115

There were only so many water sources that could be found on Kun Yi Mountain. After Gu Yan shared the node points of the array he had calculated, the staff stationed near the perimeters of the area were deployed. In half a day, they had finished inspecting all those areas.

"We found it. It's near the East Spring." The communication device received the information and Grandmaster Luo immediately notified the dark-haired youth drawing something at one side. Although he couldn't understand the meaning behind the dense illustrations on the book, it didn't impede the growing trust he felt.

In this short amount of time, they couldn't simply look at him as a junior. Even looking at him as a person in the same generation was not fine. In terms of knowledge, this person was more than sufficient to be their mentor.

Where on Earth did such a disciple come from, to be able to achieve this degree of accomplishment at this age? If he had such a disciple to carry on his legacy, Grandmaster Luo felt that he could probably laugh even when it was time for him to lie in his coffin.

Moreover, if he was willing, he would already be treated as a precious treasure by the old masters of their department. Whatever he wanted would be his as long as he stayed.

After determining the rough locations, they still needed to locate the exact coordinates. This was something the staff couldn't do so Gu Yan had to personally make a trip there.

The youth's hands were busy. The big cat lazing in his arms climbed onto his shoulders very naturally in order to not hinder its 'master'.

Xie Lan had to admit, the current spiritual world wasn't exceptional, compared to divination masters in the past who were feared in the ghost city.. The incantations and arrays they used back then far exceeded what existed now, and the Nine Palace Zhoutian array was one of them.

He could see that while the youth was writing out the outline of the method to break the array for the second time, he was also borrowing the accumulated might of the dragon vein on Kun Yi Mountain to deal a counterattack double in power to the original. Xie Lan had no doubt he would succeed even if this was a method that wasn't commonly used back then.

By determining that the exact location was on the upper reaches of the spring, two of the three nodes were in their hands. The last one was the summit which Ye Chengyu was in charge of. Now, they just had to wait for the reinforcements to arrive.

"The ghosts which have entered the periphery of the array have all turned into evil spirits and lost their bearings. They won't be afraid even if they see me now." The ghost king was perched on the youth's shoulders while his cold voice was transmitted. It continued to lay on the youth's shoulders with narrowed eyes.

In reality, evil spirits weren't evil in the beginning but ordinary ghosts who lost their way. They were referred to as 'it' and not 'him' because in the eyes of humans, evil spirits were all freaks, and were an uncommon sight even in the ghost city.

Those who became evil spirits would completely lose their intelligence and become simple killing machines. Luckily, those who were slightly more powerful still retained some senses, such as Xie Lan.

But the evil spirits who lost their minds in this array wouldn't feel fear even upon seeing the ghost king. They only had one thought -to occupy this mountain- and they wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone who stood in their way.

"Ghosts with sufficient power won't be enticed by this array. A trivial effect like this can be ignored." It wasn't as if Xie Lan was completely unfeeling towards the array but it was simply too weak for him to be swayed.

This array was insufficient to entice Zhou Yun, much less his family's Qiuqiu. This was how Gu Yan compared it. After hearing those words, he stroked his cat's jaw.

The extraordinary circumstances coupled with the wilderness carried no favourable conditions for them. After finding a suitable area to pitch their tent, they prepared to spend the night. Once the reinforcements arrived, they could begin to break the array.

They couldn't allow the gathering of evil spirits to break through their defenses so the staff on guard couldn't afford to rest. They worked in shifts in order to buy some more time. This was truly a unique situation in China as it was mentioned before that despite being an international organisation, the spiritual organisation would only work together when facing the ghost city. Any other time, they would be unconcerned with the others and in some cases, clash with each other in the dark.

The countries specialising in managing such supernatural events paid special attention to this matter on Kun Yi Mountain, and so did the culprit

"In a few more days, all the ghosts in the city will be drawn here. When that time comes, it won't matter how many guards they have, they won't be able to hold back the evil spirits." The one who spoke was obviously a western-looking old man. There was an evil glint in his eyes.

Unlike his confidence, a younger blonde-haired man's expression carried a trace of hesitation. He had just suffered a defeat not too long ago so he dared not let his guard down. "Chinese people are not the kind to let others off. What if the next time…"

"To lose even after the higher ups prepared a tamed spirit for you just means that you are useless." The hunched elderly man coldly interrupted him, causing the youth to feel ashamed and momentarily unable to refute.

Anyone who partook in the spiritual convention would definitely recognise this blonde-haired man as the spirit tamer representing Helun country. Indeed, his spirit wasn't something he caught himself but an elder from his organisation who caught and tamed it. Many things happened and it ended up in his hands.

