arrays, which made people marvel. However, facing such a complex situation, Liu Chen showed no fear, but instead a confident smile.
He unhesitatingly picked up a chess piece and began to place one piece after another on the board. Each move seemed casual, yet contained profound meaning. In just a moment, the seemingly unsolvable endgame was easily turned into a victory by him.
As the chess game was solved, the bronze gate emitted a low rumble and slowly opened. Behind the door, a flat and wide passage was revealed. The ground of the passage was divided into tens of thousands of squares, and the walls on both sides were carved with lifelike birds and beasts, as if telling ancient stories.
Liu Chen stepped into the passage and immediately saw its hidden mechanism. This passage seemed calm, but in reality, it concealed deadly traps; only one route was safe, and a single wrong step would trigger a mechanism, with unimaginable consequences.
"Interesting, let me play a bit." Liu Chen's lips curved into a playful smile. He actually closed his eyes directly, relying entirely on intuition and luck, walking casually through the passage.
Surprisingly, every step he took landed precisely on the correct square, without triggering any mechanisms. In this way, Liu Chen walked unimpeded to the end of the passage.
With his current Luck Path, even with his eyes closed, he could safely pass this Legacy trial.
Continuing deeper, Liu Chen successively passed various Dao of Arrays checkpoints. Each one posed no threat to him. This was Zhen Yuangzi's Legacy ground; his Legacy, left by a Righteous Path Gu Immortal, was relatively peaceful, and even if one didn't pass, there would be no danger to life. Yet, he could easily handle them all.
Finally, he arrived at the last checkpoint of the Legacy.
This place was arranged as a giant intricate chess game, with chess pieces densely packed on the board, like an ocean composed of black and white pieces. Compared to the endgame at the entrance, the difficulty of this intricate chess game was more than a hundred times higher. However, the method of solving it was the same—only by retreating to advance at the last moment could the solution be found.
Liu Chen slowly walked through this giant intricate chess game, using himself as a chess piece. He quickly found the key to solving the intricate chess game.
Ultimately, Liu Chen successfully solved this intricate chess game and arrived before the final Bronze Crane Palace Lantern of the Legacy.
Just then, an aged voice resounded from within the Bronze Crane Palace Lantern, as if an echo from ancient times. This voice reverberated through the bronze palace, carrying an undeniable majesty: "Excellent, excellent, fated one. That you could decipher this grand array and come before me already proves your qualification to inherit the true Legacy."
Liu Chen stood quietly before the Bronze Crane Palace Lantern, listening to the aged voice's narration.
It turned out that this intricate chess game was precisely the intent behind Zhen Yuangzi's arrangement of this array. When the Bronze Crane Palace Lantern was within reach, any choice to move forward was actually wrong. Only those Gu Immortals of exceptional wisdom and deep understanding of the Dao of Arrays could discern this point and realize that retreat was the true path forward.
Alternatively, those Gu Immortals whose Dao of Arrays attainments were weak, but who knew when to advance and retreat, their Heart-Nature was commendable, and they also had a chance to inherit the true Legacy.
This was Zhen Yuangzi's Legacy ground, and Liu Chen's goal was naturally the true Dao of Arrays Legacy here, including the Array Spirit and the Formation Flag immortal gu.
"Array Spirit, why do you not show yourself? What are you waiting for?" Liu Chen said to the Bronze Crane Palace Lantern before him, his tone calm after passing the trial.
"Hmm!" The Array Spirit's voice revealed a hint of disbelief, "You actually know about me? This is truly unexpected! My master did not inform anyone else of my existence after creating me! How exactly did you know?"