A sudden flash of inspiration struck me. Could there be a cluster of underground secret chambers, with that array beneath this place, while the passage lay somewhere far off in the garden? It was very possible. The more I thought about it, the more certain I became. Yes, it had to be so.
I activated my Spiritual Sense with all my strength and searched every corner carefully. A faint smile appeared on my face. I had discovered that the array fluctuations in one place were rather unusual. The surrounding arrays were nowhere near as strong as the one there. That had to be the entrance to the hidden passage.
In a flash, I arrived at the place I had just sensed. Looking at the artificial mountain before me, I smiled. This little artificial mountain could not stump me.
My Spiritual Sense naturally passed through the artificial mountain, and very quickly, I understood the secret of this passage leading to the cluster of secret chambers.
I gently placed my right hand on a stone of the artificial mountain and slowly turned it. My Spiritual Sense clearly detected the bolt sliding farther and farther out. Suddenly, the stone bolt completely slipped out of its catch. With a slight push of my hand, the artificial mountain moved backward, and the door opened. It was that simple!
I examined the passage. Very good—there was not yet any damage here. It seemed I would save myself a great deal of effort in the future. The underground secret chambers I needed were already here, ready-made.
I strode inside, using my Spiritual Sense to examine the contents of each room as I went. This room was full of grain and other foodstuffs. Only the rice was probably still edible; the vegetables had likely spoiled long ago, considering it had been more than a year. This room held some weapons. They appeared to be fairly good goods, but they were completely useless to me. This room actually contained clothes. Could it be that this prince had once lived down here? Ha, I had finally found something somewhat useful—a chest of silver and some silver notes. It did not look like there was even as much as I had gotten from Li Si. This prince had done a terrible job of being a prince!
Finally, finally, I found the place where the array concealing the treasure was located.
I gently pushed open the door, and a Green Jade Table appeared before me. The entire table was made of green jade. Green jade was high-grade jade stone, and a table made from such a huge piece of jade was truly an extravagant gesture. This table alone was worth at least one million taels of silver. There seemed to be a letter on the table, so I casually picked it up and brought it before my eyes.
Hello, fated one. I had no children throughout my life, so I leave my most precious treasure to you, the fated one! You must make good use of it. I spent a lifetime's effort on it! Enough. There is a small trial before you. Break this array, and you may become its owner. That is all. Fated one, I wish you good luck!
Seeing this letter made me exceedingly happy. This prince did not even care about the Green Jade Table, yet he valued the thing inside the array so highly, even calling it the work of his entire life. It had to be a peerless treasure. What could it be? The Xuanyuan Sword, the greatest divine sword under heaven? The legendary Sky-Opening Axe? Hundreds of millions in gold, silver, and jewels? Or some supreme rare treasure?
I turned to look at the small array before me. The Xuanyuan Sword, the greatest divine sword under heaven; the legendary Sky-Opening Axe; hundreds of millions in gold, silver, and jewels; or some supreme rare treasure—they were all inside! My heart stirred with excitement. Trembling, I stretched my right hand forward. True Primordial Energy had long since spread across my hand. At that moment, my right hand was already resting on the array. All I had to do was exert force and strike with my palm, and I could break the array before me and obtain the world-shaking treasure within.
I took a deep breath and steadied my impetuous heart. My right hand exerted force in an instant, then withdrew the excess True Primordial Energy in the blink of an eye, lest I damage the treasure inside.
I stared at the sight before me in shock. What was it?
A box made of gold appeared before my eyes. It was a huge box, one meter long and one meter wide, constructed entirely from gold. This box was definitely no cheaper than that Green Jade Table. That old fellow truly deserved to be called a prince—what lavish handiwork! I became more and more eager to know what the treasure inside actually was.
I abruptly opened the lid and looked at the world-shaking treasure within. I froze.
It truly was a world-shaking treasure, but... but... but it was completely useless to me. Heavens, inside were the Eight Formations Diagram and the True Martial Seven Sections Array, the most powerful offensive array on the Azure Dragon Continent.
The True Martial Seven Sections Array had been created thousands of years ago by Zhang Sanfeng, the foremost martial arts master of his age. He observed Snake Mountain and Turtle Mountain before the statue of the True Martial Deity, thinking that this turtle and snake embodied the two natures of utmost weight and utmost spirituality. He pondered those mountains for nearly ten years and unexpectedly created an incomparably exquisite set of martial arts from them. Yet martial arts evolved from the grand and majestic terrain of Turtle and Snake Mountains could never be performed simultaneously by one person alone. Thus, he taught seven disciples one set of martial arts each, every one containing subtle and wondrous mysteries. If two joined forces, they could both attack and defend, and their power would greatly increase. If three used them together, their might would be twice that of two. Four were equivalent to eight masters, five to sixteen, six to thirty-two, and seven to sixty-four first-rate masters of the age striking at once.
But no matter how formidable it was in other people's eyes, in mine, any array from the Tianxin Sect was more powerful than this True Martial Seven Sections Array. Sigh. Had that prince played a trick on me? No—in other people's eyes, this truly was a world-shaking treasure! It was Heaven toying with me, carrying me from the mortal world into paradise, then kicking me down into hell. Sigh.