"There's no difference even if they don't let us off. Could these people really overturn the heavens?" A white-haired man laughed coldly. This elder only had one eye but his attitude was evidently in line with the rest of the elders beside him.

The results of this year's convention weren't within their expectations. Since their personal interests had been compromised, they naturally had to retaliate and destroying a country's fortune was neither easy nor difficult. They just needed a proper target to succeed, such as destroying China's dragon vein.

Those scheming and plotting in the dark didn't realise that the person they were talking about had not only found a way to solve the problem, but was also preparing a return 'gift' for them.

No matter how beautiful their thoughts were, daylight came as usual. Reinforcements arrived and they all listened to the dark-haired youth's explanation and instructions.

"Xiao Gu, is it too difficult for you to stand alone in the eye of the array…" Grandmaster Luo's expression was filled with hesitation. Every other point had two or three people but the eye of the array only had one person to deal with it. It seemed extremely challenging.

Gu Yan was facing more than one person's uneasiness but he nodded. "Seniors, don't worry. I won't be careless when it comes to something so important."

"Alright, let's begin. Time is limited." Grandmaster Zhao was the first to declare.

Everyone found their own spot and after determining their exact positions, Gu Yan stood in the eye of the array and stroked his cat before putting it on his shoulders.

When a divination master is attempting to break an array, they couldn't be disturbed. However, his family's Qiuqiu was very obedient, so even if it was clingy, it was only clinging silently.

The person standing in the array must be the one to begin and give the signal. Just as he put the cat around his shoulders, four talismans appeared between Gu Yan's fingers.

The dark-haired youth calmly standing there seemed extremely refined. Once his incantation finished, the talismans between his fingers vanished.

Then, the sky suddenly darkened. When the wind blew, the leaves ruffled and it began to grow turbulent. The originally clear and cloudless sky that stretched out over a large expanse was soon rumbling.

From the instance the changes appeared, the two others at their respectives positions began to carry out their own task. Without any shield to conceal their strengths, the divination masters assisting in the breaking of the array used everything they had learnt.

"No way-! Apart from me, no one else should know the method to break it!" Most divination masters will receive some form of rebound attack once the array they laid had been broken. Those lying in wait on Kun Yi mountain immediately felt the effect, with the array master who laid it receiving most of the attack.

The hunched elder was repeating the word 'impossible' over and over again, but the recoil he felt was too obvious, making it impossible for him to deny it. This attack wasn't a regular recoil one would feel from having their own attack bite back, but obviously a targeted one by the other party who had already found the way to break his array.

The expressions of those people in the villa were similar, full of shock and uncertainty as they looked towards each other.

Currently, a thunderstorm was raging atop Kun Yi Mountain. The intense wind seemed bent on uprooting the entire forest as torrential rain threatened those attempting to undo the array. There was a sudden clap of thunder as a bolt of lightning struck the ground, causing dirt and dust to fly into the air.

No matter how they looked at it, the situation couldn't be any further from optimistic but Gu Yan was confident there wasn't a mistake.

He didn't hold back. All the spiritual energy he usually conserved was now released, transforming into the sharpest weapon as it continuously attacked the nodes of the array. The non-stop assault didn't allow any chance for the array to restore itself at all.

Having calculated the consumption of spiritual energy, Gu Yan felt that he must definitely find a way to recover it after resolving this matter.

"At last." Borrowing the primordial energy of chaos on his body, he gave one final attack. The instant these two words fell, Gu Yan watched as the large boulder split into two, revealing a large path so big that it seemed as if the mountain had been broken into two.

The mountain was silent. The wind had ceased and the thunder had also stopped. As sunlight slowly shone down, the hazy clouds that hid the sky gradually cleared up.

The three main nodes had been destroyed and this sight was evident of their success.

"Cough, cough, cough…" A few Helun divination masters in a villa suddenly spat blood out. After the array was broken, they all suffered a backlash.

But how could this matter end so easily? The dark-haired youth on Kun Yi Mountain, who'd almost exhausted all his spiritual energy, pasted a trace-back talisman on the large boulder. With the talisman between his fingers, he dropped some blood onto the yellow paper and began to recite an incantation.

As he began to chant, the ground shook and something immensely powerful responded to his call. Using the talisman, it began to chase after the target and attack them.

"Pu-" Those who had spat out blood earlier felt that things were getting bad and their condition was worsening.

"Weren't Chris and Rosser dispatched yesterday? Why is there no report even after the array has been broken?" The hunched elder received a series of attacks and the malice in his eyes grew.

"Tell them to use our contingency plan." Another elder continued to cough. His only functioning eye started towards the mountain outside the window. "Most of China's capable divination masters have already gone over, we'll hold back as many as we can."