Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 522: Chapter 280: Ruins (2)

"Of course, this is all just speculation. After all, not much has been excavated. This alone isn’t enough to truly understand the specifics of this place. Even appraising the place name only showed Sanmao Mountain, not the name of a village."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the wooden shed.

Cheng Zongyang looked at the items inside, sorted and placed on wooden shelves, examining them one by one.

Just as Luo Dingran had said, they were all ordinary items, many of them shattered. As for the metal vessels, Cheng Zongyang examined them for a moment before asking in confusion, "Why are they all shaped like cauldrons?"

Cheng Zongyang looked doubtfully at the seven or eight excavated and cleaned metal vessels. They all had one thing in common: they were all three- or four-legged, round or square cauldrons. Though they varied in size, they were basically the same as the burners found on temple altars for holding incense.

Luo Dingran said, "This is the strange part I mentioned to you. We’ve dug up other metal vessels, but they were all almost completely corroded. Only these kinds of objects are perfectly intact. The appraisal also just shows them as ordinary Incense Burners. I had Ding Xing translate the text on these cauldrons."

As he spoke, he took a small booklet from his robes and handed it to Cheng Zongyang. "This is the transcribed and translated content from Ding Xing. There isn’t much, but these three sentences are inscribed on them."

Cheng Zongyang took it and opened it to the first page.

"Revering Heaven and Ancestors, we pray to the Wind Monarch for fair weather."

"Revering Heaven and Ancestors, we pray to the Thunder Monarch for thriving herds."

"Revering Heaven and Ancestors, we pray to the Rain Monarch for a plentiful harvest."

Cheng Zongyang’s brows furrowed as he looked at the three sentences.

To this day, he still couldn’t understand the situation in the Wilderness World, and now these ruins excavated from Sanmao Mountain had presented him with these strange Incense Burners.

Cheng Zongyang said, "If this was a village, and every family had this kind of Incense Burner, does that mean the villagers believed in these so-called Wind, Rain, and Thunder Cultivators? In that case, is there a temple?"

Luo Dingran shook his head slightly. "I don’t know about that, but I’ve already had the Mole Beast assist with the excavation. It’s going deep underground first to see if there are any other discoveries. It’s also a chance to get a clear idea of the area’s si—"

"Steward Luo, my lord!"

Just then, before Luo Dingran could finish speaking, a Soul Slave from the excavation site shouted to them.

Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran both turned to look and saw a Soul Slave, covered in dirt, emerging from a hole in the ground with the Mole Beast.

"What is it?" The two of them immediately went over, and Luo Dingran asked.

"My lord, Steward, I discovered an underground space below, but something seems to be blocking the way. I can’t get in."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran exchanged a look. The former pressed, "The Mole Beast can’t dig through either?"

The Soul Slave shook his head. "It’s not a wall, but some kind of invisible barrier."

"An Array!" Cheng Zongyang and Luo Dingran said in unison.

Cheng Zongyang immediately ordered, "Widen the tunnel!"

At Cheng Zongyang’s command, the other Soul Slaves who had been excavating elsewhere immediately dropped what they were doing and began to focus on widening the underground tunnel.

Luo Dingran, meanwhile, immediately went back to bring Luo Daoist.

When it came to knowledge and research on Arrays, Luo Daoist was by far the most expert among the Soul Slaves.

His multi-level bookshelf was filled with Array Books, some purchased from the market hut and others from the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm. As for whether he could figure out the underground Array, that was a question for later.

"Finally, we’ve run into something related to Cultivators," Cheng Zongyang murmured.

Luo Dingran nodded in agreement. "For an Array to still be active after all this time, it must be drawing Energy from underground to operate."

With the Mole Beast present, digging the hole wouldn’t have taken much time at all. However, to fully expose the Array for study, they began a large-scale excavation, no longer concerned about damaging the ruins.

Two hours later, an underground space of about two hundred square meters was cleared out, and an invisible barrier was revealed, made visible by the surrounding soil.

Cheng Zongyang, Luo Dingran, and Luo Daoist came to the front.

The other Soul Slaves stood back, watching from a distance.

Cheng Zongyang used Appraisal without hesitation.

—

[Earth Array]

Introduction: An earth-elemental Defense Array powered by drawing on Earth Vein Power. As long as it is not destroyed by external force, its materials do not decay, and the Earth Vein Power is not exhausted, it can operate indefinitely without breaking.

Grade: Third Grade

—

Reading the simple introduction, Cheng Zongyang’s eyes lit up. ’To think it’s a Third Grade Defense Array.’

