Chapter 488 - 426: Golden Ox Beach

Chapter 488: Chapter 426: Golden Ox Beach

The night passed...

The next morning, Zhao Lin went with Du Zhen, Chang Jianqiu, and the others to Kanglong Beach, located in the central region.

Kanglong Beach was the Chenghua Sect’s main base of operations. It was fortified with the most traps, and it was where Chao Duan and four Array Masters were stationed.

When he learned that Zhao Lin had single-handedly killed six Earth Dark Sect cultivators—two of whom were Transformation Realm cultivators—Chao Duan was utterly shocked. The look on his face was identical to the one Du Zhen and the others had worn the day before.

After a long, stunned silence, he finally sighed. "Fellow Daoist Zhao, your martial prowess is extraordinary. I am truly in awe!"

The four Array Masters were also overjoyed. With a powerful figure like Zhao Lin to protect them, they could finally rest easy.

Next, the group started from the northernmost pearl beach, systematically searching one beach after another for their fellow sect members.

With each cultivator they found, they explained the current situation and asked if they were willing to join the mission to retake the pearl beaches.

Zhao Lin gave his guarantee: join the team, and whether they succeeded or failed, each person would receive five hundred Merit Points.

This was no empty promise. Even if they failed to retake the pearl beaches, the bounties for the six Earth Dark Sect cultivators they had killed were more than enough to cover the cost of these Merit Points.

Almost all the cultivators agreed without a second thought.

It was winter, so the Clam Demons weren’t active. That meant very few Spirit Pearls could be gathered. If they didn’t join the team, they would likely leave this expedition empty-handed.

Besides, the Earth Dark Sect had already suffered nearly fifty percent casualties, so the risk of joining now was low.

If they encountered anyone who was hesitant, Du Zhen would pointedly remind them, "The Earth Dark Sect still has one Transformation Realm cultivator roaming about. With our numbers, we won’t be afraid if we run into them. But for someone who’s alone... it’s hard to say what might happen."

After that, no one refused.

By mid-morning, the team had grown to sixteen members. With the exception of the deceased Xu Zhongyong and one other missing cultivator, every member of the sect who had gone out to sea had joined the group.

To prevent chaos among the large group, Zhao Lin divided them into three squads.

The three Peak of Qi Refining cultivators—Chao Duan, Du Zhen, and Chang Jianqiu—each led a squad of five.

Zhao Lin took out three Divine Seal Talismans and used them to place a Divine Sense imprint on each of the three men.

The Divine Seal Skill only lasted for twenty-four hours. Once the time was up, the Divine Sense imprint would have to be reapplied.

Two of the traps at Di Tutan had been dismantled by the Earth Dark Sect. Before they could retake the pearl beaches, they first had to restore those traps.

Upon arriving at Di Tutan, Zhao Lin asked Sun Jue, "Fellow Daoist Sun, when we reset the traps, should we use the original locations or find new ones?"

"We definitely have to find new spots."

Sun Jue chuckled and explained, "The true strength of a trap isn’t its destructive power, but the enemy’s ignorance of its location. That’s what makes them hesitate to set foot on our pearl beaches."

"Once an enemy knows a trap’s exact location, it becomes nothing more than a decoration, no matter how powerful it might be."

The four Array Masters scouted the area, found a suitable spot for the traps, and after a brief discussion, began to take measurements and calculate the positions.

Zhao Lin stood to the side, watching intently and taking the opportunity to learn by observation.

The art of Arrays was vast and profound. While he knew how to inscribe the Array Patterns for a few simple Arrays, his skills paled in comparison to these dedicated Array Masters.

After about ten minutes, Sun Jue walked over. "Fellow Daoist Zhao," he said, "we’ve finished the measurements. We’re ready to lay the traps now."

Zhao Lin had been wondering about something. He voiced his question, "Fellow Daoist Sun, once a trap is armed, it triggers on any Mana fluctuation. So how do you get out?"

"As the saying goes, the Great Dao is fifty, the heavens calculate forty-nine, and one escapes. Nothing in this world is perfect. An Array has its Gate of Life, and a trap, too, has a path to safety."

Knowing Zhao Lin had some knowledge of Arrays, Sun Jue explained earnestly, "Once the trap is armed, we leave through that path to safety."

"But don’t worry. The path is extremely narrow and constantly shifting. Unless one is an expert in the Array Exploration Skill, an ordinary cultivator could never stumble upon it by chance."

Zhao Lin understood. He nodded. "So, when you disarm a trap, you also start by finding its path to safety?"

Sun Jue clapped his hands in approval. "Fellow Daoist Zhao, you are indeed sharp. That is precisely how it’s done."

