Chapter 7: The Secret Within the Infant Sealing Array

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Cui Ba had accumulated a vast amount of wealth for Dragon Tyrant. Merely distributing the loot took nearly half an hour. The hundred or so bandits and their families each received a considerable share. In the blink of an eye, all these bandits left Dragon Tyrant. Now, only Lei Yan, Second Elder Leng, Lu Kai, Zhao Liu, Qing Ling, and the thirty-six remaining bandits were left in Dragon Tyrant.

The bandits clustered in the northeast corner, silently watching Lei Yan without uttering a word. Lei Yan, his back to them, fell quiet for a moment before speaking, “Second Elder, Xiao Liu, you two go outside and see if there’s any movement. Be careful.” He turned to look at Yin You. “Yin You, for now, you and your group follow Lu Kai. Have them prepare; we may depart at any moment.” With the departure of the bandits, Dragon Tyrant was no longer a secret. Lei Yan had to consider how to settle these remaining men.

“Ling’er, come with me.” With that, Lei Yan strode into the lone wooden hut. Once inside, he carefully studied the section on the Infant-Sealing Array from “A Brief Explanation of Arrays.” Then, he retrieved the wooden box containing the array from the demon artifact. “Ling’er, I may need your help shortly. I can’t guarantee that, with my current cultivation, I can set up this array.”

According to “A Brief Explanation of Arrays,” there are three basic ways to break an array. The first is if the array is laid by oneself; being familiar with every array base and resonating with one’s true essence, one can freely control and dismantle the array. The second is to deduce the array bases, then use one’s power to erase the original setter’s true essence and replace it with one’s own, thus gaining control. The third is to simply destroy the bases without calculation, breaking the array through brute force. This method is the least desirable, consuming much essence and taking a long time.

Lei Yan did not plan to use any of these methods. First, his strength was insufficient; second, time was pressing. Even a cultivator who had lost their physical body at the Nascent Soul stage was not someone Lei Yan, only recently established at the Foundation stage, could contend with. Thus, he intended to use a special method: multi-layered overlay.

The multi-layered overlay is a technique for transferring array bases. By setting up an identical array around the perimeter of the original, then calculating the bases and guiding true essence outward, the new array, being personally set, could be freely controlled. Its advantage is that it requires little strength.

“Let’s see what these goods really are.” Lei Yan gently placed the true essence-infused spirit stones inside the box. With each stone placed outside the Infant-Sealing Array, his hands trembled—not from excitement, but from the drain on his essence. The array was not so easily laid. Fortunately, at every critical moment, Qing Ling infused a bit of true essence into Lei Yan’s body.

Following the arrangement of the original Infant-Sealing Array, he placed a new circle of spirit stones around the perimeter—effectively laying a second array atop the first. Then, using his true essence, he forcibly extracted the four spirit stones at the cardinal points: east, south, west, and north. As he withdrew the final stone from the north, a dazzling light erupted from the box, splendid as fireworks.

“Success.” Lei Yan’s face was pale, his legs gave way and he slumped to the ground. Exhausted, yet exhilarated—this was his first time laying an array, transferring the bases to the outer arrangement through the overlay method, and now the array was under his control.

“You worked hard. Rest for a while,” Lei Yan turned to Qing Ling, whose temples were damp with sweat.

Qing Ling panted lightly. This had indeed been a taxing ordeal, more draining than when she slaughtered hundreds in Sunset Mountain. She sat quietly to the side and closed her eyes to recuperate.

Lei Yan too closed his eyes. The array was complete; now he needed to restore his true essence. He focused inward, treating his entire body as the core. As he entered meditation, a visible vortex of spiritual energy formed around him, thick as smoke, drilling into him like a spinning auger.

“Incredible.” Lei Yan could feel the surging essence within. In just a few breaths, the depleted energy was restored. He thought this was a trait unique to cultivators, but when he opened his eyes, Qing Ling’s face was still pale, showing no sign of recovery. “Was it just a coincidence?” To test this, he meditated again, and the sensation returned—like a satisfying meal after hunger. “It seems it’s related to the cultivation method. Next time, I’ll have Qing Ling try it.”

Approaching the Infant-Sealing Array, Lei Yan gave a low command. The array, now fully under his control, instantly activated. A beam of light shot from the box, and a voice filled with resentment echoed, “May you all die miserably!” Then, a faint, translucent figure emerged, its tiny form floating, arms flailing, face twisted with rage.

“It’s you.” Lei Yan’s brow furrowed immediately. The Nascent Soul looked identical to its former self, only much smaller and translucent, like water. Anyone familiar would recognize it instantly. This Nascent Soul belonged to Yuan He of the Medicine Sect—Lei Yan certainly remembered him. The last time Lei Yan and Qing Ling dueled, Yuan He had been drugged by Lei Yan; how could he forget? Yet, Lei Yan recalled Yuan He hadn’t yet reached the Nascent Soul stage back then. In just a short time, he had advanced so far. “Were those cultivators after this secret?” Lei Yan wondered.

“It’s you,” came an echo from Yuan He. He too recognized Lei Yan, his face twisting with fury, eyes burning with hate so intense it seemed to devour the room. “You shouldn’t have released me.” A flash of light shot from Yuan He’s hand toward Lei Yan’s brow.

A glass-like barrier appeared before Lei Yan, blocking the attack.

