A thought struck Chu Qingyun as he listened to Ning Xue.
'Four Array Bases... Could they be the four pulls I'm feeling?'
The more Chu Qingyun considered it, the more plausible it seemed. The Storage Ring wouldn't give him some random, nonsensical pull. Here, inside this Grand Array, it must be indicating the locations of the Array Bases.
"What are the Array Bases?"
A glint appeared in Chu Qingyun's eyes as a plan began to form.
"They must be Fire Attribute Spiritual Medicines!" Ning Xue replied confidently. "The Canglang King fell a thousand years ago. For this Grand Array to still be operating after all this time, the Array Bases couldn't possibly be Fire Attribute Spirit Stones or Spiritual Treasures. They can only be living Spiritual Medicines!"
Chu Qingyun nodded and said, "I can help you find the Array Bases."
What!
Ning Xue and the other three were stunned, staring at Chu Qingyun in disbelief.
The four of them were powerful and worldly, yet they were lost in this array and unable to find the Array Bases.
'And Chu Qingyun, who hadn't even realized this was a Grand Array moments ago, was now claiming he could find the Array Bases?'
"Hmph! You mutt! Spout any more nonsense, and I'll kill you with a single slap!"
Jintai's glare at Chu Qingyun grew even more hostile.
Chu Qingyun ignored him, however, and said with a faint smile, "I can help you find the Array Bases. But the four Fire Attribute Spiritual Medicines from the bases belong to me. And, each of you will have to give me a reward."
"A reward?" Ye Can said with a glance at Chu Qingyun. "You're trapped in this array with us. We're all in the same boat. Why should we give you a reward?"
"That's not a fair way to put it," Chu Qingyun said with a smile. "You all came in here for that King-level Sword Technique. I can't compete with you, nor do I intend to. But if you want me to find the Array Bases, you'll have to pay up. Otherwise, we can all just be stuck here together."
'He knew he stood no chance against them for the King-level Sword Technique, so getting some compensation in advance was the most practical approach.'
"Young Master Chu has a point," said Ning Xue. "The Four-direction Illusionary Fire Array has four Array Bases, and the array can only be broken by destroying all of them. Help us find one Array Base first. Once you've proven you can do it, I'll give you your reward."
Seeing Chu Qingyun's confidence, Ning Xue was already starting to believe him.
After all, in a place with no escape, trying to fool the four of them would be utterly suicidal for Chu Qingyun.
Since Ning Xue had made her stance clear, the other three had no objections and nodded in agreement.
Jintai, however, still added a threat: if Chu Qingyun failed to find an Array Base, he'd be thrown into the Sea of Fire and roasted alive.
After they agreed on the terms, Chu Qingyun led the way, following the sensation from his ring toward the nearest Array Base.
Though their path meandered, the pulling sensation grew steadily stronger.
This proved they were indeed getting closer to the Array Base.
Fire Beasts of all shapes and sizes periodically charged out from the Seas of Fire on either side. Furthermore, the Realm of the Fire Beast each person faced was always the same as their own.
These Fire Beasts, a mix of real and illusory, were troublesome. But even the real ones weren't particularly hard to defeat; they merely quickened the consumption of Primordial Power.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the five of them arrived at a peculiar place.
It was a circular clearing about twenty meters in diameter, devoid of flames. In the very center stood a fiery-red, dome-like shell.
Through the translucent shell, they could faintly make out a fist-sized, fiery red, lotus-shaped Spiritual Medicine.
Strange waves of energy radiated from within the shell, merging into the surrounding Grand Array of fire.
This was the location of the Array Base.
The red lotus inside the shell was the Array Base!
"It's the Tier Three Spiritual Medicine, the Fiery Red Lotus! This is an Array Base! Smash that shell and take the lotus, and this base will be destroyed."
A look of excitement appeared on Ning Xue's face as well.
She had only been willing to give his claim a try; she never expected Chu Qingyun to actually be able to find an Array Base.
The fiery shell was quite fragile; Jintai shattered it with a single blast of Primordial Power.
As the shell shattered, a torrent of flames erupted, forcing the five of them to stumble back in a rather sorry state.
However, the energy accumulated within the shell was limited. After a brief eruption, the flames quickly receded, leaving only the Fiery Red Lotus. Small, crimson flames occasionally licked its surface.
As they had agreed beforehand, the Spiritual Medicine from the Array Base belonged to Chu Qingyun.
He didn't hesitate, directly severing the Spiritual Medicine's stem with his sword.
Once the stem was severed, the once brilliant fiery lotus rapidly dimmed to a dark red. All its energy converged inward, and its temperature dropped until it was only slightly warmer than a human body.
After stowing away the Fiery Red Lotus, Chu Qingyun looked at Ning Xue and the other three. "You should believe I can find the Array Bases now. Give me my reward, and I'll lead you to the other three."
"You'll get your reward, of course," Ning Xue replied, "but I'm rather curious. Even I couldn't sense the location of this Array Base. How did you pinpoint it?"
She looked at Chu Qingyun, her eyes holding no malice, only pure curiosity.
However, the eyes of the other three, Jintai and Ye Can, flickered.
'To be able to find the Array Base so accurately... Could this kid have had some sort of fortuitous encounter?'
'A man never gets rich without a windfall, just as a horse never gets fat without extra fodder. In a world so vast, such fortuitous encounters weren't exactly a once-in-a-century event.'
'In fact, as far as they knew, many powerful experts had their destinies changed precisely because of such encounters.'
'So, while Ning Xue might not have cared, the three of them were already scheming.'
Chu Qingyun's heart tightened at the question, but his expression remained unchanged.
After a moment of contemplation, he extended his right hand and activated the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern. Dark-gold Divine Patterns lit up on his right arm.
"I was fortunate enough to obtain the first two layers of a Secret Technique. The First Layer requires a Metal Attribute Spiritual Medicine to aid in cultivation, and the Second Layer requires a Fire Attribute one. That's why I have some sensitivity to Fire Attribute Spiritual Medicines."
Chu Qingyun lied without batting an eye.
'He would rather expose the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern than the existence of his Storage Ring. Otherwise, not just the ring itself, but also the Puppet and all the Primordial Stones inside it would be at risk.'
Upon hearing this, Jintai and the other two shook their heads in disappointment.
'They'd thought it was some incredible fortuitous encounter, but it was just an incomplete Secret Technique.'
'The three of them lost interest instantly. Their families had no shortage of Secret Techniques, so there was no need to bother with this one. Besides, what kind of powerful Secret Technique could a mere Level One Martial Artist possibly obtain?'
Ning Xue, however, furrowed her delicate brows slightly. She glanced at Chu Qingyun but said nothing.
'She had recognized it at a glance—it was the Mysterious Sky Divine Pattern Secret Technique. However, she had never heard of this Secret Technique being able to sense Spiritual Medicines.'
"Since that is the case, we will be relying on you, Young Master Chu. This is an Ice Heart Leaf. Please consider it my reward for you."
"The Ice Heart Leaf can calm the spirit and clear the mind. In the future, Young Master Chu, you may find it helpful when you reach a critical moment in your comprehension of the Martial Dao."
As Ning Xue spoke, a white brocade box suddenly materialized in her slender hand, and she passed it to Chu Qingyun.