Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 81: Surprise

”The array here is more complicated,” said Li Shiren as he immersed himself in it. With Li Zhirui and Li Shiting standing by as his protectors, he had no worry of being attacked.

Moreover, the process of breaking the array was also a learning experience of the array itself. For him, an array master, the benefits were significant as it could enhance his skills in the array tao.

Li Zhiruiʼs expression was more solemn than before because as they delved deeper into the ruins, the vicinity no longer just housed Qi Cultivation cultivators—occasionally, they could see Foundation Establishment cultivators lurking about.

Fortunately, most of these Foundation Establishment individuals were solitary loose cultivators, who dared not provoke the trio of Li Zhirui, and the array in this area had decent defensive powers. They were all busy attempting to break through the arrays.

After about half an hour, Li Shiren, looking excited, managed to unlock the array. ”Letʼs stay here a bit longer and see if we can find any intact arrays.”

”This array serves to seal and absorb spirit energy. It is most suitable for placing in Pill Rooms and Spiritual Seed storage areas. It can prolong the efficacy of spirit pills and the vitality of spirit seeds.”

Li Zhiruiʼs eyes lit up, and a hint of excitement emerged on his face. He whispered, ”Does that mean this place is a storeroom?”

”Letʼs go in and take a look quickly!” Using a light-emitting talisman to illuminate the room, Li Zhirui couldnʼt wait to enter.

Li Zhirui was not wrong; it indeed was a storeroom, and specifically, one that stored Spiritual Medicine.

In a small room, wooden cabinets lined all three walls, and each drawer was labeled with the names of Spiritual Medicines, such as Gold-Edged Grass, Jade Sprout Flower, Spirit Nurturing Fruit...

Li Zhirui scanned the room quickly and said, somewhat regretfully, ”This storeroom contains only first-grade Spiritual Medicines, but Spirit Nurturing Fruits and Cloud Spirit Ganoderma are relatively precious among them.”

”Itʼs just uncertain whether the spiritual energy and the medicinal effects of these medicines have dissipated.” As he spoke, Li Zhirui opened the drawer labeled Cloud Spirit Ganoderma, but to his surprise, he found a storage bag inside.

”Eh?” Li Zhirui said with some astonishment, ”They havenʼt decayed?!”

”Could it be the effect of that array?” They had been in the ruins for so long, and aside from that storage ring, they had found no other undecayed spiritual objects!

Li Zhirui, breathing rapidly, said, ”Quick, open the other drawers and check!”

In that storage bag, there were at least a few hundred Lingzhi herbs, and with several hundred drawers in the room, there could be tens of thousands of Spiritual Medicines!

Even if these were all first-grade Spiritual Medicines, the sheer amount would mean their value would not be low.

”Itʼs not good! Someone is coming!” Li Shitingʼs actions halted. Just then, her Qing Lin Snake alerted her through its Spiritual Soul that at least two Foundation Establishment cultivators were heading their way.

”Weʼll take care of them first!” A trace of killing intent appeared in Li Zhiruiʼs eyes as he said, ”This will be a good chance to deter the other Foundation Establishment cultivators.”

The trio turned and stepped out of the room, just in time to see two Foundation Establishment cultivators touch down; one was in the early phase while the other was a little higher, in the mid-phase.

”If you two leave now, weʼll act as though none of this ever happened,” Li Zhirui warned.

”Tsch!” One of them snorted in contempt and said, ”Do the three of you really think you can intimidate us brothers?”

”Ignorant of their own demise!” Seeing the situation, Li Zhirui knew the battle was inevitable. He swiftly formed seals with his fingers, and moments later, a water dragon, formed from a massive amount of river water and shining like flowing light, roared as it lunged at the two men.

The two men hadnʼt expected Li Zhirui to act so decisively. By the time the water dragon took flight, one hurriedly brought out a Defensive Magical Artifact while the other wielded a Spirit Sword, slashing out dozens of lines of Spirit Light.

Bang!

The water dragon burst apart, but the dispersed river water did not merge back into the river. It remained under control, imbued with mana.