According to the standards of the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm, a Third Grade Array was already Golden Core Level, capable of blocking a Golden Core Cultivator. ’What on earth would need a Third Grade Array for protection?’

"Another Array of the same kind?" Luo Dingran suddenly frowned, surprised. But the next moment, he noticed something inside and couldn’t help but prompt Cheng Zongyang. "My lord, look inside."

Cheng Zongyang looked up, shifting his attention from the Array to what was inside.

Inside was actually a small temple, but everything within it was in disarray. Only three clay statues inside the small hall stood firm and stable.

Observing the surroundings, Luo Dingran formed a general hypothesis. "External forces couldn’t breach it, yet the inside is a total mess. My lord, could it be that an earthquake caused a landslide that buried the village? The items in the temple were thrown into disarray, but the Array protected it from being buried by the falling earth and rock?"

Cheng Zongyang shook his head slightly. "That’s not important." Then, he looked at Luo Daoist. "Can you open it?"

Luo Daoist, who was in the middle of studying the Array, gave a wry smile upon hearing the question. "My lord, this subordinate is currently only studying First Grade Arrays. I’m still a long way from understanding a Third Grade one."

Cheng Zongyang had already expected this and smiled. "Just do your best."

He then called over the Mole Beast and asked, "Can you dig in from underneath?"

Fearing the Mole Beast wouldn’t understand, he even gestured with his hands.

But the Mole Beast had been eating Red Blood Pills for so long that its intelligence was far beyond what it used to be. Coupled with the fact that Cheng Zongyang was its master, it immediately understood his meaning. It shook its head and gestured back, indicating that there was a barrier underground and it couldn’t dig through.

"Alright then." Cheng Zongyang sighed in resignation, then turned back to Luo Dingran. "I remember we bought an Array-Breaking Talisman in the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm, right? Where did we put it?"

Luo Dingran asked, puzzled, "My lord, that’s a Second Grade Array-Breaking Talisman. It’s probably useless against a Third Grade one, isn’t it?"

Cheng Zongyang was speechless. He had only bought the Array-Breaking Talisman on a whim when he happened upon it at a Loose Cultivator’s stall in the West District while buying other Talismans. A single Second Grade Array-Breaking Talisman was worth fifteen Spirit Stones, making it fifty percent more expensive than a typical Second Grade Talisman. But since it could break any Tier Two Array, he had decided to buy it.

But he never imagined that when he finally had a use for it, its Grade would be too low.

"I’ll go put in a request to buy one," Luo Dingran said.

Cheng Zongyang nodded. It was the only option.

After Luo Dingran left, Cheng Zongyang turned to Luo Daoist. He saw him circling the Array, completely focused, occasionally touching the Array with some object and then sensing the changes in the Earth Vein’s Energy.

His Talent was in this area, so he was naturally more sensitive to it.

Cheng Zongyang didn’t disturb him. For someone like him, more exposure to this type of Array would be beneficial for his growth and experience.

Meanwhile, Cheng Zongyang had the others continue clearing the area, using the Array as the center point and expanding outwards.

Another hour passed before Luo Dingran returned, holding a golden Talisman.

"How much did it cost?" Cheng Zongyang asked.

"Compared to the prices in the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm, it was a bit more expensive. 100 Points," Luo Dingran said.

Cheng Zongyang nodded, then took the Talisman and walked over to Luo Daoist. "I’m preparing to break the Array. Have you figured anything out?"

Hearing this, Luo Daoist scrambled up from the ground, ignoring his dirt-stained pants, and said excitedly:

"My lord, can you give me another half an hour? I can already sense the way the Earth Vein Energy circulates. As long as I can record it, I can study it later, try to understand its principles, and then attempt to replicate it."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Of course. You have half an hour."

He would never be stingy about anything that could help his High Tier Soul Slaves improve.

Luo Dingran, for example, had started his Cultivation over with the Innate Qi Technique and had now reached the Fifth Grade.

This speed was not slow at all, and his Cultivation had already surpassed the level it was at before he crippled his own abilities.

While waiting, Cheng Zongyang also planned to have Luo Dingran continue to seek out and purchase Soul Crystal Stones. It was about time to expand the number of Soul Slaves.

As their territory expanded, increasing the number of Soul Slaves was a necessity. And with war breaking out once again in the Land of Four Mansions, a countless number of people would die, making it the best time for collection.

Luo Dingran naturally agreed and noted it down as a task to be handled.