Li Feng never believed Du Wu was an array master. In this era where array masters were nearly extinct, though Du Wu might have obtained an array inheritance from some ruin, he was certainly not an array master himself.
Array masters were beings who could kill invisibly. If Du Wu were an array master, a single array at the cave entrance would have prevented Li Feng from entering.
If Du Wu wasn’t an array master, how had he set up the array? Did another array master help him?
That seemed impossible.
During his time in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, Li Feng had discussed array masters with the Ge siblings regarding a Martial Earth Realm ruin.
From the Ge siblings, Li Feng learned that in this era of scarce array masters, though some might exist, their strength was limited. They could only set up basic arrays and were powerless against more complex ones. Ancient arrays, like those in the Martial Earth Realm ruin, were beyond the capabilities of modern array masters.
Moreover, the Ge siblings hinted that even their family, the Ge Clan, struggled to recruit even the weakest array master.
Li Feng didn’t know much about the Ge Clan, but judging by the strength of the Ge siblings, it was no ordinary family. It likely wasn’t one of China’s prominent families. While China’s eight top families were considered the strongest, there were other families, less visible, whose true strength rivalled them. Li Feng suspected the Ge Clan was such a family.
If even a family like the Ge Clan couldn’t recruit an array master, how could Du Wu, a mere leader of the Du Sect who wasn’t even an Innate Realm martial artist, manage to do so?
It was clearly impossible, unless Du Wu had kidnapped an array master to set up the Blood Refining Array.
But even if he had, it was unlikely the array master could create the Blood Refining Array. This array enveloped all of Kunyang Town; it was far from a basic array.
So, how had Du Wu set up the Blood Refining Array?
The only explanation was that Du Wu had obtained a blueprint for the Blood Refining Array and followed it meticulously.
With this thought, Li Feng’s mind stirred. He knew nothing about arrays or how to break them, but with the blueprint, he might be able to reverse-engineer the destruction of the array’s core.
His only concern was that Du Wu might carry the blueprint with him, making it difficult to obtain.
However, there were two small rooms in the chamber. Li Feng decided to check them for the blueprint. If it wasn’t there, he’d have to find another way.
Without hesitation, he strode toward one of the small rooms.
“Who’s there?” As Li Feng pushed open the door, a furious shout echoed from within, followed by a terrifying surge of energy shooting toward him.
“Hmph, seeking death!” Li Feng hadn’t expected anyone in the small room, but he quickly realised it was isolated from the outside, so the occupants hadn’t heard the commotion he’d caused.
Seeing the attack, Li Feng smirked with disdain. The old man before him was about as strong as Wild Leopard. Guarding Du Wu’s cultivation chamber, he was likely a trusted confidant.
But Li Feng had no intention of fighting him. He didn’t want to waste time and draw Du Wu’s attention.
A powerful pressure radiated from Li Feng, followed by a flash of silver light.
Whoosh!
The old man’s body trembled, a flicker of fear crossing his face as a throwing knife pierced his throat. He collapsed with a thud.
Li Feng sneered. After facing Du Wu’s Innate Realm pressure, he had learned to harness his divine sense, equivalent to a peak Acquired Realm. The pressure he exerted gave the old man the sensation of facing Du Wu, causing him to freeze in fear, allowing Li Feng’s knife to strike true.
After dealing with the old man, Li Feng entered the room.
Instantly, vibrant beams of light flooded his vision. A pile of jade, stacked like a small mountain, lay to one side. Sensing them, Li Feng found they were brimming with spiritual energy.
“It seems I’m not the only one cultivating by absorbing spiritual energy,” Li Feng nodded in realisation. These jades were clearly for Du Wu’s cultivation, much like how Li Feng absorbed energy from emeralds. A rough estimate suggested hundreds of top-quality jades, rich in spiritual energy.
Li Feng glanced over them and swept them into his spatial pouch. These jades were a significant fortune, enough to sustain his cultivation for a long time. Combined with the dragon-shaped jade pendant he already possessed, his strength could improve rapidly in the short term.
