Strange Patterns

Generally speaking, the Heart-Questioning Path was meant to test a disciple’s talent, perseverance, and the like. The trials were not especially difficult, since those required to walk the path had usually already been selected by the sect for their excellent spiritual roots and aptitude.

But the Heart-Questioning Path of the Lingxian Sect…

He thought of all the choices he had faced in that dream that had felt so real, and his heart filled with both astonishment and admiration.

There had always been a saying in the cultivation world: One could catch a glimpse of a sect’s character by observing its Heart-Questioning Path.

He had only just emerged from that path, yet in the blink of an eye, he had seen at the sect’s mountain gate a spirit peach tree that existed only in ancient texts…

Not knowing what else to say, He Yi returned the peach leaf in his hand to Liu Yunan.

He gave Liu Yunan a solemn bow and said, “My name is He Yi. I hope to enter the Lingxian Sect.”

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao had gone to the Jí Stone mine in Huanyou State, intending to replace the sealing array there. After arriving, he was just about to withdraw the original array and set up another, simpler sealing array.

Before doing so, he subconsciously extended his spiritual sense and primordial energy into the array to inspect it in its entirety. Unexpectedly, he discovered that something seemed unusual.

By borrowing the array’s power, he could only sense that this place differed from its surroundings in some way; he could not see the details clearly.

Thus, Lin Xiao decided to enter the mine personally and conduct a thorough inspection.

The Jí Stone mine covered a vast area, with numerous tunnels crisscrossing one another in chaotic patterns. Using his qi as a shield, Lin Xiao entered the mine and examined the tunnels one by one.

He soon discovered that the place was no longer the same as it had been when he first set up the sealing array.

Three years ago, after the State Preceptor had suddenly disappeared from the Jí Stone mine, they had conducted a thorough inspection while cleaning up the area. After setting up the sealing array, Lin Xiao had also used it to examine the entire mine.

At the time, aside from the hollow area where the State Preceptor had vanished, most of the tunnels showed nothing but signs of mining. There had been nothing else.

But now, Lin Xiao discovered that many of the tunnels had been arranged with Jí Stone into various patterns.

The pattern in each cave was different. Lin Xiao studied them for a long while but still could not determine what they were used for. Clearly, they had nothing to do with the methods of spirit cultivators.

In any case, they were probably some sort of array formation or the like. It was merely that Jí energy was completely opposed to spiritual energy, so the underlying principles were entirely different. It was only natural that he could not understand the patterns.

Lin Xiao decided not to waste any more time and directly recorded the shapes of all the patterns on a jade slip.

Judging from the traces left by the arrangements, they had not been created all that long ago, and had probably been formed around the same time.

He reached out and sensed them. The concentration of Jí energy was unevenly distributed, but overall, it felt as though the patterns had not been activated for quite some time.

After thinking it over, Lin Xiao guessed that cultivators of Jí energy, such as the State Preceptor, possessed some special method of teleportation. That must have been how they had disappeared right in front of everyone’s eyes, then returned to the Jí Stone mine after he had set up the sealing array.

However, the sealing array he had set up outside the mine was extremely sensitive. If anyone had appeared within it, he should have noticed.

It was likely that the State Preceptor’s remaining followers had carried this out while he was secluded in cultivation, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage—that is, about a year ago.

After all, unless they forcibly broke through the sealing array or disturbed it, Lin Xiao, who had been secluded at the Lingxian Sect, would not have received any obvious feedback.

When one was secluded in cultivation and wholly immersed in one’s cultivation method, overlooking minor external disturbances was perfectly normal.

If so, then the alliance army’s campaign against the Jí Stone faction in Huanyou State had probably shaken the faction’s foundations. That would explain why they had only made a move two years later.

Of course, all of this was merely Lin Xiao’s partial speculation based on the circumstances before him and could not be treated as fact.

As he recorded the patterns, he also carefully documented the distribution of Jí energy throughout them. Afterwards, he searched the mine and collected a large sack of Jí Stone, which he stored in his private treasury.

When he had the time, he could study these Jí Stone contraptions properly.

As the saying went, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never lose a battle.

Because the patterns varied in size and were scattered throughout tunnels of all shapes and dimensions, Lin Xiao spent a great deal of time examining, pondering, and recording them.

He did not finish until noon the next day.

Once the patterns had been recorded, Lin Xiao finally prepared to remove the original sealing array and replace it with a new one.

He was not worried that the brief interval during which the sealing array was removed would give the Jí Stone faction an opportunity to act. After all, they had already managed to enter and leave without damaging or disturbing the original sealing array in the slightest. They would hardly need to take advantage of the short time required to replace it.

After withdrawing the original sealing array, Lin Xiao installed a relatively common sealing array that he had obtained from Senior Liao. He simply enlarged and modified it before setting it up in this place.

Finally, he carefully erased every trace of the modifications that might possibly be discovered.

Once everything was finished, Lin Xiao hovered in the air and looked at the extraordinarily ordinary sealing array he had installed. He was very satisfied.

This way, even if investigators from the cultivation world came here, the Lingxian Sect would not easily attract their attention.

He thought back over everything he had done in Huanyou State. He had only taken action in the Jí Stone mine and in the village that had been affected by Jí energy.

As for the village, he had repeatedly reviewed his memories and confirmed that nothing he had done there had exceeded the abilities of an ordinary cultivator in the mortal world. Only then did he relax and fly back on his sword.

In truth, with Lin Xiao’s current cultivation, flying through the air without relying on any external object was no longer difficult. That did not affect his fondness for flying on a sword, however.

On the way back, he used his lock ring to contact Liu Yunan.

The journey was boring anyway, and he was not worried about tying up Liu Yunan’s line. If the line was busy, he could simply call again later. He had plenty of free time while flying on his sword.

To his surprise, the Liu Yunan whom he normally had to contact several times before reaching answered almost immediately after connecting to the ring’s secondary array inscription.

“Yunan, I’ve finished everything here and am on my way back. How is He Yi doing?”

“Brother Xiao! The Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree in our sect is actually a treasure tree that exists only in ancient texts!” Liu Yunan’s astonished voice came through the lock ring.

“Hm? What treasure tree?” Lin Xiao asked, baffled. He had clearly been asking about He Yi. How had the conversation suddenly turned to the Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree?

“He Yi said he saw a record of a treasure tree in an ancient text in the Talisman Sect’s Scripture Repository. It was almost identical to our Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree. And, Brother Xiao, did you know that the leaves of our Ten-Li Peach Blossom Tree can actually transform into other forms? They’re impossible to distinguish from the real thing!” Liu Yunan sounded as though someone had opened the floodgates of conversation, and he enthusiastically shared the shock he had experienced the previous day with Lin Xiao.