Chapter 455 - 408: Sudden Change (Part 1)

Chapter 455: Chapter 408: Sudden Change (Part 1)

’It seems the Spirit Cultivation Map analyzes Magic and Arrays alike, based solely on their tier!’

Zhao Lin rubbed his hands together vigorously. He took out his Array Pattern brush and began to sketch in the empty air, his strokes swift and elegant, as though he were drawing a real Array Pattern.

This was a technique he had discovered through trial and error; it helped his body absorb newly acquired abilities more quickly.

A particular Array doesn’t have different levels, but its Array Patterns are a condensation of the Array Master’s will and skill.

The Small Tai Chi Array that Zhao Lin had absorbed came from the Array Master Lu Yunsheng, so he had gained a level of ability with this Array equal to that of Lu Yunsheng himself.

He practiced for nearly two hours. His brushwork grew smoother, and the Array Patterns became second nature to him.

Feeling the time was right, Zhao Lin took out an array flag, spread it flat on his desk, dipped his Array Pattern brush until it was saturated with ink, and began to draw.

An ordinary Array’s flag has only four Array Patterns and generally no more than eight. The Small Tai Chi Array, however, had sixteen.

To paint within such a limited space, he couldn’t afford the slightest mistake. Otherwise, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

Zhao Lin held his breath, his focus absolute. He flawlessly drew four consecutive Array Patterns. But as he prepared to draw the fifth, a sudden wave of dizziness struck him.

Drawing Array Patterns, much like drawing talismans, consumed a vast amount of Spiritual Power and spiritual energy—even more than casting Magic.

Zhao Lin quickly stopped. ’That’s enough for today,’ he thought. ’I’ll continue tomorrow.’

A dozen or so days passed in a flash, and all sixty-four Array Patterns were finally complete.

But the work was only half done. The Array Plate still needed to be carved.

「Another dozen or so days passed...」

Late that night, Zhao Lin made the final cut on the Array Plate.

"Phew!"

A Spiritual Light flashed. Zhao Lin knew the Array was complete and let out a long sigh of relief.

It had taken him a full month to replicate the Small Tai Chi Array.

’Without the Spirit Cultivation Map, I probably couldn’t have carved this Array in a lifetime.’

With the Array forged, there was one last step.

Zhao Lin grabbed a handful of Spirit Stones and dropped them into the recess in the center of the Array Plate. The Spirit Stones quickly sank into it.

Then, he cast out the four array flags and activated the array incantation...

A moment later, Zhao Lin put away the Array, his joy plain to see.

The Small Tai Chi Array that Chu Hongtian had spent 18,000 Spirit Stones and over 11,000 merit points to win at auction—he had just replicated it for a material cost of just over four hundred Spirit Stones.

’Should I make another set?’

Zhao Lin mused, his head lowered as he caressed the patterns on the Array Plate.

The Small Tai Chi Array was a Top Grade item among Tier One Arrays. If he sold it, he would surely make a huge profit.

But precisely because it was so rare, whenever a new Small Tai Chi Array was crafted, the news would spread like wildfire until everyone knew about it.

Selling it would be easy, but what if someone asked where the Array came from?

Being unable to explain its origins would only bring trouble upon himself.

After thinking it over, Zhao Lin could only reluctantly squash the idea.

...

「Unwittingly, it was now mid-October.」

With the end of the year approaching, all the shops in the market square grew busy, and Golden Core Hall was no exception.

"I’ll take two Guanpu."

"Two for me as well."

That morning, two young cultivators walked into Golden Core Hall and spoke to the shop assistant.

"Eight Spirit Coins each. Please, feel free to pick them out yourselves."

The assistant led the two to a corner of the main hall, where a small cabinet displayed over a hundred identical wooden boxes.

"I’ll take this one, and this one..."

The two each took two wooden boxes, walked to the counter to pay, and then eagerly opened them.

"Ah, a Clear Heart Talisman."

The shorter cultivator cried out in annoyance upon opening his first box, but then his expression turned to delight. "Haha, low-grade Spirit Tea! I came out ahead!"

The taller cultivator was a bit slower. He opened his first box to find a bottle of Fasting Pills and shook his head. As he opened the second, he muttered to himself, "Please don’t be a Clear Heart Talisman, or I’ll have lost money."

He tore the seal, lifted the lid, and froze. Then he shouted in ecstasy, "A jade slip! I got a jade slip!"

The other customers in the shop all turned to look.

"Wow, someone actually got a jade slip! I thought it was just a gimmick."

