CHAPTER 348: CHAPTER 154: MR. CHEN’S GUN! THE FAIRY’S FIRST DUAL CULTIVATION! (6K)_3

When he heard the words "Eightfold Exorcism Array," Chen Mo’s heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "May I go inside and take a look?"

"Of course you can."

Li Siya led the two of them to the front of the building.

He reached out and pressed upon the wall, and a radiance flared. The wall split and silently slid open to both sides.

Chen Mo walked inside, and upon seeing the scene before him, he was immediately stunned.

Overhead, nine layers of caissons were interwoven, with seven bronze lamps hanging in the center of the Yin Yang fish eye, illuminating the vast space.

The inner walls of the entire structure were engraved with tens of thousands of array patterns, through which silvery spiritual liquid flowed, outlining a complete celestial star map.

Nine scarlet Coiled Dragon Pillars were embedded in the ground around, cloud patterns painted with thunder-stricken charcoal mixed with Jiao blood. Even from afar, one could feel the intense aura of evil spirits!

"This is..."

Chen Mo was overwhelmed by the scene before him and was momentarily lost in thought.

Li Siya explained, "This is a miniature version of the Eightfold Exorcism Array, but it’s not complete."

Chen Mo returned to his senses, examined it closely, and frowned, saying, "That’s not right. The Three Talents Foundation, Five Elements Transformation, corresponding to the stars, in harmony with the earth veins, this array is clearly used for transforming evil..."

"You have a keen eye, my young friend."

At this moment, an ancient voice sounded.

The group turned to look and saw an old man walking over slowly, with crane-white hair and a youthful face, his eyes deep and bright. A white robe unsullied by dust endowed him with an ethereal and mysterious presence.

"This young friend seems unfamiliar, which department might you be from?"

Li Siya introduced, "This is Deputy Thousand Households Chen Mo from the Sky Scale Guard, who is also an External Second-Class Contributor... And this is Director Sun of the Formation Path Department."

The Demon Suppression Department is divided into the Alchemy Department, Artifact Refining Department, Formation Path Department, and Beast Taming Department, each with a corresponding leader known as a ’Director,’ ranking just below a Counselor.

This white-robed elder was Sun Chongli, the Director of the Formation Path Department.

Chen Mo cupped his hands in salute, "Subordinate greets Director Sun."

"No need for formalities."

Sun Chongli smiled warmly and explained, "The Eightfold Exorcism Array is not a single formation but is comprised of eight great arrays linked together inextricably, affecting the whole when one part is moved... What you see here is just one of the eight arrays, called the ’Nine Luminaries Erosion Sun Formation.’

"Eight sets of arrays?"

This was the first time Chen Mo heard of such a concept.

If it was just to detect demon energy, did it need to be so complex?

Seeing his confusion, Sun Chongli continued, "Detecting demon energy is merely the most trivial function of the Eightfold Exorcism Array. This large array covering Tiandu City is actually used to bind dragons."

"Bind dragons?"

"To trap the dragon veins and anchor the fate, ensuring the eternal prosperity of the Great Yuan’s imperial family... Dragon veins are born with destiny and cannot be controlled by human power. Forcibly binding them accrues a great deal of evil qi, thus requiring the ’Nine Luminaries Erosion Sun Formation’ to dissolve it."

Chen Mo frowned deeper, puzzled, "If this array benefits the imperial family, why would the Demon Suppression Department seek to dismantle it?"

Sun Chongli sighed and said, "Because it can’t hold any longer... In recent years, the dragon veins have been fluctuating more and more, and the Eightfold Exorcism Array is about to reach its limits. It must be re-adjusted."

"Initially, this grand array was set by the Wuwan Temple. The court holds the Array Map and the Array Chart, but lacks the Array Guide. To reconstruct the grand array, all eight formations must be deconstructed."

"The Demon Suppression Department has delved into this for years and has only managed to break through two of them so far..."

Hearing this, Chen Mo couldn’t help but think of the dragon aura escaping from the bottom of the Canglan River and the Creation Ancient Tree that mutated after absorbing the dragon aura...

These were not part of the original plot, just where did things start to diverge?

"And then there’s Chu Heng..."

"Thinking back, his initial desire to destroy the Eightfold Exorcism Array might not have been so simple after all..."

Chen Mo couldn’t help but fall into deep contemplation.

Sun Chongli’s keen eyes studied him, smiling, "Mr. Chen, your understanding of the formation path is quite profound. You should come by often in the future, so we can exchange ideas and discussions."

Chen Mo cupped his hands, saying, "I am honored by Director Sun’s praise."

Exchanging insights with an Array Master is naturally an invaluable opportunity.

But he always felt there was something peculiar about this Director Sun. Even though it was their first meeting, he was overly friendly as if they were rather familiar...

"Thank you, Director, for the clarification. I still have affairs at the Government, so I will take my leave first."

"Take care."

Sun Chongli watched the three leave, his eyes flickering slightly.

Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the air beside him, and the slightly hunched figure of Ling Yishan slowly emerged, asking, "What do you think of him?"

Sun Chongli mused, "To be able to see through the Nine Luminaries Erosion Sun Formation with a glance, his perception is astonishingly sharp. Moreover, there’s a faint aura about him similar to the Prisoner Dragon Pattern..."

Ling Yishan murmured to himself, "Three Talents Foundation, Five Elements Transformation, Eight Trigrams Lock Dragon, Nine Palace Hidden Kill... Could it really be this kid?"

"You noticed as well?"

Sun Chongli blinked, smiling, "To grasp the fate, you even brought your granddaughter into the mix. You truly are willing."

"Why, don’t be absurd. Do you think I’m so opportunistic?"

Ling Yishan glared at him, speaking with irritation, "It’s not like Zhi’er took a liking to that boy. Besides, my Dao Lock’s fluctuations are becoming more frequent, and I fear it won’t hold for much longer. I must prepare in advance."

Sun Chongli’s smile faded as he asked solemnly, "How much longer?"

"If we don’t act, five years. If we do, it could be any moment," Ling Yishan replied flatly.

Sun Chongli fell silent, saying nothing.

"Enough, don’t put on that long face. Life and death are predetermined; I’ve come to terms with it long ago," Ling Yishan shook his head and said.

After hesitating for a moment, Sun Chongli cautiously said, "I was thinking... if you die, could you leave me the bronze divination plate? I’ve coveted that thing for a long time."

"..."

...

...

After leaving the Formation Path Department, Chen Mo became more astute. He used a bone mask to cover his face and a Concealing Ring to hide his presence. Thus, he reached the main gate of the Demon Suppression Department without attracting any attention.

Li Siya had some questions about arrays he wanted to ask him.

After all, artifact refining and formations are interconnected. To enhance a spiritual treasure’s power, one must be able to engrave a sufficiently powerful array.

Chen Mo did not withhold anything. He imprinted some insights given to him by Old Ling onto a Jade Scroll and handed it to Li Siya.

Li Siya was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure. He wanted to bow to him like Qu Sifan did, but Chen Mo stopped him, telling them to prepare dozens of jin of spirit pills and hundreds of talismans to deliver to the Sky Scale Guard as an apprenticeship gift...

Just as Chen Mo was about to leave, a prompt message suddenly flashed before him:

[Trigger special event: Break the array.]

"..."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

It was clear that this breaking the array referred to the Eightfold Exorcism Array.

That great array was used to trap and lock the Dragon Vein, and since he carried Dragon Qi, it might reveal something. It was best not to involve himself...

Fortunately, events released by the system, even if not completed, would not incur any penalties.

Currently, there were three events he had yet to complete:

Besides "Break the array," there were also "Jade Lock Deep Palace: Spring Dyeing Embroidery Bed," and "Fairy’s Fall."

The first two were too difficult with no leads, the most likely to be completed was "Fairy’s Fall"...

"What exactly counts as a fall? Does she need to be turned into a cream puff?"

Chen Mo glanced at Ling Ningzhi.

With the Creation Gold Contract, achieving this goal wasn’t very difficult, but it was somewhat lowly.

Previously, "disciplining" Ling Ningzhi was only to rewrite the plot. If he pushed too hard and created a darkened fairy, he might end up shooting himself in the foot...

So, maintaining proper boundaries is essential.

"Mr. Chen, why, why are you looking at me like that?" Ling Ningzhi felt a bit panicky under his gaze.

Chen Mo’s lips curled into a smile as he softly asked, "Fairy, are you interested in dual cultivation?"

?

Ling Ningzhi’s expression stiffened slightly, stammering, "Dual, dual cultivation?!"

...

...

In the east of the city, at Cuiyu Inn.

In a guest room of the tavern, Ling Ningzhi stood at the door, her cheeks flushed bright red, her heart almost pounding out of her chest.

She didn’t even know what she was thinking, her mind a whirl, somehow she had inexplicably followed Chen Mo to the tavern.

Though she had no experience with dual cultivation techniques, she roughly understood that it required men and women to cultivate in harmony, seemingly needing them to strip and lie on the bed...

Too embarrassing!

Chen Mo sat on the bed, waving her over, "Don’t just stand there, come sit."

It was too late to run away now, under the constraints of the Creation Gold Contract, she couldn’t defy Chen Mo’s orders, so she took small, timid steps to the bedside.

After hesitating for a moment, she lifted her plump hips and slowly sat in Chen Mo’s lap, the blush extending from her cheeks to her neck, her head bowed, not daring to look at him.

?

Chen Mo asked in confusion, "I told you to sit beside me, who told you to sit on my lap?"

"Ah?"

"I, I thought..."

Just as Ling Ningzhi was about to get up, her slim waist was firmly grasped by a pair of strong hands, preventing any movement.

"This works too, it’s a bit more convenient for cultivation..."

Before she could react, she felt a surge of heat rudely rushing into her body!

"Mmm!!"