CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 161: ARRAY, NULLIFIED

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire place fell into silence.

Some of the patrol guards around, upon hearing this, all looked at Qin An with astonishment, their eyes showing a trace of disbelief.

Lin Qianyu has already consolidated two main veins into the earth veins, and her strength has reached the Great Success of Gui Cang Realm.

In the patrol guards, she is also considered to have infinite potential.

But now Qin An dared to say the word "scram" directly.

Many well-informed patrol guards recognized Qin An’s identity, knowing he was the rising star of the Demon-Slaying Saber, and watched the situation unfold with a mindset ready for entertainment.

Lin Qianyu was stunned for a while, then reacted as if a cat with its fur bristled, angrily said, "What did you just say?"

Qin An placed his hand on the knife’s sheath and said flatly, "Not only petty, but also somewhat deaf, how can such a person be fit to be a patrol guard?"

Many patrol guards present chuckled lightly at these words.

The words carried a few shades of sarcasm, yet not a single vulgar word was uttered.

Lin Qianyu gripped the long sword on her waist: "Are you going to be my enemy?"

Qin An said coldly, "Are you worthy?"

Lin Qianyu’s long sword came out of its sheath by three inches, exuding an icy sensation.

Dongfang Mo and others became immediately vigilant.

This woman had a hint of madness about her, and might really strike at this moment.

Qin An, however, shifted his gaze calmly, looking past Lin Qianyu, towards the person behind her.

A figure walked over slowly.

"During the mission, you may argue, but if you start fighting, that would violate the rules."

Lin Qianyu turned around and, upon seeing who it was, immediately sheathed her long sword: "Greetings, Mr. Li."

Dongfang Mo and others also paid their respects one by one: "Your humble servant greets Mr. Li."

Mr. Li, with a gold badge hanging from his waist, shook his head and said, "No need for such formalities."

Lin Qianyu pointed at Qin An and said, "Mr. Li, please don’t blame me. This man speaks with sarcasm and freely insults me, so I only behaved like this in a moment of anger."

Even though she had consolidated two main veins, when facing a patrol gold guard, she still wasn’t considered much.

But she wanted to explain the situation.

She had infinite potential, and if the patrol gold guard could put some pressure on Qin An, she surely could regain considerable face.

Mr. Li turned his gaze to Qin An and said helplessly, "You, youngster, truly know how to stir up trouble."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present understood the implication.

This esteemed patrol gold guard seemed to be acquainted with Qin An.

Qin An shook his head and said, "I do not cause trouble, but if someone provokes me, I won’t be afraid either."

Mr. Li nodded slightly: "How about the two of you give me some face, and after the mission ends, whatever grievance you have, I won’t interfere."

Lin Qianyu’s gaze lingered on Mr. Li and Qin An for a moment, then she turned around and said, "Since Mr. Li has spoken, your humble servant will heed the advice. The mission is dangerous, make sure you don’t die during it, so I can settle matters with you afterward."

Only after Lin Qianyu’s figure disappeared, Mr. Li shook his head.

"Too proud by nature, hasn’t taken a fall before, I’m afraid the road ahead will be tough."

This sentence was naturally about Lin Qianyu.

He is a patrol gold guard, and has experienced more battles than the rice he has eaten.

To survive to become a patrol gold guard, he also had been a supreme talent in his youth, and naturally has the qualifications to say this.

In Mr. Li’s view, if comparing Qin An and Lin Qianyu, he favored Qin An more.

Qin An had a fierceness in him and a willingness to risk his life for his goals.

This was more suitable for the Evil Extermination Bureau.

Qin An asked, "Mr. Li, you must have an important reason for coming here."

Mr. Li snapped out of his thoughts and said, "It’s not really important, just came to check on you, and by the way, buy some intel from Cheng Hong."

Cheng Hong is titled the Hundred Knowledgeable Maiden, and when it comes to intel, she stands out among the patrol guards.

Although the mission is described in detail, for a mission of this magnitude, no one would mind having more information.

This mission is not the only one being undertaken by a patrol gold guard, the other two are unwilling to join forces, thus they are competitors.

