Shen Fei's gaze swept over the people in the courtyard before finally settling on its center. A huge magic array had been drawn on the bluestone paving there.
The array's patterns were intricate, its densely packed lines covering a large expanse in the middle of the courtyard. The main lines were as thick as fingers, while the branching lines were as fine as strands of hair, weaving across one another as they extended outward from the center.
The patterns were dark gold, carrying a subdued sheen in the morning light, as though they had been carved into the stone. Their edges were smooth and even, every turn following a precise curve.
A stone pillar stood at the center of the array. It was low, reaching only about knee height, and its surface was covered in fine inscriptions that connected seamlessly with the patterns on the ground.
The pillar's top was flat, with a dark-gold crystal embedded in it. Tiny points of light drifted slowly inside the crystal, as though a mass of living light had been sealed within.
Shen Fei walked to the edge of the array and stopped, looking down at the patterns for a while. His knowledge of inscriptions and formation arrays was not particularly deep, but he could tell that its structure was completely different from the Ten Thousand Demons and Spirits Array.
The patterns of the Ten Thousand Demons and Spirits Array leaned toward defense and suppression, its lines thick and steady. This array's patterns were finer and more intricate, the connections and paths between its lines carrying a flowing rhythm, as though they had been designed specifically to guide and transform something.
He looked up at Nie Li and asked, "What's this array for?"
Nie Li rolled up what he was holding, set it on