Chapter 140 - 136: Manifestation Array
The two continued to sneak deeper into the valley along the cliff wall.
Old Zhao was half a step ahead, his footsteps silent, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the valley floor and the cliff. Li Yuan followed behind, the Spirit Detecting Disc clutched in his hand, continuously channeling Spiritual Power into it.
The fluctuations on the disc’s surface grew denser.
They weren’t coming from any single direction, but from all around. An extremely faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi lay over the entire valley floor like a thin mist, seeping up from the ground—uniform, constant, and without a clear source.
After walking for another few dozen zhang, Li Yuan slowed his pace.
It wasn’t because the fluctuations had changed, but because something underfoot felt wrong.
The gravelly valley floor was littered with numerous stones of varying sizes and shapes. Most were the same color as the surrounding rock formations—grayish-black and sharp-edged, having naturally broken off from the cliff walls.
But a few of them were different.
Scattered among the scree, they were a lighter, grayish-white color. Their surfaces were smooth and rounded, with no sharp edges. Set against the surrounding grayish-black gravel, they looked like a handful of white beans scattered in a pile of black sesame seeds.
They looked very ordinary.
They just seemed out of place here.
The cliff walls were grayish-black rock, so the fallen scree should also be grayish-black. These few grayish-white stones didn’t look like they were formed naturally; it was more like someone had placed them here.
Li Yuan crouched down and placed his hand on the nearest one.
It was the size of a fist, cool to the touch, and weighed about the same as a normal stone.
It was just an ordinary stone.
Li Yuan flipped it over to inspect it. The surface was smooth, with no Spirit Patterns and no Spiritual Power fluctuations.
He put the stone back where he found it, stood up, and walked a few more steps before crouching down next to another grayish-white stone.
This one was a bit smaller than the last, about the size of an egg.
He touched it with his fingers. Still just an ordinary stone.
Li Yuan frowned and raised a hand, releasing a sliver of Spiritual Power toward the stone.
He used a Fire Arrow Skill at its minimum power, and a thin, weak line of fire touched the stone’s surface.
The stone was scorched with a small black dot, but there was no other reaction.
Li Yuan stood up and scanned his surroundings.
Within his line of sight, there were at least seven or eight of these grayish-white stones scattered in different spots on the gravel floor. The spacing wasn’t uniform, but they were roughly arranged in a loose arc.
He continued walking along the direction of the arc.
The third stone, the fourth, the fifth.
For each one, he crouched down, touched it a couple of times, and infused a sliver of Spiritual Power to test it.
They were all ordinary stones.
Old Zhao followed behind, watching Li Yuan crouch and stand, crouch and stand. He didn’t say anything, but a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.
The sixth stone.
Li Yuan crouched down and placed his fingers on it.
A panel popped up.
[Detected equippable item]
[Item Entry Level: White]
[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped. Cannot view detailed information.]
Li Yuan froze.
His fingers remained pressed against the stone’s surface, unmoving.
He was silent for two breaths.
This stone looked no different from the previous ones. The same grayish-white color, the same smooth roundness, the same size and weight.
But the panel had reacted.
’Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped.’
He used his fingers to dig away the dirt around the stone, exposing more of its surface.
It was a head-sized stone, mostly buried in the dirt. Li Yuan flipped it over and found something on its underside.
They weren’t natural markings, but man-made carvings. Several extremely fine and shallow Spirit Patterns were set into grooves on the stone’s surface, completely invisible unless one turned the entire stone over.
Li Yuan had seen this kind of Spirit Pattern arrangement before.
Back at the He family’s herb garden, similar patterns had been carved onto the Array Hub’s stone platform. When Array Master Zhou had taken him into the Yuanheng Mountain Range to investigate Arrays, the Array Hubs of those small Arrays had also had such markings.
’An Array Hub.’
Li Yuan dug the entire stone out of the dirt and placed it in his palm.
With a thought, he tried to equip it.
[Note: Item does not belong to you. Cannot be equipped.]
’Still no good. It has an owner.’
Li Yuan clutched the stone and looked around.
’These grayish-white stones scattered on the valley floor weren’t placed randomly. They’re arranged in an arc, and although the spacing is uneven, they form some kind of layout. This one with Spirit Patterns is part of it. The others that didn’t react might be auxiliary nodes, or maybe they’re just a smokescreen for cover.’
’The faint aura fluctuations in this valley are most likely seeping out from this Array while it’s active.’
Old Zhao also came over and crouched beside him, glancing at the stone in Li Yuan’s hand. His gaze fell on the Spirit Patterns on its underside.
"An Array Hub?"
Li Yuan nodded.
He didn’t explain further. Placing the stone back on the ground, he raised his right hand and unleashed a Fire Arrow Skill at its surface.
It wasn’t a full-power fire arrow; he only used about ten percent of his Spiritual Power.
HISS.
The line of fire struck the stone’s surface, kicking up a small shower of sparks. The stone didn’t move an inch, and its surface showed no change.
But the Spirit Detecting Disc in Li Yuan’s hand flashed.
A ripple ran through the faint layer of aura fluctuations that permeated the valley floor.
The disturbance spread outward in a circle from Li Yuan’s position. After spreading out, the ripple quickly subsided, but its amplitude was slightly greater than before.
’There’s a reaction.’
Li Yuan fired another fire arrow, this time with thirty percent of his Spiritual Power.
HISS.
The line of fire struck the stone again, still leaving no mark.
Another ripple spread across the Spirit Detecting Disc.
It was more distinct than the first time.
The thin mist of aura on the valley floor was no longer evenly distributed. A ring-shaped void of slightly lower density appeared, starting from Li Yuan’s position, as if a small patch of the fog had been stirred apart.