Whoever first takes the head of the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave’s leader will be the first in merit.

Everyone turned their attention to Cheng Hong.

Cheng Hong said helplessly, "No need to look at me like that, the intel on the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave is scarce, what I know is mostly about the array."

Qin An rubbed his chin: "Speak in detail."

No matter how little the intel, acquiring some is always good.

Cheng Hong lowered her voice: "The Ten Thousand Mouse Cave is known for its arrays, its most formidable aspect is how the arrays work with the cave’s peculiar structure to create a dividing effect."

"Once inside, if you’re not careful, you’ll get separated."

Dongfang Mo frowned: "If that’s the case, the effect of alliances will be much weaker."

According to this, even if they formed alliances, they would be separated once inside the arrays.

Unless they can find each other among the thousands of arrays, the alliance won’t be of much use.

Zhao Hai said, "Better than nothing, meeting by chance would still be useful."

Yan Li played with the bandages on his fists and looked up: "So mostly it will be solo operations."

Qin An frowned deeply, thinking no wonder the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave is hard to siege.

With arrays this strong, a lot of effort is needed to eradicate the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave.

If the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave hadn’t committed a major taboo this time, the Evil Extermination Bureau might not have sent so many patrol guards.

Mr. Li took out a monster essence from his bosom, prepared to hand it to Cheng Hong.

Cheng Hong shook her head: "Mr. Li, this information isn’t vital, no need to charge."

Mr. Li’s eyes slightly narrowed, putting the monster essence away: "You are quite astute, in that case, I owe you a favor."

He, being a seasoned person, could easily percieve Cheng Hong’s intentions.

Mr. Li admired Qin An, and at this moment, giving Qin An some face by letting Cheng Hong earn some goodwill was no problem.

Qin An asked, "Mr. Li, why is everyone waiting here?"

On the vast plain not far ahead, a massive opening led straight underground, standing out in the endless plain.

Everyone who should be here has arrived, but they are all waiting, Qin An doesn’t know what exactly they’re waiting for.

Mr. Li looked at the pitch-black opening on the plain and said, "Everyone’s forming alliances, and once everyone’s allied, then they will go down one by one."

Qin An frowned slightly: "If someone goes down first, wouldn’t they have the upper hand?"

Mr. Li shook his head and said, "Patrol guards are here to complete the mission; this mission is extremely dangerous, and if you hastily seek merit, you’ll definitely suffer losses."

"If because of this you can’t even complete the mission, what good is more merit?"

Upon hearing this, Qin An nodded slightly.

He understood.

This mission is extremely important, and fraught with unknown danger.

Though they are competitors, they are all here to complete the mission.

The ultimate goal is to complete the task, the competition in between is irrelevant. However, if someone is too eager for quick success and leads to the task’s failure, whatever achievements they claim are mere laughingstocks.

Mr. Li stopped speaking, left Qin An’s location, and stared at the remaining two patrol mountain gold guards.

...

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, the time of one incense stick had nearly passed.

When the noise on the scene gradually decreased and fell into silence, everyone looked at the large hole on the plain.

Mr. Li stepped out and looked at the other two patrol mountain gold guards: "Together?"

The size of the big hole was significant, enough to accommodate four or five people entering simultaneously.

Though the three were in a competitive relationship, entering together at this moment appeared quite fair.

Moreover, they were patrol mountain gold guards and should be the first to enter.

The other two patrol mountain gold guards exchanged a glance, nodded silently, agreeing with Mr. Li’s words.

Mr. Li said no more and took a step forward.

The two patrol mountain gold guards followed closely behind.

Once the three entered the big hole, their figures soon disappeared.

The remaining patrol mountain guards followed suit without hesitation and entered one after the other.

Qin An did not take the lead but stood in the middle with Cheng Hong and the others.

He felt a gaze sweeping over, turned his head, and met Lin Qianyu’s eyes.

"Cheng Hong was right; there’s some arrogance in her, but more so a petty nature."

Qin An sensed the anger in the gaze, shook his head, and didn’t take it seriously.