His gaze then fell on the rest of the room. Beyond the jades, there were vast quantities of medicinal herbs, piled like mountains. Even Li Feng, accustomed to grand sights, was stunned.
The lowest-grade herb was century-old ginseng, alongside others like nine-leaf lingzhi and thousand-year snow ginseng in abundance.
“Terrifying, absolutely terrifying. Du Wu collected so many herbs, enough for him and the Black Hawk Squad to cultivate for a year,” Li Feng exclaimed, tongue-tied.
In his previous life in the military, he had seen the army’s reserves—mountains of herbs, countless techniques, and skills. Though the items here were less than one percent of those reserves, these belonged to the Du Sect, a mere underground faction of about a thousand people, one of many in China. Li Feng never imagined encountering such treasures in the Du Sect. The herbs alone were worth billions, some priceless.
At that moment, Li Feng understood what Du Wu meant by “resupply” before his death. Were these the Du Sect’s treasures?
Forget the dragon-shaped jade pendant’s unique effects; for these alone, Li Feng would gladly kill Du Wu. As the saying went, “Killing and arson yield golden belts.” Today was a massive haul.
Previously, Li Feng thought his gains from the Hundred Thousand Mountains—Xuan Yuan Fruit, Tian Xin Fruit, Solid Foundation Pill, and Mysterious Grade martial skill, plus the dragon-shaped jade pendant from Du Wu—were substantial. But compared to these, those gains paled.
Of course, while the quantity here was immense, few items matched the rarity of the Xuan Yuan Fruit or Solid Foundation Pill, which were exceedingly rare treasures. The Mysterious Grade martial skill was also beyond mere herbs.
But for Li Feng, the mountain of herbs was what he needed most. As the Black Hawk Squad grew stronger, their demand for herbs increased. Relying on purchases from Wen Jun Pavilion’s pharmacy was unreliable. With these herbs, he wouldn’t need to worry about supplies for a while.
With these, the Black Hawk Squad could become a true martial artist squad, a sharp blade in Li Feng’s hands.
“Du Wu, Du Wu, you’ve finally done something good. For these treasures, I’ll leave you an intact corpse, heh heh,” Li Feng said, grinning as he transferred all the herbs into his spatial pouch.
The process took a full two minutes to clear the vast quantity of herbs. When finished, Li Feng’s face beamed with satisfaction.
Though he hadn’t found the array blueprint in this empty room, the jades and herbs were more than enough. There was still another room, where the blueprint might be. With that thought, Li Feng left and hurried to the other room.
Eager from the first room’s haul, Li Feng couldn’t wait.
Bang!
He kicked open the second room’s door, but unlike expected, no cold shout or old man emerged. The room was silent.
“No one here?” Li Feng felt disappointed. Guarded places held treasures; an unguarded room might mean nothing valuable.
Still, he stepped inside.
The room was small, about twenty to thirty square metres, simply furnished with a meditation cushion and a shelf holding three boxes and some scrolls and books.
“Is this Du Wu’s cultivation space?” Li Feng mused, looking at the setup.
In a flash, he reached the shelf, his eyes gleaming at the items.
Picking up a scroll, he saw it was a cultivation technique and tossed it into his spatial pouch without a second thought. Now wasn’t the time to study it.
“This is a martial skill…”
He grabbed another scroll, glanced at it, and threw it into the pouch.
“This is ‘Records of Extraordinary People’?”
He picked up a book detailing ancient martial artists, skimmed it, and tossed it into the pouch.
“This is ‘Array Fundamentals’?” Finally, Li Feng’s gaze stopped on an ancient, yellowed book.
Opening it, he found pages filled with various diagrams, each representing an array, with annotations below. The complexity overwhelmed him.
As someone ignorant of arrays, diving into such profound material was daunting.
Wind Array, Water Array, Fire Array, Thunder Array, Earth Array, Linked Array—some Li Feng had heard of, but he’d never seen them, and some were entirely new.
These were still basic arrays, not true arrays, which were far more elusive.
Li Feng had no time to study them. Destroying the Blood Refining Array was his priority.
His gaze fell on the final scroll.