“Idiot,” Lei Yan said coldly. “Did you think I’d be foolish enough to let a Nascent Soul roam free?”

“You set this array yourself? Animal…” Yuan He roared, pounding madly at the transparent barrier. Each blow caused it to tremble.

With each strike, cracks like spider webs formed. Seeing these, the Nascent Soul grew excited, increasing his assault.

“So this is the power of the Nascent Soul stage,” Lei Yan marveled. No weapons, no spells—just pure essence, and he could destroy an uncontrolled array. As the barrier threatened to shatter, Lei Yan injected true essence into the array base. Instantly, the cracks vanished. “Don’t waste your effort. An array under someone’s control cannot be broken.” In truth, if Lei Yan didn’t supply essence, the barrier would shatter and then restore itself, but the spirit stones’ energy would be consumed. Once depleted, the array would naturally collapse.

“You… you…” Yuan He was at a loss, just as Lei Yan had said—he had no way to break the array. If it were uncontrolled, given enough time—ten or twenty years—he could exhaust the spirit stones’ energy and break free. But with someone controlling it, the array’s power increased and the energy was harder to deplete.

“Let’s talk. Perhaps this is an opportunity,” Lei Yan said unhurriedly.

“Release me, or there’s nothing to discuss,” Yuan He replied coldly. He knew that once his secret was revealed, death would soon follow. Only by keeping it could he hope to survive.

“I mean no harm, just a conversation.” Lei Yan smiled. “How is my grandmaster?”

Lei Yan’s tone made Yuan He wary. He sneered. “Trying to trick me? No chance. But as for your grandmaster, I can tell you—he’s dead. Completely dead.”

“Impossible.” Lei Yan’s expression changed. Though saddened by Ghost Venom’s death, he was shocked most of all. If even Ghost Venom, who had reached the Soul Division stage, was killed, how powerful were their unknown foes? Lei Yan now had a vague idea.

“What’s impossible? At least he didn’t die in vain—he killed five Nascent Soul experts before falling.” Yuan He, recalling Ghost Venom’s strength, was quietly impressed. If not for Ghost Venom, he himself would likely have perished at their hands. Yet, thinking of his father, uncle, and others lost to those enemies, resentment surged. “I cannot die. I must have revenge.” He looked up at Lei Yan. “Release me and I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

Hearing Yuan He’s words, Lei Yan could imagine Ghost Venom surrounded by several Nascent Soul masters. “Looks like we really need to flee this time,” Lei Yan thought. With his current strength, facing even one Nascent Soul cultivator meant certain death.

“Yuan He, I must leave myself a guarantee. I can release you, but not now. You know what I mean.” Lei Yan spoke slowly. “Tell me, why did they capture you? Was it for the Nine Dragons Stone?”

Yuan He did not answer, instead sinking into silence. He pondered, then suddenly seemed to decide something. “Let’s make a deal. If you agree, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“Speak, but if you want me to release you, forget it,” Lei Yan said coldly.

“I don’t need you to release me.” Yuan He paused. “You’re a Medicine Sect member. My condition is simple: promise to help the Medicine Sect avenge itself.”

“Help the Medicine Sect get revenge? Do you think I can do that?” Lei Yan laughed at himself.

“Agree, or don’t,” Yuan He said, his emotions fluctuating.

“All right, I promise,” Lei Yan nodded. “But only within my abilities.”

Yuan He still seemed uneasy. “Swear it. If you break your word, let heaven and earth destroy you.”

Lei Yan, once committed, never went back on his word, but Yuan He didn’t know him well. Lei Yan shook his head. “I swear: once I am strong enough, I will avenge the Medicine Sect. If I break this oath, let heaven and earth destroy me.”

Yuan He organized his thoughts. “You know about the Nine Dragons Stone. My strength was enhanced by it. Within the stone is the third layer of our Medicine Scripture. But that’s not what drew the cultivators. What attracted them was the treasure left by our ancestor when he ascended. No one knows what it contains, but it lured the cultivators.”

“Despicable! A bunch of greedy fools coveting our Medicine Sect’s treasure,” Yuan He grew more agitated. “Honestly, even our sect knows little about the treasure. It wasn’t until I exhausted the true essence in the Nine Dragons Stone given by my father that a golden fragment appeared. You should be familiar with it—it was the one that fused with Ghost Venom’s eight fragments, and together they formed a map.”

“So it was the treasure map that drew the cultivators. How did they know about it?” Lei Yan asked.

Yuan He snorted. “It’s infuriating. Yuan Feng was actually a spy planted in the Medicine Sect by the Burning Willow Sect a century ago. They schemed for so long—how could they be discovered so easily? That’s why the sect was wiped out…” A glimmer of sorrow appeared in Yuan He’s eyes. He hated the Burning Willow Sect, those greedy people, and his own weakness.

Lei Yan asked no further. He understood completely now. It was a conspiracy—a century-long plot. The Burning Willow Sect had coveted the Nine Dragons Stone for a hundred years, placing an agent in the Medicine Sect. Who could suspect someone who’d lived there for a century was a traitor?

After a while, Yuan He seemed calmer. He continued, “I hid the map in the mundane world. These cultivators will rack their brains but never guess I placed the treasure map there. Ha ha…” Yuan He laughed triumphantly. “You can look for a boy named Niu Ben in Niu Family Village at the foot of Medicine Sect Mountain.”