Chapter 403 - 382: An Array Within an Array, a Ring Within a Ring

Cyan Feather Mountain, Celestial Level Cave Mansion, Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn—

This was the name of the cave mansion Song Ciwan had rented.

Unlike lower-level cave mansions, which were all designated by a level and number—like Yellow-Level-So-and-So or Profound-Level-So-and-So—Celestial Level Cave Mansions were named with particular care.

There was no Celestial-One, Celestial-Two, and so on. Instead, they had names like Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn, Among the Misty Mountains, or Clear Wind, Bright Moon... Each name was guaranteed to be elegant, and there were no numerical rankings to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Song Ciwan entered Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn with the Big White Goose, and the first thing she did was cast the Great Derivation Birth Skill to sweep the entire cave mansion.

This was not a sweep for cleaning but one of calculation and sensing, meant to identify any potential hidden dangers within the cave mansion.

At the same time, she activated the Eye of Cyan Nether in her left eye, and her perspective instantly changed.

Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn was filled with Arrays. The first was a space-expanding Qiankun Array. The cave mansion’s actual area was about two hundred square meters, but after being enlarged by the Qiankun Array, those two hundred square meters had the effect of five hundred.

It was a vast space. Though called a cave mansion, being inside felt nothing like being in a cave. Instead, it was like stepping into a private hot spring villa.

Within the cave mansion was a springhead from which milky-white water bubbled up, flowing into the surrounding pools. The pools were shaded by flowering trees, and an exquisite attic stood nearby. A covered walkway from the attic led to an antique, elegant house.

Standing outside the house and looking up at the ceiling, one wouldn’t see the roof of a cave, but an incredibly realistic blue sky with white clouds—a vast, clear expanse.

A real clear sky was naturally impossible inside a cave mansion. It was obvious that besides the space-expanding Qiankun Array, there was also an Illusionary Array realistic enough to pass for the real thing.

The hot spring was real, the flowering trees were real, the house was real, and even the Cyan Feathered Birds flying among the trees, chirping crisply and melodiously, were real.

But the blue sky and white clouds were undoubtedly fake.

They were illusions created by the incredibly realistic Illusion Technique.

One could only say that it was worthy of being a Celestial Level Cave Mansion. The standards, the layout—they were indeed far beyond what a lower-level cave mansion could compare to.

Furthermore, Celestial Level Cave Mansions came standard with a protective array, a seclusion array, and a sound-transmission array. From inside to out, top to bottom, it was comprehensive and left no blind spots—thoroughly deserving of its high price.

As for any special loopholes, backdoors, or hidden surveillance viewpoints, Song Ciwan found none after several rounds of calculations.

Its ’cleanliness’ was also worthy of its price.

The Big White Goose was already frolicking about the cave mansion. The Cyan Feathered Birds inside ranged from palm-sized to as large as a full-grown rooster. They fluttered gracefully among the flowering trees, occasionally letting out pleasant calls, as if happily singing along to the gentle splashing of the hot spring.

Bees and butterflies also danced high and low among the trees, buzzing as they gathered nectar, while the Cyan Feathered Birds weaved through them, creating an incredibly vivid scene.

The Big White Goose shrank itself to the size of a normal domestic goose and happily pounced about, honking "HONK! HONK! HONK!" as it joyfully chased the birds and butterflies. It was more excited than a bear that had just found honey.

Seeing it so happy, Song Ciwan instructed it, "Big White, I’m going to go cultivate. You watch the house. You can play, but don’t forget to cultivate, understand?"

With that said, she left a clean Storage Pouch for it.

Inside the Storage Pouch, besides some of the grains the Big White Goose usually ate, was the Five Poison Jar, which Song Ciwan had re-suppressed.

Using the Spirit Nurturing Technique, Song Ciwan had transferred the mark of the Five Poison Jar to the Big White Goose. With this mark, the goose could open the Five Poison Jar on its own and pick out the poisonous insects inside to eat at any time.

After breaking through to the Spirit Communication Stage, the Big White Goose’s intelligence had actually grown significantly. Although it still seemed to have the disposition of a seven or eight-year-old child, its intellect was far beyond that.

It could learn to use some Magical Artifacts as long as Song Ciwan taught it.

The Big White Goose flapped its wings and raised its head, as if to say, ’The goose will watch the house, Wanwan can rest assured!’

Song Ciwan smiled. After giving her instructions, she walked into the quiet room of the house, preparing to focus on her Cultivation.

Upon entering the quiet room, a wave of Vitality so dense it felt tangible washed over her.

The last time Song Ciwan had felt Vitality this dense was on the lake-heart island at the Stealth Race’s Xizhai!

’So this is how dense the Vitality in a Celestial Level Cave Mansion is,’ she thought. ’If the Celestial Prides from those prominent families could cultivate in this kind of environment from a young age, it’s no wonder their Cultivation progress always leaves ordinary Cultivators in the dust.’

Of course, although the Vitality in the Celestial Level Cave Mansion was extremely dense, after sensing it for a moment, Song Ciwan came to another realization—

The Vitality was too dense for a Cultivator with insufficient Cultivation to withstand.

Therefore, the idea that ’Celestial Prides from prominent families cultivate in the dense Vitality of a Celestial Level Cave Mansion from childhood’ was actually flawed.

Celestial Prides weren’t born as such. When they were still weak, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the Vitality concentration in a Celestial Level Cave Mansion. Thinking of it this way, it was still a mystery just how they cultivated.

Song Ciwan stood in the quiet room, her mind wandering for a moment before she shook her head, amused at her own fanciful thoughts.

’Perhaps everyone who becomes a Celestial Pride has their own opportunities and secrets.’

’Instead of prying into others’ secrets, I should focus on guarding my own.’

Song Ciwan paced around the spacious quiet room for a moment, then her gaze suddenly shifted toward the direction of the hot spring pool outside.

Although the quiet room was completely sealed, she couldn’t see anything in that direction with her naked eye. But at that moment, Song Ciwan extended her Spiritual Sense. Her divine perception linked with it, and she clearly saw that among the fluttering bees and butterflies, one or two would occasionally turn their compound eyes toward the quiet room as they flew.

This was an extremely ordinary scene and seemed perfectly normal at first glance.

But in that instant, Song Ciwan suddenly understood. In this Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn cave mansion, all the Arrays were indeed fine. The Cyan Feathered Birds and the plants were all fine. The problem, perhaps, lay with the bees and butterflies among the flowering trees!

A wave of realization washed over her. Song Ciwan was stunned for a moment, then let out a self-deprecating laugh.

She had no intention of going out to deal with the bees and butterflies. Instead, she silently released her Han Guang Glaze Residence within the quiet room.

The Han Guang Glaze Residence could change size at will, and it settled in the quiet room, becoming as invisible as a speck of dust.

Song Ciwan took a step inside, and her figure vanished into the air like a wisp of smoke.

The Duality Dust Array activated. The Earth Demon Star Array activated. Song Ciwan walked into the quiet room within the quiet room, beginning her Cultivation journey.

Taking advantage of the dense Vitality, she decided it was time to sell off all of that "qi" from the Second Young Master she had been saving for so long!