Chapter 334 - 213: New Sword Array, Successive Gains

Seeing that Li Chang’an was determined to enter the ruins, Daoist Fire Cloud offered him some words of caution.

...

「Half an hour later.」

Li Chang’an left alone.

He found a secluded spot, opened the storage pouches of the three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Cyan Cloud Sect, and discarded anything suspicious.

One particular item caught his attention.

With a single thought, a tattered map appeared in his hand. It marked the locations of several estates.

The map radiated an ancient aura, as if it had been sealed away for countless ages.

’Could this be a map of the Ancient Sect’s interior?’

After a moment of thought, Li Chang’an memorized the map’s contents.

’If I get the chance, I’ll go look for those estates.’

Afterward, he cleansed his aura and left the area.

"Dahuang, keep leading the way!"

Dahuang let out a sound of acknowledgment and followed Sima Rui’s aura, heading deeper into the Black Dragon Mountain Range.

「About a quarter of an hour later.」

The ruins of an Ancient Sect appeared before Li Chang’an.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but crumbling walls and shattered ramparts.

Countless collapsed buildings lay buried by time, leaving only overgrown weeds and an air of ancient, weathered history.

At the edge of the ruins stood a massive, tilted, and cracked boulder, upon which were carved three words.

"Cyan Wind Sect."

Li Chang’an walked forward, his gaze fixed on the massive boulder.

’So it was this Sect.’

In a past life, when he had dreamed his way back to antiquity, he had heard of the Cyan Wind Sect.

The Sect was an Affiliated Sect of the Ancient Wood Sect and had Nascent Soul Stage experts among its members.

’It seems the rumors were true. There really must be Nascent Soul opportunities deeper within the ruins.’

Right now, Li Chang’an had no interest in those Nascent Soul opportunities.

That was something for Golden Core Masters to fight over.

All he wanted was to kill Sima Rui.

As for any other treasures, he would take what he could get but wouldn’t force the issue.

Li Chang’an took out a disguise, changing his appearance. Under a new identity, he entered the ruins and headed straight for Sima Rui’s location.

The path was littered with signs of Magical Combat, and the corpses of Human Race Cultivators were scattered everywhere.

Along the way, Li Chang’an unexpectedly came across a number of Storage Pouches.

’These people killed someone but didn’t even bother to take their Storage Pouch? They must have been in a rush to snatch some treasure.’

He collected them as he went, and his haul was quite substantial.

Dahuang’s keen sense of smell also proved useful, helping him discover a great deal of Spirit Medicine.

In addition, there were many broken Arrays along the path.

Perhaps the ones who broke the Arrays were in a rush to plunder treasures deeper inside, as they hadn’t taken the Array Materials.

These materials all found their way into Li Chang’an’s Storage Pouch as well.

’Am I the chosen one or something? I’ve picked up so much treasure without even getting into a fight.’

Even Li Chang’an found it a bit strange.

Although the path was littered with corpses, he hadn’t been attacked once.

By his rough estimate, the treasures he’d picked up along the way were already worth over one hundred fifty thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones.

As he was pondering this, Dahuang suddenly conveyed a sense of pleasant surprise to him.

"What is it? Did you find more treasure?"

Li Chang’an followed Dahuang, racing deep into the ruins until they arrived at a Spirit Field.

The Spirit Field was in a hidden location, protected by an Array, and had apparently gone undiscovered.

It was just a Tier Two Array.

Li Chang’an broke through it with ease and collected the Array Materials.

What appeared before him was a large patch of shimmering, multicolored Spiritual Earth.

’Tier Three Spiritual Earth? A pleasant surprise, indeed.’

A smile touched Li Chang’an’s face as he began to collect the Spiritual Earth.

This Spiritual Earth was perfect for nurturing his Evergreen Vine.

After collecting the Spiritual Earth, the man and his dog continued deeper into the ruins.

About a quarter of an hour later, they finally closed in on Sima Rui’s position.

Just then, Sima Rui’s voice suddenly rang out from not far ahead.

"Are there any fellow cultivators here skilled in Arrays? I’ve found a Spirit Field and suspect it’s full of Spirit Medicine, but it’s protected by multiple Arrays."

His voice was laced with Spiritual Power, allowing it to spread far and wide.

Before long, a gruff voice answered from another direction.

"I am a Tier Two Low Grade Array Master. May I ask what Tier the Array is on that Spirit Field you’ve found?"

Hearing this, Sima Rui called back loudly.

"I used a Tier Two Middle Grade Array-Breaking Treasure on it, but the Array didn’t even budge. It must be a Tier Two Top Grade Array."

"My mistake for asking!"

The gruff voice was not heard from again.

The path of an Array Master was especially difficult; those who reached Tier Two Top Grade were exceedingly rare.

Sima Rui called out several more times, but there was still no response.

He frowned, staring at the Spirit Field before him, completely at a loss.

’If I’d known I was going to run into Ancient Sect Ruins on this trip, I would have invited a couple of fellow Array Masters to come along.’

The three Honored Guest Elders from Yellow Crane Immortal City at his side were powerful, but none of them knew the first thing about Arrays.

He had brought them along solely as a precaution against Li Chang’an.

’Now it seems I was clearly overthinking things. That coward Li Chang’an is still holed up on Changqing Mountain like a turtle in its shell. How would he dare to come deep into the Black Dragon Mountain Range?’

Sima Rui was annoyed with himself.

’That Li Chang’an is just a mere Loose Cultivator, while I am the disciple of a Golden Core Master. Why did I need to be so cautious?’

’It’s too late to go back and get an Array Master now.’

Just then, an unfamiliar voice spoke up from nearby.

"Fellow cultivator, would you allow me to take a look at this Array?"

"Hm?"

Sima Rui turned toward the voice and saw a man with an utterly unremarkable appearance.

It was none other than Li Chang’an in his disguise!

"Fellow cultivator, I have some small skill in the way of Arrays. Perhaps I can break the Array on this Spirit Field."

Li Chang’an cupped his fists, his voice steady.

Sima Rui asked, "May I ask your Tier in the way of Arrays, fellow cultivator?"

"Tier Two Top Grade."

At these words, Sima Rui’s spirits visibly lifted.

He immediately signaled for the three Immortal City Guest Elders to step back, and he also retreated a few paces, inviting Li Chang’an to observe the Array.

Li Chang’an stepped forward and took a closer look.

The Array on this Spirit Field was even better than the one on the previous field. It had three layers of Tier Two Top Grade Arrays, but they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Sima Rui asked, "Fellow cultivator, are you confident you can break these Arrays?"

"I am."

Li Chang’an nodded, his tone carrying a newfound confidence.

"However, shouldn’t we first discuss the matter of dividing the treasure?"

Hearing this, Sima Rui’s brow furrowed slightly, a feeling of displeasure welling up inside him.

But since he had no means of Array-Breaking himself, he could only accommodate Li Chang’an for the moment.

The two negotiated for a while and finally settled on a fifty-fifty split.

At the same time.

Sima Rui secretly sent a Sound Transmission to the other three, telling them to prepare.

"After the Array is broken, we’ll work together to capture this man and force him to sign a Servant Contract with us!"

"Understood!"

The three Honored Guest Elders all agreed.

The aura emanating from Li Chang’an was not weak, having reached the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment.

However, of Sima Rui’s group of four, three were at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment, while the last one was at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment.

If they were to launch a sudden, coordinated sneak attack, capturing a cultivator at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishment would not be a problem.