CHAPTER 167: CHAPTER 157: ARRAY MASTER AWAKENED, REFINING THE EARTH MERIDIAN

The radiance was as lustrous as jade, circulating within the dark cave like a Milky Way pouring down, dazzling and mesmerizing.

That touch of crystal-clear glimmer appeared even more dazzling in the ink-like darkness.

Sun Cai’s pupils suddenly contracted, and his hands unconsciously clenched, knuckles turning white: "Ground veins!"

Even though the exposed soil was only the size of half a fist, the crystalline substance contained within it was solidified as if tangible.

This was the supreme treasure that Gui Cang Realm cultivators dreamt of—the ground veins.

Sun Cai never expected such a treasure to be buried in the soil behind the mountain of the Golden Array Sect.

Qin An squinted his narrow eyes, his right hand slowly rubbing the hilt of his saber: "Not only is it a ground vein, but it’s also a ground vein on the verge of withering."

Ground vein crystals can assist Gui Cang Realm cultivators in refining their primary veins, but the conditions for their formation are extremely harsh.

You must wait for the ground vein to naturally wither to form crystals, any human intervention would cause it to vanish.

The ground vein before them, though crystal clear, was decaying with every passing moment.

Judging by Qin An’s expert eye, within a day, it would turn into precious ground vein crystals.

Qin An had come originally to start a new profession, but unexpectedly stumbled upon this fortuitous discovery.

The cave was as dark as ink, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Qin An pondered for a moment, and the Cold Star Saber at his waist unsheathed with a sound.

Saber light erupted, and the Gang Qi over a foot long flowed like water around his body.

He glanced at Sun Cai: "Follow me down."

Sun Cai, as if waking from a dream, hastily followed closely behind.

Qin An circulated the True Qi within his body, performing the Dragon Roar Wind Step, his figure transformed into an afterimage drifting down.

Upon landing, a surge of fierce killing intent suddenly attacked.

"Swish——"

The sound of slicing through the air rang out, and Qin An’s form rapidly twisted.

The blade of the Cold Star Saber burst forth with a blazing saber light, weaving ice and fire power, sweeping horizontally to the side.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the cave.

In his peripheral vision, a small figure wielding two blades brushed past Qin An.

The rat demon halted, its blade lightly grazing the whiskers on its mouth, exposing a sinister smile: "Where did this brat come from, daring to snatch Grandpa Rat’s treasure?"

Behind it, two Gui Cang Realm rat demons quietly appeared.

Qin An narrowed his eyes: "Three rat demons?"

The Evil Qi perceived outside the cave had finally found its source.

The leading rat demon stretched out its scarlet tongue, licking the corners of its mouth; when its gaze fell on the silver badge at Qin An’s waist, its pupils suddenly contracted: "Mountain Patrol Officer!"

The other two rat demons sneered.

"Slaughter him, take his head to the cave master for a reward!"

"The ground vein crystal is about to form, don’t spoil the cave master’s plans!"

Saying this, the three rat demons wasted no more words, swiftly transforming into afterimages and lunging.

Sun Cai was sweating coldly on his forehead.

The pressure brought by the three Gui Cang Realm demonic creatures felt like three mountains pressing down upon him.

"Today is dire!"

Although he knew Qin An was a silver officer of the mountain patrol, with deep foundations, facing three alone, the odds of victory were slim.

At this moment, Sun Cai felt that his actions were reckless, fearing it would be difficult to leave this cave alive.

As he thought about this, the sound of the wind came to his ear.

Among the wind, there came a shrill scream.

Sun Cai instinctively looked towards the sound, immediately froze, fists unconsciously clenched.

He saw Qin An with a calm expression, slowly pulling a straight blade out of one rat demon’s chest.

The ice and fire power on the blade had not yet dissipated, flickering with a demonic brilliance in the darkness.

Even more chilling, Qin An calmly wiped away the blood on the rat demon’s robe.

"Merely Gui Cang Realm Small Success..."

Qin An’s tone was disturbingly calm, turning to slash out again.

The Cold Star Saber’s blade flowed with ice and fire power, combining hardness and softness.

The leading rat demon’s hair stood on end, suddenly recognizing the familiar blade intent, its expression drastically changed: "You’re Qin An, the Demon-Slaying Saber!"

The name of Qin An had already begun to make waves in the demon world of Lingzhou.

Such a unique saber technique, who else but he could have it?

"Run!"

"We cannot confront him!"

