novelsmap Chapter 611 - 243: Jianan Temple’s Ambush (Part 6)
Chapter 611 - 243: Jianan Temple’s Ambush (Part 6)
This feeling made him very afraid.
It is often said that time eludes cultivators in closed-door meditation, but Xu Zhan feared he might miss the third grand harvest during his retreat.
Even more, he feared that one day when he woke, the world outside would have drastically changed, with everything and everyone transformed.
Quietly gazing at the city walls, Xu Zhan felt like a creator looking down upon a world incompatible with him.
Time passed, unknown how long, when suddenly the gray mist above the ancient city started to churn.
Soon a strange figure appeared.
The figure was radiating dazzling Spiritual Charm, the aura from his Purple Gold Robe repeatedly colliding with the turbulent gray mist.
"How dare you, boy!"
"Do you dare to covet what is mine!?"
A majestic voice sounded, making the surrounding gray mist churn even more violently!
Boy?
Who is it referring to?
Is it talking about me?
The voice shook him into a daze, and a trace of doubt arose in Xu Zhan’s heart.
He wasn’t clear whom the anger of that figure in the Purple Gold Robe was directed at after its appearance.
Yet, as the figure stirred the surrounding gray mist, he seemed to feel a slight loosening of the confining power around him.
Immediately, he stopped worrying about anything else, directly breaking free from the restraints, escaping this strange state.
Once his consciousness returned to his body, Xu Zhan didn’t have time to check his own state, swiftly leaving the bottom of the Laishui River and appearing on the riverbank.
He looked towards Yunshui City in the distance.
The glow of the Ren Water Concealing Spirit Array was still flickering, and everything seemed unchanged.
But before he went into retreat at the river’s bottom, it seemed to be midsummer, and now with the heavy snow sealing the mountains, the surroundings were dressed in silver.
"Could it be that my retreat lasted only a few months?"
Xu Zhan was quite curious.
Being confined in such a state, he couldn’t clearly perceive the passage of time.
Yet he still felt he’d been in retreat for a long time.
A hundred years... even several hundred years...
The time could surely not be just a few months!
"My cultivation..."
Filled with doubt, he examined himself internally, reviewing his own cultivation level.
To his astonishment, he found he had reached the Peak of the Fourth Realm of Body Cultivation, the Life and Death Realm!
This!
Xu Zhan was shocked.
Before his retreat, his cultivation was at the Peak of Body Cultivation Third Realm.
Now he somehow directly broke through a whole Great Realm, reaching the Peak of Fourth Realm!
What happened to "Body Cultivation is difficult," or "One realm is a matter of life and death"?
Why is every breakthrough so easy for me?
Back then, it was the same from First Realm to Peak of Second Realm.
A Middle Stage of the Fourth Realm of Body Cultivation, if one’s foundation is strong enough, can rival the Realm of Fetal Breathing Perfection.
And the Peak of Fourth Realm, truth be told, should be able to handle a Half-Step Golden Core Realm without falling behind.
Suppressing his inner amazement, Xu Zhan suddenly took a step, his body like a cannonball, he flew out several miles!
This flight wasn’t the wind manipulation of Immortal Dao cultivators, merely a leap relying on his bodily strength.
Boom!
With the momentary landing, Xu Zhan lept again!
After several jumps, he appeared at the gate of Yunshui City.
The sudden commotion startled Shen Family cultivators guarding the city gate, causing them to prepare spells to defend against an enemy.
"It’s me."
"Xu Zhan."
Xu Zhan spoke.
Upon hearing his words, those Shen Family cultivators breathed a sigh of relief, cupping their fists, "Lord Xu, have you come out of seclusion?"
Nodding, Xu Zhan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The cultivators guarding the gate were still somewhat familiar to him, proving his retreat wasn’t too long.
"How long was my retreat this time?"
As he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly looked towards a cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer beside him.
Upon hearing his question, the cultivator slightly hesitated.
Immortal Dao cultivators often don’t experience this upon waking after years of retreat.
Lord Xu only retreated for a few months, why upon waking, cannot he remember the time?
Despite the doubt, once Xu Zhan asked, he respectfully replied, "My lord left Yunshui City at the beginning of May."
