Chapter 549: Array

Zhu Ju held the storage bag, a faint smile appearing on his face as his Divine Thought swept over its contents.

Seeing this, Ming Nianwei, who had been on tenterhooks, couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, she was always afraid of Zhu Ju, constantly worried that her actions wouldn’t be enough to please him.

Perhaps witnessing him obliterate Li Chengxia’s True Spirit within her Sea of Consciousness had planted a seed of terror in her heart.

While looking through the items in the storage bag, Zhu Ju asked:

“Of the eighteen princes enfeoffed by the Divine Dynasty, Prince Yong’an ranked in the top five. It seems he didn’t have many descendants?”

“Correct.”

Ming Nianwei searched through the residual memories in her mind and replied:

“Prince Yong’an had six sons and three daughters. Li Chengxia was his most favored daughter.”

“Hmm…”

“Because she was a Cultivator?”

That was strange.

‘In Li Chengxia’s memories, her siblings were almost all experts of the Fourth Grade or higher.’

‘There were even two Second-Grade Martial Artists among them.’

‘Not to mention the generations of grandchildren and beyond, among whom there was no shortage of exceptionally talented and powerful individuals.’

But.

‘Prince Yong’an still favored Li Chengxia the most. Could it be that he loved her mother so much that his affection extended to her?’

“Huh?”

Zhu Ju let out a sound of surprise, pulling a Jade Scroll from the storage bag with a look of astonishment on his face.

“An Array inheritance?”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei snapped back to reality and said:

“Li Chengxia was an Array Master. She was the one who set up the protective Array around the Prince Mansion.”

“Besides that, she also set up several secret locations outside the Prince Mansion to store her Treasures.”

A clever rabbit has three burrows.

‘Li Chengxia was undoubtedly a clever person; of course she would have prepared fallback plans for herself.’

‘But she still underestimated the Divine Dynasty’s methods, which meant she couldn’t use most of her preparations in time.’

“My Lord.”

Ming Nianwei’s eyes lit up as she scoured her memories.

“She left a Treasure Storage location near Ze Lake. There are many good things inside.”

“It’s just…”

“To open that Treasure Storage, one needs the Cultivation of a Sixth-Grade Mage.”

“Ze Lake?” Zhu Ju asked.

“The Ze Lake near the Pai Sect’s headquarters?”

“Yes!”

Ming Nianwei nodded.

“Li Chengxia was on good terms with the Pai Sect’s Vice Sect Leader, but… that might not be the case anymore.”

With Prince Yong’an’s fall from grace, anyone associated with him would surely sever their ties. No one wanted to get mixed up in that kind of trouble.

“Mm.”

Zhu Ju nodded and tossed the Jade Scroll in his hand over to her.

“The reason Prince Yong’an valued Li Chengxia wasn’t because she was a Mage, but because she understood Arrays.”

“And…”

“She could set up a First-Grade Grand Array!”

“This contains the Earth Evil Seventy-Two Array. Take it back and comprehend it thoroughly. See if you can inherit her Array Insights.”

“Yes.” Ming Nianwei took the Jade Scroll and nodded seriously.

“I will put my heart into comprehending it.”

“Oh, right…”

She remembered something, and her voice trembled as she spoke:

“Li Chengxia’s Basic Cultivation Technique is called the *Golden Palace Jade Book*. It’s a legacy that leads directly to the immortal Immortal Dao. It contains methods for Breathing Cultivation, Divine Techniques of Profound Skill Transformation, and even covers miscellaneous studies like Talisman Arrays, Alchemy, and Artifact Creation. I cannot remember all of it yet; my mind only holds the first three volumes, which cover up to the Sixth Grade.”

Her voice was filled with unconcealed excitement.

This was a legacy that pointed directly to the Immortal Dao, something countless Mages and Cultivators dreamed of obtaining.

Who would have thought that Zhu Ju’s expression would remain completely unchanged.

“The Great Dao is dead, and the Immortals have all perished. The Third Grade is now the limit. There’s no need to be so excited.”

“Er…” Ming Nianwei’s expression stiffened, and she said dryly:

“Yes.”

She instantly understood.

‘How could someone like Zhu Ju, who could obliterate Li Chengxia’s True Spirit, not possess a top-tier inheritance? Something she considered a treasure might be completely worthless to him.’

And she wasn’t wrong.