With that, he walked over to the designated spot for the trap. He took out the array stones, and along with the other three Array Masters, drove them deep beneath the sand and gravel.

Once the array stones were set, Sun Jue buried a Third Grade Spirit Pearl in the "eye of the Array," which would serve as a long-term source of Spiritual Power for the trap.

As the Spirit Pearl settled into the seabed, the trap activated, emitting a ripple of Mana.

The onlooking cultivators quickly backed away, afraid of accidentally triggering the newly armed trap.

Sun Jue recorded the trap’s location on a jade slip, then carefully led the other three Array Masters out through the "path to safety."

The four of them then found a second location and laid another trap.

"We’ll go to Golden Ox Beach first, then Qingyang Beach."

Zhao Lin gathered the cultivators. "Golden Ox Beach and Qingyang Beach were under our sect’s jurisdiction long ago," he explained. "Our Sea Maps have detailed records of their terrain, which should make them relatively safer. What does everyone think?"

Backed by his formidable strength, Zhao Lin held absolute authority within the group. Naturally, no one voiced any dissent, and all nodded in agreement.

Seeing their agreement, Zhao Lin led the group, swimming toward Golden Ox Beach.

"This is where we ran into that female Transformation Realm cultivator yesterday," Du Zhen said grimly as they passed through the Fudong Rift Valley. "It’s also where Fellow Daoist Xu fell."

Hearing this, the cultivators each offered a respectful bow toward the spot before continuing on their way.

Before long, the group arrived at Golden Ox Beach.

Golden Ox Beach was located in the center of Yongdeng Ansha. Its Spirit Pearl yield wasn’t high, but the quality was exceptional; it produced twenty percent of all First and Second Grade Spirit Pearls in the entire shoal.

Losing Golden Ox Beach was a significant blow to the Chenghua Sect, which was precisely why Zhao Lin had decided to retake it first.

As they entered the beach, everyone grew cautious.

To Qi Refining Realm cultivators, traps were invisible and intangible. Detecting any sign of them was nearly impossible. By the time one sensed the fluctuation of Mana, it was already too late to escape.

Array Masters, however, cultivated the Array Exploration Skill, which allowed them to detect traps ahead of time.

The four Array Masters took the lead. Zhao Lin and Chao Duan flanked them on either side, while the squads led by Du Zhen and Chang Jianqiu followed from the rear.

"There’s a trap here!"

After they had advanced some distance, the Array Master Wei Chong suddenly called out.

At his words, the entire group froze. No one dared to make a move.

The Array Masters, however, remained calm. They slowly approached the area, simultaneously casting an Array Grasping Skill.

To disarm a trap, one needed to have mastered a series of Magic skills, including the Array Exploration Skill, the Array Grasping Skill, the Locking Array Skill, and the Breaking Array Skill.

These Magic skills were incredibly difficult to cultivate, and they were essentially useless until one reached a level of mastery.

Each of the four Array Masters had their own specialization; the group would be incomplete without even one of them.

This was why Chu Hongtian had repeatedly stressed the importance of guaranteeing the Array Masters’ safety.

Before long, Sun Jue and his team found the trap’s "path to safety" and entered it in single file.

"I’ll leave it to you, Fellow Daoist Zhao. Don’t let any enemies get near, no matter what."

Sun Jue said gravely just before he entered.

"Alright, you all be careful."

Zhao Lin knew that if the trap were to activate while they were dismantling it, the four Array Masters would be in mortal danger, so he immediately nodded in promise.

He had Du Zhen’s squad guard one flank and Chang Jianqiu’s squad guard the other, while he and Chao Duan patrolled the area near the "path to safety."

The process went more smoothly than anticipated. Sun Jue and the others used the Array Grasping Skill to locate the eye of the Array, cast a Locking Array Skill into it, and swiftly extracted a Spirit Pearl and six array stones.

Spiritual Light flickered over the array stones, and they were all interconnected by numerous silver threads.

These silver threads weren’t physical; they were lines of condensed energy.

"Dismantling this trap is going to cause a big disturbance! Everyone, be on your guard!"

Sun Jue called out a warning.

He then formed a hand seal for a Spell and sent it into the array stones.

He shouted, "Break!"

With a mighty BOOM, the silver light connecting the array stones snapped, unleashing a series of circular shockwaves that rapidly expanded in all directions!

The seawater instantly began to churn, and violent undercurrents surged.

Everyone hurriedly activated their Spiritual Energy Shields to withstand the impact of the shockwaves...

The shockwaves traveled a great distance. Even the twelve Earth Dark Sect cultivators stationed at Moon Deer Beach sensed the disturbance, and they snapped their heads up to look toward Golden Ox Beach.

The face of a gray-robed elder among them darkened, and he snarled, "The audacity! They dare to dismantle our traps!"