Chapter 581 559: Setting Out, Withdrawing from the Frontline

"The structural logic of this Array... it's a bit like the Thousand Coffin Sect's designs."

When Tang Tianyi spoke, his voice was steady, bearing the weight of deep thought.

This might be hindsight, but Tang Tianyi believed that every attack had been paving the way for a much larger Array.

Lu You immediately began searching for information on the Thousand Coffin Sect's Arrays, looking up any that had appeared in the news.

Gu Ming, for his part, had studied many Arrays, and he was also a disciple of Elder Huo.

He had some degree of mastery in Array Art, and with Tang Tianyi's prompting, a line of thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

He extended a finger and tapped the phone screen a few times, tracing several invisible lines.

The power supply hub, the Spirit Vein node, the communication towers, the granary.

'These weren't random targets.'

Just then, Lu You brought her phone over, showing a list of several Compound Arrays that were extremely difficult to construct.

Gu Ming and Lu You both drew a sharp, cold breath.

Connecting them formed the underlying framework of a "Sealed Coffin Seven Stars Map."

And if you added the "bloodlines" that extended from the corpses and blood, covering the streets...

It has a specific term in Array Art: "Blood-Attraction." It's a common technique for blood-based Arrays.

The Thousand Coffin Sect uses Spiritual blood to cultivate a Demon Seed while simultaneously sealing off an entire enclosed Space.

Unless the Life Force of everyone inside is completely depleted, it's impossible to break out from within.

Tang Tianyi spoke up.

"But the real danger isn't this sealing Array itself."

"Over the past several months, while they were being successively struck down in cities across the country, the Thousand Coffin Sect has been cultivating the Star Slaughter Demon Seed."

Assuming the two of them wouldn't be familiar with it, Tang Tianyi continued.

"A Star Slaughter Demon Seed requires a Star Container. It uses a Star Spirit as its foundation and is nourished by blood sacrifices, allowing it to grow and purify itself within the Spiritual essence and bloodlines of living people and Pet Beasts."

"The entire cultivation process requires absorbing a vast amount of Spiritual Power. The mental struggles and waves of fear from the victims also serve as its nourishment."

"So the Thousand Coffin Sect is taking advantage of the outbreak of war. By performing a Refinement on an entire city's population, they can obtain a single Demon Seed."

"That's enough," Gu Ming cut him off, his voice terrifyingly calm, like the cold glint of light on still ice.

Tang Tianyi paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.

The arrival of war ushered in an era of chaos. For the Thousand Coffin Sect, this was the perfect opportunity to make their move.

Lanqi City was simply unlucky.

"There's more."

"What I'm worried about is that if the Thousand Coffin Sect truly has set up an Array of this scale in Lanqi City, they have another variable that cannot be underestimated."

Tang Tianyi analyzed it from a research perspective, bringing up a factor the other two hadn't considered. "Jiang Chen."

The moment that name was spoken, Gu Ming was reminded of the university league.

Jiang Chen.

A fellow genius from his year, one of the first-year students who, like him, had obtained a Four-star Pet Beast the fastest.

He was also one of the rare few in the country who had returned from the Inner World.

A few months ago, the Thousand Coffin Sect's Guiding Granny had sacrificed herself, and Jiang Chen was sealed in a coffin and spirited away by them using a "heaven-deceiving" technique.

"If our analysis of this Array structure and the Thousand Coffin Sect's current activities is correct..."

Tang Tianyi concluded slowly.

"...then Lanqi City's City Defense Array wasn't breached. It was likely co-opted from the inside and turned into the 'shell' for this Blood-Attracting Coffin Sealing Array."

"If Jiang Chen has been corrupted by the Thousand Coffin Sect, then with his intellect, he would be fully capable of reverse-engineering the city's Array and converting it into a cage to trap everyone inside."

Gu Ming looked up at Tang Tianyi.

At this distance, he could clearly see a faint blue glow flicker for a moment in the depths of his mentor's eyes before stabilizing.

"Professor, I'd like to request leave to return to my hometown. I'll be putting my research on hold."

Tang Tianyi nodded with almost no hesitation.

"The main line of research on the Dragon Transformation Pool is complete."

"Your departure won't affect the project in any way. I won't stop you."

He handed the phone back to Gu Ming, took half a step back, and straightened his posture. In a tone more formal than usual, he said, "Now, give me some time to arrange an escort."

His own student wanted to go back, and a Wenquxing-level genius at that.

If he were to perish on the journey, Tang Tianyi would have to bear the responsibility. He would certainly help arrange for a thorough escort.

Unfortunately, as a Seven-star Beastmaster, Tang Tianyi was tied down by local military affairs and couldn't leave. He could only entrust this task to others.

Then, Tang Tianyi turned and walked out, quickly disappearing down the end of the hallway.

Gu Ming remained standing where he was.

After a moment, he turned to face Lu You.

Lu You had been sitting on a nearby chair the whole time. "I'm going back too," she said meekly.

"Let me see what route to take," Gu Ming said with a nod.

Before she could even grab her bag from the nearby cabinet, he had already spread a tactical map out on the table.

With a Mental command from Gu Ming, Ah Ji materialized at his feet. Its black tail flickered like lightning, rapidly drawing on the map and leaving behind traces of the Power of Shadow.

Every city and every transportation route on the map was marked with a combat risk Level, friendly-controlled zones, and a timestamp for the most recent intelligence update.

His hand slowly traced a path from the location of the Dragon Transformation Pool sea region on the border toward the upper right corner.

His gaze passed over large swaths of red-and-yellow-checkered warzones, finally landing on a small black icon in the central region.

Lanqi City.

The direct flight time from the border garrison to Lanqi City was about four hours.

But that direct route was not an option.

Gu Ming tapped a finger on the straight line, then quickly had Ah Ji use its tail to mark three slashes across three areas the path would cross.

Iron Gate Fortress, Shiyan, and Heluo.