’The Array is taking damage.’
Li Yuan didn’t stop.
A third fire arrow, then a fourth.
He kept the Spiritual Power of each shot very low. The goal wasn’t to destroy it in one go, but to apply continuous pressure to the Array Hub.
Scorch marks slowly appeared on the stone’s surface, and the few shallow Spirit Patterns on its underside began to dim. The fluctuations on the Spirit Detecting Disc grew stronger each time, and the hole in the misty aura on the valley floor continued to expand.
The fifth shot.
The Spirit Patterns on the stone’s underside flashed once, then went dark.
The luster on the entire stone’s surface vanished, and the scorch marks faded completely.
At the same time, the fluctuations on the Spirit Detecting Disc suddenly intensified. A violent ripple surged outward in all directions from the stone’s position. After it spread, the pervasive misty aura on the valley floor began to dissipate rapidly from this direction, like a thin sheet of ice shattering from a crack.
Li Yuan stared at the Spirit Detecting Disc.
The fluctuations continued to recede.
The misty aura began to retreat from this side toward both ends, the speed of its withdrawal accelerating.
After about a dozen breaths, the misty aura on this side had completely vanished.
All the faint Spiritual Qi fluctuations on the entire right half of the valley were gone, wiped clean.
The Array was broken. At least, the Array on this side was no longer operating.
Li Yuan looked down at the Array Hub Stone beside him.
He reached out and placed his hand on it.
A panel popped up.
[Detected equippable item: Spirit Stone (Intact)]
[Entry Preview: Aura Amplification (White) -- Can actively increase the intensity of one’s emitted aura, with a maximum amplification of fifty percent.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Possess Spiritual Pressure (0/1)]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A White entry. Aura Amplification.’
’The effect is the exact opposite of Aura Concealment. Concealment suppresses one’s aura; amplification magnifies it. A maximum of fifty percent means a Qi Refining Seventh Level Cultivation could display an aura intensity close to the Qi Refining Ninth Level.’
’The permanence condition is possessing Spiritual Pressure.’
Spiritual Pressure.
Generally speaking, Spiritual Pressure was something only Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators possessed. After Foundation Establishment, one’s Spiritual Power underwent a qualitative change, and one’s aura shifted from ethereal to tangible, capable of exerting substantial pressure on the surroundings. That was Spiritual Pressure.
Qi Refining Stage Cultivators normally didn’t have Spiritual Pressure.
But it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After using the Origin Condensation Skill to compress one’s Spiritual Power to the extreme, its density would far exceed that of one’s peers, which could also generate Spiritual Pressure.
’The condition just says "possess Spiritual Pressure," not that it has to be the Spiritual Pressure of the Foundation Establishment Stage.’
Old Zhao had been crouching nearby, watching without a word.
Just now, Li Yuan’s continuous fire arrow attacks on the stone and the violent fluctuations on the Spirit Detecting Disc had caused quite a commotion.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the sound of hurried footsteps came from the valley entrance.
Three figures emerged from the bushes.
Steward Wang was in the lead, his Magical Artifact already in hand, his expression grim. The Zhou-surnamed Cultivator and the young scout Cultivator followed, one on his left and one on his right, clearly having just rushed over from the left cliff wall.
"What’s going on?" Steward Wang demanded in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over Li Yuan and Old Zhao before landing on the scattered grayish-white stones on the ground.
"An Array," Li Yuan said, handing him the Spirit Detecting Disc. "These stones contain Array Hubs. The aura fluctuations in the valley are from the Array’s operation."
Steward Wang took the Spirit Detecting Disc and glanced at it. The fluctuations on the right half of the disc had completely vanished, while a faint trace remained on the left.
He lifted his gaze from the Spirit Detecting Disc and swept it over the grayish-white stones on the valley floor. His expression changed abruptly.
"Go."
One word, no explanation.
He turned and bolted toward the valley entrance.
It wasn’t an ordinary run. He channeled Spiritual Power to his feet, his figure practically skimming across the gravelly ground.
"Back to the herb garden!"
Steward Wang’s voice came from ahead; he was already dozens of zhang away.
Old Zhao reacted instantly, pushing off with his feet and following close behind. The Zhou-surnamed Cultivator and the young scout Cultivator also spun around and ran at the same moment, without a shred of hesitation.
A flash of fire appeared under Li Yuan’s feet as he activated the Fire Escape Skill, keeping pace right behind them.
The five of them sped through the mountain forest under the cover of night.
The journey here had taken them over an hour, but now, sprinting at full speed, they moved three or four times faster. They leaped over gullies between the low hills, and bushes blurred past them.
Steward Wang ran at the very front, his pace never slowing in the slightest.
After running for some distance, he shouted over his shoulder.
"That array was a plant, meant to fake an aura! The fluctuations in this valley aren’t natural—they’re an artificial signal designed to make us think someone was stationed here."
His voice was broken and choppy in the wind.
"Lure us out, and the herb garden is left empty."
The Zhou-surnamed Cultivator added through gritted teeth from behind.
"Feng Laoer and the Pill Refiner can’t hold it by themselves."
No one spoke again.
The five of them ran on in silence.
The forest flew past their eyes, and the moonlight flickered on and off overhead. The gravel and dead leaves underfoot crunched loudly. At this full sprint, they could no longer afford to maintain the concealing effect of their Concealing Breath Talismans.
Ahead, the treeline began to thin, and the silhouette of the hollow where the herb garden was located appeared in the darkness.
The Array’s cyan light barrier was still there.
But the barrier’s brightness was much dimmer than when they had left.