For example, a Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker would need to be at least a Melder to become a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, while a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker would need to be at least an Explorer. A Boundless Advanced Lockbreaker would need to be at least an Enlighter. However, this was only the minimum requirement, and it did not mean that someone with such a cultivation would definitely be a Lockbreaker of the corresponding level.
Only an Enlighter who had mastered a sourcebox array could become an Origin Array Master. As for a Great Origin Array Master, one could only become an Enlighter, but a Boundary Array Master had to be an Emissary. As for the highest level of Origin Array Master, one had to be at least an Emissary. Lu Yin wasn't too sure how many Origin Tribulations one had to go through. The Origin Array Masters he had seen were either Half-Progenitors or peak Emissaries like Master Xiu Inscribe.
Qiuling, who had fused with Lu Yin, was at seven Origin Tribulations and was very close to Master Xiu Inscribe. However, she was still a bit off, which was just enough for Lu Yin to fuse with her. If she had been a Half-Progenitor, then Lu Yin wouldn't have been able to fuse with her at all.
Fusing with an Origin Array Master was much more useful than fusing with a peak Emissary. At the very least, her lockbreaking experience was quite rare, and the best that Lu Yin had been able to fuse with was a Boundary Array Master.
As the memories flooded his mind, Lu Yin became very excited. He wanted to see the sourcebox array that Qiuling had mastered.
In order to become a Celestial Array Master, one had to master at least five sourcebox arrays and create their own. This meant that Lu Yin would be able to see five sourcebox arrays from Celestial Master Qiuling, as well as the ones she had created herself.
However, before he could see the sourcebox array, Lu Yin saw a memory that infuriated and terrified him. Celestial Master Qiuling was actually a Redback.
There were many Redbacks in the Cosmic Tree, and Lu Yin wouldn't have been surprised if any of them were a Redback. However, Celestial Master Qiuling was a Redback, which surprised him. He felt as if he had known that a certain Half-Progenitor was a Redback.
Origin Array Masters had extremely high statuses in both the Fifth Mainland and the Cosmic Tree. It should be known that the Sixth Mainland didn't even have one.
No one would want to offend an Origin Formation Heavenly Master as long as they didn't make a mistake in principle. For example, Heavenly Master Gu Yan had an eccentric personality and didn't like the Four Cardinal Scales. He didn't give the Four Cardinal Scales any face, but the Four Cardinal Scales didn't dare to offend him at all and had to think of ways to rope him in.
Celestial Master Qiuling might not have reached Celestial Master Gu Yan's status, but he wasn't far behind. The Four Cardinal Scales were also trying their best to rope him in. It could be said that such a person could get anything he wanted, but he was unexpectedly a Red Back.
He quickly searched for memories of Celestial Master Qiuling becoming a Redback.
After checking, he quickly found out.
Celestial Master Qiuling didn't betray the human race after becoming a Celestial Master. Instead, she became a Red Back not long after she came into contact with lockbreaking.
This matter was related to a person called Shangyi.
Regardless of whether it was Qiuling or Shangyi, they were both top geniuses when they first stepped onto the path of lockbreaking. They were known as the representatives of their generation's Lockbreakers, just like the Fifth Mainland's Wu Dan, who was recognized by all Lockbreakers as a genius who was destined to become an Origin Formation Heavenly Master.
Countless people had high hopes for Qiuling, and countless pairs of eyes had been watching her. However, Qiuling's talent had always been inferior to Shangyi's, and she had always been suppressed. The last time she had become a Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, she had been a five star Discerning Elementary Lockbreaker. The next time she had become a two star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, she had been a One Star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker. In short, she had always been suppressed by Shangyi.
Qiuling was proud and arrogant, and she couldn't accept such an outcome. However, she couldn't surpass Shangyi either. The anger and resentment accumulated in her heart grew stronger and stronger, and this gave the Eternals an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The person who had made her a Red Back was the Witch Spirit God. This old fellow was quite good at scheming, and he had used a sourcebox array to make Qiuling willingly become a Red Back. Of course, the condition was that Shangyi had been killed.
The last time Shangyi had been killed, it hadn't been at the hands of the Eternals, but rather at the hands of the Boundless Realm. The client had naturally been a Red Back.
After Shangyi's death, Qiuling had once again become the most dazzling genius in everyone's eyes. However, her talent was still inferior to Shangyi's, and it wasn't until she became an Origin Array Master and used the sourcebox array that the Witch Spirit God had given her that she improved rapidly. Her improvement was shocking, and she slowly became an Origin Array Master.
It was impossible for Lu Yin to see all of Qiuling's memories, but there were some that had left a deep impression on her, and these memories had formed her entire life.
She was a selfish, narrow-minded, and extremely talented lockbreaking woman.
At the same time, Lu Yin had also solved the mystery of Qiuling's attitude back at Dragon Mountain.
At that time, he had changed his name to Long Seven, and Qiuling had been invited by the White Dragon Clan to see if they could take him in as a disciple. At first, Qiuling had praised him greatly, and she had even intentionally helped him in the stable Square game, raising his lockbreaking talent to an unimaginable degree. At that time, Lu Yin had thought that it was the White Dragon Clan who had helped him.
However, after the Frigid Immortal Sect had made things difficult for him and Wang Yun had recognized him, Qiuling's attitude had changed, and her words had deepened her suspicions and dissatisfaction towards him. These were two contradictory attitudes, but Lu Yin hadn't felt that there was a problem.
