A magical journey of a sharp-tongued woman and a goofy man

The Ye family's medicinal field, shrouded in night, glowed with fluorescent lights. Ye Shuli pressed the fragment of the Kunlun Mirror into the array's core.

Suddenly, ice crystal-like patterns spread from the cracks in the mirror, the star map in the southeast corner flickered twice and then fell silent, and the black mist that her index finger touched corroded a small blood hole.

"This insidious method doesn't seem like the orthodox way of the Xuanmen." She flicked away the blood droplets, and a soft clattering sound came from behind her as tiles crackled.

Jiang Ye hung upside down under the eaves, tossing half a broken jade token in his hand: "The referee changed carriages three times while changing clothes, finally ending up at the coffin shop in the south of the city."

At 3:45 AM, in the backyard of the coffin shop, the referee, shaking his goatee, counted the spirit stones in his Qiankun bag.

A hoarse male voice came from the sandalwood coffin: "Destroy the Ye family's protective array before midnight tomorrow, and you'll get a bye in the first round of the tournament."

Jiang Ye was squatting on the locust tree, munching on a sesame seed cake, when he saw dark red liquid seeping from the cracks in the coffin.

He took out the Polaroid camera Ye Shuli had given him, and the moment the flash went off, the coffin lid exploded open, and bronze beetles, reeking of corpses, surged toward the treetops like a tide.

"Run!" Jiang Ye leaped onto the roof beam, stepping on the beetle's shell. The photo from the camera in his arms clearly showed the black iron thumb ring of the leader of the rival family.

Hundreds of beetles suddenly turned and pounced on the referee, devouring him in the blink of an eye until he was reduced to a skeleton covered in tattered cloth.

After listening to the report, Ye Shuli spread the blood-stained fragments of "Tiangong Kaiwu" on the sand table: "Since they want the array core, we'll give them a big one." Her fingertips traced the array diagram that Jiang Ye had forged overnight, adding an extra reverse spirit rune in the southwest corner.

The next morning, thick smoke rose from the Ye family's training ground.

A dozen or so disciples fled in panic, shouting, "The Spirit Gathering Array has gone out of control and is backfiring!"

The scout hiding in the sycamore tree witnessed Ye Shuli vomiting blood in public. Jiang Ye, with red eyes, carried her to the back mountain to heal her wounds, but did not notice the girl's drooping hand gesture - three fingers pointing directly to the southeast star position.

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), a sudden gust of cold wind rose from the mass grave, and half of a Nuo mask stood upright and plunged into the ground.

The bronze beetles gathered into a humanoid shape three zhang tall, and the topological patterns on their backs resonated with the Ye family's protective formation.

In the hollows of their chest cavities, faint remnants of star maps from the coffin shop courtyard could be seen.

Ye Shuli stood in the secret chamber at the center of the array, watching the distorted star map in the Kunlun Mirror gradually become complete.

Suddenly, the mirror reflected an anomaly in the earth's veins a hundred miles away. She loaded the modified black powder into the array's core, turned to Jiang Ye, and raised an eyebrow: "Would you say that explosive art counts as modern knowledge?"

The moment a meteor shower streaked across the southeastern sky, all the bronze beetles simultaneously turned toward the Ye family's training ground.

The topological patterns on their backs began to flow in reverse, but they failed to notice the three hundred improved array eyes buried underground, which were now emitting the blue light of the Klein bottle structure.

Moonlight swept across the broken plaque of the training ground, and Jiang Ye squatted on the locust tree, tossing the remains of a bronze beetle.

The topological patterns inside the insect's shell were flashing in sync with the three hundred array eyes underground. He muttered to the communication talisman behind his ear, "Shouldn't the old guys have taken the bait by now?"

"boom!"

A muffled rumble of earth tremors came from the southeast. Ye Shuli leaned against the railing of the Star Gazing Pavilion and curled the corners of her lips.

The jade bracelet on her wrist sensed the fluctuations of the array being activated, reflecting twenty-three spiritual energy vortexes around the training ground—each vortex concealing three Ye family guards.

“Here it comes.” She flicked her finger and shattered the teacup in her hand.

As the three hundred attackers, dressed in black, stepped into the training ground, golden array patterns suddenly appeared beneath their feet.

Jiang Ye, chewing on a mint leaf, leaped down from the treetop, a modified signal flare igniting at his fingertips: "Aren't you all surprised by the chain reaction formation specially made by my wife?"

As the towering flames ripped through the night, the training ground cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

Nineteen spirit-binding locks shot out from the crack, binding the attackers in the front row like dumplings.

The Ye family patriarch led his disciples out of the underground passage, all pointing their swords at the black-robed man at the back.

"The Lin family head can't even bear to exchange the Xuan Tie thumb ring?" Ye Shuli's voice came from all directions, and eight water mirrors suddenly appeared in the four corners of the training ground.

The mirror played a loop of photos taken during the explosion of the coffin shop, and the black iron thumb ring gleamed coldly amidst the pile of corpse worms.

The man in black robes lifted his hood, revealing a hooked nose, and the crimson spiritual energy gathered in his palms suddenly dissipated—the floor tiles beneath his feet were frantically absorbing the spiritual energy.

Jiang Ye whistled as he spun the array plate: "These bricks are mixed with Shu Li's specially made spirit-absorbing cement. The harder you stomp your feet, the faster the spiritual energy will drain away."

Just as the Ye family patriarch pointed his sword at his throat, the Lin family patriarch suddenly shot out a poisoned hidden weapon from his sleeve.

The projectile struck the transparent barrier, bounced back, and pierced his own thigh.

Ye Shuli slowly stepped out of the water mirror, tossing aside a specially made ceramic jar containing gunpowder: "Thank you for sponsoring three hundred catties of black iron concentrate."

As the seven captured Lin family experts knelt before the referee's hall, the tournament referee was wiping the cold sweat from his goatee.

Jiang Ye suddenly pulled out a Polaroid camera and pointed it at him: "Your beard is covered in coffin oil, do you want to take a close-up shot?"

Ye Shuli superimposed the forged array diagram onto the real one, revealing the words "framed" in watermark under the sunlight: "Your Honor now has two choices: either publicly declare the Lin family in violation, or I will invite all the major families to visit the blood sacrifice array in the coffin shop's secret chamber."

At the break of dawn, nine chimes shook the dew off the paulownia leaves.

Jiang Ye was squatting on the city wall adjusting his telescope when he suddenly saw the flying boats of various families landing at the training ground.

He turned around to call Ye Shuli, but found that the girl had already fallen asleep against the wall, her eyelashes still covered with black ash from the explosion.

Smoke billowed from the bronze cauldron in the center of the training ground, and the runes that appeared on the cauldron resonated with the tattered page in Ye Shuli's sleeve.

She suddenly awoke with a start, pressing down on the fragment of the Kunlun Mirror in her arms, which had suddenly become hot. The mirror reflected an ancient altar three hundred miles away that was awakening.