CHAPTER 163: CHAPTER 162: EIGHT-DIRECTION SPIRIT GATHERING ARRAY

Some say that an angry beauty is still beautiful. Shen Wang agreed with this at the moment.

The woman before him had a face like a lotus flower, skin fairer than snow, glowing and flawless, with a delicate oval face featuring a pair of sparkling eyes, willow-leaf eyebrows, and a perfect combination of a high-bridged nose. Despite being puffed up with anger, she radiated a kind of gentle beauty instead of hostility.

Shen Wang noticed the silver belt around her waist and immediately recognized the figure he had seen earlier. Surprised, he asked, "You’re Zheng Yunshu, right? Do you need something from me?"

"Are you the one who caused my brother’s injury and worsened his condition?"

Zheng Yunshu, rather than appearing ethereal, opened with a hostile question.

"What do you mean? Did Elder Zheng Bingzhong’s health deteriorate?"

Shen Wang was astonished, frowning slightly. "What’s it got to do with me?"

"Did you take the array assessment with my brother today?"

The woman stepped forward, her long hair tied with a red ribbon fluttering. It was because she released her Spiritual Essence, altering the surrounding airflow.

Her chest wasn’t particularly pronounced, but Shen Wang did not step back. He nodded, "Yes, I took the assessment as usual. What’s the problem?"

"After assessing you, my brother vomited blood and passed out. What exactly did you do?"

Zheng Yunshu’s willow eyebrows stood up slightly.

Recalling the whole assessment process, Shen Wang calmly said, "I only did what I could. Even if I broke the array, it would at most affect the Ten Array Map. How could that cause your brother’s injury?"

He realized that perhaps this woman couldn’t find anyone to vent her anger on after her brother’s incident and thus came to vent on him.

"Did you know my brother’s health was poor?"

Indeed, Zheng Yunshu seemed a bit lacking in confidence.

"I didn’t know."

Shen Wang said flatly, "You’re not going to blame me for this, are you? I’ve only just arrived here today and barely know anyone."

Zheng Yunshu raised her hand, wanting to hit Shen Wang, but seeing more and more onlookers gathering around, her small hand ultimately didn’t strike down.

At this moment, people nearby were attracted over and seeing Shen Wang stared down by Zheng Yunshu, some harbored a bit of schadenfreude.

"It’s all your fault!"

Zheng Yunshu snapped, stomped her foot, and turned to leave.

"..."

Shen Wang was once again astonished, thinking that this woman was being unreasonable trying to vent her anger. He was even ready for a fight, but it ended just like that?

Seeing Zheng Yunshu leave, Shen Wang realized the woman still had some sense and wasn’t just unreasonably making a scene.

"Isn’t the sickly person on their deathbed?"

"Sigh, I heard Elder Zheng’s illness requires real miracle medicine to cure."

"Miracle medicine? Even Nascent Soul Great Cultivators might not have access to it. Though their status isn’t poor, they still don’t have that kind of opportunity."

Some people familiar with the situation shook their heads and sighed. Hearing this, Shen Wang realized that Zheng Yunshu faced even more severe issues than he did when his Dantian was shattered.

With a damaged Dantian, he could still live like a mortal; the current situation for that person was akin to having little time left.

Li Yuanliu hurried over and, seeing Shen Wang was fine, breathed a sigh of relief: "Younger Brother Wang, don’t mind her. Zheng Mei’zhi is engrossed in the art of arrays. She’s rather simple-minded, somewhat childlike."

"Not really childlike. She’s sensible and understands the rules, didn’t make things difficult for me."

Shen Wang wondered, "I just didn’t expect her reaction to be so intense."

Li Yuanliu glanced around and beckoned to Shen Wang: "Let’s discuss this at your place."

He had just arranged accommodations for Shen Wang, a quiet attic with a thousand-year cypress tree beside it, which required several people to encircle.

The door had the characters ’Ground Eight’ written on it, likely the room’s number.

"This is the restrictive token for this building. Once refined, it will be yours."

Handing a token to Shen Wang, Li Yuanliu entered and said solemnly, "Zheng Mei’zhi sought you out probably suspecting you of intentionally aggravating Elder Zheng’s condition."

"What do you mean, he can’t use any power?"

Shen Wang suddenly realized he might have inadvertently gotten involved in some grudges.

"I’m not sure either. I’ve only heard that recently, Xie Xianlong from the Body Refining Pavilion wants to marry Zheng Mei’zhi, and things are unpleasant between them. Now the Zheng family relies on Elder Zheng to hold them up. If her brother is down, it makes it easier for Xie Xianlong to succeed."

Li Yuanliu smiled wryly, "Just letting you know so you’re cautious not to get involved in these matters. We in the Outer Pavilion shouldn’t meddle in their Inner Cabinet affairs."

"Thanks for the warning. What’s the situation with the Zheng family?"

Shen Wang asked.

"The Zheng family used to be a prominent family in the Hundred Refining Sect, but weakened due to some incidents. By this generation, they’ve hit a bottleneck. Elder Zheng Bingzhong was their main pillar. Judging by the situation now, it’s hard to see them holding on."

Li Yuanliu sighed, "No helping it. Whether a family or sect, rise and decline are normal. We just need to do our jobs well."

"Thanks for clarifying, Brother Li."

Shen Wang jotted down these matters, but didn’t take them to heart.

After Li Yuanliu left, he went to the Library Pavilion dedicated to storing books and array maps, beginning a systematic study of array knowledge.

His array experience largely came from system rewards. He only understood the basic principles, and needed to absorb these books and maps to learn how to apply them practically and understand their variations.

Hence, even the introductory array knowledge intrigued Shen Wang.

From the most basic Treasure Arrays to various classifications of arrays, Shen Wang immersed himself in them, quickly absorbing the knowledge inside.

His familiarity with high-level array experience made these books and maps easy for him to understand, especially the maps. Implementing what’s on them requires engraving array patterns, and even the fundamental array components are related to Artifact Refining.

His Talisman Making and Artifact Refining experience came in handy here, making it easy for him to read through. Within a day’s time, he had grasped a general understanding of the foundational array knowledge.

Seeing him engrossed in looking at the Treasure Tier books and maps all day, Steward He finally couldn’t help but speak when he was done: "Interesting? Aren’t you a Fourth-grade Array Grandmaster? Even these can capture your attention?"

"Great principles are simple. Besides, arrays from different places have some differences. Reading these helps me understand the basic circumstances of our Outer Pavilion; sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the work of chopping firewood."

Shen Wang casually gave a reason. After all, who said an Array Grandmaster couldn’t read foundational content?

Steward He rarely smiled and asked, "You do have a way with words. How long do you plan to study here?"

"I’ll come back later. I need to go home for a while."

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Wang said, "Give me a set of Top-grade Array products to study on my own."

"Already aiming for top-grade arrays so soon?"

Steward He was surprised, "You seem quite young."

"Isn’t Zheng Yunshu also an Array King at such a young age?" Shen Wang chuckled.

"She’s from an Array Family with a long lineage and guidance from renowned teachers, unlike us."

Steward He pouted, throwing out a paper listing array names and prices like a menu, "You can buy Top-grade Arrays at a 60% discount. Which set would you like?"

"This Eight-direction Spirit Gathering Array!"

Shen Wang pointed to one spot, as the Spirit Gathering Array was for helping his family cultivate, and the array’s operation also requires more Spiritual Qi, not just relying on Spirit Stones.