However, outside the ladder that led to the Middle Realm from the Top Realm, Qiuling could have used her sourcebox array to trap him, but she had intentionally let him go and changed her attitude again. At that time, Lu Yin had felt that something was strange. There had to be a reason for Qiuling's attitude to change, but he had suppressed this thought after leaving the Astral Tree Realm. Now that he had seen Qiuling's memories, he realized that all of this had been ordered by the Witch Spirit God.
Helping Lu Yin and raising his lockbreaking talent was true, but it was also to let the Four Cardinal Scales know that his talent was extraordinarily high. This would increase the Four Cardinal Scales' efforts to hunt him down and eliminate him. Releasing Lu Yin meant that the Four Cardinal Scales would continue to chase him all the way to the Fifth Mainland and whittle down the human race's strength. This was all part of the Witch Spirit God's plan.
This was the overt scheme that he had told Lu Yin about. He wanted Lu Yin to whittle down the Astral Tree Realm and the Fifth Mainland's strength so that only the Eternals would benefit.
The Eternals wanted Lu Yin to be hunted down, but they could not allow him to be killed. Lu Yin was the bait.
Lu Yin felt dizzy. Qiuling was a Celestial Master, and he could not fuse with her for long periods of time. It was already quite good that he could forcefully fuse with her, but now, he was about to leave.
Lu Yin hurriedly searched through his memories regarding the Alliance of Stars, but his world spun and his consciousness passed through a patch of darkness before returning to his body.
Lu Yin let out a long breath and rubbed his head. He had gained a lot from this fusion. Otherwise, he would not have known that Celestial Master Qiuling was actually a Redback. He had also learned about the Alliance of Stars.
Just as he had guessed, the Alliance of Stars had been gathered by the Four Cardinal Scales, and they had purposely leaked their location to lure the Eternals into action.
This was a trap that the Four Cardinal Scales had set for the Eternals. Even if the Seven Skygods' true body came, they might not be able to escape unscathed, let alone the Seven Skygods' Half-Progenitor shell. If the Seven Skygods did not make a move, then this trap would not have been set, and the Four Cardinal Scales would not have suffered any losses.
According to the Four Cardinal Scales' understanding, this was how things should have developed.
This was also Lu Yin's opportunity. With so many Envoys gathered together, as long as he rolled six pips and kept searching, he would eventually find them. As long as he could fuse with someone's body, then he would be able to undo everyone's seals without having to appear himself.
This was something that surpassed the Four Cardinal Scales' understanding, and all that mattered was luck.
Aside from these two things, Lu Yin also saw the sourcebox array that the Witch Spirit God had given her when he had gone through Qiuling's memories. It was called the Void Brand, and it was this sourcebox array that had allowed her to become an Origin Array Master.
Her progress had been even faster than when she had been at the Boundless Advanced level. This had left many people dumbfounded, and they had all said that her talent lay in her sourcebox array.
She had been able to do all of this because of the Void Brand sourcebox array. This sourcebox array had a very simple function: it could replay and freeze the events that had occurred within a certain area of the void. It could even replay and freeze the events continuously. It was like adding a timeline to one's own experience, and one could freely control that timeline.
This had nothing to do with the power of time, but rather the power of space.
With this sourcebox array, as long as Qiuling made a mistake while lockbreaking, she would not be able to correct it. This sourcebox array could not allow her to rewind time, but she could use it to clearly see where the mistake had occurred. She could see every detail and then research it, allowing her to achieve twice the results with half the effort.
Other lockbreakers would be in danger if they made a mistake, and they would not even know what had gone wrong. Qiuling, on the other hand, could clearly see what had happened and even research it. This was different.
This had also caused Qiuling to develop a habit. As long as she was cultivating, lockbreaking, or even resting, she would place a Void Brand. Suddenly, Lu Yin stood up with an ugly expression. When he had fused with her, had she placed a Void Brand in advance?
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he thought back to what had just happened. He did not know, as he had not seen that part of the memories. If she had placed a Void Brand, then as long as Qiuling had any doubts, she would have been able to see what had just happened through the sourcebox array and know that she had been controlled.
If that was the case, what would she do?
At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, Lu Yin's worries had come true.
As a Celestial Master, Qiuling was very scheming. Her identity as Redback had not been exposed for many years, and she was extremely cautious.
She had a habit of subconsciously recalling what had just happened every once in a while, regardless of whether she was cultivating or resting. This habit was related to the Void Brand Array, and that array had caused her to develop a habit similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder.
After Lu Yin withdrew from the fusion, Qiuling became clear-headed. She subconsciously tried to recall what had just happened, but she could not recall anything. She checked the sourcebox array, froze the void, and replayed it. She saw a scene that shocked her. She had actually opened her eyes and looked at the other side of the battlefield. When had that happened?
She had no memory of this at all, and she was very certain that she had not.
If it was not her own memory, then it had to have been done by someone else. Someone had controlled her body, but who?
Who could control her?
And why had she not noticed at all?
The first person she thought of was the Shaman Spirit God. Aside from the Eternals, who would target her?
She had seen almost all of the top experts in the Cosmic Tree Realm, and there was no one who could control her. The only possibility was the Eternals. She was Redback, and the Eternals had always been watching her. She could not have known what they had done.
Why would the Eternals control her?
Was it a warning?
Indeed, ever since she had become a Celestial Master, she had felt that her status had risen, and she had gradually ignored the Eternals. Unless the Shaman Spirit God personally gave her an order, just like what had happened with Long Qi, she would do her best. Otherwise, she did not want to have anything to do with the Eternals. What had just happened was probably a warning to her.
Qiuling's face darkened, and her eyes flickered. No one knew what she was thinking.