Preparations

"Sister!"

The two female cultivators lit up at the sight of the newcomer and went over to her.

Chen Lin and Zhao Zhengyuan also approached in turn to pay their respects.

Ye Jingyun nodded in greeting, then said, "All right, find somewhere to rest. There will probably be major trouble tonight, and you won't have a chance to rest then!"

With that, she hurried into Yu Yuehai's room.

After Ye Jingyun left, the others exchanged uncertain looks.

The two female cultivators, in particular, wanted to follow her but did not dare.

Just then, Zhao Zhengyuan suddenly said, "I'll go back to my room and rest, too!" He walked straight back to the room where he was staying.

His behavior had changed considerably. Chen Lin glanced at him but paid it little mind, instead addressing the two female cultivators. "I'll be heading back as well. There's an empty room over there. If you don't want to stay in the courtyard, you can rest there for a while."

Cultivators were themselves people who slew demons and hunted ghosts. Whether someone had died in a room was hardly an issue.

He had visited the Sallow-Faced Female Cultivator's room before. There was practically nothing inside, and it was quite clean.

The two female cultivators nodded but did not move.

Chen Lin could not be bothered with them. If not for Ye Jingyun, he would not even have spoken to them. He was about to leave and still had plenty to take care of.

Once back in his room, he began packing.

This departure would end in either success or death. There was no possibility of returning.

Naturally, he could not take any of the bulky items, but he still put away the Iron Cauldron Pill Cauldron.

If he ended up in some desolate mountain wilderness after escaping, he might need it. Even without ingredients to refine pills, he could still use it to cook porridge and meals.

He also had to bring his half-sack of spirit rice and several buckets of water.

Those in the Qi Condensation Realm could not go without food and drink. If he brought none, he would go hungry.

Unfortunately, he had not managed to buy any Bigu Pills. Otherwise, he would not have had to go to so much trouble.

With all that packed, one Storage Bag was essentially full.

The remaining odds and ends could only go into the Storage Bag holding the Thunderbolt Beads. However, he specifically found a wooden box to keep the Thunderbolt Beads separate, making them easier to retrieve when needed.

After organizing everything, he continued nurturing his newly condensed sword qi.

He did not test its effects, though. Once used, it would have to be condensed again. He had neither the time nor the desire to endure that agony a second time.

Soon, midnight arrived.

Chen Lin had long since applied mingqing spiritual water to his eyes. He stood quietly by the window, waiting for the sight of red lines filling the sky.

He noticed that the sisters had not gone to rest in the Sallow-Faced Female Cultivator's room. Instead, they had remained beneath the eaves and were now looking up at the sky.

Clearly, they knew about the red lines as well.

On reflection, that made sense. Since Yu Yuehai had brought them back, how could they not know?

He poked his head out to see whether Zhao Zhengyuan had emerged. Before he could get a clear look, Yu Yuehai's door opened. Yu Yuehai and Ye Jingyun came out one after the other, with Yu Yuehai holding a strange, disc-shaped object.

"Everyone, come out!"

Yu Yuehai walked to the center of the courtyard and called out.

Chen Lin hurried outside.

Zhao Zhengyuan's door also creaked open, and he emerged with an expressionless face.

The Xia Sisters moved a little closer as well.

As soon as they had gathered, Yu Yuehai tossed the disc in his hand into the air.

The disc shone and rapidly expanded until it was a full ten feet across, then descended to the ground under his control.

Only then did Chen Lin see that grooves were spaced at regular intervals along the enormous disc's edge.

There were five in total.

A Large Spirit Stone of a different color was embedded in each groove.

It was Chen Lin's first time seeing colored spirit stones, but he knew why they looked that way.

These spirit stones differed from ordinary spirit stones. Ordinary spirit stones contained attribute-free spiritual power, while these possessed specific attributes.

The red one, for instance, was a fire-attribute spirit stone, while the yellow one was an earth-attribute spirit stone. The five colors here corresponded precisely to the five attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Clearly, these five Large Spirit Stones powered the disc, which was presumably an Array Disk.

An Array Disk this large truly exceeded anything he knew. Since it could expand and shrink, it was surely a Spiritual Tool. Yu Yuehai really did possess considerable wealth.

"Choose the corresponding groove according to the attribute of the cultivation technique you practice, and stand beside it."

Yu Yuehai's voice rang out again.

Chen Lin paused and glanced at Zhao Zhengyuan and the Xia Sisters. They, too, seemed puzzled and at a loss.

"Hmph, what are you waiting for? Don't you even know the attribute of your own cultivation technique?"

Yu Yuehai's tone turned chilly, and his voice rose slightly.

The Xia Sisters shuddered and immediately moved, taking their places before the grooves holding the metal-attribute and earth-attribute spirit stones respectively.

Chen Lin also caught on. His Mystic Wood Technique was a wood-attribute cultivation technique, so naturally, he had to choose the groove holding the wood-attribute spirit stone.

He also remembered that Zhao Zhengyuan practiced a Fire-Attribute Technique. It seemed Yu Yuehai had not selected these people at random.

Sure enough, Zhao Zhengyuan went to the fire-attribute groove, while Ye Jingyun took the remaining water-attribute groove.

Five people, with all five elements represented.

"Listen for my instructions. When I say to begin, place your hands on the grooves and channel mana into them, temporarily replacing the spirit stones' supply of spiritual power so I can put in fresh stones. It may not be necessary, though. The spiritual power in this batch should be more or less enough."

Yu Yuehai gave this brief explanation, then fell silent and gazed quietly at the sky.

His oppressive presence was so strong that no one dared ask questions. Ye Jingyun, the only one who would have dared, was likewise watching the sky.

Chen Lin knew they were waiting for the red lines to appear, and he believed Zhao Zhengyuan and the Xia Sisters knew as well.

Since Yu Yuehai had chosen them, he could not possibly have withheld the truth. He must also have given them mingqing spiritual water so they could see the red lines.

Moreover, the Xia Sisters had never once displayed that deranged, sidelong sneer. Even Zhao Zhengyuan had not shown it.

Yet Zhao Zhengyuan had never been this normal before.

That meant Yu Yuehai had given them something capable of suppressing the abnormality.

Ye Jingyun surely had a way to suppress it as well. The sidelong sneer she had displayed during their first meeting must have been an act, just like his own.

Standing there, Chen Lin kept recalling everything that had happened.

The more he recalled, the more he felt that Yu Yuehai was a sinister old fox. He had actually spent years living in this inconspicuous little courtyard. He truly knew how to bide his time.

Besides, with all his secrecy, his aim might not be as simple as escaping.

Just as Chen Lin was inwardly grumbling, a faint chime suddenly sounded from his room. At the same instant, red lines filled the sky!

At the same time, an enormous, hazy form manifested above the city!

Chen Lin was startled. Why had this thing appeared again? It was even clearer than when he had last seen it, its general outline now faintly discernible!

He could not help growing apprehensive.

Last time, this thing's appearance had caused a red line to attach to him. Now that it had appeared again, would it notice their abnormalities and then "correct" them?