Chapter 64: Hidden Array

  Listening to the whistling wind by his ear, Fang Li struggled to open his eyes and suddenly found himself on the back of a black eagle, but not sitting, rather lying prone.

  Xuan Mozi sat behind him, one hand pressing down on him, preventing him from falling off.

  Soaring through the nine heavens and viewing numerous mountains, this was originally a fresh experience for Fang Li. Which person who has never left the ground wouldn't be interested in flying? However, Fang Li is now lying on the Black Eagle like an object, what mood does he have to feel anything?

  Moreover, the black eagle flew very fast, and Fang Li could only see the scenery on one side while lying down. After a long time, he even felt a little dizzy, and had no choice but to use his true energy to resist it.

  Forcing down the dizzy feeling, Fang Li opened his eyes again, and what entered his vision was a series of high or low mountain peaks. However, these were ordinary mountain peaks, not one of the thirty-six main peaks.

  "This black eagle is indeed extraordinary, if I could get one, maybe I can fly back to the Great Qi Kingdom." Fang Li sighed in his heart, and enviously touched the black eagle's wings. At this moment, Fang Li was pressed on the back of the black eagle and couldn't move, only his hands were available. However, Fang Li just thought about it, such a mount as the black eagle, many Golden Elixir cultivators would be jealous, let alone himself who could get it now."

  Fang Li's idea was not without basis, the Black Eagle's flying speed was incredibly fast, even comparable to that of a Yuan Ying period cultivator. To know that before reaching the Yuan Ying period, even Jindan period cultivators did not have the ability to fly on their own, so, birds like the Black Eagle were absolutely in high demand.

  "If you could listen to me and take me back to Yanjing City, I will support you for a lifetime." Fang Li continued to stroke the black eagle's feathers, muttering to himself. Unfortunately, this was impossible. Not to mention whether Xuanmozi would agree or not, just the black eagle itself was not something that Fang Li could subdue at present.

  This black eagle looks tame, but it's a real spiritual beast. What is a spiritual beast? A spiritual beast is a demon beast that has broken through the tenth level. In terms of the cultivator's realm, a spiritual beast is equivalent to a demon cultivator who has reached the foundation-building period. However, although these demon cultivators at this level are spiritually aware, their spiritual intelligence is still not high and they can be easily controlled by humans. If you wait until they form an inner elixir and fully open up their spiritual intelligence, it will be difficult to control them again.

  Those demonic cultivators who have formed the inner elixir can no longer be called beasts, but are instead demons and monsters. Some avoid disaster by hiding in deep mountains; some feed on humans, bringing harm to a region. However, do not underestimate them - if they were to transform into a demon infant, they could also take on human form, with spiritual intelligence that is in no way inferior to that of the human race.

  Fang Li's eyes became distant and he fell into deep thought, but his hands continued to gently stroke the black eagle's feathers.

  A cup of tea's work, the black eagle gradually slowed down its speed. At this time, a towering mountain peak that pierced into the clouds entered Fang Li's line of sight. The mountain peak was filled with spiritual energy, steep and dangerous, like a pillar that inserted straight into the clouds.

  "This must be Chong Xiao Peak." Fang Li's heart was filled with emotion.

  Before he could think more, Xuan Mozi grabbed his shoulder again and jumped off the black eagle's back with a whoosh. Fortunately, Fang Li had already prepared himself mentally and didn't get much of a fright.

  "We've arrived at Chong Xiao Peak, first follow me to pay respects to your master's ancestor." Xuan Mozi's robust body walked ahead, exerting immense pressure on Fang Li.

  "Yes, Master." Fang Li lowered his head and replied, silently following behind him.

  Nor does it know whether it is the reason for the dense spirit, but the flowers and trees here are much more lush than Huaiyu Peak, and there are even many birds and beasts playing, a peaceful scene.

  Continue walking forward, a magnificent temple comes into view. The temple is located on the halfway up the Chongxiang Peak, ten zhang high, and surprisingly made of gold bricks and jade tiles. Fang Li was amazed at the same time, but also somewhat puzzled, as the Taoist masters advocated returning to simplicity and being close to nature, such a magnificent temple seemed to be going against this idea.

  Although he had doubts in his heart, Fang Li did not dare to ask more questions. Judging from Xuan Mozi's attitude towards him, he probably wouldn't answer his questions and might even scold him.

  Entering the grand hall, it is extremely spacious all around. Six gold-plated stone pillars are distributed in two rows, supporting the entire grand hall.

  "Arrived." A gentle voice sounded, and afterwards, in the hall, an old man slowly walked out. Presumably he had sensed the auras of Xuemozi and Fang Li.

  "Disciple Mo Xi Zi, pay respects to the venerable master." Mo Xi Zi didn't hesitate, immediately kneeling down and kowtowing, his respectful demeanor evident on his face.

  Fang Li also discovered the old man, who was not Donghai's elder but someone else. However, his complexion seemed somewhat pale compared to earlier that morning. Moreover, Fang Li detected a hint of cold aura on him. Fang Li's spiritual awareness had already reached the third stage, and even among some Golden Elixir cultivators, it wouldn't be inferior; this feeling wouldn't be wrong.