In the past, a legacy that led directly to the Immortal Dao was something one could only hope to stumble upon by chance; even the top Immortal Sects wouldn’t share it with outsiders.

But now…

Zhu Ju had seen at least eighteen or twenty similar inheritances. They really weren’t rare anymore.

The key was,

they weren’t very useful!

The higher one’s Cultivation in such Methods, the faster one died.

Even he, who had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, had ultimately abandoned his Cultivation to walk the path of Qi Blood Martial Arts.

“My Lord.”

Ming Nianwei’s eyes flashed.

“There are a few lines of the incantation whose meaning I don’t understand.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“‘To pace the heavens is to ride the righteous Qi and Control Objects. The secret of the gesture is to master the divine mechanism and its wondrous transformations…'”

“That is an incantation for performing Finger Techniques and hand seals. It originates from the Taiyi True Method and speaks of the secrets of Pacing Yu’s Step, following the Dipper, and focusing the gaze…”

“So that’s it!” Realization dawned on Ming Nianwei’s face as she continued to ask:

“‘Supported by the Six Jia on the left, guarded by the Six Ding on the right. The Yellow God before, Yuezhang behind…’ What does this mean?”

“The *Daoist Technique Origin* records that this is the same principle as communicating with the netherworld, perceiving the subtle, summoning gods, and commanding ghosts. You can look up the detailed explanations of the Twenty-Eight Constellations.”

“And also…”

The two of them fell into a pattern of questions and answers.

Although Ming Nianwei had gained Li Chengxia’s memories, they were just memories, not her own comprehension.

It was like having countless movies stored in one’s head—remembering every frame and every shot, but not necessarily understanding the emotions within them.

She now listed her points of confusion one by one, and Zhu Ju explained them, using simple and easy-to-understand terms.

The more she asked, the more excited Ming Nianwei became.

She felt as if someone had opened her Spiritual Acupoints, and the many points of confusion from her past Cultivation were all connecting and becoming clear.

The path of Cultivation, which had once seemed arduous and obstructed, suddenly appeared to be a wide, smooth road.

This…

He was more than just a great teacher!

He was practically a guide to the Great Dao itself.

For a moment, she was so moved she was on the verge of tears, blurting out all her accumulated questions in a rush.

Zhu Ju’s Cultivation Realm was far beyond hers, and the Cultivation Methods he had been exposed to were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. For him, solving these problems was as simple as a university student looking at basic addition and subtraction.

“Alright.”

After a while, Zhu Ju rubbed his forehead.

“Let’s stop here for today. There are some things you won’t be able to understand until your Cultivation is higher. Focus on your Cultivation for now.”

“…Yes.” Ming Nianwei looked reluctant to stop.

“Then… I shall take my leave.”

She exited the room with deep respect, happening upon Yuanyang, who was coming to make a report. She gave a nod of acknowledgment.

‘Strange.’

Yuanyang watched Ming Nianwei’s departing figure, her eyes narrowing as a trace of wariness flashed within them.

‘That woman is all flushed and breathing heavily. Don’t tell me she was trying to seduce the Young Master in there…’

‘No way!’

‘I have to keep an eye on her for the Miss. I can’t let the Young Master’s heart be swayed.’

…

「Two months later.」

Ming Nianwei entered Zhu Ju’s study and presented an Array Plate.

“My Lord.”

“I have followed your instructions and used the items from Li Chengxia’s storage bag to set up an Inverted Trigram Array in the Zhu Mansion. It can confuse an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist, and even briefly affect a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist who intrudes.”

“Not bad.” Zhu Ju took the Array Plate and nodded.

“How is Mok Ying?”

“I have re-refined it according to the Method recorded in the *Golden Palace Jade Book*,” Ming Nianwei said.

“Due to a lack of Yin Qi, it now only has the Cultivation of a mid-Sixth-Grade, but it is very convenient to use.”

Zhu Ju hadn’t killed Mok Ying.

It was just a mindless Yin Corpse Puppet. Killing it would have been pointless, so it was better to let Ming Nianwei re-refine it.

This way, the Zhu Mansion would gain another Sixth-Grade expert as a guard.

“There is one more thing.”

Ming Nianwei pursed her lips and spoke in a low voice:

“While I was testing the Array, I discovered that Miss Zhu Ying seems to be… involved with someone from the outside.”

“Hm?”

Zhu Ju’s expression changed.