The leading rat demon shouted hoarsely.

But before the words finished, another scream from a rat demon rang out.

The leading rat demon glanced back, grip on the dual blades tightening abruptly.

Only to see Qin An’s straight blade plow through like it was cutting bamboo, severing the rat demon’s dual blades along with it, the blade penetrating the chest.

The rat demon only had time to let out a short wail before collapsing, convulsing and perishing.

As Qin An pulled out the Cold Star Saber, the rat demon had already turned into a corpse.

"Run?"

Qin An executed the Dragon Roar Wind Step, his form intercepting like an apparition.

He lightly wiped the blood from the saber, sneering: "Where do you think you’re going?"

With five Yang Elixirs forging an incomparable foundation, plus having refined the du meridian with the ground vein crystal, Qin An’s depth far surpassed those of the same stage.

Although just at Gui Cang Realm Small Success, Ice Flame Water Breaker had reached Small Success realm.

Killing these few Gui Cang Realm Small Success rat demons was as easy as turning over one’s hand.

Without even needing to use the stored power of three blades.

The rat demon felt a chill from Qin An’s cold gaze, body tingling all over, as if submerged in an icy pit, like being dismembered by thousands of blades.

"You... you..."

Its lips trembled, unable to form a complete sentence no matter how hard it tried.

Qin An’s lips curled into a sardonic arc: "How about we make a deal?"

The rat demon came back to its senses, involuntarily stepping back: "What... what deal?"

Qin An pointed the tip of his saber at the distant ground vein: "Tell me your purpose for hiding behind the mountain, and I’ll spare your life."

The Ten Thousand Mouse Cave were masters of the array art, even low-cultivation rat demons could wield astounding power by utilizing arrays.

This skill was far superior to the Golden Array Sect.

Now discovering the presence of rat demons behind the mountain, coinciding with the imminent formation of the ground vein crystal, there was surely something amiss.

This rat demon was already a turtle in a jar; better to probe and see if any intelligence could be gleaned.

Sun Cai, hearing this, exclaimed in shock: "Mr. Qin, you mustn’t!"

Having been struck by Qin An’s saber technique, Sun Cai now returning to his senses, felt some panic hearing Qin An propose a deal with the rat demon.

Qin An raised his eyes and glanced over: "When I speak, I don’t like being interrupted."

His gaze was as sharp as a knife, and Sun Cai instantly felt a chill to the bone, realizing the vast disparity in their positions and thus kept silent.

The rat demon’s whiskers vibrated slightly at the edges of its lips: "How can I trust you?"

"You can only trust me."

Qin An said blandly, "If you don’t, you will certainly die. Trust me, and there’s a slim chance of survival. This is a transaction, more so a high-stake gamble."

The rat demon’s face flickered with indecision, revealing a trace of conflict.

It knew Qin An was reasonable. The gamble was whether Qin An would let it go.

Among humans, there are many braves unafraid of death, and among demons, it is the same.

But among them, as well as those who are afraid of death.

If one could live past today, one could make up any reason after returning to muddle through.

"The cave master has comprehended the Seeking Vein Array, which can pinpoint the Earth Vein Crystals."

The rat demon gritted its teeth and said, "We are just sent here to guard the withering earth veins, and there are many like us scattered around."

Upon hearing this, Sun Cai’s face suddenly changed greatly: "If that’s the case, the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave will surely rise."

The Earth Vein Crystals are precious not just because they are difficult to form, but because they are extremely hard to find.

If the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave has a way to find them, they just need to lie low for a while, harvest a large number of Earth Vein Crystals, and with many Gui Cang Realm demons refining their main veins, their power will surely surge.

Their Gui Cang Realm demons will also be stronger than those of the same realm.

Qin An raised an eyebrow and said, "Is that all?"

This information is significant. Perhaps the Jinzhou Commandery will be interested, and even the distant main province in the wilderness might be interested.

Among the three major demon forces, the Fire Crow Race is now gone, relieving Qin An of some pressure.

But if these remaining demon forces are not completely eradicated, Qin An cannot feel at ease.

The rat demon nodded and said, "That’s all I know. Can I leave now?"

The response it got was a straight blade that flashed with a cold gleam.

The straight blade carried the power of ice and fire, piercing through the rat demon’s chest and emerging from its back.

Qin An’s grip on the Cold Star was steady, so steady that there was no ripple: "You lost the gamble."

