Chapter 558 - 38: Reliable Guangxuan

Sanhe Prefecture.

The vast network of waterways protected this region from the threat of war. The only change over the years was the artificial reorganization of its once chaotic channels. These planned waterways now formed three great water system arrays, with Sanhe Temple nestled protectively in the middle.

On the shaded southern face of an unnamed mountain, a lack of sunlight allowed cold, damp vegetation to thrive, completely blanketing the ground. Through a dense crevice in the foliage, a small stream of clear, cool water trickled down from above.

On a dark, high slope by the stream, several distinct footprints were visible amidst the dense grassy plants. A crushed, unknown berry plant oozed pale purple juice, staining several of the footprints a purplish-red.

Not far from the high slope, Guangxuan, dressed in a Blue Daoist Robe, stared intently in the direction of Shang’an Prefecture. He periodically checked the Communication Token in his hand, which was emitting Wood Spirit Qi. A Spirit Bird with shimmering, colorful wings flitted about him, occasionally peeking into the nearby thickets.

"Sorry for the wait!"

A voice suddenly rang out. When Guangxuan turned his head, he saw Wang Ping, who had appeared beside him at some unknown moment. A shiver of fear instinctively ran down his spine.

Yu Lian shot a glob of water toward the Spirit Bird, but the bird dodged it with ease.

Guangxuan dispelled the tension and fear that had risen within him, putting on a friendly expression. He cupped his fist politely and said, "I just arrived myself. I haven’t been waiting long."

Wang Ping surveyed the surroundings and said, "This place looks wide open from the sky, but it’s actually concealed by dense vegetation. It truly is a world of its own. On top of that, the Water Spirit Formation you set up in Sanhe Prefecture completely masks the aura here. Under normal circumstances, no one would ever come here."

After his assessment, he asked, "No one else knows about this place, right?"

Guangxuan replied with certainty, "I’ve already cleared the memories of the artisans who excavated this place. Most of them have since died of old age, and I’ve marked the auras of the rest. They will all pass away within ten years."

Wang Ping nodded. He had instructed Guangxuan not to let word of this place leak out, and he’d assumed Guangxuan would simply kill them all. He hadn’t expected the man’s benevolence would lead him to choose the most troublesome method.

"Take me inside to have a look."

Wang Ping spread out his Primordial Spirit Consciousness, instantly scanning the area for a hundred li around. After confirming that no one was spying on them, he spoke to Guangxuan.

As he nodded, Guangxuan said, "Follow me!"

With that, he and his Spirit Bird transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the seemingly narrow stream below.

Wang Ping and Yu Lian naturally followed behind him. The stream, which had seemed so narrow from the outside, was immensely vast and deep within. The deeper they went, the larger the space became.

Yu Lian couldn’t help but say, "This place is wonderful! And I feel like it’s connected to the Great Sea."

Wang Ping, meanwhile, was scanning with his Primordial Spirit. The space in the depths of the pool was nearly the size of Qianmu Mountain itself. Just like a mountain, it was narrow at the top and incredibly vast at the bottom. There were also hundreds of caves with underwater currents surrounding them.

When he tried to probe the interiors of those caves, he encountered the same obstruction as he had at the gathering before. As his Primordial Spirit Consciousness reached out, it was strangely neutralized, just like how Spiritual Qi could be neutralized.

Ahead, Guangxuan now entered one of the hundreds of undercurrent caves. As Wang Ping followed, he instantly imprinted every detail of the place into his Spirit Sea.

Just then, Guangxuan sent him a voice transmission: "This pool formed naturally. The original entrance to the cave you wanted was on the other side, but it’s been completely sealed off now. Even if those artisans remember the general direction, they won’t be able to find the exact location."

’This guy is as reliable as ever!’

"I’ve troubled you, Fellow Daoist."

Wang Ping thanked him sincerely.

Guangxuan replied, "Fellow Daoist, don’t say that. I owe everything I have today to you."

Exchanging pleasantries, the two passed through one underwater tunnel after another, with Wang Ping imprinting each one in his Spirit Sea. After a full quarter of an hour of winding through the passages, they finally emerged from the water into a pitch-black cave. With a scan of his Primordial Spirit Consciousness, Wang Ping instantly perceived the cave’s exact appearance.

’It was as large as the Front Hall Square of Qianmu Temple!’

Wang Ping first tried to use a Transfer Talisman, but there was no reaction. He then brought out the Pocket World Mirror, but it could only perform the most basic information transfer; he couldn’t use it to teleport himself away.

’It’s still the residual energy left by Ancestral Master Yuxiao interfering with me.’

Although he could perceive the dark space with his Primordial Spirit, Wang Ping still disliked such darkness. So, he reached out and tapped a finger lightly. A gleam of light immediately rose, slowly illuminating the entire cave.

In the middle of the cave was a man-made square paved with fired bluestone slabs. It wasn’t damp as one might expect, nor was there any smell of decay. This was because there were anti-moisture arrays on the cave walls and man-made ventilation holes in the ceiling. A single glance told him that Guangxuan had arranged all this personally.

’This guy is pretty reliable!’

From within Wang Ping’s Spirit Sea, Yu Lian said, "This place would be even more comfortable as a Dao Field."

She had her eye on the adjacent pool.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use a Transfer Talisman here. Otherwise, Wang Ping really would have been tempted to develop this place further and turn it into another Dao Field for his secluded cultivation.

"You probably won’t need me here anymore, will you?"

Guangxuan asked abruptly.

Wang Ping turned to look at him and nodded. "That’s right. I’ll station two puppets here."

Guangxuan continued, "In that case, I’ll clear my memory of this place after I leave. It’s for my own good, too."

Wang Ping simply nodded, then cupped his fist to Guangxuan in a gesture of respect.

After returning the gesture, Guangxuan transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the adjacent pool. His Spirit Bird flapped its wings, glanced back at Yu Lian, and then followed him into the water.

Wang Ping watched the pool until the ripples on its surface disappeared.

He and Guangxuan had become friends when they were both just starting out. Hundreds of years of cultivation had made Wang Ping cherish these friendships. But now, the disparity in their status and cultivation realms had grown so vast that they struggled to even make small talk.

After the ripples on the pool vanished, Wang Ping performed Tengyun and landed on the square paved with bluestone slabs. He took out a storage pouch and dumped out the Gold within—a total of one hundred thousand taels of Gold, followed by several million taels of silver. These were the basic materials for inscribing the runes needed to construct the Array.

Next, he summoned ten puppets specially designed for inscribing arrays. After activating their basic consciousness, he set them to work preparing the cave walls. The first thing he needed was a basic Energy Gathering Array.

While the puppets were busy, Wang Ping took out the communication device. Using the Wood Spirit True Essence from his own Qi Sea as a power source, he first wanted to test if it would work in this location.

The test was simple. He had already given a Communication Token to one of the puppets outside. After he activated the communication device and sent a message, he received a reply in less than ten breaths’ time, and it came as a voice transmission.

But the sound was very distorted. This was likely because he had not yet set up a relay facility like the one in the Daoist Scripture Hall, and also because he had not yet refined the communication device.