  Having met Master Zu, I was favored by Master Zu's appreciation and accepted as a disciple. As a humble student, I am eternally grateful. Fang Li also kowtowed to the ground and said respectfully.

  The old man's gaze lingered on Fang Li for two seconds, nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "Alright, you can all get up now." As if he had spoken too hastily, the old man suddenly covered his mouth and started coughing.

  "Master, are you alright? Haven't you attracted that thing's backlash again?" Xuanmozi saw Donghai Elder coughing, his face changed instantly, sweating profusely, and seemingly exuding a hint of fear.

  Donghai Lao heard this and seemed displeased, gazing at him with a profound meaning in his eyes. He said calmly, "Old Mao is ill, but it's nothing serious." Then he turned to Fang Li and continued, "You've just arrived at Chongxiao Peak, so you're probably not familiar with the place yet. Now that you've paid your respects, go outside and take a look around. Remember, if you exit the main hall and turn left, you'll see nine caves. Except for the first cave, which is your master's training ground, the other eight are empty. You can choose one to enter and cultivate. If there's anything else, I'll summon you again."

  "Yes, disciple takes leave." Fang Li bowed respectfully and then slowly backed out under the gaze of Dong Hai Lao and Xuan Mozi.

  After leaving the grand hall, Fang Li's eyes no longer held any respect, only vigilance. It seems that this small Chongxiao Peak is not as calm as it appears on the surface, and there may be many hidden crises, such as the "thing" that Xuanmozi just mentioned, which can make the Yuan Ying period's Donghai Elder look like this, it must not be simple either.

  But vigilance is still vigilant, and Fang Li now has no way to cope with it. The only thing that can be done is to cultivate and hurry up to improve his cultivation, which is the king's way.

  Fang Li went to Chong Xiao Peak and just strolled around for a few laps before coming to the front of those nine caves. These caves, however, were not as dense as those on Huai Yu Peak, with a long distance between each pair.

  However, thinking that the first cave had been occupied by Xuán Mòzi, Fang Lì did not hesitate and directly chose the last cave. This cave was the farthest from the first cave, and he wasn't afraid of Xuán Mòzi sending his divine sense to investigate.

  But after entering the cave, Fang Li found that his caution seemed to be somewhat superfluous, not because of anything else, but because there was a small array at the entrance of each of the nine caves, and it was specifically used to shield divine consciousness - an invisible concealment array. The concealment array was only a second-grade array method, its ability was not strong, and it would be easily invaded by human divine consciousness, but it had one advantage, no matter whether the invading divine consciousness could be blocked or not, it would always issue a warning, so that people inside the cave would not be unaware of being spied on.

  After walking over 100 meters, I finally arrived at the deepest part of the cave. Like Huaiyu Peak's cave, there is a polished and smooth empty space here, and an array of gathering spirits is arranged on the empty space.

  "Chong Xiao Peak is indeed worthy of being the seventh main peak of Teng Long Mountain Range, the density of spiritual energy is truly astonishing." Fang Li muttered to himself, feeling the spiritual energy around him approaching vaporization, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

  Fang Li didn't hesitate any longer, took out a crystal stone and activated the Spirit Gathering Array, then immediately sat down cross-legged and started cultivating. Having joined the Xuan Yang Sword Sect after countless hardships, wasn't it to quickly increase his strength? Fang Li naturally wouldn't hesitate.

  This cultivation lasted for nearly half a month. During this time, the elder Donghai summoned him several times and entrusted him with a few matters.

  The first thing is the new disciples' conference three months later, which is specially held by the sect for this batch of disciples. At that time, all the elders of the sect will participate, and those cultivators who have been taken in by the elders will also be formally given the status of inner door disciples, and Fang Li is among them.

  The second thing is about the cultivation. The Xuan Yang Sword Sect has a rule that all disciples under the sect must use long swords as their weapons and cultivate sword techniques, otherwise they will be expelled from the sect. However, this rule seems to be somewhat redundant, even if he didn't say it, those who joined the sect would still cultivate sword techniques. This is because the Xuan Yang Sword Sect's scripture library only has sword techniques and sword manuals, you can't learn anything else even if you want to.

  However, this rule applies to those disciples who have broken through to the foundation period. Fang Li is not in a hurry for now, after all, it's necessary to scatter his Qi first when changing to another cultivation method. Although his cultivation realm won't decrease, the true Qi inside his body will need to be re-condensed from scratch, which is also a very troublesome thing.

  After more than half a month of cultivation, Fang Li's cultivation had increased significantly, and he vaguely felt that he had already entered the middle stage of the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. However, there was no strict division of boundaries within the Six Layers of Qi Refining, and Fang Li was only guessing based on his feelings.

  Apart from improving his cultivation, Fang Li also comprehended the Hidden Array at the entrance of the cave. The Hidden Array was only a second-grade array technique, but with Fang Li's third-grade divine sense, it was easy to comprehend.

  Although the hidden array cannot truly conceal its breath, it can provide a warning when someone uses their spiritual sense to investigate, which is somewhat useful.

  Fang Li immediately set up one on his own clothes after fully understanding the formation. This way, if someone uses their divine sense to probe him in the future, he will be able to discover them instead of being passive. Sometimes it may even produce unexpected effects.