Actually, I should have thought of it long ago. The treasure in that prince's eyes was an array. After all, that prince had been extremely fond of arrays. I could only blame my own greed for being too great, clouding my clear mind for a moment.
Forget it. Today's gains were already quite good. The Green Jade Table and the pure gold box were both worth a million taels of silver. Though it would be difficult to turn them into silver immediately, at least I now had a secret chamber and some money. Most importantly, these secret chambers were even better than what I had intended to build. They would save me a great deal of money as well.
With three parts unwillingness and seven parts consolation, I left the secret chambers.
When I entered the main hall, I was surprised to find everyone waiting for me there. My two disciples had even cried themselves hoarse.
"Master, you finally returned! Do you know how bitterly Second Brother and I missed you? Boohoo!" Li Da said as he looked at me, and before he finished speaking, he actually began to cry.
I looked toward my second disciple. His eyes were also brimming with tears as he gazed at me. I was deeply moved. I had never expected my disciples to care for me with such deep feeling and loyalty. Moved, I said:
"Good disciples, I am truly touched! I never expected that after I left for just a little while, you would worry about me so much. Hey, Brother Wang, what are you laughing at? Are you jealous that I have such good disciples? You are still laughing? The more I speak, the happier you laugh. Ah! Keep laughing, then." I widened my eyes and glared at them. How excessive! I was, after all, the master of this estate now!
"Zhang Yu, tell me, why are they laughing?" I asked Zhang Yu at my side. Something felt wrong. It seemed I had become a clown.
"Master, the moment you entered the array, they wanted to run around. Following your orders, I made them stand there without moving or speaking until Master returned and permitted them to move. But Master, you have already been inside the array for three shichen, and they have stood here for nearly three shichen as well." Zhang Yu carefully explained everything to me.
I was furious. I had actually made such a fool of myself! The moment I thought of how I had felt just now, I nearly went mad. Looking at Li Da and Li Er, those two fellows were still gazing at me pitifully.
"You two, stand for another two hours. Everyone else, come with me to the Wind and Rain Tower for dinner. Zhang Yu, when you return, bring them two portions of food. If they have not finished standing for three hours, they are not allowed to eat." I spoke loudly, then headed straight outside without looking back. No matter how Li Da and Li Er begged for mercy, I did not turn around. Brother Wang and the others passed by them one after another, casting sympathetic looks their way. When Zhang Yu passed in front of them, he lightly tossed out one sentence.
"You two had better stand properly. If you do not, you will not get any dinner either."
"Brother Wang, I have already completely figured out the estate's arrays. After dinner tonight, summon some servants back. The entire estate needs to be reorganized and repaired, and there are some important matters we can discuss after returning tonight." As we walked toward the restaurant, I spoke to Brother Wang about the urgent tasks at hand.
"Yes, Young Master. I will definitely handle everything properly," Brother Wang said to me.
"Mm. When Brother Wang handles matters, I am at ease. Oh, I need to speak to Uncle Zhang about something. Go on ahead!"
I quickly walked to Uncle Zhang's side and said with a smile, "Uncle Zhang, after dinner today, go to the capital's auction house and reserve the finest jade stones for me. Buy them at sixty thousand taels per piece. Take as many as they have, and do not worry about the money, because tonight, the moment I return to the estate, I will create a piece of Flawless Jade."
"Really? You will create a piece of Flawless Jade tonight? You are not just saying that to make me happy, are you?" Uncle Zhang still could not believe that I was about to create a supreme piece of flawless jade. Ever since arriving in the capital, he had been eagerly awaiting the birth of Flawless Jade, yet now that his wish could be realized, he found it difficult to believe it was real.
"Uncle Zhang, do not doubt it. Have you ever seen me tell a lie? Tonight, you will witness the birth of Flawless Jade!" With a face full of confidence, I spoke of something others considered impossible.
Uncle Zhang did not know what to say. After holding it in for a long while, he finally blurted out, "Can this Flawless Jade be given to me to carve?"
I looked at Uncle Zhang and smiled. "Of course. I will let you carve it. Other than you, who else is qualified to carve such a treasure?"
Uncle Zhang thought to himself that it was true. In the profession of jade carving, who was more qualified than he was? Yet his heart was still filled with gratitude toward Zhang Xingfeng.
After we had eaten and drunk our fill, only Lang Feng's mother and I returned home. Brother Wang and Sister Yu had gone to summon servants, while Uncle Zhang, Lang Feng, and Zhang Yu had gone together to the capital's auction house. My two precious disciples, meanwhile, were still enduring hunger and suffering. I entered the estate gates and accompanied Lang Feng's mother on a leisurely walk across the stone bridge. Night had long fallen, and the moon had long hung in the sky. The clear water of the artificial lake reflected the moon's beautiful image, and my mood improved as well.
From afar, I saw my two disciples still standing motionless in the center of the main hall. The moment they spotted me in the distance, both immediately put on expressions of unbearable misery. Looking at my two disciples, I truly had nothing to say. Who told me I was their master?
"Forget it. You two do not need to stand any longer. Ah Yu may return very late today, so I have already brought your food. Eat it, but if something like today happens again, I will absolutely not spare you." I tossed the food onto the table, then walked toward the array.
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