"Of course it’s real. Golden Core Hall doesn’t care about such a small amount of money. Just the day before yesterday, I saw someone get an Essence Enhancing Pill, which is even more expensive than a jade slip."

"Spending eight Spirit Coins to get a jade slip worth two hundred... that’s a massive profit!"

"Hey, should we go try our luck?"

"Let’s go..."

To attract customers, Zhao Lin often brainstormed business strategies. Recalling how blind boxes had been popular for a long time in his past life, he went to discuss the feasibility of the idea with Gu Dezhao.

He thought it would take a lot of explaining to get the concept of a blind box across, but to his surprise, Gu Dezhao understood immediately.

"Shopkeeper Zhao is talking about Guanpu. I’ve heard of it!"

"As the old books say: ’One can wager a single tablet for thirty.’ It means you spend the money for one item for a chance to get thirty."

Since the shop had many small items priced around ten Spirit Coins, Zhao Lin had a few mortal handymen make wooden boxes and put inexpensive pills and talismans inside, occasionally adding one or two valuable items.

After the blind boxes were launched, the results were much better than expected. They were especially popular among young cultivators and brought a lot of traffic to the shop.

"Elder Gu, I won’t be in the shop today."

Zhao Lin walked out of the inner hall, called out a greeting to Gu Dezhao by the counter, and prepared to head to the market square’s Spirit Cultivation Rooms to cultivate.

No matter how well the shop was doing, it was ultimately just a means to provide resources for his cultivation. He couldn’t put the cart before the horse.

"Don’t you worry, Shopkeeper Zhao. I’ll keep an eye on things here," Gu Dezhao said with a cheerful laugh.

Just then, a cultivator in a brown robe walked in quickly, cupped his fist toward Zhao Lin, and said, "Shopkeeper Zhao, there’s a flying message for you."

Zhao Lin recognized the man as an official from the Administrative Office. He asked, puzzled, "Official Zhang, what message?"

The market square had several hundred resident cultivators, a population rivaling that of a county. To facilitate correspondence, a Teleportation Tower had been specially built at the beginning of the year to send and receive various Communication Talismans.

Previously, when Zhao Lin had corresponded with Han Chi County and the provincial capital, a regular messenger had delivered the letters. But today, they had sent an official of considerable rank, which was why he asked.

Official Zhang glanced at Zhao Lin and said, "Master Wei has ordered for Shopkeeper Zhao to come to the Administrative Office to retrieve it."

Zhao Lin didn’t speak, but a bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

The "Master" of the market square was its general manager, responsible for overseeing all important affairs. Zhao Lin had only seen this person once at the anniversary celebration and had never dealt with him otherwise.

’For him to suddenly send someone to visit today... could something have happened?’

Gu Dezhao also sensed that something was amiss and came over. "What’s wrong?"

Zhao Lin shook his head. "I’m going to the Administrative Office. I’ll tell you about it when I get back."

After a brief word, he followed the official to the Administrative Office and walked straight into the inner hall, where he saw the market’s Master, Wei Zongchuan.

Zhao Lin was about to bow when Wei Zongchuan waved his hand dismissively. "These are urgent circumstances, so let’s dispense with the formalities. Shopkeeper Zhao, take a look at this message." As he spoke, he flicked a finger, and a damaged talisman flew steadily toward Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin caught the damaged talisman and saw that it was a Hongyan Talisman. His heart sank.

’Cultivators only use a Hongyan Talisman in life-or-death situations. Who sent it?’

He had no time for pleasantries. He opened the damaged talisman and immersed his Divine Sense into the jade slip embedded within.

Mountains and plains, crisscrossed by rivers...

The perspective unfolded from nearly ten thousand feet in the air.

Above the clouds, a middle-aged cultivator was piloting a Spiritual Vessel laden with cargo, flying at high speed.

Zhao Lin focused his gaze. The middle-aged cultivator was none other than Tang Zhengquan, and the emblem of Han Chi County was clearly emblazoned on the cargo-carrying Spiritual Vessel.

Tang Zhengquan was gripping the control platform with one hand while continuously channeling array incantations into the Array Plate with the other.

The Spiritual Vessel’s flight Array was running at full power, its speed pushed to the maximum.

Tang Zhengquan seemed to have encountered something terrifying; he kept looking back over his shoulder in panic.

’What’s behind him?’

Seeing this, a cloud of suspicion rose in Zhao Lin’s mind.

The Hongyan Talisman’s perspective continued to rise, and Zhao Lin’s view expanded with it.

He saw that trailing behind the cargo Spiritual Vessel was a black Spiritual Vessel twice its size, with no markings on its hull!