Suddenly, Li Zhiruiʼs hand movements changed and swords made of ice, emitting cold air, materialized out of thin air. They fell like a torrential downpour, striking hundreds, if not thousands, of times in an instant.

The twoʼs expressions changed drastically, and Mana from inside their bodies flooded into the Magic Artifacts in their hands. For a moment, Spirit Light surged fiercely, and only then did they block the wave of attacks.

Worried that Li Zhirui would continue to strike, they preemptively launched an attack. One could see a sword light that cleaved through the river and an indistinct yet colossal yellow light carrying tremendous force hurtling toward Li Zhirui.

Seeing this, Li Zhirui sighed softly in his heart. These two attacks seemed to be completely in his favor, but in reality, it was only because he had taken the initiative that he had caught the two off guard.

Now that the two had reacted, Li Zhirui was immediately put back in his place.

However, fortunately, he wasnʼt fighting alone.

”Iʼll block them for a moment, and you follow up with a spell to counter their attack!” Li Shiting said quickly.

Li Zhirui nodded, decisively abandoning the thought of altering his spell and continued to form an exceedingly complex spell in his hands as if he was brewing some sort of killer move.

To the side, Spirit Light flickered on the shell of Da Qing, and a mysterious cyan water shield rose up in front of Li Zhirui.

With Da Qingʼs current strength, the water shield he conjured would likely shatter the moment it met the attack. Nevertheless, it was his way of showing support, and Li Zhirui was very touched by it.

The attackersʼ blows had just been unleashed when they were significantly weakened by countless vines that sprouted from the ground.

Li Shiting was not very adept at direct confrontation but was skilled in defensive spells and ensnaring her opponents. Her fighting style involved entangling the cultivators, looking for an opportunity to get the Green Scale Snake close, and as long as one was bitten by the Green-Scale Snake, the battle could be declared over.

Thatʼs because the Green-Scale Snake Poison was a terrifying toxin that a First-Order Detoxification Pill couldnʼt cure; it required a Second-Order Detoxification Pill, which was costly, and few cultivators were willing to prepare it in advance.

After Li Shiting took action, the two assailants finally realized they faced three people, and they had been so focused on fighting Li Zhirui that they had neglected the two Foundation Establishment cultivators by his side!

As the vines were completely crushed, the spell Li Zhirui had been preparing was just ready to be released.

A faint blue Spirit Light appeared in his hands, seemingly heavy, and Li Zhirui exerted force with both hands to push it forward.

During this process, a wave rapidly took shape, carrying with it a torrent of river water rushing forward.

The attack that had already been greatly weakened became locked in a standoff with the surge of water midway, and eventually, both dissipated after exhausting their Spiritual Energy.

And at that moment, the yellow light finally revealed its true identity, turning out to be nothing more than a square brick.

”Formation, rise!”

Before the two could continue attacking, Li Shiren, who had been standing back, concealing his movements behind Li Zhirui and Li Shiting, had finally finished his preparations and began setting up the Formation.

Eight Array Flags flew towards the positions Li Shiren had calculated, an Array Plate in his hands shining brightly with Spirit Light, and after just a short time, a Second-Order Water Element Grand Array was established.

A Formation can be set up regardless of location, as long as the Array Plate is activated; generally, this method is used by cultivators who donʼt understand Formations or when Array Masters are fighting alone because it doesnʼt fully utilize the power of the Formation.

However, it also has an advantage—there is no need to calculate the positions of the Array Flags like Li Shiren did, which takes time.

If it werenʼt for Li Zhirui and Li Shitingʼs presence, Li Shiren would never set up a Formation in this manner.

”An Array Master?” The color drained from the two assailantsʼ faces as they attacked a specific point desperately, trying to break the Formation and escape.

There is a saying in the world of cultivation: In the same realm, never give an Array Master time to set up a Formation, or youʼll surely be the one to die!

Although somewhat exaggerated, it sufficiently illustrates the might of a Great Array overseen by an Array Master.