If Lin Qianyu didn’t provoke trouble, he wouldn’t waste time.

If Lin Qianyu intended to trip him up during the task, he wouldn’t mind letting Cold Star first taste blood.

As more time passed, more and more patrol mountain guards entered the dark big hole.

When Qin An and his group stepped into the big hole, the scene before them suddenly turned pitch-black.

Underfoot was a slope leading straight to the depths underground.

Even as monsters, these filthy rats still preferred living underground.

Even their chosen name was as vulgar as Ten Thousand Mouse Cave.

Qin An walked at the forefront, with Dongfang Mo and others following behind him.

The deeper they went, the darker it became.

Until, after walking for half a stick of incense time, it was pitch-black to the point where you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Footsteps sounded ahead and behind; they were from the patrol mountain guards.

But the closer they got to the underground, the lighter the footsteps became.

At this moment, Qin An stopped.

Cheng Hong noticed Qin An’s action, holding a piece of jade, stepped forward: "What’s wrong?"

The jade emitted a faint glow, serving as the only source of light.

In the darkness, it was extremely quiet. After Cheng Hong spoke, it was like a stone thrown into a lake breaking the silent atmosphere.

Qin An turned and said, "The people are gone."

Gone?

Dongfang Mo gripped the long sword in his hand, noticing the anomaly: "Aside from us, the rest have dispersed."

No one was ahead or behind, yet there was only one passage to the underground. How did these people disappear?

There was only one answer: they were already in an array.

Zhao Hai rubbed his long spear and asked, "Why are we unharmed?"

Yan Li was also puzzled.

While everyone else was silently dispersed by the array, why were they still together?

Guo Jinfa took a puff of his dry cigarette: "Maybe we’re just lucky..."

The others exchanged glances, inwardly thinking that it’s hardly likely.

The patrol mountain guards always relied on strength and always sneered at the notion of luck.

An unexpected change was certainly not due to luck but indicated a problem.

Qin An continued to move forward: "No worries, keep going."

Cheng Hong said solemnly: "Qin An, be careful."

She knew that Qin An was very powerful, but now facing the Ten Thousand Mouse Cave that even the Evil Extermination Bureau found extremely troublesome, they absolutely couldn’t be careless.

Qin An shook his head and said: "The array is ineffective against me. Follow me, and it will be ineffective against you too."

A smoky figure appeared before them.

[Array Master Lv.8 (0/2000): Your speed in setting up arrays increases, and your speed in deciphering arrays also increases]

[Talent: Great Success of Gui Cang Realm Array, Great Success in Array Resistance of Gui Cang Realm]

With an eighth-level Array Master profession, not only did he have the talent of Great Success of Gui Cang Realm Array but also gained Great Success in Array Resistance.

For these types of arrays, it was essentially immune for him.

After he spoke, Dongfang Mo and the others stopped abruptly.

Dongfang Mo’s throat moved: "Mr. Qin..."

Qin An frowned and said: "What is it?"

Dongfang Mo was just about to speak but then felt it was not convenient to elaborate now: "Nothing."

He really wanted to ask how Qin An trained.

He accepted that Qin An’s knife technique was formidable, as his own swordsmanship was not weak either.

But it was absurd that Qin An also had incredible boxing, body techniques, and even protective cultivation techniques.

He thought it was all reasonable, but now even the array had no effect on Qin An.

Dongfang Mo couldn’t help but wonder — does Qin An have other abilities?

Such thoughts were not exclusive to Dongfang Mo.

Zhao Hai and Yan Li sighed, while Cheng Hong shook her head in helplessness.

Guo Jinfa took a puff from his dry cigarette: "You’ll get used to it."

Dongfang Mo’s lips twitched.

He wanted to get used to it, but he really couldn’t.

Qin An didn’t know what the others were thinking, continuing to lead them forward.

Every array that tried to cover them lost its effect when it reached Qin An’s side.

After walking for about half a stick of incense time, three paths appeared ahead.

Each path was extremely deep, like a giant serpent with its maw wide open.

At the intersection where the paths split, lay three mouse demon corpses.

A figure stood with a sword, the hand already covered in blood.