"Now, just past the year’s festival, it has been only half a year."
Half a year...
Xu Zhan murmured, the doubt in his eyes growing stronger.
After a moment of contemplation, he decided to say no more, choosing to first seek Master Shen Wenxing.
...
Black Water Pavilion.
Shen Xiubai sat respectfully before Shen Yuan, holding the transcripts of runes copied by Shen Xiuchan from the Seven Sages Mountain Secret Realm.
This was also why Shen Yuan had him brought back from Yunzhong County City.
The runes copied by Shen Xiuchan from the altar resembled texts, but bore more resemblance to array patterns.
Though Shen Yuan himself researched Array Dao, his accomplishments paled in comparison to Shen Xiubai, who received Fu Yang’s centuries-long array legacy.
"How are they?"
"Can you understand what these runes are?"
Seeing Shen Xiubai finish reading the papers with furrowed brows, Shen Yuan asked.
After a brief ponder, Shen Xiubai cupped his fists and said, "Great-grandfather guessed right, these indeed are array patterns."
"But... even the Master’s legacy holds no record of such array patterns."
His mention of the Master naturally referred to Fu Yang.
Before his dying day, Fu Yang hoped someone in the Shen Family would inherit his knowledge in Array Dao.
Shen Xiubai accepted this legacy and had to acknowledge it with due recognition.
Patterns that were array patterns, yet even Fu Yang hadn’t witnessed these types...
After a brief contemplation, Shen Yuan understood.
The altar Shen Xiuchan spoke of must be quite ancient.
So ancient that even the array patterns on it were not those currently used by array masters.
Array patterns are derived from the Dao of Heaven and Earth, manifestations from ancient times by human cultivators perceiving the natural world.
These differ from texts; even if they evolve, they do not change quickly.
At least, current patterns differ little from those thousands of years ago.
And with array patterns on that altar not recorded in Fu Yang’s legacy, it implied the altar stood for eternity.
"Xiubai, are you able to comprehend these patterns?"
Suppressing his thoughts, Shen Yuan asked solemnly.
Once more glancing at the papers before, Shen Xiubai shook his head, replying, "Brother Xiuchan only copied the shapes of these patterns."
"Besides errors, these patterns merely have form, lacking intent."
"Moreover... the array’s placement also relates to the surrounding Heaven and Earth’s force; simply relying on these, I cannot decipher what grand array these patterns form."
"Unless... unless I’m able to witness the so-called altar firsthand."
Hearing this, Shen Yuan hesitated.
Shen Xiubai’s cultivation now sits only at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer, with many dangers within the Seven Sages Mountain Secret Realm.
Sending him there might lead to unforeseen events.
"Xiubai, there’re dangers in the Seven Sages Mountain Secret Realm, your current strength is too low."
"The matter of understanding the patterns is not urgent, let’s hold off."
It’s not urgent to comprehend these patterns, it’s better not to take unnecessary risks.
A hint of gloom flickered in Shen Xiubai’s eyes.
His cultivation had evidently become a shackle around him.
"The Spirit Gathering Array!"
"As long as I could place the Spirit Gathering Array within my Dantian, my cultivation could quickly rise!"
"And with the Spirit Gathering Array thereafter, even whilst studying Array Dao, my body wouldn’t miss absorbing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!"
With this thought, he immediately looked up at Shen Yuan, cupping his fists, "Great-grandfather, may I ask something of you?"
Shen Yuan slightly startled, then nodded with a smile, "Of course, feel free to tell great-grandfather whatever you want."
With slight hesitation, Shen Xiubai said, "I’d like the magical artifact on the third floor capable of compressing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into Spiritual Liquid."
When arriving at Black Water Pavilion earlier, Shen Yuan had him deliver the items Shen Chonghong brought from Huaisang upstairs.
He witnessed various treasures on the third floor of Black Water Pavilion.
The Copper Pot capable of autonomously absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and condensing it into Spiritual Liquid caught his interest.
Summoning the courage to ask, he wished to study it thoroughly, seeking ways to use the Copper Pot to implement his idea of inscribing a Spirit Gathering Array within his Dantian.