The rat demon’s whole body convulsed violently, clutching the blade tightly with both hands, blood gushing through its fingers: "You don’t keep your word!"

In its words, an undeniable grudge was evident.

Qin An pressed one hand on the rat demon’s head, and steadily withdrew the Cold Star with the other: "I am human, you are a demon, to speak of credibility with monsters, do you deserve?"

At the moment the Cold Star was withdrawn, the rat demon collapsed on the ground with a thud, convulsing for a moment, then fell silent.

Qin An wiped off the blood stains on the blade with the rat demon’s body, and skillfully extracted three demon cores.

"Seventeen now."

This battle did not deplete any demon cores.

There were seventeen demon cores in total before, three were consumed in saber technique deduction, and now, three demon cores have been replenished.

The demon core harvest from this trip can already be considered quite good.

And there are other gains yet.

Qin An stood up, his gaze sweeping over the crystal clear earth vein.

Sun Cai quickly snapped to attention, cupping his fists: "Congratulations Mr. Qin on obtaining the earth vein!"

Qin An lifted his eyes over Sun Cai, teasing with a faint smile: "You do know your place."

Sun Cai showed a hint of flattery: "Naturally so."

This earth vein was within the Golden Array Sect’s territory, but Sun Cai knew very well, it did not belong to the Golden Array Sect.

A man with a jade bone in an unjust position invites trouble.

The Golden Array Sect’s power is weak, even he as the Sect Leader is only of the Jade Bone Realm cultivation, not even near the threshold to use Earth Vein Crystals.

They cannot defend it.

Since they can’t defend it, it’s better to give it to Qin An, as a gesture of goodwill.

Sun Cai had already experienced Qin An’s might.

With such foundation and power, as long as he does not die prematurely, he will undoubtedly soar to great heights in the future.

Forming a positive relationship now is beneficial for Golden Array Sect.

Qin An slowly said, "You may leave."

The earth vein needs another day to wither, Qin An needs to wait.

Since that is the case, Qin An decided to stay in the cave to comprehend the Golden Array Skill gifted by Sun Cai, and conveniently start on the path of an Array Master.

Sun Cai hurriedly nodded and respectfully retreated: "If Mr. Qin needs anything, feel free to summon me anytime."

Once Sun Cai left, silence returned to the cave, only the faint glow of the earth vein flickered.

Qin An found a flat stone to sit on and took out the Golden Array Skill to study carefully.

The Golden Array Skill is an array technique, abstruse and hard to grasp for laymen.

An entire night passed, and Qin An had gone through the Golden Array Skill several times.

It is said in the mountains years mean nothing, in the cave years are unknown.

Inside the cave, there is no sunlight, and the passage of time becomes less significant.

Until Qin An closed the Golden Array Skill once more, a brilliance flickered in his eyes.

Before him, smoke twisted like a serpent, finally condensing into words, floating in mid-air.

[Array Master lv.1 (0/100): Your speed in setting up arrays slightly increased]

[Talent: None]

After a night of hard studies, Qin An finally unlocked the Array Master profession.

A vast sea of array knowledge surged into his mind like a tide, rapidly absorbed and digested by him.

Because it was just the first level, there was no talent yet. Only until reaching the third level can new talents be unlocked.

Qin An was not in a hurry, this matter could be practiced after returning to the Evil Extermination Bureau.

The urgent task at hand was to collect the Earth Vein Crystals.

In the soil, the earth veins had withered to the extreme.

In Qin An’s gaze, after another stick of incense’s time, the earth veins before him finally turned into crystals.

The translucent crystals quietly lay on the ground. Qin An picked them up and channeled the True Qi within his body.

True Qi transited into the Earth Vein Crystal, which melted rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, merging into Qin An’s body.

A large amount of earth vein power coursed through Qin An’s meridians, finally resting on Qin An’s Ren Meridian.

Moments later, the Ren Meridian was entirely refined by the earth vein.

"The second one."

Qin An opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly curved upwards.

Eight major meridians, now two had been refined.

This trip not only obtained the Earth Vein Crystals but also unlocked the Array Master profession, a rather fruitful endeavor.

Qin An stood up and stepped out of the cave.

Outside the cave, the morning light was faint.

Qin An gazed at the peaceful forest outside and the sliver of sunlight appearing to the east, making up his mind.

"After returning, temporarily delay the tasks and fully enhance my Array Master skills."

"I want to step into the Pulse Condensation Realm in perfect form!"