Chapter 970, Knee Guards

Translator: Silavin

 

Now, before everything had transpired.

 

Just after Qin Yichen leapt into Prison Dragon Slope, he was shrouded as if cloaked in black flames. It was then that the Master Craftsman’s Hammer appeared in his hand.

 

Even within this dense black energy that resembled roaring flames, the Master Craftsman’s Hammer remained like a beacon in darkness, dispersing the surrounding black energy, preventing even a trace from touching his body.

 

Without hesitation, Qin Yichen surged towards the central region of Prison Dragon Slope.

 

His urgency was palpable.

 

After all, Feng Qianxue was still outside. Although he had instructed Chen Hui to protect her, that honest fool possessed defence in abundance but might lack the cunningness to safeguard Feng Qianxue against the treacherous Chen Feng.

 

“I wonder which piece this will be…” Anticipation filled Qin Yichen’s heart as he wielded the Master Craftsman’s Hammer, charging through this Forbidden Area without the slightest hesitation.

 

Before long, within these black flames, a cluster of light appeared not far ahead.

 

It was a mystical Array, channelling the energy of Spirit Veins in rotation, forming a cauldron-shaped light barrier. Within that barrier, Spiritual Energy surged forth, and a pair of knee guards emanating wisps of black energy rose and fell.

 

“It really was a piece of the Myriad Dao Divine Armour!” With a single glance, Qin Yichen recognised them.

 

Because those knee guards were made of exactly the same material as the arm guards on his hands. However, the patterns on the knee guards differed from those on the arm guards.

 

These arm guards granted him several times his normal strength. He wondered what peculiar effects these knee guards might possess.

 

At this moment, however, that mystical Array showed faint traces of being eroded by the black energy. Threads of black energy crept onto the light barrier.

 

If the entire light barrier were corroded by the black energy, the Array would shatter, and those knee guards would once again be tainted by black energy. Everything Master Lu Ban had done would be rendered futile.

 

Upon seeing this scene, Qin Yichen quickened his pace, arriving at the exterior of the light barrier.

 

Drawing closer, he could see more clearly everything within the barrier.

 

Beneath those knee guards lay the core of the Spirit Vein, a crystalline, translucent orb radiating a gentle lustre.

 

That was the Array’s centre. Clearly, that orb was the Array Core maintaining this barrier that isolated the black energy.

 

“A Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl!” Qin Yichen drew in a sharp breath, his eyes revealing a trace of surprise

 

Clearly, when Master Lu Ban discovered this Spirit Vein, it had likely not yet condensed a Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl. Yet Master Lu Ban seemed capable of foreseeing what would occur thousands upon thousands of years hence.

 

Master Lu Ban appeared to know that the black energy would corrode the Spirit Vein, and that such a day would come.

 

Therefore, he established an Array here. After the Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl condensed and took form, it naturally became the Array Core. With the Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl providing energy, the Array would activate.

 

“No wonder it could resist the erosion of black energy for so long. It uses a Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl as the Array Core…” Qin Yichen immediately understood why Prison Dragon Slope had withstood such a lengthy span of time without becoming swampland.

 

It was the Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl.

 

However, the Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl at the Array Core seemed nearly depleted. Consequently, the black energy ran rampant, attempting to corrode the Array.

 

After a brief pause, Qin Yichen approached the light barrier.

 

*Bang!* He collided headfirst with the barrier, unable to enter.

 

Qin Yichen rubbed his forehead, gazing at the light barrier before him with some bewilderment.

 

During his time with the Mo Clan, he had obtained the arm guards without any obstruction. Why, this time, would the barrier not even permit him entry?

 

If he could not enter, naturally he could not retrieve those knee guards.

 

He attempted several more times, each ending in failure.

 

Even wielding the Master Craftsman’s Hammer to clear a path proved futile against the barrier.

 

“How can this be?” Qin Yichen’s eyes gleamed as he began observing the light barrier.

 

After employing his Divine Eyes, he discovered that within the patterns covering the light barrier, black energy had also caused erosion.

 

“So that’s why.” Upon seeing those patterns corroded by black energy, Qin Yichen understood why he couldn’t enter the barrier.

 

“It seems like I’ll have to shatter this barrier!” He raised the Master Craftsman’s Hammer. Spiritual Energy extended outward, and the Master Craftsman’s Hammer blazed with radiant light before hammering violently against the barrier.

 

One strike, two strikes, three strikes…

 

*Crack!*

 

Finally, at a certain moment, a fissure opened in the barrier.

 

*Bang!*

 

Following that crack, Qin Yichen delivered another hammer blow.

 

Instantly, the fissure spread like a spider’s web…

 

The moment the barrier shattered, Qin Yichen darted inside, both hands reaching for the knee guards and that Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl nearly depleted of energy.

 

Even though this Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl was nearly exhausted, it remained an incomparably rare divine artifact. If brought outside, it would be fought over by the Sacred Lands!

 

The instant he seized the knee guards and Heaven Earth Spirit Pearl, the surging black energy around him suddenly stilled, ceasing its movement. Moreover, under the eruption from the Spirit Vein, it began to dissipate.

 

[It seems like the knee guards are the cause of this whole mess.] Qin Yichen mused thoughtfully.

 

The knee guards were the root of that black energy. With the root removed, the black energy would naturally dissipate.

 

Undoubtedly, before long, the black energy here would be purified by Spiritual Energy. The former majesty of the Prison Dragon Mountain Range would soon be restored.

 

*Clang! Clang…*

 

When Qin Yichen released his grip, the two knee guard pieces flew upward, then attached themselves to his knees. Subsequently, one piece became two, two became four… Gradually, they covered Qin Yichen’s legs entirely.

 

Once both legs were completely covered, Qin Yichen immediately felt his entire body lighten considerably, as if he were a feather drifting on the wind.

 

*Whoosh!* Qin Yichen’s form moved, and he instantly discovered his speed had increased more than tenfold!

 

If he went outside now, based on speed alone, Chen Feng would not even be able to touch him.

 

“It seems these knee guards enhance speed.” Alongside his joy, Qin Yichen felt a slight twinge of disappointment.

 

Could it be that these knee guards’ function was merely to enhance speed?

 

He removed one knee guard, examining it carefully in his hand.

 

The knee guards’ material was identical to the arm guards. They were seemingly wood yet not wood, possessing metallic properties. Even tainted by black energy, the black energy remained unable to destroy it.

 

This was sufficient proof of the material’s extraordinary nature.

 

[Wait… This is… an Array diagram?] When observing the sole position, Qin Yichen suddenly discovered that when the knee guards completely covered both legs, an Array diagram appeared at the sole position.

 

Moreover, this Array diagram seemed somewhat familiar.

 

It bore several similarities to the Array diagram of the Transport Array in Saints City, yet wasn’t entirely identical.

 

“Could it be that Master Lu Ban inscribed a Transport Array on the soles!?”

 

Qin Yichen was in complete shock. His current emotional state defied description.

 

If the soles contained a pair of Transport Arrays, wouldn’t that mean he could go wherever he wished in future?!